How would you change Nocturnal AST to be competitive against SCH?

[Waltz_Beat]

AST as a job role is so aesthetically pleasing, and I'd love to main it! However, I much prefer the role of a 'mitigating/supporter' healer rather than the 'main/AoE' healer. I've been disappointed with AST its entire lifespan (and it was my 1st level 60).

I really wish they went with a more unique gameplay design with AST; but that won't be possible until an expansion. I hope next expansion they focus on the 'main healer/aoe healer' aspect of AST and release a new healer truly competitive to SCH.

Regardless here are my ideas on how they could change AST, drastically, to fulfil the SCH role in savage come 3.4 (pure fantasy at this point, but it's a bit of fun). I’d like to hear people’s thoughts on this; whether it would make AST OP, or perhaps boring to play (too much like SCH), or maybe nothing can beat SCH in ASTs current state.

Synastry: Nocturnal Sect Effect: Generate an aetheric bond with target party member. This party member obtains a regen effect. Cure potency: 150. Duration: permanent. Cooldown: 1 second.

This would, effectively, be similar to a fairy. You'd have to handle this effect similar to a fairy, but actively select who the regen should be place on. This gives constant heals similar to a SCH.

Collective Unconscious: Creates a wheel of fortune around the caster, granting Regen and 10% damage reduction for any party member who enters. Nocturnal sect: Cooldown: 45 seconds. Cure Potency: 100, Duration: 15s, Damage Reduction Duration: 18s. *Effect ends upon moving.*

The changes to CU will be its CD while in noct sect and being able to cast. I think having to stay still and having the shield being around your character, rather than being a ground AoE, are both negative enough to justify the addition of a party regen. The CD would bring it more in line with SCHs Sacred Soil (Cooldown: 30 seconds, 1 AF stack) and the regen effect gives something similar to eos’s whispering dawn (the Cure potency of wheel of fortune would be reduced as it is on a lower CD).

Celestial Opposition: Stuns all nearby enemies. Dur: 4s. Also extends duration of beneficial effects cast on self and party members by 5 seconds.
Nocturnal Sect Effect: Spreads any Aspected Benefic/Helios to nearby party members.

Essentially the ASTs version of deployment tactics. This version is not as strong though as; you have to have the AB on yourself and therefore it cannot be effected by convalescence or defiance and you’ll have to position yourself to everybody gets hit by it. Additionally, it will not be possible to spread E4E this way (you don’t have it ofc).

These changes would essentially make both roles more homogenised. While this is not ideal, the current design of AST would mean this is necessary to be competitive against SCH.

AST would bring: Cards (buffs), Disable (able to effect darkness damage).
SCH would bring: Instant AoE (Indomitability), Virus, Eye for an Eye (Effects darkness damage). ‘Safer’ option still, as you’ll be able to move while having Soil active, being able to do more damage while moving (due to extra dots ticking) and having lustrates in case of emergencies.

[Judge_Xero]

NoctAst should provide a level of healing while DPSING.

Diurnal is of the day and Nocturnal is of the night.

Should be Diurnal = level of DPS while healing
Nocturnal = level of healing while DPSING.

The most difficult thing I find as AST is stance swapping on top of Card usage. Especially with offering more support with NoctAst as far as heals/dps that SCH is capable of.

Adding the effect of heal/dps to follow the current meta based on Sect might make it feel less clunky.

[Valknut]

I think if Noct AST could do the same or near amount of healing that the fairy did well standing in cleric stance, there would be no issue.

If they would just remove cleric stance an let healers weave DPS without the risk of getting locked out of heals then there would be no issue.

Remove Cleric stance, make healers DPS dependant on MND, ??? Profit.

Problem solved.

[Waltz_Beat]

I think if Noct AST could do the same or near amount of healing that the fairy did well standing in cleric stance, there would be no issue.

My attempt of changing Synastry was for this. I feel it removes the identity of the move, but its the only option I can come up with atm.

If they would just remove cleric stance an let healers weave DPS without the risk of getting locked out of heals then there would be no issue.

I feel like that would really take away from the risk/reward play of healers at the moment, and would make healing in raids a lot more boring. Definitely something I do not want.

[Beam1249]

I wouldn't. I'd give up on trying to have AST compete with SCH, and make a 4th healer focused on off healing instead.

Having 2 main healers and 2 off healers is going to achieve better balance than trying to make AST compete with both WHM and SCH.

[_slowpoke_]

Remove Cleric stance, make healers DPS dependant on MND, ??? Profit

In my experience, most people who refuse to DPS as a healer do so not because they are afraid of Cleric Stance, but because they refuse to on principle. Destroying one of the most interesting and engaging things about properly playing a healer isn't going to change this.

[Supersun]

I wouldn't. I'd give up on trying to have AST compete with SCH, and make a 4th healer focused on off healing instead.

Having 2 main healers and 2 off healers is going to achieve better balance than trying to make AST compete with both WHM and SCH.

Pretty much this.

I highly suspect that the next 2 jobs will be Samurai which is going to be a new Warrior style off tank and Red Mage which is going to be a Scholar type off healer.

[Shurrikhan]

NoctAst should provide a level of healing while DPSING.

Diurnal is of the day and Nocturnal is of the night.

Should be Diurnal = level of DPS while healing
Nocturnal = level of healing while DPSING.

The most difficult thing I find as AST is stance swapping on top of Card usage. Especially with offering more support with NoctAst as far as heals/dps that SCH is capable of.

Adding the effect of heal/dps to follow the current meta based on Sect might make it feel less clunky.

Don't Diurnal HoTs already kind of cover the healing while dpsing need, technically? Of course, if a shield, placed prior, keeps one from having to heal as soon as they otherwise would, that much does the same as well, albeit with a greatly shorter duration.

If you want to fully balance out the DPS potential of the two Sects though, you probably only need to increase AST mana costs by 5%, and have Diurnal reduce MP costs by 6% while increasing Attack Speed and Periodic Damage by 5%, while Nocturnal now effects all potencies, rather than just healing.

Now for the spitball idea (based a bit on...)

I think if Noct AST could do the same or near amount of healing that the fairy did well standing in cleric stance, there would be no issue.

Change the instant Benefic II proc effect.
In Diurnal, it also has a chance to proc from all HoT ticks, on a per-spell basis. (Medica II, regardless of members effected, triggers only a single roll. Each cast of AB similarly trigger a roll each.)
In Nocturnal, it also has a chance to proc any time one of your shields absorb damage, on a per-spell basis. This chance may be higher than Diurnal's.

Lastly, (at least in Nocturnal Sect) the instant Benefic II is exchanged with a free, oGCD, Benefic I proc. This gives you an element of control similar to a SCH pet.

Small tuning idea: Nocturnal Field may now be placed on enemies with Galvanize. However, one may be consumed on the same attack.

Still want:
- To polish the aesthetics of the above idea, possibly using an accumulated resource rather than chance, shown by having the globe spin. The globe can store up to X charges of free oGCD Benefics. Over cap, it will spit them out automatically at wounded allies (unless afflicted with certain debuffs). If no allies are wounded, the charge is simply wasted, rather than overhealing.
- (Just a personal desire, probably not at all necessary) A bit more dps to healing synergy.
- A better effect of time-extending magics on Nocturnal Field.
- Better Bole, and maybe a combined Ewer/Spire and better Spear.

[Rawrz]

or.............. You could give WHM a chance to shine as the off healer.

I still feel that pushing a nocturnal AST into the off heal slot, when with a WHM cohealer, is one of the reasons people feel Noct AST is so weak. They are trying to perform a role that they aren't equipped at. Diurnal AST would make a better off healer than Nocturnal (Increased DPS and Regens.) Noct Asts have the choice between minimizing overheal and preemptive mitigation with shields or raw HP catch up with Ben II/Helios, making them efficient at main healing with Noct's healing potency buff.

They do not have as many instant cast abilities that they could pop off right after Cleric Stance, but from a main heal point of view its okay. They have 2 powerful DoTs (Combust II is the most powerful Healer DoT in the game) both of which can't miss if you don't gear for accuracy. If you do build some accuracy, you can put all your DoTs out in a single Cleric Stance lock out.

Noct Aspected Ben ~> Cleric Stance on~> Combust II ~> Combust ~> Aero ~> Cleric Stance Weave off ~> Noct Aspected Ben

You can increase DPS without risking a cleric stance lockout with cards. ASTs have the power to sustain the most DPS heavy healer in the game, WHM, into the off heal role. One ewer is a balance.

Just a few things I think about. I always love to see a good AST heal. Too bad we can't share a mind bonus just yet, as sch and ast. :c

I just find it funny that WHM is always the main heal in every party, when they have a really good DPS and HoT heal kit.

Ast does need a buff to their Celestial Opposition and Time Dilation while in nocturnal to synergize with their shielding aspect, but other than that I wouldn't touch it.

[_slowpoke_]

or.............. You could give WHM a chance to shine as the off healer.

WHM cannot "shine as an off-healer" because they don't have the MP solvency for sustained DPS in longer fights, you will simply run dry after just a few minutes without extensive outside assistance, and the same is mostly true for AST (unless you keep throwing Ewers on yourself, and that's the shittiest possible thing to do with an Ewer in raid content). That is a major part of why SCH is the dedicated off-healer and will continue to be - basically infinite MP while DPSing, there's no contest here.