Quote Originally Posted by Shikiseki View Post
Honestly AST had great potential with the 2 sects but they just went the easy route and scrapped it for their ridiculous pure/barrier split...
There is literally zero reason for having astro's have a barrier spec. It was a watered down version of a scholar. The maximum amount of shielding you could do would be about 10% of maximum hp and this would not stack with another shield healer. A scholar though? Their spreadlo combo can easily shield 60+% of max hp of their team. If a shield healer is needed for a raid team, why would you ever pick a watered down shield from astro versus a scholar? And if a team truly wants to have a WHM/AST combo, go for it. You don't need the option of shields to make it work. Plus, the frustration of the other healers not having the option to change how their heals work would be immensely unfair. Nocturnal as it is is as it should stay. It complements other shield healers without taking over their identity. As I have said, astro's identity lies in the randomness of its cards to indicate fate and the preplanning of its heals. This is where Squenix should have leaned into.