[FEAST 4v4] Tips for AST?

Heyo, guys and girls. I've recently decided to give PvP (more specifically Feast) a go. I started off doing rather well, but as the day progressed the losses just began to pile on and on until eventually another person sharing my server decided to send me a nasty /tell, talking about how the veteran PvPers are all talking about how bad I am, and that they apparently stopped queuing because of it.

When I asked him for advice, he simply said: "Play in the morning," and didn't really elaborate further.

So, now I'm here! I'm about 21-20 the moment, which naturally disappoints me.

Speaking honestly, I don't believe myself too horrible, but all the same I'm not confident enough to know when a loss is my fault, or if the blame is just being shoved onto me despite another's setback. Given my newness, I'm more inclined to believe the former.

Any tips/advice are both welcomed and encouraged. I'm in need of all of them, please and thank you.

If you prefer AST:
- Synastry is a nice +healing boost.
- Try not to overlap cooldowns if possible.
- Regen stance helps versus SMN teams, otherwise I prefer shield stance.
- Assist enemy dps as often as you can to watch for dps swaps.
- Keep your mana regen abilities on cooldown so you reduce the odds you'll be out of mana.
- Stella is very nice.

IMO, learn WHM. Sleep is too good in the current meta. Aether tanks and dps usually do not Purify you when you're slept/stunned (<3 the bards who Paeon). Countering their Sleep will help break up the pressure.

Our aoe stun can hurt tanks/dps when they are waiting to time a stun.

I was once a nocturnal sect pvper but I switched to diurnal and I won't go back. Keeping all regens up does zap up your mana, but it allows you small breathing room for if you get stun or slept. Like Marshal said, use your mana abilities wisely and keep an ewer card up if you can (shuffling cards during the chaos can be quite tricky).

Lightspeed is your very best friend. It makes practically all your casts instant and you can move while casting with lightspeed up. This (for me) is essential for burst times when the other team is gunning for someone quite liberally. Throwing in essential dignity at this time is also helpful (just be sure to try to use it when you or the person is at least half health).

Since AST does not have many ways to relieve pressure from people going after you, I advise being sure to have bliz II on your bar. The cast is long but if you time it while running around pillars/walls it's a great trap.

I guess my question to you is, where do you see yourself failing? Do people fall quickly under the burst? Do you have trouble staying alive when people are attacking you?

Here's a list I made off the top of my head. Some are specific to Astrologian, while others could be applied to all healers.

Cooldowns:

• Luminiferous Aether and Mana Draw should be almost always on cooldown. Running out of MP is the worst thing that can happen and will usually result in multiple deaths.
• Celestial Opposition has uses beyond stunning the enemy. Try to use it when you have cooldowns active so their duration is increased, especially Luminiferous Aether.
• Unlike what has been mentioned in another post, I don't hesitate to use both Lightspeed and Synastry together on the initial burst. The cooldown on Synastry is short enough that it will be back before you need it again. That gives you an occasion to move in for a Celestial Opposition/Aetheric Burst.
• Swiftcast is great to get a heal out on the move.
• Purify has plenty of uses, but the 3 most common for me are: getting rid of a full duration sleep when I know a burst is coming, removing Wildfire (obviously only if significant damage has been dealt) and removing full swing. Don't forget it can be used on any target, not just yourself.
• Attunement is great to keep yourself alive, but if they switch to another target right after you use it don't let it run its full duration. Right click the buff, or even better make a /statusoff "Attunement" macro.
• Don't ever use Ascend; you do not want someone with weakness. Use Divine Breath if you really need to raise someone, but be ready to heal them as quickly as possible. That should only happen near the end of the match. Otherwise retreat and let them come back with full resources.

Cards:

• Don't hesitate do Spread an Ewer so it is on hand when you need MP.
• Extended Ewer is the best; most of my Spears end up that way because they rarely get used to their full potential unless cast on yourself.
• Always Redraw Spires; Expanded Royal Road isn't worth the potency hit in a 4 man setting and that TP is rarely ever needed.

Gear and attributes:

• Put all 35 bonus attributes in vitality
• Asuran Earring of Fending is a must: it is the only vitality piece with 2 useful secondary stats. It can be purchased for a measly 80 Centurio Seals.
  These 2 combined with a tank will give you 10.5k hit points, which should be enough to live through most situations. More than that will impair your ability to heal too much with little benefit.
• All substats are fine, but try to focus on one and have piety on most if not all of your pieces. Personally I prefer critical rating as a big heal, especially Essential Dignity, can get you out of a bad situation. Take advantage of the fact that any piece over ilvl 190 will be synced with both stats maxed so you can use anything from Alexander Gordias to current content (an ilvl 180 item only has a few points less so it could also be an option if no other piece has the stats you want).

General:

• Stella the current target to help your dps stay on it or to get a break from the enemy tank sitting on you (Blizzard II is another good option for the latter).
• Don't forget to switch out Cleric Stance if you had it as an additional ability from PvE. You cannot use it in a PvP area.
• Protect does not reduce damage taken in PvP. However, it can act as a dispel protection.
• Recast Stoneskin on your party every time there is a pause in the fighting and mana permits it.
• Don't sit in the middle of the arena, be in a spot where you can easily get out of line of sight when needed. Just be mindful to adjust to your teammates' positions so you can heal them when needed. Try to be unpredictable when kiting around a wall or pillar. A second of indecision by the other team is one less second of damage dealt.
• Sprint is great to get away if you are focused, especially when coupled with Lightspeed and Swiftcast.
• Make macros with sound effects to quickly call out your status so your teammates can react: crowd controlled, out of mana, dead, time is running out, etc.

Don't mind the healing number on the scoreboard too much, it is far from accurate, especially if you use Nocturnal Sect. A good rule of thumb if you want to compare yourself to a WHM is to double your number because all the overhealing from their HoTs is counted while your shields are not.