It has begun!

[Risvertasashi]

I honestly do have to wonder how exactly the healer balance conversations went. Like... how did they get to "Even though AST is meta... We'll jump up AST's potencies some more, improve Balance uptime, and add in some more oGCD healing" and go "Yeah this is OK, won't cause problems at all".

I really does mystify me... what they were thinking. Do the people making those decisions even play healers?

[Mostly_Raxus]

in the same boat tanking, a lot are asking for x2 PLD, but thankfully it is not the majority

[Rubiss]

I honestly do have to wonder how exactly the healer balance conversations went. Like... how did they get to "Even though AST is meta... We'll jump up AST's potencies some more, improve Balance uptime, and add in some more oGCD healing" and go "Yeah this is OK, won't cause problems at all".

I really does mystify me... what they were thinking. Do the people making those decisions even play healers?

The entire dev team has never ran a healer through a dungeon. I am surprised they haven't been let go. If I was the Director and this was the result of my team's balancing? I'd look for some new people, ideally people with an inkling of common sense and a shred of experience in the classes they are "trying" to balance.

[Supersun]

The entire dev team has never ran a healer through a dungeon. I am surprised they haven't been let go. If I was the Director and this was the result of my team's balancing? I'd look for some new people, ideally people with an inkling of common sense and a shred of experience in the classes they are "trying" to balance.

(My theory is this is actually intentional. My guess is that they knew the real changes they have planned to certain classes were going to upset some people so they intentionally overnerfed stuff so that people would panic and complain and then when the raid drops and they release the real changes all of the people thank the devs for the buffs that saved them from uselessness even though those were the changes they intended all along)

[Starflake]

Tbf, double AST is a terrible combination due to the lack of passive healing from NoctAST, and only ends up making matters worse for both healers.

AST is ridiculously powerful, we all know that, but NoctAST continues and will continue to be crap and unable to bring what SCH can bring with the passive and literally free healing, both in AoE and single target, as nerfed as Embrace and Fey Illumination were.

This, however, is precisely the problem that WHM faces. AST+WHM will never be quite efficient so long as NoctAST cannot replace SCH's passive healing output. People who go around thinking double AST is the optimal meta are delusional and have no idea what efficient healing looks like. The problem here isn't that NoctAST is "weak," it's just that the design itself of Astrologian is flat out terrible from its conception, since it was made to replace either WHM or SCH in a party instead of allowing it to have its own identity.

As someone who mains a WHM now instead of SCH with a Noct Astro healer, I have no idea what you are talking about. Embrace isn't even that great. Noct AST has greater shields, single target and aoe (beats succor). The only thing that it does not have is a spreadlo, which is rarely required purely in itself. AST also has a better bubble to stand in. It has access to Bole and all sorts of party buffs. WHM raw healing is incredibly strong and so is its DPS. Its a perfectly fine combo and perhaps the strongest one out there at the moment.

[Furious]

Tbf, double AST is a terrible combination due to the lack of passive healing from NoctAST, and only ends up making matters worse for both healers.

Yes, AST is ridiculously powerful, we all know that, but NoctAST continues and will continue to be crap and unable to bring what SCH can bring with the passive and literally free healing, both in AoE and single target, as nerfed as Embrace and Fey Illumination were.

This, however, is precisely the problem that WHM faces. AST+WHM will never be quite efficient so long as NoctAST cannot completely replace SCH's passive healing output. People who go around thinking double AST is the optimal meta are delusional and have no idea what efficient healing looks like. The problem here isn't that NoctAST is "weak," it's just that the design itself of Astrologian is flat out terrible from its conception, since it was made to replace either WHM or SCH in a party instead of allowing it to have its own identity.

Um.. did you drink some kind of special coolaid?

Noct AST is stupidly strong, the benefit of "passive" healing is completely ameliorated by the strength of their active healing and significantly shorter phases thanks to card buffs. Efficient healing only matters when you are running out of mana, and passive healing only matters when it allows you to actually avoid actively healing (ie: when you're farming stuff, with the current strength of fairy).

[Inuk9]

Don't think it's a requirement on purpose. Maybe the healer from that group just got out and in PF settings the leader forgot to adjust for healer roles. Can't see why they would want to lockout the other 2 healers on purpose.

It happens a lot.

[deos]

Why wouldn't you want that over fucking Plenary Indulgence?

or why would anyone want Plenary Indulgence in the first place... thats skill is just Dissipation level of useless due to its crazy rng

SE has a lot of balancing issues to solve for both WHM and SCH

[Maku]

Yes, AST is ridiculously powerful, we all know that, but NoctAST continues and will continue to be crap and unable to bring what SCH can bring with the passive and literally free healing, both in AoE and single target, as nerfed as Embrace and Fey Illumination were.

Going to go out on a limb and say, literally every AST would like to have a word with you. I was a SCH main all through HW. I am now a AST main and use Noct almost exclusively, unless paired with a SCH or another AST. I out shine my SCH in all ways.

[EaMett]

I agree I've seen plenty of AST-AST and AST-WHM PFs. As a WHM I've been locked out of quite a few PFs in favor of AST so I can't even begin imagining what it's like as SCH.

Given how often groups (even farm PFs) hit enrage when they aren't actually dying to mechanics due to some stupid error, Balance is a huge asset and those party requirements make perfect sense.

I would expect things to be different for statics.

As gear gets better I expect farm parties for older primals to lean towards double AST more, possibly single WHM/AST. We'll see.