AST Anima stat allocation

[Taika]

Spellspeed can have very noticeable effects on your timings on boss fights. For instance, on Nidex with 800-ish SpS (2.33s recast), I can pretty consistently fit in two Stone IIIs plus an Aero before Eggnogg takes off for the first dive, with less SpS, I can only fit in one Stone III plus an Aero. With even less SpS, I would not be able to fit in a Stone III after my opener before I need to switch out of Cleric for a bit to heal the tank and group without messing up all my timings.

This is a good point in support of spellspeed, but if each cast is 0.15 seconds faster than they would be without spellspeed build (so let's say you have 1000 spellspeed and your recast is 2.25 while mine without spellspeed is 2.40), you would need to cast 15 spells in a row without any breaks in between to get one additional cast, right? Meanwhile with another stat those 15 casts might be more powerful, making up for that 1 cast and perhaps even resulting in more DPS/HPS.

And yes, more SpS can easily allow you to better dodge things or heal between movement mechanics, you don't need to be a "super eSports player" for this.

I don't know, to me the thought of trying to start moving 0.15 seconds earlier feels far-fetched.

In my opinion, you should have, at the very least, enough SpS to consistently fit in another spell into your buffs, such as Divine Seal, Presence of Mind, or Synastry (which is the case at around 500-600, depending on latency).

My spellspeed with having actively avoided any spellspeed gear is already at over 600 though. But I agree considering if you'd be able to fit another spell within buffs with spellspeed is a good point. But since Divine Seal only lasts for 15 seconds and Synastry last 20, it's not possible for those (if my recast is 2.4 seconds I can do 8.3 casts in 20 seconds, if it's 2.25 I can do 8.8, so both are more than 8 but less than 9). I don't dare to make any claims for PoM with my math though (and please point out if you see any problems with my other calculations here).