My quick idea on AST card system going forward

[Gemina]

In another thread, I brought up that I feel the devs are very close to finally getting the card system to really be something engaging and enjoyable. I brought up that the ability Redraw has caused players to fight with RNG, which I feel is a counter productive process during PvE. I think there can be some elements of RNG, but they have to be used correctly, and not in a way that has the player 'fight' their own mechanic.

The EW changes have me expanding on some of these changes, and I wanted to see what you guys thought about them. In this system, the AST will have to think about using even the first card drawn. They might want to Minor Arcana it. Allow me to explain.

- The card game places Astrodyne on the current 120s timer.
- Draw would need to be reduced to 20s.
- Redraw is gone.
- Play remains.
- The Minor Arcana gauge will show wither it is Lord or Lady should the player MA the card.
- Any draw can result in a lord/lady should you choose to MA. It is always 50/50, but the gauge does let you know what it will be.
- Both Play and Minor Arcana trigger the GCD.

Redraw is no longer used to get the seals you want. Instead, you use Minor Arcana when you get a seal you do not want. You have the time between Astrodyne CD windows to acquire your seals. Draw cannot be used outside combat. Six chances to get the seals of your choice...

The seals mean something:
Solar: Damage up/Healing up
Lunar: Refresh
Celestial: Haste

The AST can try to stack these effects, or obtain multiple benefits:
Solar: 4% increase per seal
Lunar: Potency 60 per seal
Celestial: 6% reduction to all timers per seal

If my math is correct it is actually tougher to get three of the same seal than it is to get one of each. As the two subsequent draws both have a 33% of giving you the seal you want opposed to the 66% chance of getting a seal you want on the second draw. Hopefully these figures are set in a way that makes multiple results very favorable despite the RNG, while giving you something to shoot for.

What I like about this little game is it really gives you something to think about. If going for damage do you MA your first card if it isn't a Solar. If you have two solars, just drew a Celestial with one draw left before Astrodyne, do you risk burning it, or get that sweet haste buff on top of it? Just brain stewing over here.

Constructive criticism is welcomed.

[inhaledcorn]

These changes don't really address some of the core issues the system has going forward.

1) This still makes openers very jank for AST. Missing out on the Solar or Celestial seals absolutely kills opener burst. If the seals stack, then it'll probably best to go for two Solar and a Celestial. Don't get that? Welp, tough cookie. And, well, if you get Lunar in the opener...

2) Adding MP refresh to this effect can potentially really hurt ASTs MP generation. Since the seal effects stack, for the most DPS, AST is just going to avoid the MP refresh effect and go for raw damage. They may take some extra piety, but not much. I mean, I used a minimum Piety build in 5.3 when ASTs MP generation was garbage and usually did fine.

3) The Minor Arcana effects have to be really fucking good to overcome the DPS loss of not playing a card. You're giving up a 6% boost on someone, potentially in a small burst window, for, what, an extra Malefic, or, even worse, extra healing?

Don't get me wrong: What you have suggested is far better than what AST has coming, but it doesn't fix those core issues. Personally, I'd rather have Luna be the Haste and Celestial be a split between damage and haste. It's still encouraged to go for 3 seals, but maybe a mix of seals depending on your gear build might be better. On top of that, Minor Arcana would need to be something really good for AST, and it can't be a split between damage and healing. If Draw is reduced to 20s but still has 500 MP gain, I don't think AST will have MP problems.

[Gemina]

These changes don't really address some of the core issues the system has going forward.

1) This still makes openers very jank for AST. Missing out on the Solar or Celestial seals absolutely kills opener burst. If the seals stack, then it'll probably best to go for two Solar and a Celestial. Don't get that? Welp, tough cookie. And, well, if you get Lunar in the opener...

2) Adding MP refresh to this effect can potentially really hurt ASTs MP generation. Since the seal effects stack, for the most DPS, AST is just going to avoid the MP refresh effect and go for raw damage. They may take some extra piety, but not much. I mean, I used a minimum Piety build in 5.3 when ASTs MP generation was garbage and usually did fine.

3) The Minor Arcana effects have to be really fucking good to overcome the DPS loss of not playing a card. You're giving up a 6% boost on someone, potentially in a small burst window, for, what, an extra Malefic, or, even worse, extra healing?

Don't get me wrong: What you have suggested is far better than what AST has coming, but it doesn't fix those core issues. Personally, I'd rather have Luna be the Haste and Celestial be a split between damage and haste. It's still encouraged to go for 3 seals, but maybe a mix of seals depending on your gear build might be better. On top of that, Minor Arcana would need to be something really good for AST, and it can't be a split between damage and healing. If Draw is reduced to 20s but still has 500 MP gain, I don't think AST will have MP problems.

Thanks for your response. Let's see if I can address some of the things you've brought up.

1. That would likely be because there is no way to have Astrodyne ready to go for openers in most situations. I did think about adding Sleeve Draw to basically give AST three random seals so they can pop Astrodyne straight off, but then I decided against it. I nuked it for a couple of reasons. The first is AST already has Divination for openers, and it's change totally addresses the current janky opener phase for AST. Also, AST will very likely be able to use Astrodyne along with Divination for subsequent burst phases. The second is AST is not a DPS job, and Sleeve Draw in this form will break the card mech.

2. The refresh effect isn't set in stone, and I agree that it is a meh buff. However, I think in order for this card game to work, the seals have to be set up as Good/Better/Best. If all the seals boost damage just in different ways, then it honestly sucks and defeats the purpose. I am open to another beneficial effect other than Refresh. I just don't know what that can also be given stack allowance.

3. You will notice that I did not disclose what Lord and Lady actually do. I just know that Minor Arcana is used to play a card as lord or lady when the AST does not wish to acquire the seal that was drawn. I also know that it's not just damage, but a seal that the AST is giving up; plus using MA triggers the GCD. Trust me, I know it has to be worth it, and an AoE heal or damage spell won't even come close to a somewhat competent DPS with a 6% damage boost for 15s.

Furthermore, Sleeve Draw is gone, and with it, the MP Refresh; so Minor Arcana cards could give the AST an MP return. If you are concerned about MP issues for AST under this proposed idea, I will have to point out that perhaps those Lunar seals might just be more favorable that initially let on.