I disagree that a rotation is irrelevant to job identity or job fun. It isn't that a rotation needs to be complex, it just needs to feel good to execute. Despite people commonly saying BLM is "the hardest class omg"-- it really isn't as far as the rotation goes. The rotation is pretty straightforward but it feels relevant to its lore/premise, has a sense of progression, leads to suitable payoff (or not if you drop it). This is the question we should ask of every Job...because even as a DPS sometimes things die so fast it feels like my damage is pointless. So why do I play anyway? Because the core loop is fun.

I would argue if devs can't make encounters healing intensive for for various reasons, what will keep people invested in the healer classes is distinct gameplay even if they all have the same effects and results. Why can't AST be a slightly more complex rotation if the lore itself allows for that? Because some people won't play it or take it to TOP? The dev team needs to accept the reality not every class is going to be for everyone and every meta all the time. They need to design classes with unique quirks and challenges like they did in the first place.