Regarding AST

[basketofseals]

just managing cards is 6 OGCD, 9 with discards.

imo this is the absolute worst thing about AST. I mean even putting balance aside, seeing all the other jobs get tons of tools while you get more ways to wonkily juggle an RNG mechanic just feels bad. Not to mention currently, it's sort of not even worth the payoff.

[loreleidiangelo]

imo this is the absolute worst thing about AST. I mean even putting balance aside, seeing all the other jobs get tons of tools while you get more ways to wonkily juggle an RNG mechanic just feels bad. Not to mention currently, it's sort of not even worth the payoff.

I mentioned this in the "4.3 healer feedback thread" - there are basically zero buffs left we can get in the future (that won't be seen as "not DPS increase = worthless fodder", or something pedantic/redundant like En-spells or something), so no new cards, meaning our future abilities as ASTs are basically pigeonholed into more card fuss management or copycat WHM/SCH heal abilities/damage abilities. I really like the aspect of it being a buff job, but it also having to be a healer that can heal as well as the other two really limits how effective those buffs can be, which is a shame.

[Elamys]

I mentioned this in the "4.3 healer feedback thread" - there are basically zero buffs left we can get in the future (that won't be seen as "not DPS increase = worthless fodder", or something pedantic/redundant like En-spells or something), so no new cards, meaning our future abilities as ASTs are basically pigeonholed into more card fuss management or copycat WHM/SCH heal abilities/damage abilities. I really like the aspect of it being a buff job, but it also having to be a healer that can heal as well as the other two really limits how effective those buffs can be, which is a shame.

For a greater focus on cards they could maybe possibly look at using them more to support healing and damage a la minor arcana (without sacrificing buffs) maybe, instead of just making them do buff stuff.

[Ametrine]

I feel Minor Arcana is a step in the right direction but I think perhaps converting held cards into an attack or heal without RNG or so much set up would be a beneficial balance and relieve a bit of the lack of the oGCD options.

You have a card in hand, you can use it to perform this attack, or you can use it to perform this heal. Instant cast.

It'd help when you keep pulling "bad" cards, too.

[loreleidiangelo]

For a greater focus on cards they could maybe possibly look at using them more to support healing and damage a la minor arcana (without sacrificing buffs) maybe, instead of just making them do buff stuff.

I mean, that's a pretty risky path to tread, considering the developers said they didn't want AST's healing power to be tied to cards whatsoever. People originally thought it would be neat if the class would get a buff depending on what card they just drew but SE said they didn't want core components of the class's power tied behind RNG. So this means that a similar system would either be a.) pretty unimpactful, like Minor Arcana is now, or b.) a renege on that philosophy (which seems unlikely given SE's hardline stance on accessibility).

Even then, assume they add new cards that are basically heals with x potency or nukes with y potency. Why build those around the card middle man, then? Why not just give us that x potency heal and that y potency nuke as abilities? All tacking them onto cards does means that they're subject to RNG, and makes them another layer of crud you have to manage for what is likely minimal payoff, and also makes them significantly harder to balance because they're a random effect. If you make it a 1k potency DPS card with the idea that an AST will only draw one once every 3 minutes due to laws of probability, that means a run where an AST gets absurdly lucky and gets one every other draw could possibly seriously tip the balance of an encounter. It also means on a run where an AST draws none of those they'll be missing a portion of their power.

Frankly, this is why cards like Bole/Ewer/Spire are decent ideas in theory, but terrible in practice. Unless you're RRing the Spire/Ewer they're basically dead cards that do absolutely nothing for a team. Can't rely on them for heavy damage or mana/TP management (especially with stuff like Refresh in the game, lol), whereas Balance/Spear/Arrow/any damage up card will ALWAYS get value and don't require specific criterion for their use. Unless there's a period where the boss is literally untargetable for 30 seconds straight a damage increase card will never be a bad card to use. But Bole/Spire/Ewer don't work like that, and that's why RNG buffs in general are a huge problem.

Would much rather you get to select the card you want to draw when you want to draw it, but each card has an internal CD relative to its power so you're not encouraged to just cycle Balance/Spear/Arrow over and over again. Just get rid of RR, Shuffle and Draw, get rid of the three "Undraw" abilities and put one each of the 6 cards we have there in their place, with internal CDs relative to their strength to match. It would kinda suck to be "forced" into using Bole/Spire/Ewer but I think it's a lot healthier than what we have now, which is buffs feeling unsatisfying because they're too impactful if you get good draws (and just feel bad if you get bad draws). If there's an element of consistency to how cards can be used, they can actually be buffed to feel impactful, like old 20% Balance used to feel (basically Raging Strikes on target of your choice). You'd lose the old Royal Road enhancement factors, but maybe that could be implemented by "combining" cards kinda like what RR does already - activate Bole, you have a few seconds to combine that with another card to make a boosted effect.

The more I talk about it, the more I feel like that's the key to saving this class (aside from completely re-tooling their healing moves so they're not just a dollar store WHM/SCH, but that's a different can of worms). Give ASTs control over their buffs (within limits, so they're not DPS-boost bots and actually get some variety), and then they're significantly easier to balance against the other two healers in this game. On top of that, you remove the random button fluff we get from getting tools to literally do nothing but "fix" the RNG of the class, and we can see more interesting card abilities/improvements in the future.

[Astrololol]

You can get rid of held card. Right click it off in your buffs or use Undraw Spread.

-Squints at buff icons-
Oh, riiight. Guess I was too used to the original SB changes to the cards. Ty lol

[Malkria]

Remove a sect? The whole draw of the AST is that it is versatile and can switch up what it is doing depending on the situation. If anything it's only real drawback far as I can see is it's MP management is worse then the other two now. So if anything I would change synastry to also give some mp back when the target takes damage just as we give some healing for every spell. But removing a sect would either just make it a poor man's WHM or SCH that has a buffing mechanic, instead of the versatile healer that can adapt to any party or situation as needed.

For spire changes, I actually have two ideas. One is that it places a buff that acts like a reverse MCH's Wyldfire. Basically it takes all the damage a target receives and gives it back to the source at maybe 25% (probably less). The other is simply to make it a decent HoT that gives AST another healing option. Which would be nice if you are in the noct sect.

[Elamys]

I guess I personally feel that the only way forward for AST's identity to stand on its own is to focus more on the card system. It could mean an entire redesign of how it works, but it is their unique mechanic, and finding some way to make it work better to support their toolkit as a whole (not just to be buffs you toss out whenever you can) could seriously help their identity.

[Malkria]

Honestly aside from Spire being almost the go to trash card, I think the AST is in a good place. To me, the whole draw is how versatile it is compared to the other two and how you have options to adjust how you are playing. For example if you are going against slow bruisers you use noct, but if there is a section with a lot of swarming little mobs you can switch to diaural sect so you are being more healing and MP efficient, and then switch back later for the boss. All the while throwing out buffs or setting up buffs as needed for content. To me, it's kinda the real red mage of healing, in that while it may not be a master of any section it has more options then the two classes it's drawing from.

While it would be nice to see some cards maybe used to buff spells, such as maybe using a certain spell with a certain card drawn buffs or augments it....frankly I think AST is pretty much where it should be.

[Ametrine]

Snip.

And absorbing skill that flings damage back sounds pretty amazing, but way too amazing. The issue with that kind of skill is teams would grow to rely on it and would inevitably work out ways to maximize it. Imagine returning tankbusters back with this skill. It would be a bit too OP.