My AST is so weak, why?

[Viviza]

This. Benefic I is your go-to heal. Benefic II is your "wow he got hit really hard" heal. You should only need to use it infrequently.

WAR has higher self healing capabilities than DRK. So you actually may have been making the WAR run for their money if you were still using the outdated weapon.

To offer a counterpoint, I use Benefic II more than Benefic I in dungeons, because it affords me something more precious than MP, which is time. I can wait longer to heal, and heal tanks up faster, by using Benefic II liberally. Then otherwise I can sit in cleric stance and blast things.