Regarding AST

[Ametrine]

AST "needing" and AoE dot is really just an option to improve the job's personal DPS. AST is perfectly powerful in a group with proper card usage, but the worst in the game solo.

I say hold it til next level cap just so we don't have further power creep. I think it'd be more of a QoL improvement. I'd actually the job gain skills that aren't tied into the cards next patch.

Though, the gravity/synastry swap of skills would be a game changer as far as QoL goes for AST!

[KDSilver]

Considering the other 2 healers never needeed a skill such as Synastry to heal properly, I totally agree that they should switch it with Gravity.
THIS is a small QoL we could try to ask to dev team. Doesn't affect anything except finally having that aoe at lvl50 and that would be just great.

[basketofseals]

Honestly I don't think permanent Synastry would be that OP provided you're not talking about the healing+ buff that comes with it. It's a pretty wonky and situational CD on its own.

[Braven]

Honestly I don't think permanent Synastry would be that OP provided you're not talking about the healing+ buff that comes with it. It's a pretty wonky and situational CD on its own.

There is no healing buff anymore with Synastry. It just does an additional cure with a potency of 40% of benefict/benefict 2 to the target whenever you cast it on anyone.

It really isn’t situational, it just makes your benefict 2 OP. If you use synastry on the tank (generally always), and then heal them, your beneficts do 40% more healing: 1046 potency without any buffs.

Healing two at once is just an option. You can also use it on the tank for massive healing after tank busters, or just to save global cooldowns by healing once instead of twice in a row. It essentially works like a 40% healing buff.

[basketofseals]

There is no healing buff anymore with Synastry. It just does an additional cure with a potency of 40% of benefict/benefict 2 to the target whenever you cast it on anyone.

It really isn’t situational, it just makes your benefict 2 OP. If you use synastry on the tank (generally always), and then heal them, your beneficts do 40% more healing: 1046 potency without any buffs.

Healing two at once is just an option. You can also use it on the tank for massive healing after tank busters, or just to save global cooldowns by healing once instead of twice in a row. It essentially works like a 40% healing buff.

But that's not something out of the ordinary. Surviving a tank buster is the hard part, never the part that comes after. Fairies even do something similar, but have additional benefits of not being stuck to one target(most of the time).

In practice, this works out to be an extremely minor damage increase at best. I see absolutely nothing overbearing about this. Additionally, it would make their healing identity a bit strong, which imo is completely lacking at the current moment.

[RLofOBFL]

Ast rn is not in a great spot. It does 700 less dps than Sch or Whm and its utility barely makes up that 700....but guess what, Fey Wind and Chain do around as much as AST's utility but w.o rng. So SCH not only insanely outdps but also brings equal or even more if bad card luck rdps.

I don't want them to buff balance back or anything but AST needs single target damage buffs. In the 99% AST is at 2400(add 800 rdps if 100% balance) while Sch is 3000(add 600 if 100% fey wind & chain) and Whm is 3100(add...healing utility). It doesn't add up very well. WHM needs love too in some way utility wise.
Here's an interesting example(fey wind opener not 100%) http://xivrdps.herokuapp.com/encount...YzjqBAbtvNL9/4

[Braven]

Ast rn is not in a great spot. It does 700 less dps than Sch or Whm and its utility barely makes up that 700....

Looking at DPS without considering HPS (Healing per second) is worthless. AST does less damage because they heal more than the other healer.

AST has the strongest global cooldown heals (higher potency and instant casts) than the other two healing job. The best of the best will take advantage of that and have the AST handle more than 50% of the healing workload.

[KDSilver]

AST has the strongest global cooldown heals (higher potency and instant casts) than the other two healing job

WHM still has Cure III, and Medica II is still more powerful than Diurnal Aspected Helios.

Ast don't "heal more". He "has to spent his time healing through his GCD" instead. He lacks of oGCD healing.
So his dps will always be worst because any gcd spent on healing won't be on dps (of course).

[Braven]

Just Look at a site like FFLogs which records healing stats. In cast majurity of logs where AST does less total DPS they also out healed the other healer. They had lower DPS because they healed more instead.

Certain content, of course, will favor a specific class. If a group stands very close together and a lot of AOE healing is needed. white mages can do better with Cure 3.

Regarding Medica 2, it is only a tiny bit better after considering the AST stance bonus and is not something that can be spammed. It only needs to be cast every 30 seconds for 100% uptime. That doesn’t make up for Helios, Asp. Benedict, Benedict 1, and Benedict 2 being strongest in their respective category. Those can be spammed every 2.5 seconds so the impact has the potential to be much higher when a lot of healing is required.

[VanilleFang]

Anyone who thinks AST is in a bad spot right now is kidding themselves. No healer is weak right now.