Astro is Sadness

[Lagomorph]

I really feel bad for astros right now. Very few of the big problems with the class were fixed at all.

[Mitracia]

I really feel bad for astros right now. Very few of the big problems with the class were fixed at all.

Mhm, very true.

[HyoMinPark]

I really feel bad for astros right now. Very few of the big problems with the class were fixed at all.

I mean, the potency buffs mean that they hopefully fixed some of the issues AST was having with just healing. Divination was brought down to a cooldown more reflective of what it gave the party, and Sleeve Draw’s change may lessen the double-weaving hot mess that Divination/Sleeve Draw windows were. While CU wasn’t addressed (why, I have no idea), COpp needed to be changed because it was a joke of a skill with its potency and 120s recast. I think Horoscope could still be changed to detonate the effect automatically or function like the new PI, but at least it got a potency buff, so we’ll see how it fairs in the fights coming out.

I still think they can address Noct Sect to make it more competitive with SCH shields so that a WHM/Noct AST isn’t a terrible thing to have. But I never expected Noct changes in a x.05 balance patch. Gameplay changes won’t come until a main patch or the next expansion—hopefully sooner, but it may be a pipe dream to hope that they actually make Noct Sect better.

I still prefer the old card system, and I don’t think AST’s rDPS will match WHM’s even with the changes to Divination. We’ll see for sure when people start clearing Savage how much closer the two are, but at least it won’t feel like an absolute pain to heal with it anymore (at least, that’s my hope). There was just no reason for it to have to work twice as hard at healing compared to the other two healers.

This new system keeps that sense of buffing and supporting your party and knocks out the annoyance of drawings dozens of useless cards. I can sit here and pretend I used Bole or Arrow on DPS, but that would be a lie, Balance was all that mattered, everything else was just me compromising between worse buffs or no buffs at all.

Except the addition of the old Minor Arcana made those “useless cards” not useless at all: Minor Arcana it for a Lord for free damage or for a Lady for a free oGCD heal. AOE Balance was desired for speedkills and top-tier runs, but the other cards still saw uses—AOE Spear and even AOE Arrow were common to see in logs if you didn’t get the AOE Balance, and a Spear on a BRD/MNK or Arrow on a SAM/BLM were acceptable plays as well. Now the cards are all baby Balances that feel braindead by comparison. Not having Royal Road to enhance, extend, or expand the effects also doesn’t help.

[Lagomorph]

I mean, the potency buffs mean that they hopefully fixed some of the issues AST was having with just healing. Divination was brought down to a cooldown more reflective of what it gave the party, and Sleeve Draw’s change may lessen the double-weaving hot mess that Divination/Sleeve Draw windows were. While CU wasn’t addressed (why, I have no idea), COpp needed to be changed because it was a joke of a skill with its potency and 120s recast. I think Horoscope could still be changed to detonate the effect automatically or function like the new PI, but at least it got a potency buff, so we’ll see how it fairs in the fights coming out.

I still think they can address Noct Sect to make it more competitive with SCH shields so that a WHM/Noct AST isn’t a terrible thing to have. But I never expected Noct changes in a x.05 balance patch. Gameplay changes won’t come until a main patch or the next expansion—hopefully sooner, but it may be a pipe dream to hope that they actually make Noct Sect better.

I still prefer the old card system, and I don’t think AST’s rDPS will match WHM’s even with the changes to Divination. We’ll see for sure when people start clearing Savage how much closer the two are, but at least it won’t feel like an absolute pain to heal with it anymore (at least, that’s my hope). There was just no reason for it to have to work twice as hard at healing compared to the other two healers.

Healing as an astro was fine for the most part in the trials and raids. It was dungeon healing that was a little annoying. The biggest problem that they faced was their combined personal dps with raid buff contribution was far, far behind the other healers. That's what needed fixing most, and it went (almost) completely ignored by SE. This divination buff will hardly make up for any of the difference between astro and the other healers. Noct sect is a whole different issue that I don't think SE is capable of fixing any time soon, as nice as it would be. SE really needs people on the balance team that actually play healers, because I can almost guarantee you that none of the people working on healers actually play them right now.

[HyoMinPark]

Healing as an astro was fine for the most part in the trials and raids. It was dungeon healing that was a little annoying. The biggest problem that they faced was their combined personal dps with raid buff contribution was far, far behind the other healers. That's what needed fixing most, and it went (almost) completely ignored by SE. This divination buff will hardly make up for any of the difference between astro and the other healers. Noct sect is a whole different issue that I don't think SE is capable of fixing any time soon, as nice as it would be. SE really needs people on the balance team that actually play healers, because I can almost guarantee you that none of the people working on healers actually play them right now.

While yes, AST still needs to bridge the gap between its rDPS and WHM’s pDPS by several hundred, the healing changes are still welcome additions. I understand that healing with it in raid/trials was fine, but it was still significantly weaker than the other two and still had to work harder for the same results. I wasn’t expecting massive buffs/changes to the cards in a Savage balance patch—changes to cards have never occurred in patches like these, but main patches (e.g., Patch 3.4 with the lul 20% Balance change). I don’t disagree that the developers really struggle with healing balance, but these are at least something.

And while I understand and agree that balance should always occur at the highest levels of play, let’s also be realistic here: most players are participating in those dungeons where AST was struggling the most. Most aren’t participating in raids. And let’s also be honest: Titania EX, Innocence EX, and Eden NM weren’t exactly hard fights, so we really can’t say how AST’s healing would have faired if Eden Savage has teeth to it. EDIT: And I actually shudder to think about if AST had saw no potency buffs to its healing between now and the release of the next Ultimate. I doubt any would have seen that fight at all.

I don’t think we should downplay these buffs. They are at least better than nothing.