Good news for fans of Final Fantasy XI and its ever-so popular character class, The Summoner. Square Enix has decided to revive the fan favorite in the form of the just announced Arcanist in their upcoming MMO, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

Adepts of the art of arcanum derive their might from symbols of power born of geometric techniques hailing from across the southern seas. Held within occult grimoires, these symbols lend shape to the arcanist's aether, thereby allowing him to produce myriad powerful spells.

Using the selfsame symbols to unlock the latent power contained within gemstones, arcanists are also able to summon forth the familiar known as Carbuncle to carry out their bidding.

The biggest hint in the job description involves my favorite little buddy, Carbuncle. The only thing I feel won't be the same is the Summoner class in the previous installment was an advanced class. You had to level up to 30 and go on an adventure to find your latent abilities to summon things. Here, it looks to me you can start off as an Arcanist and already own Carbuncle. Not the same feeling inside, but Square has a magical way with dealing with lore.

Still no word on what else this class will do or what kinds of other summons and abilities you have. Since they use gems for a source of power, it's likely we'll see the return of elementals on your evoking list to say the least. Here's to hoping summons will include beings such as Garuda and Odin.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is slated for a Q2 2013 release. The game is already entering beta stage 2 but at this time, it remains closed and requires an application.