Couple interesting SMN videos

[RoschVeliess]

Note these are not my videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ1BLokxOlU

@12:34 - Discussing the differences and uses between Garuda and Ifrit.

@19:43 - Talking about the validity in adding Thunder to your dot lineup. Main argument against it is that it isn't affected by Fester. Wondering if his observations here are accurate since a lot of SMNs seem to say to take it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diROOR4VZKg

Side-by-side comparison of Garuda to Ifrit. Seems Ifrit is way ahead of Garuda in terms of raw damage till you factor in enemy defenses then they're about even, though the ease of using and keeping Garuda alive makes her generally the winner.

I found it interesting he found Ifrit to benefit from all melee debuff types (blunt, slashing, and piercing) so if you have a melee heavy party and the mob will be affected by multiple melee debuffs it could be better to use him assuming you can keep him alive.

Thoughts?

[Salem_Rain]

I misread the title of this thread as:

Couple interested in S&M videos

:O

[Rainsford]

Some basic misinformation here:

Thunder does 210 total potency for 212 MP (not including Raging Strikes/Contaigen). 3 casts of Rune will cost 237 MP and give you 240 damage while costing you 3 GCDs. Why on earth would you keep Thunder out of your rotation and instead spam a skill that gives the same damage/MP cost but significantly lower damage/GCD?

Shadow Flare: The tooltip reads 25 potency, but after the first 2 ticks it starts doing damage equal to Bio II's 35 potency. Is it a bug? Maybe. But as it stands now, Shadow Flare does only slightly less damage than Bio II for slightly more MP, and should always be cast on Swift Cast cool downs. For it's cost, it's slightly more mana efficient than spamming Ruin (while again using less GCDs) based on the tooltip, it's significantly more powerful based on the actual damage it puts out.

[Hoffburger]

I like to use Thunder and Shadow Flare over Ruin. Another thing that makes Garuda better than Ifrit IMO is the fact that the +15s DoT extender works on both Thunder AND Miasma II (which makes Miasma II worth using). Basically you pop Raging Strikes, Bio II, Miasma, Thunder, Bio, Miasma II, and then use Garuda.

[Marcusow86]

I like to use Thunder and Shadow Flare over Ruin. Another thing that makes Garuda better than Ifrit IMO is the fact that the +15s DoT extender works on both Thunder AND Miasma II (which makes Miasma II worth using). Basically you pop Raging Strikes, Bio II, Miasma, Thunder, Bio, Miasma II, and then use Garuda.

In any end game boss fight, MiasmaII is negligible as you wont be running close to any boss ever else risk getting cleave. But i do agree contagion is the main reason why every SMN should use Garuda in a boss fight.

[Kevee]

In any end game boss fight, MiasmaII is negligible as you wont be running close to any boss ever else risk getting cleave. But i do agree contagion is the main reason why every SMN should use Garuda in a boss fight.

Uh. cleaves are frontal.

You can be in melee range of every endgame boss.

Source: I'm on Turn 5.

[Marcusow86]

Uh. cleaves are frontal.

You can be in melee range of every endgame boss.

Source: I'm on Turn 5.

My point is, you would not want to risk going too close to any boss due to unforeseen circumstances.

Furthermore, i am usually busy with my rotation, i do not see any opening to cast miasmaII.

[Kevee]

My point is, you would not want to risk going too close to any boss due to unforeseen circumstances.

Furthermore, i am usually busy with my rotation, i do not see any opening to cast miasmaII.

I guess melee don't want to risk getting too close, either..


Do you cast Ruin/Ruin II?

Yes?

Then you have time for Miasma II before Contagion.

[glim]

My point is, you would not want to risk going too close to any boss due to unforeseen circumstances.

Furthermore, i am usually busy with my rotation, i do not see any opening to cast miasmaII.

it just needs a bit of getting used to, now I always find an opening to get in melee range to miasma 2 -> contagion without any dps downtime, it really just does need a little of getting used to, before I don't even use thunder but I had to get used to it and it's no longer a problem tracking it.

EDIT: just to mention, whenever in melee range and you are right clicked at the boss, you let out a free weapon auto attack when casting instant cast spells like miasma II or bio or even ruin II, the free damage is around 65+.

[MartaDemireux]

In any end game boss fight, MiasmaII is negligible as you wont be running close to any boss ever else risk getting cleave. But i do agree contagion is the main reason why every SMN should use Garuda in a boss fight.

Not true. Ifrit you need to stack, parts of Garuda you have safety in getting nearby, Titan also relatively safe to run near enough to hit him with it, puddings easy to do, Tonberry King easy to do, as its instant you can use it when sucked in by goobbue while running out, Demon Wall/Bees you're nearby to do it, dragon you're nearby to do it, Psycheflayer/golems you're nearby to do it, etc.