45 second 15% Balance versus 75 second 10% Balance ... which is more effective?

Just a bit of curiousity now that The Balance has been extended to 30 seconds. With Royal Road that can either be extended to 60 seconds, or enhanced to be a 15% buff instead of the baseline 10% buff. With Time Dilation both types can be further extended by 15 seconds. Which brings me to my question. Which is more effective? Assuming the DPS you cast it on is performing well, and conditions are normal.

I suppose this is a math question lol ... though I know certain situations would prove one or the other to be more efficient.

Which one do you favour?

Dunno, without giving it much though i'd say 45s 15% in A1S and A3S (never tryed A4S) and 75s 10% on A2S.

In both A1 and A3 there's a lot of burst phases followed by down times (running after the adds, Oppressors jumping, Liquid metamorphosing, replacing your self for the links etc etc) during which the buffs are kinda wasted.
A2 being a pure roflomgbbq non stop, i could see a 75s buff being effective full time.

The 75-10% one does provide more overall damage, but that's assuming you are DPSing for at least 68 seconds.

It's also assuming no downtime. If there is any downtime then the 45-15% is better every time

Rule of thumbs (that I use anyway):
Enhanced has a CD value of 0.5
Extended has a CD value of 1.0
Expanded has a CD value of 1~1.5

Enhanced adds 50% effect, but does not have the same effec tif you were to play two of the same cards
Extender doubles the duration, so it's basically the same as two cards in a row
Expanded has 200% efficiency (but takes 2 draws) if you hit all the DPS jobs with it. The rest would be a bonus (but not of the same value)

As for practical value, depends on the use and situation

It's all situational really. In a raid, the AE version is almost always superior. The only exception is when people are too far spread out to hit most of the raid. In smaller groups or when people are spread out too much, the enhanced is superior if you can land it in sync with their CD's, while extended is better when you have 75 sec to beat on the mobs and have no major CD's up (or when they come off CD after 40~ sec).

With that said, you also need to take into account the cards your burning (unless you're just talking about pre fight prep). To get enhanced, you need to burn bole or balance. These are two of the three most important cards ast has, and in general it's not worth burning either of them during a fight save certain circumstances.

Extended, being ewer/spire, can be burned more often. However, it's still highly situational. For long, drawn out fights with few to no phase shifts it's best to just use them as you pull them, so long as the fight didn't just start or people aren't already topped off. For shorter fights they aren't very necessary and can be RR'd freely.

For expanded, arrow is the other card of the top three best cards, and should be used as you pull it. However, spear is the polar opposite and is almost entirely RR fodder. It's only real use is to be used on yourself before using Luminiferous Aether, and maybe on a tank/healer if you can coordinate well and hit them before they use CD's. Otherwise it's crap, and pretty much useless for dps.

In short, there's really no simple answer since there are so many variables. If you are asking simply for pre fight purposes, I go for enhanced in 4 mans, and expanded in 8 mans. Otherwise, you have to weigh all of the above in the encounter you're in.

Edit: Actually, my mind might be on the old RR system still. I keep getting my RR cards mixed up, but the principle's the same.

The best option is the one you draw first, LOL.

If you draw a spear or an arrow, you put it on RR, and then you luckily draw a balance, you get 10% for 10sec.
If you draw a balance and spread it, you have the chance to draw spear or arrow to get the same effect or you can luckily draw another balance or a bole and RR it to get 15% for 45sec.

When you're an AST, you can't neglect your buffs hoping for the best one. You have shuffle to help, but you have to draw EVERY 30sec and decide quickly what you'll do with it. Everytime you waste your time waiting for a better buff, you loose the chance to buff someone.

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Originally Posted by Eudyptes

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What has Spire got to do with Luminiferous Aether

Quote:

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Originally Posted by randysquirrel

What has Spire got to do with Luminiferous Aether

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Was a typo. Was supposed to be spear. Figured that would have been obvious.

Ah, I suppose I let a cat out of the bag regarding the whole 'situational' conversation. In my opinion using an Expanded Balance on the entire 8-man party (assuming it hits everyone) is the best thought if you're able to utilize it properly. But then we get into other situational uses of the card system. But this topic was just meant in regards to enhancing or extending a Balance card on a single individual, assuming they were playing to their fullest and the situation would allow them to make good use of whichever full duration.

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Originally Posted by Nikoshae

But this topic was just meant in regards to enhancing or extending a Balance card on a single individual, assuming they were playing to their fullest and the situation would allow them to make good use of whichever full duration.

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To that I just say refer back to the first part of my post. Enhanced if they are able to get all their CDs in within the 45 sec, or if there is going to be a phase shift/some other reason they need to stop attacking after 45+ sec. Extended for everything else/by default if you have no idea who's doing what.