Every job has downsides. The lack of a Cure III is one of the things AST haters bitch a lot about. During A1 tonight, our WHM never got the chance to land a Cure III outside of the stacking before the jump the oppressors do. So, the thing that made our WHM shine was Divine Seal, which is a bonus that neither SCH nor AST has (Dissipation make you lose the fairy, which heals too so, it evens out). This means that a SCH/AST group will have that weakness to cover. One solution is placing Eos near the healers, since Selene is hard to use during that fight and make her buff healing potency when needed. There are strategies to minimize lack of healing issues from not having a WHM. People can also work out the direct DPS loss as a WHM/AST duo. This also means that groups will have to work out the lack of utility from not having AST; this can put some stress over BRD/MCH, for example. My point actually is: it's not all sugar and rainbows with a SCH/WHM duo. And I was doing this duo tonight.