Learning how to properly play AST

[Fyce]

This doesn't always mean "I want you to have this card." Sometimes it means, "The game hates me and I'm frustrated at having received a string of cards that I don't want to use, and by now I can't be arsed to pick a meaningful target, so I'm just going to throw it at someone and then go back to my glorious Gravity spam."

In the case of the Spear, if you can't do anything with it, just apply it to yourself. It'll reduce the time before the next draw.

[Marianno]

I was afraid of that. I hope SE has noticed this and try to show this job a little bit more appreciation and love. It would be great if more work was put into the job. Just my opinion.

[KeluBehemoth]

I would also recommend keyboard and mouse for mouse over heals.

I haven't played healer a lot but I have seen a lot of healers swear by this and I can understand with the crazy amount of target switching you have to do.

[Adylala]

I can understand with the crazy amount of target switching you have to do.

And I dont tell you using gamepad plus having 15- fps.

[Rawrz]

Diurnal AST is very Competitive. Nocturnal not so much. They have a disadvantage DPSing from the non-subsidized attack Magic costs. MP is much more of an issue unless you can consistently draw an Ewer. They do however have a 5% speed boost for attacking and access to Lightspeed if they do need to front load damage and move. Spreading or Extending a Balance really is where an AST's DPS boost to the party shines. No they won't deal the damage themselves, but without them the massive dps spike couldn't happen. Healing wise, they do not lack throughput. They do not have the immense reactive potential of a Scholar's Lustrate, but they have something similar to a WHM's brute force/preparation healing. Synanstry is the most powerful single target heal buff in game and it is a rescue button in itself. Time Dilation can make you feel very in control extending the time of 3 HoTs and a Bole on a tank by 15 seconds, each HoT ticking for almost 3k... (Thats like spamming Benific at 400 potency @.@)

Diurnal AST is a very nice spot right now. Nocturnal is very very situational and even playable but not nearly as good as Diurnal. AST is on equal footing on most content as of now. (Fixing Nocturnal wouldn't unbalance this equal footing, it would just give AST a second option.)

[Spiroglyph]

Diurnal AST is a very nice spot right now. Nocturnal is very very situational and even playable but not nearly as good as Diurnal. AST is on equal footing on most content as of now. (Fixing Nocturnal wouldn't unbalance this equal footing, it would just give AST a second option.)

Diurnal + Synastry = The extremely good and indeed very competitive healer. Have heard comments from people who, like me, like playing all three healers about how synastry is actually quite unfairly good.

Nocturnal = PvP "LET'S PISS EVERYONE THE HELL OFF" mode :P can also be used on big pulls as the shield is insta cast and generates little enmity, so it can be used to keep the tank reasonably topped off if they have the skill to keep hate on themselves while pulling; when they settle down with the entire mob and it's time to kill stuff tho, keeping the tank healed is slightly more complicated as keeping their HP topped off will be a little more complicated without the added regen effect crutch, but doable

Sadly their damage output is not that good (it's quite saddening actually), buuuuuut you can cheer yourself up by knowing you can instead boost the DPS of your other less important team members!

[Sleigh]

Basic tips so you don't suck:

- Use Diurnal in dungeons, play it mostly like a WHM but with cards (C1/C2 when needed, keep HoTs up, don't put up HoTs pre-pull unless it's a boss, DPS if you don't need to heal anyone, keep your MP alive and well). Pre-pull you can use Noct's Enhanced Benefic to buy yourself some breathing room but otherwise Diurnal 100% when in combat.
- Don't just give cards to who "should" get them; IE if you have a NIN and a BLM you "should" give the BLM Balance/Arrow but some BLMs don't even do 1/5 the damage they can do because they're incompetent. If you have ACT or whatnot it's worth checking it every once in a while to see if you have a hero or a zero, or just eye it via aggro bars or if you know how the classes are played.
- Keep Enhanced Benefic up, DPS as much as you can, don't just stand there if EB is making it so the tank is only losing 10% their HP every few seconds. Learn how to multi-DoT and stance dance.
- Once you get to 52, try to really set your tank up before Gravity spamming on 3+ opponents, just EB usually isn't enough since there's no stun going out like Holy. Once you get Synastry/Collective it gets easier to Gravity spam.

AST's actually really good compared to WHM in the 30-44 area. It gets destroyed by SCH but hey almost every class, healer or otherwise, gets destroyed by SCH at that level range.

[Mimilu]

All cards are bonuses but are NOT created equal! There is a time and place for each:
~ Balance is generally the holy grail card and every DPS will love you for it. You should always try to hold it with Spread whenever you draw it, so you can use Royal Road's effect to amp it up. For 8 man-parties, you'll want to RR Ewer and Spire to spread it out, although giving your best DPS a strengthened or lengthened Balance isn't bad either. If you are doing a single-target Balance, just be selective of who you give it to and when, for example, SMNs. You'll generally want to give Balance to a SMN when they are first placing their DoTs and/or going into Dreadwyrm, otherwise, you're just increasing their Ruin/Ruin II, which isn't as helpful.

~ Arrow is the next best but it can be a little tricky. With the increased attack speed, people can burn through MP/TP quicker, so be sure to look before using this. The same Royal Road rules that were for Balance apply here. BLM's love this card because it helps with their cast time. This card does NOT effect DoTs or HoTs.

~ Some ASTs like Bole because less damage means they'll have to heal less, while others think it's not strong enough and doesn't make a difference. Regardless of which party you're in, if you draw it during a tankbuster or a group-wide AoE, it could be helpful.

~ Use Ewer or Spire are generally used more for Royal Road then their refresh effects. Ewer is nice if you or your fellow healer need the MP or you want to help a MCH/BRD get some MP back. Never use Ewer on DRK when Darkness is up and BLM's shouldn't need this card. These cards are better with RR's time lengthening effect then being empowered.

~ Spear is the most criticized card. It can be really hard to use as it only effects cooldowns that were used while under its effect. NIN and BRDs might not mind getting this card. Out of anyone in the party, you'll probably like its effect the most, with Lumineferous Aether, Synastry, Light Speed, Essential Dignity, and your card abilities.

Some more tips:
~ Generally, I use Luminiferous Aether when my MP hit the 70-75% range and Ewer (if I can draw it)when I'm at 50% or lower. ASTs don't have the best MP regeneration, so use what you can before it's too late. D:
~ Light Speed's MP cost reduction is nice but it is first-and-foremost a mobility tool, making it so you can cast your healing spells while on the move. LIGHT SPEED IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR SWIFTCAST WHEN REVIVING SOMEONE, please get that as soon as possible.
~ Never use Time Dilation on an AoE Card. You're only lengthening a weak card.
~ Only use Time Dilation and Celestial Opposition when you have a card ready. Add an HoT after you use your card.
~ Easy way to remember RR's effects: Balance and Bole both strengthen their targets, Spear and Arrow both deal with time, and with Ewer and Spire, you're spreading the wealth.
~ When you draw a card, you can click on its icon on your status bar to get rid of it quicker. This is helpful if you get an RR effect before you get Balance or Arrow.

[Takara528]

I find running WHM in 4men dungeons to be far more efficient then AST. WHM has far more Oh S**** skills while pushing out good amount of damage to both trash groups and even mini bosses. the fights are so scripted that there's not much heals involved (with the proper usage of all of your WHM abilities...assize...tetra, divine seal... Asylum. Divine Seal Regen + Asylum is godsend on increasing your time to DPS the mobs while maintaining the tank's HP (when tanks are properly using their cooldowns, far too many times I've healed warriors/DK that doesn't use cooldowns, self heals etc)

[416to305]

Honestly biggest tip, get it to 60 then decide. Up until 60 I found it boring, especially between 50-60 because when you do high level or main story roulette, you have no good AoE attack like WHM with Holy at 45, since Gravity comes at 52. So kind of annoying, but once you get to 60 you have the full arsenal. Also are you planning on committing to doing Alexander savage or you the type that sticks to duty finder? I'm the duty finder type, and there has yet to be any content I've done where I wish I was playing as my WHM (and my WHM has slightly better gear). I can't comment on savage as I haven't done it, but everything else is fine. I play on PS4, I can't imagine playing with a keyboard and mouth, I don't get how PC players can. Controller is so fast on this game, targeting is dead simple, D-Pad up and down.