Looking for a bit of feedback for Ast and dps

[Troile]

I wish there was a chat feature for this since i don't feel this needs a whole post related to it. At any rate I'm currently a level 59 AST roughly in the 130s for ilvl. Running dungeons like the vault I'm being told by others that my dps is laughably low (not in rude ways) outside of gravity spam on multiple enemies.

I don't have a way to check my dps of course, however it's a huge mana drain to deal damage in these dungeons especially because I also end up healing pretty constantly. I'm wondering if it's even worth it to attack at all.

Basically using diurnal i start with aspected bene and helios then a second of collective unconscious, then switch to cleric stance. In cleric i apply the two dots then proceed to malefic 2/gravity (i apply card effects etc).

If i resort to gravity i guess im doing decent damage if there are multiple enemies, but i wonder if it isnt better to save the mp for healing.

What is the general consensus for ast? Does every little bit of damage count and I should just make sure to use LA, lightspeed, and ewers to make sure i have enough mp to heal? Or should I only heal unless it's absolutely safe to dps? What do you other Asts generally do?

Just for reference, I dont feel like a dungeon like the vault is especially difficult to heal outside the final boss. However once i get to him the only time i feel i can deal damage is the orb phase.. otherwise I'm full time healing. Is this what you all did at my ilvl here?

[Pomelo]

two dots

Add aero to your mix as well.

[Troile]

i didn't think of aero. Thank you.

[_slowpoke_]

Add aero to your mix as well.

Do keep in mind that Aero's total potency¹ is equal to that of one Malefic II. Unless you either a) need to move, or b) use an oGCD ability (such as juggling cards), it's generally better (and simpler) to just use Malefic II. Look at it as a filler move, not an integral part of your DoT rotation that should be kept up at all times².

¹ 50 potency initial hit + 6 ticks * 25 potency = 200
² Same deal for WHMs, btw, Stone III (210 potency) is better than Aero unless a) or b).

[Sleigh]

Do keep in mind that Aero's total potency¹ is equal to that of one Malefic II. Unless you either a) need to move, or b) use an oGCD ability (such as juggling cards), it's generally better (and simpler) to just use Malefic II. Look at it as a filler move, not an integral part of your DoT rotation that should be kept up at all times².

¹ 50 potency initial hit + 6 ticks * 25 potency = 200
² Same deal for WHMs, btw, Stone III (210 potency) is better than Aero unless a) or b).

Aero:

- 2/3 the MP cost of Malefic II
- Insta-cast, prime for the abundance of oGCDs AST must employ regularly, and stance dancing. Combust is not enough.
- Affected slightly by Spell Speed's effect on DoTs, making it slightly stronger than Malefic II

The same applies to WHM too even. Aero is perfect for movement, inserting Fluid Aura, stance dancing with Cleric Stance, and to a lesser extent PoM and/or Assize. Honestly it bugs me when people just look at face potency value on a healer when, even in concerns to DPSing, there's just more to it than that.

All you really have to watch for is that you don't clip your DoT (generally a big no-no with Aero even before Malefic II or Stone III existed) unless movement is forcing you to use Aero and only Aero, and you don't use it near the end of a phase or enemy's life bar.

[_slowpoke_]

- 2/3 the MP cost of Malefic II

True, though the savings here are really negligible (~10 MP per second assuming you DPS 100% of the time). Keep in mind I'm operating under the assumption that DPS is something you do as a healer when everything else is under control and accounted for - including MP management, i.e. MP is not an issue.

- Insta-cast, prime for the abundance of oGCDs AST must employ regularly, and stance dancing.

…that is basically exactly what I have said? Maybe I was unclear or implied too much.

- Affected slightly by Spell Speed's effect on DoTs, making it slightly stronger than Malefic II

True, though probably negligible at current gear levels. It also depends on what secondary stats you gear for (which is mostly personal preference at the moment). Quite a few ASTs seem to prefer Crit/Det over SS for various reasons, which will equally effect DoTs and regular spells.

I'm very aware that my argument here *will* fall apart if secondary stats - SS specifically - become more relevant again, either due to improved scaling or just sheer numbers on future gear. At the moment, though, this is what we have.

Honestly it bugs me when people just look at face potency value on a healer when, even in concerns to DPSing, there's just more to it than that.

I'm looking at face potency in the context of the rest of the toolkit, and that context shows us that it's generally better to use Aero as a filler skill and not as an integral part of the damage rotation. That does not mean you basically never use it (far from it), it means that you have to think about when to use it instead of just going Combust II → Combust → Aero whenever you pop into CS.

If I may draw a comparison with SCH/SMN, you should not think of Aero as Bio (keep up at all times while DPS'ing), you should think of it as Ruin II (filler skill to weave oGCDs or for movement). There's obviously still some differences, but that's the basic gist.

Though, to bring this to a close, at this point in the game I would say it's still a personal playstyle choice (maybe I should have presented it as such, and less as fact :) ). We both seem to agree it's a very fuzzy thing number-wise (especially on AST, I would say less so on WHM), and it's unlikely you will gain or lose much either way.

[Pomelo]

Everything else your doing seems fine, you might be overhealing by using all 3 of your hots though. Just use a synastry enhanced asp bene and time dilate it, Celestial Opposition provides a stun for you to start gravity spamming, and also extends the hot. If theres like 2 enemies, you may as well dot them both

[Troile]

So, it's a matter of more practice and simply being more efficient with skill usage to avoid wasting time healing?

[VanilleFang]

So, it's a matter of more practice and simply being more efficient with skill usage to avoid wasting time healing?

Yeah, that's what it comes down to. When you become more comfortable with your entire kit the easier everything becomes. Understanding when you can use Cleric stance by gauging how long the tank will be safe with your buffs and HoTs is essential to good dpsing.

[Yhisa]

Yeah, that's what it comes down to. When you become more comfortable with your entire kit the easier everything becomes. Understanding when you can use Cleric stance by gauging how long the tank will be safe with your buffs and HoTs is essential to good dpsing.

It also depends on your group as well .... Like derp DPS standing in something they not mean to stand in, or tank that never uses cooldowns D:

So In all you as a healer is only as good as your group, you could be the beat healer in the world and if DPS stand in crap your kinda forced to heal D:

All I can say is watch this for humor on being a healer https://youtu.be/2DxS7eT_ky4