Summoners play pretty much exactly like Warlocks in WoW. When I saw the abilities list leaked I knew that's how it was going to be so I was pretty prepared.
That being said, Summoner (and Arcanist) have some issues.
One of my guildies has a damage parser and was saying it looks like your summons do about 40% of your damage... as an Arcanist. It's probably more as a Summoner. I feel like that's too high. In WoW I played a Hunter, as a Beastmaster spec (The spec that makes your pet do more damage) and my pet did, at most, 15% of my damage. I think so much reliance on your pet is dangerous.
The fact it's a DoT class makes it somewhat weak against trash mobs (Expected, though Bane helps a lot) - just like Warlock, so you rely on your pet to do all the damage in that scenario while you keep your DoTs up and cast your weak as hell Ruin. The Aetherflow thing is a good gimmick (I just got Fester and it's a neat little spell) and having to decide between Fester and Bane for fights can be a tough decision.
Overall I like the class, since I also enjoyed Warlock, but I think it needs some work. Especially the Damage output of you vs your pet. Summoner feels weaker then other classes as well, though we do pretty well on boss fights. I would really like to see a Summoner fully parsed against other DPS classes in the best available gear to really see their damage output - as right now I think it's lacking. BUT I'm 37, the job could just have an awkward growth pattern.
That being said, Summoner (and Arcanist) have some issues.
One of my guildies has a damage parser and was saying it looks like your summons do about 40% of your damage... as an Arcanist. It's probably more as a Summoner. I feel like that's too high. In WoW I played a Hunter, as a Beastmaster spec (The spec that makes your pet do more damage) and my pet did, at most, 15% of my damage. I think so much reliance on your pet is dangerous.
The fact it's a DoT class makes it somewhat weak against trash mobs (Expected, though Bane helps a lot) - just like Warlock, so you rely on your pet to do all the damage in that scenario while you keep your DoTs up and cast your weak as hell Ruin. The Aetherflow thing is a good gimmick (I just got Fester and it's a neat little spell) and having to decide between Fester and Bane for fights can be a tough decision.
Overall I like the class, since I also enjoyed Warlock, but I think it needs some work. Especially the Damage output of you vs your pet. Summoner feels weaker then other classes as well, though we do pretty well on boss fights. I would really like to see a Summoner fully parsed against other DPS classes in the best available gear to really see their damage output - as right now I think it's lacking. BUT I'm 37, the job could just have an awkward growth pattern.