(AST) i dont see any reason why i should use nocturnal stance >_>

[Shikiseki]

I don't see why something has to 1-shot you before noct is useful? If you argument like that, you might as well disregard Scholar entirely too...

Anyway, the benefits of having shields in some fights are at hand. Doesn't even have to be hardcore super endtier encounters to make your life, your healing partner's life and the tanks life much easier. Have fun regenerating those double/triples at Chrysalis. Getting Akh Morn'd to the face without protection might hurt. Eating any kinds of orbs with an insta shield? Hell yes. DPS on double weakness? I can see regen being very useful here (lolnope).

And that "only" 130% shield makes AST shields far more reliable than the shield specialist, whose shield AoE is inferior too!

The huge advantage of AST is that you can even choose depending on the encounter/fights so don't lock yourself into the mindset that Diurnal is always better because frankly, it's not.

[_slowpoke_]

I don't see why something has to 1-shot you before noct is useful? If you argument like that, you might as well disregard Scholar entirely too...

SCH brings more to the table than just shields. It's superior to N.AST in basically every regard. Better utility, better DPS, better mitigation, and yes, better shields.

Have fun regenerating those double/triples at Chrysalis.

Precast a single heal for the first hit, and you're fine. You do not need shields for even the triples. They are a waste of MP.

Getting Akh Morn'd to the face without protection might hurt.

The SCH in my static doesn't even heal during the first two Ahk Morns except for popping a Sacred Soil, and if you're talking Story mode, then lol.

Eating any kinds of orbs with an insta shield? Hell yes.

Waste of MP. There are basically no orbs in the game that insta-kill you without a shield.

DPS on double weakness? I can see regen being very useful here (lolnope).

That's what Stoneskin is for, if you really need it. No need to gimp yourself for the entire fight just because someone could die twice. Or, again, bring a SCH instead of the shitty excuse for it.

And that "only" 130% shield makes AST shields far more reliable than the shield specialist, whose shield AoE is inferior too!

For the situations where you need AoE shields, you deploy Adlos, and even a non-crit Adlo completely outclasses anything a N.AST can throw out. And again, you don't take a SCH purely because of the shields, but because it is superior to N.AST in basically every regard.

The huge advantage of AST is that you can even choose depending on the encounter/fights so don't lock yourself into the mindset that Diurnal is always better because frankly, it's not.

Except there's no choice to be had because N.AST is always inferior to D.AST in every fight where you don't strictly need shields, and in fights where you do, you don't bring a N.AST. It's really that simple.

Look, as I said multiple times before, it's regrettable that N.AST is currently left behind, and many of the people who correctly point out that it's inferior and that there's no reason to use it don't do this because they hate N.AST for some irrational reason, but because they would like to see it reworked (i.e., redesigned, not just buffed) in the future. It's a broken design that will never properly work as it currently stands and desperately defending it doesn't help.