Hi SE, can we get rid of the current card system in next expansion, pls?

[Rasikko]

Need a defense card, like really -.-. Also Collective SameThing needs to do different things in each sect. lol

[Lodi]

Need a defense card, like really -.-. Also Collective SameThing needs to do different things in each sect. lol

I was running a dungeon as AST yesterday (there's still instant queues btw) and got teamed up with not a very good tank, I thought to myself "I could really use a Bole right now".
AST gameplay is now 50% fishing for seals and getting angry at 3x!Redraw giving you Arrow Spire Arrow Spire, and 50% thinking about how much better the class was a few months ago.

Geez, I wonder why so few people play it.

Oh hey, speaking of which!
Did you know that AST is now the strongest healer in raids, and that AST+SCH is the strongest healer comp by a large margin? Now, did you know that AST is the least played healer, and AST+SCH is the least used comp? Well now you do!
And to make things even funnier, AST is the least played healer across all lv80 content!


please square do something you still have the time to realize your mistakes

[Allegor]

That really only proves that the great majority of people don't care about numbers if the gameplay is poop [and/or aren't as motivated to level AST to 80 because solo content as healer is even more poop]. Let that minority of people enjoy the new AST, but don't give your back to everyone else and say the job is fine when it's clearly not.

[HyoMinPark]

Need a defense card, like really -.-. Also Collective SameThing needs to do different things in each sect. lol

CU used to do different things in each Sect back when AST was first implemented in HW. Diurnal CU was only regen and Noct CU was only mitigation. It sucked and they changed it.

[monk-dps]

I don't think we will ever see the old system. There's a few things that we just don't have anymore.. TP being the biggest one. So unless you want TP back - I don't- then the old system will never be here 100% like it was. Plus all people did was fish for balance anyway. - points to Mr. Happy's many opinions on it.-

[MitsukiKimura]

I don't think we will ever see the old system. There's a few things that we just don't have anymore.. TP being the biggest one. So unless you want TP back - I don't- then the old system will never be here 100% like it was. Plus all people did was fish for balance anyway. - points to Mr. Happy's many opinions on it.-

They can replace TP card with a direct hit buff instead. A "Very" small majority of players fished for balance aka "Parse runners" Mr Happy wouldn't know whats good for astro if it hit him in the back of the head. They managed to give bard back it's utility even if it's small. Taking away it's lore, it's MP regen and the fun out of it for those minority of players is what killed the astrologian player base. If they can't fix it then the only healers you'll see are WHM and SCH. I really love AST but the fact remains is that its not fun for the amount of work, strategy with planning your OGCDs with mechanics that you have to go through in a fight/raid. Yes have all my cards boost damage.... It's honestly lame and I am ashamed of anyone who thought this was a good idea.

[Shurrikhan]

I don't think we will ever see the old system. There's a few things that we just don't have anymore.. TP being the biggest one. So unless you want TP back - I don't- then the old system will never be here 100% like it was. Plus all people did was fish for balance anyway. - points to Mr. Happy's many opinions on it.-

If anything, the old system would be better served with TP gone, as it arbitrarily separated casters from physical damage dealers while all other effects worked on the entire raid (even if not quite equally well on each).

More pivotal would simply be to give MP back to everyone else, ideally without dependence on Invigorate or Lucid Dreaming (as these are only used on CD anyways). At that point, Ewer could restore MP over time while Spire could significantly reduce MP costs, allowing for bursts of activity that favor healer AoE heals (over Ewer and potentially over Bole), melee utility (e.g. ranged attack usage), all AoE slightly, and BLM AF phase bursts.

[HyoMinPark]

I don't think we will ever see the old system. There's a few things that we just don't have anymore.. TP being the biggest one. So unless you want TP back - I don't- then the old system will never be here 100% like it was. Plus all people did was fish for balance anyway. - points to Mr. Happy's many opinions on it.-

You can literally just change the effect of old Spire. They did it with Spear in 4.x. Citing “no more TP” is a poor reason to give with regards to not returning the old card system. And Balance fishing was only a thing in top-tier play—anyone who didn’t care about parsing or speedkilling didn’t care to always Balance fish, and this is coming from someone who does care about at least one of those things.

Even as a raider, I’d give anything for Ewers to give MP again, and for a nicely juicy Bole in dungeons to give the tank during a large pull.

[Lodi]

You can literally just change the effect of old Spire. They did it with Spear in 4.x. Citing “no more TP” is a poor reason to give with regards to not returning the old card system. And Balance fishing was only a thing in top-tier play—anyone who didn’t care about parsing or speedkilling didn’t care to always Balance fish, and this is coming from someone who does care about at least one of those things.

Even as a raider, I’d give anything for Ewers to give MP again, and for a nicely juicy Bole in dungeons to give the tank during a large pull.

I really hope SE goes the bowmage route again, keeping AST horrible for two years before admitting their mistakes and reworking it for 6.0 into something that's universally loved.

Because right now what I'm afraid of is seeing AST gradually buffed into a state of accepable mediocrity, something that works but is nothing but a shadow of its former self.
And it's what's happening. AST still feels as bad as in 5.0, but now it's top tier again.

[Mansion]

I really hope SE goes the bowmage route again, keeping AST horrible for two years before admitting their mistakes and reworking it for 6.0 into something that's universally loved.

Because right now what I'm afraid of is seeing AST gradually buffed into a state of accepable mediocrity, something that works but is nothing but a shadow of its former self.
And it's what's happening. AST still feels as bad as in 5.0, but now it's top tier again.

As a bandaid fix for 5.X, I'd just like to ditch the seals. The interaction with Divination is problematic in openers, it "forces" Lightning speed to be paired with Sleeve when it should be a MP tool before anything.
Yesterday I got Lakshmi normal mode in a roulette, and I contemplated how stupid it is to be so out of synch with every raid buff as I couldn't blast Divination in the opener.

So yeah, just making Divination a 6% buff with a fixed CD, and perhaps Minor Arcana should become a separate Draw with a longer CD, or returned to what it used to be (although it's not worth burning card now I guess). That's be okay. Still won't save the sinking ship but well.