Astrologian: what is your understanding about it?

[Kissune]

I think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to EW AST, here's your proof since you don't believe me:



I just have a different opinion on the job than you do. You view current AST as less frustrating, I view it as equal or worse, because I'm having less fun with it.

First of all, you could have taken a picture of anyone's logs, but that doesn't matter. I already found your main earlier, and fuck at least I know you actually play AST but if you wanna play that game I'm sure you can check out my Aspho logs bc I don't hide behind alts. Second of all, if it is true that you play in current content, I actually want to understand how you can think StB AST would in any way fit into the current design space of the game. This isn't stormblood anymore, and it never will be again. I genuinely do not understand how anyone can look at current minor arcana and think 'yeah that seems well designed, we should design the entire card system around that' bc that's what stormblood cards functionally were. You had a lot of bullshit you could do with them, sure, but at the end of the day you were, and still would be just fishing for the balance. I'd like to be able to do more with current cards too, and to have more impactful abilities than draw, redraw, and play since dyne is irrelevant and divi isn't tied to cards anymore, but I don't get how adding a bunch of cards that don't do anything would be the way to do it, and I just can't really see it from your perspective at all.

Like seriously how do you think StB AST would actually function now? People would lose their shit at you for any of the haste cards, the resource reduction cards are either worthless or straight up nonfunctional in the case of spire, and the bole as said before might as well be a dead card bc you can't play around having it for any given raidwide. They'd have to come up with a bunch of new ones, but if they don't do damage you'd literally never want to draw one over the balance. Even with royal road. And yeah making the best of the hand dealt to you is AST's thing but with how potent 2min windows are if you don't have the balance by then with its aoe 5% it's a HUGE dps loss and dps checks would have to be designed around that bc it adds up.

[ASkellington]

Like seriously how do you think StB AST would actually function now? People would lose their shit at you for any of the haste cards, the resource reduction cards are either worthless or straight up nonfunctional in the case of spire, and the bole as said before might as well be a dead card bc you can't play around having it for any given raidwide. They'd have to come up with a bunch of new ones, but if they don't do damage you'd literally never want to draw one over the balance. Even with royal road. And yeah making the best of the hand dealt to you is AST's thing but with how potent 2min windows are if you don't have the balance by then with its aoe 5% it's a HUGE dps loss and dps checks would have to be designed around that bc it adds up.

That's the Dev team's headache.

But honestly, Balance's buff would be replaced by Divination. There's the bloody standard buff that people wanted and now the other 6 cards can do something else.

HOW has many iterations some of which I said back in Shb:

• If we had Noct Sect we could toggle between the two: Half the cards in Diurnal, half in Nocturnal with one sect having the offensive cards and the other defensive.
• Keep with the idea of 3 different effects and split them between Melee and Ranged. Not ideal but a decent middle ground.
• Cards are now on a rotating wheel. When you press Draw/Play (however you wanna work it out) it stops on that card allowing you to mitigate RNG.
• You can Draw and then Hold a card, saving it for later. While being held the card in question is removed from the pool and you can then Draw from the remaining 5. More RNG mitigation (bonus points if you want to keep Redraw).

They had options. They chose to be lazy and take the easy way out.

RNG is part of the class and part of the fun of the class for many. If that isn't your cup of tea may I suggest the 3 other healers in the game?

[Kissune]

now the other 6 cards can do something else.

Do what?
Are they all utility? If so, what 6 pieces of utility are they? Are they healing? Mit? MP regen? Great, well, you can't play around any of them so they are no longer part of your core kit, and are instead just bonuses on top. Why even have 'rng cards in the game' if all the do is function like generic healing tools.

If we had Noct Sect we could toggle between the two: Half the cards in Diurnal, half in Nocturnal with one sect having the offensive cards and the other defensive.

Same issue. Offensive cards are always the better draw, and you can't play around the defensive ones.

Keep with the idea of 3 different effects and split them between Melee and Ranged. Not ideal but a decent middle ground.

Wdym 3 different effects? If they're not all damage buffs, same issue. One is always a better draw, the rest are useless.

Cards are now on a rotating wheel. When you press Draw/Play (however you wanna work it out) it stops on that card allowing you to mitigate RNG. You can Draw and then Hold a card, saving it for later. While being held the card in question is removed from the pool and you can then Draw from the remaining 5. More RNG mitigation (bonus points if you want to keep Redraw).

Didn't you literally just say two lines down that RNG is part of the class? At that point, why even have RNG at all.

RNG is part of the class and part of the fun of the class for many. If that isn't your cup of tea may I suggest the 3 other healers in the game?

May I suggest you actually read what I'm suggesting? I main this job, I clearly like the RNG, and having to think on the fly and have my knowledge of other classes rewarded. My biggest wish for the rework is that RNG cards are preserved. What isn't my cup of tea is having buttons that do fuck all in my kit, which is why I don't see how stormblood cards can work in the current design space. Having one card be the objective best is poor design, whereas with current cards the objective best is 'whatever card you currently need to fill out your seals or provide the most overall dps'. Which can be any of the 6. MP regen will never be the objective best. Mitigation will never be the objective best, bc if it is your mit plan is fucked. If you really like having your kit be a complete gacha, may I suggest World of Warcraft?

[ASkellington]

DO WHAT?

Again, that's the Dev team's headache. We've had plenty of people go up and down which are the best effects of the cards.

THERE IS NONE

There is always going to be a worst card and a best card. If all the cards are Offensive or Utility you may as well replace them with buffs then and remove the card system. The point of the class is to make the best of the card(s) you're given.

[Kissune]

Again, that's the Dev team's headache. We've had plenty of people go up and down which are the best effects of the cards.

THERE IS NONE

There is always going to be a worst card and a best card. If all the cards are Offensive or Utility you may as well replace them with buffs then and remove the card system. The point of the class is to make the best of the card(s) you're given.

Yeah, except right now there really is no best card. Right now? The best card in any given situation is always changing even from pull to pull, which would not be the same with StB cards. The card you need depends on your seals, and it depends on what role you either haven't carded or is cranking out the most DPS. It is not a coin toss. The class is unironically the most balanced it's ever been with its cards yet still requires quick thinking and reactivity to ensure that card goes to the right person, at the right time, and does the most for you. Sure, having them all be DPS cards is less complicated, but I'd say it's much less frustrating and punishing when you don't get what you want. It allows for optimization, without making your life hell if you have bad luck. Playing a card is always doing something, rather than just having literal dead draws. Worst case scenario a 3% damage buff with a seal you already have is still a 3% damage buff.

You're always going to have to make a healplan as if you never draw a lady of crowns. You make the best of the ladies you're given, but all they are is just a bit of extra. It's probably the ability with the most wasted overheal next to afflatus rapture/solace in the game. All bringing back stormblood cards would do is just take minor arcana and somehow make it even worse.