Possible AST nerf

[Katryn]

Whether devs or general players like it or not, everything boils down to the meta. And the meta reads: dps + utility = viability. HPS isn't even a factor really. Why? Because it stands to reason that every healer and encounter must be viable in this regard, otherwise the game would end up completely broken. As long as there are people pushing the meta, there will always be classes in each role that are more or less valued based on what they bring to the table and what the fight to be completed actually needs.

Ast's cards are the highest level of utility possible on a healer. Unless the devs actually break the class's healing capabilities (from what I've read AST healing was dead on arrival in 3.0--that's why buffs started in the first place.), which would not be a solution to anything, AST will always be the most desirable healer to bring long term because they can help make things get cleared faster. A WHM can provide more safety and stability during progression, and I'm not quite sure what SCH brings to the table. But AST has balance and in the viability / desirability formula that's basically a remote with fast forward. Relax: you will survive.

[simiii]

"Whm has better damage" not enough damage to out dps a aoe balance

Yes your right whm has so much mana that it's pointless you only need that much mana if you plan of rezing like 10 people and that means we are going enrage anyway

What are these "several powerfull cds?"

Tetra? You have essential dignity and that's in every way better then tetra

Benediction? You have a aoe benediction on a 60 sec cd if charged if not charged it's a aoe tetra

Asylum? It's a okay skill but most time I just throw it down whenever it's on cd it's not a game changer if anything it's ment to save mp

Bension? Is a joke (it has potential)

Only powerful cd I can think of is presence of mind and ya that rly is a strong cd but lightspeed is pretty damn close to being just as good

[TankHunter678]

Just buff SCH so that their shields are consistently good, better then ASTs. WHM really does not need too much in terms of changes, SCH is the one that got the nerf bat and needs some help. SCH is also the one built around the concept of preventing damage by being proactive, not reacting to damage intake. So logically SCH should have the strongest shields so they can proactively keep healing from needing to happen. This in turn allows for more DPS to be done by the healers.

[loreleidiangelo]

Noct isn't super good as solo-healer effuciency, frankly, but it's definitely nothing to bugger off when paired with a WHM in a raid environment. A Largesse shield completely negates the knockback in Susano EX, for example, which for some classes GREATLY alleviated rotation frustrations and DPS capacity.

I feel like people are kinda ignoring the elephant in the room that is 20% 30-second Balance, though, with all this talk about shields and MP efficiency and whatnot. IMO as long as that card stays the way it is AST will always be guaranteed a raid slot (unless their healing is nerfed to total crap), no matter what kind of tweaks they give to WHM and SCH. This MIGHT be me underestimating the other healers' level 70 kits somewhat with that declaration, but I doubt it. Balance is too good ATM.

[Ootarion]

You should try actually using noct stance then, or PLAYING AST because noct not only saves very well in dungeons trash mobs or as a great shield. but any good AST knows when to switch between the 2. during certain situations and fights.

Not just "diurnal onry" usually the type of mentaility shared by those ASTs who only use one card and forget the others exist.

Well said Blood-Aki, thank you! SCH can outshine AST in shielding, when it crits yes, but that doesnt mean that SCH shielding sucks, it can still do things AST cant, and when I run the numbers together, there are times where SCH can even out heal an AST.

[SnugglesD]

Where is this WHM is underpowered thing coming from? Are you people just parroting the sentiment from before release? WHM is in a good place. It outshines AST in healing output and dps. The only problem that people that actually understand the meta will point out is the passive nature of lillies being boring and hard to count on in the scripted nature of ffxiv raids, and how lackluster the 70 ability is. As a job it is totally great.

The ONLY reason AST gets a guaranteed slot in the meta is the fact that balance is 20% instead of 10%. That's the only thing making them Op right now.

Please don't start spouting nonsense when you have absolutely no context for it.

And at the risk of sounding like an elitist d-bag, the only place any of this matters is in progression raiding. No one cares what you bring to dungeons or ex primals except derpy meta-monkeys that don't know what they're talking about.

[Ootarion]

"Whm has better damage" not enough damage to out dps a aoe balance

Yes your right whm has so much mana that it's pointless you only need that much mana if you plan of rezing like 10 people and that means we are going enrage anyway

What are these "several powerfull cds?"

Tetra? You have essential dignity and that's in every way better then tetra

Benediction? You have a aoe benediction on a 60 sec cd if charged if not charged it's a aoe tetra

Asylum? It's a okay skill but most time I just throw it down whenever it's on cd it's not a game changer if anything it's ment to save mp

Bension? Is a joke (it has potential)

Only powerful cd I can think of is presence of mind and ya that rly is a strong cd but lightspeed is pretty damn close to being just as good

1) WHM vs AST damage: I have done the tests myself, my lvl 60 WHM can choke out more damage with DoTS ALONE then my lvl 69 AST can, Balance or no Balance. Furthermore WHM and AST are both healers, their damage will never be anything compared to DPS damage and even with the AoE Balance, WHM will still hit harder then AST.

2) Tetra vs Essential Dignity: Tetra's healing is far more consistent then Essential Dignity which starts at 400 potency and gets stronger the lower the target's health while Tetra has a baseline constant 700 potency.

3) Earthly Star is not a Benediction....far from it, Benediction's healing is an absolute FULL HEAL, Earthly Star doesnt come close. An Earthly Star at maximum power CANNOT fully heal a critically injured Tank. Also are you forgetting Plenary Indulgence?

4) Asylum's advantage comes in the fact that you can place it anywhere, with Collective Unconcious it is centered on the AST and you cant move at all.

5) As for Bension, I can see where people would think of this skill as a joke, but is that really an excuse to nerf AST?

[Ootarion]

Where is this WHM is underpowered thing coming from?

Ive been trying to get people to see that WHM isnt underpowered compared to AST in the slightest....but alot of people seem to not wanna listen and are intent on trying to rob AST of something it needs, namely the shield buff it got from SBs launch and to nerf the 20% damage buff from Balance, which btw people incase you didnt know, when Balance becomes AoE, it goes down to 10% effectiveness anyways....

[Eloah]

I don't mind that AST shields are stronger than a non crit SCH adloquium. SCH has a constant source of MP-free, stack-free, gcd-free healing in their fairy on top of their GCD heals. An AST in nocturnal sect doesn't have nearly as many off-GCD healing options let alone a fairy doing a lot of work on top of their GCDs.

This is not a thing and i wish people would stop using it as the end all beat all of why SCH should get a nerf or excuses like that. The Fairy is part of our kit thats it. You know what isnt part of our kit, Cure 2/Benefic 2 or Medica/Helios, spammable big heals that heal for a lot more and cost a lot less than our two "similar" spells that heal for a lot less and cost way more... the fairy is just our utility to offset the lack of those kinds of skills. No one is denying that the fairy needs to be factored into the healing formula, but she isn't some devine cheat code. I should notice if she is helping me, right now you don't notice her as much as we should. Hopefully 4.05 will change that.

[Ootarion]

Your shields are stronger than a SCHs right now unless that SCH crits. Top that off with cards and you have effectively pushed a Job well out of a Job lol. You need a few nerfs you shouldn't be that strong when you bring entire group buffs and make the group just outright better just by being there.

Sooooo SCH is supposed to have better Non Crit and Crit Shielding? Where does that leave AST shielding? There is nothing wrong with AST having stronger Non Crit shields but giving SCH better Crit Shields, it at least gives both classes something.