AST proposal: An idea revisited

[ASkellington]

1) Objectives:
a) A similar APM to current day WHM.
b) A similar complexity to current day WHM.
c) A similar rotation to current day WHM.
d) A similar healer kit to current day WHM.

You can achieve this much simpler than what you have here.

• Remove Trashtrodyne

This is the source of the high APM on AST. Remove this, there's no reason to rush cards out so you have it for the opener. This also means a removal of the seals system.

• Remove a charge of Draw
• Remove Celestial Intersection
• Remove Collective Unconciousness
• Remove Undraw
• Remove Horoscope

This is mostly to reduce the extra oGCDs AST has in comparison.

WHM does have some oGCDs, may stand to have a bit more, but it doesn't need to be fully on the GCD model and I don't think AST needs to be either.

I chose to remove CI over Exal because Exaltation is a better thematic Divine Bension.
I chose to remove CU for no reason other than its a channeled ability. You can move Celestial Opposition here instead.

Horoscope I don't think needs to be removed since to use the bigger heal you need to use a GCD anyway... But if we're going to instead turn it into a GCD... I mean Macrocosmos is right there just reduce the recast timer then.

• CO becomes a GCD and costs mana. Recast timer can stay at 60s.
  
• Earthly Star I don't know what to do with honestly. It doesn't need to be changed (aside from its radius reduction ffs SE).
  
• Minor Arcana... Remove it. I don't see a way of consolidating it.
  
• Cards remain unchanged.
  
• Remove a charge of Essential Dignity. I think its recharge timer is fine. I'd change what level you get it at, but not much else.

Perposed changes:

• Neutral Sect impacts more of AST's kit - specifically with CO/CU, Exalt.

In the case of CO, like Nocturnal Sect did previously it shields.
With CU I would split the mitigation and HoT. Under Neutral you would have both. Without it, just the mitigation.
Exaltation would be closer to Divine Bension in giving an actual shield and not mitigation. When consumed or Exaltation ends it applies a heal equal to the total shield when it is first applied.

If instead we'd rather remove Neutral that is an option.

• Synastry now works with Exaltation, A. Benefic, and Essential Dignity.

This is for more kit cohesion. Personally if we're trying to reduce complexity with AST you'd want to remove Synastry all together. But you can also not make this change and it would be fine.

Because Lightspeed is a thing...

• Increase cast times from 1.5 to 2s.

Cards are still on the oGCD. Lightspeed can be used for movement or for heavy healing instances since its now no longer required for Astrodyne/Divination windows. Jury's out on having 2 charges or not

[Shurrikhan]

You can achieve this much simpler than what you have here.

• Remove Trashtrodyne

This is the source of the high APM on AST. Remove this, there's no reason to rush cards out so you have it for the opener. This also means a removal of the seals system.

Technically, if not for your also having removed the second charge from Draw, you'd still rush Cards out so that, far more importantly, they're up for their recipients' openers, stacking as tightly as is possible with Divination.

Removing Astrodyne also removes roughly half the optimization available to cards, since you're not returning any of the old Card model here to replace Seal, nor returning Divination to its original form.

Removing the second charge on Cards reduces the busyness of AST, but also takes away yet more of its otherwise available optimization. Hrmm.

I guess I just have to ask, are some these suggestions in emulation of reducing the job's skill ceiling per the original Ren goal, or are they all honest preferences?

[ASkellington]

Technically, if not for your also having removed the second charge from Draw, you'd still rush Cards out so that, far more importantly, they're up for their recipients' openers, stacking as tightly as is possible with Divination.

Removing Astrodyne also removes roughly half the optimization available to cards, since you're not returning any of the old Card model here to replace Seal, nor returning Divination to its original form.

Removing the second charge on Cards reduces the busyness of AST, but also takes away yet more of its otherwise available optimization. Hrmm.

I guess I just have to ask, are some these suggestions in emulation of reducing the job's skill ceiling per the original Ren goal, or are they all honest preferences?

The only change I listed here as an actual preference is Synastry's change.

Actual changes I'd like to see on AST aren't listed here.