I'm under the impression that's what the lily's are supposed to be.
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I've been concerned about AST since it's implementation.
It's trying to play in the middle of SCH and WHM, Shields and Regens. And it's done nothing but complicate balance between the three because of it.
It can't be a jack of all trades, master of none because no one would pick them.
It can't be overpowered because then SCH or WHM won't be picked.
The only real way to fix it is to release another healer and force AST to be either regen based or shield based and make the new healer the opposite.
Or REALLY double down on the buffing and then release a debuffing job (that USED to be SCH . . . )
I'm concerned about SE's ability to do much of anything that's a net positive for healers in general.
They are either unwilling or unable to commit the resources to getting them right, it's been a downward spiral pretty much since the end of Heavensward and until they give in and recruit people with both experience and direction for high end healer play, it's not going to get any better.
Agree with you.
Let the shield stack like regen.
If they need to nerf shield potency to let it stack then just do it.
WHM maybe can have access to party shield via Liliy.
AST already have access to shield via sect and maybe COpp can be adjusted to do opposite sect effect
SCH already have access to both shield and regen since AAR (even SS have 100 potency regen now)
I agree so much with this. There will never be real harmony among the three unless there’s a fourth option. Much like when SE added in a fourth tank to balance the options (they still have their own problems of course), healers also need the same. While healers as a whole is playable, there's a lot to be desired for in terms of gameplay and uniqueness.
AST took the biggest hit when SE changed their cars system and had the job in a horrible state on ShB release. Buffing AST's damage is not the answer IMO.
Adding a fourth option that blends with other healer comps would be the fix, instead of the devs playing russian roulette with who gets to be SCH's teammate next patch/expansion.
Adding a 4th tank wasn't the thing that balanced them, it was the trivialisation of Aggro.
WAR and DRK could generate large burst aggro at the start of a fight without losing much damage (WAR's fantastic Defiance+Unchained+Equilibrium, DRK's less-good DAPowerSlash+NoActionGritRemoval) while PLD had no way to compete and its DPS stance took an action to apply.
This separated the tanks into 2 categories: Pull Tanks (WAR/DRK) and Off Tanks (PLD/DRK).
The problem is that DRK was outclassed by its rivals in both categories, as WAR provided better damage output and PLD had much better group mitigation.
Then ShB's tank stances came and basically removed Aggro as a mechanic, so now each tank stands on its own merits, rather than being pidgeonholed into one of two categories, and so balance can be achieved easier.
Jobs being pidgeonholed into 2 distinct categories, and balance being hard to achieve because of it... Hmm... I wonder why that sounds so familiar...
The one that can flit between 2 categories being the most clunky to play, and the least played... Gosh, this sounds so familiar!
I meant to balance the options you had to pick (like how more to pick from and not just two left if someone else is playing whatever job you like), not by how effective they are. But yeah you're right, the aggro change is what what made tanks stand better on their own.
And your point on pigeonholing is pretty spot on. The whole regen vs shield thing is what is causing so many issues with healers. They did admit this fault before ShB but I guess their still figuring things out.
I also think the problem is that there's no to way to make healing more interesting considering how the content is designed.