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I only go Nocturnal when I'm paired with a white mage another AST (or playing pvp.) Sheilds seem to get eaten too fast to be worth it when I could instead cast a regen and then use single normal heal spells. I was looking forward to the sheilding since I'm a scholar main, but not having a fairy or a regen to pair with the shields make them feel lackluster.
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to me, it dépends on the circumstances. If I am with a WHM I use NOCT. If I am with a SCH I use DIUR and if I am with an AST I will use the opposite of what that AST uses.
If I am alone, it dépends the dungeon, and the boss. Sohm Al I will do the whole dungeon in DIUR EXCEPT final boss I will switch to NOCT, my preference.
To me is situational and circumstancial.
Just me though
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I prefer Nocturnal when I'm enabled to use it. I like the higher healing it offers compared to Diurnal's speed. Nocturnal Sect's shields also suit my style more. Sadly, in raids, many White Mages aren't comfortable with an Astrologian doing their thing while they brutally impale enemies on stones.
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Nocturnal if I can trust the tank to not be a tryhard or a hot dog. I like it very much when a White Mage is present and uses Stoneskin and Medica II on tanks. It makes things go so much more smoothly.
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Nocturnal for me. I dont have to keep track of when everyones regen is aabout to wear off and i can focus more on the cards.
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Nocturnal is for putting up a shield in between pulls.
Paired with a whm? Go diurnal anyway, your regens stack. Unless you're doing a fight with a prey mechanic that needs shielding.
Paired with a sch? Go nocturnal...if you want them to get mad at you, and want to not really contribute.
Part of why AST is so bad is when you give players choices they often pick the wrong ones, like all the nocturnal fans here.
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Mostly Diurnal for the passive haste. Just seems a lot more efficient to me. Although there are notable fights where I go Nocturnal like Chrysalis. (unless there's a Scholar ofc)
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diurnal. AST shield is trash compared to sch.
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In Between
When playing AST, in a Dungeon I'll pop into Noct before a pull, throw aspected bene on the tank, then return to diurnal, the aspected bene in dirunal + aspected helios in diurnal allow me to do much much much more dps than being in noct.
I constantly remain dps'ing as AST.
And then it repeats, after that group is dead > noct > aspected bene > back to diurnal.
Raid wise it's as most people do, if it's a SCH, obv, go Diurnal, if it's a WHM it as well depends, and if it's another AST it depends as well.
There's been multiple times I gave a WHM/Diurnal Sect AST the benefit of the doubt during a fight, to keep us up during heavy healing fights and have been let down.
So for fights such as the 3rd boss in Void Ark, Cuchulainn, I'll go Diurnal regardless of what the other healer is because I don't trust other healers.
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Diurnal. It increases dps and the potency of the regen is superior to the shield version. (Noct AB is roughly the same potency as Ben II so what's the point?) I usually use Diurnal even with WHMs because I don't trust most of them to take care of aoe healing while I mitigate and react to spike damage as Noct. If the content requires shields, the other healer is Diurnal or instant heals help, I go Noct.