New AST from a New Player

[Mesarthim]

Redraw feels so bad now. Oh sure they gave it 3 charges but you can use up all 3 and still not even get the seal you're missing for that tiny 1-2% increase.

[Billythepancake]

Fishing for cards sounds less like an inherent issue and more a natural outcome of a mechanic designed around RNG. Wanting to draw a Balance seemed par for the course, but like with anything chance-based, shouldn't the desired outcome be considered a reward and not a necessity?

Relying so heavily on a single outcome of six just sounds like setting oneself up for frustration, as opposed to anticipating the possibilities the next Draw may bring to the current situation. A bit of an unfair statement, but if people are so focused on consistency there are other jobs that may be more to their satisfaction, which I only mention because AST did not need to be that job.

At most, tools to mitigate unfavorable outcomes like Redraw should have sufficed. The changes just seem so heavy-handed and unwarranted.

That's the part that gets me, like, the class is card based. Cards are, by nature, random and unpredictable, so having them tied to RNG I don't think is a problem. A way to force the card you want at a cost would've been a nice addition to AST, instead of outright removing what a lot of people loved about the class in the first place.

[ForteNightshade]

Fishing for cards sounds less like an inherent issue and more a natural outcome of a mechanic designed around RNG. Wanting to draw a Balance seemed par for the course, but like with anything chance-based, shouldn't the desired outcome be considered a reward and not a necessity?

Relying so heavily on a single outcome of six just sounds like setting oneself up for frustration, as opposed to anticipating the possibilities the next Draw may bring to the current situation. A bit of an unfair statement, but if people are so focused on consistency there are other jobs that may be more to their satisfaction, which I only mention because AST did not need to be that job.

At most, tools to mitigate unfavorable outcomes like Redraw should have sufficed. The changes just seem so heavy-handed and unwarranted.

Unfortunately, I think the dev team overreacted to a very small amount of complaints. Astro's only major problem was its sheer dominance over White Mage due to its utility. I won't speak for everyone but I almost never saw people decrying the old card system on either here or reddit. You'd see some mentions about Arrow but that was about it.

People forget illusion of choice isn't always a bad thing. Getting Balance felt rewarding because it was RNG. Without said RNG... the cards feel far less impactful because, well, it's the same thing every single time. And people always point out you now have to think about burst windows and etc. No, you actually don't. Assuming everyone is of comparable skill level, you will always prioritize BLM/MNK outside the opener. If you don't have a MNK? Go down the list from SAM, DRG, NIN.

[ZeroFool]

Unfortunately, I think the dev team overreacted to a very some amount of complaints. Astro's only major problem was its sheer dominance over White Mage due to its utility. I won't speak for everyone but I almost never saw people decrying the old card system on either here or reddit. You'd see some mentions about Arrow but that was about it.

People forget illusion of choice isn't always a bad thing. Getting Balance felt rewarding because it was RNG. Without said RNG... the cards feel far less impactful because, well, it's the same thing every single target. And people anyone points out you now have to think about burst windows and etc. No, you actually don't. Assuming everyone is of comparable skill level, you will always prioritize BLM/MNK outside the opener. If you don't have a MNK? Go down the list from SAM, DRG, NIN.

I don't understand the angle of the ones arguing about the old cards being "worthless" because it is an illusion of choice. What makes ASt's so-called illusion of mitigation with Bole or mp regen with Ewer any less valid than the illusion of a SMN's choice to apply DoTs before going for the bursts? (SMN here being my only significant DPS investment) Sure the big numbers kills things quicker and that may be argued as being enough to establish it's validity, but you're going to be dealing damage regardless as a DPS whether the choice to optimize it is made or not, just as ASTs are going to heal and buff(or not, because they had so much more to do but this choice was the point!).

And to your mention of the argument that now for AST to be effective, it would have to keep a rapidly growing mental map of every move and manner of each team member otherwise it is underperforming. I thought the changes were made to be accessible, not make it so that only AI neural network can play it to great effect, or barring that, top-tier players who can galaxy-brain every single battle.

I don't mean to drag DPS or any other class, I only want to know why the same concessions DPS gets are suddenly a point of contention against ASTs. An illusion of choice is as valid as any in a videogame literally programmed to provide illusory choices. Thank you for bringing these points up as it shines a light on how the new cards vs the og cards were perceived.

[Impurrrsive]

Devs so adamant about the changes on AST, makes me wonder if we are the minority in this issue. Every time they will say players don't want useless card.
Unfortunately we will not see AST restored, wonder why would they satisfied with such bland mechanics

[Hatstand]

Devs so adamant about the changes on AST, makes me wonder if we are the minority in this issue. Every time they will say players don't want useless card.
Unfortunately we will not see AST restored, wonder why would they satisfied with such bland mechanics

The devs lie about healer complaints. Whether it's through ignorance or malice I don't know, but they do. Take a look here at a dev misconstruing healer complaints about how long we've been without a healer by implying healers can't count (he says it's been only 4 years since the last healer, but the complaints are that it will have been 6 by the next expansion).

https://www.dualshockers.com/final-f...hadowbringers/

Forum commenting suggests that more people preferred the old AST. The number of parses on fflogs suggest that more people prefer the old AST. The incredibly small number of ASTs I've encountered in game suggest that more people prefer the old AST. I trust those indicators more than what the devs say people prefer.

[ZeroFool]

The devs lie about healer complaints. Whether it's through ignorance or malice I don't know, but they do. Take a look here at a dev misconstruing healer complaints about how long we've been without a healer by implying healers can't count (he says it's been only 4 years since the last healer, but the complaints are that it will have been 6 by the next expansion).

https://www.dualshockers.com/final-f...hadowbringers/

Forum commenting suggests that more people preferred the old AST. The number of parses on fflogs suggest that more people prefer the old AST. The incredibly small number of ASTs I've encountered in game suggest that more people prefer the old AST. I trust those indicators more than what the devs say people prefer.

This is wild. "If you remember the number of Roles, we have 3 Tanks, 3 Healers and 10 DPS. So naturally, we bolstered DPS because numbers." Their mind...

How did you all deal with years of this? lol

[Hatstand]

This is wild. "If you remember the number of Roles, we have 3 Tanks, 3 Healers and 10 DPS. So naturally, we bolstered DPS because numbers." Their mind...

How did you all deal with years of this? lol

Honestly, I don't anymore. I've quit ffxiv until such a time as they restore healers to a state where I enjoy playing them. However, I remember a time when SCH and AST gameplay was good enough that I'd list this game as one of my favourites, alongside the likes of Bloodborne and Mass Effect 2 (whereas now I honestly think even healing in WoW is better than healing in ffxiv, other problems with WoW aside). Back then, what the devs were saying was never a problem because what they were doing (designing fun healing jobs, adding one job to each role back in HW) was good. Now, the hope that I'll get that back is enough to keep me here campaigning for it.

[Billythepancake]

This is wild. "If you remember the number of Roles, we have 3 Tanks, 3 Healers and 10 DPS. So naturally, we bolstered DPS because numbers." Their mind...

How did you all deal with years of this? lol

Honestly, man, after seeing what they did to SCH/AST in the name of "balance", I'm glad there isn't a 4th healer, because they would've made that one just as boring as well. They can't make 3 healers fun and unique, I'd hate to see what they do to a 4th one.

[Amaterasu_]

Part of me hopes that in two years ShB healers will just be a nasty memory and AST and SCH will have their identities back

In two years? Not sooner?
This makes me feel bad about myself since I literally left my AST in the dust.