Question about using Nocturnal Sect?

[416to305]

How zoomed in are you to see the numbers like that? I'm on PS4 so a bit away from the TV and I play zoomed out as far as possible to see everything going on. I can't even picture what the numbers look like other than when you still have Regen on and a fight ends and you see the green ones popping up etc, let alone big bold ones. Maybe I can turn it on in the text chat, I know it has tons of things for what it shows, like when you do damage, take damage etc, maybe one option shows critical damage, not sure.

[Greven]

I say it! I like to see the little moon buff. That's it.

That said, TD and CO should affect the shield you get from Nocturnal. It feels so wrong right now it smeels like a bug even if it is not.

To add to the OP first question: there are situations where while a HoT seems convenient a shield would be better if not needed. Like everytime there's a tankbuster and everytime you can prevent a damage from happening instead of healing it through. If shields are strong enough you can even prevent some casts to be stopped or some some pushback to affect the players.

[416to305]

I haven't played my AST in forever but I'm at 57 now so last night thought I'd try again. I immediately noticed that I seemed to be able to play just as well as when I use WHM and then noticed they increased the potency of a ton of stuff in 3.07 which is great! Just wondering now when and if I should use Noc? Other than when a SCH is in the party of course, or is Diurnal still better to stay in? Mostly like Noc since it's so different from WHM so changes it up more but thought I'd check again.

[Lyrica_Ashtine]

Noct allows you to play more aggressively if you're into dealing damage as a healer - you religious sect of non-dpsers stay in the other topic, please.
Aspected benefic in noct is a bit over 600 potency combined, giving you access to a rather potent instant healing at any time. It is not spammable, however - you can, but not recommended to fill up hp bars. It's also perfect for snipe healing players who get low on health for whatever reason and may die to the next AoE. The Vault bosses are probably the best place to try out noct sect.
If you're not into that, stick to diurnal for most of it. It doesn't really matter much till you reach 8-man content. Although you should take the opportunity to practice both sects before you get tossed into the lion's jaws

[416to305]

Thanks that helps, I'm good playing with both just seems like most forums online always go on about fixing Noc or not using it so just didn't want to be using it and having other people freak out. If you're doing A1-A4 on normal mode not savage, and had a WHM would you then use Noc or still better to use Diurnal? I like playing both, changes it up and is a different style for sure since totally different from WHM so just tend to enjoy it a bit more since otherwise it's like playing as WHM.

[Lyrica_Ashtine]

Diurnal with a white mage provides a lot of healing over time. Depending on how the other healer is, that may very wel be translated into overhealing over time. There are a lot of white mages out there that still top players off right after applying medica II.
You may find it more useful for A3 and A4 in comparison to A1 and A2. Just play around with it

[ElasmoFan]

What if we're in a situation like expert roulette where the tank is pulling 7-10 mobs who are hitting for a lot of damage. Would the HOT be enough to keep up with that or is the shield better in that situation since it gives you small bits of wiggle room to get other heals out.

[Fevelle]

What if we're in a situation like expert roulette where the tank is pulling 7-10 mobs who are hitting for a lot of damage. Would the HOT be enough to keep up with that or is the shield better in that situation since it gives you small bits of wiggle room to get other heals out.

Shield is better in trash pulls for all I care. I tend to go Noct on trash and Diurnal on bosses.

[Kabzy]

Well technically if it's such a large pull, you could use Synastry -> A.Helios -> A.Benefic -> C.Unconscious (Wheel of Fortune only) -> Time Dilation -> C.Opposition in Diurnal.

Lots of CDs used but you get an insane amount of HoTs and can extend it with the last two abilities. It pretty much allows you to turn on Cleric and DPS freely for the entire pull. Even without all those CDs, I still think Diurnal Sect is the better option in most cases. I would only choose Nocturnal Sect if I have a WHM with me and the duty is relatively tough. Like mitigating the Ravana EX Sword move, or dealing with the jumps in A1S. I'm not an AST expert though, only used it in EX primals and A1S.

[Lyrica_Ashtine]

Well, regardless of -how- you execute your gravity spam; don't do it like a White Mage. White Mage does it like 4-6 times in succession and heal/conserve MP for the rest of that pack. You can't do that as Astrologian, you have to dose it throughout the pull:
Heal up -> Cleric on -> Gravity x2 -> Cleric off -> repeat