Thread: Astrologian 5.0 Discussion

Originally Posted by Mansion

I'm actually ok with it?

From what I understand the cards are nerfed but it's more about having options of drawing specific cards and doing so more frequently. My only "concern" is the Divination buff, which is a good idea in theory, feels clunky in potency compared to duration. 15 seconds of 6% damage up every 3 minutes that's low compared to the potential spread balance we had every minute.
I don't know if someone already has mathed out the frequency of drawing and having cards up on individuals compared to every 30 seconds (every minute if you royal road). I think it's just a different playstyle. I want to play it before saying it's been slaughtered.

Now the healing oGCDs are a bliss, not just kicking WHM in the gutter once more, I love how AST embraces its versatility now. Coupled with a SCH, it's going to be very powerful, healing wise.

Its not that the cards are 'nerfed' is that you lack choices.

we 'had' 6 cards with 6 individual effects.

Now we have 2 cards, and the chance of 1 or 3 different 'seals' appearing above those 2 cards. Oh, and both cards to essentially the same exact thing. One just gives a better bonus to mele, while the other gives a better bonus to ranged.

They didnt 'nerf' the cards, they removed them. and gave us a coin to flip instead.

Originally Posted by Mansion

Yeah but they give you tools you act on RNG.
Yes we had 6 cards but :
- You never used Spire outside of Royal Road
- You never used Bole
- you scarcely used Ewer for MP, otherwise it was royal road.
- Arrow was not a good thing for some jobs
---- All this submitted to RNG. Having a bole come right for a Tank Buster is more than rare. Same for Ewer when someone is lacking MP.

Now it's just DMG up, and you cycle through Seals for Divination full potency (although like a said, 6% every 3minutes is too low in my opinion, unless you can stack it with individual cards)
I agree, it's less "challenging" than current cards but I don't know if it is really that bad, especially if fights need more healing and you Draw more frequently.

Also I'm grateful we are finally getting rid of this Sleeve Draw Scenario :

What RNG is there tools to work on?... You have 1 single coin to flip with only 2 sides, and 3 'possible' signs that can show up above those 2 and only 2 choices. And nomater WHAT combination you get of anything, the one and only thing you have is a DMG buff. Nothing else. You can get the exact same face of the coin to show up 3 times in and row, with the exact same sign 3 times in a row.. and guess what?.. Your still giving a DMG buff! Or you can get the exact same 'face' of the coin to show up 3 times in a row, but get 3 different signs.. and oh yea! 'better' version of the exact same buff!

I used Bole quite often, I used Ewer on every other 'caster' i raized if i manage to get it as a card before i rezed them. Or even myself if my own mana was running low so i cold stack it with Lucid Dreaming. And cycling a Balance so you could use a 'boosted' Arrow on a ninja was just fun (the only downside being they'd burn through their TP insainly fast.. but hey! 5.0 = no TP! so there goes that 'one and only downside'.)

And as for the "Now its just DMG up". Your right... you have 1 card.. and 1 card only now. Which... isnt a card, it a coin you flip.

As foor the Sleeve draw you mentioned. Yea.. ive gotten it before. Their 'removing' TP as a whole.. Makes sense Spire would nolonger be needed meaning they could CHANGE that card's effect to make it more useful with 5.0's mechanics.

Instead, they simply went "Hey! We heard the Meta-players only care about pure Damage buffs.. so were taking all your cards away, and giving you a coin to use instead! Have fun!"

The new cards system seems terribly uninteresting.

Each time I play AST, I don't do the same thing because fortune doesn't give me the same cards.
This what is fun : impredictibility and decision making with the cards we got from Draw and Sleeve Draw.
Depending of the fight you are in, of the actual situation, the state of the team in this fight, the composition of the team, and your beliefs, you have to make a choice with the cards you got.
In fact, with all of that you have hundreds of possibilities. I can play the same fight over and over and each time it's new, thanks to the cards system.

Yes, it's not all about getting Balance AOE, its about dealing with cards to the best possible maneer while aiming for Balance AOE (or Arrow, it's not that bad).
I draw Arrow when I have already Balance in spread ? I redraw but got Bole. Not interesting at this moment, so I use Minor Arcana.
My partner or I was dead ? Focus on Ewer.
Will the team suffer for x reason ? Focus on Bole.
I draw a Spear with 150% enhanced ? Give it on Bard.
Should I discard my Spread card giving by Sleeve Draw because it's useless for now, or can I find a situation soon to apply it ?
Etc.

So many possibilities leading to so many possible decisions to take. This is our cards system. This is what is fun.
The new cards system remove all of that. The fun to playing AST will be gone.


Note : The new skills are not awesome and I'am deeply affected by the loss of Time Dilation, Celestial Opposition changes and nerf to Collective Unconscious.