This isn't another 'I can make the old cards work! bring back the bole!' topic, this is about valid suggestions to improve the current system. So I'd appreciate it if any discussion would forget about any of the old card utility, there are plenty of topics for that.
So what does this current system need and what are it's shortfalls?
Forgetting the old system, the current system is currently a lot of busy work for what feels like minimal gains. You're pumping out buffs as little as 3% for 15s, and constantly switching targets. It makes the job seem more hectic and clunky that it should be.
My suggestion, is that instead of cards giving a buff to a party member AND granting you a seal, it does one or the other. Basically reworking and reversing Minor Arcana.
To counter this, buff values or duration would increase respectively.
Cards would now be a 5%/10% buff for 15s, OR a 3%/6% buff for 30s, and would not grant you a seal.
Minor Arcana:
Lord of Crowns - Banks the associated Lunar/Solar/Celestial Seal and restores 500MP to self.
Lady of Crowns - Banks the associated Lunar/Solar/Celestial Seal and heals party for 100 potency.
Divination would therefore benefit from the same increase in buff value or duration to either; 6%/8%/10% over 15s, OR 4%/5%/6% over 30s
The result of this is that you're not necessarily targeting player characters every 30s to grant them a tiny buff, and you're making a choice between single target buffs and AoE buffs, similar to the old Royal Road. This choice is more valid than the choices you currently make, and restores some agency to the card system.
In 8 man content the choice is pretty obvious, as the AoE is worth more, and that's fine because it's the 8 man content where the objective superior choice is more important and ease of use is more useful.
In 4 man content, the content where there's room for subjective license, you have a valid choice between singling out your best dps every 30s, or buffing the party as a whole every 120s. Or you can mix the two, grab yourself an extra 500MP and bank a seal, then give a single target buff, then bank another seal for later, etc.
This also separates the signs of the cards, from their seals.
If you're single target buffing, then seals are inconsequential.
If you're banking seals for Divination, then the target, whether the card is melee/ranged, is inconsequential.
This eliminates the frustration of redrawing just to get the same seal, or same target, depending on what it is you want.
Then there's the added utility of Lord/Lady in the form of MP regen and extra healing. Neither are essential, but assist in maintaining healing out put. These would be constant in 8 man content as you're after those seals and thus getting on average, 500MP back and a free 100 pot heal every 60s.
The end result in terms of rDPS output should be pretty much the same, the action of drawing random cards for targeted buffs is still pretty much the same, but it's more streamlined and less clunky.
Continue reading...
So what does this current system need and what are it's shortfalls?
Forgetting the old system, the current system is currently a lot of busy work for what feels like minimal gains. You're pumping out buffs as little as 3% for 15s, and constantly switching targets. It makes the job seem more hectic and clunky that it should be.
My suggestion, is that instead of cards giving a buff to a party member AND granting you a seal, it does one or the other. Basically reworking and reversing Minor Arcana.
To counter this, buff values or duration would increase respectively.
Cards would now be a 5%/10% buff for 15s, OR a 3%/6% buff for 30s, and would not grant you a seal.
Minor Arcana:
Lord of Crowns - Banks the associated Lunar/Solar/Celestial Seal and restores 500MP to self.
Lady of Crowns - Banks the associated Lunar/Solar/Celestial Seal and heals party for 100 potency.
Divination would therefore benefit from the same increase in buff value or duration to either; 6%/8%/10% over 15s, OR 4%/5%/6% over 30s
The result of this is that you're not necessarily targeting player characters every 30s to grant them a tiny buff, and you're making a choice between single target buffs and AoE buffs, similar to the old Royal Road. This choice is more valid than the choices you currently make, and restores some agency to the card system.
In 8 man content the choice is pretty obvious, as the AoE is worth more, and that's fine because it's the 8 man content where the objective superior choice is more important and ease of use is more useful.
In 4 man content, the content where there's room for subjective license, you have a valid choice between singling out your best dps every 30s, or buffing the party as a whole every 120s. Or you can mix the two, grab yourself an extra 500MP and bank a seal, then give a single target buff, then bank another seal for later, etc.
This also separates the signs of the cards, from their seals.
If you're single target buffing, then seals are inconsequential.
If you're banking seals for Divination, then the target, whether the card is melee/ranged, is inconsequential.
This eliminates the frustration of redrawing just to get the same seal, or same target, depending on what it is you want.
Then there's the added utility of Lord/Lady in the form of MP regen and extra healing. Neither are essential, but assist in maintaining healing out put. These would be constant in 8 man content as you're after those seals and thus getting on average, 500MP back and a free 100 pot heal every 60s.
The end result in terms of rDPS output should be pretty much the same, the action of drawing random cards for targeted buffs is still pretty much the same, but it's more streamlined and less clunky.
Continue reading...