Here's how you fix Astrologian

[Aellae]

I am really, really conflicted about AST. I've played and loved it since the very beginning of HW and didn't drop it when it was bad back then. Now it feels even worse and even if I can get over the card system that was butchered severely by SE in my opinion, I still feel weak. I will still level it to 80 but I will probably play Scholar until some fixes are done.

What definitely needs to be done:
- Divination CD lowered and/or duration increased
- Potency increase for both Malefic and Combust (It seriously can't be that AST is doing like, I don't know, 60% of the damage a WHM does. Lower? Sure. But not this low.)
- Potency increase for the heals (I don't mind putting in extra work but I also don't want to feel anxious every pull. Also the hell did they do to Dignity? What a sad little spell it is now.)
- Sleeve Draw rework because it's neither fun nor efficient

Those are my biggest gripes I think. I might get over the cards being washed down now and the silly seal management but they still need to fix some stuff here if they want to keep this system. Afterall, cards are a big part of AST.

[Ralts]

Reduce divination's CD to 0 sec., when it was last casted with 3 different seals. I mean, shouldn't we be rewarded for casting it with 3 different seals?

[ApolloGenX]

I leveled AST to 80 first... then dropped it and now play whm. I like the class, but it's really far behind right now. I can tell when I am in an 8 man with an AST... their healing lags so much... after spike damage, I can get the group back up... while they just watch. It's sad and not fair at all. Yes, there is the fun star ability that can chunk heal if you time right.... but whm has so many on demand heals- there's really no comparison.

[dinnertime]

AST is really stressful to play. I mainly play SCH and a bit of WHM for healers and it bothers me that AST only has a couple ogcd heals. Also it feels like the heal potencies are so low, like it even lags behind SCH.

[MOZZYSTAR]

AST is really stressful to play. I mainly play SCH and a bit of WHM for healers and it bothers me that AST only has a couple ogcd heals. Also it feels like the heal potencies are so low, like it even lags behind SCH.

I don't know the comparisons stat-wise, but I do know that diurnal sect is meant to have low potency heals with regens and nocturnal sect is supposed to have higher potency heals + barriers, and that diurnal sect used to be the DPS sect basically but I think that changed along the way. I'd be curious to know if nocturnal heals potency are still on the low side.

Also, I think my heals did lag. Not only that, but so did my rezzes? That was happening to me even before 5.0, but I chalked it up to my net, even though it wasn't always like that. It also bothers me that AST, which was supposed to be the "new" dps heal back when it came out, has lower attack potency (just lower potency in general) in comparison to WHM, which was supposed to be the big heal/not-so-much-DPS healer. I'd expect SCH to have a higher attack potency, but not WHM. SCH should have higher DPS potency/lower reactive heal potency (but ++preventive heal/shields), WHM should have higher heal potency/lower dps potency, AST should fluctuate per sect? It's like tanks. They're meant to be defence heavy, but slower than a DPS to balance them out.


I think the way we could change ast is:
• Increase overall potencies
• Make card system the way it used to be for the most part
• Change Celestial Opposition back to an aoe stun
• I wouldn't mind something like shadowflare
• Add a couple more ogcd heals
• Add some more dps options (like an aoe dot along with combust) so it's not just combust > malefic or gravity x's 9 > repeat
• Give back its time dilation
• Add in a debuff skill like Disable (XIV version lowered enemy's attack potency for X amount of seconds or until it hit if I remember correctly)
• Change divination from +DPS stats to something more akin to +haste or even +defence (would've originally said +parry/dodge because to divine the future is something like clairvoyancey, but apparently those are moot now? Unless I misunderstood the notes a while back)

[dinnertime]

I think AST is fine having the middle-ground damage out of the healers since it has damage buffs, or else it'll be too good at everything like it was before which wasn't fair; However, it does need a bit of a damage potency buff for sure.
WHM is fine having the highest damage since it doesn't have much but heals and regens which aren't too remarkable compared to shielding/mitigation and damage buffs, and frankly its heals are good enough that I don't think it needs to be any higher. SCH is okay being the lowest in damage since it's at that point where it's becoming good at everything when it has ogcds for days, plenty of healing tools, good raw healing and mitigation. SCH can use something more to its DPS kit though like before. Well, all of the healers do.

Other than that...I agree with everything in just helping AST with healing and buffing.

[Silver-Strider]

Just some potency buffs and/or CD reductions are what AST needs IMO.

Make Collective Unconsciousness a 60 second CD with a 100 potency regen.

Reduce the CD of Essential Dignity to 30 seconds.

Reduce the CD of Celetrial Oppression to 90 seconds, increase the upfront heal to 200 with regen to 80 in Diurnal and the shield strength to 200% in Nocturnal. If they want it to remain on a 2 minute CD, reintroduce the stun effect as well.

Just make Horoscope active upon expiration.

Reduce the CD on Divination to 120 seconds.

Have all cards also provide a regen/shield effect on targets, depending on Sect, with Lord/Lady providing a stronger effect.

[Rivxkobe]

MP card is borderline useless only for Situational moments

Doesn't AST have MP issues compared to the other Healers? So wouldn't an MP one be useful? Especially with the MP issues some SCHs and RDMs are experiencing?

On topic: Collective Unconcious is trash garbage and it needs major buffs to warrant having to stand still for the weak heal while SCH and WHM can just toss their's down and go on casting other spells.

[Seraphor]

Doesn't AST have MP issues compared to the other Healers? So wouldn't an MP one be useful? Especially with the MP issues some SCHs and RDMs are experiencing?

On topic: Collective Unconcious is trash garbage and it needs major buffs to warrant having to stand still for the weak heal while SCH and WHM can just toss their's down and go on casting other spells.

If AST has consistent MP issues that other healers don't, then the correct solution would be to reduce the MP costs of some of their spells more regular spells, such as Benefic II or the Malefic's.

[Kurando]

Divination either needs a reduction in cooldown or an increase in the potency or duration of the actual effect. Could also drop two of the cards altogether if there is no intention to change what they do, would at least up the odds of completing a row of seals but then unless Divination is changed you just get stuck with them for a long time doing nothing....

Doesn't AST have MP issues compared to the other Healers? So wouldn't an MP one be useful? Especially with the MP issues some SCHs and RDMs are experiencing?

I think SCH has less issues with MP, not that it doesn't have any, but it's not as bad as AST and RDM who again for another expac struggle with this and there is no Refresh/Mana Shift allies to assist them.