Summoners (Su) are unique in that the damage type they do is neither Striking, Ranged nor the typical Technique. All pet damage is classified as Tech-typed, but pet attacks cannot be Just Attacked, charged or affected by an Element Mastery.
That presents big problems for choosing a subclass. Even subclasses with good synergy can still have half their skill tree dead in the water. Most classes tend to aim for a subclass that multiplies damage by around 1.7x, while the average subclass boost for Summoner tends to hover around 1.27x.
These are the subclasses that can put at least some of their skills to use when paired with Summoner.
Braver
| Skills | Effect | |
| Baseline | Average Stance | 1.265x vs mobs |
| Bosses | Weak Stance | 1.485x vs boss weak points |
| Others | Attack Advance | 1.5x on normal attacks |
Braver (Br) has emerged as a popular choice for its consistency with Average Stance, and decent damage bonuses against bosses with Weak Stance. Not much to say here, this is a straightforward, reliable and easy to use subclass.
Su/Br gets the Stance Charge bonus on Torim Spiral, making for big numbers on that attack.
As a side bonus, a Su/Br also has access to Guren Tessen for fast travel.
Gunner
| Skills | Effect | |
| Baseline | Perfect Keeper RATK Up 2 & 3 | ~1.27x vs mobs |
| Bosses | Chain Trigger Chain Finish | One burst every 60 sec |
| Others | Attack PP Restorate Aerial Advance | 2x PP recovery on normals 1.2x vs airborne targets |
Gunner (Gu) with Pet Switch Shoot offers comparable baseline damage to Braver in Average Stance, while trading consistent weak point damage vs. bosses in Weak Stance for better PP management and Chain Trigger.
With Attack PP Restorate, a Su/Gu can charge a tech while the pet uses normal attacks, and come out with a significant net gain in PP, or go from empty PP to full in three attacks.
Due to Perfect Keeper working with Zanverse, Su/Gu also has a slightly better Zanverse than most class combos, at 24% rather than 20%.
Su/Gu can use Grim Barrage for travel of course, but that’s more expensive and slower than Guren.
Fighter
| Skills | Effect | |
| Baseline | Brave Stance SATK Up 2 & 3 | ~1.59x vs mobs |
| Bosses | Wise Stance | 1.17x of Brave Stance on some bosses |
| Others | Chase Advance Plus | 1.15x on targets with a status effect. |
Fighter is the best subclass on paper for raw damage, with a huge caveat: Brave and Wise Stance are determined by the pet’s position, not the player’s, and there is no way to control a pet’s movement.
Widely regarded as a niche subclass. Still, when Fighter damage works, it works very well indeed, making this a great subclass in predictable fights where having the right positioning is a given.
Techer
| Skills | Effect | |
| Baseline | Elemental Weak Hit Shifta Advance TATK Up 2 | ~1.28x vs mobs |
| Bosses | N/A | N/A |
| Others | PP Restorate PP Convert Deband Cut Territory Burst Territory PP Save Super Treatment | Misc. PP management Pet damage reduced 15% Support tech range increase |
Techer does not offer much for damage, but it does have plenty of utility. PP Restorate and Convert make for excellent PP management. Territory Burst helps with Sympathy requests and crowd control. Finally, Deband Cut makes pet stupidity less punishing – 15% less, to be precise.
Unlike other class combos, where Shifta Advance is a trap, with Summoners, Shifta works on both the player’s base attack stat as well as the pet’s, provided both are hit by the buff. That means its effect is roughly doubled compared to other classes, making it slightly better than an ATK Up 2.
However, Elemental Weak Hit is a problem because pets can only be one element, and cannot change their element easily. There are currently three pets with more in the pipeline, but only ten pet slots. That makes it impossible to have one of each pet for each element, for 18 pets total and more to come.
For players willing to go through the expense of getting six copies of a single pet, this can be workable. A Techer subclass can also come in as a quick swap for Emergency Quests where enemies are of a single element.
Bouncer
| Skills | Effect | |
| Baseline | Elemental Stance Shifta Air Attack Bonus SATK Up 2 | ~1.43x vs mobs |
| Bosses | Break Stance | 1.125x of Ele. Stance vs breakables |
| Others | Deband PP Restorate Elemental PP Restorate Field | 6 PP per normal attack |
Bouncer is pretty much Techer with more damage, decent PP management and less, for the same issues with needing multi-element pets.
Essentially, for the elemental weakness subclasses, go with Bouncer for damage, go with Techer for utility.
Other Notes
Braver, Gunner and Fighter work best for general purpose subclasses. Choosing one of the three is down to personal preference and existing gear.
Bouncer and Techer do not seem to be worth the expense, but if all pets are Light element, these subclasses can be swapped in during major Emergency Quests, like Mining Base Defenses.
Hunter, Ranger and Force are pretty dead as subclasses – most of their skills will not work.
