Astrologian Sects!! Help

[Ametrine]

I preferred Noct, the sheild buffers and increased healing made pulling big more manageable on my end.

But seriously, learn both, go with your preference. Neither one has an endge of the other.

[Valmaxian]

Biurnal: I shield between pulls to buy me DPS time, then go Diurnal for the rest, to buy me MOAR DPS TIME!!! Put an Aspected Bennie on the tank (aka, Red Mage), and I'm good to GraviSpam!!!!!!

Depending on the boss, I'll switch to Noct in a 4-man.

[Rongway]

Diurnal Sect
Benefic: 440
Helios: 330
Benefic II: 715
Aspected Benefic: 1144 + speedBonus' (110% × (200 + 6 × (140 + speedBonus)))
Aspected Helios: 660 + speedBonus' (110% × (200 + 10 × (40 + speedBonus)))

Nocturnal Sect
Benefic: 460
Helios: 345
Benefic II: 747
Aspected Benefic: 805 (115% × (200 + 250% × 200))
Aspected Helios: 431 (115% × (150 + 150% × 150))


Diurnal Aspected Benefic heals for at least 339 more potency than Nocturnal Aspected Benefic. Diurnal Aspected Helios heals for at least 229 more potency per target than Nocturnal Aspected Helios.

Most dungeon bosses shouldn't even really require more than five or six GCDs devoted to healing, thanks to the relatively low cooldown on Dignity. Therefore, Diurnal Sect is superior to Nocturnal Sect against most single targets and some small groups.

But if you're fighting anything that can do enough damage to break your shield within 10 seconds, like a deathwish-sized trash pull or a raid boss, Nocturnal Aspected Benefic's value increases because Diurnal Aspected Benefic requires four ticks to beat Nocturnal Aspected Benefic, whereas a fresh shield gives the full benefit every time.

But seriously, learn both

Still this, though. AST+AST happens with fair frequency in DF, so it's good to know how to play both.

[Sylvain]

I'd say go diurnal if you struggle with healing. Be careful about pré pull HoT.
I personally prefer diurnal.

[Cyrocco]

Noct for Regular Pulls, Diurn for Bosses.

My reasoning behind this is that during any (most) regular pulls, the tank is the only target taking damage, Nocts potency boost is nice, I can normally ignore the tank after casting Aspected for the majority of the pull, and because the shield is an instant cast, it lets me react quickly to the tank taking spike damage (More time in Cleric), and an Aspected -> Essential -> Aspected is a great recovery combo.

Now, the reason I use Diurnal for bosses is because the universal pattern among bosses, is that the damage is widespread, however, in most cases, the AoE damage doesn't require a real heal, and the regen is more than enough for the DPS, so I always open with Helios -> Benefic on Tank, and go straight into Cleric and basically ignore everyone.

Ultimately, I love running like this because it effectively uses BOTH stances during a standard dungeon.

My playstyle is leave me alone so I can DPS. Shields let me protect the tank, do other things, and this playstyle is especially nice for big pull runs.

[Elamys]

You beat me to it. Most AST I have seen don't sect dance during any content. I do it all the time and it really is the most efficient thing to do. IF the tanks gets you the chance since you can't switch while in combat.

That is precisely why I don't stance dance. I also find it really annoying to play.

[Spiroglyph]

In 4-mans it is pretty much up to preference. I personally shield pre pull before swapping to diurnal, as I find stacking HoTs to be effective and allows me more room to DPS then sticking with Noct the entire run. Shielding pre pull minimizes the need to heal mid pull, which can help keep aggro off you and takes some pressure off healing.

[basketofseals]

HoTs>shields. Shields are pretty useless unless you need them.