AST proposal: An idea revisited

[Renathras]

Just something Roe said in that big thread going on in General right now got me to thinking, while I've suggested it as an option before, I never made a proposal.

So Roe, this is to you, specifically. Here is what I think would have to happen for this to work. It's why I don't think it makes sense to be the one chosen, but it COULD work if the following changes were made:

1) Objectives:
a) A similar APM to current day WHM.
b) A similar complexity to current day WHM.
c) A similar rotation to current day WHM.
d) A similar healer kit to current day WHM.

I'm not even entirely sure how to do this, mind you, but for a first stab at it, I feel it'd be something like this...

2) Overall kit changes to accomplish this:

a) Cards moved to the GCD. Draw and Play are now GCD actions, not oGCDs. They likely would retain the system the have now in the sense of being "oops, all Balance", or a 1/2/3% damage/crit/DH like BRD songs are. They would, however, need to refund damage in some way. I've considered multiple options, from Draw damaging your active target (if enemy) to there being some kind of "damage Kardia" thing you slap on the boss, but honestly, the simplest solutions are sometimes the best, and the simplest I can think of is - Each time Draw OR Play (both do this) is used, they give some kind of stacking thing (Seals could work for this) which increases the damage of the next Malific by 100%. Stacks 4 times or something. This would effectively make using Cards and then Malific equivalent to using Solace/Rapture and then using Misery...probably with the same kind of optimization, but hey, works for WHM, so we'll go with it.

b) Delayed actions are now outright actions, like as not. So Earthly Star works like Assize. You use the ability and it blows up and does the heal and damage. The only exception would probably be Macrocosmos since WHM has Lilybell and it's effectively the same type of thing here. Horoscope would be converted to be more like Plenary. Or possibly outright removed - Collective might just be strictly better.

c) Either remove Minor Arcana or split it into a different category of buff. I've before suggested Minor Arcana be Bole (mitigation), Ewer (MP regen), probably Arrow (movement speed), and they could be AOEs like the PvP versions. The other three can be flavors of Balance/Speer/Spire that are either like now or all the same or like BRD (1% damage, 2% crit, 3% DH). Also would be GCD and work like the regular Draw/Play do.

d) Reduce the CD on Cards to something like 15 or 20 sec. Still stacks to 2. This allows much more frequent use of the cards to really lean into that feeling and gameplay than the current "stock 3 for burst, use 1 at the min mark in between" which is very meh. This would also make it more equivalent to Lilies, albeit needing to Draw AND Play. Of course, an alternative would be to remove Draw and just each time you Play, it cycles to (or randomly selects) the next card, but whatever.

e) Have Lightspeed also reduce recast by 0.5 sec or something. Basically some kind of way to shoehorn in a PoM-ish effect...though honestly I don't care either way on that. Alternatively, could make it work like Thin Air to only effect the next spell cast so that it's something of a Acceleration/poor-man's Swiftcast for movement. Though with the Play/Draw changes, they're also effective movement tools now.

f) Undraw removed, Redraw probably removed.

g) Astrodyne either removed outright or merged with Lightspeed or something.

h) Probably have Neutral Sect work like Emergency Tactics instead where it influences the next spell cast. Though honestly it staying as it is is probably fine, it's just WHM doesn't have anything like this to compare it to so...I guess question mark tentatively leave it alone for now.

i) Exaltation and Celestial Intersection are parallels to Aquaveil and Divine Benison, so they're probably fine as-is. Likewise, Macrocosmos is close enough to Lilybell we'll go with it for now.

j) Probably trim some abilities, though I'm not entirely sure what. Base Benefic upgrading to Benific II is a no-brainer at this point (same cast time, similar MP efficiency and cost), the stuff removed like Redraw and Undraw, and possibly some other stuff merged like Astrodyne with Light Speed or Divination, Celestial Opposition and Earthly Star (make CO into Assize and be done with it), and so on. AST with about 3-4 less buttons would put it in line with WHM.

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That would probably do the general job of making AST into something for the people that like current WHM.

The reason I never propose this is it would basically be completely reworking and replacing AST (again), alienating all the people that like AST as it is, and then changing all the other three Jobs, which means the people that like AST now would have to swap AND aren't guaranteed to find what they're looking for on the other Jobs anyway.

This is why I say making AST the simple one for the 4 Healers Model is the least desired outcome, though if we were to propose it, something like the above would be how it would need to be done.

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And the sad thing is, the AST rework will probably be designed to make it easier, yet still somehow miss the mark. SEE: Post-6.3 PLD that is easier yet somehow added a button to make PLD's bloat even worse. (Though the PLD change, like the SMN one, has likely been an overall success, both also alienated a lot of people...)