So, I just took the newly patched AST for a spin in Eden 1, and it felt, ok I guess? However, OK is not the term I think should be applied to any job, especially a healer given this was the coveted “healer balance” expansion.

It can now keep up with healing fairly well, and doesn’t feel *as* handicapped as it did before. However, these were only band-aid fixes to a much bigger problem; the job identity itself.

I still believe the biggest issue is the constant tweaking and changing of the sects, which reveals one of the major flaws of AST. They’re basically a knockoff WHM and SCH mode that never lets AST shine in their own strength, but rather just try to fill the gaps of the remaining healer slot. This versatility may look good on paper but the fact that Nocturnal sect is objectively worse than Diurnal in essentially every aspect (no pun intended) shows they don’t know how to balance them with the other healers and AST’s identity itself.

The cards are okay, in my opinion. I do miss the fun utility of using an Ewer for MP Regen, or the Bole as an awesome defensive cooldown in anticipation for a tank buster, but the cards are still less of an issue to me than the sects personally. The Divination cooldown being brought down to 2 minutes makes it feel slightly better.

So yeah, AST feels okay, if you’re in Diurnal sect at least. But that’s a pretty sad statement to make, and shows how fundamentally unbalanced it is. Both sects should just be removed and the jobs healing style should be rebuilt from the ground up to make it truly unique and capable no matter the party composition.