I do not play often so I didn't get to see the changes to druid until half an hour ago. I must ask what was the decision behind the changes? Celestial Avatar, as it stands now, is either a dps tool (eclipse build) with very niche, gimmicky applications. As a support build I fail to comprehend how I am supposed to support my party now. I get it, they want to change spirits. Making them cast and vanish instead of kiting them around the battlefield for the sake of simplicity. I will miss seeing them around the battlefield during raids and strikes. That is however just a small problem compared to how alacrity works now.
I only played for about 40 minutes in Echovald Forest to try the changes. Not enough time to properly test how everything works now. Still, I agree with your sentiment regarding CA and alacrity. They shouldn't depend on one another. CA has always been a tool for the moment. To save and sustain party members during mistakes or intensive mechanics. Now? I either use CA as I always have, with the problem that I am only providing alacrity when I am using it to heal my team. It's rather puzzling. I am all for moving forward and trying new things when it comes to working with classes. But this one is a miss so far.