AST MP Issue?

[Beyondgrave]

Does AST have mp problem? I tend to run out of mp at the end of most fight or when shit goes south but I keep hearing people saying AST have no MP issue at all. All the vids I've seen from AST pov show that they don't really run out of MP but than again, almost all of the vids are farm runs where everyone is playing perfectly. I asked because my static is expecting me to dps as well (which I have no issue doing on my SCH) but I'm scare as hell that I will be going oom super fast. If I can draw a ewer card than I will be fine, but most of the time, that card does not come up. I use spear + LA + CO (when its off cd) to extend LA and I still run out of MP. My avg overheal % is 30-40% (I play in Diurnal stance) and from what I've been hearing, that is normal for most healers.I'm at a lost as to what I should do to improve MP management. I'm not sure if it is a player's fault or AST are just really bad at MP management.

[Apeiron]

It's a matter of familiarity with the content + the class. Most people who don't get mana issues have learned how to play the AST a bit more effectively, and the difference between those who don't run OOM and those that do is a very small one.

When have you been hitting LA?

[Beyondgrave]

About 10% into my mp and every time when it's off cd after that. If I know that there's going to be a long slow period where there will be no heal ex: rav ex liberation-butterfly phase, I'll just let my mp regen naturally.

[Heinel]

What ilevel are you at? MP becomes less of an issue as your ilevel go up. Abilities stop becoming more expensive after you hit 60, but you will continue to get more PIE through gear.

[Beyondgrave]

Ilvl 179 atm. I can farm rav ex and A4 but I tend to run out when stuff goes wrong,when I have to rez, and near the end of the fight

[Xenos74]

Ilvl 179 atm. I can farm rav ex and A4 but I tend to run out when stuff goes wrong,when I have to rez, and near the end of the fight

Not entirely sure what you're doing different but I've done both of these as an i180 astrologian and never had any MP issues. On ravana ex I heal very regularly, and dps on all liberations as well as on warlords shell. The only times I run below 50% is after a raise but that's more because of the enormous 2700mp cost on the spell

[Ninimo_Babamo]

Ilvl 179 atm. I can farm rav ex and A4 but I tend to run out when stuff goes wrong,when I have to rez, and near the end of the fight

And you should. A good healer shouldn't be able to carry a crap party, no matter how good they are. When stuff goes wrong, it's time for the group to get their act together and try harder. I tend to hold a spear card in my hand to use on myself before Luminiferous Aether. I pop a party buff, use the spear card on myself, use my Aether, then pop Opposition to extend all the durations. It goes a long way.

[chumsy]

And you should. A good healer shouldn't be able to carry a crap party, no matter how good they are. When stuff goes wrong, it's time for the group to get their act together and try harder. I tend to hold a spear card in my hand to use on myself before Luminiferous Aether. I pop a party buff, use the spear card on myself, use my Aether, then pop Opposition to extend all the durations. It goes a long way.

If only holding a spear card could be done out of combat, but during combat its too unreliable to wait for a spear card before using LA and Opposition. I tend to hit LA as soon as im down 1k mp, to maximize the usage

[Kelya]

If only holding a spear card could be done out of combat, but during combat its too unreliable to wait for a spear card before using LA and Opposition. I tend to hit LA as soon as im down 1k mp, to maximize the usage

Even if you could spread spear out of combat, using spear + opposition for your MP usage isn't worth in comparison to the RR AOE buff the spear card gives for casting balance/arrow just after or even to the speared buff himself casted on AOE.

I assume the better option would be when you have a RR AOE buff, you Draw balance/arrow and before you had spread Spear. So now you cast the balance/arrow, then you spear yourself, then you hit LA and finish with using opposition.

In this situation the spread spear for yourself is worth because it doesn't prevent the AOE buff for the raid, but how many times are you meeting these requierements ? Even with spread out of combat, that's still too much for multiple occurences to happen around the same time.

As a result RR Spear / Speared AOE > Selfish spearing.

For those who use Spear on themself and opposition too just for the LA, this is the very wrong way to go. Better struggle at MP than loosing opposition and 1 card on only 1 target most of the time. Use Ewer on you instead of Spear, because for Ewer you haven't as much great choices as spear :

- RR it, that's correct for a next balance/arrow/bole or even another ewer
- Spread it for a time you know it's needed and you have a chance that you'll use it on some RR potency/duration effect
- use it without any buff, it's still convenient if you can't do anything else

Now the persons who may actually need this card since we heard so much "AST cards are to support the raid, not using them on himself" :

- the other healer but unless it's an AST he has better MP recovery
- the smn but for now I never heard one asking for MP
- the blm... Oh wait not even the case
- the only one who left is you

So basically, Ewer is born to be used only on you or on your co-healer if he is struggling more than you (in this last case, there is a more important issue...).

[RiisWolf]

Their healing spells are cheaper than most of the healing spells the other healing classes similarly use, plus you have a biggest MP pool. I normally don't have MP issues as long as nothing goes seriously wrong (and for a long time at that), like a pull doing too much damage or when the team is failing to evade avoidable damage.

I don't know if you do this, but I hope you don't:

You can do the tank a favor by NOT taking damage for them. It's bad for everyone if you have to heal yourself. The more players you have to heal, the more MP you drain and additionally the less healing your tank will inevitably get. Don't eat the orbs. Unless it is completely unavoidable. Remember your #1, they live only because of you, so if you die, then who's keeping the rest alive?