One of the reasons why the turn-based combat never gets old throughout your entire playthrough ofMetaphor: ReFantaziois the fantastic archetype system. An attribute of the archetype system that helps it stand out from other JRPG job systems is the variety of different classes available.
When you add Eupha to your party, you’ll unlock theSummoner archetype lineage, and it stands out from most of the other archetypes by prompting you to unlock more summons through the special experiments with More instead of unlocking new abilities by leveling up. However, not all of these summons are equal, so which should you unlock first?
7Summon Kishin
Archetype Ability
One of the main strengths of party members that use the Summoner archetype lineage is the wide variety of types of magic damage they can deal. This, of course, includes electric damage. If you have the Devil Summoner archetype, you can use the Summon Kishin ability to deal an impressive amount of electric magic damage.
This ability summons Thor, a recurring character within the Shin Megami Tensei series and all of its spin-offs, and it will deal medium electric damage to one target two to four times. This is a great way to deal damage to a single electric-vulnerable enemy, but its only weakness is how much you’re leaving to chance, with the difference between two and four hits being pretty significant.
Part of the reason why the Summoner is so useful is that they’ll have access to damage types that are relatively rare when considering what isavailable on the archetype tree, and one of the harder types to have access to is dark magic damage.
If you unlock Summon Undead King, you’ll get access to this pretty rare damage type, and the severe amount of damage dealt is perfect for taking out enemies with high HP. The ability has a chance to potentially one-hit kill targets, but this is usually ineffective against bosses. However, for standard enemies, this can often save time and help you get an Unscathed bonus.
5Summon Fury
Synthesis Ability
If you want to access the most powerful Summoner attacks, then you’ll want to keep an eye on which synthesis skills you may use, especially if you have the turn icons to spare. There is only a smallselection of synthesis skillsfor the Summoner, but they are pretty versatile.
For example, the Summon Fury ability will deal extreme strike magic damage to all enemies on the field, as well as inflicting an attack and defense debuff for three turns. This will usually be an effective attack worth the MP and turn cost, but verify to check that none of the enemies on the field are resistant to strike, since this is surprisingly common in the late-game.
4Summon Fairy (Modified)
If you put a lot of active effort into building up the pool of summons your Summoner archetype user has access to, you’ll be able to develop summons that are augmented versions of previously unlocked summons, labeled modified summons.
One of the most effective modified summons is the modified Summon Fairy ability. This will deal heavy ice damage to all of the enemies on the field and inflict frostbite, one of the most debilitating status ailments, since it reduces damage dealt.
3Summon Harvest God
It’s easy to focus on all the damage-dealing abilities that the Summoner has access to, since it’s easy to make them one of the most powerful party members in your team, but on occasion, this archetype can be incredibly useful for healing, too.
While it has a high cost, using Summon Harvest God can completely turn the tide of battle. Even if your Summoner isn’t fully built, switching them into combat to use this ability will completely revive all fallen party members with full HP. So if you’re happy keeping your Summoner in your reserves, this is one ability to invest in.
2Summon Tyrant
Likely, the synthesis ability you’ll get the most use out of with your Summoner, Summon Tyrant will almost always be an effective option, well worth the turns and MP you’ll need to sacrifice to pull it off.
Summoning Beelzebub, you’ll deal severe almighty damage to all the enemies on the field, and there is a good chance of dealing the hex status effect as well. It is almost impossible for enemies to resist almighty damage. Hex will make the enemy take damage whenever they deal damage and make them more susceptible to dark damage, too.
1Summon Dragon God (Modified)
Summon Dragon God is one of the first abilities your Summoner will have access to, but it is one of the summons you’ll definitely want to go out of your way to upgrade to its modified form.
The modified Dragon God will deal extreme fire damage to every enemy on the field and will also lower their attack and defense for three turns. On top of the fantastic damage output, this is a great way to soften up either bosses or standard enemies at the start of an encounter to help the rest of the fight go in your favor.
