SCH and AST

[Saefinn]

After my disappointment with SCH, I decided to look into what other healers got (or lost) and AST ended up attracting me. Looking at some of the complaints: the card system, I didn't play a lot of AST so the changes don't affect me but I very much understand why AST's are complaining, they liked the way it worked and why change it? It's too busy and it doesn't heal so well.
If anybody has seen my SCH complaints they mostly boil down to being bored and healing too well. I missed having to think harder for my heals back in 2.0. So you can imagine seeing complaints like this attracted me to trying AST.

From an outsider perspective, I think the card system is enjoyable. The buffs it gives are stronger than the DNC equivalent at a base level(I am maining DNC at the moment) but may not be as powerful as they were before (with Royal Road removed). 2 min cooldown on Divination seems long, but I kinda get the feeling that was balanced around DNC's Technical Step too, which is a 5% every 2 mins (but gets a DPS move on top). Not gonna lie, it seems like it's an AST version of the DNC buff. Flat damage boosts and a system that's about matching symbols that affects potency. And it works nicely for DNC at least.

But the way I've been rotating it is building unique seals for Divination and then whilst Divination is on cooldown, take advantage of Lord/Lady of Crowns. I felt I wasted fewer cards with this system. Though that could be because I was a less experienced AST, I don't know how much wastage experienced AST's got. Healing was harder than it was for SCH, but I was also a lot busier and I still weaved in buffs and DPS skills and I liked that. A friend did big pulls in a dungeon and whilst I did fear for her life a couple of times, I figured how I might balance AST to keep her alive and still DPS & play cards, as I was determined to do stuff between heals. I DPS'd less mind you, but I also gave DPS boosts to the party SCH and WHM lack. I don't know how that'll differ once I am better at the job.

But coming from a SCH main, it honestly feels like I'm going to prefer how AST plays, without trying to downplay any of the complaints careers AST's have, because they are perfectly valid. What you liked about your job what completely changed and feels underwhelming in comparison to how it was before for you.

At least, these are some of my impressions coming at AST from somebody who didn't main it or play much of it. However, I kinda feel that instead of reworking AST's card system, that effort could have been given to SCH and/or WHM to give them something more to do in their downtime that's not DPS. Thus addressing people's concerns rather than making more of them.

[HyoMinPark]

The buffs it gives are stronger than the DNC equivalent at a base level(I am maining DNC at the moment) but may not be as powerful as they were before (with Royal Road removed).

AST buffs now are a shadow of what they used to be. AOE Balance was +5% to the entire party for 30 seconds (and could be extended to 40s with the old Celestial Opposition, plus an additional 15s on a single player with Time Dilation). Now we have +6% to a single person for 15 seconds with no way to extend them, spread them, or enhance them. And the Draw timer is still cooldown the same outside of a Sleeve Draw window. So their buffs are pathetic compared to what they used to be. The original problem was with Balance being too good—but now every card is a crappier Balance, and all equally lackluster.

2 min cooldown on Divination seems long, but I kinda get the feeling that was balanced around DNC's Technical Step too, which is a 5% every 2 mins (but gets a DPS move on top). Not gonna lie, it seems like it's an AST version of the DNC buff. Flat damage boosts and a system that's about matching symbols that affects potency. And it works nicely for DNC at least.

This is incorrect. Divination is 180s, which is 3 minutes. It lines up with DRG’s Battle Litany and BRD’s Battle Voice. It will not line up with every Technical Step outside of the opener, and at the 6 minute mark in a fight where all raid buffs line up again.

But the way I've been rotating it is building unique seals for Divination and then whilst Divination is on cooldown, take advantage of Lord/Lady of Crowns. I felt I wasted fewer cards with this system. Though that could be because I was a less experienced AST, I don't know how much wastage experienced AST's got.

With the old AST, once you got Minor Arcana at level 66, you didn’t waste any cards. If you weren’t going to hold them in a Spread or Royal Road them for an Extended/Enhanced/Expanded effect, you used them on Minor Arcana. Original Lady of Crowns was a free, oGCD heal (perfect for quick top-offs during Malefic spam), and Original Lord of Crowns was an oGCD damage ability. With Minor Arcana, there was no wasting of the cards. They just didn’t buff party members.

[Saefinn]

AST buffs now are a shadow of what they used to be. AOE Balance was +5% to the entire party for 30 seconds (and could be extended to 40s with the old Celestial Opposition, plus an additional 15s on a single player with Time Dilation). Now we have +6% to a single person for 15 seconds with no way to extend them, spread them, or enhance them. And the Draw timer is still cooldown the same outside of a Sleeve Draw window. So their buffs are pathetic compared to what they used to be. The original problem was with Balance being too good—but now every card is a crappier Balance, and all equally lackluster.

I can see this being a fair argument for why it is worse in terms of its effects versus Stormblood. And the fair argument for them to get buffed. My main impressions were more in how the job played because I will admit my ignorance in how potencies affect the role because it is a job I previously didn't play an awful lot of.


If I am to compare to how my main healer, SCH, feels to play the following changes, I think AST 'feels' better at the moment. As soon as I jumped into roulettes with my SCH I got bored. AST I didn't, because I had more to do. But I realize there are still staggering problems that need to be addressed, though arguably it is the case of all healers.

This is incorrect. Divination is 180s, which is 3 minutes. It lines up with DRG’s Battle Litany and BRD’s Battle Voice. It will not line up with every Technical Step outside of the opener, and at the 6 minute mark in a fight where all raid buffs line up again.

My bad, 3 minutes. Then yes, I can definitely see how this is worse.

With the old AST, once you got Minor Arcana at level 66, you didn’t waste any cards. If you weren’t going to hold them in a Spread or Royal Road them for an Extended/Enhanced/Expanded effect, you used them on Minor Arcana. Original Lady of Crowns was a free, oGCD heal (perfect for quick top-offs during Malefic spam), and Original Lord of Crowns was an oGCD damage ability. With Minor Arcana, there was no wasting of the cards. They just didn’t buff party members.

Ah, my AST was 65 in SB, so I just missed Minor Arcana and before that, mainly tried it out in HW. I've now got it 71 in ShB on my alt.