[Wickett]

Forgive me if I offended anyone with my post... I get a little bent out of shape when players like Midge call me a bad SMN for playing the job the way Square as forced me to play it, as a "glorified PT buffer." I spend so much time on these forums because there are more misconceptions about the SMN job than just about anything else in FFXI, and I know more about the SMN job than anything else in the game, so I'd like to share what knowledge I have with anyone who's interested. Let me try to put this as simply as I can. Here are a list of FACTS, not opinions, related to the SMN job:
1) avatars do horrible melee damage
2) avatars damage abilities are mediocre AT BEST, often times also horrible
3) avatar PT buffs are incredible... Aerial Armor is the best spell in the game imo
4) avatars drain a lot of mp, with or without food effects, and their abilities cost a LOT of mp, so a SMN has to choose carefully how to use his mp.

On subjobs:
1) BLM does not make a practical subjob in general. You will have a horrible selection of spells, and a dedicated BLM casting the same spells will be doing 2,3, maybe even 4 times the damage as a SMN/BLM because of INT+ (not the mention that the BLMs most current spells will blow anything you could cast out of the water.)

Those are the facts... do whatever you want with them. I personally play SMN as a first rate PT buffer and a second rate healer, because I refuse to be a 4th rate damage dealer~

Side note>>> If you'll notice on the forums, the few career SMNs with most of the avatars who post here, namely Meiyu, LiquidSnake, and myself, all say the same things about our job... maybe we know what we're talking about? I'd much rather answer genuine questions about the SMN job here than argue with people who are merely postulating at "how they think they will play SMN when they get their avatars" etc, etc. I really just want to help

[Manatra]

When fighting IT monsters SMN with its buffs makes it easy. Ever seen a THF + SMN + NIN in the same party? It's insane, because of stoneskin and aerial armour I was reduced to enfeebling.. If I ever met a summoner that pulled an avatar out to fight normal (and so far I haven't met one) I'd kick them in a second, they reduce the efficiency of an exp party. SMN right now are a support class, they Buff and heal, if you don't like that, then don't play it. I'd love to fight with Ifrit, but it's just not feasible.

[Obelisk]

here we go again...hhhmmm that reminded me of the ppl on my blist for some reason....weird isnt it..........

[staticman]

after reading this topic i've concluded people are really stupid and have stupid opinions about what exactly a summoner is... sorry guys but this isnt ffvii, you cant bust out knights of the round and do 1 million damage.... and yes having a smn and a rdm in the same party is absolutly stupid cause someone's gonna stand around doing nothing most of the time... thus i've subbed smn with my rdm and get the best of both jobs... lots of people say subbing smn with rdm is stuipd but in actuality is is the ideal subjob but that's a different topic... and yes while lvl'n my sub job (smn) i am a cure tank... most of the time better then the whm... you cant get around that fact whether you've played as a smn or not. that's how it is

[Liquid_snake005]

bottom line is, MIDGE is an IDIOT. A dumb level 22 summoner who knows jack about the job and calls someone dumb. LEVEL 22 summoner is a big diffrence than a LEVEL 40+ summoner, at level 22 summoner can do OK damage. at 40+ damage sucks badly and avatars miss often. WHY DO YOU THINK YOU DONT SEE ANY HIGH LEVEL SUMMONERS ATTACKING. if they could do the damage they would. MIDGE=Vanadiel village retard. oh and dont try to tell me i dont know what im talkin about, 60 summoner compared to your level 22 summoner. at lower levels some jobs can get away with stuff they cant do well at in higher levels. for instance WARRIOR tanks suck at higher levels but guess what, AT -30 they can tank ok. Midge watch who you call dumb if you dont know what your talkin about and have not been to where others R! for instance, HIGHER LEVELS, things get diffrent then

[Gilthanes]

Just had to add that Shining Ruby that someone mentioned as group protect/shell- thats not exactly what it is

It stacks with all other buffs that I know of, and increases Def and Mg Def by a certain amount (dont know what determines how much its raised, maybe Summon skill)

Thats all from me thx

[Caladan]

Liquid_snake005 :
bottom line is, MIDGE is an IDIOT. A dumb level 22 summoner who knows jack about the job and calls someone dumb. LEVEL 22 summoner is a big diffrence than a LEVEL 40+ summoner, at level 22 summoner can do OK damage. at 40+ damage sucks badly and avatars miss often. WHY DO YOU THINK YOU DONT SEE ANY HIGH LEVEL SUMMONERS ATTACKING. if they could do the damage they would. MIDGE=Vanadiel village retard. oh and dont try to tell me i dont know what im talkin about, 60 summoner compared to your level 22 summoner. at lower levels some jobs can get away with stuff they cant do well at in higher levels. for instance WARRIOR tanks suck at higher levels but guess what, AT -30 they can tank ok. Midge watch who you call dumb if you dont know what your talkin about and have not been to where others R! for instance, HIGHER LEVELS, things get diffrent then

yup , the same midge who gets 1 emperor hairpin a day ( i want to be in that server!! ) ... no comment.

[Meiyu]

One - Liquid, you need to calm down. You're not endearing yourself to anyone by acting like an arrogant prick. It's not all about levels - it's about skill. Someone can be PLed to 60, or someone like me can take their time and get to 34 in a few months with SMN - you gonna tell me he's any better than me? Don't presume things like that.

Two - Carbuncle's Shining Ruby - I never use it because it lasts only a minute or two, and I need to cast Arial Armor or Enthunder.

Three - Wick, don't get all riled up about what THFs and DRKs have to say about our job. Just smile and nod, and make a mental note that if they're on your server, not to PT with them.

Four - Midge is supposedly on my server. I expect any and all condolences =P

[Liquid_snake005]

Meiyu what are you talkin about, im sayin that summoner can be played diffrently at a lower level than it can at the higher levels. theres a big diffrence between what you can do at certain level ranges so read correctly then reply please, knowone was talkin about skill are who makes it to what levels, you can have all the skill in the world buts thats not gonna make your avatars do things they cant do at certain levels, you like to miss read post a lot meiyu, this is like the 3rd post i read where you took a comment and replied with something totally off

[jebe]

Meiyu :

Four - Midge is supposedly on my server. I expect any and all condolences =P

X-D.hahaha


i like smn job. my main is 50/1 pld/smn. i keep my avatars out whole fight. i am god. thank you.

remember: tarutaru > you

[Liquid_snake005]

jebe what level are you playing summoner at ? dont say that question doest matter either, it does

[ilivo]

aques :
I partied with a lvl 60 summoner the other day, and all he would cast is Titan and Garuda, for stoneskin and blink, respectively. He refuses to cast anymore summons other than those two, and I notice that after those 2 summons have been cast, he just sits back and heals the party. Refreshing stoneskin and blink one more time when monster is around 50% HP.

Is there a limit as to how many avatar abilities he can summon? Kind of like how bard can only have 2 song effects on a player at a time.

yeah aques, i think you need to use the smn job ability 'blood pact' before you can use any of your avatar's abilities. i'm pretty sure the refresh time is 1 minute on 'blood pact'

[Caladan]

Midge :
Wickett i play a summoner and when a PT asks me to be a cure tank i DISBAND, because thats not what i am.. if you want your SMN to sit and heal the PT instead of fighting with your avatar good your a dumbass.. why would avatars be able to assault if people are just going to take advantage of the large MP pool and thats all?... i dont know about your gay parties but in mine we have WHM... and usually i buy Juices...."Refresh Effect" while m avatars is out fighting my MP drains much more slowly...plus im usually partied with RDM who refreshs, and a bard who keeps ballad up.. AND WE STILL CHAIN.. so if your going to make stupid comments please elaborate.


THX learn to play a Summoner.

actually .. at lev 20-25 , maybe it pass ... but at 50+ , wickett know how its done. and sadly you dont. I wouldnt keep a smn very long if he didnt bring is best to the PT and keep trying to be the damage dealer.. where a lot more class excel at it.. hes gone. PT buffing is where they shine (aerial armor, stoneskinga^^ and hastaga.) and backup healing. no more , no less.

and your the dumb one if you let you avatar eat you mp .. for damage that any melee outclass without any mp consumption. to each is specialty.

[Liquid_snake005]

atleast Caladan knows what hes talkin about. people you cant assume what your gonna our can do at later levels if your not there yet. Sayin your gonna leave your avatar out to fight at 50+ would get you kicked so fast. 1. your gonna waste all your mp for damage a blk mage can do in one spell. CAUSING more downtime. So please stop assuming

sayin your gonna leave avatar out to fight in later levels is like a paldin saying
"im gonna play as a damage dealer and if i gotta tank im gonna disband"
*before paladin even has a chance to disband, hes kicked*
prepare to be partyless if you think you can be a damage dealer as a Summoner later on

[Caladan]

^^ indeed.

[Wickett]

/comfort Meiyu
I would strongly recommend making public service announcements about Midge, the worst player on Leviathon.

/blist add Midge ... Blist skill increases .5

[Liquid_snake005]

it just seems that 90% of the people who post info on Summoner arent even a Summoner or have no experiance with a Summoner level 2 level.They dont understand that level 20 is not the same as 50 and some jobs start gettin played diffrently at higher levels so you cant take your level 20 experiances and try to tell someone higher how it goes. So please stop the madness