Just returned to the game- Astro question

Hey guys, I last played in July and came back a few weeks ago. I play all 3 healers but mainly AST. From what I have been reading it seems there were a few significant changes to AST in that time, specifically to Nocturnal Sect. What is the general consensus on Diurnal vs Nocturnal sect now? What are you using for running dungeons? Is there any other major changes that have changed the way you play/ changed your priorities as far as buffs, etc.

Thanks!

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Originally Posted by Oohlalaheals

Hey guys, I last played in July and came back a few weeks ago. I play all 3 healers but mainly AST. From what I have been reading it seems there were a few significant changes to AST in that time, specifically to Nocturnal Sect. What is the general consensus on Diurnal vs Nocturnal sect now? What are you using for running dungeons? Is there any other major changes that have changed the way you play/ changed your priorities as far as buffs, etc.

Thanks!

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IMO they are equally viable for dungeon play, and the choice is a matter of preference.

For example, I run Noct in dungeons because the shielding from Aspected Helios is so powerful that it can completely negate mechanics like room-wide push-back that one of the Xelphatol bosses uses, which is an annoyance especially for melee DPS. Both sects have tools to allow you to keep up your own DPS between heals, of course.

Diurnal has a sort of advantage in that the regen effect from Aspected heals benefits from CO and Time Dilation, but I play WHM if I feel like throwing out HoTs for days.

Well the biggest changes are the potency increases each of the cards (like balance and bole are +20% now instead of 10%). Redraw and shuffle are on better CD than they were before as well.

Like Cynfael said it's really a matter of preference. I personally prefer diurnal because I like throwing up my regens and AOE balance and then using CO to extend them all so I can mostly focus on DPSing to help the dungeon go quicker. However sometimes I do prefer noct, just depends on my mood.

I usually choose stance based on boss mechanics (like Cynfael said), though for dungeons I run about 75-85% in Diurnal for the DPS speed increase.

Also, as you have probably learned by now, the Balance card is freaking BANANAS.

For 4 man dungeons I use Noct, because my single target heals are better than my WHM's. Add in the buffed shields, and it's easy going. It's satisfying being able to heal someone from low health to max/just barely max health.

Both stance is now good to go, its just your prefference now, although i see people still stick mostly with diurnal sect in casual run.

if you are pair with SCH always switch to diurnal sect though.

AST got buffed quite nicely. I tend to like Diurnal, but that's because I just prefer the AoE regen. Nocturnal is definitely viable though--they both get the job done. It's really just a matter of preference. Diurnal in full party with SCH, and Nocturnal with WHM is still accurate.

Cards got a nice little buff as well. Balance/Bole/Arrow/Ewer/Spire/Spear tends to be my priority order most times. Balance and Bole for obvious reasons. Arrow/Ewer/Spire are more situational and interchangeable depending on my party. Spear--I tend to use before I use Lightspeed, etc.