The time summoner!

[Wiseman40]

Haha yes.. time mage has not yet been confirmed but it seems to be a popular bit of speculation. I've been a fan of time mage for some... time. I was hoping time mage would be released in the previous expansion.
So here's my chance!
My favorite job thus far has been summoner. I don't mind healing, but I would rather just buff and summon.

So I know what you're going to ask...
How will time mage help me cast Cure III?

It won't! MWAHAHAHAHA!

Right.

Anyway - here's to hoping time mage buffs as a sub job will be enough to content with the almighty /whm.

p.s. don't all jump on my bandwagon at once now... >.>

[DakAttack]

The Time Mage's buffs will be better than any of your buffs, so they'll still ask you to sub White Mage, but now they'll ask you to main Time Mage.

BURN.

[Sevv]

smn/tim = solo?

brd
cor
dnr(maybe)

all > smn/tim buffs

[Wiseman40]

Well we have no idea what time will get before 37. It could be anything. It could be hastega 3 for all we know.

Though... yeah... I doubt it.

I seem to recall some time.. long ago, when SE mentioned they wanted to have at least two viable subjob options per job. I think it's been slow in happening.
Sometimes it looks like they make an attempt at one being viable at least situationally, but no...
/whm is better than anything for smn and always has been.

I can always hope, though.

[Sevv]

Well we have no idea what time will get before 37. It could be anything. It could be hastega 3 for all we know.
Though... yeah... I doubt it.
I seem to recall some time.. long ago, when SE mentioned they wanted to have at least two viable subjob options per job. I think it's been slow in happening.
Sometimes it looks like they make an attempt at one being viable at least situationally, but no...
/whm is better than anything for smn and always has been.
I can always hope, though.


The point of what it gets 1~37 is moot, because brd/tim, cor/tim, dnr/tim would all have the same /tim benefits.

[Wiseman40]

Yes, but brd, cor, and dnr won't be able to use BPs.

The hope is not that I will be a better buffer as smn/tim than those others, but that I will be equally desirable in parties to smn/whm.

[Sevv]

Yes, but brd, cor, and dnr won't be able to use BPs.
The hope is not that I will be a better buffer as smn/tim than those others, but that I will be equally desirable in parties to smn/whm.

See unless smn's get something more then a cure on a 1 min timer, its not going to happen to be honest.

[Rain_Blade]

Haha yes.. time mage has not yet been confirmed but it seems to be a popular bit of speculation. I've been a fan of time mage for some... time. I was hoping time mage would be released in the previous expansion.
So here's my chance!
My favorite job thus far has been summoner. I don't mind healing, but I would rather just buff and summon.

So I know what you're going to ask...
How will time mage help me cast Cure III?

It won't! MWAHAHAHAHA!

Right.

Anyway - here's to hoping time mage buffs as a sub job will be enough to content with the almighty /whm.

p.s. don't all jump on my bandwagon at once now... >.>

Hope is good, but, in this case, despair wins.

[Feba]

the thing isn't that WHM as a subjob is JustThatGood, it's that SMN as a mainjob is JustThatBad.

[Yellow Mage]

the thing isn't that WHM as a subjob is JustThatGood, it's that SMN as a mainjob is JustThatBad.

Actually, both statements are true, but the point still stands.

[Sevv]

Main job summoner is fine, if you think it is not good you are clearly ignorant.

[Wiseman40]

Main job summoner is okay... it's not great but it's okay. It doesn't do anything particularly spectacular without a little medicine and Astral Flow.
The regular experience party will 'always' choose a whm/blm or whm/smn over a smn/whm unless there is already another smn/whm or whm/x in the party. This is because we can not provide the same level of support that whm can.

Smn/ will also never be chosen as DD in an experience party over any of the primary DD jobs, or over blm until endgame.

This means that ultimately we main heal when no other main healer is available, or fill space in parties for that 6th member.

Summoner as a main job is great end game but I'm not even there yet, so at present it feels kinda bleh.

So I'm a half level whm with a massive mp pool. I'm okay with this because I like smn conceptually as my favorite job in previous FF games, and because I look forward to greater power at higher levels.

What I think all summoners want, though, is to be defined by the main job rather than the support job. I can't really think of any other job in FFXI that is defined so much by the support job. Without /whm we're all but useless.

[Pteryx]

What I think all summoners want, though, is to be defined by the main job rather than the support job. I can't really think of any other job in FFXI that is defined so much by the support job. Without /whm we're all but useless.

Very well-put. Heck, it's so bad that:

1) A lot of summoners don't even know how to play Summoner. You stick half of them in a party with a WHM and they don't know what to do with themselves. I'm impressed if I ever see a SMN use Wards and try to set up a skillchain or MB an existing one.

2) The sheer magnitude of the wait until SMN actually gets to stand on its own two feet is so great that I've yet to party with a 70+ SMN who has even considered purging their system of the "SMN = healer" Kool-Aid; they just don't realize nor seem capable of realizing that they can now DD like they probably wanted to in the first place. I only know of one SMN who DDs at that level on my entire server. Heck, the majority of 70+ SMNs I've seen don't even summon at all! This is in those rare traditional setups and with a RDM who doesn't hate healing at their backs, mind you.

Sooo yeah, SMN kind of needs to be given a lot more reason to summon through the vast majority of their career. -- Pteryx

[DakAttack]

SE said they wanted Summoners to keep their avatars out longer. They should just do away with perpetuation costs all together. Then the Summoner can keep an avatar out, throw out buffs and magic bursts while it melees, and still have the opportunity to heal if it's required.

I also think they should halve recast timers and double effect lengths, with a two buff maximum. Combine that with their rather weak melee and MB potential and it doesn't seem too bad.

Aaaaaand offensive physical magic should have a 'Cost of spell varies with TP' modifier so at 200% TP or so the spell would be free.

[Wiseman40]

That's an interesting series of suggestions. I would certainly be happy to have those things, but SE seems almost paranoid about SMN becoming too powerful, like if even the slightest error is made smn will own all and they'll have to nerf, which would undoubtedly piss a lot of people off. >.>

I don't mind /whm being the best option, but we shouldn't be defined by /whm to this extent.

Something has to be done! *rabble rabble rabble rabble*

[Yellow Mage]

That's an interesting series of suggestions. I would certainly be happy to have those things, but SE seems almost paranoid about SMN becoming too powerful, like if even the slightest error is made smn will own all and they'll have to nerf, which would undoubtedly piss a lot of people off. >.>

Dude . . . do we have the same brain, or something?

. . .

Seriously, that's the only way I can describe that post. I've always had the exact same suspiscion.

It's really weirding me out. The whole, "you posted my exact suspicions" thing.

[Wiseman40]

Dude . . . do we have the same brain, or something?

. . .

Seriously, that's the only way I can describe that post. I've always had the exact same suspiscion.

It's really weirding me out. The whole, "you posted my exact suspicions" thing.

Haha! Yes well I'll take that as a bizarre compliment and move on. It's probably why we haven't seen improvements. They have the census. They know that all summoners sub white mage and they know how summoners are perceived in a party.

Many suggestions can be offered as to how to fix summoner by even the newer summoners. Veteran summoners post very realistic and thorough fix suggestions often. SE has publicized their intent to have avatars out longer, and see the summoner main job be more valuable. Yet, we don't see these fixes actually take place, which indicates that they must be be extremely cautious to the point of paranoia. Someone at a concept meeting must have to wear the funny hat for the rest of the day if they bring up summoner.

[Arctic Wolf]

I seem to recall some time.. long ago, when SE mentioned they wanted to have at least two viable subjob options per job. I think it's been slow in happening.


I recently started to believe that SE was trying to do this, I never knew SE actually said it.