Please let Astrologians Pick the First Cards outside combat within Raiding Instances

[Singularity]

I cannot see how the OP's suggestion is unbalanced. All it does is reduce the amount of waiting between pulls. Class/job balance matters only in combat, so I would say that this is no more "abusable" than the cooldown reset on wipe we got in 3.4. In fact I think they should go further with regards to out-of-combat waiting around:

> All players should respawn with full MP and TP on wipe.
> SMNs and SCHs should respawn with the maximum number of Aetherflow stacks available to them at their current level. MCHs should respawn with 5 ammo.
> Redraw's cooldown reduced to 1 second outside of combat (this would be easier to do than adding a card selection system).
> Stoneskin II's cast time and MP cost removed and the skill made available to other classes that can cross-class Stoneskin.

I'm sure there may be other things that can be done as well. The point is - none of these changes would affect how a job performs in combat (and therefore the job's desirability) at all. It's just pure quality-of-life, the same as the standing there waiting for cooldowns that we mercifully no longer have to do.

[ShaneDawn]

I cannot see how the OP's suggestion is unbalanced. All it does is reduce the amount of waiting between pulls. Class/job balance matters only in combat, so I would say that this is no more "abusable" than the cooldown reset on wipe we got in 3.4. In fact I think they should go further with regards to out-of-combat waiting around:

> All players should respawn with full MP and TP on wipe.
> SMNs and SCHs should respawn with the maximum number of Aetherflow stacks available to them at their current level. MCHs should respawn with 5 ammo.
> Redraw's cooldown reduced to 1 second outside of combat (this would be easier to do than adding a card selection system).
> Stoneskin II's cast time and MP cost removed and the skill made available to other classes that can cross-class Stoneskin.

I'm sure there may be other things that can be done as well. The point is - none of these changes would affect how a job performs in combat (and therefore the job's desirability) at all. It's just pure quality-of-life, the same as the standing there waiting for cooldowns that we mercifully no longer have to do.

This is also a splendid suggestion. And you also nailed the point here:in a closed environment (non-pugs) AST already has the tools to enable a very strong pull with a guaranteed Balance Spread (+ Single Balance). It is just a lengthy, cumbersome process that amounts to nothing else than wasting everyone's time. Enabling for a faster draw of meaningful cards in a raiding instance would not make anything stronger per se, only reduce the amount of time wasted sitting on our hands. Any question about certain AST cards being too powerful is a matter of class-balance that should be discussed separately.

No. This is part of the skill and theme of being an Astrologian; being able to deal with what fortune gives you. Being able to sit on an AoE Balance the second you enter instanced content actively detriments both WHM & SCH, as well as taking away some of the skill and enjoyment from playing AST.

In a similar vein, this is equivalent to demanding Outlaw Rogues' Roll the Bones buffs to be what you want in Legion. The RNG aspect is what makes the class feel dynamic, why would you want to take that away?

There is no difference in either skill or decision-making in rolling for the same cards for a minute or fifteen minutes, if you're going to go for that specific combination of cards no matter what. In actual combat it's a whole another story, but I'm only suggesting changes to the down-time period between pulls, where you already have the liberty of going for whichever cards you could ever want. And to specify this even further, the suggestion is only limited to raiding instances and maybe Extreme Trials. I am not suggesting any changes to the Astrologian gameplay in actual combat, nor am I out to destroy your aesthetic feeling of the class.

Theme? That could be used up as an argument I guess. But should we respect theme to a degree, where it's effectively crippling gameplay from a (competitive) raiding perspective?

If you feel like any of the proposed changes would either make AST too strong or break the aesthetic feeling of the class, you're free to suggest better alternatives. Even nerfs or changes the cards itself can be discussed. I just don't see the current system as exactly healthy, if the "optimal" gameplay requires you to actually... not play at all for roughly third of your raid time?

[Fernosaur]

> All players should respawn with full MP and TP on wipe.
> SMNs and SCHs should respawn with the maximum number of Aetherflow stacks available to them at their current level. MCHs should respawn with 5 ammo.
> Redraw's cooldown reduced to 1 second outside of combat (this would be easier to do than adding a card selection system).
> Stoneskin II's cast time and MP cost removed and the skill made available to other classes that can cross-class Stoneskin.

I love all of these suggestions, tbh. Though, I know someone "fixed" it by making it only in cities, but the CD duration reset only happens in Trials, so I'm sure this is something that can be done for Redraw as well: have the 1 sec CD only be available in Trials and not in Dungeons. It would definitely be an improvement for all these classes!!