AST cards should be single target

[MintnHoney]

Interesting suggestions, and I'm all for thoughtfulness in play, but making the cards single target would kinda fall flat on its ass in the large-scale pvp modes (considering you couldn't guarantee when someone has an LB, or that you're near anyone to hit them with a card in the first place, and they're applicable only to party members), and would reduce the overall power of AST in both large and small scale PVP modes (with large-scale modes taking a very significant hit). As it stands, AST is already extremely situational, and this sort of update would make them even more situational than before.

Unless AST received potency buffs elsewhere to compensate, had Gravity's CC effects restored to the entire AOE, or were allowed to Double Microcosmos, this wouldn't be a fair compromise.

[IDontPetLalas]

Interesting suggestions, and I'm all for thoughtfulness in play, but making the cards single target would kinda fall flat on its ass in the large-scale pvp modes (considering you couldn't guarantee when someone has an LB, or that you're near anyone to hit them with a card in the first place, and they're applicable only to party members), and would reduce the overall power of AST in both large and small scale PVP modes (with large-scale modes taking a very significant hit). As it stands, AST is already extremely situational, and this sort of update would make them even more situational than before.

Unless AST received potency buffs elsewhere to compensate, had Gravity's CC effects restored to the entire AOE, or were allowed to Double Microcosmos, this wouldn't be a fair compromise.

I think you worded this very well, and more gracefully than I would have.

[AtomicBomb]

Interesting suggestions, and I'm all for thoughtfulness in play, but making the cards single target would kinda fall flat on its ass in the large-scale pvp modes (considering you couldn't guarantee when someone has an LB, or that you're near anyone to hit them with a card in the first place, and they're applicable only to party members), and would reduce the overall power of AST in both large and small scale PVP modes (with large-scale modes taking a very significant hit). As it stands, AST is already extremely situational, and this sort of update would make them even more situational than before.

Unless AST received potency buffs elsewhere to compensate, had Gravity's CC effects restored to the entire AOE, or were allowed to Double Microcosmos, this wouldn't be a fair compromise.

Numbers are always adjustable to be appropriate. FL is not worth balancing around tbh.

[MintnHoney]

Numbers are always adjustable to be appropriate.

To a point, yes. Consider: the maximum potential for a Balance card, right now, is 10% for each character affected. In CC, that's a minimum potential of 1 person affected at 10% for 15 seconds, for a total of 10% increased output, going up to a maximum potential of 5 people affected at 10% each for 15 seconds, for a maximum total of 50% increased output (ignoring the variable value of putting the buffs on specific jobs). As it stands, the current cards reward positioning and thoughtful placement since the AoE effect is a burst originating from a targeted ally or from yourself if you're not targeting an ally.

What you're asking for is to reduce this potential for all cards for the sake of increasing thoughtfulness and strategic use. In this way, the minimum potential could raise, but then the maximum potential falls; using Balance as an example again, rather than the 50% maximum potential spread evenly across 5 people, we've been reduced to a 20% maximum potential on 1 person. This would be a potency nerf.

I would also argue that this doesn't increase the level of strategy necessary for card placement, it just changes what kind of thoughts would be necessary. Instead of trying to position yourself or target the ally who would enable you to affect the most number of players, you are, instead, just trying to position yourself to avoid losing LOS on the target who you determine to be able to most utilize whatever drawn effect, with the added potential stress that the one person you decided to place the buff onto could be eliminated in the very next instant thereby completely wasting the card.

The way I see it, you're asking for a nerf to AST simply so that they play in a very PVE way. Adjusting potencies would be difficult afterward, because then the value of the cards diminishes even further, and you can't necessarily increase the potency of the cards without worrying how it affects the balance and synergies on other jobs (not to mention, if the potency is high enough, placing a card on someone in PVP would essentially just be marking them as the primary target with the AST as their death knell).

FL is not worth balancing around tbh.

Let's just agree to disagree on this one.