Question for those who didn't pick up AST til 5.0 or after.

[Wolfsbane706]

Do you enjoy it? That's the question. Do you have fun playing AST? Speaking as someone who didn't get a chance to play AST til Shadowbringers released (and we were well into 5.1 anyway) I do have a lot of fun playing AST. I feel like I always have something to do when I'm playing the class and I like the new abilities it got in 5.0.

I just want to express some positivity for the job given all the dislike for its 5.0 incarnation that gets thrown around.

[Reksanden]

I'm disqualified from the topic by virtue that I'd started playing shortly into Stormblood, but I still feel I can give a fair two cents in either direction.

AST now is... Fine for what it is, compared to the other two. It's very versatile, and the cards can be given to anyone instead of having some that were situational. When I play healer myself, I do so with AST - the downtime issues folks talk about is mitigated on my end, half because of the carding and the other because I'm very rusty so my optimization is whack... But I get enjoyment out of the class nonetheless.

That being said, I also can't help but just deeply miss what the job used to have and how the cards worked then, either. I'll watch videos recorded back in SB and get those pangs of want for how the cards used to feel, and I'm not really sure how to describe that to anyone who hasn't played it's older iterations.

Nonetheless, if you enjoy it, don't let a veteran of the older expansions make you feel that you're wrong for having fun with how it is now. We should be appreciative that folks are having fun, even if it's easy to be bitter about something we cared deeply for.

[Mortex]

I played astro since HW back then so I’m also disqualified, but in that regard they made astro the healer with the most things too do and being the one that feels uncluncky and fluid in comparison too sch and whm. The shadowbringer version is atm feeling wise the best version it had (but they made the cards pretty flavorless and took away the time aspect of the job) . But that entire process always takes what feels like it takes the first and second raid tier too get to that point (it’s like a running gag how bad astro is at the start of every expansion only too outshine the rest)

[ItMe]

AST is hands down my favorite healer and I love it despite normally being quite adverse to busy classes.
It's got some really cool moves (like the one where you can heal two targets at once, very cool for keeping yourself alive, but not at the expense of the tank), weaves for days, and it's glam game is quite interesting and strong thanks to that weird, unique, tarot orb thing it has.

I just wish I had more opportunities to use my "oh shit" buttons because they're so strong I always hold onto them to keep them available, then since I never use them I always forget about Neutral Sect and Lightspeed.

Especially since it's MP problems got patched away (thank god) I can't seem to stay away from the class.

[IDontPetLalas]

As someone who is qualified (as I just levelled my AST recently) and who used to main SCH (until it was butchered) I'll say that I find it to be a very versatile heal/support job with good mobility, and one that is a good co-healer with WTH and to a fair extent with SCH as well, even 2 AST work well- mind you , disclaimer- for what it's worth, as I don't heal the bleeding edge content.

[HyoMinPark]

ShB AST has a wonderful healing toolkit. I’m pleased with its healing kit and always have been—it’s just the card system that I dislike, and the removal of time aspects from the job. I’m disqualified as I played AST back in HW (around 3.2 or 3.3 is when I leveled it), but it has always been my go-to healer of the three, and I have healed in every kind of content from dungeons to Ultimate. The card RNG never really bothered me—I actually found it funny to get crappy Sleeve Draws of Spread Spire, Drawn Spire, and AOE Royal Road. They certainly made the god-tier Sleeve Draw feel super good. Especially if you got it in the opener. I would have preferred a way to make the old system work rather than reduce it to what it is now.

[Wolfsbane706]

As someone who is qualified (as I just levelled my AST recently) and who used to main SCH (until it was butchered) I'll say that I find it to be a very versatile heal/support job with good mobility, and one that is a good co-healer with WTH and to a fair extent with SCH as well, even 2 AST work well- mind you , disclaimer- for what it's worth, as I don't heal the bleeding edge content.

The nicest thing about double AST is you'll probably never need to use Neutral Sect because you've got one on regens and the other on shields.

[ASkellington]

As someone who's played AST since 5.0 I want the old cards back if for no other reason than to play with them since the literal whole reason I decided to play FFXIV at all was old AST.

Having played the class for about a year now its my most comfortable healer. I'll be the first to say I don't like Neutral Sect. In my opinion its the first step Square will take in removing Nocturnal sect and I won't be surprised if they do remove it and say "well you have Neutral Sect, you don't need to worry about shields". Horoscope I use. I don't like it, I don't hate it, I just use it. Same with Celestial Intersection, save for the fact that I like it a bit more than Horoscope.

All that said, AST is FFXIV's version of a busy healer right now which is usually my go to in MMOs. I like its tarot/star theme (and wouldn't mind having its time elements back either), I like its animations, I like its mobility and for the most part I like its lore. I'm not happy with the job, there are plenty of improvements to be had (cards excluded), but I enjoy it the most of the healers.

[Lastelli]

I enjoy it way more than the other 2 healers. Also I prefer the current card system over the previous one. I wouldn't mind one more button to press during my dps rotation though.

[Rein_eon_Osborne]

I started sometime in late 5.2, and so far I'm loving AST, 2nd to only SCH in my list. I miss the triple Sleeve Draw, but it doesn't take away the whole enjoyment from me so I just need to adjust
Then again, after browsing the old card system, they do seem to be pretty fun to play with. Makes me wish I started playing this game sooner.

The only ability that I feel it never make any sense is the capstone [Neutral Sect] which I often forgot it exist outside raids. But hey, it's just another button to press & and a buff, so I won't say no to that