With all these astrologian complain threads

[fanservice]

-snip-

That's pretty much it really. When I say 'weakest healer', I mean they don't have the tools to deal with as much BS. Each heal's potency is just about good enough compared to their mirror, and adding another 10 or 20 isn't going to fix the following problem: I know I said it before, but once that 40sec cooldown essential dignity is gone, you have to mash benefic ii, and hope for the best to keep your head above water. A single good adlo crit from a SCH amounts to a 1350 heal (450 heal, 900 shield), which is enough to go heal-positive before we even consider the SCH's potential to sit on up to 6 back to back lustrates since they're tied to aetherflow, and don't have a cooldown of their own. 9 if you really want to count dissipate. I know most SCHs won't sit on stacks like that, or don't use dissipate so willy-nilly, but the point is, AST is so badly outclassed in that regard it's kinda sad (and the more I talk about it, the more I'm afraid they'll hit my favorite job alot harder with the nerf bat).

Wasting just one GCD as an AST when things are going south just spells someone's death oftentimes.

[Lyrica_Ashtine]

Well, this topic sure exploded when I wasn't paying attention.

First of all, thanks Ghishlain for presenting those numbers. Hopefully it'll at least knock some sense into these textbook students.

And secondly, some of you aren't getting the point of the original message. Ghishlain pointed out the basic healing kit is roughly the same. But stop looking at other class's kits. You do not play Astrologian like you play White Mage, nor do you play it like you'd play Scholar. Astrologian cards can be either really good or really bad.

You could say that
the cards ( •_•)>⌐■-■
are in your hands (⌐■_■)

[Parawill]

Essential Dignity - Reduce the CD of this ability to 20-25 seconds. If played properly, it almost always be equal or better than Tetragrammaton in healing.
Lightspeed - Have it grant Haste to the AST as well, so they can actually heal more often while the buff is up

You can add Synastry onto that list. It's pretty useful for healing multiple targets (and saving mana!). I especially love it when I have to keep two tanks up in 8-man content :-). But yes, we don't have any emergency buttons for misakes outside of Essential Dignity and occasionally Lightspeed.

I'd prefer if they either lowered the amount of healing potency it reduces rather than a Haste. Those insta-casts are really clutch (just not the potency reduction)! I just hope they do some small hot fixes with bugs before Alexander so we can really test Astrologians in up-to-date raid content.

As a 60 Astrologian, I've slightly changed my playstyle to not only anticipate damage, but also gauge DPS and rotations of said classes. A lot of my group members are loving Arrow & Balance, with a Spire thrown in afterwards. It doesn't offer as much healing as other classes, but there are work arounds with it, and I'm sure I'll learn more. I just understand that Spread is going to be required to used tactfully as its very powerful when you use the right card at the right moment. What I'm thinking though is better timing with my own personal spears to reduce Synastry's CD and Luminous Aether to boost HPS and conserve mana. If I can squeeze in a draw and other off-gcds in it as well... I'm getting too excited!

EDIT INSERT: Also, I've been using ED (Essential Dignity) when tank falls below 50% to try to maximize its use. I feel like if I can use it to cover at least two Benefics, it will not only save mana but time as well. Of course ED will also be saved for tank busters since that increase in potency relative to target's HP makes it such a great heal... It's so satisfying when you see it crit for over 8k @_@

P.S: Devs fix Ascend for macros please. I want my macro ;-; I want to tell people I foresaw their death.

[SakiKojiro]

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...n.-My-Thoughts.

I'll just put that here, since it sums up all my thoughts. The class is mostly fine, there's just a few choice spells that really need a look over.

[Yumi_umi]

Ast = card rng
Whm/sch = 100% no rng ( maybe except for fairy? Idk lol don't think so )
Why draw that super needed bole when the game can spam u spear 2 times in a row after shuffle lol. Sorry that was bad rng and u can't do anything about it, plz try again later.

Strong points i see in asts unique spells are
- synastry. Will be powerful in mechanics that require healing 2 player etc. t11 kaliya headsweeps between the 2 tanks, t12 during brand u healing brand healer while focusing on tank.
-Collective unconscious. seem to have some potential despite its odd design of rooting player etc. using disable with all the other debuffs before a big attack ofc.
-the card system if everything goes right. Being yugi and drawing the needed card everytime cuz u "believe in the heart of the cards".
-time dialation etc for comboing on a super strong dps.

[sharazisspecial]

SCH since release has received so many buffs.

[Seryl199]

Could have sworn that back when I was in DD I would draw use auto attack on a mob the tank pulled and couldn't spread it, though DD exp runs were quite the blur anyway so I guess I remember different.

I've got to back to this and comment... AST has my favorite auto attack among the three healers. Aggressively karate chopping mobs with card in hand is ever so slightly more satisfying than the SCH book whack.

[Shamirah]

I wonder if making synastry 100% uptime would be op with a decrease in the healing done maybe.

[NorthernLadMSP]

They were replying to this (incorrect) statement

Sorry, there's nothing incorrect about it. Playing well as SCH is 150% simple as hell. It requires almost no effort to shine as a SCH.

[Kaizersan]

AST is fine they can keep up with the other healers if played correctly which is harder than the other classes due to AST need for situational awareness.