Things I'm starting to hate on AST

[DarkmoonVael]

Yes some people want to change how a job works and remake it into something else. Some people want it to have potency boost and white mage level healing cooldowns. You bring the white mage for the pure burst healing and the scholar for its utility and mitigation. You bring the astrologian for its damage improving buffs and its versatility. You seem to have an issue with the astrologian filling that niche which it does and yes it will receive more fixes but please do not get your hopes up because the healing and buffs are what is fine about the job. It is the range of cards to an extent and the fact we lost our ability to be versatile in combat

And you can expect people to take you seriously when you think its a bad idea that white mage can outheal astrologians in oh shit situation? Sorry but that does not fly when you go from drama on the forums to actually playing the game.

AST is not versatile. It is locked into a stance from the start of the encounter to the end. It lacks the insta cast abilities that allow the other two healer jobs the room to manoeuvre and be versatile in the encounter.

The defence of AST being it shouldnt be able to heal to SCH or WHM level due to cards is fallacious beyond belief. Both this jobs can heal the encounter far better than the AST can and bring more with them. The AST has lackluster buffs that rely in attempting to tame RNG to get anything out of them. If, as you argue, it is a support healer, then it has to be able to replace the need to take a MCH or BRD into a raid. Can it do this? Nope, not at all. If we persue this support argument you make, the choice for a raid team should be which one of the AST, MCH and BRD is taken for support. Take an AST then you take 4 nonsupport DPS. Its weaker at healing than WHM and SCH, and it support functionality is far far far far weaker than BRD and MCH. Both things its supposed to do it cant.

[Cynfael]

Perhaps Vlady is actually playing The Chessmaster here and defending AST against all reason specifically to provoke further detailed examination of how AST is disadvantaged compared to the two other healer Jobs, thus increasing negative feedback for SE to review, with the ultimate goal of encouraging others to advance the cause of AST improvement.

That's the most generous interpretation I can think of, anyway.

[SovereignAegis]

Yes some people want to change how a job works and remake it into something else. Some people want it to have potency boost and white mage level healing cooldowns. You bring the white mage for the pure burst healing and the scholar for its utility and mitigation. You bring the astrologian for its damage improving buffs and its versatility. You seem to have an issue with the astrologian filling that niche which it does and yes it will receive more fixes but please do not get your hopes up because the healing and buffs are what is fine about the job. It is the range of cards to an extent and the fact we lost our ability to be versatile in combat

And you can expect people to take you seriously when you think its a bad idea that white mage can outheal astrologians in oh shit situation? Sorry but that does not fly when you go from drama on the forums to actually playing the game.

Most of us don't want it to become a scholar/WHM clone. Most of us want the card system to be emphasized further.

The thing is the card's utility that are brought PALE in comparison to what a WHM/SCH can do utility AND healing wise. AST cards are not strong enough to justify taking it over a WHM or SCH who have guaranteed and potent effects. Both get e4e and virus for instance(whm only deals with physical, thankfully that is the ridiculous majority of the damage), WHM can just dps more because they have a lot more healing power going out than AST can make through sheer potency domination. Scholar's Selene buff is a GUARANTEED (although slightly less potent) spread arrow every minute for 30 seconds.

Am I saying nerf SCH/WHM? OH HELL NO.

But make AST different than them and emphasize that difference. We should rejoice in the differences and embellish upon them. At present though the difference is NOT strong enough to justify taking it in more difficult content over other proven and guaranteed utility through WHM and SCH.


Furhtermore it is cluttered with useless garbage skills like: disable, celestial opposition, and their useless self-stunning dome (collective unconscious) that I find a pitiful joke after playing WHM where I throw down Asylum and forget about it. I'm not even going to be nice about it, these 3 skills are utter garbage. Right up there with Scholar's fairy killing dissipation ability. Hell even Gravity is a cheap knockoff of Holy because it lacks a stun. Trying to do the Vault on AST after doing it on WHM is jarring because that AOE stun is INSANELY useful and noticeable. Also stella is garbage, pretty but useless.

[Luvbunny]

This is the questions that most raid group has to answer:

1. Can we bring AST to replace our normal WHM + SCH? AST can replace WHM right? --- Uhm no, it heals worst than WHM, has worse MP recovery, slightly worse DPS, and will force the SCH to be able to DPS less....
2. Can we bring AST to replace our SCH? -- Uhm no, it cannot DPS better than SCH, the buffs are worse than what the fairy can do because it is random, it does not have MP recovery as good as SCH, and the shield are far worse than SCH....
3. Ok, can we bring AST to provide buffs as good as bard or machinist? --- Uhm HELL NO!, the job can't even heal proper compared to the other two jobs, let alone giving the party meaningful buffs. You want buffs, you bring Bard or Machinist.

[Yumi_umi]

@ luvbunny
Yes Ast DOES have a niche, just not a PvE niche lol
Its niche is in pvp as its spot heals and shields is amazing. They have ewer, bole, mana draw lol. Lots of sustain and if u stack vit ur unkillable. But thats just pvp lolll its niche in pve is like eh..... Its alright but could be better.
Gets the job done but the job can be done better by the other 2 healers .
SOooooo yes the AST does have a niche just not as a bleeding edge endgame raid healer.

[Luvbunny]

Yes Ast DOES have a niche, just not a PvE niche lol. SOooooo yes the AST does have a niche just not as a bleeding edge endgame raid healer.

LOL, why the job is even here then? I mean if it is positioned as a healer who can BUFFs, then those buffs need to be controllable and very good (look at Corsair and Geomancer in FFXI, if this team for FF14 has no inspiration, steal the idea from their other game, who does better at creating jobs who can buff the party but still do what their other role suppose to be, aka Geo + Corsair do DPS, good number. These two jobs DPS capabilities are not LOLd due to their buffing ability).

If they want to sell it as versatile healer (with some added bonus of buffing the party in meaningless way, icing on the cake, nice to have, but won't break the game), then make those two stances comparable to the WHM or SCH roles. Right now, either stance is WORSE than the other two healer jobs. And the buffs are just that, random, not great, all over the place, way too complicated. We don't need 6 buffs, 4 that we can control is more than plenty.

Honestly, if they make it so that the buffs are comparable and more in our control, then the less healing factor would not be so bad (for balance reasons). You can argue they may not be as good healer as the other two, but their buffs is way better than any of what WHM and SCH can bring to make up for the less healing potency.

[Ghishlain]

Perhaps Vlady is actually playing The Chessmaster here and defending AST against all reason specifically to provoke further detailed examination of how AST is disadvantaged compared to the two other healer Jobs, thus increasing negative feedback for SE to review, with the ultimate goal of encouraging others to advance the cause of AST improvement.

That's the most generous interpretation I can think of, anyway.

It's a shame we can't report for over the top inane and foolish comments.

[SovereignAegis]

LOL, why the job is even here then? I mean if it is positioned as a healer who can BUFFs, then those buffs need to be controllable and very good (look at Corsair and Geomancer in FFXI, if this team for FF14 has no inspiration, steal the idea from their other game, who does better at creating jobs who can buff the party but still do what their other role suppose to be, aka Geo + Corsair do DPS, good number).

Geomancer was one of my biggest loves.

Yes please, yes please. If AST was anything like that I'd just... -faint-

Perhaps Vlady is actually playing The Chessmaster here and defending AST against all reason specifically to provoke further detailed examination of how AST is disadvantaged compared to the two other healer Jobs, thus increasing negative feedback for SE to review, with the ultimate goal of encouraging others to advance the cause of AST improvement.

That's the most generous interpretation I can think of, anyway.

I am starting to believe this may be the truth, which makes them brilliant.

[Assirra]

@ luvbunny
Yes Ast DOES have a niche, just not a PvE niche lol
Its niche is in pvp as its spot heals and shields is amazing. They have ewer, bole, mana draw lol. Lots of sustain and if u stack vit ur unkillable. But thats just pvp lolll its niche in pve is like eh..... Its alright but could be better.
Gets the job done but the job can be done better by the other 2 healers .
SOooooo yes the AST does have a niche just not as a bleeding edge endgame raid healer.

Considering pvp is an after thought and pve is actually story, that point is moot.

[justinjarjar]

What Assirra if they made PvP matter even remotely it owuld be cool but PvP is a joke of a mode and has no end game...... soo a PvP job is useless.