Summoner or Cyclic Warrior easier to build and stronger for rift pushing?

[Rontemon]

I have done everything in the game except for pushing the rift with a proper build.. I am now in the midst of farming Azure Memories: Stymied with a Berserker cheese build on Lufenia difficulty /w rank XI dragon trial for relic gear for the right job affinity and the right summon blessings..

Getting bored.. I really want to setup my build asap and start playing the Rift.

I want to know between Summoner and Cyclic warrior, which is easier to build for a start and stronger in the process to keep upgrading as I keep pushing the rift?

[⭕TheSodaman]

Originally posted by Merciful:

I have done everything in the game except for pushing the rift with a proper build.. I am now in the midst of farming Azure Memories: Stymied with a Berserker cheese build on Lufenia difficulty /w rank XI dragon trial for relic gear for the right job affinity and the right summon blessings..

Getting bored.. I really want to setup my build asap and start playing the Rift.

I want to know between Summoner and Cyclic warrior, which is easier to build for a start and stronger in the process to keep upgrading as I keep pushing the rift?

Physical Summoner will clear bosses faster.

Magic Cyclic Warrior can be more convenient.

Though if you're in the 22~100ish range and you're coming from the Lufenia ML+ 180 Stymied, you'll be defeating bosses or enemies quickly enough that won't be noticeable until later.

The job affinity will be on the quicker side due to Fuse, though auto-dismantle gets in the way of this since it can delete the 1-stars through 5-stars a player might use for this along with some stronger item effects hiding out on lower rarity gear.

The gear slot with the perfect blessing for the job will take time versus just using something that is good enough until that better piece comes along. Then you fuse everything over to the perfect blessing later if still playing the game.

And then to keep an eye out for higher base job affinity from unidentified relics if you're climbing. (e.g., 190% on the 1-handed weapon and gear, 270% on the 2-handed weapon, and then any of the double slot armors - generally keeping those. Though for raw progression, you can get away with 200% across your armor and 250% on your weapon (or weapon + shield)).

[Rontemon]

Originally posted by ⭕TheSodaman:

Physical Summoner will clear bosses faster.

Magic Cyclic Warrior can be more convenient.

What do you mean by more convenient? As in less buffing/skill cancelling swapping required?

Which is easier and less cumbersome to play?

Especially when it comes to having deal with the light-bringer buff.

It seems most high level end-game builds relies heavily on light-bringer buff.

I'd prefer a lower APM (low intensity) job.

[⭕TheSodaman]

Originally posted by Merciful:

Originally posted by ⭕TheSodaman:

Physical Summoner will clear bosses faster.

Magic Cyclic Warrior can be more convenient.

What do you mean by more convenient? As in less buffing/skill cancelling swapping required?

Which is easier and less cumbersome to play?

Especially when it comes to having deal with the light-bringer buff.

It seems most high level end-game builds relies heavily on light-bringer buff.

I'd prefer a lower APM (low intensity) job.

Magic-based Cyclic Warrior then.

The core setup below, if you have access to Lionheart or Hermes Sandal, that helps.

One Leviathan primary blessing.
All other relics: Ramuh for Intellect, else Sylph, else Shiva or Fenrir.

Job: Cyclic Warrior (Primal Warrior)

Primary Blessing: Leviathan to recover max MP and MP with each successful soul shield.

Affinities:
* At least Cyclic Warrior 600% (from master points) to trigger a successful soul shield each time you trigger a Bringer. And you trigger a Bringer every time you use your job action.
* Knight 400% for invincibility during Lightbringer.
* Void Knight 120% for increase MP limit boost rate.
* Paladin 400% for status ailment immunity. Alternative is Status Ailment Resistance 100% across your gear and/or master points to free up two affinity slots.
* Evoker 120% to recover more max MP and MP with Cyclic Warrior 600% even though that is normally supposed to affect just allies, not self.
* Samurai 120% for the action ability MP cost to make the job action cost less (since there are no MP Cost: Soul of Chaos gear in the game.)
* Summoner 400% for convenience to refresh buffs with each successful soul shield.
* Black Mage 400% to assist with rebuilding max MP due to Max MP Trials taking a toll on this playstyle. Once built up, if you hit the boss with your job action, you're going to sustain.

This should leave one affinity slot remaining with imperfect gear and imperfect accessories. Mostly to deal with trials, would say to push Summoner to 600%.

Command abilities:
* Lunatic for attack speed to complete the job action sooner.
Up to you for the remaining.
* Personally, I liked Flee to run through rift missions a little faster.
* And the Teleport command to reposition myself when fighting faster bosses during Enemy Attacks Deplete Trials (floor 130, 300, others.)
* Dimension Bringer since you'll be able to build up to 20 soul shield stacks and pop a very long Dimension Bringer if needed or desired.

Master points:
* Cyclic Warrior job affinity, at least until your total is 600%
* Category 4's Increase MP Limit Boost Rate
* Category 4's Action Ability MP Cost
* Category 3's Soul Shield: MP Recovery - just enough to get yourself to or at max
* Category 1's Intellect, max it out for damage
* Category 2's Damage Taken at Max HP until it is close to -100% due to strict diminishing returns after -100% so that your Lightbringers last a little longer when hit (except for Enemy Attacks Deplete Buffs).

And then trying to see where you can squeeze out damage with anything that's remaining such as Category 3's Soul Shield Damage Dealt.

Gear effects:
* Action Ability MP Cost to keep the job action's cost down. Easing up around -100% in total.
* Intellect for damage.
* During Lightbringer: Damage Dealt or whatever the highest percentage based damage dealt you have that works.
* Damage Dealt: Soul of Chaos is a bonus to assist with damage dealt.

For convenience, bonus if you have MP Cost: Lunatic, Flee, Teleport, etc. to help with the initial application or reapplication during trials.

I tend to put Status Ailment Resistance on my weapon and accessory for my most builds to free up two affinities instead of using Paladin 400% or the Ribbon accessory. (Usually to avoid Silence, Paralysis, and Curse, even on non-face tank builds.)

Your gameplay loop in the Rift will typically consist of drinking a hi-ether or mega ether while in the lobby. Then going into the boss rush and continuing to spam Earthquake until its time to soul burst. If you're doing a linked gateway into a boss rift, quickly flip through to the mega ether, get Lunatic up, use your job action on literally nothing to get your Lightbringer going, then go in.

If you're facing an enemy action speed increased Rift, then the first thing you do is your job action. As Death Machine can end your run very quickly. Avoid any rift that has both enemy action speed and Enemy Attacks Deplete Buffs. And generally, try to avoid any 5-star Enemy Attacks Deplete Buffs trials until you have both Void Knight 600% and Dragoon 400% (whether monsters, an accessory, or perfect affinities lending itself to more room.)

Be careful buffing up on Command Ability MP Cost trials. Lunatic being the most important for survival generally.

Also be careful with trying to dodge, soul shield, or use a command ability to interrupt your job action as that will consume all the MP, but since the animation is interrupted, you won't restore any max MP or MP.

Would recommend having a second device going to watch shows or something. Then paying attention for Enemy Attack Deplete Buffs or Death Machine fights.

Edit: Monsters consisting of the Ahriman / floating eye and the Buchephalus / nightmare horse for Intellect. Long term, the job affinities for Mage, Black Mage, Void Knight, and Sage contributing to damage (with Void Knight pushing you toward Haste. Neon can help advance this. Sophia with Black Mage first.)

And then having a preference for the Bomb and the Behemoth for Damage Dealt to Bosses. Then parking Bomb during an enemy wave for Coeurl to help with job leveling.

And also preferring the Iron Giant for the action ability MP Cost reduction (unless my memory is acting up).

The second job is up to you. It tends to be the one that gets credit for monster affinities. Monk's Focus is ideal for magic HP damage or break damage. Ninja can useful for survival via Utsusemi on the Enemy Attack Deplete Buffs. Gambler to rack up buffs, though Summon Tachi can do more harm than good.