Balance was balanced

[Furious]

So when people start melding crit over DH late in the raid tier (~3000+ is the current estimate), then spear will be 0.62x of the new nerfed balance. Which is still not competitive with balance. And until then it's 0.4-0.45x since people stack DH and only crit if they have to.

What are you talking about, not competitive with balance? It's not competing with balance. You can't decide to use balance instead of spear, you get one or the other. If it was the same as balance, it would be both immediately better because it interacts with healing and crit-based mechanics, and equally boring.

You can't say "I don't want spear, I want balance", and hey presto. There is now an opportunity cost to giving up a spear in hope of balance that didn't exist before. If you get spear, and reroll it hoping to get balance, you absolutely lose on average, even with base levels of crit. That choice only gets worse as people get more crit.

[Averax]

Spear is no longer Minor Arcana Fuel.

*wipes away tears*

[loreleidiangelo]

So when people start melding crit over DH late in the raid tier (~3000+ is the current estimate), then spear will be 0.62x of the new nerfed balance. Which is still not competitive with balance. And until then it's 0.4-0.45x since people stack DH and only crit if they have to.

I feel like you're kinda missing the forest for the trees here. What ASTS will have to do now is make meaningful CHOICES, which they have never had to do in regards to their cards since 3.2. Do you take that guaranteed, in your hand RIGHT NOW ".4-.45 Balance", or do you dump it on the gamble that you get lucky and get that 15% chance jackpot on your next Draw? In most every scenario you'll be using the guaranteed option that you have rather than run the risk of dumping it and still not hitting the jackpot on your next go-around. Theoretically, it's the same with Arrow, though I can't say for certain as I haven't done the actual math.

Basically, Balance is still "the best", but since its power is a little bit more aligned relative to the other cards you won't just be throwing those other cards out endlessly because you don't want to "waste" Expanded Royal Road.

[Wilbow]

Giving up a spear for a chance at a balance mid-fight would be an extremely bad choice. Even if we assume that crit damage is only 40%, the chance of rerolling a spear to get a balance is 20%, with a 20% chance at the mostly-neutral arrow and 60% chance of something worse (in most cases).

Spear is definitely not as good as balance and probably never will be, but it's good enough to use rather than using nothing.

Good to know, and I kind of expected (hoped?) as such. I never expected or wanted it to be as good as Balance, but just good enough in comparison that it's a good idea to just use it instead of playing the odds in most situations. "Balance or bust" was just not a good system imo.

I still wish that Spear was 15% crit chance, but that's a minor gripe and overall these changes to cards are exactly what I think most people were looking for. Both Spear and Balance were major sticking points for AST, and these changes are way better for the health of the job in the long term.

[LegoTechnic]

Spear is no longer Minor Arcana Fuel.

*wipes away tears*

Hey, that's a good point. Isn't making Spear better a nerf to Minor Arcana?

[Furious]

Hey, that's a good point. Isn't making Spear better a nerf to Minor Arcana?

It is, but that's like saying seatbelts are a minor nerf to car accidents.

[Ghishlain]

It is, but that's like saying seatbelts are a minor nerf to car accidents.

I +1'd this just for the analogy >>;........ *Slowclap*

[HalfLegend]

With the change to Spear effect, as a monk, I stand erected.

[BloodRubyXII]

Honestly like others have said, hard to be annoyed about the balance change when they buffed one of our most useless cards so we have options rather than tearing our hair out that we cant draw a balance.

[Yorumi]

On the one hand I like meaningful choices, on the other wow is the ast community not the worst group of players in ff14?