What makes the best healer in swtor

Originally posted by Amon :. Last edited by Amon ; 1 Jun am. You'll probably end up levelling one of each, so don't worry: just play something you like. Phill View Profile View Posts. Merc is the strongest in terms of single-target extended throughput.

Their heat management system is much easier they can spam heals on the tank with every gcd and not out of resources. In these environments, DPS play involves much more than raw damage output, and DPS players are expected to master multiple skills. These include avoiding all 'unnecessary' damage especially Area of Effect damage , exerting proper Crowd Control CC practices including setting up and not breaking CC , kiting creatures, use of interrupts , and many other subtle duties.

All classes and advanced classes can fill the DPS role. The Leader role involves the overall group management and strategic planning needed in group play. The Leader organizes players even before adventuring and flashpoints begin , communicates plans and designates assignments.

The leader serves also as the tactical commander. During combat, the leader will call out key information to the group and direct ad hoc adjustments. The leader is expected to have a complete understanding of the environment that the party is immersed in, especially in regards to combat particularly boss fights.

The Off Tank is a niche role, occasionally needed in specific encounters where fight mechanics dictate the need for two or more tanks. Although the name may imply otherwise, the Off Tank may or may not in fact be the "better" of the two tanks in regards to level, skill, gear, etc. This is because specific fights may necessitate unique abilities that one tank is more suited offer than another, regardless of other factors.

Off Tanks are needed in primarily two scenarios. The first is one in which a boss fight requires that two tanks switch aggro back and forth between them often done to avoid large amounts of damage over time.

In such a fight, the role of 'off tank' is really more that of 'second tank'. The following is more about the "feel" of each class, regardless of their current power level. Labels: bounty hunter , healing , imperial agent , jedi consular , screenshots , sith inquisitor , smuggler , trooper. AZure Knight of Rebirth 19 October at Except for classes that include a tank discipline, they are the only DPS class that wears heavy armor. As a class with a healing discipline, they possess good off healing capability for emergencies.

They also possess a wide range of useful defensive abilities that include a straight buff to DR, an emergency sustained self heal and a powerful reflect. Commando Combat Medic is a healer class so should be focused on anticipating damage to maintain high health levels. Combat Medic is strongest at burst single target healing and supplementing AoE heals, so ideally they should take primary responsibility for healing the tank with aggro and helping out with AoE on the side.

Commando enjoyed status as the strongest healer beginning in 6. In path 6. As a result, from 6. Enter 6. The crit chance was dropped in favor of a much weaker buff, so the set will now only be a good "off DPS" choice to provide buffs to healing while also buffing healer off-DPS in progression situations. Tech Medic emerges as the solid favorite as the new BIS set bonus due to its new 6-piece bonus that makes Med Shot apply an 18s HoT that heals for around the same as Kolto Bomb and can be applied to multiple targets.

So what's the bottom line? The good news is that the discipline was so powerful that the discipline should still be quite good and maybe even still the best healer on many fights just not head and shoulders above the other healer disciplines.

The main consideration for Commando healers to adjust to the new balancing is to get used less uptime on Supercharged Cell and its impact on both tougher energy management and reduced burst healing. I usually take some combination of the following Utilities, though the optimal combination can change from fight to fight.

As of 6. Parallactic Combat Stim - You recharge 20 cells when stunned, immobilized, knocked down or otherwise incapacitated. This effect lasts for 15 seconds. Situational, used for fights with lots of stuns or knockbacks as it will significantly increase DPS by using more high-energy high damage fillers.

Given the lack of good choices in Skillful, I would nearly always take this utility. Not a utility I would have taken in 5. X, in 6. Also, Tech Override grants a second charge, making your next two abilities with an activation time activate instantly.

A very useful utility for Commando healers. Using Tech Override during a Supercharged Cell window enables not only one extra instant cast of Advanced Medical Probe but due to its cast time being longer than a GCD, the instant cast enables you to get more healing output overall while also being more mobile.

Advance the Line - Increase the duration of Hold the Line by 4 seconds. I usually take it as a longer duration for Hold the Line grants significant extra movement speed in fights and can be very helpful on many fights.

Reflexive Shield - When you take damage, the active cooldown of Reactive Shield is reduced by 3 seconds. This effect cannot occur more than once every 1. This effect cannot occur more than once every 10 seconds. Frequently take, this can drastically reduce the cooldown on a key defensive. Stacks up to 5 times. I always take for any fights where Advance the Line is not needed. Electro Shield - When activated, your Reactive Shield charges with electricity, zapping attackers for elemental damage when they deal direct damage to you.

This effect cannot occur more than once each second. Situational, there are some fights where this utility would be useful and preferred over Charged Barrier. Always take, being able to channel on the move is a massive boost to your mobility and is the most essential utility for this class.

Also, Adrenal Rush lasts 2 seconds longer and heals for twice as much each time it restores health. I usually take, I love this utility for any operation with lots of raid-wide damage.

Trauma Stabilizers - While Reactive Shield is active, you generate a stack of Trauma Stabilizers each time you receive direct damage. Stacks up to 10 times. Here is what I run for most encounters, though I frequently take other situational utilities for specific fights.

Emergency Responders - Eliminates the energy cost of Bacta Infusion. Lasts 15 seconds. Makes Bacta Infusion your only free heal apart from your basic Med Shot ability. Its effectiveness is limited by its lengthy cooldown, but should generally be used on cooldown and paired with Advanced Medical Probe to provide a powerful single target burst heal.

The slow is largely meaningless in PVE. The Invigorated buff from Advanced Medical Probe is a helpful buff and skilled healers should endeavor to keep this buff on all targets taking regular damage. Spam of Advanced Medical Probe during Supercharged Cell should be sufficient to guarantee this effect. Also, the effects of your Supercharged Cell are modified. This passive is key in that Medical Probe - despite its filler status - is your most effective ability to generate Supercharge due to it doubling up on stacks.

This effect can stack up to 3 charges. Due to the cooldowns on both abilities outside of Supercharged Cell , you will have used Medical Probe 3 times in between each use and thus have maximum stacks.

Also, Med Shot regenerates 1 energy cell when it normally heals and 2 energy cells when it critically heals. This passive is notable primarily for the buff to Med Shot that enables it to actively regenerate energy in addition to any passive energy regeneration during that GCD.

As you will see below in the rotation discussion, Combat Medics should anticipate periodic use of Med Shot due to this passive. Preventative Medicine - Bacta Infusion applies Preventative Medicine to the target, healing for additional health over 9 seconds.

This passive further buffs Bacta Infusion by applying a minor HoT to the target and granting a second helpful buff to the armor rating of friendly players. Please see my Gearing Guide and Alacrity Guide for a detailed overview of gearing in 6. For Combat Medic Commando, I gear as follows:. Amplifiers: Medtech. Mods: Unlettered Lethal Mods.

Stim: Proficient. Adrenal: Critical Triage for Dxun only. For Combat Medic Commando, I allocate my tertiary stats as follows:. Accuracy: Heals don't miss! However I run a Proficient Stim in capped content so get some Accuracy, and may occasionally run a bit more Accuracy for a few prog fights like Revan where healers need to get an interrupt and want to avoid their interrupts missing. Alacrity: around 2,, a secondary option is around 3, for high alacrity at least 2, if the Zeal guild perk applies.

Critical: all remaining tertiary points go into Critical. Shield: None. Absorb: None. Increased drop rate from conquest crates. Tech Medic was redesigned in patch 6. Combined with nerfs to Concentrated Fire the previous healer set bonus of choice , it seems that the developers intended for Tech Medic to be the preferred healer set bonus.

The four piece set bonus is very slightly helpful for progression situations. An instant rez is better than a cast rez or having to burn a cooldown for an instant cast. I would prefer an actual healing buff but I have seen many situations in progression where a tank dies and the group wipes because the team was one GCD too slow in getting them revived. So cool though not really great. The six piece set bonus adopts the old HP-5 Dart tactical benefit by letting your base heal apply a HoT.

The HoT lasts a long time over 18 seconds and provides a heal that is fairly close to the heal by Kolto Bomb applied to each affected player. The HoT can be refreshed on one player such as a tank, or by rotating it among several players a healer can keep several Lasting Meds HoTs ticking at once.

The value of this set bonus is most important when viewed in context with the impact of changes to the Rocket Fuel Vapors tactical.

Prior to 6. In that situation, I found myself using Med Shot only very occasionally as I never really had energy issues. Now I expect to see much more use of Med Shot. It should not need to be spammed given the discipline's energy cooldowns and still fairly frequent use of Supercharged Cell.

That said, a Commando healer will likely need to use it semi-frequently anytime energy cooldowns are not available to stay energy positive. Skillful players will likely look to keep Lasting Meds ticking on several targets at once by rotating their use of each Med Shot amongst players. It is a far cry from the ticking HoTs from Scoundrel healers but between Trauma Probes on most players and Lasting Meds on several more, the Commando has more and better passive healing with Tech Medic than otherwise.