How to deal with Astros...

[Chevronone]

As someone who doesn't play a healer, how are Astros effectively handled in Feast?

We've all seem entire alliances in Seal Rock chasing one Astro across the map trying to kill them, they were better ignored in 72. But in Feast they just seem totally unfair and frustrating to try to deal with.

So, Astros in Feast...and go!

[Evangela]

Kill their DPS.

[Felien]

If you play as smn try to put your dots and bane, if you face a Ast in noct they will have a big trouble. If someone purify before you bane put your dots one by one after your big burst. And people need to change target if the Ast use synastry. Because you will make things harder for he if you change target. Also when they use Attunement in noc stance try to stun soon as go off the don't have regen so their hp will be low soon as fall off. If you face a really good Ast it will be harder but most of then are not that good is just a easy class to stay alive if people target you.

[Nalien]

Kill their DPS.

While tank Stun locks the Astrologian? Fine, unless you have Dark Knight and no form of Sleep, then you either focus the Astrologian from the onset, or fail. In all likelihood, the Astrologian doesn't have the defense kit and Full Swing and one well timed Low Blow should finish them if your DPS aren't being stubborn idiots. After they're down, it should be trivial to clean up at least one of their DPS before getting ready for a long game...

Dark Knight really could do with an adjustment... Can we just straight up change it from Gladiator/Marauder to Gladiator/Lancer? It's hardly a fix, but it would be nice... I'd love to have Feint against Astrologians (heck, against anyone), and Blood for Blood would actually be a nice payoff for Dark Knight essentially eating sh*t in the utility department... It doesn't need utility if it's essentially a third DPS that can make people crap their pants running. Right now Paladin and Warrior offer so much utility and can take care of themselves in the healing department to a degree, meaning your healer is free to focus their attention else where. While Dark Knight offers no utility and cannot self heal worth a damn, something like Living Dead just reinforces that whole problem... The utter lack of balance there is somewhat appalling, really... Blood for Blood would make matters worse, but at least Blood for Blood has a pay off in extra damage... If Dark Knight is going to be a liability, let it be a liability that can utterly destroy people if played well...

Back to Astrologian though... Jobs that have access to Feint? Bloody well use it. Dancing Edge/Storm's Eye/Miasma are also very very nice... Other than that, I think you're basically stuck with Sleep/Stun locking to deal with them?

[Renault]

As an AST main, I can say the hardest thing to deal with is when 2 or more people are getting damaged while I'm also being harassed. Have your tank sit on the Astro, while your dps each focus someone seperately. This also requires that both other dps don't suck, and can actually do formidable damage.

[Aviars]

you hope you have a ast on your team as well :^)

[GrumbleBeard]

the hardest thing to deal with is when 2 or more people are getting damaged while I'm also being harassed

This, AST is pretty solid for keeping itself or someone else alive, but once the damage starts getting spread around it get's much tougher for them. Most run noct and the shields aren't nearly as much of a problem when they're not being spammed.

[Amiaze]

As an AST main, I can say the hardest thing to deal with is when 2 or more people are getting damaged while I'm also being harassed.

As an AST, I agree. However, I'd like to add that any time a WAR or melee DPS comes my way, I'm in trouble. Because of the way the map is arranged, I'm often repositioning myself so that my comrades don't break line-of-sight while also trying to break the line-of-sight of other casters. But if a particularly strong DPS (or WAR) comes at me and nobody is paying attention, I'm left with no other option than to use CDs and try to run away. This often means I'm running around in circles and, eventually, into the midst of the chaos because I'm trying my best to spam AoE heals to keep myself and the party alive.

...And things just sort of go downhill from there.

As a side-note, I don't have a problem with casters. I actually often ignore them, or just move behind a pillar/wall for a moment. The only one that can sort of bug me is MCH. So I wouldn't recommend sending a caster after an AST, unless they've figured out something that I haven't seen or experienced yet.

[Renault]

As an AST, I agree. However, I'd like to add that any time a WAR or melee DPS comes my way, I'm in trouble. Because of the way the map is arranged, I'm often repositioning myself so that my comrades don't break line-of-sight while also trying to break the line-of-sight of other casters. But if a particularly strong DPS (or WAR) comes at me and nobody is paying attention, I'm left with no other option than to use CDs and try to run away. This often means I'm running around in circles and, eventually, into the midst of the chaos because I'm trying my best to spam AoE heals to keep myself and the party alive.

...And things just sort of go downhill from there.

Try running behind a wall and using <Blizzard 2> to bind them in place. Then that should stop them for awhile.

[Amiaze]

Try running behind a wall and using <Blizzard 2> to bind them in place. Then that should stop them for awhile.

Thanks! I try to do that, but since it's something I've only recently adopted, I sometimes misjudged the range of the spell. It has been working for the most part, though.

Can someone explain what makes AST so good in PVP compared to SCH or WHM?

As the poster above me said, it's our ability to heal while moving. We also have two MP-restoration abilities rather than one and, if you count Stoneskin, have three different shielding spells that can all be used at once. With the right cards and a good team, AST is the perfect healer for PvP. Keep in mind that Essential Dignity is not only our strongest healing spell, but it's also an instant-cast. You can be in the middle of sprinting and it'll still work, and Aspected Benefic I only takes a millisecond to cast for a quick regen/shield.

That being said, those skills only do so much and can only be used so often. Once a focused DPS or WAR comes your way, a small shield or quick heal won't really suffice.