Summoner is known to be one of the more complex classes out of the MMORPG, Final Fantasy XIV. It is under the DPS umbrella, and is known for the player wielding magic to summon a creature, such as a carbuncle, into battle.
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The strengths of Summoner include strong damage output, especially in mob situations. They are very useful in Raids, where there are a ton of enemies that can stand close together. They are also great supports, as they can resurrect the healing members of the party if they fall. With all that in mind, many players desire to try Summoner out. Luckily for such players, there are tips and tricks the veterans have laid out to help new Summoners. Some even say that Summoner is one of the best classes for beginner players to do!
Updated on August 6th, 2021, by Allison Stalberg: With tons more players flocking into Eorzea, there is now a influx of new Summoners. The DPS class is popular for its uniqueness. No other class gets a pet to command and later on, no other class gets to level up a healer at the same time they level their DPS. Due to its uniqueness, the class has a lot of little secrets even hardcore players are not aware of. However, it is also important to know the basics like which Egi to use for what purpose and when to set of certain spells.
15 You Can Glamour Your Egi
Different summons have different strengths, but they all also have different designs. Most players prefer the adorable low-level carbuncles to the higher level Ifrit, Garuda, or Titan-Egis.
To the benefit of such Summoners, the ability to glamour summons is available. It is a little tedious, but only has to be done once and the glamour stays every time the creature is summoned. The player must type out /egiglamour "egi name" "glamour." For example; egiglamour "Garuda-Egi" "Ruby Carbuncle."
14 Your Pet Attacks What You Attack, Unless Otherwise Ordered
Those who want their pet to attack an enemy other than the one they themselves are dealing damage to, they then will have to command the pet to attack that other enemy. Automatically, a pet will always attack whatever the player attacks.
To do this, select the desired target and hit "obey" on the Pet Command hotbar. To get a pet to stop attacking a target altogether, then hit the "heel" button. It is good to know that "obey" will just make the pet attack with standard skills (the player will have control over the pet-specific skills). To get the pet to attack an enemy automatically with their pet-specific skills, press "sic."
13 Do Not Summon Bahamut Right Away
Bahamut is one of the most exciting parts of being a Summoner. The moment a player goes under Dreadwyrm Trance, the ability to summon Bahamut is unlocked. Summoners are not meant to immediately hit that button though.
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Instead, a Summoner should allow themselves to be in the trance for as long as possible. It reduces the spell cast time by a lot, making the player able to shoot out many high damage attacks in a short span of time. They must be sure to take advantage of this trance and not rush through it to get to the Bahamut phase of their rotation.
12 *Do Not Forget To Use Deathflare
While a summoner must take advantage of their trance, they also cannot forget to use Deathflare before the trance timer runs out. Once it runs out, Deathflare is no longer available to use. However, it should be use at the last moments of the trance or else the trance part of the rotation will end too early. The cast is instant, so it can be used in the last few seconds of the trance without a problem.
Deathflare is not unlocked until level 60 though, so beginners do not have to worry about it for a while.
11 *When Bahamut Is Summoned, Use Enkindle Bahamut ASAP
Once Bahamut is summoned, the player should immediately press Enkindle Bahamut. That will make the dragon cast Akh Morn, which is an attack that hits multiple enemies with massive damage. The reason to Enkindle Bahamut immediately is so the player makes enough time during Bahamut's summon to do this attack twice.
Twice is the cap for how many times a player can Enkindle Bahamut to use Akh Morn while he is summoned. Having it cast immediately when summoned will leave time for the second attack to load up.
10 Resurrect Fallen Healers
Besides Red Mage, Summoners are the only DPS class that can resurrect other players. This can make a Summoner immensely important to a party, as they can make the difference between a party wipe or completion of one of the games' many dungeons, raids, or trials.
Summoners should put Swiftcast and their Resurrection abilities near each other and use them immediately when healers go down.
9 Keep Up Poison
Damage over time is super important in the career of a Summoner. Cat Miasma and Bio on single foes or both at once with Tri-Disaster. Once those are cast, use Bane to spread the poisons to gathered mobs.
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Always keep this up, as the damage of your basic spells are increased to any foe that is infected with your poisons. This is especially true when they are infected with both, so Tri-Disaster is your best friend.
8 *Remember To Re-Summon After Reviving From A Death
Re-summoning their pet is the first thing a Summoner must do once they are revived. It can be easy to forget, especially if the Summoner wants to focus on survival first. However, without their pet, their damage output is stunted and certain skills will not be available on the hotbar.
Of course, if the Summoner is revived in a dangerous spot then they should move to safety before re-summoning their pet.
7 Scholar Will Level Up With Summoner
Another aspect of Summoner that is quite unique is that Scholar will level up with the class. While the player doe not have to, they could benefit greatly from learning how to use Scholar at the same time as their Summoner. Since Scholar is a healer, a Summoner can turn into one for less of a wait time when in a queue for a dungeon, trial, or raid. However, they should only do so if they really know how to be a Scholar just as well as a Summoner.
6 Use Tri-Disaster Before Entering A Trance
With Tri-Disaster as the best friend of a Summoner, a Summoner should know how to best utilize the spell. Its cooldown is a little slow, but it can immediately refresh from different abilities. One of those abilities is Dreadwyrm Trance.
So before hitting Dreadwyrm Trance, a Summoner should cast Tri-Disaster since it is about to immediately refresh anyway. Also do not forget to use Bane after any Tri-Disaster, so it can spread to any nearby enemies.
5 Garuda-Egi Is Best For Mobs
One of the most intimidating aspects of a Summoner is the many creatures and their various abilities. However, veteran Summoners have boiled these summons down to just their strengths and what they are best suited for.
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For mobs, the Garuda-Egi is the summon of choice. Garuda has AOE damage over time. This makes it ideal for battles with three or more enemies at once. Do not use it for one on one battles though, as that is a waste and there is a better summon for that situation.
4 Ifrit-Egi Is Best For Single Targets
When dealing with single enemies, the Ifrit-Egi is best. Most players use Ifrit as their default summon. It deals the most damage, but only to single targets.
Ifrit is best for trials, certain raid battles, and most boss battles in dungeons. A lot of players use Ifrit for their single player content too, but there is actually a better summon for that situation as well.
3 Titan-Egi Is Best For Single-Player Content
The Titan-Egi is rarely seen in any multiplayer content, and there are good reasons for that. It is a bit of a mixed bag, having shields, weak single-target damage, and an AOE. Typically, other players in a party, like a tank, already outdo Titan.
So players have basically settled on the fact that Titan is for single player content. It's shield is way more helpful if you don't have a tank.
2 *You Can Change Bahamut's Size
A lot of players are not aware of this fact, which is unfortunate since Bahamut can really block the vision of certain areas during combat. The default Bahamut is medium and change be changed to large or small with a simple text command. The command is "/bahamutsize" followed by "large/medium/small."
Its important to know that changing Bahamut's size changes the size just for the player. Others will have to do the text command themselves if they want the size to change.
1 Prioritize Critical Hit Materia
To greater harvest the strengths of a Summoner, it is advised that players prioritize strengthening their critical hits. For critical hit stats, players want Savage Aim Materia.
There are some players that prefer faster spell speed to stronger attacks, though it is less agreed upon by players. For that play-style, you will want Quicktongue Materia.
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