What does everyone think about those AST buffs?

[Cupcakesu]

I think SE was drunk.

Inb4 AST nerfs.

We don't really beat out the other Healers in either sect's niche even after the buffs (which is good). Our card buffs are actually worth something now (we buff better than a SCH whee) and we can heal just as well, but I don't think there's anything really worth nerfing. We have essentially been equalized, for the most part. We have the same tools as other Healers with near-equal potencies now and something to boost healing. Our unique function is now buffs that can be upheld thanks to 30s durations and 30s Draws.

[CottonMacabre]

They're Just scared that there's a new healer in town muwahah!
-Sassy card shuffle-

[Eul]

Okay guys, now tell me the reasons why we need WHM and SCH now?

You don't want MND party buff? :/

[FaizeD]

Once a farm healer, always a farm healer. Where are the off-gcd heals? And why the nerf to A. Helios in Diurnal?

[Luvbunny]

These buffs are very good indeed. Now the job function as it is originally intended, a healer who can provide consistent buffs to the party, pretty much nonstop, or every 30 seconds for AOE buffs. Now we can heal just as good as the other healers. Our mana recovery is the worst out of the three, but the card is suppose to help if you get lucky. Our DPS is decent. We officially now have three healers with distinct tools and play style. Bard + Astro + Scholar is now a quite potent force to be reckon with, as well as Mach + Astro + Sch, 4 DPS + 2 Astro.

Basically you bring Ast + Ast, or Ast + Sch for more attack power, depending on your choice for the buffer job, Bard or Machinist. White Mage is your defacto "safety net" for the healer if you want to thread carefully, which means you do need your buffer job with White Mage in tow. But Ast + combo (sch, ast, bard, mach, or another dps) can provide interesting strategy that is more offensive in nature.

[Rashammel]

-snip

Lets give AST the same amount of o-gcd of a Whitemage and let him whit the same potency of Healing and the support utility kit.
Looks very Balanced.

[Velox]

Bard + Astro + Scholar is now a quite potent force to be reckon with, as well as Mach + Astro + Sch, 4 DPS + 2 Astro.

The combo with SCH and BRD is going to be amazing. If anything, these buffs will be the final nail the WHM's coffin since AST now has roughly equal-healing strength as WHM plus retains party utility which WHM has absolutely none.

[Selli]

To be fair, CO's reduced cooldown means it can be used consistently with Luminiferous Aether. They both share 120s CD.

I'm sure someone will do the math sooner or later, but I don't think the extra tick or two on LA every 120 seconds makes up for not having 10% total MP returned every 90 seconds like Assize... especially if Card RNGesus isn't on your side.

I could be wrong, one could outweigh the other after xx amount of minutes (and of course the SpSpd threshold since I think SpSpd effects refresh skills the way it does HoTs). But looking at it now one tick of LA/Shroud (iirc) is 707 MP. Maybe 1,414 if you're lucky with an extra tick (I think the refresh is still every 3 seconds and CO only extends by 5). As opposed to a constant 10% total MP (lets say an even 1k from a 10k total MP pool) every 90 seconds. And I think if you actually got an Ewer every 5 Draws (since the odds are 1/5 after all), it would probably work in AST's favor pretty well. But I've had fights end without me getting a single Ewer on one than more occasion.

Idk. I could be wrong. I'd be happy if I was wrong, but I personally don't feel like it'll significantly effect their MP regeneration.

[tjw]

Lets give AST the same amount of o-gcd of a Whitemage and let him whit the same potency of Healing and the support utility kit.

I don't even know how you picked that up from my post. I never advocated for AST to receive all of 3 oGCD heals of WHM (of all the strengths of WHM to pick, you picked oGCD? Ok.)

I'm speaking up against those who think that AST is now OP. It isn't. It still has its own magnitude of problems to deal with, as both healers do, but its now more viable and COMPETITIVE with WHM and SCH.

What's so hard to understand about that?

[lordparanoia]

It's not hard to make something nasty happen with all of those buffs, it would be hard for any game developer to predict how that sort of thing would affect the balance of content. AST groups have the potential to put out some serious dps now with sustainable buffs like this. I think it will be okay now though. They managed to get all of the math they needed from the actual playerbase which is kind of silly given how we all basically beta tested this class, but look at the results! We're totally competitive now!

They removed and solved some handicap Astrolgians had. How to say? For me AST still deserves more love. Because I don't like the fact that SCH is now Healer-DpsGod (just look at A2S) and WHM can solo-heal also the second worldwar.
Square Enix maybe is just scared because they still don't know if players can abuse of Astrologian's abilities.
That's what I don't like. AST deserve to be as OP as their colleagues.