Question from a new player - can AST change back to what it was before ?

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They could have changed Spire's effect to something else (i.e., increased determination) while also changing Balance into direct hit versus pure damage, as it was the "problem child" when it came to old AST. There's no need to bring back TP. And I'm sure Boles would still find some use in Ultimates: tanks hugged tank stance while progging the last two even when they didn't have to, and extra mitigation to survive new mechanics is never something to scoff at. Plus, it would work wonders for squishy tanks in dungeons (which is where I liked to use a lot of my Boles). Don't discount them that easily.



Did you never use Minor Arcana to get rid of your unneeded cards before?

The cards aren't really much better (they're weaker in potency than old Balance), and I'm actually curious to see AST's rDPS contributions. As it stands, top speedkils are bringing double WHMs right now, not AST - which doesn't spell well for its rDPS contributions. It's already lacking in both damage and healing compared to WHM and SCH, so the cards are all it has. ASTs are severely underrepresented in current uploads. I believe the rates for both EXs are sub-20% for ASTs.

This isn't taking into consideration the issues the job has in dungeons. Single-target encounters seem fine (though Divination windows are a hot mess that require holding Lightspeed in order to execute properly), but they have to work twice as hard with trash pulls compared to WHM and SCH. And their oGCD healing toolkit is extremely weak with the exception of Earthly Star and maybe Horoscope (though the latter has a somewhat clunky execution).

I guess I'm just always confused on what they could've change em too if I'm being honest. Like the things I've seen I dunno if that'll work in real life. Like maybe I'm just not seeing what they could've done from what is already here you know? Like how do you make them different enough to matter and not useless but also not make it so everyone only goes after that one card? I'm generally asking.

I've seen people say things like a crit only card and so on. But then my question is could that work live? I like to think they made those changes for a reason and there's Abit of logic to it. Maybe they did it cause everyone only talks about balance. I dunno.