Ffxiv Summoner Skills

Summoner: A Breakdown of the Class and Rotation

• Final Fantasy Xiv Summoner Guide
• Ffxiv Summoner Pet Skills

At the time of summon, all Pets siphon from the Summoners stats. The values of INT, CRIT, DET, VIT, and Spellspeed are all transferred. These stats are recalculated when re-zoning or when the skill. FFXIV News, Guides & Resources by the Community, for the Community.

FFXIV Collect EN. Soul Summoner IV: Quests: 37% 5.0. Seeker of Skill: Tales Of The Hand: Quests: 60% 2.0.

The short answer? A DPS that is quite fulfilling to play if you love using damage over time (DoTs) spells. The long answer? One of the harder to grasp classes due to DoTs and pet management playing a huge role in it. Learning how to understand this class is sometimes very hard or very easy for people. It is a very fulfilling role to take on if you want to have a class that almost always has something to do, whether it is DoT management, debuffing/buffing for your team, or even taking on the healer role of reviving someone or healing, if this is ever necessary.

The Summoner continues down the path of damage-dealing. Whereas the Scholar is a healer with a focus on shielding allies. Less directly, the Scholar also benefits from just how uncommon healers are in FF14. SMN is a lot like smashing piano keys in the first 20 seconds of the fight. Use Shadowflare somewhere in there. End with a Deathflare hopefully within Contagion. With the opener out of the way, you'll slow down to do your actual rotation.

Summoner is also unique in the fact that it is one of two jobs you can play. The base class for summoner is arcanist. Once you reach thirty, you have two choices: go scholar or summoner. Scholar requires conjurer to level fifteen. Summoner requires thaumaturge to level fifteen. Of course, if you're reading this, you likely chose summoner. Once you become a summoner, your quests are now located in Old Gridania instead of Limsa Lominsa.
As you might have noticed if you do unlock scholar at any point in time, you share attribute points with summoner. These are extra points you get (a max of thirty) that you can put into any stat. As a summoner, you want to put all thirty into intelligence. As a scholar, you put all thirty in mind. These go with your base class and do not change between jobs, so choose which one you wish to main. Personally, my summoner has twenty-five in intelligence and five in vitality to make it a little more sturdy.
A summoner gets a total of three pets (with Leviathan, Ramuh, and, as hinted, Shiva coming soon): Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda. Ifrit is the first pet you unlock and is a melee DPS. Titan takes the spot of your Topaz Carbuncle that you get at level 15 arcanist and is a tank. Garuda takes the spot of your Emerald Carbuncle and is a magic burst DPS.

Logically, you are aiming to stat Intelligence as a Summoner. There is no reason to stack anything else as one. Typically, for a Summoner, the Mythology/Soldiery tomestone pieces are, arguably, best in slot. What you want to focus on as a Summoner is Critical Hit Rate and Determination. Spell Speed is something a black mage strives for, and something you can typically ignore.
Gear wise, you're going to want to focus on Accuracy until you hit 450. This is the accuracy cap for Turn 5 (one of the endgame contents). For the latest extension to coil, the cap is 495, but you don't have to worry about that until you get there.
Food does not affect your pet's accuracy, and Summoners are special in a way that our pet has an accuracy cap as well, which is why our cap is higher than the black mage's, despite both being casters. For food, you generally want things such as Black Truffle Risotto, which is +crit, +det, and +vit.
A Summoner can be built in a few ways. I have a Best In Slot that's aimed for stacking crit. I use http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/ to determine gear stats and what I'm going to focus on. It's extremely helpful and I highly recommend it to anyone who isn't sure how to start their gearing.
As a Summoner, you have two roles. You are a Support DPS, meaning you can aid your team as well as supply high DPS. Getting skills such as Virus, Eye For an Eye, and Resurrection prove that much. For cross class skills, you're going to want archer and thaumaturge as two classes. Archer supplies Raging Strikes and Quelling Strikes, two extremely useful skills. Raging Strikes is necessary, but you can wait a bit before getting Quelling. Thaumaturge supplies Swiftcast, which is very useful in multiple situations. It not only is a part of your rotation, but can be used to instantly bring back your pet or revive someone without having to take the time to hard cast these spells.

Final Fantasy Xiv Summoner Guide

Finally, the fun part! Okay, let's start breaking this down. First thing's first: always make sure your Garuda is on Obey. You don't want her accidentally using Contagion (extends your damage over time's duration) when you're not ready for her to. Got that figured out? Alright.
You apply your DoTs in order of longest duration to shortest:
Bio II > Miasma > Bio
I would recommend not starting off with Shadow Flare as the boss likely needs to be repositioned, unless you preemptively place it.
Next, you start your Ruin II spam to use off-GCD moves. This includes: Swiftcast, Raging Strikes, Spur, Rouse, Enkindle, Fester, Aetherflow, Bane, Energy Drain.
Bio II > Miasma > Bio > Contagion > Ruin II (Swiftcast) > Shadow Flare > Ruin II (Fester) > Ruin > Ruin > Ruin > Ruin II (Fester)
This is your typical rotation as a Summoner. Nothing much changes aside from using Contagion whenever you can. and using Ruin II for Spur, Rouse, and Enkindle when possible. Watch your DoTs. If Bio II and Miasma are at 2-3 seconds of duration, start to cast them again.
Bio II (10s) > Miasma (7s) > Bio (13s, this one was probably already reapplied since it's an instant cast and shorter one) > Ruin > Bio II (7s) > Miasma (4s) > Bio > Ruin II > Begin Miasma's cast > Begin Bio II's cast

If any of your DoTs fall off at any given time, you are playing a Summoner wrong. Bio can be reapplied right after it falls off, as our DoTs tick every three seconds. The rest should be preemptively reapplied. No exceptions, if you can help it.
Now, for a buff rotation. I recommend starting every fight with Raging Strikes. This will make your DoTs stronger; Contagion any Raging Strikes DoTs if you can help it and get the most out of them. Spur > Rouse > Enkindle should always be your rotation if you can help it.
As a final note on a Summoner's rotation, there is one exception to the Ruin II rule: Bio. I will example it now.
Bio II > Miasma > Bio (1s) > Bio (Fester while on GCD)
Since Bio is an instant cast, this will make it so that you can Fester and then go back to your usual Ruin spam until you have to Fester/reapply again.

Garuda and Ifrit are both fine pets. However, with Ifrit, please note that you will be using Bio to weave in off GCDs more often than you will be with Garuda. Keep both of your pets on Obey for auto attack purposes. Keep your pet hotbar around and move Garuda around if you have to; since Ifrit is melee, he won't be able to be moved around much. Ifrit is nice to use if you have a Warrior or Ninja in your party. Their slashing debuff buffs him.
Ruin II is more mana. You don't want your Bard playing songs for no reason - especially mana song for a Summoner of all things. In long, drawn out fights, such as the current endgame, your mana counts. Having the Bard play ballad for just you is unnecessary. You want to try and avoid that at all costs. Try to avoid using Ruin II unless you are weaving in your off GCDs or moving in a very mobile fight.

Potions a Summoner benefit from? Let's see...
Potent Poisoning Potions
You can Contagion these and extend the duration. 30s of a pot is a decent amount. I even see melee using these occasionally, so it is a big boost.
Mega-Potions of Intelligence
Well, this is logical, of course. Use these whenever you have raging strikes up and you will have it for both of your Festers. I'd say using these for your Festers are more important than your DoTs for that big burst damage you'll get, especially if the BRD opens up with a Battle Voiced Foe's Requiem.

Hello! If you are reading this section, then you might be thinking on whether you should learn Summoner (SMN) as a job. Then you've come to the right place.

SMN is a job that is relatively easy to learn and forgiving to new players. It offers high damage and utility through raise and is typically a highly sought after job in end game content.

• Hardcast Miasma
• Cast Bio then use Energy Drain into Fester
• Hardcast Ruin
• Cast Egi Assault into Fester
• Hardcast Ruins

Lv. 1-29 Quick Rotation Goals

• Keep Bio and Miasma on long lived targets at all times
• Keep Energy Drain on cooldown. Spend Aetherflow stacks on Fester
• Ensure that Emerald Carbuncle/Garuda is summoned
• Use Egi Assault to weave and keep one charge on cooldown
• Cast Ruin when you have nothing else to do for that GCD

Lv. 1-29 Rotation

Early on you will not have many abilities available to you. However, some of the core SMN abilities will be available from the very beginning.

Your primary goal at this level is to keep your Bio and Miasma damage over time effects (DoTs) on your target at all times.

If your target will not live for a very long time it is better to cast Ruin and avoid using DoTs.

Ffxiv Summoner Pet Skills

At Lv. 10, you will unlock Egi Assault. This instant cast spell allows you to deal damage while moving and weave Energy Drain.

Energy Drain is one of our core abilities and grants us two stacks of Aetherflow. These function as ammunition for Aetherflow abilities and can be spent freely. They are not linked to any other job mechanic.

Try to keep your Energy Drain ability on cooldown at all times in order to maximise the number of uses you get.

Be sure to use all your Aetherflow stacks before using another Energy Drain to avoid overwriting your stacks.

At Lv. 26 your Bio will be replaced by Bio II. It is a straight potency upgrade and functions the same.

Pet Usage

The choice of which pet you should use will depend on what's currently available to you at a specific level as well as multi-target (AoE) vs. single target priorities.

As you first begin leveling from Lv. 1 to 15, only Emerald Carbuncle will be available to you to be used.

On reaching Lv. 15, Topaz Carbuncle will become available. At this point use:

• Topaz for single target damage situations
• Emerald for AoE damage situations

• Hardcast Miasma
• Cast Bio II then use Energy Drain into Fester
• Hardcast Ruin
• Cast Egi Assault into Fester
• Hardcast Ruins

Lv. 30-39 Quick Rotation Goals

• Keep Bio II and Miasma on long lived targets at all times.
• Use Bane to spread DoTs in multitarget situations
• Keep Energy Drain on cooldown
• Spend Aetherflow stacks on Fester
• Look for AoE opportunities to use Bane and Energy Siphon where applicable
• Use Egi Assault to weave oGCDs
• Cast Ruin when you have nothing else to do for that GCD

Lv. 30-39 Rotation

While you level through this next section your rotation will be nearly identical to the initial rotation you performed in the previous section.

You will receive a few added abilities, however, with Bane and Energy Siphon unlocking during this section.

Both of these oGCDs will begin to provide some AoE damage potential to your rotation, with Bane allowing you to spread your DoTs to any additional targets within an 8y radius.

Energy Siphon is the AoE equivalent skill to Energy Drain and should only be used at 3+ targets.

On reaching Lv. 38, you will unlock Ruin II which will be your instant cast GCD.

As Ruin II can be used on demand, this will become your primary option for oGCD weaving when Egi Assault charges are not available, as well as maintaining GCD uptime if you're required to move.

Pet Usage

As you finish your Lv. 30 and 35 job quests you will gain access to your 3rd pet Summon III with Ifrit-Egi, as well as your Topaz Carbuncle transforming into Titan-Egi.

During this leveling section Ifrit-Egi will become your primary pet option, even in cases of small count AoE (3 or less targets). This is because the Egi transformations are significantly stronger compared to the early Carbuncles.

• Hardcast Miasma
• Cast Bio II then use Energy Drain into Fester
• Hardcast Ruin
• Cast Egi Assault into Fester
• Cast Egi Assault II
• Hardcast Ruins

• Have Garuda-Egi summoned
• Hardcast Miasma
• Cast Bio II then use Bane
• Hardcast Outburst
• Cast Egi Assault II then use Energy Siphon
• Hardcast Outburst
• Hardcast Outburst
• Cast Egi Assault II

Lv. 40-49 Quick Rotation Goals

• Keep Bio II and Miasma on long lived targets at all times.
• Use Bane to spread DoTs to additional nearby targetsKeep Energy Drain on cooldown
• Spend Aetherflow stacks on Fester
• Look for AoE opportunities to use Bane, Energy Siphon and Outburst where applicable
• Use Egi Assault and Egi Assault II to weave oGCDs, Egi Assault II may also be prioritised for AoE damage opportunities
• Cast Ruin when you have nothing else to do for that GCD

Lv. 40-49 Rotation

During this leveling section the changes to rotation concepts will be mainly focused with AoE damage in mind.

On reaching Lv. 40, you will gain access to Outburst, which will become your 'filler' GCD during AoE rotations.

We will also gain Egi Assault II to use our Egi's 2nd ability.

For single target, Egi Assault II will be prioritised the same as Egi Assault for oGCD weaving and movement.

For AoE prioritise its use to hit as many targets where possible.

Pet Changes

Upon completing the Lv. 45 job quest you will unlock your final Egi transformation with Garuda-Egi.

As Garuda-Egi will replace Emerald Carbuncle, you will now have a stronger pet for AoE situations, and from this point forward should be prioritised as such.

• Hardcast Miasma
• Cast Bio II then use Energy Drain into Fester
• Hardcast Ruin III
• Cast Egi Assault into Fester then Enkindle
• Cast Egi Assault II
• Hardcast Ruin IIIs

Lv. 58+ Opener

• Cast Egi Assault into Tri-disaster then Dreadwyrm Trance
• Cast Egi Assault II into Energy Drain
• Cast Ruin III
• Cast Ruin III into Fester then Enkindle
• Cast Ruin III
• Cast Ruin III into Fester
• Cast Ruin III

DWT AoE Example - Lv. 58+

• Have Garuda-Egi summoned
• Cast Egi Assault II into Tri-disaster then Dreadwyrm Trance
• Cast Outburst into Energy Siphon then Bane
• Cast Egi Assault into Painflare
• Cast Outburst
• Cast Egi Assault II into Painflare
• Cast Outburst into Deathflare

Lv. 50-60 Quick Rotation Goals

• Keep Bio II and Miasma on long lived targets at all times
• Use Tri-disaster instead of manual DoTs when available
• Keep Energy Drain, Dreadwyrm Trance and Enkindle on cooldown
• Look for AoE opportunities to use Bane, Painflare, Energy Siphon and Outburst where applicable
• Use Egi Assault and Egi Assault II to weave oGCDs and handle any movement requirements
• Cast Ruin III when you have nothing else to do for that GCD
• Cleave as many targets as possible with Deathflare

Lv. 50-60 Rotation

Starting at Lv. 50 you gain access to Enkindle.

Enkindle is your Egi's signature ability and is best used on cooldown especially for multiple targets.

On reaching Lv. 52 you'll gain access to Painflare.

Painflare is an AoE alternative to Fester that consumes one stack of Aetherflow and should be used when there are 3 or more targets.

Your next unlock at Lv. 54 will be Ruin III which is your upgraded replacement to Ruin.

At Lv. 56 you will gain Tri-disaster.

Tri-disaster is a skill that will become key to your rotation as it applies our DoTs instantly while also doing a decent bit of direct damage.

Its cooldown is reset by Trances, the first of which is Dreadwyrm Trance at Lv. 58.

Tri-disaster should be used as a priority when DoTs need to be refreshed and should be on cooldown before Dreadwyrm Trance is used to avoid losing Tri-disasters.

Dreadwyrm Trance should be used on cooldown. It comes with a bonus - spells cast while in Dreadwyrm Trance have their cast times reduced by 2.5s making most spells instant. This is very useful for mobility and oGCD weaving.

Your final ability unlocked at Lv. 60 will be Deathflare.

Deathflare is the finisher ability from Dreadwyrm Trance and will simply function as another high potency oGCD for both single target and AoE damage opportunities.

• Cast Egi Assault into Tri-disaster then Dreadwyrm Trance
• Cast Egi Assault II into Energy Drain then Aetherpact
• Cast Ruin III
• Cast Ruin III into Fester then Enkindle
• Cast Ruin III
• Cast Ruin III into Fester
• Cast Ruin III into Deathflare

Lv. 61-70 Quick Rotation Goals

• Keep Bio III and Miasma III on long lived targets at all times
• Use Tri-disaster instead of manual DoTs when available
• Make sure Tri-disaster is on cooldown when Dreadwyrm Trance is used
• Keep Energy Drain, Dreadwyrm Trance, Enkindle and Devotion on cooldown
• Look for AoE opportunities to use Bane, Painflare, Energy Siphon and Outburst where applicable
• Use Egi Assault and Egi Assault II to weave and keep one stack of Egi Assault on cooldown
• Attempt to minimise the number of instant casts used to cut down on Ruin II casts
• Cast Ruin III when you have nothing else to do for that GCD

Lv. 61-70 Rotation

At Lv. 62 you will gain another of SMN's core job mechanics: Enhanced Ruin II.

Enhanced Ruin II grants you one stack of Ruin IV upon using Egi Assault.

One of the goals of endgame SMN gameplay is to cast as few Ruin IIs as possible by using Egi Assaults and Ruin IV to weave instead.

We will eventually stockpile up to a maximum of 4 Ruin IVs as they will be needed in the Bahamut window for weaving.

At Lv. 64 you will unlock Aetherpact, which commands your Egi to cast Devotion.

Devotion is SMN's offensive party utility, granting a 15 second 5% damage buff on a 3 minute cooldown. At this point in time you should be looking to use it on cooldown while aiming to put as much potency as possible into the damage window.

At Lv. 66 and 68 you will gain Miasma III, Bio III, and the trait Enhanced Enkindle. The DoT upgrades are strictly potency upgrades and the Enhanced Enkindle trait lowers the cooldown of Enkindle from 3 minutes to 2 minutes. These changes will not affect your rotation much in practice but are nice to have.

On reaching Lv. 70 you will gain the ability Summon Bahamut to use Demi-Bahamut.

When Summon Bahamut is used your Egi will despawn with Demi-Bahamut taking its place for 20 seconds.

During this time, Demi-Bahamut will provide two different forms of damage:

• His Wyrmwave (WW) 'auto attack' which will proc upon each GCD spell you cast. Your goal is 8 WW
• His 'ultimate' attack from Enkindle Bahamut, which will command Demi-Bahamut to cast Akh Morn

Like Deathflare, Akh Morn is a high potency attack that will also deal damage to enemies surrounding your primary target.

In order to use Summon Bahamut at this level you will be required to complete two Dreadwyrm Trances.

This means you will only be able to use Demi-Bahamut approximately once every 2 minutes.

Example Bahamut Rotation

• Use Summon Bahamut
• Cast Ruin IV into Enkindle Bahamut then Fester
• Cast Ruin IV
• Hardcast Ruin III
• Hardcast Ruin III
• Cast Ruin IV into Enkindle Bahamut
• Hardcast Ruin III
• Cast Ruin IV into Energy Drain then Swiftcast
• Cast Ruin III into Fester

• Cast Egi Assault into Tri-disaster then Dreadwyrm Trance
• Cast Egi Assault II into Energy Drain then Aetherpact
• Cast Egi Assault
• Cast Ruin III into Enkindle
• Cast Egi Assault II into Fester
• Cast Ruin III into Deathflare then Summon Bahamut

Lv. 70-79 Quick Rotation Goals

• Keep Bio III and Miasma III on long lived targets at all times
• Use Tri-disaster instead of manual DoTs when available
• Make sure Tri-disaster is on cooldown when Trances are used
• Cycle through Dreadwyrm Trance and Firebird Trance. Keep them on cooldown
• Keep Energy Drain, Enkindle and Devotion on cooldown
• Look for AoE opportunities to use Bane, Painflare, Energy Siphon and Outburst where applicable
• Use Egi Assault and Egi Assault II to weave oGCDs, build Ruin IV stacks and handle movement
• Save up to 4 Ruin IV stacks for weaving, movement and Demi-Bahamut phases
• Avoid overcapping on Ruin IV stacks
• Cast Ruin III when you have nothing else to do for that GCD

Lv. 70-79 Rotation

On reaching Lv. 72, we will gain two important tools that will finish shaping our rotation:

• Firebird Trance (FBT)
• Enhanced Dreadwyrm Trance II trait

FBT, like DWT, will provide the same benefits of cast time reductions and resetting your Tri-disaster.

It will also provide the use of unique GCDs that may only be used while in FBT:

• Fountain of Fire
• Brand of Purgatory

These GCDs will be alternated during the 20s duration of FBT, as casting Fountain of Fire will give you the Hellish Conduit buff which will 'proc' Brand of Purgatory , thus performing a '1-2-1-2' combo repeatedly.

You should never cast any spell except these two while in FBT.

FBT GCDs

Fountain of Fire into Brand of Purgatory. Repeat this 4 times.

The Enhanced Dreadwyrm Trance II trait provides the 2 Dreadwyrm Aether required to use Demi-Bahamut after each DWT.

This with the addition of FBT will now complete rotation cycle that you will experience from now on and including Lv. 80.

As you perform this rotation cycle think of yourself performing a series of 'mini phases'.

Rotation Phases

• Dreadwyrm Trance phase
• Demi-Bahamut phase
• Filler phase #1
• Firebird Trance phase
• Filler phase #2
• Looping back to the Dreadwyrm Trance phase

As each Trance cooldown comes up you will perform that specific Trance phase with Demi-Bahamut following after every Dreadwyrm Trance.

At Lv. 74 you will gain Enhanced Egi Assault as a trait.

This gives you Ruin IV charges for using Egi Assault II which will make it much easier for you to bank 4 Ruin IVs for Demi-Bahamut and avoid casting any Ruin IIs.

Be careful not to overcap on the maximum of 4 Ruin IV stacks.

At Lv. 76 and 78 Enhanced Outburst and Enhanced Bane are your respective traits. They offer a good boost to AoE damage.

Outburst receives a flat potency increase from Enhanced Outburst.

Enhanced Bane makes it so that Bane will always spread 30 second duration DoTs instead of the current remaining duration.

Once you reach Lv. 80, you will unlock your capstone ability for the expansion, originating from the Enhanced Firebird Trance trait.

With this trait your Firebird Trance will now summon Demi-Phoenix replacing your Egi for 20 seconds.

Like Demi-Bahamut, Demi-Phoenix has the same interactions also providing two forms of damage with some additional healing utility:

• His Scarlet Flame (SF) 'auto attack' which will also proc upon each GCD spell you cast. Your goal is 8 SF
• His 'ultimate' attack from Enkindle Phoenix, which will command Demi-Phoenix to cast Revelation
• His party wide Everlasting Flight (EF) heal over time

With that, those are the last tools and improvements you will gain until you hit Lv. 80.

Congratulations on reading through this whole levelling up section - we hope that your leveling experience was fun and smooth!

If you wish to know more on how endgame Summoner plays, read on!