Blade & Soul Summoner Guide

In this guide, we will discuss some of the most important aspects of the Summoner and provide a basic guide for a good Summoner build that will work well in many situations. This versatile build should be good for PvP as well as PvE, and as you play the class more and more information about the NA version comes out, you can make adjustments to the build in accordance with your playstyle. Note that all terms and skill names are subject to change due to translation alterations.

First, let's talk about skills. The skill system in Blade and Soul is a little complex, but you need to know it to master the Summoner. Every skill has several different "forms." These forms all have different strengths and weaknesses, and you can upgrade them to various "tiers" to make them stronger. The different forms of Summoner skills vary greatly, and different builds rely on the specific characteristics of each form.

In this guide, the words "Form 3 Tier 4" will mean you take a skill's third version and upgrade it up to the fourth level. All of the forms of a certain skill share the same basic theme, but accentuate different aspects of the skill. For example, the key Rose skill on the left mouse button has some forms that have higher damage and others that provide more MP regeneration.

The Summoner has an interesting toolkit. First of all, there are several crowd-control skills that dish out stuns, grogginess, knockback, knockdown, and weakening. The Summoner also has a cat that will deal out as well as absorb a lot of damage. The two targets create a lot of problems for other classes such as Destroyer or the Kung Fu Master as well as mobs. The Summoner has a resource called "chi," "qi," or just MP. In this guide we will call it MP. A Summoner can have a maximum of 10 MP, and it is consumed to cast most skills. The small pool of MP means much of Summoner play revolves around careful timing, so that you can replenish your MP with some skills and then spend it on others while maintaining CC effects.

The following leveling build is based around the Sunflower skill, which is bound to the right mouse button. Sunflower turns into a move called Big Sunflower under special circumstances: when they are slowed by Chestnut Burrs, when they are drained by Morning Glory, when the Summoner is stealthed, and when they are suppressed by attacks from the pet cat. The first Sunflower in those conditions is normal and the second one turns into Big Sunflower.

When you land Big Sunflower, you get one stack of a buff called Photosynthesis. It lasts for five seconds. If you manage to get five stacks, then you will get a special buff called Saturation. With Saturation, you can instant-cast Sunflower for zero MP for 3 seconds, which becomes five seconds when you get the top-tier secret skill book for Sunflower.

So the idea of the build is to take advantage of this effect. You need to set it up with the right status effects, maintain them as you cast Sunflower to get Big Sunflower, then slip in some MP regeneration to keep the whole thing going until you get Saturation. Here is how the skills work. For the first skill, Rose, max out the first form. That gives you faster cast and projectile speed and an extra point of MP regeneration, which you need. Next, take the 4th form of the Sunflower skill- the others give you Hornet, but Sunflower and Big Sunflower are keys to this combo.

For Morning Glory, take the second form. That gives you party-wide MP regeneration. Take the first form of Throwing Chestnut Burr for for the follow-up damage. Take the second form of the Dandelion counter skill for more MP regen. For the Pounce cat move on Tab, take the first form for the 2-hit stun. For the Vine skill on 1, take the second form, Ivy, which gives you a snare. Take the second form of Tendril for the DoT, put one point in Pollen, max the second form of Dandelion Seed for more MP regen, and the first form of Chestnut Burr for the extra damage. Put no points in Cheer and 3 in the second form of Friendship for the heal. Take the second form of Impact for the bleed effect. Put a point in the second form of the Bomb tree for the trap. Take Form 2 Tier 3 of Curl for some taunt power. Take Form 2 of Foxtail for the knockdown. Take Form 2 of Nyan for defense.

This build gives you a ton of crowd control, so it is perfect for both PvP and PvE. It is a little weak defensively, so be careful of the health of your pet. You need to learn a rotation to get to Saturation. The key is to alternate Rose and Sunflower to get the MP for the Sunflower repetition.

For example, open with Ivy for poison, use Rose for MP and then add Chestnut Burrs. Alternate Rose and Sunflower for Photosynthesis stacks, then when the burrs wear off use Morning Glory to kick off another sequence of Rose and Sunflower, add more Burrs, and when you hit Saturation mash Big Sunflower. You will need to adjust for some status-immune bosses and such, but this is a strong all-purpose build.