Learning how to properly play AST

[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.

[Rongway]

You'll pretty much be full-timing Diurnal Sect. As has been noted before, you can put up a Nocturnal Aspected Benefic before a trash pull, or Nocturnal Aspected Benefic on the tank and Nocturnal Aspected Helios on the party before a boss, but whenever you do this, make sure you give yourself enough time to switch back to Diurnal before the pull or you'll be locked into it until everything dies. You don't really want to be caught stuck in Nocturnal ever; the only time to use it through a battle is in a 2xAST party. Diurnal is a better choice even when you're paired with a WHM because of MP and effective potencies.

Once you get to 60 you can do this thing...
Synastry -> Collective Unconscious -> Swiftcast -> Aspected Helios -> AoE Card Buff -> Aspected Benefic -> Time Dilation -> Celestial Opposition -> Cleric Stance -> Luminiferous Aether -> 20x Gravity
and as long as you don't have a DRK, you can stand (float?) there casting Gravity forever without healing the tank and without running out of MP.

If you're going into a duty that won't sync you (it is for your current level), prepare:
Stoneskin yourself, Spread an Arrow or Balance, Royal Road a Ewer or Spire (as of 3.1 this shouldn't fall off as long as you don't sync).
Once in the dungeon, after the barrier goes down you can Lightspeed->Protect-> 3xStoneskin on the other party members; this will mitigate any issues with in-a-rush-with-a-deathwish tanks and the party can get going and start with the killing. The party will appreciate your preparedness and effort in minimizing entry downtime.

AST has a solid ability set, and if played right you won't feel inferior to the other healer jobs. If for some reason your heals feel weak after 50, ask yourself if you're remembering to use Synastry. On top of the redirected heals, it also gives you a 20% healing potency bonus.

If you use Lightspeed as an Oh Shit button, remember that its full potential lies not in making your heals instant but rather in allowing you to perform actions in between heals without costing any time. For greatest effect, use off GCD abilities in between your lightspeed heals (ex.: Lightspeed -> Benefic II -> Essential Dignity -> Benefic II -> Luminiferous Aether -> Benefic II -> Disable -> Benefic II -> Draw). If you don't weave oGCDs into Lightspeed heals, then really you might as well have just used Swiftcast instead of Lightspeed, because the first spell is the only one saving you any time.

[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!

[Nekotee]

Worst healer in the game? We are on par with white mages the supposed supreme pure healer of the trio right now. That is hardly putting us as the worst healer?

God damn thanks !
I was about to yell again...

Ast is far from being the worst healer...

I am on par with whm with more stuff than me as diurnal
Plus the AST has the best support skills

The only part were AST is worst than the 2 other heal is in the damage output

.....

And for those who say that whm is the best in running a 4man dungeon
The SCH can do EVERY run with CS
And AST give DPS such an big boost that he do not need to dps

[Vlady]

I just do not know why people purposely downplay the astrologian thinking they can trick SE into buffing them with complaint after complaint. The astro is a stronger single target healer then the white mage and the white mage is a stronger aoe healer then the astro. Nocturnal stance even if buffed in its current form will not shake the spot of a scholar while the combination of their utility+dps will still render nocturnal useless. If anything astro should lose cleric stance and make nocturnal a dps stance that the astro can swap in and out of with a unique mechanic.

I would be all for being able to put a long duration shield on a target that heals for a % of the damage taken til the shield is used up as a form of mitigation shield. Short of directly nerfing the scholar or making the astro OP the scholar is not being replaced any time.

[Nekotee]

I do agree
And I should add that even for the shield noct AST is stronger but not mp efficient which reduced his overall efficient

Whm is better in aoe heal only because of cure 3 (and a bit of assise which os à free medica EVERY 90sec)
Otherwise they are mostly on par
=> same efficiency, AST ability to extend HoT, possibilité to create à 5% shield on everyone (spread bole), shield+HoT channeling (collective unconscious)

[Kacho_Nacho]

In addition to all this fantastic advice regarding your abilities, OP, I have to add my own two gil.

AST has some of the most beautiful spell effects in the game. There is no getting around it, the job is flashy.

So, make sure you step up and look the part. No bleah glamors for you!

You aren't some boring academic Scholar, or a pale clad priestly White Mage, you are an ASTROLOGIAN! You are supposed to be as grand as a Victorian Painted Lady decked out with star and moon shaped rainbow crystals!

Embrace your job and dazzle your fellow party members! It's a job requirement!

[416to305]

Once you get to 60 you can do this thing...
Synastry -> Collective Unconscious -> Swiftcast -> Aspected Helios -> AoE Card Buff -> Aspected Benefic -> Time Dilation -> Celestial Opposition -> Cleric Stance -> Luminiferous Aether -> 20x Gravity
and as long as you don't have a DRK, you can stand (float?) there casting Gravity forever without healing the tank and without running out of MP.

Synastry increases Collective Unconscious as well? I didn't know that, I thought it just increased actual magic spells not abilities? Would love to find out as I didn't realize that, otherwise I'd use it before CU often then.

If you use Lightspeed as an Oh Shit button, remember that its full potential lies not in making your heals instant but rather in allowing you to perform actions in between heals without costing any time.

I don't entirely agree with this. You're forgetting to mention that Lightspeed lets you cast while moving for most spells. I use it all the time, can run to one end of the arena, pop Helios, and then to the other and do it again if necessary. Great for those instances where people are spread out, especially since it reduces MP by 25%. 90% of the time I use it it's while running or moving.

[Nekotee]

Wait a sec lightspeed do not make your spell instant it reduced the cast time
Aspected helios still have a cast time (suuuuuuper short but still forbid you from using while running)

Be careful with this spell
Look awesome but you burn your mana even with -25% comsumption

[Parawill]

Synastry increases Collective Unconscious as well? I didn't know that, I thought it just increased actual magic spells not abilities? Would love to find out as I didn't realize that, otherwise I'd use it before CU often then.

No.

I would also use Luminferous Aether in tandem with Celestial Opposition to get an extra tick or two of MP, thus getting you more MP in the long-run.