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General Summoner's Guide

Discussion in 'Mage Guides' started by Sie_Sayoka, Jul 27, 2010.

  1. Sie_Sayoka Public Enemy #1

    [General Summoner's Guide]
    The summoner is the goddess of PvE. Unmatched in both DPS and self sufficiency it is the ideal class to use to solo dungeons and farm. Although a little slow at first once you hit lv30 its just death and destruction from there.

    Please note that this guide is outdated! I post it here to give beginning summoners a general idea on the mechanics and gameplay of a summoner. If you want a build I highly recommend that you ask for it in the summoner questions thread. This guide was created before the priest patch.

    [Contents]
    Introduction
    Skills
    Skills Cont.
    Builds
    Game Mechanics
    Equipment
    Tips
    Feedback





    [Links]
    • DFO World Wiki - The best wiki on DFO, although heavily under construction they offer a great deal of information, they also have youtube videos of all the skills.
    • Mage MP Regen Equipment - A list of items I compiled that states all of the leather and cloth items that give MP/Min.
    • Mage casting equipment - A list of casting equipment for those of you who PvP.
    • Warpule's Guide - This is a pretty good guide showing the technical aspects of summons, my only complaint is that it is very messy.
    • Summoner Questions - Go here to ask any questions pertaining to summoners.
    • Stat Growth By Level - This will give you the information in order to calculate the base stats of your summoner.
    • Summoner Builds - While I don't agree with many of the builds here, the thread contains a great wealth of knowledge.
    • PTS Summon Changes - Lists changes that the priest patch may bring.
    • Contract Guide - Contains in-depth information on contract summoners.

    [Terminology]
    • PvP - Player Vs Player.
    • PvE - Player Vs Enemy.
    • SP - Skill Points.
    • HP - Hit/Health Points.
    • MP - Mana Points.
    • PROC - Programmed Random Occurrence, basically a percentage to do something.
    • DPS - Damage Per Second.
    • NPC - Non-Playable Character, includes GSD, Lost Girl, Reckless Slayer, etc.
    • 1st Tier - The 1st tier of elementals: Wisp, Ador, Naias, and Stalker.
    • 2nd Tier - The 2nd tier of elementals: Glarine, Flame Hulk, Aquarius, and Dead Murker.
  2. Sie_Sayoka Public Enemy #1

    [Skills]

    [Elemental]
    • Florae Circle - One of the most important skills for a PvE Summoner. I will cover this later in the guide.
    • Lantern Firebomb - Only get for pre-requisites.
    • Aerial Lantern Firebomb - A decent skill that allows you to push yourself while jumping. Mainly an escape skill.
    • Frosty's Head - Only get for pre-requisites.
    • Pluto - This is a decent attack skill, it always has a set range meaning it can go through objects and enemies as well. It also attacks from the front and back of your enemies as well. It is not recommended to level this past 1 for your main attack, unless needed for pre-requisites.
    • Magic Festival - A very important spell for PvP summoners, it's applications within PvE are limited.
    • Elemental Burn - This adds enormous amounts of INT to your summoner if all elements are activated, contract summoners benefit the most from this skill. The large amount of SP required deters most from getting this skill.

    [Battle Mage]
    • Weapon Uppercut - Default is at 1, should not be leveled unless for PvP builds.
    • Cancel Weapon Uppdercut - Do not level.
    • Dragon Fang - PvP Builds.
    • Mana Shield - Many summoners choose to get this skill, it is a necessity for PvP builds. However for PvE I personally find it unnecessary but many people find it useful. Summoners are not supposed to get hit.
    • Phase Shift - PvP builds. Many PvE get this as well for the same reasons stated above.
    • Palm Blast - PvP builds.

    [Witch]
    • Magic Missile - Default is at 1, should not be leveled.
    • Cancel Magic Missile - Stupidest cancel ever, do not level.
    • Shururu - Some PvE summoners might get this, however it is not needed.
    • Disenchant - PvP builds.
    • Ancient Library- Very important skill, its basically free Mana. If you are wealthy (10~20m) and can afford a good Mp Regen set do not get this skill, however for the rest of us poor folk this is your best friend. Max it if poor.

    [General]
    • Cloth Armor Mastery - Cannot be leveled, this is the default armor mastery mages get. So obviously you want to wear cloth armor. It gives 100% mana regen, meaning that if an item says +10 mp/min you will regen +20 mp/min. It should also be noted that the level and amount of INT on the armor determines your bonus INT you will recieve.
    • Indomitable Spirit - PvP Build.
    • Ancient Memory - This adds INT, contract summoners will benefit the most from this.
    • Backstep - Do not level, some PvP builds may recommend this.
    • Backstep Cancel - Read Above.
    • Physical Critical Hit - Do not level.
    • Physical Rear Attack - Do not level.
    • Magical Critical Hit - Do not level.
    • Magical Rear Attack - Do not level.
    • Throw Mastery - Do not level.
    • Quick Rebound - PvP Build.
    • Leap - PvP Build.
    • Cancel Item Throw - Do not level.


    [Summoner]

    Hired Summon: Panzer Hodor - The necessity for nearly all of the summoners skills. He throws rocks and hits stuff with his club. At lv5 he throws rocks, and at 10 he throws bombs. He may randomly shout, "FUCK." (or so we believe in his goblinish accent.)
    ____Pros:
    • Great for PvP, due to rock spam he can hit stun lock some opponents to enable you to summon more.
    • Has a high chance to stun.
    • He has a little movement buff that makes him run around fast.
    • Cool name.
    ____Cons:
    • Because he only gains a couple of levels for each point you put into him there will be a widening level difference as you level up. This means that his stun will have a lower chance.
    • Because he throws bombs you will often find yourself dead in levels that have plants in it, such as dendroid forest.

    Lasher - One of the only attacks for the summoner, this skill buffs your summons and your allies. There are lasher builds (which I will go over later) but since I have never seen a lasher summoner the validity of this build is debatable. Lolita S&M, doesn't get much better than this.
    ____Pros:
    • Buffs stack, they are pretty decent but you would need to pump some serious SP in order for it to be noticeable.
    • PROC affects lasher on party and summons. This means that you can kill party members with weapons like Longinus spear. It should be noted that skills like keiga are unaffected by lasher.
    ____Cons:
    • It causes hitstun for your summons, this is retarded and makes this a shitty skill to buff.
    • Since it only lasts for 20 seconds and stacks 3x on summons this means that you will have to constantly whip them around.
    • Limited range, will often get you killed.
    • It has a start up time that will also get you killed.
    Summoned Creature Aura - Most people do not realize the importance of damage this skill has on your summoner. It increases attack strength AND critical hit for your summons, both of the percentages are very high.
    ____Pros:
    • As stated above it is for damage, Critical hits do 1.5x damage. This means at lv10 it will have 40% to do 1.5x damage + 20% damage or 44% more damage on average.
    ____Cons:
    • Since its bonuses for PvP are halved, PvP builds can take some points out of this to spend elsewhere.
    Hired Summon: Freet - This guy sucks at lower levels, but if you invest into him it should be worth the points.
    ____Pros:
    • Great for PvP, hes basically a sniper rifle and shotgun.
    ____Cons:
    • Since he uses fire watch out on those plant dungeons (Dendroid jungle)
    Spirit Summon: Ador - What harry potter would look like if he were a fireball.
    ____Pros:
    • Somewhat easy to multi-summon.
    • Has a chance to do damage twice within one hit.
    • Good Z range (Up/down) only 1st tier able to hit low enemies suck at stickles.
    ____Cons:
    • Dendroid...
    Spirit Summon: Naias - The great healer that puts crusaders to shame.
    ____Pros:
    • When summoned, he will heal 2% of the person farthest left within a party. This happens whenever you summon him and you can regain all of your hp.
    • Has both ranged and melee attacks, is the only 1st tier summon with ranged attack.
    • Easily multi-summoned, especially after you get louis.
    • PROC freeze
    ____Cons:
    • None.
    Spirit Summon: Wisp - IMO the best skill for summoners. Wisp can be summoned en masse very easily and has a good PROC to stun. Notice how the chains and shackles reinforce my lolita S&M theory?
    ____Pros:
    • Most easily multi-summoned, will make up most of your army at higher levels.
    • Reflects light attacks, including florae.
    • Has the longest melee range of all 1st tier elementals.
    ____Cons:
    • None.
    Spirit Summon: Stalker - Nothing really special about this guy, he looks sad.
    ____Pros:
    • Does the highest damage of all 1st tier elementals.
    • Has the fastest start up attack time of all 1st tier elementals.
    ____Cons:
    • The hardest to multi-summon.
    Summoner's Train - Great skill in order to protect your loli. Stupidest skill name ever.
    ____Pros:
    • Adds defense and vitality to your and your summons, increases hostility and speed for summons.
    • Makes your summons highly agressive when maxed.
    ____Cons:
    • Not a necessity, you can leave this at 1.
    Hired Summon Black Knight Sandor - "Sandor's my secret crush, he's so loyal!" Just for clarification the healing aura heals himself.
    ____Pros:
    • Decent tank.
    • Decent damage.
    • Bunch of auras.
    • Aggressive.
    ____Cons:
    • Knocks down enemies which blocks other summons from attacking them.
    • Auras are not always active.
    • Can become glitched.
    Mark the Target - An even stupider name for a skill with an even worse sound effect. One of the best offensive skills for a summoner.
    ____Pros:
    • Increases summons damage, vision, and hostility.
    • Does magic damage.
    • "Marks" a target, making your summons frenzy on the poor bastard.
    ____Cons:
    • Like train it can be left at 1 although great when maxed.
    • Low range at lv1.
  3. Sie_Sayoka Public Enemy #1

    [Skills Cont.]

    Spirit Summon: Dead Murker - Dead burger.
    ____Pros:
    • One of your main damage dealers if you are a hybrid/elemental summoner.
    • Blinds.
    ____Cons:
    • Utterly stupid at lower levels, he will often just sit in the corner while your other summons are off dying.
    • Has very low aggression as well, will walk diagonally around an enemy but not attack.
    • Does the least damage of all 2nd tier.
    Spirit Summon: Flame Hulk - Lame hulk.
    ____Pros:
    • Highest damage of 2nd tier.
    • Leaves fire after he dies that damages enemies. You can summon multiple ador from this.
    • PROC to burn.
    ____Cons:
    • Has low aggression as well, but not as bad as murker.
    Spirit Summon: Aquarius - Aquarium
    ____Pros:
    • Can summon multiple naias from waterfall attack.
    • Has PROC to freeze.
    ____Cons:
    • Weak, will often die at lower levels.
    • Delayed ranged attack.
    Spirit Summon: Glarine - Gary. Personally my favorite summon, at lv5 he becomes a lightning kinoll, except sexier.
    ____Pros:
    • PROC electrocution.
    • Great x axis attack.
    ____Cons:
    • Delayed ranged attack.
    • Weak as well.
    Hired Summon: Hellflower Aukuso - I like this summon as well. It has both melee attacks as well as ranged. Being a flower, it doesn't move. The immobility becomes a double edged sword, although not moving sucks it can be used strategically such as placing it in the bottleneck on the 1st spine boss. Or placing it right on immobile bosses.
    ____Pros:
    • Great ranged attack, decent range as well.
    • Strong melee attacks.
    • Awesome tank.
    • Poison and confusion gas at lv10.
    • Tends to aggro monsters.
    ____Cons:
    • Immobile.
    • Takes a lot of SP to get to lv10.
    • Delayed ranged attack.
    Hired Summon: Big Sis Louise! - The essential summon that no summoner should be without. She has one of the highest DPS, looks awesome and laughs like a Korean, what isn't there to like?
    ____Pros:
    • Icicle attack rapes everything.
    • Fireball attack does decent damage.
    • Casts meteor when she dies.
    • Multiple icicles allow for multi-summon naias.
    ____Cons:
    • Knocks down enemies with melee attack.
    • Fireball can screw you on tentacle dungeons.
    • Delayed icicle attack.
    Spirit Summon: Spirit King Echeverria - First off the "king" has boobs. Also is a very controversial summon due to the fact of the high sp requirements. However like all summons, he(she? idk) gets better when you level it.
    ____Pros:
    • Pushes enemies with crescent attack, crescent also has incredible range and hits enemies multiple times.
    • Decent damage.
    • Great tank.
    • Lightning attack is awesome.
    • Teleport behind attackers.
    ____Cons:
    • High SP requirement.
    • Eats 2nd tier summon.
    • Doesn't float, will screw you over in Scoria.
    Spirit Sacrifice - To be honest I don't know much about sacrificial skills. However I do know from what I've read that this skill should be left at 1. It eats all 1st tier summons regardless if you leveled the passives.
    ____Pros:
    • Massive damage.
    ____Cons:
    • Long cooldown.
    Ador Sacrifice - Burn the fire.
    ____Pros:
    Burn PROC.
    • 2nd highest damage.
    ____Cons:
    • None.
    Stalker Sacrifice -
    ____Pros:
    • Highest damage.
    ____Cons:
    • Cursing PROC, IMO very lame....
    • Stalker is very hard to multi summon.
    Naias Sacrifice -
    ____Pros:
    • Freeze PROC.
    • Can multi summon naias from icicles.
    • If positioned right all icicles hit target.
    ____Cons:
    • Lowest damage.
    Wisp Sacrifice - Murderer.
    ____Pros:
    • Electrocution PROC.
    • Stacking damage if enemies are in a group.
    • Attacks all enemies in the sacrifice circle, regardless of where wisp was.
    • Can hit flying enemies.
    ____Cons:
    • Delayed attack.
    Zealous Creature - Shunzaka, sounds awesome right? Except it isn't. IMO not worth the points for lasher and the skill itself. Do not level past 1 as the bonuses per SP is horrible. This will benefit contract summoners the most. FYI it says it takes health from your summons, but when I checked their hp with lasher they didn't have any less HP.
    ____Pros:
    • Adds Str, Int, and speed.
    • Reduces skill downtime.
    • Cool animation and sound effect.
    ____Cons:
    • Lots of SP to get.
    • Bonuses aren't that much compared to other buffs.
    Spirit Bond - This skill isn't for those of you who are PvE. However for PvP it is great.
    ____Pros:
    • More duration, less cooldown.
    ____Cons:
    • SP to level.
    • Rubbish in PvE as you can just resummon.
    Hired Summon: Conquer Kasijas - You get to summon an Apostle, how awesome are you? I haven't awakened yet so I can't tell you how useful he is.
    ____Pros:
    • Awesome damage.
    • Awesome graphics.
    • Useful in confined rooms.
    ____Cons:
    • Drains HP.
    • 50 SP a level.
    • Short Duration.
    • Must be on same X axis to use special.
  4. Sie_Sayoka Public Enemy #1

    [Builds]

    There are various different builds but they generally fall into 5 categories:
    • Hybrid- The most common build, has the highest DPS. Great for PvE
    • Contract- Utilizes hired summons.
    • Elemental- Utilizes elementals, not common at all.
    • Sacrificial- Uses spirit sacrifice.
    • PvP- Relies on utility and other skill trees in order to win battles.
    • Other- Includes unconventional or experimental builds.

    [Cookie Cutter Builds]
    Basically these are the bare essential skills that you need as a summoner. The remaining SP can be used to level whatever you want.


    Recommended Builds:
    These are builds that I have made based on experience. Although for builds such as sacrificial and PvP I am just going on what I have read from others.

    Hybrid A

    Under Construction.
  5. Sie_Sayoka Public Enemy #1

    [Game Mechanics]

    [hide="Fixed and Percentage Damage Summons"]
    Fixed Damage:
    • Panzer Hodor
    • Freet
    • Sandor
    • Louis
    • Aukuso
    • Naias
    • Wisp
    • Stalker
    • Ador
    • Kasijas

    Percentage Damage:
    • Aquarius
    • Flame Hulk
    • Glarine
    • Dead Murker
    • Spirit King
    [/hide]
  6. Sie_Sayoka Public Enemy #1

    [Equipment]

    Please refer to this thread for a complete list of equips for summoners. Since cloth armor already has pathetic defense you would want to choose items based upon their bonuses instead of their level. However there is an exception, since higher level items give you more INT if you are a contract summoner using a high level Int set or even using 2 sets (Int for summoning, regen for AFKing) would be the most ideal. I will not cover items that have extravagant prices such as pinks or legacies.

    [Ideal Mp/Min Equips]
    Mp/min items are totally optional depending on your style of play. Some people love AFKing in the middle of the dungeon, personally I hate it. Summoners already gain a significant amount of mp regen from their level growth so getting these items are not mandatory.

    There has been a debate as to whether or not these items save you money as pots are somewhat cheap. IMO mp regen is vastly superior because of several reasons:
    • No matter what you will eventually save money by buying equips.
    • I hate using pots.
    • Often pots will be scarce or even non-existent in merchants.
    • Pots have cooldown, this is problematic especially in boss rooms where you need to summon a LOT.
    • You can use pots AND mp regen.

    Cloth bonuses give 100% mana regen so for the totals just multiply it by 2.

    Lv 20:
    • Avatars x2 +30 or +48
    • Scholar Armguard +30
    • Ring of Fairy Age +9
    • Shadow Touch +15
    • Flare Skirt +12
    • Shoulder Warmer +30
    • Gentleman's Robe +15
    • Angry Locke +30

    Total: 171~189 mp/min

    End Game:

    • Avatars x2 +30 or +48
    • Honorary GBL +18
    • Scholar Armguard +30
    • Ring of Fairy Age +9
    • Belmyre Star +24
    • Flare Skirt +12
    • Shoulder Warmer +30
    • Enchanted Elven Robe +24
    • Lucid Roll or Something Else +30 or +0

    Total: 177~225 mp/min

    Weapons:
    It is interesting to note that before lv30 the attack of your weapon doesn't matter, unless you are using something like lasher as your main source of damage.
  7. Sie_Sayoka Public Enemy #1

    [Tips]

    [hide="Scoria and lava"]While in Scoria keep in mind which summons float and which don't.
    Floating Summons
    • Naias
    • Wisp
    • Ador
    • Flame Hulk
    • Glarine
    • Aquarius
    • Dead Murker
    • Louis
    • Freet

    Walking Summons
    • Panzer Hodor
    • Stalker
    • Sandor
    • Aukuso
    • Spirit King
    [/hide]
    [hide="Multi summon sources"]
    Here are all of the sources that you can multi summon from.
    Ador
    • Torches (In Sky Tower)
    • Oil bomb fire.
    • Hulk death fire.
    • Plant fire
    • Dendroids (They will drop fire when attacked by fire. Lodin Glow, the boss of Dendroid Jungle will drop fire even when not attacked by a fire weapon.)
    • Fire Chaser.
    • Fire ranged attacks.
    • Flame thrower source.
    • Meteor.
    • Explosions.
    • Spirit King lightning attack.
    Naias
    • Fountains (Sky tower, Behemoth in the background)
    • Louis' icicles.
    • Louis' ice pillar.
    • Naias' ranged attack.
    • Aqarius' waterfall attack.
    • Frosty's head.
    • Ice walls.
    • Arctic blast.
    • Icicles (Static object in Storm Pass)
    • Saya.
    • Acid Rain.
    • Water Chaser.
    • Avalanche.
    Wisp
    • Florae Circle
    • Lightning (Any source, though you have to be quick)
    • Nen attacks.
    • Light chaser.
    • Laser Attack Source.
    • Light ranged attacks.
    Stalker
    • Pluto.
    • Void.
    • Black Hole.
    • Tombstone.
    • Shadow Chaser.
    • Poison/Darkness Traps.
    [/hide]
    [hide="Naias and heals"]
    IMO a good summoner should always make it a habit to summon naias whenever the cooldown is over, especially when in a party. Although 2% does not seem like a lot, over the course of the dungeon you will heal a staggering amount.

    Something to note about the heals, it will always heal NPCs first. So while in dungeons like hatchery it is recommended that you do not release the NPCs if you want to heal.[/hide]
    [hide="Stats/Skill level and casting"]
    When you summon or use a spell the stats and skill level are taken into affect when the skill is cast. It will remain that way for the entire skill duration regardless if your stats change. For example you cast ancient memory and your int is 1000, you then summon. Even when ancient memory wears off your summons stats will not change. This pertains to contract summons and 1st tier elementals only, for percentage summons they will still receive a defensive/hp bonus from your INT. However their damage is directly tied in with your current MATTK. Another exception is Louis, while most of her attacks are fixed, there was one that was based on percentage... although I forgot which one.

    The same goes for mana shield and +skill items such as flourence. You can swap them and the summons/skill will be the same as long as it is active.

    [/hide]
  8. Sie_Sayoka Public Enemy #1

    [Feedback]
    [hide=Soltis]
    [/hide]
  9. Archie Mexocan

  10. Sie_Sayoka Public Enemy #1

  11. geenareeno Not gReenareeno

    Awesome. Can't wait for the other builds.
  12. Shrike New Member

    The arad society skill planners aren't online anymore...

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