I think it's important to note that "BIG NUMBER" is not necessarily a positive in the face of the potency nerfs. Midare/Namikiri used to feel like huge abilities because they were, they had significantly higher potencies than the combos that set them up to be used. Since they've flattened out the damage spikes in the rotation, the "finishing moves" (Midare/Namikiri/Shoha/Guren/Senei) no longer feel meaningful or give you something to look forward to at the apex of your rotation, aside from flashy animations. If the flashiest attack animations in your kit aren't putting up the biggest spikes of damage, they feel superfluous. I've had my ST combos end on a direct crit that did roughly equal or greater damage than the guaranteed crit on a single Midare.