AST Sect Theory

[Apeiron]

WHM + AST/Diurnal = good
WHM + AST/Noct = Meh but good
SCH + AST/Diurnal = good
SCH + AST/Noct = BAD. SCH is always going to over write Noct because he has a higher cure potency, even with the 5% boost that Noct gives. Also you don't need to save the SCH mp because they don't have mana issues and AST do.

Adloquium is a cure potency of 300
Succor is a cure potency of 150
Aspected Benefic is a cure potency of 199.5 (don't know if they round up or down)
Aspected Helios is a cure potency of 147
Physick is a cure potency of 400
Embrace is a cure potency of 300 (someone fact check me, please)
Benefic is a cure potency of 399
Benefic II is a cure potency of 651
(these are with Noct +5%)

If an AST is using AB or AH in Noct Sect for any reason other than emergencies where something has gone terribly, horribly wrong, they've done goofed. Meanwhile, they've got some very potent healing that they can do to keep the party up.

Not really seeing how this would be effective or more effective than AST (Diurnal)+SCH. SCH+AST (Noct) is just awful, and in every way inferior to SCHx2 or AST (Diurnal) + SCH. At least in SCHx2, your shields just don't stack; in SCH+AST (Noct), AST's smaller, less effective shields will overwrite SCH's larger, more effective shields. AST (Noct) also bring far less in terms of emergency healing, and with SCH's new abilities, stacking two SCH's really isn't all that awful if you communicate.

The only possible benefit I see is stacking SS and CU, which isn't worth the trade off of constantly wasting healing potential by overwriting shields.

Consider that the AST in Diurnal is only as effective as long as his regens are keeping up with damage to nullify or overcome the damage. The SCH's shields help the Dirunal AST because it gives the regens a chance to get a lead on the damage, hence why people find it effective. Meanwhile, a SCH and Nocturnal AST can't stack shields, but the AST can take advantage of the shields to help the SCH and fairy get the party back on top. While the SCH uses Lustrate on one or two people, the AST has Essential Dignity and Synastry. Essential Dignity alone can bring a tank near to or above 50%-60%, or DPS 60%-70% HP. Synastry allows one target to receive half the cures received by another party member from the AST that is not the AST or the target themselves.

Right there the AST helps bring 3/8 - 1/2 the party back to the top as the SCH and fairy bring up the rest.

Imo
Any decent ast with a brain will tell u
- Ast + sch =\= automatic dirunial sect
- ast + whm =\= automatic noct sect
You have to assess party and what instance ur doing.
I go noct always on rav ex as my noct aspected benefic really helps ease off the tank busting moves. Having the sch try to shield before tht buster is like so ur gonna hard cast while party is getting hit with atma linga lol. Also if ppl get burned before prelude to liberation purple aoe, 9/10 times my aspected noct benefic will make them survive.

Also i really like it during bismark ex during p3 add phase as it helps shielding the tank with the 3 adds before the island slam.

Thank you for the input.

The reason you don't see people jumping to test this theory with AST is because we all feel that we've been-there-done-that with the existing healer classes.

I really don't understand how SCH+Noct AST healing is supposed to be anything but either comparable or worse than SCH+SCH in the past, except with the added annoyance of having to be concerned with Galvanize and Nocturnal Field effects overwriting each other without regard to strength.

Now, with SCH's added burst AoE heal capability, the comparison is even weaker since Indom and ET+Succor allow SCHs to provide Medica-style AoE healing to fill the gap that the AST of either Sect would otherwise fill with (unaspected) Helios.

If we seriously consider that the Noct AST can provide healing and shielding coverage while the SCH does something else entirely, like focusing on DPS or being too far removed from the party to effectively heal everyone, sure, that's fine. However, a Diurnal AST will sustain heals far more efficiently over a longer period, and Noct shields aren't so powerful that they are likely to prevent a wipe through sheer mitigation (whereas a partner SCH could at least Deploy an Adlo to mitigate a deadly raid buster).

I will play with Noct in these situations more when I get the opportunity, but I'll be very surprised and pleased if the result is somehow different.

Thank you for at least trying.