Originally Posted by
Sylvain
I agree, yet I feel this is the exact reason so few people enjoyed astro.
Basically, the card system was aimed/enjoyed by high end players because specifically it required extensive knowledge to be properly exploited. Sure, we can argue that you could just throw the right card at the right role whenever it's up and still gain dps, this is very true but any player remotely engaged in their performance would know that they just can't throw cards randomly like this.
Then you have the others, who either were intimidated by the system or simply felt it was boring because "they're all just the same".
You can't please both, it's just impossible.
We've been through 2 expansions of this, AST was barely played and card were a big factor.
Even in high end content, for every group with 1 AST you'd join 10 groups with a WHM in pf. Basically, why would I bother with AST cards management if I can do equal dps as a whm (like that kind of logic)
Assuming SE wants to even out the healer distribution, basically not having 90% WHM 10% AST, then either they make whm as convoluted as AST, or they simplify one of the "scary" aspect of AST. And that would be the cards.
I definitely 100% agree, it did provide knowledge expression. How many times throughout ultimate progression did I ask my DPS "so... [MCH], [BLM], I need to throw a card here, anyone has some big burst ? " "Oh yeah here I dump all my 3 xeno"
It was rewarding, and my DPS did enjoy getting the card "right" before they'd unload their burst. (especially my MCH god... you could hear her squeak whenever I'd draw the melee card)
But this made the job intimidating let's be honest for a minute here. So I personally understand their choice...
Ofc we can complain about how SE just dumbs down every job just to catter to the casual crowd.
Sometime I feel like they should make a new difficulty mode for those casual players, with npc only. there's no mechanic, you have a permanent LB4 tank (-95% dmg taken), NPC healer rescue you to the safe spot all the time for trial, 8man and 24man.
And a special "easy mode" for jobs only playable in those mods where you only have 5 skills which automatically target and do everything for you.
This way they could stop dumbing down everything else to catter to half the population who anyone doesn't care about their performance no matter how brain dead it can be.
Like as a melee, they'd have the pvp1 melee button which does the entire rotation for them.