Astro Card Proposal

[IceBlueNinja]

Yeah my same thought just get rid of both stances lol. This way we stop being call clone whms/schs heck drop regens and shields and just make our burst heals real good pots with no regen or shield. Touch up our cards and let us finally have our own identity

[Orlen]

Aye- They could make it he stances tie-in with what the cards do inherently.
(Potency increase or Dmg mitigation)

Essentially giving something (like shields) and (Regen) in. Roundabout way.

However, the problem still remains that
There is currently no reason to give any cards seperate names or identities if they all do inherently the same thing.

It's just matching colours to create a seal for divination.

If they still want an element of fate creating variability of somesort. And the old system was just (too many variable cards). Then it's just about creating paired effects.

If there are 6 cards, create either 3 different effects on each pair. Or, 2 effects for each group of 3.

....

What (was) fun about Astrologians was being able to adapt a string of drawn cards as a form of utility to compensate for any situation.
Low on mana? (Ewer)
Tank low geared (bowl)
About to enter a dps phase of a boss? (Balance) etc...

It's this mutability which gave the class it's excellent mutability.

And I miss it dearly...

[Haxaan]

I don't see why we couldn't go back to what the old cards did but take away the rng by either making them all hard press buttons, or making them a progressive combo on a cd. It seems to me that the biggest gripe that endgamers had was the rng, not what the card effects were. Of course pushing dps is always going to be the goal for that select group,but for the vast majority of people we just want flavor and class identity. If we knew what cards we were playing and when we could strategize how and when to use them based on their current cd or where they landed in the combo. I could just be talking out of my ass, but it's just a thought.

[IceBlueNinja]

I don't see why we couldn't go back to what the old cards did but take away the rng by either making them all hard press buttons, or making them a progressive combo on a cd. It seems to me that the biggest gripe that endgamers had was the rng, not what the card effects were. Of course pushing dps is always going to be the goal for that select group,but for the vast majority of people we just want flavor and class identity. If we knew what cards we were playing and when we could strategize how and when to use them based on their current cd or where they landed in the combo. I could just be talking out of my ass, but it's just a thought.

Which is what made the job unique I love the old stormblood card system because it kept me on my toes and forced me to really strategies of using cards/regen/shielding and all that stuff, yes I dont get why people complain about how rng the card system of stormblood is if so, play whm/sch that you dont have to deal with rng very simple. Every card but spire had it uses in stormblood which I simply burn and aoe the whatever card I need for that time. The rng with this current shadow bringers card whack system is more irritating to me vs stormblood rng cards honestly, every card doing the same whack boring 5 or 8% buff seals sometimes tend to not register even though you are in combat its like you still have to wait for that 10 second extra server tick for it to count and getting a different card but same seal that I already have is just *facepalm*, i didnt had to worry about that with stormblood cards. If I have to complain about rng its this very whack shadow bringer card with too much work for a buff that only grants a mere 15%, doesnt last long and have a horrid 120 cd so no your not talking out of your bum xD. This is the true power of ast

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...n_cheat_sheet/

[Anahlise_Auhn_Giinslai]

To be honest, I fairly like NobleWinter's concept idea.. it looks a little rough, like a concept that could be improved, but it does look good, while I can
also comprehend why others posted replied with issues/having issue with the concept.

I also most definitely agree with TY_Taurus's point that the best thing Astrologian card could have for a change, is no DPS relation and pure utility,
as that is both a good idea, and would also solve one of the fundamental problems with the cars.

additionally, I really like the idea that SweetPete shares at the end of page 4, as that could have the potential of being a problem-solve for the
new-versus-old preferences issue.

alright, and now for a (controversial?) statement, my own opinion...
what if the RNG aspect of the Astrologian cards, that (a lot of?/some?) people had/have(?) a problem with, was either just completely removed, or at the least, reduced a lot? This would not be relevant to the current Astrologian cards, though... my opinion is more pointed towards the old cards, and/or if the Astrologian cards were changed to be more complex, effect-diverse, fun, interesting, and unique again.

[ty_taurus]

To be honest, I fairly like NobleWinter's concept idea.. it looks a little rough, like a concept that could be improved, but it does look good, while I can
also comprehend why others posted replied with issues/having issue with the concept.

I also most definitely agree with TY_Taurus's point that the best thing Astrologian card could have for a change, is no DPS relation and pure utility,
as that is both a good idea, and would also solve one of the fundamental problems with the cars.

additionally, I really like the idea that SweetPete shares at the end of page 4, as that could have the potential of being a problem-solve for the
new-versus-old preferences issue.

alright, and now for a (controversial?) statement, my own opinion...
what if the RNG aspect of the Astrologian cards, that (a lot of?/some?) people had/have(?) a problem with, was either just completely removed, or at the least, reduced a lot? This would not be relevant to the current Astrologian cards, though... my opinion is more pointed towards the old cards, and/or if the Astrologian cards were changed to be more complex, effect-diverse, fun, interesting, and unique again.

Another Idea that came up a while back (and I mean like a year or so ago) was the idea of separating Draw into Categories:

Solar Draw:
You can only draw The Balance (6% melee damage buff) or The Arrow (6% ranged damage buff)

Lunar Draw:
You can only draw The Bole (20% damage reduction) or The Spear (Increases chance to receive critical heals)

Celestial Draw:
You can only draw The Ewer (MP Refresh Effect) or The Spire (Reduces MP costs and cast time)

The idea is they all share a cooldown, and you still need the seals for Divination. With this in mind, players would be using Solar Draw most of the time, but since you need a lunar seal and celestial seal at some point between one Divination and the next, you can to find the right moments when those elements of utility (Defense or Resource management) are the most advantageous since you are manually picking when those elements arise.

Additionally, instead of reshuffle, you have a new action called "Reverse" where you swap your current card for the other card of the same seal (i.e. swap Balance for Arrow and vice versa or swap Bole for Spear. You get the idea).

Honestly, I feel like this idea might be the farthest back toward how the old cards worked that we could realistically expect (though I don't necessarily find it likely).

[Marxam]

Balance, Arrow, Spear, Lord = 3% - 6% dmg buff on target player, respectively

Bole, Ewer, Spire, Lady = 6% - 10% crit buff on target player, respectively

There, problem fixed Jokes aside I do prefer the 4.0 version with the RR and buff timer manipulation and aoes. They could have kept the same system but changed it so that the cards only give beneficial effects like dmg, crit or even DH similar to the example I just gave. Personally I hope they do make an aoe bubble with the cards. Like if you draw a Balance you can set it on the field face up and everyone in that bubble gets the buff. Alternatively, you can also place a card face down and it will grow stronger in strength similar to earthly star and once the timer expires, everyone in range will get a the Lady/Lord version of the buff. If this sounds like Yugioh well take a look at the original AST weapon concept.

[Rollout]

I posted this in a thread when the changes first came out and people were complaining about the changes.
Keep the damage buff on all the cards and give each card these effects:

Balance: 5% Direct Hit Chance Buff
Spear: 5% Critical Chance Buff
Arrow: 5% Recast Time Reduction
Bole: 5% Damage Reduction
Ewer: 5% Increased Natural MP Regen
Spire: 5% Increased Natural HP Regen

[Kyeria]

In my honest opinion, the only thing that really needed to happen to fix the original card issues was to remove the damage buff from Balance.

1: Bring back all the original card buffs.
2: Bring back Royal Road, "Etc"
4: Change Balance into a new buff to compensate for the removal of the damage buff. ( No damage buffs of any kind )
5: Change Spire into a new buff to compensate for the removal of TP. ( No damage buffs of any kind )
6: Reduce Divinations Cooldown slightly and make it slightly more potent.
7: Bring back the original Minor Arcana abilities.

Bam! Astro retains its old identity and still retains a way to buff the parties damage. The issue with damage buffs in FFXIV is that they are always valued more than anything else by the community. The issue with the old card system wasn't that the other cards weren't useful, impactful, or fun to use...it's that they weren't useful in comparison to Balance.

This change removes the need to fish for Balance because damage is always valued over other buffs ( or any card that has damage+ tied to it ) and allows the Astro to use their cards more freely and situationally. Additionally, Divination now feels more impactful and worth saving seals for.

Just my two cents though.

[Tulzscha]

If you think about it, all pre-existing and proposed ideas for utility cards are really just highly situational dps increases. Damage reduction = less healing required = more dps, but only when the target would be taking damage. Increased move speed = higher uptime and/or less healing required = more dps, but only if the target needs to move a lot.

On one hand it would be satisfying to both draw and play the right card on the right person at the right time, on the other hand if your group knows what they're doing then most additional utility is completely useless, or they don't know what they're doing at all and get themselves killed regardless. The way FFXIV is designed there's little to no room for such abilities.

Alternatively AST's baseline utility (raise, rescue, some ogcd heals and buffs) could be put into the card system but then the random factor would be more than an annoyance, and if the cards are not sufficiently random there's no point in having the cards at all. Then again AST already has a fortune-telling aspect to some abilities (Astral Star, Horoscope).

Imo these are the most important factors in making the ideal card system:

• Rng is important so long as the AST remains capable when having bad luck.
• Seeing more than one card at a time helps make informed decisions which is more fun than being purely at the mercy of rng, particularly with utility cards.
• Minimal knowledge of other jobs required. You shouldn't need to know who benefits most from crit or direct hit in any given patch.
• Utility cards are more fun than dps cards but much harder to make work.
• A way to put useless cards to use is important.

Keeping in line with the fortune-telling theme here's an idea for utility cards: They have an ability to change the outcome of some future event, but if that player "defies their fate" they get a dmg buff or something instead.

• If target player would die within 6s they are automatically brought to 50% hp instead. If they don't die they get a dmg buff or shield (primarily for tank).
• If target player loses 50% of their max hp in the next 6s (without dying) they're healed by that amount. If they don't, they get a dmg buff.
• Target player gains a dash action for the next 6s. If not used they get a dmg buff. (Maybe too complicated for recipients.)
• The next heal received by the target within 6s is doubled. If they don't get healed they get a dmg buff.
• Target player takes 50% more dmg for the next 6s then gains a shield for twice the hp lost. If no hp was lost, dmg buff.
• All dmg dealt to target in the next 6s is delayed in a 12s dot. If no dmg taken, gain dmg buff.

In addition to such utility a number of mechanics could be utilized: Being able to see the next card after the one drawn, holding a card for later use, discarding a card to buff the next, burning a card for a simple dmg or heal effect, shuffling the deck to reset everything, etc.