Are summons worth it?

[FinalBob42]

I just don't see how I'm going to do well in this game if I'm going to have to level up summons together with my characters and basically split the EXP I get between the two. Or is that not really an isssue? Are there any summons that are especially good?

[CaptRory]

The Aeons are linked to Yuna's level. You can improve their stats seperately and give them special abilities and such but it isn't required. That isn't to say I didn't teach them a few things but if you raise Yuna's levels then they will grow stronger.

[rubah]

The summons are very useful, especially for when you're doing the monster arena sidequests and don't want to be slaughtered by enemies you can't even *TOUCH*

[Rini]

I don't know, but it was a lot of fun to teach new abilities to the aeons and increase their stats. It felt like training a pet o.o

Otherwise, I didn't much use them in battle, but with those monster arena bastards... they're really useful, if you don't want to get whacked by an attack that kills all characters or something, all you need to do is summon an aeon to take the hit and then continue with the actual party.

[NotQuiteNecessary]

I'm going to answer the question: Are any summons especially good? Because I'm bored and have too much spare time, I'm going to rate all of them

Valefor: Decent as a starter, and has two overdrives. However, because of his low HP count later-game enemies take him out extremely quickly. Score: 6, 7 with second overdrive

Ifrit: Physical strength and defense along with HP go up very quickly, and decent speed backs it up. Useful, but nothing special. You'll probably use him throughout the game. Score: 7.5

Ixion: High attack and special attack power and extremely high speed, but defense suffers. Nearly undefeatable if it can learn Haste. You'll want to use him often. Score: 8.5, 9 with haste

Shiva: Well balanced, with very few weaknesses (despite her obvious weakness to fire). Decent attack and Magic attack, decent defense and Magic defense, and somewhat boosted speed. Overdrive gauge fills very quickly; take advantage of that. Teach her Haste and you have an invaluable aeon. Score: 9, 9.5 with haste

Bahamut: High attack and Magic attack, extremely high defense and magic defense. His speed is low, but he can stand the beating with his exceptionally high hit point count. Score: 9

Yojimbo: I hope you have huge amounts of gil with you, because otherwise you can't get him and you can't use him either. I hate him. You have to pay for a chance at an attack. There's a chance he WON'T attack. To make it even worse, he doesn't even have an overdrive. I never use him, he's not worth it. On the plus side, his summon animation is pretty. Score: 3

Anima: It's hard to control Anima, and that takes some getting used to. He's also a bit of a pain to get, but nothing horrible. However, once you get past those pratfalls, he's exceptionally powerful. Score: 9.5

Magus Sisters: Sure, they're a pain in the arse to get and sure, they're hard to control, but once you get past that they're unbeatable. Their overdrive is hard to pull off, however, so they're a bit undependable. Score: 9

[FinalBob42]

Thanks!

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Well it can be help full if you fill their overdrive meter, then have Yuna use her overdrive, so you get two Overdrives in a row, which is especially usefully for Bahamut and Anima who are damage power houses. Other than that, if your guys are low on HP, then switch to a summon for you won't die, which can be useful.

[Cruise Control]

They make nice shields, not good for people who are attached to their summons like me (SPOILER)Thinks about killing Bahamut in X-2 and cries Shhh! don't tell.

The magus sisters are even better, you have three shields!

[MAS82587]

yes they are are worth your time getting, epecially anima.

[FinalBob42]

Stupid question:

How do you use the Aeon Boost and Shield Commands? I'm not seeing it in the manual.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Tip the left analog stick to the right or left, then it should appear.

[rubah]

How is anima hard to control?

She has teh same type of commands as everyone else.

[kaizer21]

Ya, SHE's not that hard to control, because there's not much to get confused about. SHE gets a couple attacks when you get HER, and ANIMA is still a great asset to your team. HER pain attack is a KO to monsters that are immune to it.