Yoshi-P's Interview with Famitsu includes a few comments about AST

[Daws]

I'm happy they are working to make changes. However it also bothers me they have walk on eggshells to balance the class properly w/o it becoming overpowered. It baffles me they made it half a whm and half a sch in the first place instead of just making it its own unique class/playstyle. I feel like so much of this drama with the class could have been averted from the beginning if they weren't stupid about designing this class from the ground up.

I'm baffled that you find it baffling. Honestly. It seems pretty obvious to me. In creating a healer that can swap between regen and shields, they created a unique healer. Plenty of people love ast, it's just a matter of balancing and ironing out the rough edges.

They weren't stupid, they just approached a new healer differently than you would have. Doesn't make them stupid.