AST changes for 5.1+ feedback

[LariaKirin]

Absolutely, should have a much higher potency or a much quicker recast. Or both.

I love Earthly Star, too, but every single thing that AST does requires two buttons or two buttons and a direct cast. In this regard, they had an opportunity to make CU effortless, in stark contrast to the OGCD machine that is Horoscope, Cards, and Star. But instead, CU has all the drawbacks of a ground effect without the benefit of being a ground effect.

I don't know about much higher, but there's no reason it should be so weak if you compare it to Sacred Soil for example. In terms of usability, I don't see a problem with it having a larger radius.

Talking about tooltips will likely be a waste of time. You'll find problems with many tooltips if what you want from them is more than a simple description of what the ability does. I think details and nuances should be observed and discovered, because you can see the effects for yourself.

Also, it's not just disadvantages. Its advantage over Soil is that if you have to move out of Soil, you lose the effect. Obviously, this can be solved by better planning, but that is also true for CU.

I won't speak for other AST players. I personally think Earthly Star is perfect. There's a big payoff at the end that rewards good planning. I don't see a problem with it requiring two buttons (which can be reduced to just one button with good enough planning).

[tesni_g]

I won't speak for other AST players. I personally think Earthly Star is perfect. There's a big payoff at the end that rewards good planning. I don't see a problem with it requiring two buttons (which can be reduced to just one button with good enough planning).

Star is perfection, not just for its usage but also its place in the toolkit. The two button (or one button ideal) adds to the satisfaction of using it well.

Isolating CU and comparing it to SS or Asylum makes it seem like perhaps the drawbacks of CU are fair, outside of potency. I see what you're saying. My point is, since we're talking about AST's drawbacks, that in its whole kit compared to the whole kit of WHM or SCH, that CU is not okay by potency, recast, awkwardness, and function within the toolkit.

Tooltip language could get real pedantic but to convey to a non-healer how CU's mitigation works requires an explanation not found anywhere in game. I want nuance and stuff in how the abilities play out outside of tooltips too, but I'm still of the mind that they should have changed CU's tooltip to explain the 5 second mitigation mechanic when they fundamentally reworked CU in the middle of Stormblood--I want to say that happened in 4.x, somewhere around Sigmascape, around the same time that Malefic cast was shortened (?). It's been almost two years and we are still explaining to newer AST and non-healers alike how this ability "actually" works. I will be happy with any changes that support new healers to feel comfortable and confident with their abilities.

I started out thinking my dislike of CU was all in its clunk, radius, and low potency, but through our conversation now I realize that my dislike stems less from its specific drawbacks but more that the AST kit in general has all these extra steps and quirks built in. If we didn't have cards, CU and Star and even Horoscope would be a breeze to weave. But right now we have these high maintenance cards which makes the extra steps of clunky heals feel like "too much."

It's less a specific critique of CU, but how CU fits in the entire AST schema and cohealer contribution package (especially since Asylum and SS can be timed well enough to cover two back to back mechanics). Since SE seems married to the cards as they are, I feel that the bulk of AST abilities outside of cards should be straightforward and reliable.

We're past that place where we agree to disagree, I think, but thank you for letting me ramble in your direction while I figured out how to articulate my thoughts. CU is one of several squeaky wheels that AST rides on. A little grease would make it feel more like a whole and working machine.