Differentiate pure heals and shields?

[inhaledcorn]

Channel attacks are very unpopular in this game. Anything that forces GCD clipping feels awful to use, and, for the most part, you can trick the server tick into keeping the defensive part of the channel for the only part of the attack that you need. Just look at how people use Collective Unconscious. If they want to make shields more effective, then the half-and-half heal + shield needs to be converted to just raw shields, probably also being HP% based. Also, there needs to be more oGCD shield skills and more ways to weave it. And, if we want shields to be really effective, then we need less dark attacks that ignore them.

[ksuyen]

Maybe a bit off topic but I always focus target boss when in sch/noct. I think most shield healers do. The diff is we learn and memorize all the boss attacks so when we see the casting bar moving, it's time to shield up before the big attack. Whether it's single shield to tank or aoe shield to group, it all the same. Pure healers is more relax. I just heal when I see your hp less than 50%.

[Allegor]

Maybe a bit off topic but I always focus target boss when in sch/noct. I think most shield healers do. The diff is we learn and memorize all the boss attacks so when we see the casting bar moving, it's time to shield up before the big attack. Whether it's single shield to tank or aoe shield to group, it all the same. Pure healers is more relax. I just heal when I see your hp less than 50%.

Something I love about noct (RIP come 6.0) that I can't really do with SCH is shielding a non-tank player targeted by an ability - on a SCH, between casting adlo, the shield delay, and maybe latency, chances are the ability already went off and the shield is wasted, whereas with noct I can just instantly drop an aspected benefic on them.

[Wawachume]

Maybe a bit off topic but I always focus target boss when in sch/noct. I think most shield healers do. The diff is we learn and memorize all the boss attacks so when we see the casting bar moving, it's time to shield up before the big attack. Whether it's single shield to tank or aoe shield to group, it all the same. Pure healers is more relax. I just heal when I see your hp less than 50%.

For me, the stress is the opposite way. I have a really slow reaction time and a tendency to freeze at stressful moments. On WHM I watch for someone's health to go down, spend two seconds processing the fact that it's gone down, spend two more seconds panicking and not knowing which button to press, and by then they're at like 10% and I'm doing a mixture of frantic spamming, hitting benediction, and watching somebody die. On SCH I just put shields on anyone I expect to take damage in the near future.

Something I love about noct (RIP come 6.0) that I can't really do with SCH is shielding a non-tank player targeted by an ability - on a SCH, between casting adlo, the shield delay, and maybe latency, chances are the ability already went off and the shield is wasted, whereas with noct I can just instantly drop an aspected benefic on them.

I like that too. Actually—and this is sad given how much I like the theme of AST—I think it's the only thing, mechanically speaking, that I like about nocturnal better than SCH.

[IceBlueNinja]

Something I love about noct (RIP come 6.0) that I can't really do with SCH is shielding a non-tank player targeted by an ability - on a SCH, between casting adlo, the shield delay, and maybe latency, chances are the ability already went off and the shield is wasted, whereas with noct I can just instantly drop an aspected benefic on them.

instant shields are beautiful with ast, even aspected helios too via light speed is instant. co 60 cd only + helios/aspected benefic always there is why to me noct sect ast is more powerful than sch similar to how we our regens are claim better than whm. With sch you gotta pray to get a cata with alqo to be able to use DT and after using DT it has a long 1min+ cd which makes additional catas useless while its on cd, while co 60 seconds + helios is more spammish. Though alqo has a 300 pot its shield its only 125% unless cata where as ast already gets the raw 250% which makes it slighty beat alqo dispite the slightly higher potency if alqo dont crit, but if it does it wins aspect benefic cause the higher potency but then CI 200% +netrual aspected benefic 250% is technically 450% lol .Dirunal shields best nocts single shields while nocts best dirunal party wise since co+helio is 250% in noct where as you cant do it in dirunal. Hopefully sage has a kit similar to noct ast then I wont care that noct is gone lol. Regens maybe mathematically better but shields allow you to be saved from something that may hurt you badly or even 1 hit you or even in some old dungeons block a debuff that comes after an attack or even knock back effect if you take 0 damage. for me as a heavy noct user I usually pre shield knowing when aoes will happen and if neutro is up I use it to have both shield and the regen. Shield healing for me is less stressful vs regen healing too. Regens and shields are a team thing, noct ast/sch should be pre casting when aoe is about to come and whm/dirunal ast should then regen the remaining damage , so in that instant both is equal with only regens abit better mathematically when it ticks which makes sense since its to repair as much damage as possible more than a shield. when I think of it really ast is busted cause we are to technically not be a better regen/shielder than whm/sch since we are like the rdm type healer of the group. SE I guess didnt care, but its only fair since they damaged our stormblood cards to this boring lame shadow bringers mess boring cards else maybe if they left it alone they probably wouldnt have op the regens and shields of ast. Side note IMO sage should have been a another regen class and ast should have lost dirunal and kept noct because since ast was regarded as a time mage and time mage has a barrier effect call reflect in most final fantasies it simply would have make sense we kept noct and lost dirunal. make sure to make lovely memories of noct now .

[Deceptus]

Channel attacks are very unpopular in this game. Anything that forces GCD clipping feels awful to use, and, for the most part, you can trick the server tick into keeping the defensive part of the channel for the only part of the attack that you need. Just look at how people use Collective Unconscious. If they want to make shields more effective, then the half-and-half heal + shield needs to be converted to just raw shields, probably also being HP% based. Also, there needs to be more oGCD shield skills and more ways to weave it. And, if we want shields to be really effective, then we need less dark attacks that ignore them.

Yeah, with latency and the bad code the way it is, channels would be a nightmare.