Why don't astro cards stack?

[HyoMinPark]

As for actual suggestions...
They shouldn't stack if they are the same card in my opinion.
If they are different AND from another player, I don't see the harm. I think the RNG element is enough to not make this too overpowered, most of the time anyway.

Stacking an AOE Balance and an AOE Spear in an opener would not be as broken as two Balances stacked, but it would still be overpowered. This would not serve to balance the healers, but tilt scales in the favor of AST even more than it is now (especially when you compare them to WHM, which is the healer AST “competes” against).

They'll have to do something with the cards for Shadowbringers anyway, due to removal of TP and therefore making the current Spire redundant. Someone suggested on another thread this could become a direct hit buff which I guess is the last remaining stat to receive attention thus far.

Spire will either be reworked into another type of buff or deleted entirely. That they have to change Spire doesn’t mean that they should allow for AST buffs to stack—especially since no other jobs can stack their respective buffs. Again, this would not help the healer balance they are wanting to do going forward.

Also, do savage/ultimate/extreme organised parties typically NOT have 2 players of the same class and therefore this isn't a problem for them anyway?

During Creator when AST Balance was +20% for single target and +10% for AOE, it was not unheard of to find speedkills and parse groups running double AST. It’s fallen out of favor now since Balance is not as strong as it used to be (and with good reason). That said, optimized groups already oust one healer—allowing stacking buffs has the potential to oust two.

Double jobs only impact the ability to build LB. LB building isn’t that critical for most fights, and it didn’t hold people back then so I don’t imagine that it would hold them back going forward.

[Seraphor]

I would have agreed that stacking AST cards would be OP, however something has just occured to me.

You could have 30s of double strength Balance. (stacked Balance)
Or you can have 60s of regular Balance. (staggered Balance)

The net result is pretty much the same.
The latter is currently available with coordination...

So is it really that OP?
Of course with stacked you could also coordinate with other burst phases, which would increase overall DPS by more than staggered, but for the vast majority of players that wouldn't happen.

[HyoMinPark]

I would have agreed that stacking AST cards would be OP, however something has just occured to me.

You could have 30s of double strength Balance. (stacked Balance)
Or you can have 60s of regular Balance. (staggered Balance)

The net result is pretty much the same.
The latter is currently available with coordination...

So is it really that OP?
Of course with stacked you could also coordinate with other burst phases, which would increase overall DPS by more than staggered, but for the vast majority of players that wouldn't happen.

Having 30 seconds of +10% stacked Balance during a key period like the opening of a fight is more valuable than 60 seconds of +5% staggered Balance—mainly because the opening of the fight has a myriad of other buffs that stack with this +10%, and it is also the highest point of concentrated damage (in addition to “reopeners” where everything lines up again later on in the fight). You have to consider that, in addition to this +10%, you will likely also have buffs like Trick Attack, Battle Litany, Battle Voice, Foe’s Requiem, and Hypercharge (NIN/DRG/BRD/MCH is still the ideal comp for parse runs as far as I’m aware, with MCH being subbed out with SMN/BLM for speeds). Plus, people will be using Infusions for main stat gains during this time.

60 seconds of 5% staggered Balance would still leave the first Balance buffed by opening buffs and pots, which would inherently make it more valuable than the second round of Balance. This is already the case now when an AST will get a “double Balance” and give a COpp’d Balance in the opener (40 seconds) plus another 30 second Balance after that one falls off (for a total of 70 seconds)—the first Balance is a higher gain because it’s combined with so many other buffs; the second one is weaker because it’s usually naked, or paired only with 1-minute party buffs like Trick Attack (or 1-minute personal buffs like Fight or Flight and Internal Release).



The two are not equal to one another in terms of how much they would give a coordinated group; so no, the net result is not the same.

[Seraphor]

Well then my memory is fucked.

I distinctly remember doing Chrysalis not too long ago as Diurnal AST. The fight started before I noticed the other AST was Diurnal, and I'm sure they stacked...

[HyoMinPark]

I distinctly remember doing Chrysalis not too long ago as Diurnal AST. The fight started before I noticed the other AST was Diurnal, and I'm sure they stacked...

You're definitely misremembering. Two ASTs in the same sect have never been able to stack their shields or regens.

With how limit break being designed you are not suppossed to go with anything that has two people of the same job anyway...

And IF you are saying you dont care about limit break you should care less about wasted ast card... since people can clear most things withouth ast buff anyway

Most people can also clear things without LB. Melee LB3 in a party with i400/i405 weapons is only about 360,000~370,000 damage. AST cards are far more valuable. Fairly certain an AOE Balance in the opener alone gives you just as much as that LB3.

[LazyTitan87]

You're definitely misremembering. Two ASTs in the same sect have never been able to stack their shields or regens.

I will also confirm. I keep my buffs and outside buffs on two separate frames. When I had another AST go Di after a fight started (so I couldn't switch), his hots would overwrite mine.

Which was really annoying. >.>

[LadyKairi]

Well then my memory is fucked.

I distinctly remember doing Chrysalis not too long ago as Diurnal AST. The fight started before I noticed the other AST was Diurnal, and I'm sure they stacked...

I have mained Ast since it was released, and I’ve raided seriously with it. Can confirm the regens from two diurnal asts do not stack and never did. Was really annoying to deal with when I only wanted to play in diurnal in pugs.

[Miminming]

With how limit break being designed you are not suppossed to go with anything that has two people of the same job anyway...

And IF you are saying you dont care about limit break you should care less about wasted ast card... since people can clear most things withouth ast buff anyway

[Sunako]

It is same for every single job as well. If you have 2x sch you can not have double chain stratagem at same time or if you have two dragoons you can not stack 2x battle litany or can not stack 2x trick attacks etc.

[Yuyuka3]

I can answer your question in one word, TC. It's 'balance'.