*Whistles
*Blows on Tissue
*Wipes Nose
Not sure if were on the same page.
Printable View
http://i63.tinypic.com/2afjuiq.png
http://i66.tinypic.com/ejwozl.png
Royal road and spread is saved if you enter a duty that doesn't synch your job level. It's typical for an ast to play with RNG before they que in. We can't draw 2 cards unless you guys are taking forever to start. Even then you are still at the mercy of RNG. (Random Number Generator for a better clarification)
And thanks to:
http://i65.tinypic.com/2vkcawk.png
It is possible to try to get balance and place it in the spread or royal road a ewer/spire for your lovely aoe balance during your progression in the dungeon/raid. But its not a good idea to always aim for it because you will create some downtime on yourself. (See Bellow regarding the next subject)
Downtime = Clicking off the card you don't want after using Redraw. Anymore questions? :>
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GD6qtc2_AQA/maxresdefault.jpg
We do sometimes have to wait a few draws for the ast to get the set up, but would rather that than and be able to push through phases and ignore mechs
I think my biggest piece of advice to a new AST is: get a feel for your party. If you're like me and you do a lot of PUG groups via DF, you'll run the gamut on different players and as a result you'll have to change your play style. There is some really great advice in here I won't duplicate but my tip is this: just keep practicing and learn who you're running with. Sometimes you'll need to adjust your buffs/debuffs depending on player skill, speed of the run and of course luck of the draw.
For example, maybe you've got a really bad group so you throw an arrow on yourself for faster casts instead of the DPS, to save your Lightspeed CD for a boss. Or perhaps your cohealer is blasting through their MP for some reason, so instead of laying it down on royal road, you give it to them. Playing an AST to me is learning to play smartly to the group you're given. And that comes with continued regular practice, which includes mistakes.
Good luck!