some questions on summoner(for a n00b

[KingJesterEOE]

Ok I want to become a summoner.Im lvling up blm now.Will that be a good subjob for summoner?I know whm is the uber sub for summoner but my wife plays also and is a rdm/whm.I want to know if the job I picked will work well for my summoner job.

To get Ifrit and leviathon you have to have summoner at lvl 20 right?Can I duo these avatars or is it a one on one fight to gain the right to summon them?

Im not worried about fenrir cause Ive read it takes like a party of 6 all lvl 60 + to beat him.I'll do that later.

Anything else I should know about summoner?

[Icemage]

Re: some questions on summoner(for a n00b

Ok I want to become a summoner.Im lvling up blm now.Will that be a good subjob for summoner?I know whm is the uber sub for summoner but my wife plays also and is a rdm/whm.I want to know if the job I picked will work well for my summoner job.

To get Ifrit and leviathon you have to have summoner at lvl 20 right?Can I duo these avatars or is it a one on one fight to gain the right to summon them?

Im not worried about fenrir cause Ive read it takes like a party of 6 all lvl 60 + to beat him.I'll do that later.

Anything else I should know about summoner?

BLM is a very bad subjob for summoner. Black mage's spell repertoire all depends on their Elemental skill, which is halved when subbed, since Summoner does not have any of the necessary magic skills to cast black magic normally. The most commonly accepted subjob for SMN is /WHM for a variety of reasons (the primary one being that healing spells are not very dependent on magic skills to function).

You get Carbuncle when you first complete the quest to activate the summoner job. Of the remaining avatars:

Ifrit, Leviathan, Shiva, Garuda, Titan, and Ramuh can be fought using the "mini-fork" battles at level 20 SMN. These are solo battles, where you are stripped of your subjob and must fight the Prime Avatars as a level 20 SMN with ONLY carbuncle. Successfully winning each battle will grant you access to that avatar.

The alternate way to get the above 6 avatars is to fight the uncapped Avatar Prime battles, which generally require at least 1 full party at level 60+, or a handful of 75s (or even a solo RDM75).

Fenrir requires a minimum of 5x75 to win, preferably a full party of well equipped Level 75 players. Easiest way to win is to bring 5xSMN70+ (which allows 1 player to come along as a "leech"), but there are other, riskier combinations.

I strongly recommend that you play White Mage as your starting job if you have your heart set on playing Summoner. The two jobs play very much alike until level 65.


Icemage

[Miriamel]

Re: some questions on summoner(for a n00b

Icemage basically answered everything. As SMN, you will often find yourself being the (or one of the) healer of the team. Up to level 60, SMNs only really get good defensive and healing Blood Pacts; the offensive ones are hardly ever worth using.

At level 60, your summons get level IV spells (Fire IV/Thunder IV/etc), which can produce a nice 600-800 damage when bursted on a skillchain. I found myself as replacement for a BLM every once in a while in that level range. However, even when you're dealing damage, it's best to sub WHM.

At 65, Fenrir gets a nice weapon skill that deals considerable damage, but as mentioned, he isn't the easiest puppy in the world to get.

At 70, all regular summons but Carbuncle get *very very* good offensive Blood Pacts that deal considerable damage. You might find yourself being a damage dealer more often at 70+.

[kuu]

Re: some questions on summoner(for a n00b

Yes Smn/blm is very bad unless there's a specific way your pt works...the only things I can see are dot spells, and mp conserve.

For possible subs, Whm, and rdm

Triel made a post on smn/rdm, so you can look that up.

It's another way if you either have a semi static, or another option based on pts.

Basically in this day in age, I split SMN into 2 basic catagories. Attack smn, and Support Smn.

Support is your healer, and buffer, Attack is your SC/DD. And there are equipment catered to either..not to mention level range...don't try to be an DD if you're 3 levels behind main PT.

I don't really like SMN's MBing... takes too much set up, while DD BPs take very little time, and if you're a starter, even more efficient. The only problem is Attack BP can miss. But it you're 60...fancy new BP is very damaging.

Personally I like DD smn more in XP pt, as there's a certain elegance to "Kill them before they kill you." And works quite well if it produces a SC for extra damage. (You can still throw a few cures around, but not as main)

Since most PTs like distortion, fenrir is a nice avatar to start it. Him and carbuncle are distortion starters and fenrir does good damage to boot. Good in earily levels, even if I like tail whip much more till double slap in the lvl 60s.

[neighbortaru]

Re: some questions on summoner(for a n00b

correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't BPs on a timer? you won't be skillchaining much if you have to wait for that timer.

[Miriamel]

Re: some questions on summoner(for a n00b

It's a one minute timer. But you can skillchain just fine. :]

[KingJesterEOE]

Re: some questions on summoner(for a n00b

Thx Guys for all the info.

[Niwaar]

Re: some questions on summoner(for a n00b

correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't BPs on a timer? you won't be skillchaining much if you have to wait for that timer.

You can chain great, although this can really hamper a smn's use of BP's, because you have to wait for tp gain. Often times you will get fed up with slow TP build and go early, or spend a full minute waiting on tp gain when you could have gone twice before you go once. To me, the skillchaining SMN is still a main healer type, especially if you are starting Distortion. It is easy to have carby or fenrir out and heal while waiting on tp. That being said, Ifrit's Punch is a great Fusion starter as well, when partying with a monk this chain is a really nice thing to have, especially in early levels.

[neighbortaru]

Re: some questions on summoner(for a n00b

ah, it's a one minute timer (for some reason I thought it was longer -- 5 minutes). thanks for clearing that up.

[tazirai]

Re: some questions on summoner(for a n00b

Pretty much everything is covered here. Also dont discount Carbuncle out yet .
He has two abilities that I love when you are the healer and one power that I love when you start doing light renkeis.

At level 69+ I just used carbuncle alot since He is free, I understand the rat alot because, I got to level 50 with just him ^^, this was before the patch to introduce the other Avatars to JP version.

Carbuncles ruby abilities make him a good back up healer to a group, and he helps you alot with them.
Healing Ruby I is level 1 and can be used as a great single target heal , this works well if you are backline and the rat can join the fray.
Healing Ruby II is AOE heal that can support you when you are up against Enemies that doe AOE damage. This is a great compliment to your cure spells and without the added aggro associated with curaga.

Also when Light becomes a primary Renkei, Carbuncles meteor can add a good bit of MB damage and is easy to time.

So thats my take on it ^^

Another good thing is that sometimes a PT of Beast Masters will get a Summoner to finish off a monster when its HP is low. Carbuncle is great for this.

[kuu]

Re: some questions on summoner(for a n00b

You can chain great, although this can really hamper a smn's use of BP's, because you have to wait for tp gain. Often times you will get fed up with slow TP build and go early, or spend a full minute waiting on tp gain when you could have gone twice before you go once. To me, the skillchaining SMN is still a main healer type, especially if you are starting Distortion. It is easy to have carby or fenrir out and heal while waiting on tp. That being said, Ifrit's Punch is a great Fusion starter as well, when partying with a monk this chain is a really nice thing to have, especially in early levels.

The trick is to not wait. and BP like mad. Usually since you're BP starter, the ender has a heck of a lot of time to close it..about 5 seconds.

And since a pt pulling between resets your bp timer, you'll get your chances SC while still bping often.

The problem is closing and MBing... asking people to wait for that is very annoying.