Originally Posted by
AnotherPerson
It's more than people mindlessly spamming skills on a guarded target that's for sure.
ASTs have to setup LB ahead of time (animation locked and ridiculously flashy, a big indicator of activation) and ensure DRK doesn't pull too far ahead or away or the LB buffed Macrocosmos won't get its full effect. The effect of AST LB reduces by 10% every 5s so they have to ensure the DRK manages to plunge and pull everyone within 5s and they have to run up in those 5s to be in 20y (midrange distance, now targetable to CC like stuns and binds, as well as RDM AoE Silence). DRK needs to ensure they don't instantly die/get cc chained to death the moment they jump and pull targets in by taking into account of lowering the chances of being hit by a Miracle of Nature or other CC (Silence/Stun) before using Salted Earth by approaching through their blind spot or getting focused fire. Ideally, they'd wait until they see those skills go off or pull a group that doesn't have a CC of that nature, but this coordination then requires AST to delay their LB and wait for DRK's ideal timing before taking an extra 2-3 seconds for the LB animation before being able to move and use Macrocosmos. In that timeframe, people can now have guarded or purified out of DRK's Salted Earth if the timing is bad. Additional delay will reduce the lethality significantly and become more easily countered (this matters the most in the beginning when everyone doesn't have BH to start snowballing).
A good DRK+AST combo would reduce that delay significantly if they coordinated and communicated ahead of time though, but that requires a lot more skill that the average FL player never considers.