Let me reiterate in a way that lays it all out as clear as I can.
Sorry I'm late. I'm not gonna lie, I honestly think this is the best post I've ever seen on these forums. Might be because of my bias for Summoners, but still.
As a Summoner main, I sometimes find it borderline annoying having to deal with the people who give me crud just for enjoying the class I play. I can understand that everyone has opinions, just like how I think the Warrior is too invincible, the Ranger is too one-dimensional and the Mage is too powerful.
I think one of the reasons I like the Summoner so much is because, on my 1.1 character, I use multiple types of weapons that don't always synergize well with my Hallowed armor. I liked being a supersoldier that could use anything effectively. My Summoner not only has a plethora of cute little friends, but also the freedom of choice for whatever weapon I want. I don't feel limited because I really am a jack of all trades, with the effects of my weapons complimenting the superb work of the minions.
As the quoted post stated, the reason people think the Summoner is bad and has low DPS is because apparently it's popular opinion that Summoners should not use any weapons besides their minions. And that the Summoner would be overpowered if it was totally viable on its own throughout all stages of the game, since it would still be able to use other weapons to increase their DPS even further than other classes. The OP has stated that he wanted more ways for minions to be more useful and interesting, and not just straight damage upgrades. While I am not against that, that's the point of being able to use weapons freely. Weapons like the Golden Shower and Daybreak are up to your choice to use for their special effects, like Ichor helping the supposedly bland minions do much more damage, or Nanites keeping enemies away so your minions don't always have to stay right next to you to keep you out of trouble; if minions could do things like that on their own, they might just be a little broken (although Scarecrow's idea of support minions is rather flawless).
To put this in perspective, take a look at our adorable little Stardust Cells, which are often overshadowed by the Stardust Dragon. They have great use in attacking both bosses and hordes of enemies; not just because of their DoT, but because of the added effect of firing their own shots at whatever enemy you're striking, without interrupting their current fire rate. Try it by summoning the Cells and hitting a Target Dummy, which they would never attack otherwise. These minions were designed for teamwork;
encouraging people to use weapons that benefit this playstyle, rather than relying on minions for everything.
I feel like people think the Summoner is for those who can't aim, or are too lazy to attack. Although the former reason is completely true to me, I think the Summoner is for those who want a little more freedom in how they play. I'm not saying that other classes should purely stick to their own weapons either; I have a sword on my Rangers in case I'm out of ammo, for example.
I hear that there's no point to attacking since your damage is nothing compared to your minions. But some people don't realize that your own damage is a pretty crucial part of your total DPS as well as your survivability. You're just sacrificing some of your would-be power for an army of little cuties. With the minions' power combined with your own, you are able to kill many things very quickly, rivaling the power of the other classes.
Some people may think the Summoner is easy and requires no skill, but there's really a lot more to it than meets the eye. The Summoner is not merely a game of dodge-everything; that's only when you decide to let your minions do everything and not bothering to help them. Why dodge an enemy when you can punch it out of the way with the Golem Fist, or outright kill it instantly with an Influx Waver? You won't need to dodge so much if you help your minions clear out enemies swiftly; this applies for every class. I'm not gonna mention bosses, because bosses are bosses; you're supposed to learn how to evade them regardless of the class you're playing. When we look at the current weakest class, the Thrower, you will learn that it's important to keep your distance, aim properly, and evade many attacks since Fossil armor's defense is only 12. Much of the Thrower's DPS is caused by either Bone Javelins' DoT, or the swarm of bees from the Beenades. Because the DoT is slow, and the bees pierce which give enemies brief invulnerability, your damage isn't extraordinary. This basically requires you to survive by dodging a lot while your in-play throwing weapons are doing the work. It's basically the same case with the 'pure-Summoner.' Your damage isn't great and you have to outlast the enemy; you won't outlast unless you dodge. But if you make an effort to use good weapons with a good setup to compliment both you and your minions, you will truly shine. That's how it was designed.
I feel like I wrote too much, but I hope this sorta clears up a lot of the misconceptions about the Summoner that I've been hearing for the past year or so.
in' around now, aren't you? Hell, I don't care! Do it if that's what floats your engine!
