Question to AST mains:

[Renathras]

What do you like about AST?

Like, what are the things you most enjoy about the Job/would least like changed?

And what are the things you most dislike and WOULD like changed?

[Sebazy]

The aesthetics and the memories of 3.2-3.5

[Zeastria]

Things i enjoy with AST:

The Cards:How they play atm..(Buffing and preping the 2-3 different astro sign for your burst phase)
Heal Over Time stacking: AST have 4 HOTS and you can stack em - it's overkill but fun in dung when i can ignore healing tank during WTW bc of it .
4 ways to inc my own healing: I like that i can mix and match abilites and buff my own heals in many different ways..there isnt just 1 way to do things.
Strong Burst Healing: It's fun to top everyone off from low to 100% with Earthly star or with Macrocosmos.
Have abilites with (some) mitigation: Celestial Intersection / Exaltation / Collective Unconscious / Nautral Sect + Aspected Helios.
Simple DPS I enjoy that i dont have to think much when i DPSing.. the fact that i just spam my ST ability and kinda forget that i dpsing is great...
I can 100% focus boss and on buffing and prep for big dmg!.
I like how AST looks and play: Animations,skill effects and weapon looks.


Things I dislike:
Minor Arcana
Rework it into a AOE buff-card!!! - kinda like the one we have in PvP.
( RNG 3x possible buffs - stack with other cards..)

I dislike when i get paired with an another AST in PF
- Cards dont stack and have to avoid useing DIV at same time.

[IckeDerTyp]

I enjoy it being the last healer with something akin to non-slug apm!

I miss royal road still too ofc!

[Casti_EL]

I find AST to be more engaging than other healers (though admittedly I don't like Scholar/Sage as much as WHM/AST- I'm more of a reactive person, especially with connection latency). I like the almost "mini-game" feel of drawing and applying cards whilst keeping the party alive with your healing abilities. I do miss it's original incarnation though - I much preferred the card system as it was originally compared to the 2 options we have now (physical dps or ranged dps based on card border colour) so I' hoping they do make some good changes to it in 7.0. I also like the lore behind it too (although again, the quest story is not as engaging with the card changes - it's like "We have shown you the constellations, the power they can bring to make or break you! What's that? How do you wield this? Oh, you don't - we'll just let you boost some dps for a short time.").

[Aravell]

What do you like about AST?

Like, what are the things you most enjoy about the Job/would least like changed?

Things like Horoscope, Macrocosmos and Earthly Star. The concept of delayed healing, compiled healing and healing that grows over time is an interesting one, I'd be interested to see a healer built entirely throught interactions like that.

And what are the things you most dislike and WOULD like changed?

Minor Arcana. It's such a pointless button in this new incarnation. Can't rely on the AoE damage from Lord of Crowns and also can't rely on the AoE heal from Lady of Crowns, it would at least not be as bad if they alternate after each draw so you can rely on having Lady up at certain moments by planning from the start.

[Estecka]

Love the overall aesthetic (I basically designed my character for this job).

The card system feels like the only job gimmick that's actually focused on playing with your team. Although I was a bit disappointed that all it does is increased damages.

One thing I'm very sad about is Collective Unconscious. With initial application going way beyond the bubble, it removed almost all need for proper positioning, and what could have made the skill feel unique to use; now it's just a second charge to Celestial Opposition. Sure it's still possible to channel it, but there's still no real use case to that.
I'd rather they had kept the limited range, and either increased the damage mitigation, or gave channeling some extra healing so it would at least keep up with Helios spam.
PS: PLD's Passage of Arms is basically how I enjoy using Collective Consciousness the most.

[Mimilu]

What I like °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
-The aesthetics; I love when RPG classes and/or magics are less generic-fantasy and more based on magic through out IRL history. I also like things related to tarot and astrology.
-I like playing jobs that focus more on buffing
-I like jobs with higher APM and weaving
-I like Earthly Star and Macrocosmos

What I don't like .( ̵˃﹏˂̵ )
-Seals and Astrodyne are really lackluster. No AST should be prioritizing increasing their own DPS by 5% if it means not giving the correct cards to the highest DPS(s) in the party.
-EW's Minor Arcana isn't reliable. I would of preferred that they stuck with ShB's version (which I think would of worked fine with Astrodyne).
-Lightspeed and Astrodyne/getting three seals doesn't line up with the 2-minute rotation.
-Synastry and Neutral Sect are interesting abilities but rarely/never used if things are going normal/well.
-I miss Royal Road.
-I miss being able to lengthen the duration of my buffs and regens.
-I don't miss the function of the two Sects but I miss the flavor and job-fantasy they added. Same thing with the 6 different card effects.

[IDontPetLalas]

Liked

The aesthetics- which is not saying much as that is not really that important to me.
The ability to apply buffs and regens
Higher APMS and weaving
Agreed - skills like ES and macro that allow some control and apply heals and damage (especially before ES became huge) are great.

Dislikes

Absolutely braindead DPS skills to choose from
Horrid personal DPS - buffs aren't adjusted for solo play
Depending upon party composition, you may not be able to contribute that much, i.e. party is at least semi-competent and geared, and especially if card RNG is not in your favour, your heals aren't needed, your buffs may not contribute as much (due to RNG), and your own personal DPS is low.
I miss the 2 sects - diurnal/nocturnal was better, in my case it was due to functionality.
Agree about minor arcana- frequently useless.

[Blueyes]

My three favorite things about Astrologian:

The Stars
The Cards
The Shields

As far as I'm concerned, AST has lost 2/3 of those in recent years. My biggest dislike is that the things I enjoyed about the job got taken away.

Hopefully the stars aren't next on the chopping block. Realistically, the stars will probably get to stay. Probably. But I'm still very concerned about what 7.0 will bring.