First time playing Astrologian... need some advice/tips

[StarRosie]

Only advice I can give (Since others have covered the bulk of important tips.) In a pinch, Synastry+Nocturnal Sect+Aspected Helios can provide a good amount of breathing room since the shield blocks an amount of damage equal to 150% of the HP healed when the shield is put in place and Synastry ups your healing potency, so this will result in stronger shields. So if things are going south, hit this combo to cover your party with a good amount of EHP, and it will give you the breathing room to pop lightspeed and SPAM THE DAY LIGHTS OUT OF HELIOS!

Also remember to relax and have fun! A stressed healer can be a sloppy healer.

[Cynfael]

...to pop lightspeed and SPAM THE DAY LIGHTS OUT OF HELIOS!

On a side note to any new ASTs who might not be aware, keep in mind that this isn't literally how Lightspeed works since it does not change your GCD at all, just the casting time.

It's still good for added mobility and MP cost reduction, but the only spells you can spam faster under its influence are those with a cast time greater than your GCD.

[gumas]

Honestly if your main is AST and you happen to do DF level 50 AND happen to get party member who nagging about you being AST because holy/gravity spam...

Seriously just give him "take it or leave if you dont like" attitude, yes harsh i know but what else can you do if your only class is AST? Apologies? For finishing the dungeon 5-10 minutes more than usual? Dont let them nitpicking you, man up tell them straight.

If he want to leave, by all means go ahead, he get 25m penalty and he just tormenting himself by queueing again and it could be another AST again lol, you? you lose nothing, as healer your queue time is pretty fast anyway

[basketofseals]

Honestly if your main is AST and you happen to do DF level 50 AND happen to get party member who nagging about you being AST because holy/gravity spam...

Seriously just give him "take it or leave if you dont like" attitude, yes harsh i know but what else can you do if your only class is AST? Apologies? For finishing the dungeon 5-10 minutes more than usual? Dont let them nitpicking you, man up tell them straight.

If he want to leave, by all means go ahead, he get 25m penalty and he just tormenting himself by queueing again and it could be another AST again lol, you? you lose nothing, as healer your queue time is pretty fast anyway

This is going a little beyond what we're discussing here. We're arguing the pros and cons of 50 AST, but nobody is saying we should ostracize them.

[randysquirrel]

to each their own. Enjoy your pre-pull aoe boles, I'll be sticking with aoe balance tyvm

[Rennies]

to each their own. Enjoy your pre-pull aoe boles, I'll be sticking with aoe balance tyvm

Not saying I'd actively try to do it, but it's not the worst outcome you could pick if RNG fucks you up.

[randysquirrel]

like I said, to each their own. Id just wait another 30 secs and draw again

[basketofseals]

like I said, to each their own. Id just wait another 30 secs and draw again

Is that what we're supposed to do now? Just pitch every card that isn't balance?

[Cynfael]

Is that what we're supposed to do now? Just pitch every card that isn't balance?

I'd rephrase that as "pitch every card that is unhelpful given my current needs." Unfortunately the Bole card itself is unhelpful much of the time.

- If it doesn't significantly decrease your healing requirement (i.e. eliminates GCDs spent on healing actions) for its duration, it's not helpful.
- If it doesn't save someone who would have died without it, it's not helpful.

AoE Bole does basically nothing for the first situation since a 10% damage reduction on party members who aren't even really being attacked is much worse than a 20% reduction on the tank, who is taking 90% of the damage. Besides, even if the party is hit by a room-wide AoE while affected by Expanded Bole, that buff won't make the difference between you having to heal them or not, so the 10% reduction will have made no difference.

The second situation is extremely rare and usually handled by non-RNG abilities from another healer (or a tank LB, even).

[randysquirrel]

Is that what we're supposed to do now? Just pitch every card that isn't balance?

Yes, imo anyway, seems everyone disagrees. Pre-pull I'll always set up an aoe balance. Obv thru the fight you have to work more with what you get.

Actually rather surprised people are advocating an aoe bole on pull, I genuinely don't know of any fights where the outgoing damage so early in the fight justifies bole.