#is it cheating to use astrologian?

[ubejamjar]

FFXIV Vanilla Gpose | One | Job

✰ You have opened the gate and its power is yours to command ✰

I was enamored with Astrologian from the second I picked it up-- the aesthetic, the play style, and the pretty outfits, of course.

[95jezzica]

Additional Scion Jobs

Long title: Additional Classes & Jobs I think would suit/have suited the Scions. 👀 (And no, I'm not gonna cheat and put Scholar on all of them, although in some case it would actually fit).

[Sorry in advance, the European FFXIV servers went down and they didn't bother to get them up again before the planned maintenance in a few hours, SO this accidentally became a long one post of thoughts, so I'm putting it below 'Read More']. 😂

So. Additional Classes & Jobs I think would have suited the Scions.

Minfilia Warde: White Mage. 🌟 I always wished for her to get something more to fight back with - and White Mage would fit her with the themes of seeking peace, harmony and wanting to support her friends. Seeing as Minfillia spends most of ARR stuck back in the HQ overseeing their operations it'd also make sense to make her a Healer who can take care of her returning comrades once they come back from their missions. Minor spoilers for HW/Shadowbringers, but her being White Mage could also further explain her connections and deeds later on in the game. Though there's a lot of memes about White Mage being a "green DPS" I think she'd be more focused on the healing part.

Tataru Taru: I was about to jokingly say Machinist to give her a gun, but jokes aside I'd give her the class/job Botanist. 🌼 Tataru not being a fighter but still wanting to help is kind of a plot-point within the game, and so I shall abide by the rules. (Though I suppose her being an Arcanist can still be considered canon considering the blue quests in Stormblood?). At any rate I think she'd fit well as a Botanist. Not only would it give her a way to Sneak around, but it'd also help her Gather the resources she or her friends need. As her only listed canon class is Weaver on the wiki, I'm also tempted to add Leatherworker and Culinarian into the list, seeing as we do have some moments where she already works on these even if they're not listed as canon classes (yet?).

Y'shtola "Master of Destruction" Rhul: Summoner. 🔥 No one can deny Y'Shtola is a master of magic. With Conjurer & Black Mage already under her belt it should come to no surprise I think she would continue with a similar line of study, and because of this I think she'd be perfect as Summoner. We COULD technically argue Arcanist/Summoner is semi-canon considering her past studies, but since it's not listed as one of her canon classes/jobs I shall not count it as one either, because the job is too perfect for her to ignore. Additionally I could see her pick up Blue Mage for the challenge it'd give her, even if it wouldn't be a main-job she'd use in world-deciding battles.

Lyse Hext: Dancer (and/or Monk?). 💃🏽 I was admittedly surprised Lyse's only canon listed class/job on the Wiki is Pugilist, and I honestly can't remember if Lyse ever got to upgrade to Monk, but I could have sworn she got the Dancer? Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, but either way I think she'd fit well with the Dancer job. She has always been light on her feet and being Dancer would also give her a ranged class to complement Pugilist/Monk, which is very close-ranged.

Papalymo Totolymo: I'd say Sage, after much consideration. 🛡 He was a difficult one to decide on though, but in the end I think it's the one who would make the most sense for him given the lore of Sage being a Sharlayan job difficult to master. It's also canon Papalymo studied the arcane for most of his life, so it'd make sense to give him something related to magic outside of him being a Thaumaturge. That, and I don't feel like he'd fit as a Scholar (the job), Astrologian, Summoner, Red Mage or Pictomancer. I could give a maybe to White Mage, but that's a MAYbe.

Thancred Waters: 🔫 Machinist was obviously my first thought, because hey, canon Gunbreaker already - but given his past as both Gladiator & Rogue he also has a lot of potential as Dark Knight and/or Viper, all which I feel would fit him well. Since he's already a tank with Gunbreaker I'd say Thancred getting Machinist and Viper would be the most useful for him though, and would let him use his experience at the same time as giving him better DPS stats. 🔪

Urianger Augurelt: Scholar, to the surprise of absolutely no one. 😂 xD Listen, if any of the scions deserves the Scholar job, it's him - and it'd be especially fitting for Shadowbringers and give additional reason(s) as to how and why he was able to get along so well with the fae. 🍄 Perhaps a little more surprising is instead that I think he'd also do well as a Reaper. Urianger has proven again and again he does what's necessary to save those he cares about, even at the risk of earning their scorn, and since he's already a canon Astrologian with Scholar added to the list from me Reaper is a good way to balance him out a bit to not only be focused on the healing jobs. 👻 Especially since there's already so many Scions who are Thaumaturge and/or Black Mages and I can't really imagine him taking on a job as a tank. Even with his character development I wouldn't say he enjoys being the center of attention.

Alphinaud Leveilleur: I so badly want to give him a DPS job, but tbh I don't think he'd really fit as any of them? As previous Arcanist and nowadays Scholar/Sage I could simply give him Summoner and be done with it, but it'd be kind of ironic to see him running around summoning a mini-Bahamut. If hard-pressed I'd give him Pictomancer instead, which would be a fun nod to Shadowbringers/Endwalkers as well, but it doesn't feel like a perfect fit either. 🖌 Tbh the perfect job for him would be a tank focused on magic with magical shields and the likes, and to this day I badly wish FFXIV will introduce one in the future. Sadly I think it might be difficult for them to make it different enough from Sage, so Idk if I'll ever get my wish come true.

Alisaie Leveilleur: Gunbreaker. 🔫 / "Jezzica, WHY!???" / Okay, so admittedly part of it is because it'd be hilarious to see her run around with a big gun, but given her personality a job as a tank would actually suit her very well and make her tanky enough to actually continue to stand in the aoe without moving. 🔫 Alisaie is not the healer in a battle, but doesn't mind helping out with healing outside of it. She's loud, honest, and loves being in the middle of it all. Additionally Alisaie has always been the most outspoken about how everyone is relying too much on you (the WoL). Her being a tank fits her personality really well, and quite frankly I think she would quickly become a Dark Knight if you (the WoL) ever died within the game. Given the fact Alisaie is already a Red Mage she also has potential as a Viper, but at the current time I still think Gunbreaker would fit her the best as an additional class/job.

Krile Baldesion: Another difficult one, but I'd probably give her Dancer based on vibes alone from the DT-trailer(s) and her already being a canon healer and Pictomancer. 💃🏽 She's a difficult one though, because I haven't spent as much time with her in the game yet.

Estinien "Wyrmblood" Varlineau: Defeating dragons was his entire life for so long that I think he'd struggle to be anything but a Dragoon even if he has another purpose now. 🐲 The fact that he was basically raised by the former Azure Dragoon after being orphaned wouldn't have made it easier to introduce Estinien to another job either. 🐉 Part of me wanted to put Estinien's additional job as a Dark Knight ⚔ , but tbh he's more of a "attack is the best defense" kind of guy, and he's more driven by attacking the problem than defending those behind him. 🪓 He could potentially fit well as a Warrior, but then he'd probably be a "one-man army" kind of Warrior who forgets to turn on his stance. 😂 Anyway, in all likelyhood I think Estinien would aim for another DPS if he had to add another job, and amongst those I think Reaper might actually be the best fit. Purely physically he could do a good job as Pugilist as well, but I have a hard time imagining him go around unlocking chakra(s) and/or later upgrading to Monk. x)

G'Raha Tia: 🐱 Jack of All Trades, Master of None, is yet always better than Master of One. With that said I think we can all agree that adding Summoner to his list of already many jobs is too perfect to ignore. 😂 With Archer/Black Mage/Paladin/White Mage already under his belt we probably shouldn't add more to his big list after that though. 😂 xD

[nevadawolfe]

I want to challenge myself this time around so I’m going to try to get through the whole Endwalker msq on Dragonia as astrologian (and not cheat by leveling a dps class that I already know at the same time to fall back on). I really want to get more comfortable with healing and that’ll never happen if I keep using nothing but main scenario roulette to level my healers 😅 on the plus side I can heal Praetorium with my eyes closed at this point lmao

[elizabethrobertajones]

FFXIV Write: Day 5, Cutting Corners

Absolute nonsense I've been rotating in my head ever since seeing the tier of tomestones. Just Thancred and Urianger talking. Endwalker post MSQ spoilers.

"What is that?" Thancred asked, setting down the two mugs of the Last Stand's best coffee he'd brought over, weaving through other patrons and the lurking dangers of shin-high Lopporits.

Urianger looked up from the palm-sized device in his hand. "'Tis an Allagan tomestone of Astronomy. Livingway did impart it to me before we set forth to resume our travels."

"Uhuh?" Thancred asked, looking closer at the small round purple disc. Lines of light ran across it in the creepy mechanical veins that marked most Allagan technology he'd seen in his time. "Why? You're not exactly our resident technical expert." Sure enough, rather than any other devices, the table in front of Urianger had several large tomes, and his deck of cards. "I think I saw Bounding with some; she said Rowena was paying well."

"This is not a money-making venture, it came from the doomed ship, the Heimdall, that resteth in the north of the crater. They did uncover it while collecting specimens for the Excitatron."

"I could listen to you say 'Excitatron' all day."

Urianger shook his head, with the clear expression of one who would bear all mockery with eternal forebearance but also wanted Thancred to know he was doing so. "They were most curious to see it containeth ancient data 'pon the position and connections of the stars, as the Allagans once knew them. Livingway suggested that it may be of interest due to my chosen profession, as it containeth all that my starglobe may fortell, and more. I have been amending its knowledge, that it may be of use."

Thancred glanced around for nearby Lopporits to blame, but saw only Puddingway merrily devouring a cake at a nearby table. "Wasn't Bounding nearly assassinated by Sharlayan astrologers who were protective of the art? You probably ought not to be doing this in the public square." Anxious though his words were, he had settled back in the chair and taken a large sip of coffee while doing so. His morning entertainment was unexpected but not unwelcome, after all.

Urianger lifted the small tomestone, and let it go to hang in the air above his delicately flexing hand. His deck of cards leapt up from the table in a little gale of stars, and began to serenely rotate the tomestone, dwarfing it in size. With his other hand, he gestured to Thancred, and familiar healing aether rushed through him in the familiar golden warmth that Urianger's heals left in his bones, especially when he had no hurts to soothe.

"I may know very little about the ways of your art, but I can say that this is absolutely cheating and you are going to be run out of town," Thancred said.

"'Tis interesting not to have to set many mechanical pieces in motion so to describeth the exact moment of the heavens. Calibrating the astroglobe is a most tiresome part of the job, now that I thinketh 'pon it."

"Okay, but depending what they offer, I will take the job when the Astrologians hire me to kill you."

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

Patches Clarify Intent

I really love seeing the ways that little changes to the numbers can make it so that a designer’s vision for a character class lines up with the mechanical best choice for the powergamer.

Draw is one of the iconic moves for the card-based Astrologian of FFXIV. It gives you one of six cards (one of two colors matched with one of three symbols), which you can then expend to give someone in your party a buff, with the buff being larger if you target the right role (purple for healer/ranged damage, blue for tank/melee damage).

Once you collect 3 symbols, you can cast Divination, which gives the whole party a damage buff, which is larger depending on how many different symbols you got (4% if all 3 of the symbols collected were the same, 5% if there were two symbols, and 6% if all 3 were different).

But Astrologian is fundamentally a healer, so a lot of newer players kind of ignore Draw (and, by extension, Divination).

The new patch has changed two things to help draw people toward this aspect of the class.

First of all, using Draw recharges 8% of your maximum MP. So even if your focus is fully on healing, you want to use Draw (even if you don’t then hand out the cards) just to keep your mana bar full for longer engagements.

Second, the ability Sleeve Draw has been fully redesigned. Previously it was kind of a card-drawing bonanza, which was fun but had the risk of inciting tunnel vision. On a DPS character tunnel vision gets you killed. On the healer tunnel vision gets everyone killed. Its new form doesn’t draw a pile of cards you’d then have to manage. Instead it cheats the above draw system. It automatically draws a card whose symbol you don’t have yet, enabling you to reliably get that third symbol for Divination without a bunch of distraction from your healing duties.

[merriblazi]

So, I'm not used to healing in FFXIV (says that but am level 44 as of rn) probably mainly because I choose astrologian. I'm enjoying the learning process of it though but with that learning curve means cheat sheet because OMG I CANNOT REMEMBER EVERY CLASSES LITTLE ICON THINGY CAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY, the colors help but not for dps🙃 so I made myself a list thingy.

Gotta do what u gotta do, ya know

[guttergodsknife]

Word Associations

If they were a month: October (Fifth Umbral Moon in the game)

If they were a day: Friday (Darksday in the game which is the 8th day)

If they were a planet: This is technically cheating, but he’d be Rāhu from Indian astrology, which is a shadow entity and reminds me of the absence of Dalamud (which still affects astrologians in ffxiv).

If they were an animal: Bet you were expecting a cat, but I thought of a colour-changing octopus first. They’re tricksy, good at adapting and hiding, and surprisingly smart.

If they were a god/goddess: Hecate.

If they were a piece of furniture: One of those truly bizarre gothic lamps.

If they were a gemstone: Black star diopside.

If they were a flower: Purple calla lily.

If they were a kind of weather: Distant thunderstorm at night.

If they were a color: Jet black.

If they were an emotion: Catharsis.

If they were a fruit: Passion fruit.

If they were a sound: A crack of lightning.

If they were an element: Fire.

If they were a place: Abandoned graveyard.

If they were a mythological creature: The Cat Sìth. A large black cat with a white spot on its chest rumoured to be either a fae creature, or a witch that could transform into a cat nine times.

If they were a taste: A complicated dessert with multiple layers and probably a touch of chilli somewhere in there.

If they were a scent: The sharp scent of an incoming storm.

If they were an object: The stiletto heels you could use to kill a person.

If they were a body part: The eyes.

If they were a pair of shoes: Black leather knee-highs with metal vertebrae heels.

TAGGED BY: @elegant-etienne (thank you ♡)

TAGGING: @blackrose-ffxiv @grey-lotus-ffxiv @theforestsquiet @ cellardoor-ffxiv @blessures-and-pleasures and anybody else who wants to do this I’m sorry I’m bad at tagging

[kaerran]

#7 Pawn

There are some things that Qahs'a is not, in fact, any good at.

He has the wisdom of Nymian scholars infused in one job stone, generations of ninja trained by Doma in another, astrologian prophecy, and strategy from as many mentors as he could want, and yet...

He haltingly moved a piece on the board in front of him.

Alphinaud sighed loudly. "No, that one doesn't move like that, you'd have to move this one, and that leaves you open to my doing this." He moves several of the pieces to demonstrate, but Qahs'a continues to stare, uncomprehending, at the first one.

Thancred leaned over to look at the board, and said, "Alphinaud, you should probably make him a cheat sheet, or just give up."

Alphinaud made a frustrated noise. "I did that, and he hasn't been using it."

Alisaie moved so she could murmur to Qahs'a, "He just wants someone to play since I won't anymore."

Qahs'a grimaced at her, and then carefully starts removing pieces from the board.

Alphinaud sighed. "Perhaps you'll prefer something else," he conceded. Somehow, Qahs'a really didn't think so.

[is it chess? latrunculi? tafl? fidchell/gwyddbwyll? senet? patolli? who knows! it's probably not monopoly that's about all i was willing to specify. ....okay i was picturing chess because duh but i would prefer something else because it's just so tropey. why NOT fidchell, it's not like anyone knows how to play it now, and it's irish/welsh so that's kinda the right general area for sharlayan right. and i definitely didn’t go to wiki to find ancient games because i couldn’t remember fidchell’s name really]

[thessalian]

Thess vs ‘The Meta’

I arrived at Tumblr today only to find that my dash is literally full to bursting with Astrologian-related posts - read, posts revolving around the Astrologian class over on Final Fantasy XIV. Now, as a longtime healer main, I play Astrologian a fair bit. I enjoy it. Thing is ... now I’m seeing all these posts about the dangers of Astrologian hate and going, “...really? Where?”

Of course, I mostly just do Duty Roulette PUGs and haven’t even tried raiding yet, so it’s entirely possible that this kind of hate hasn’t caught up with the rush-rush mentality you find in Duty Roulette yet. Still, to add my little meeping voice to the pile: I like playing Astrologian and y’all haters can step off.

I’ve been loving Nocturnal Sect lately. It’s saved tanks more than a few times by completely negating Tail Screw on Sastasha Hard Mode, and usually gives me time to actually throw out a card or some damage between heals, without the issue of having to deal with the aggro generation that is heal over time. Other people’s mileage may vary, and I’m sure that someone is going to accuse me of ‘doing it wrong’, but y’know what? Fuck it. So long as no one dies, even when they do something really stupid, I’m doing my job and the ‘how’ shouldn’t matter worth shit.

I really do have issues with “the meta”, in any game you care to name. It feels like some players are just itching for ways to judge other people, to prove that they are The Best and that their way is the Only Right Way. Yeah, sure, maybe the meta works, but so do other things. I give precisely zero shits about “the meta”. I didn’t give a shit in Overwatch, I didn’t give a shit in TSW, and I don’t give a shit in FFXIV. Again, so long as all enemies die, no friendlies do and it’s not more stressful than it needs to be? We win.

Frankly, this includes speed-run metas for duty roulettes. For the love of fuck, tanks; ask your healer if they’re comfortable with large pulls before you pull an entire zone on, say, Amdapor Keep Hard Mode. Especially when you somehow forgot you entered the roulette as a tank, you zoned out enough to forget to switch on Shield Oath before pulling, and you were taking more damage than you needed to, for some reason, despite being in full Ala Mhigan kit. And ... okay, there is one part of what one might consider “the meta” that I do agree with: “IF YOU’RE NOT THE TANK, DO NOT PULL THE MOBS OR START THE BOSS FIGHT”.

One thing, though - there was a cheat sheet that was going around, seen on @slightlycrackedteapot I think? That said that the Ewer is useful for DRK. *bzzzzzzt* Nope. Dark Side negates all MP-regen buffs. Scholars and Bards (and DRKs themselves) despair; since a Dark Knight almost perpetually has Dark Side switched on, the Ewer is useless for them. Great for Paladins, though!

[thecrucibleffxiv]

GOLD SAUCER BANS SKY HIGH THIS SEASON: ARE ASTROLOGIANS TO BLAME?

Always vigilant to the threat of cheats, marauders, and general ne'er-do-wells that wander into their glistening casino doors, the Gold Saucer has a steady stream of clients who are no longer welcome withing their towering, green, cactuar-themed walls. This past gambling season, however, the count of those who've scratched their last scratchcard, stuffed their last pocket with phoney Hildibrand & Nashu Mhakaracca Cards, and overseen their last minion battle using nothing but genetically engineered mandragora has skyrocketed far above the norm. This has become such a concern that it’s drawn The Crucible's undaunted, thoroughly reputable attention! Our statistics show the count this year could very easily mirror the same statistics of all Ishgardians Presently In Good Heath And Capable of Accessing Travel South Of The Ishgardian Border. Specifically, south to Thanalan's famed and prized Gold Saucer.

We here at The Crucible would never be the first to point fingers and claim without any due cause the Gold Saucer is, today, a victim of Ishgardian Politics and the unbeknownst debauchery of their new two-chamber parliament. That's we come to you honest Eorzeans with strict facts! Ishgard is presently known to be a long holding founder of the schools of Astrologian Magics, a system of fortune telling brought about through the arts of, in almost all essence, beautifully illustrated card games. Godbert Manderville has not provided any insight as of yet as to the increase in Gold Saucer bans, or the correlation that indefinitely lies between a city of deck wielders and the Gold Saucer's own esteem for Triple Triad. But at this point in the events and actions, it would be the utmost folly to reach any other conclusion

How are innocent Eorzeans to stand against a nation of Ishgardians who have been wielding cards since their nameday? How is the Gold Saucer to account for the thousands of Ul'dahns that have already lost their gil, their homes, and their lives gambling with those who pull the very strings of chance and fate? If Godbert Manderville will not pose a restriction against all Astrologian-taught wielders of magics, we here at The Crucible do here propose Astrologians at least switch to Triple Triad cards so anyone in their presence at least has a semblance of understanding as to what is even going on, and no longer has to question the significance of a rival chocobo racer inflicted with The Spear or what it means when your close Ishgardian friend keeps drawing the symbol for The Bole on your Gilgamesh at Cuff-a-Cur.

Written by fair play advocate and conspiracy discoverer Yomiko Kusanagi

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