The Summoner changed into a pet-focused magical DPS during Shadowbringers (Patch 5.0 released July 2, 2019), and that design still defines the job in 2025. I’ve played this role for years and, in my experience, the work is less about spinning DoTs endlessly and more about timing pets, Aetherflow resources, and burst windows. Honestly, this guide tells you what to do and why — short, clear, and practical. Want the short version?
🌟 What Summoner Actually Does
Summoner uses three egis (Garuda, Ifrit, Titan), spends Aetherflow, and opens Demi-summon windows (Demi-Bahamut / Demi-Phoenix) to hit big. You’ll keep DoTs running, weave pet actions between casts, and use instant tools when you must move. I’ve noticed that players who focus on pet timing do better than those who try to micro every single tick. There are exceptions (depends on your niche), but that’s the core.
Why this matters: pets scale with your stats and power the job’s biggest damage moments, so you must balance personal gear and pet uptime. (Short note: Shadowbringers rework is the baseline; Endwalker tweaks didn’t undo the pet focus.)
⚔️ Rotation, in Plain Steps
Keep DoTs. Spend Aetherflow on Fester (single-target) or Painflare (AoE). Use Energy Drain to refill MP and generate stacks. Enkindles and Demi phases are your biggest windows; align them with raid burns. This doesn’t always work perfectly — movement and mechanics force changes — but these priorities hold.
Example weave (simple):
Ruin III → Egi-Assault + Energy Drain → Ruin III → Fester → Ruin III → Egi-Assault II
Rhetorical question: confused about when to double-weave? If your ping is bad, don’t. You’ll clip GCDs and lose DPS!
🔥 Pets and How to Use Them
Garuda-Egi gives the highest single-target punch, Titan-Egi helps with survivability, and Ifrit-Egi shines in short burst windows. Enkindle is your pet ultimate — time it during raid burns. Oddly enough, many players hoard Aetherflow for too long; use it when the group has a damage window, not just “because it’s ready.”
Controversial take: Devotion is overrated if you throw it on cooldown without coordinating buffs — hold it when your raid stacks damage dishes. Also, some guides push Direct Hit above Critical; I disagree — Crit tends to scale pets better for most 2025 encounters.
| Priority | Why |
|---|---|
| Weapon/INT | Biggest raw increase |
| Critical Hit | Boosts burst and pet potency |
| Direct Hit | Consistent added hits |
| Spell Speed | Hit breakpoints (1,000–1,200 typical) |
💎 Stats & Gear — Be Specific
Target ranges for level 80 players in 2025: Critical ~2,500+, Direct Hit ~1,500+, Spell Speed ~1,000–1,200. Don’t chase Spell Speed past your breakpoint unless you tested it — gains drop off. Use weapon upgrades first; they beat small stat swaps.
🔧 Weaving and Execution
oGCD weaving separates solid players from the great ones. Double-weave when your ping is stable (<100 ms). Single weave during Demi windows to avoid clipping enhanced Ruin spells. Practice on a dummy. Watch this: if you try to perfect weave every pull, you’ll miss mechanics. Be pragmatic.
Tip: allow slight “drift” on long CDs so they line up with raid buffs. Too much drift? You waste uses — balance is key.
🏆 Raid Tips and Utility
Move without losing damage by using instant tools and your egis. Devotion and Addle are powerful when timed with raid phases (hold Devotion for burns). Swiftcast + Resurrection gives clutch saves; sometimes that’s more valuable than a small DPS gain. To be fair, using Swiftcast for revival depends on group composition and progression pace.
- E5S (Ramuh): hold Devotion for Fury windows
- E7S (The Idol): Addle helps against heavy magic
Quick Reminders
Practice fundamentals. Don’t over-optimize early. There are exceptions to every rule, but consistent execution wins. Between us, I still mess up timing occasionally — and that’s okay! (You’ll learn faster if you accept some stumbles.)
“Pets win fights when you let them do their job — and you focus yours.”
Unexpected insight: sometimes lower Spell Speed feels smoother and nets better uptime because you miss fewer clipped casts — counterintuitive, but true for some connections. Try both and measure.
One last practical piece — code-style checklist:
- Keep DoTs up
- Use Energy Drain to refill and build stacks
- Spend Aetherflow during raid windows
- Enkindle in burns
- Practice weaving; don't chase perfection
Surprisingly simple? Yes. Will it feel messy while you learn? Absolutely! But if you focus on pets, timing, and realistic weaving, you’ll see steady improvement. I’ll keep tuning my approach as patches arrive in 2025 — and you should too.
— a Summoner who’s been around since duty finder days
