need astro help

[Issildia]

Balance and spear are the two cards I try to aoe as much as possible.

Ok question, I used to only really focus on using Balance and Spear for aoe too but I've heard conflicting opinions on the Arrow card. Some people say it is defiantly worth using for the dps increase while others say it can mess up dps player rotations. Is there any consensus on using Arrow?

[Dianafire]

Ok question, I used to only really focus on using Balance and Spear for aoe too but I've heard conflicting opinions on the Arrow card. Some people say it is defiantly worth using for the dps increase while others say it can mess up dps player rotations. Is there any consensus on using Arrow?

There was a thread about Arrow usage in the dps role section of the forums that might interest you if you aren't sure on your Arrow usage. I'll link the thread here if you want to check it out. http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...The-Arrow-buff

If you don't want to look through the entire thread, I think this post sums it up nicely.

Now that TP management isn't an issue anymore, arrow is a dps increase for any dps job. It is especially good for SAM and BLM.
However it may be an hindrance for DRG, MCH and maybe NIN. DRG wants to use b4b before chaos thrust or disembowel and with a low enough gcd this alignment will be easily messed up. As for NIN, they usually plan a ninki skills rotation for every fight and the arrow may mess up their planning as well. Of course they could just cap the ninki gauge for a few seconds, but it's a waste nevertheless.
MCH is all about cd alignment too, plus heat management. Generally speaking, any dps job with a heavy focus on cd alignment do not love arrow too much.
To sum up:
1) BLM and SAM really love the arrow;
2) MNK, RDM, BRD, SMN like the arrow;
3) DRG, MCH and NIN do not like the arrow.

Edit: now that I think about it, a normal arrow on NIN will result in 1 additional autoattack...yeah, at the end of the day it has a negligible effect on the ninki gauge. So I suppose that it's indifferent for a NIN. There's really no reason to give NIN an arrow, blm, sam, mnk, rdm, brd and smn are all a better choice.

I hope that helps with your question on the Arrow.

[Issildia]

There was a thread about Arrow usage in the dps role section of the forums that might interest you if you aren't sure on your Arrow usage. I'll link the thread here if you want to check it out. http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...The-Arrow-buff

If you don't want to look through the entire thread, I think this post sums it up nicely.



I hope that helps with your question on the Arrow.

That is super helpful. I started AST right after the 4.0 update so there was lots of conflicting info out there concerning the cards and Arrow specifically. Thanks for clarifying.