What are the AST changes that everyone wants, realistically speaking.

[Eloah]

The news of the changes to be made to AST and DRG being postponed has been met with some mixed reviews. While DRG mains are thrilled, since DRG is in a good spot, AST players are a bit miffed.

While we can expect some minor changes here and there, I'm curious what AST players want in terms of changes. But on a realistic level. Its obvious that the seal system is a bit of a bust, but I think it's safe to say the card system might not change all that much from it's current iteration. So what else needs to change to make AST better?

[Mimilu]

For me:
1. Make Draw and Play be the same button.
2. Condense Astrodyne into either Lightspeed or Divination. And make it so Astrodyne and Lightspeed line up with Divination's window.
3. If Seals are going to stay, make the cards system handle like ShB's with Minor Arcana being for when you draw/redraw cards with the wrong seal and have Divination cost Seals but grant the user three, different seals when they first start/restart an instance.
4. Don't touch Earthly Star or Macrocosmos (in terms of how they work; Potency changes are fine); They are both some of the most unique heals in all the healers' kits and it would be horrible if they were removed. °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

[Sebazy]

Realistically:

Curb the condensed flurry of oGCDs during AST's burst window allowing Lightspeed to be it's own cooldown again. For example, have Divination cause Play to become an AoE that blocks additional /plays on already buffed targets.
Consolidate fluff cooldowns and healing oGCDs into a smaller number of more versatile abilities with shorter CDs to compensate.

Hopefully:

Admit defeat and go back to the single draw/play hotkey arrangement from HW or at the very least offer it as an option without the need for addons.
Scrap minor arcana entirely.
Replace the Astrodyne self buff with a charging targetable buff.

Wishful thinking:

Allow AST to spend GCDs pulling additional cards once regular draw charges are all used.
Give Celestial Opposition an added effect of extending buff durations again.

[Wawachume]

First of all, I should probably say I already find EW AST to be a vast improvement. My issue with ShB AST was always that it felt like a DPS job, pushing me to make mathematically optimal decisions rather than intuitively choosing the best spell for the situation like a healer. Separating seals from Divination has mostly solved that problem for me. So now, having gotten bored with SCH after five years, I can actually consider AST as an option (though I'm leaning slightly WHM at the moment). Which is nice.

That said, there are still some things I want for AST, so I will do like Sebazy and arrange them from most to least realistic.

Realistic Dream:
Merge Draw and Play buttons, or provide me with an alternative action button that does this while keeping the separate actions for those who prefer them.

Semi-Realistic Dream:
Change the way Gravity works. Right now, Gravity is the only healer AoE that has to be targeted on an enemy. It's fine for one job to work like this, and even has some advantages (range), but I feel like maybe it shouldn't be AST because AST is already burdened with more target-switching than the others. My ideal solution is to have it be like SPriest Mind Sear from WoW, where you can target either an enemy or an ally, and it damages everything in the area—including the target *if* the target is an enemy. If that's not possible…I hate to say it should be like other healers' AoEs, loath as I am to encourage more healer DPS homogenization, but I honestly *do* find current Gravity really inconvenient.

Unrealistic Dream:
Bring back Diurnal and Nocturnal Sects, only instead of being regen / shields, they're new cards / old cards. Without the Balance, if necessary, and obviously with an appropriate replacement for the Spire.

[Flay_wind]

Combine Draw and Play to one button.
Make Astrodyne something other than a glorified second Lucid Dreaming noone asked for.
Minor Arcana reverted to how it was in ShB, or if current stays also combine it to one button.
Add something to Gravity, as it is now it's the worst healer's AoE. Pull effect, for example, would work thematically.

[Saefinn]

I am deeply concern that they've started AST is getting big changes in 7.0. Which is odd to say as somebody who has been asking for them on healers. But the concern is because they picked AST specifically because AST IMO is the healer closest to where I want to see healers be on virtue it has more to do in its downtime than they rest and my fear is how they're going to bring it more into line with the others in that respect.

However, my desire is:

- Your Major Arcana cards have the same effects as they did in 3.0 and 4.0. With some adjustments because of TP being removed.
- Minor Arcana works like it did in 5.0. This is my solution for "this card is useless"
- Replace Divination with Royal Road from 3.0 and 4.0
- Make Redraw & Draw work exactly as it does now.
- Have "Redraw" appear over "Draw" when Draw is used. You can then still have Undraw if somebody really wants to use it, but otherwise it saves some button bloat.

The benefits I see:
- The cards feel like they have a use/purpose and it can add some variety to playing the class.
- The 'fail' case is that you get a weaker version of The Balance that cannot be Royal Roaded. So you don't need people fishing for The Balance.
- Royal Road adds a dynamic that I found interesting, but it was a way of using cards you don't need.
- Divination's effect is covered by what Royal Road offers
- Having Redraw & Draw work as they do now, it kills any incentive to fish.
- Button bloat is addressed, because Minor Arcana will only need to be 1 button again and you merge Draw & Redraw.

[Eldtagg]

I have more of a general wish, but; what I want is for SQEnix to start prune abilities on jobs.

Do I as a AST really need 1 mil heal buttons that basically does the same thing which is; heal?

I understand that people will get annoyed by me when I say this, but ; FFXIV would do well to start move away from the 10 year old MMORPG formula where you have 30 buttons that are just variations of the same button. Is it more interesting to have 8-10 total spells that actually have impact or pointless clutter just because?

Look, I love the cool AST spells with the star effects and constellations but is, for example, Benefic 1 and 2 neccessary?

Just prune them to one ability. Same with Redraw that have been discussed at lenght before.

Instead of having 1 AoE that heals with regen and 1 with just the heal just prune that into one aoe that heals and gives regen .

It's just pointless clutter to make the gameplay seem "deep" where we end up with abilities that could have been condensed and have more impact.

Ofc you would need to keep the powerful abilities on a seperate button on CD but just.. clean up the damn spell bars.

[ToodlesElNoodles]

For me, it’s a bit of a package.

1) Astrodyne, astrosigns, and Arcana all reworked together similar to MNK.

While working your cards, you have 3 combos you use with Astrodyne:

3 same = AoE damage + a Lord sigil.
All different = AoE damage + a Lady sigil.
2 same and 1 different = AoE heal/regen + whichever missing sigil (defaults to Lord if you’re missing both)

When you have both Lord and Lady sigils, Astrodyne turns into a new ability. Not sure what the new ability should be. It could work like the MNK finisher, where you get any 3 cards, and you get some effect. Bare minimum, I was thinking the Harmony of Body/Mind/Spirit, but much stronger.

To facilitate this, two changes might need to happen.

2) Remove the Redraw limit. Let us Redraw as much as we want.

3) We’ll have to lose the Draw charges unfortunately.

So, an AST will be playing and shuffling their cards to get the outcome they want, which will be more damage. However, if they mess up, it’s ok. It still works towards the end goal, but you lose out on damage. On the other hand, if things do get really bad, you can deviate and CHOOSE a heal instead of a damage, by “messing up” the combo. You also would not lose out on building towards both your Lord/Lady sigils.

I feel like this could be fun and engaging, but also feel good by giving AST a mechanic that fits the lore of them nudging fate in their favor by trying to find a favorable interpretation from the cards.

But if anything, I’d like more Redraw charges and Earthly Star to become 5 sec small star and 25 sec big star.

[Xelanar]

- revert back to more varied card effects, separating offense and defense effects to different draw skills to make them dependable. Also draw and play those cards with one button instead of two
- have Minor Arcana be either entirely for offense or defense, but no longer for both. In theory it is DPS neutral, but in reality the Lady is rendered useless most of the time for being unreliable. Also draw and play these with the same button
- have each of the 3 card types above add a different seal for Astrodyne
- remove Redraw entirely. There is no redraw in card reading. No escaping fate. No second chances.
- convert Astrodyne effects into something that is more impactful for gameplay
- transform Benefic I into Benefic II at some point during leveling

[IceBlueNinja]

I just want stormblood ast kit back cept make spire now give dh since that was the only useless card when tp was gone.