What does everyone think about those AST buffs?

[Soyre_Monre]

I believe AST will be very useful in A3S (assuming you have very good dps), I mean CU is just perfect to counter cascade and such a small arena allows you to safely cast expanded buffs without having to worry too much if they'll get to all your party members. Also synastry should work like a charm for double hand phase. I can see SCH/AST being the best combo there, though I can be wrong since I have no direct experience in that fight. Sorry for intruding into your conversation :P

Sadly, a lot of discussions in this thread is about sch being replaced by astros, but in the end Astro is more viable when handling whm job with a scholar co-healer :<

[Eudyptes]

Well, a little too harsh, but you're right. Unfortunately if AST cards remain as it is, WHM/SCH will always be a better option mainly because of DPS. Devs can either:
1) Tweak AST dps skills so that they can be halfway between SCH and WHM dps in practical use; or
2) Give AST more control over their cards, since with bad luck you can REALLY wipe to enrage because you didn't draw a balance when you needed it.
I'd like them to go with the second option. Fix shuffle so that it can't give the same card, make it so that you won't draw the same card in your spread and the same card you've just burned for Royal Road. This way there will still be a lot of rng, but you can effectively control it to some extent. Then analyze the data and, if needed, further increase cards buffs (like adjust balance/arrow to 15% increased damage/speed). This would justify AST weak dps capabilities and cards rng. Right now they're still too unreliable and even with perfect luck (meaning keep drawing spire-balance for expanded damage up) a SCH dps will still be higher than the increase in raid dps thanks to balances.

I came here to say something similar to this. After playing ast all day yesterday, my final opinion is that whm/sch are still better, but ast is damn close now. The only thing holding ast back from being exactly on par with the others is their rng/overall dps output (and group mnd bonus). I know I mentioned rng earlier and it seemed I was the unpopular opinion, but it's really true. Sch can fey wind and SS, and keep those buffs up consistently on CD while dpsing. Ast has to rely on luck, which may cause them to never even pull an arrow/balance, and this really is an issue.

I know others in the thread liked to say I'm shit at the class if I can't adapt to the cards I draw. Well not only is that not true, but it's completely missing the point. If you're on a raid boss, and that said raid boss is a dps check, why would your raid bring a class that might boost dps well, but also might not at all? Well, they wouldn't. They would bring the ones that can consistently bring higher dps. And atm that's whm and sch combo. Since the whm/sch combo can still heal better overall than ast/anything combos too, that still leaves ast on the sidelines for any group that's min/maxing in progression.

With that said, I'm not saying the sky is falling for ast, or that it's a joke and will never get used. These buffs made ast a good class. It's just that any group that says "we should take the classes that are best suited for the job" will rarely ever pick ast until they either remove the rng aspect, or somehow make the cards more homogeneous (which I would hate to see the latter).

[RichardButte]

I came here to say something similar to this. After playing ast all day yesterday, my final opinion is that whm/sch are still better, but ast is damn close now. The only thing holding ast back from being exactly on par with the others is their rng/overall dps output (and group mnd bonus). I know I mentioned rng earlier and it seemed I was the unpopular opinion, but it's really true. Sch can fey wind and SS, and keep those buffs up consistently on CD while dpsing. Ast has to rely on luck, which may cause them to never even pull an arrow/balance, and this really is an issue.

I know others in the thread liked to say I'm shit at the class if I can't adapt to the cards I draw. Well not only is that not true, but it's completely missing the point. If you're on a raid boss, and that said raid boss is a dps check, why would your raid bring a class that might boost dps well, but also might not at all? Well, they wouldn't. They would bring the ones that can consistently bring higher dps. And atm that's whm and sch combo. Since the whm/sch combo can still heal better overall than ast/anything combos too, that still leaves ast on the sidelines for any group that's min/maxing in progression.

With that said, I'm not saying the sky is falling for ast, or that it's a joke and will never get used. These buffs made ast a good class. It's just that any group that says "we should take the classes that are best suited for the job" will rarely ever pick ast until they either remove the rng aspect, or somehow make the cards more homogeneous (which I would hate to see the latter).

Having played a ton of SCH and AST, I must agree.

SCH has so much mana to burn that DPSing come easily, and effectively, thanks to Bane and two AoE DoTs. My experience has been that, if I DPS on my AST, there's a very, VERY real chance of being punished for doing so if anything goes wrong and a lot of healing is suddenly needed.

If the cards are good, the run afoul of the overall design... if they are poor... then they are useless.

There's a risk v. reward element in the AST's playstyle. The healing potency should ideally be ~80-90% of that of a SCH/WHM, with the cards occasionally making up the difference for that last 20%, even pushing the AST's effectiveness into 110%, but RNG balances it.

The buffs need to not be crap, and they're finally about where they should be. Giving a tank 1 minute of 10% damage reduc or the whole party 30 sec of 5% damage increase is VERY significant and might actually be able to give the AST its own "meta", that being where you win by keeping the party alive until the end of the encounter by bringing about an end to the encounter more quickly.

SCH and WHM may still be better for this, though, as AST's ailing mana means that it still generally lacks its own real DPS output while I know for a fact that SCH at least can drop those deeps without much issue.

[AlexanderThorolund]

Very happy with the buffs after a lot of testing. Noticed an easier flow into delivering more DPS during dungeons thanks to richer heals. And a return to longer balance duration is bliss.

[ApolloGenX]

I don't understand the cards... buffs are taken and redistributed so that one class doesn't "own" group buffs.... and yet- AST cards?

It doesn't make sense. One healer can't have protect that is better or stone skin that is better- but another healer can have a whole system of unique buffs? It's just not consistent.

The adjustments were badly needed... I am just having trouble understanding their general design philosophy and understanding healer (job) identity.

If the cards are good, the run afoul of the overall design... if they are poor... then they are useless.

[Lastelli]

I don't understand the cards... buffs are taken and redistributed so that one class doesn't "own" group buffs.... and yet- AST cards?

AST is a worse job than WHM/SCH depending on its Sects (WHM≻Diurnal AST, SCH≻≻≻Nocturnal AST) and cards should be their gimmick to indirectly bring AST to the same level of WHM/SCH by means of a unique feature. However we're not quite there yet. In the healing department, AST has no identity by design since it's a hybrid. Synastry is the only thing that makes AST a little different when healing.

[Luvbunny]

AST is a worse job than WHM/SCH, in the healing department, AST has no identity by design since it's a hybrid.

It is called a HYBRID job, a job who can simulate the healing style of WHM OR SCH depending on your chosen sect. It is not A BRAND NEW 100% so very different ways of healing. It is a little bit of BOTH SCH or WHM style of healing. With the adjustment, AST healing power is now closely matching their counterpart. The REAL selling point of AST is the CARD buffs. But this is not entirely new either, since SCH already have two different fairies with similar buffs (in different ways) to what AST brings. As of now, the best healer is still SCH, then WHM (but they are pretty much on even footing, two different style of healing) and finally AST.

[GideonHighmourn]

Remember the fact that AST can use synastry all the 90 seconds for 20% additionnal heal potency.

And SCH can use Fey Illumination. So, what's your point? The only difference between the two is, at most, 4 potency. Are we really going to throw temper tantrums over 4 potency?

SCH's Adlo shields for far more, on average, than AST with around 15% crit. They also have superior MP management than AST, which more than makes up for the cost difference between the two skills. AST's Nocturnal A. Benefic isn't even close to SCH if you factor in Embrace, as well, which many of you seem to forget exists when you compare the baseline heals.

I wish people would stop comparing baseline heals as if that's all each class has; ignoring the entire tool kits as if all each class has is their baseline heals is the most asinine thing I've ever seen.

[Khyan]

snip

I never said AST was better than SCH. SCH is still better than AST in my personal opinion. But you can't said SCH solo shield is still better after AST buff, it's not really true. And Fey Illumination (120 cd) is not a viable argument since you don't really use eos all the time, just during heals check phases like A3S fights.

I wish people would stop blame people in the same bag. I just compare two different skills. Of course and fortunately AST don't have SCH/WHM toolkits. Thanks, I did not know. it's not like if I played Scholar and don't really see a best utility with my AST than my SCH during savage raids.

Not everyone are here for comparing and then say a class is better than another one, even though I just said my opinion at the beginning of my answer.

People said AST shields wasn't better than SCH shields non-critical, I just found that it was wrong (page 27 #263).

[Arragomis]

Just cleared A1s today with Astro. I can say now for certain groups can bring a white mage or astro or sch or astro to a party. WE did White mage/Astro and I acted as the sch. I dpsed "pitifully" and haled my tank warrior, and prey targets. All was smooth. I never got close to running out of MP and had a blast. Cards didnt go my way all the time but rng is rng. I got a few 1 min balances and had a bole for a few tank busters. DIsable change was nice for Busters for sure. synastry still works well for prey and the shields and the buff to our bubble was a nice addition for jumps. All in all I am really pleased and my raid group was as well.