5.0 AST is a failure

[Aomine1992]

What plan? The only thing we can do is use cards on the right job. That's about it. Before, we could at least decide who could benefit more from that buff (BRD - Crit; MNK - Dmg; Arrow - BLM; just to give some examples). It was no easy task trying to spread balance, though. In 4.0 we could actually plan what to use and when to use it.

If by uniqueness you mean "cards", then I think you missed the point of what an AST is. Think of it as if SE had decided to let you summon Bahamut provided that you only cast Ruin 2 while on Trance, nothing else. It's a loss on your DPS but, hey, you get to summon Bahamut and that's the essence of what a SMN is, right?

No you’ve completely missed the point, there’s nothing wrong with the card system because you don’t like it. The problem is the kit that revolves around the card system itself i.e divination, sleeve draw and what not are the problems along with its healing problems.

And nerf to things like collective, don’t push your card agenda on a post about the core issues of the class.

[xDaemianx]

No you’ve completely missed the point, there’s nothing wrong with the card system because you don’t like it. The problem is the kit that revolves around the card system itself i.e divination, sleeve draw and what not are the problems along with its healing problems.

And nerf to things like collective, don’t push your card agenda on a post about the core issues of the class.

I never said I didn't like the current cards. I did convey that the current system is a watered-down version of what it used to be. It's not fun to play because you're basically a dmg booster while still forced to heal, or the other way around because you have two jobs (not including DPSing): healing and cards. The kit that revolves around the cards has other issues, too.
I'm not saying I like them either, they used to have their own playability. One would have to plan ahead. Now it's basically a choice of whom to use it on because the effect is the same regardless of the situation.

And I'm sorry but I don't fully see you understanding what's under discussion here. The original post also discussed cards so I didn't stray from the original topic. See below.

- Cards:
There are two arguments here, one side preferring the RNG, unique and versatile nature of 4.0 cards. Another is pro 5.0, where the cards sacrifice much of that for consistency. I think the proper question to ask here is, what's fun for the players?

Much of the outrage I've seen regarding cards has been surrounding the lack of any flavour of the new cards. With all having the same effects, they are just not that interesting anymore. Surely some middle ground could have been met? Personally after having played AST for over a year as my main, gone into Savage and farmed EX trials to death, the new cards do not interest me in the slightest.

If you asked me what I hated about the 4.0 card system, I would have said that it felt a bit too linear that we always went for and AoE Royal Road followed by whatever DPS card, yet somehow 5.0 has managed to make the card system even more linear. There are no questions asked and no decision for you to make, only the right 6% buff and the wrong 3% buff. The cards even tell you who to buff and you just do it, it's very robotic.