AST: holding buff buttons to bypass the RR buff

Also posted in the suggestion forum...

My biggest annoyance with the AST is that I often find myself in a position where I draw a card that would be useful, but not one I wish to use with the current RR buff.

I have three choices in this circumstance, and all of them stink:
1. Right click the RR buff off, thus wasting a card.
2. Right click the card buff off, thus wasting a card.
3. Spread the card (if it's up), even if it's not the card I wanted to spread because I don't want to waste it.

For example, if I have expanded RR and I draw a Bole: I very much want to put that Bole on the tank, but I also don't want to lose my precious AoE buff.

A solution here could be to have the following system in place:

-If a player presses the buff button (be it the draw or spread button) to use the card, it is cast as usual with the RR buff

-If a player presses and holds the buff button, the card would be cast while bypassing the RR buff

RNG is still a pretty big wall for getting the most out of our card buffs (or sometimes getting anything out of them at all). This would at least allow us to not have to lose the setup we're trying to create.

This is why you spread first, then draw for RR.

Easily one of the frequent situations I find myself in while playing AST. I don't know how to implement it, but there should be a way to "activate" the RR buff, rather than it being automatically used for the next card drawn. It's incredibly annoying; however, I've found that I typically fair better with trying to Spread the card I want first, then fishing for the RR buff, rather than the other way around.

Maybe turn RR into a "draw" kind of ability, if i draw and get an ewer for example and burn it, the RR icon will be replaced by the "expanded" icon (the Big circle with the ball in the middle), then if i cast.... a Bole for example and don't want to expand it i simply throw it on the tank without clicking the "Expanded" buff , if i use draw again and get a balance for example and i want to expand it i throw it on a target and then click the "Expanded" icon and BUM balance would spread to all party members around.

As you draw use the cards until you get what you want to expand, spread it, then keep using cards until you get the RR you want. Problem solved.

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Originally Posted by Rox_Unlimited

As you draw use the cards until you get what you want to expand, spread it, then keep using cards until you get the RR you want. Problem solved.

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I don't think you actually understood what he meant.....but...anyway....

I asked for something similiar a while ago. And I have to agree with Muahbec turning RR into a separate draw ability would make more sense. Given the most hectic encounters I don't want to spend time holding down a button if I don't have to. ;)

Turning rr into a similar kind of ability as spread would be one solution, when you get the buff it would stay with you until you specifically want to use it. This would mean however that we could not just replace our current rr buff with a new one without first using the old one and waiting 15 secs. Also rr and spread cards would not work together in that case.

Or if you press RR the next card you play within 5 seconds gains the RR buff. If you don't play a card within that timelimit the buff is lost.

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Originally Posted by Lyrinn

This is why you spread first, then draw for RR.

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...Except that RNG ensures that's often a terrible idea.

So you draw until you get the balance or arrow you want and do what with the Ewers/Spires in the mean time? Waste them on players who don't need them?

You're better off RRing them if no one needs resources because the next card you draw could be one you WANT to AoE, but then you can (and WILL) wind up drawing 10 spears in a row after you've just spread the balance/arrow.

Even WITH the suggested changes, RNG will definitely still be ruining ASTs' days, but this way we can at least bypass using RR for the card we actually WANT to use it on.

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Originally Posted by Miiu

Or if you press RR the next card you play within 5 seconds gains the RR buff. If you don't play a card within that timelimit the buff is lost.

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Problem is, then the only way to replace an RR buff with a new one would be to right click the old one off first.

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Originally Posted by RichardButte

...Except that RNG ensures that's often a terrible idea.

So you draw until you get the balance or arrow you want and do what with the Ewers/Spires in the mean time? Waste them on players who don't need them?

You're better off RRing them if no one needs resources because the next card you draw could be one you WANT to AoE, but then you can (and WILL) wind up drawing 10 spears in a row after you've just spread the balance/arrow.

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You're wasting cards either way. The difference with spreading first is you're not locked into a particular combo. Do you really use expanded for anything other than Balance or Arrow? If you RR first, then you've locked yourself out of 4/6 cards because you've made them all useless. In contrast, if you spread first without committing to a particular RR, you can throw every other card drawn at someone and you'll at least get some benefit out of unwanted cards.

As for your comment about Ewer/Spire, unless it's the start of a fight, someone can always make use of them.

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Originally Posted by Lyrinn

You're wasting cards either way.

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Hence the suggestion to fix it. ;)

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The difference with spreading first is you're not locked into a particular combo. Do you really use expanded for anything other than Balance or Arrow? If you RR first, then you've locked yourself out of 4/6 cards because you've made them all useless. In contrast, if you spread first without committing to a particular RR, you can throw every other card drawn at someone and you'll at least get some benefit out of unwanted cards.

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You can just right click the expanded RR buff off if you want to use it on one target that badly. That way, at least you HAD the buff on hand in case the next card was an arrow or balance.

As I said earlier, RNG means you'll be cursing yourself for not turning that last Ewer into an expanded RR when you had the chance after you've spread a balance and have drawn no Ewers or Spires in the last three minutes.

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As for your comment about Ewer/Spire, unless it's the start of a fight, someone can always make use of them.

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If no one is hurting for resources, they're much more valuable as an expanded RR.

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Originally Posted by RichardButte

-If a player presses and holds the buff button, the card would be cast while bypassing the RR buff

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I liked the idea of holding a button to modify some skill. Like, If you hold the button during the cast of some skill it will become more powerful (Like Stone II into Stone III) or the effect of Collective Unconscious just work while you keep the button hold.

There's a lot of mechanics that would benefit from this system, although I think it would be too hard to be implemented...