Quote Originally Posted by MoroMurasaki View Post
I suppose it's a matter of scale. If we take AST as being well balanced for current content (so 100%) I see WHM as being perhaps 70% (and only even that high because of their performance in Ultimate which really is admirable) and SCH being about 130% with the extent to which they can ignore virtually all GCD healing. Our choices are buffing WHM by an absolutely massive amount to reach SCH while also buffing AST in both sects or bringing the bottom up and the top down. I think the latter is the better option for the sake of the longevity of content.
In a post before you said SCH brings more pDPS than AST but it doesn't. With the new AST changes in 4.3 and the changes to Miner Arcana in 4.4 AST will bring more pDPS than a SCH with average lord luck. The only reason AST is doing less than SCH in some fights is because they are forced to use the tome weapon for BiS (which isn't really that good Crit/Pie) instead of the raid weapon, while SCHs got a pretty good raid weapon. And ASTs are playing for the party not themselves, if an AST were to play selfishly you'd see a much bigger gap between DPS. I'd say SCH is more balanced than AST in it's current state as well because everything a SCH does has a equivalent exchange(?) system to it. If you want to Indom or Excog you're giving up 150 potency/1200 MP to use them because you're losing an Energy Drain. This is the main reason why SCH abilities aren't used much in the high end environments unless they're saving a GCD which is barely a 70 potency gain.

While ASTs can just use Earthly Star every 60s, Collective every 90s and Essential Dignity every 40s. You overestimate SCHs abilities way too much and underestimate ASTs just by reading your responses and don't really understand just how strong AST is. AST in it's current state is the reason SCHs can get away with not having to GCD heal or use their aetherflow stacks at all because ASTs kit is just so powerful.

SCH needs a nerf on the fairy but that's about it. Everything else in SCHs kit is a double edged sword because you lose potency regardless of what you do.

Nerf embrace or get rid of it and make Fey Union the only source of single target healing and you'd have a pretty well balanced job. A passive single target regen that you can control for the whole fight without the cost of resources is too strong and is the sole reason SCHs are brought aside from the rDPS.