AST changes for 6.0: Let's forget 5.0 happened, and just fix what was wrong with 4.0

[MintnHoney]

Any system where a dps card competes directly with a support card results in the support card being ignored.

Not necessarily.
In fact, the only scenario where a DPS card would completely negate the usefulness of a support card, would be a situation of absolute optimization. By that point, however, Support, or healing in general, has likely been made obsolete, so you're really saying "any system where DPS competes directly with Healing results in the Healer being ignored."
I suppose, when you look at the game's current state and how the developers have been interacting with us, you're totally right.

If you must look at everything through DPS, consider that the Bole used to be more opportunities for an AST to focus on DPS, since it reduced all incoming damage for a time, meaning it lessened the need to heal. This was the same in solo content and in party content. With regards to the job itself, it was a boon. It just wasn't a direct boon to the DPS jobs.

[ty_taurus]

Not necessarily.
In fact, the only scenario where a DPS card would completely negate the usefulness of a support card, would be a situation of absolute optimization. By that point, however, Support, or healing in general, has likely been made obsolete, so you're really saying "any system where DPS competes directly with Healing results in the Healer being ignored."
I suppose, when you look at the game's current state and how the developers have been interacting with us, you're totally right.

If you must look at everything through DPS, consider that the Bole used to be more opportunities for an AST to focus on DPS, since it reduced all incoming damage for a time, meaning it lessened the need to heal. This was the same in solo content and in party content. With regards to the job itself, it was a boon. It just wasn't a direct boon to the DPS jobs.

The problem is that those are niche situations, and the majority of the time, the old cards giving you utility is actively hurting your performance. I'm a fan of the old system in terms of how fun it was, but pretending it didn't need to be adjusted is just ignoring the problem. Things can be optimized AND fun at the same time, you know.

Really, the cards just need to be redesigned from scratch into a system that does separate DPS support from utility support with preferably less buttons needed to manage the whole thing. AST shouldn't have as many buttons as it does dedicated to this card system. Moreover, it would make a big difference to move that DPS support potentially from the cards onto the GCD so that AST can be the support healer who's damage comes almost exclusively from buffs. Naturally those numbers need to be balanced around that and they should probably not be percentage based and just flat potentiates, but both the old and the new systems are ultimately not where they need to be in the slightest.