AST Sect questions!

Hi everyone! Just a quick question from a complete newbie to AST and healing in general: would it be a good idea to stick to Diurnal Sect and stack regens with a WHM in the party? Assuming there's no need for the HP buffer the shields would give, that is. I figure the stacked HoT ticks might heal for a decent amount, unless I'm completely wrong about this.

I'm aware that it's a terrible idea to use Nocturnal Sect with a SCH because the shields don't stack with Galvanize but since regens do stack I'm at a bit of a loss. I wanted to ask for advice on this so I can weed out any bad habits now that I'm still doing level 50-ish content, that way I don't get in the way of more experienced healers later on.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

It's fine to use Diurnal Sect when your cohealer is a WHM and the fight doesn't require shields. The stacked regen effects will probably overheal quite a bit, but the prophylactic nature of shielding will generate its own overheal too. Since overheal is a factor in either case, it's not a crime to decide based on Diurnal Sect's raw numerical superiority.

It's mostly up to you really. I don't play AST much myself but I find myself not caring much either way when I'm WHM. HoTs, when stacked, are quite good at keeping a team up but shields can save people from dying outright. If I had to pick, personally, I would use NoctSect with a WHM since having Shields+HoTs is always better than just having HoTs. Though it really doesn't make that much of a difference outside some of the more difficult fights.

Hi, you normally should use AST as a replacement for both healers. If there is SCH around use diurnal sect, if there is WHM around use nocturnal sect. Using nocturnal with a SCH is a vital mistake because only 1 shield applies. So go with diurnal with sch ALWAYS. But with whm, if there is no huge aoes that requires shields and such, you may go diurnal with whm too. It depends on the fight and regens stack with each other so it wouldn't be so bad. But again the ideal is to use AST as a replacement for the missing healer.

Oh yay, so it seems like I sort of had the right idea! I'll definitely stick to Diurnal with a SCH co-healer like I've always done, but I might experiment a bit more with regen stacking with a WHM as I go along, or at least use it on lower level stuff if only so I have more time to DPS and spend less time reapplying shields when they break.

Thanks everyone for your replies!

There's nothing bad per se about the idea. There are even times where it might make sense (when shields can nullify a mechanic you don't want to, like in O2S).
It however is usually suboptimal. Any damage output that can be healed with HoTs usually only requires one set of hots. Having two of them will overheal a fair amount. Also, scenarios where you get two sets of incoming damage play out a little differently. In one case you could heal the first set with shields and then heal the second one with another heal. In the other case (without shields) you might need to heal the second set twice because of the lack of mitigation.

All in all it's not that bad unless you're really trying to squeeze out some optimisation.

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Originally Posted by Kaozurei

Hi everyone! Just a quick question from a complete newbie to AST and healing in general: would it be a good idea to stick to Diurnal Sect and stack regens with a WHM in the party? Assuming there's no need for the HP buffer the shields would give, that is. I figure the stacked HoT ticks might heal for a decent amount, unless I'm completely wrong about this.

I'm aware that it's a terrible idea to use Nocturnal Sect with a SCH because the shields don't stack with Galvanize but since regens do stack I'm at a bit of a loss. I wanted to ask for advice on this so I can weed out any bad habits now that I'm still doing level 50-ish content, that way I don't get in the way of more experienced healers later on.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

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I feel you understand the right concepts and contexts necessary to decide when is a good time to use Diurnal and use Nocturnal based on your opening post so go nuts with Diurnal while paired with a WHM if the situation is suitable for the application :)

Cohealer = SCH
Use Diurnal Sect

Cohealer = WHM
If tank busters are really bad, use Nocturnal
Otherwise, free choice of Nocturnal or Diurnal.

Cohealer = AST
One sect per ASTh

There are of course exceptions to everything.
for example, I once did Nocturnal AST with a SCH, but it was content where the SCH was only used as an emergency healer so my AST shields were enough (SCH didn't need to shield. Just fairy + non-shield healings).
^ I did this in MSQ roulette and some 8-man trials, for example.

Guides I recommend:
David's AST guide. Sadly this website seems to have just gone out but a cached version still exists:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=us

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing
Mostly the part about card priorities. I don't find this guide very newbie-friendly because it assumes a lot, but the part about the cards is pretty good.

And of course the holy grail:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...LDaOmZY8/edit#

This is a healer guide (all healers, with some sections that cover specific healers) that I would just absolutely recommend to all healers. It's long but worth it.

I don't always AST, but when I do, I go Nocturnal... cause I'm a SCH, XD.

Get my reference.

Once again, thanks everyone for the advice!

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Originally Posted by Squintina

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Thanks for the links! I actually read the entirety of Zyrk's guide before I began doing any healing at all, it's definitely helped me understand a lot of what I should and shouldn't be doing. The other two I wasn't actually aware of, though, so I'll be sure to check them out later tonight.