Love raiding on Astro, but it really draws the short end of the stick for dungeons

[Sidra]

I am an Astro fan. I find it a ton of fun, Lightspeed and Synastry are awesome dual use skills that reward players for using them at the right times. It's simple single target DPS set with 2 potent can't miss long duration dots are perfect for easily adding some dps as you heal. I have a few solo heals in on Thordan on my AST, and although I am a SMN main and our raid team used a WHM/SCH combo, the WHM is welcome to switch to AST if he ever chooses, and if he ever left, we'd consider an AST for the slot. I like the job and respect it. But...man...I don't know how anyone with another healer leveled could ever run an ex dungeon with it without feeling a tad guilty. It's lowest AOE dps output combined with it having the least amount of dps uptime make it rough sledding. For any of the healers - here is the basic dungeon pull rotation:

1.) pre-pull mitigation prep
2.) At pull engage Cleric Stance applicable healing (regen, fairy etc.)
3.) DPS
4.) Let tank get to a low but safe level, use "catch-up" skill and get tank topped off, refresh regen
5.) Back to DPS
6.) Repeat steps 4 and 5 til mobs die, except down "catch-up" skill it's normal heal spells to do so.

SCH has by far the most DPS uptime in a dungeon. Adlo being stronger than Stoneskins at the beginning (and it can also get up a stoneskin too), and the fairy is the equivalent of a 200 potency regen that never needs casted. Additionally in dungeons I use EOS, and alternating pulls between Whispering Dawn and Fey Illumination - and you have by far the most single target healing while DPSing of the 3 healers. Which is good, as SCH DPS is generally 5x dots which all need time to be casted and do damage. In terms of overall AOE dmg output, SCH is tops when you are dealing with average or below average DPS - it needs the mobs to live for the dots to tick. Power groups, the WHM will pass it up with more instant damage.

WHM is next in terms of uptime. It's tools are basically a Div Seal/Regen for a 195 potency regen, and Asylum. The short CD on Divine Seal means you have it nearly every pull. Also of note the regen is 3 seconds longer than AST's - although AST does have some tools to extend it. The output is very high - Aero 3/Assize are amazing AOE DPS supplements to Holy. Plus, it is the only one of the 3 healers with a DPS buff, as Presence of Mind can be used for such. Additionally, Holy Spam has a mitigation component to it as it will stun over a few casts before it gives the mob full resistance to it, helping get an extra dps cast or two before healing is needed. Tetra is a perfectly fine catch-up, with Benediction if they drop lower than you anticipated.

Astro has Aspected Benefic healing for 140 over 18 seconds. Because of the longer CD and additional uses of Synastry, I usually am not using it to pump the regen. Bole can help here a bit. It also has Collective Unconscious which, for these purposes is inferior Asylum as it basically takes a GCD to get up, and then another skill to extend. Celestial Opposition does have a nice stun on it while extending something - but that's not as good as a stun on the dps spam skill. To be fair, Essential Dignity is the strongest catch-up skill that any job has, but using it for such purposes also gives your tank a heart attack - or makes them blow their hallowed/holmgang/LD because while in your head you had it under control, they didn't know that. For the damage output itself, it's just Gravity. That's it. Like a WHM without Aero2 and Assize. You can still do some damage while casting it, but you will always lag behind the other healers here. And unlike raids where buffs may make that up, they don't come close to making it up in a fast AOE situation.

So AST spends less time doing less damage. Toss in a few other minor annoyances (stoneskin longer cast time than adlo or WHM stoneskin, CU positioning, mana issues with aggressive Gravity use) and I find it unplayable in dungeons. Not that it's actually unplayable, obviously. You can certainly beat the dungeon safely while adding solid dps. But unplayable in that if you think about how much more and easier it is on another it's hard to justify running it on AST.

I don't really have any great ideas - perhaps make CO also extend dots like bane so an AST can Spread Combusts once a minute. But I hope something is done. AST is actually my favorite of the 3 healers, and I tend to mainly heal in dungeons. I'd love some tweaks that allow me to dungeon run with it as my job of choice.

[DarkmoonVael]

It really isnt anywhere as bad as you think in dungeons.

Not using synastry to increase your hot potency while dpsing is actually a mistake. It needs to be done. You should be doing synastry>A.ben>A.Helios>CU>Time Dilation>Clerics>DPS. Its remarkably easy to keep tanks up with this. Obviously this can not be done on every pull, use this for the large pulls.

CU can take up to one GCD to get the regen up, but this seems to be because it hits on the global server dot timer, which is every 3 secs. This is an annoyance, but not really too bad.

Cards are also there to help with mitigation, but in dungeons increasing others dps can be important.

Also dont underestimate the strategic useage of celestial opposition during pulls. Being able to stun for 6secs when you really need it is a bit OP in large pulls.

Bit of a short response, but the three healers have different ways of doing things .

EDIT. With WHM presense of mind, i think you need to consider Balance and Arrow from AST. Tied to rng, but it means WHM isnt the only one with a dps increase buff. Also AST in diurnal have a lower native cast time through Diurnal Sect.

[TatoRazzino]

You can also DPS for longer than usual thanks to Essential Dignity, which scales with the tank's HP. If they're having a heart attack, it's not my problem. I can DPS and heal at the same time for entire dungeons without even popping Synastry or Collective Unconscious. My DoTs and Gravity are enough to do the trick. The difference in DPS, if there is any in dungeon scenarios, is met with cards. I have all three healers and I run everything as AST, no guilt at all.

Also, most tanks I meet can't keep up with damage mitigation, don't pop any cooldowns and overpull, so most of the times I'm healing all the time. Even when I run as SCH. So there's also that.

[MidnightTundra]

While I feel its the weakest (slightly) of the 3 for dungeons, you're not giving it enough credit. I'm often top DPS for my DF dungeons. Don't be afraid to card yourself.

[DarkmoonVael]

While I feel its the weakest (slightly) of the 3 for dungeons, you're not giving it enough credit. I'm often top DPS for my DF dungeons. Don't be afraid to card yourself.

The times i have been met with really bad DF DPS and a have just given myself all the balances for gravity. O.o

[AzureFlare]

Adlo being stronger than Stoneskins at the beginning (and it can also get up a stoneskin too)

Sect dance if you have the mana. Guess what is reliably stronger than Adlo and without a cast time.

[Sidra]

Wow - that's actually a great idea that for some reason I had never even considered. Thank you. Not sure it swings the overall case, but good to know nonetheless and I will definitely use next time I am Astro-ing a dungeon.

[GeekMatt]

A good post. As mentioned, stance dancing between pulls helps. My AST can DPS large pulls until mp becomes an issue, at which point I may be cut-out from DPSing the end of the pull or a portion of the following pull (This has much to do with timing of pulls vs Luminiferous Aether/the odd discardable Ewer).

I'm not a stickler for the difference in DPS overall, and you have to account for being able to throw a +20% Damage Dealt buff on a baws SMN in addition to your own DPS, or in situations where you're forced to be healing. What I would like though, would be for our DPS to be more involved/less boring.

[Lyrica_Ashtine]

I'm curious where that 20% buff comes from

[Ghishlain]

One note about Diurnal Aspected Benefic that seems to get lost a lot. Diurnal Aspected Benefic gives you more output versus Regen over the same period of time. By the time you have to reapply Aspected Benefic, Regen would've only ticked for 900 potency versus 1,030 potency of Aspected Benefic. Keep in mind that the initial application of Aspected Benefic is 190 Potency (basically another Regen tick). While you do have to apply it more frequently, you'll also get more potency out too. That's the tradeoff between Regen and Aspected Benefic.