My Preferred Adjustments for Astrologian (Some Ideas I haven't Seen)

Astrologian have a lot of potential, but we cannot possibly compete with our fellow healers unless we get some adjustments. We don't need game breaking changes or anything like that, but we do need a way to entice people to bring a AST for the second healer spot.

Here are adjustments I think would be beneficial to the job.

1. Nocturnal Sect:
Increases healing magic potency by 5% while adding a Fortification effect to certain actions. Effect ends upon reuse. Fortification is an enhancement which creates a barrier that builds up overtime. Unlike the regular shield you don’t get the full effect at once instead it works similar to regen in that the shield is reapplied with each tick. However, unlike regen this “Shield” gets stronger overtime so if you avoid a hit, or are out of combat the shield potency goes up to the maximum buildup potency. Since this isn’t a basic shield it stacks with the regular shields from scholar.
i. Aspected benefic: Shield Potency - > 50/Tick | Maximum Buildup - > 300 | Duration 18s
ii. Aspected Helios: Shield Potency - > 25/Tick | Maximum Buildup - > 150 | Duration 18s

2. Synastry:
I feel that this ability has much potential, but my biggest problem with this skill is that it’s on a long recast timer which is absurd when you consider how underpowered we are compared to the other healers , and Scholars have a fairy up almost 100% of the time which is basically the same thing as Synastry. So if we can’t keep this ability up full-time at-least allow us to keep this ability up most of the time. It’s not overpowered because the scholar has the fairy. And the white mage has the best recovery tools in the game making them unmatchable in burst/AOE healing.
i. New Recast (45s)


3. Lightspeed/Collective Unconscious:
I absolutely love Lightspeed this ability is really fun to use, and it fits in perfectly with the theme of the job; however that doesn’t necessarily mean this ability is good, sure it’s good for saving the MP cost of one spell; however, it should also eliminate the GCD of the spells to make it a great emergency tool which is one of the main things that the job currently lacks. Now I know if the GCD is removed you might be able to cast around 8-10 spells; however, these spells aren’t MP free so there is still a limitation to this ability, and since most emergency heals are MP free this one is still not as optimal as the white mage or scholar emergency tools. As for Collective Unconscious I think that if they are 100% set in keeping it as is to at least make it useful for the cards. (The reduce duration is for it to not be overpower)
i. Lightspeed Additional Effect: Removes the GCD from all spells.
ii.Increase Noctural Collective Unconscious to 15% damage reduction
iii.While in Collective Unconscious anyone within the aura retains their card enhancement until the aura expires or they exit the aura. (Reduce Duration: 12s)

4. Offensive tools:
While the Astrologian is a healing job and the offensive tools shouldn’t be something that receives too much attention I feel that the job needs some adjustments in this department because unlike our peers we have very little additional effects making many of our spells useless. Sure we have a damage overtime but so do the other two healers, and they have their own debuffs.
i. Malefic II: Additional effect = Slow
ii. Stella: Additional effect = Stop (Similar to stun/petrify)
iii. Combust II: Additional effect = Combustion (Causes damage to all nearby enemies every tick, the spread damage is 50% of the potency)
iv. Gravity: Additional effect = Heavy

5. Cards:
I feel that the cards are almost in their right place ever since we got our hotfix; however, I feel some small adjustments are still needed, and perhaps some new abilities to give us more enhancements when we don't actually use the cards.
i. The Ewer: Merge the current Spire effect into this card making it useful for any party composition.
ii. The Spire (New Effect): Increases the healing potency of recovery spells/skills used on the target by 10%.
iii. Royal Road: Additional Effect = Decreases the recast of the next "Draw" to 15s
iv. Shuffle: Additional Effect = Cannot redraw same card
v. Discard (New Ability): Gets rid of the drawn card but provides a "Fast Cast" effect making your next spell instant Cast; also lowers the recast of your next "Draw" to 15s. (60s recast)
vi. Celestial Opposition (New Effect): Transforms the next card used into a negative effect. (The effect is the negative effect of the card and its enhanced by royal road effects) (Example: Using Celestial Opposition then bole would give defense down to the enemy. (New Recast: 1Min)

6. Miscellaneous:
i. Allow Astrologians to hold cards until used (No Timer). (To hold your card during mechanics or not stress while healing is necessary and you drew a card.)
ii. When more than one Astrologian is in the party do not overwrite their cards instead allow us to apply both cards to the target (party). (However using the same card will still reset the card)
iii. Fix the spear card so it could function on skills already on cooldown.

i think i haven't say it enough but switching Gravity and Combust II , YES YES YES YES!

i like those suggestions but one i would love with the actual royal road effect, is when you get the "party buff" royal road, you don't get a penalty of 50%. I don't understand this downside when you have to give up one buff and wait 30 minimum to spread your next buff. You should be rewarded for taking time/risk of building a combo.

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Originally Posted by kiraan

i think i haven't say it enough but switching Gravity and Combust II , YES YES YES YES!

i like those suggestions but one i would love with the actual royal road effect, is when you get the "party buff" royal road, you don't get a penalty of 50%. I don't understand this downside when you have to give up one buff and wait 30 minimum to spread your next buff. You should be rewarded for taking time/risk of building a combo.

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In this framework the additional effects of Royal Road no longer exist instead you sacrifice the card for a mini divine seal effect for when you need to focus on healing. As for the 50% penalty I kept it in the stance changes because it would be overpowered now since you would be able to automatically extend the buff to all party members without the downtime of RR. And it also gives Astrologians a good reason to use Noctural when there is no scholar since their buffs are potentially similar to the scholar just more or less reliant on RNG. However I also adjusted the cards to make them more useful, and made spread/shuffle/RR prevent the useless card from reappearing to give the job some control over their enhancements.

So here a small example. In Noctural Sect if luck is on your side you will be able to spread to the party the following to compete with Scholars.
1.) The Balance: 3% damage increase to party (Selene is 3% haste)
2.) The Arrow: 4% haste to the party/5% recast down (Selene is 3% haste/Sch has more DPS)
3.) The Spear: 4% Accuracy to the party/2% Critical Hit Rate

Making Ast more useful in the support slot that Scholar currently fulfills. Of course there will always be a RNG to the job, but with the changes in this framework you will have a lot more control getting the effect you want.

I would also like to add the ability to spread 2 or may be 3 cards at the same time. This will greatly reduce the disadvantages of RNG and at the same time create more strategies for uses.

In addition, the barebone of an AST is the 2 stances and they can't be changed midfight. Therefore if this is not to change in the future, AST should be adjusted enough so individually, they have enough tools in disposal to not fall so far behind WTM and SCH.

The card changes are making them weaker than they currently are. Why would you even suggest that ._.

Overall: Very good ideas!

Yet i somewhat disagree with your idea of changing Essential Dignity, i like it the way it is now, the CD might get lowered A BIT (5-10sec not more).
Also the card changes are somewhat odd, at least for balance / arrow and spear.
If they would "fix" spear so that it'd would affect CDs whilst they are taken before the buff was applied spear would be much more viable than it is now. (-> Hasten CD-Timer for the Uptime of Spear and resume to old pace if expired)

Remade the thread please look at original post. (Any suggestions or likes are appreciated)

Waiting for Vlady to come complain.... The suspense is killing me!

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Originally Posted by OpheliaHeartilly

Waiting for Vlady to come complain.... The suspense is killing me!

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I know right? LOL

I absolutely love your "Fortification" idea.
Its unique and that is something that AST currently needs.
Merging the ewer with the spire would be awesome, and it would leave an open door for another buff.
I would change your spire idea though, instead of adding a regen effect, in my opinion it would:
Increase target's spell based hp recovery by 10% (so you would be able to help your fellow healer just like SCH helps with fey illumination)
I wish SE could take a look at these ideas :/

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Originally Posted by Muahbec

I absolutely love your "Fortification" idea.
Its unique and that is something that AST currently needs.
Merging the ewer with the spire would be awesome, and it would leave an open door for another buff.
I would change your spire idea though, instead of adding a regen effect, in my opinion it would:
Increase target's spell based hp recovery by 10% (so you would be able to help your fellow healer just like SCH helps with fey illumination)
I wish SE could take a look at these ideas :/

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Done and done removed the regen and made it more similar to a mantra or mini divine seal. While divine seal is still superior you could strengthen it to a 15% increase with RR and potentially get it faster if RNG permits.

After playing AST for some time (not so long) I came up with some ideas to complement yours:

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Originally Posted by Brightshadow

1. Nocturnal Sect:
[...]Fortification[...]

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I thought this fortification could act like a stacking buff on Noct, like vulnerability down, but buffing def/mdef instead. Every stack would raise defense by 2% up to 5 stacks. Would be a good skill and would have synergy with time dilation, but would make bole useless, right? Well, bole should be a 10~20% HEALING BUFF. AST are lacking some of these and drawing a card to help healing would be more than welcome.
Also, just to clarify: in your version of Fortification, if tank is with it for 2 sec, he would have a 50 potency shield, so if he got hit, would he loose the shield or would it come back and charge until the effect ends?

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2. Synastry:

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I really liked your idea, but since Synastry is always compared to have a fairy (not my opinion, though) it should have it's potency reduced in like 10~20% and should end upon reuse. This way you could keep synastry always on someone. If everybody is topped and you just need to heal main tank, you should just remove it to avoid overhealing.

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i. Lightspeed Additional Effect:

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I like the effect on lightspeed the way it is now. But if there's something to change, is that lightspeed should reduce a high percentage of cast time instead of a fixed value. This way it would work with Ascend and we shouldn't need to cross class from BLM and could cross class from ACN instead. With Virus available, Disable should be reworked to give enemy 10sec of silence/pacification and work like Lethargy.
(Since these suggestions would change a lot of skills, no way the dev team would even consider it, but we can dream)

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iii.While in Collective Unconscious anyone within the aura retains their card enhancement until the aura expires or they exit the aura. (Reduce Duration: 12s)
ii. Stella: Additional effect = Stop (Similar to stun/petrify)
iv. Gravity: Additional effect = Heavy[/I]
iii. Fix the spear card so it could function on skills already on cooldown.

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Liked all of these. ^.^

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Originally Posted by Brightshadow

1. Nocturnal Sect:
Fortification [/B]effect to certain actions. Effect ends upon reuse. Fortification is an enhancement which creates a barrier that builds up overtime. Unlike the regular shield you don’t get the full effect at once instead it works similar to regen in that the shield is reapplied with each tick. However, unlike regen this “Shield” gets stronger overtime so if you avoid a hit, or are out of combat the shield potency goes up to the maximum buildup potency. Since this isn’t a basic shield it stacks with the regular shields from scholar.

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Love the idea but in the event where you refresh the shield buff, does the timer reset and Fortification tick stay? And once it reaches 100% and you have another Fortification tick going, does it just keep stacking until the shield is broken.

~ I also love the stop idea.

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Originally Posted by Roxas_Andrade

With Virus available, Disable should be reworked to give enemy 10sec of silence/pacification and work like Lethargy.

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The current issue with Disable is that it can be consumed with an auto-attack. Changing it to a pacify, silence or slow (lethargy) would kill its raid utility as most end-game raid bosses are not effected by these skills and it would remove our only form of "reliable" mitigation >.<;

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Originally Posted by Parawill

The current issue with Disable is that it can be consumed with an auto-attack. Changing it to a pacify, silence or slow (lethargy) would kill its raid utility as most end-game raid bosses are not effected by these skills and it would remove our only form of "reliable" mitigation >.<;

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Well, I only suggested this change considering we would have both Virus and E4aE. Both from cross class, but eficient mitigation tools. In my humble opinion, I like fact that disable works on auto attacks the way it is now. See this:

An enemy will use a cone aoe. You use Disable. Everybody dodges the aoe. Disable is lost.

I'd rather use disable to reduce dmg from an auto attack than use it and loose it, considering you're with a good/dodging party.

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Originally Posted by Roxas_Andrade

since Synastry is always compared to have a fairy (not my opinion, though) it should have it's potency reduced in like 10~20% and should end upon reuse. This way you could keep synastry always on someone.

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So in your opinion Synastry should be a toggle?
YES
If Synastry became a toggle then every healer would have unique ways of healing people.
WHM- The strongest healing buffs, HoTs and AOE burst heals in the game.
SCH- Fairy and damage mitigation
AST- Synastry and buffs (of course the buffs need some rework but...well anyway)

I can already imagine.
SCH- single target MT an micromanage fairy on OT
AST- uses synastry on MT and single target OT
Both would easily heal the entire raid while keeping the tanks alive.
or
AST- synastry on OT and single target MT.
WHM- focuses on AOE heals and applying regens to the party.

That would definitely add a new air to the job, i would definitely love to see that.

wow i'm surprised vlady hasn't complained yet.


also neat ideas.

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Originally Posted by Parawill

Love the idea but in the event where you refresh the shield buff, does the timer reset and Fortification tick stay? And once it reaches 100% and you have another Fortification tick going, does it just keep stacking until the shield is broken.

~ I also love the stop idea.


The current issue with Disable is that it can be consumed with an auto-attack. Changing it to a pacify, silence or slow (lethargy) would kill its raid utility as most end-game raid bosses are not effected by these skills and it would remove our only form of "reliable" mitigation >.<;

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No the Shield caps at the maximum potency meaning that once the max potency has been reached any additional ticks do nothing until the shield is weaker/broken by hits.

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Originally Posted by Parawill

Love the idea but in the event where you refresh the shield buff, does the timer reset and Fortification tick stay? And once it reaches 100% and you have another Fortification tick going, does it just keep stacking until the shield is broken.

~ I also love the stop idea.


The current issue with Disable is that it can be consumed with an auto-attack. Changing it to a pacify, silence or slow (lethargy) would kill its raid utility as most end-game raid bosses are not effected by these skills and it would remove our only form of "reliable" mitigation >.<;

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Honestly i like disable as it is. I have not leveled to max yet but it would have been a great tool on something like twintania her tailswipe.
Well timing it for big spells is one of favorite things to do in dungeons.

5 changes bring AST to where it needs to be:

1.) Lightspeed CD dropped to 1 min.
2.) Enhanced Benefic changed to be a gaurenteed crit instead of instant
3.) Noct Collective Unconscious - to 15% and an impervious Astrologian
4.) Celestial Opposition - something actually more useful and stance defining in both stances
5.) Shuffle removing same card from the next draw

And disable is awesome - get it during the charge bar and it's more potent than Virus.

Interesting ideas for certain.

However I STRONGLY feel that the astrologian should have their card system amplified as that is their defining feature. Their heals certainly aren't unique, so lets emphasize the card so they ARE unique!

I feel like this is kinda off topic...or maybe it isn't, well, anyway.
When i saw that AST would be a Buffer job i instantly saw "Synergist" (From the FFXIII series) i thought "yees i'll be able to cast a magical buff on BLMs and SMNs, defense buffs on Tanks etc..."
But then...RNG!
Why cant we be an actual buffer job who can choose which buff apply, which player will receive the buff, which moment is the right moment, without being killed by a HORRIBLE RNG system?
I would replace a bunch of AST skills by single buffs with a certain cooldown that you can apply to a player who actually needs it.
For example:
Balance: X seconds CD draws the balance card and apply it to the target buffing the damage dealt by Y%
Duration: Z seconds
The same for the other cards, i would feel SO MUCH more like a buffer job. And we could replace shuffle and draw by another useful CD (maybe a healing CD?) as it would not be needed anymore.

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Originally Posted by OpheliaHeartilly

Waiting for Vlady to come complain.... The suspense is killing me!

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Don't worry the five threads a day complaint how weak the job is more then outweighs any supposed complaints you claim I speak about.If anything I am defending the job so your statement is null.