DT AST is Unpleasant to Play Now

[ToodlesElNoodles]

The new card changes are horrible, coming from casual roulette content.

It’s clunky having the 3 different card effects and being on a 2 min rotation makes them unreliable for use. If they want to have Astral/Umbral phases in AST, please have some indicator other than Blue/Purple Gauge (which can be annoying to distinguish), something similar to BLM Fire/Ice phase just to make it more obvious which card set we have.

Play 1 goes to the DPS. Play 2 and 3 i just toss on the tank. The damage reduction/heal action and shield/regen are not enough for tossing on a healer/DPS to help them. If they need healing, that’s the point of Essential Dignity.

I don’t understand this. Tanks have the least issues of dying and AST never struggled to heal tanks in W2W pulls. Why do I need MORE tank cooldowns?

Also, AST is SO much more boring. Having Draw and Play (with the occasional Redraw for Astrodyne) was at least something engaging to think about.

I always get my healers to max level first because I enjoy the healing role, but I will leave AST at 90 because it’s not fun. Very disappointed.

[Valmaxian]

Personally, Ive been enjoying the ability to stack cards on the same target, and have found applications for the healing/defensive cards outside of the tank. Previously, the cards would only ever go to F3 or F4. Now I’m actually thinking about how I can use them effectively.

[Rithy255]

My issue is that these cards are just weaker versions of what astro already has.

They serve no actual purpose other then to be filler skills you put on a tank, these new "unique" cards, one is literally just Celestial intersection and one of them exaltation what is the point in these cards? The other is a 10% healing boost on a single target? like ok i guess? one of them is a regen.

Am I actually missing something because to me this doesn't seem like "the unique interesting card system" it just seems messy.

The rework would have made more sense if they just removed cards at this point (not saying they should), because these "new cards" are barely worth anything.

[NidesIvmorch]

I haven't messed with the new cards too much yet because I've been leveling Picto, but after trying it, i'm not sure how I feel about it. I like that they're more unique and not just dps buffs, and removing the RNG aspect of them is great. As far as usage of the cards, it feels like there's just 1 for DPS and 2 for tank, at least in dungeons. It would be nice to have MP recovery back or something like that for personal use, or healer assist.

I do miss the buildup to a personal buff, and with the longer cooldown, my MP suffers more than the last 2 expacs.

BUT, the main thing that bothers me and my Autistic brain is that there is a dps buff, heal, and mitigation in both pulls, but the order of them (play 1, 2, 3) is buff, heal, mit, then buff, mit, heal. It would be delightful if Bole and Ewer switched effects, so both pulls would be duff, heal, mit, so I wouldn't have to think about it as much. Plus, Bole is green, which is generally a color used for healing, so why is it damage mitigation!??

In any case, being a class focused on cards, the card mechanic has definitely become less interesting with every big change like this. It's still my favorite healer class, but I wish the cards were a little more engaging.

[HahnDomica]

No more weaving and buffing the party the whole match, just a boring, redundant, and useless set of cards every minute. I'm extremely disappointed, they got it so wrong I'm definitely changing my main job.

[Valmaxian]

My issue is that these cards are just weaker versions of what astro already has.

They serve no actual purpose other then to be filler skills you put on a tank, these new "unique" cards, one is literally just Celestial intersection and one of them exaltation what is the point in these cards? The other is a 10% healing boost on a single target? like ok i guess? one of them is a regen.

Am I actually missing something because to me this doesn't seem like "the unique interesting card system" it just seems messy.

The rework would have made more sense if they just removed cards at this point (not saying they should), because these "new cards" are barely worth anything.

While we do have similar tools as the new healing/defensive cards, I like that I don’t have to use a GCD to regen a tank, and Spire gives us access to an OGCD barrier before Celestial intersection. I’m not going to pretend like the new card effects are groundbreaking, but what I like:

1. Multiple cards per target - this is a first for the job,
2. Lots of OGCD flexibility - this has had the pleasant side effect of keeping me busy between nukes. Depending on battle durations/time between pulls, it’s easy to have to manage 5-6 cards during an opener. I’ve been finding it fun.
3. This new utility is tied to our cards, which to me should be the focus of the job (this is why I’m personally ok losing the RNG - now I’ve got reliable OGCD tools every minute).

Downsides:

1. The extra healing so far hasn’t been “necessary,” just another way of approaching the same task.
2. I actually prefer the old Draw animation over Sleeve Draw.
3. With six total cards and only two buffing damage, I personally feel like AST damage support is at its most anemic. I don’t have numbers though.

I want to say that even though I’m finding enjoyment is DT Astro, I do empathize with all of the points people have made pre and post DT release. I can understand why these changes are very unpopular with others I still pine for HW Astro.

[Valence]

Cards got their flavor back somewhat (but it's a pale shadow of what it used to be since MP/TP and whatnot isn't even a thing anymore), but now they're just glorified weak/bland ogcd abilities.

The only good thing I retain from this version of AST is that they detached damage cards from support cards. It's funny in a way, it seems that at every expansion the devs seem to get something new right while screwing up everything else that used to be before.

[Rithy255]

Cards got their flavor back somewhat (but it's a pale shadow of what it used to be since MP/TP and whatnot isn't even a thing anymore), but now they're just glorified weak/bland ogcd abilities.

The only good thing I retain from this version of AST is that they detached damage cards from support cards. It's funny in a way, it seems that at every expansion the devs seem to get something new right while screwing up everything else that used to be before.

And if only they had a separate card system called lords and ladies where maybe they could put buff cards, but also have rng utility cards...

It's a shame that it's impossible to separate the systems but keep the rng i suppose.

Edit:
I'm going to add what I'd want for a more Clear card system with both RNG and aspects from stormblood, without mixing damage/utility cards Which was the issue with previous versions of astro.

Minor Arcana = Reworked to your RNG, Damage buff system, Lords would give a 6% buff to melee's/tanks, Ladies could be a 6% buff to Caster/healer/ranged, with 50% less on both if given to the "incorrect player"

Draw = 6 RNG utility cards, I'd personally up their power a tad and add a ability named "royal road" where you can turn a card into a spread effect (doesn't work for minor arcana obviously), this would be a long cooldown.

[Meku_Na]

Nah bro big shields are in; we are now become Scholar every 2 min: (Neutral Sect + The Arrow) * (Celestial Intersection + The Spire + Aspected Benefic)

[Meku_Na]

For real though, changes I'd wish for (I am shouting into the void they won't read this):

Adjustments:
- Spawn in with Umbral Draw instead of Astral Draw. When using both Play I's under Divination, it makes more sense to buff ranged players first before the melees. Almost all ranged DPS' big bursts (-Machinist, Red Mage) occur at the start of their opening rotation, whereas melee DPS' have big finishers near the tail end of their rotation. It's very inflexible to not be able to buff DPS players as optimally as you want compared to Endwalker which was a nice form of skill expression.

Additions:
- An action that allows you to Redraw (switch) from Umbral to Astral, and vice versa. (Does not switch the Minor Arcana; just switches the current Major Arcana)
- An action that duplicates and plays the previous Play I/II/III.

Just those two additions open up so much flexibility, choice, and gameplay expression.