Summoner doesn't feel like it Summons.

[Rolder50]

I've been swiftcasting Garuda's Astral Flow ability (can't remember the name) since it has such a long cast and feels like its bringing my momentum to a halt when I try to hard cast it.

If you want max deeps, you should swiftcast Ruby Rite, since the cast time on that is a bit longer then the recast time, thereby saving you the difference if you swiftcast it.

[Shuuli]

Everyone is trying to compare summoner to old FFXIV summoner or other FF summoners... but just hear me out... Would it be so bad to bring something new to the franchise?

Feels a bit like tunnel vision in some comments here.

I personally play summoner since I started the game and for me both the new and old versions had their pros and cons. The current summoner Ifrit phase feels so unnatural. There are many times where I stand and wait to press my next button when I run out of fester but there is nothing to press...

I can also choose if I want to use my swiftcast for Ifrit or Garuda to keep the flow. Yay... such variety.

This was and always will be my argument: There are people who just wanted summoner to be the old FF summoner and "look cool". Which, sure, fine. Why not? But also can it not be good to play? I want to have a smooth gameplay not just RP.

I personally will still have summoner in my heart and pretty sure that I will use it here and there, but at the moment it is not my fav anymore.

[Adonan]

Everyone is trying to compare summoner to old FFXIV summoner or other FF summoners... but just hear me out... Would it be so bad to bring something new to the franchise?

Feels a bit like tunnel vision in some comments here.

I personally play summoner since I started the game and for me both the new and old versions had their pros and cons. The current summoner Ifrit phase feels so unnatural. There are many times where I stand and wait to press my next button when I run out of fester but there is nothing to press...

I can also choose if I want to use my swiftcast for Ifrit or Garuda to keep the flow. Yay... such variety.

This was and always will be my argument: There are people who just wanted summoner to be the old FF summoner and "look cool". Which, sure, fine. Why not? But also can it not be good to play? I want to have a smooth gameplay not just RP.

I personally will still have summoner in my heart and pretty sure that I will use it here and there, but at the moment it is not my fav anymore.

I'm curious to know where you saw people asking for the SMN to be dry and unfun. The only thing people have asked for is the Summoner of eld, rather than a Summoner that summons as an afterthought. Personally, I've enjoyed the ShB and EW Summoner, but I would like them to build complexity upon what's here now. Also, nobody is saying bringing something new to the franchise is bad, but changing the old that people loved is not the way to do it. They seem to be removing a lot of DOTs from the classes, so perhaps they can then add them back to a true dot mage. I don't think the franchise has every had a class focused on DOTs.

Come to think of it, they did add something new, or at least new to me, in the form of the infusions. Summoners of past FF games never did that, yet the Summoner still retained its identity despite the addition.

[Atamis]

Everyone is trying to compare summoner to old FFXIV summoner or other FF summoners... but just hear me out... Would it be so bad to bring something new to the franchise?
.

I have no doubts people want to play their favorite class in an mmo based on FF. To many people that IS the traditional summoner archtype. I can empathize with them.

I don't think many will say adding a new summon style is bad, especially in an mmo setting that drastically differs from the normal series and the previous MMO of XI. But it still needed that core mechanism of summoning. Previously it was token, you summoned carbuncle and it just auto attacked doing nothing of note, then you got an egi, and it just auto attacked doing nothing of note. It slowly got better over the xpacs but the pet AI was still beyond broken, unresponsive, easily confused and extremely frustrating. The Shadowbringer just doubled down on that last part while still expecting you to keep casting ruin and bio as your main damage source.

THIS summoner we have now IS something new and unique to XIV.
Yes it needs some more fine tuning, we can see the gaps and shortcomings as well. This summoner, however, finally does what it says on the tin and summons. The 'fusion' part is wholely unique to XIV (Minus Tera becoming an Esper herself) and the summons do what they've always done, jumps in, flex, and leave. If anything carbuncle is left out because it has to act as the catalyst to transform into the primals.

By all means bench summoner now that its budding into its own identity even though it checks the boxes that you yourself laid out. If you think this isn't smooth and you survived the egi assault phase from Shadowbringer I don't know what else to say.

[Rolder50]

THIS summoner we have now IS something new and unique to XIV.

Is it though? I haven't played many other FF Games, but from what I have been able to gather, the big feature of summoner in other titles is having a god of some sort come down, do a big attack, and leave. That's basically what they are doing here just adapted to make sense in an MMO format.

[Atamis]

Is it though? I haven't played many other FF Games, but from what I have been able to gather, the big feature of summoner in other titles is having a god of some sort come down, do a big attack, and leave. That's basically what they are doing here just adapted to make sense in an MMO format.

If you only count Ifrit/Garuda/Titan than sure. No other summoner has really used the summon's abilities. Yuna used the summon itself as a weapon, XIII kinda just auto attacked with you.
Its not well defined right now, but the XIV summoner; summons Ifrit, who does his attack and frigs off like normal, but then the summoner also gets to use Ifrits power themselves to recklessly charge into melee and beat someone with a firebook.
That summoner right there, that partially uses the summon conjoined with themselves I think is worth exploring. We still need to summon monsters, but why not also become one?
Yes it needs more work, more buttons, more integration, better (much better) pre90 development.
I see the beginnings of a unique take here and I would like to see it bear fruit.

[Kolsykol]

Tbh while I think it looks cool and like the idea of it, all the instant casts and spamming 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 made me so bored that I just couldn't stand the thought of it for an entire dungeon and quit after the first boss.
Maybe you get to weave a 2 in there at higher levels but still.

I still got it at lvl 83 due to SCH, and it feels so empty to me I honestly miss the old SMN.

[tearagion]

If you only count Ifrit/Garuda/Titan than sure. No other summoner has really used the summon's abilities. Yuna used the summon itself as a weapon, XIII kinda just auto attacked with you.
Its not well defined right now, but the XIV summoner; summons Ifrit, who does his attack and frigs off like normal, but then the summoner also gets to use Ifrits power themselves to recklessly charge into melee and beat someone with a firebook.
That summoner right there, that partially uses the summon conjoined with themselves I think is worth exploring. We still need to summon monsters, but why not also become one?
Yes it needs more work, more buttons, more integration, better (much better) pre90 development.
I see the beginnings of a unique take here and I would like to see it bear fruit.

This is all very reasonable and I agree; however it should have already borne fruit as of the release with patch 6.0. It is a level 90 job that plays like it's synced to level 50, maybe level 60 tops. It's unacceptable for it to be reworked then released to such an unfinished, or if you prefer unrealized, state.

[Corbeau]

I disagree with the OP. I'd take an extra layer of oGCD actions but the theme feels strong to me, certainly moreso than the previous version.

[Anhra]

Im glad that Dot Mage is finally gone for good. With the recent rework, SMN finally took a good first step into the right direction. It is by no means without flaws and could certainly endure getting more active Skills (despite the long List of Skills, you only have, Physick included, only 20 Buttons to press which is fewer than ShB WAR with 24) .

If i had any complains about it, then it is aside from Physick still being ALMOST completely useless (has its uses now up to level 40, which is probably a unintended sideeffect of the downscaling) and the lack of active Skills, id say the pacing between the Summons is a bit too quick.
I think it would be great, if there would be a 10-30sec Timer after the "Trance" is over which prevents another Summon for a while (to make Summons more impactful). In exchange for this, Potencies could be raised on the initial dmg the Summon does on entering the field.