I have never healed before ever, so I want the experience to be as painless as possible.

I am leaning toward sorc because they are easier to play, but there are a few reasons I feel like operative is worth considering.

+operative looks cooler, and has imo much more fun companions and story

+stealth seems like it would save a lot of time and allow you to pick your fights

+less popular may mean it is easier to get a raid spot, unless they really are inferior

The only thing is I have no desire to do dps as an operative. I don't want to be a watered down mara/sin running around and multitasking. If it were possible to dual spec a healing op/sniper I would love it. But with a sorc I could actually have a dps offspec, even if I do look like a tool in a dress.

I like playing a specialist character that has a very set rotation without a lot of micromanagement.

After this upcoming patch, operatives will have the best single target healing output of any of the three healing-capable ACs on the imperial side.

However, they arent exactly an easy healing class - resource management is very tight and you have procs you constantly have to pay attention for - it's a very active class that requires a lot of attention to play well.

Gearing up as an operative (or sniper) is very easy as well, since there's not many of them at 50 compared to other classes, so you wont have much competition for gear.

The easiest healer to play is sorceror, though their healing ability is going to be significantly impacted by changes in this upcoming patch which will make resource management more important. They have more utility than the other healers via knockback, interrupt, stuns, no-limitation CC, and force speed - they can also pull an ally to drop his or her threat, making it easier to keep DPS alive in pve.

Mercenaries are the best option if you're wanting to be able to both DPS and heal (with a spec/talent change), they'll put out more damage than operatives or sorcerors with a DPS build, and being ranged they've got a leg-up on operatives for endgame DPS. Their healing is roughly as difficult as operative healing is, maybe moreso after the patch due to resource cost changes which will make resource management much more difficult for mercenaries. They dont have an interrupt or any kind of stealth/charge/speed abilities, which can make them more difficult to use in pvp.

I like playing a specialist character that has a very set rotation without a lot of micromanagement.

I have a lvl 50 Sorc and Agent, plus a lvl 31 Merc. Having played all three healers, I think the Sorc is pretty easy due to the bubble and extra utility (e.g., force speed, extricate, CC any mobs, etc.) over my Agent. The Agent is all about micromanagement with having to watch your surgical probe, TA proc, energy levels, etc.

The 1.2 patch is going to mess with Sorc resource management from what I've read, so that may make them a bit less easy to play.

This is all good advice, thank you guys.

Merc is something I hadn't really considered because honestly I hate the guy's voice and the aesthetics of the armor. I do realize that @50 these things hardly matter so if the class is REALLY fun to play I will probably get over my dislikes.

Now when you say micromanagement, do you mean watching a resource carefully or having a huge array of skills?

I don't mind playing tactical and cautious, I just can't stand pushing 20+ buttons and a really complex rotation: for example I hated marauder and shelved him at 35.

After this upcoming patch, operatives will have the best single target healing output of any of the three healing-capable ACs on the imperial side.

Nothing is changing about the Agent Single Target Heals. They are getting easier to manage 6% Bonus healing uptime (which was never a problem for Operatives who knew how to heal), and they are getting an improvement on the worst AoE heal in the game, making it at least somewhat viable.

Nothing about their Single Target healing has changed at all.

If anything, the 1.2 patch is going to make the Operative healer more newb friendly by giving them better resource management.

Now when you say micromanagement, do you mean watching a resource carefully or having a huge array of skills?.

You have more stuff to pay attention to. You don't use that many spells, but you are required to keep track of your energy and tactical advantage in addition to peoples health bars.

If you are not careful or don't pay attention you can miss free heals or run out of energy quite easily.

Nothing is changing about the Agent Single Target Heals. They are getting easier to manage 6% Bonus healing uptime (which was never a problem for Operatives who knew how to heal), and they are getting an improvement on the worst AoE heal in the game, making it at least somewhat viable.

 

Nothing about their Single Target healing has changed at all.

 

 

If anything, the 1.2 patch is going to make the Operative healer more newb friendly by giving them better resource management.

They're getting the ability to stack an additional tactical advantage charge, and TA charges will last longer.

That means more surgical probes, which means better single target healing.

They're getting the ability to stack an additional tactical advantage charge, and TA charges will last longer.

 

That means more surgical probes, which means better single target healing.

Surgical Probe is also the second weakest single target heal we have. If someone is spamming Surgical Probes they have lower Heals per Second. No Operative Healer in their right mind would use Surgical Probe like it's our main heal. Healing is better if you do Injection > Probe > Injection because Injection is the better heal. Surgical Probe is a rescue heal for people under 30% health and as an Energy Saver to help get back to full between Injections. The only reason we are getting a third TA is just for easier maintenance of the 6% Bonus healing, which if you were a good Operative Healer before the patch, shouldn't change anything.

If anything changes from 1.2, we might see more Kolto Infusion casts, which may or may not be better (but only if you have 4 set) but gives some leeway due to the 3 TA stack.

Injection is our best single Target Healing spell, and 1.2 changes nothing about that. There is no way I would ever use two SPs just because I have 3 TAs up. I would rather use Infusion for one of them in the hopes it will crit which might make it excusable to skip Injection in the rotation.

Surgical Probe is also the second weakest single target heal we have. If someone is spamming Surgical Probes they have lower Heals per Second. No Operative Healer in their right mind would use Surgical Probe like it's our main heal. Healing is better if you do Injection > Probe > Injection because Injection is the better heal. Surgical Probe is a rescue heal for people under 30% health and as an Energy Saver to help get back to full between Injections. The only reason we are getting a third TA is just for easier maintenance of the 6% Bonus healing, which if you were a good Operative Healer before the patch, shouldn't change anything.

 

 

If anything changes from 1.2, we might see more Kolto Infusion casts, which may or may not be better (but only if you have 4 set) but gives some leeway due to the 3 TA stack.

 

 

Injection is our best single Target Healing spell, and 1.2 changes nothing about that. There is no way I would ever use two SPs just because I have 3 TAs up. I would rather use Infusion for one of them in the hopes it will crit which might make it excusable to skip Injection in the rotation.

actually, hps wise, infusion tramples injection in the ground, but it is much more expensive (-5energy but also costs TA while inj generates TA)

single target healing for sustain will remain the same, maybe a 0,5%increase due to a bit faster DS once/20sec if you only do sustain.

i expect our burst healing to rise a bit though due to no lost KP procs (which were 60% lost prior to 1.2 and they SHOULD have fixed it) leading to some leaway to cast infusion now and then.

edit: as far as the OP question goes, sage/sorc is till the easiest and more versatile healer for pve content still.

actually, hps wise, infusion tramples injection in the ground, but it is much more expensive (-5energy but also costs TA while inj generates TA)

This is only the case if Infusion crit procs from your 4 piece, which is why I mentioned it might be worth testing a rotation involving using it. However if it doesn't crit, you would have been better served casting Injection. Since it consumes TA, if you aren't proccing enough TAs to use Infusion as your primary heal, then it becomes moot if it can't sustain more health over time than Injection.

Injection has the higher base heal. The fact that it also maintains TA just makes it the most superior heal we have.

Sorc, definitely. Mostly because of their bubble. I wouldnt be scared off of playing a Merc or an Op though, you get weened into healing and abilities as you level so its not a huge shock or anything. And you use the same resources and management for DPS, so its really not that bad once youve learned it.

The big thing is resource management, even on a Sorc. You just notice it more on the other classes(disregarding that Sorcs are kind of OP) due to the way their mechanics work.

Make use of things like stuns and your 60s mez too, reducing damage in any way is effectively healing. I cant stand healers that just sit there and healbot

Edit: Although this:

I like playing a specialist character that has a very set rotation without a lot of micromanagement.

...is definitely not an Operative, lol. TONS of micromanagement, and no set rotation(healers dont have rotations).

Sorc/Sage.

While it will be harder to play after GU 1.2 it is very easy to get the basics. It is also a lot easier to lose NPCs/Players that may go after you with either Knockback, Force Run or Bubble.

As of this moment,it is without a doubt the best healer.

Sorc is your best bet. They are making Operatives very appealing to newer players because our secondary resource is much easier to handle. However, if you are starting now, you will not feel the sorc changes as a "nerf". Your rotation/skill selection will be fresh and you will learn the best way to do it. No healing class, to my knowledge really has more than 2 buttons to use plus maybe 2-3 more for your AoE/utility heals, so you don't have to worry about too many buttons. Operatives have to manage more little things that will make large impacts, such as, HoT stack/duration for however many targets, energy >60, at least 1 TA stack at all times, and stim boost CD. Bounty Hunters have heat management which is delicate and will become more delicate, and Sorcs have their force regen. All three of course have their heal buffs/procs which ill lump in with your situational awareness. For learning healing, the operations, and how the healing role works, my recommendation again would be sorc. You can heal well, with very good utility, and have a positive raid experience.

side note- Operative are easiest to gear because there are not many of them, but now think why aren't there many of them? That is the right question!

side note- Operative are easiest to gear because there are not many of them, but now think why aren't there many of them? That is the right question!

This is most definitely true lol. I have a full set of Rakata gear for Field Medic, Enforcer, and Field Tech (for the lulz).

I wear Field Medic on all but chest (I remodded the Field Tech chest because I wanted the hoodless look). Temple wears the the Full set of Enforcer gear. Lokin wears the full set of Field Tech gear with the Field Medic chest.

I also have a couple extra Rakata pieces that I just stripped mods out of sitting in my Hold.

It is very nice being the only Agent in my raids.

I have two names I like, "Damian" for the sorc and "Eighteen" for the operative. I figured he doesn't need an actual name, as I only plays darkside. Ill stick with the sorc for now and if I get a hankering for stealth, guns, and trenchcoats I have a backup.

Right now I have all my dps lightning abilities set to my top bar, and all my healing/shields/cc right below it set to control + 1, 2, 3 etc. Its pretty fast with the naga I did a few BT runs and it went well, though BT is so easy it isn't a really good test.

I guess an evil healer is rather like Frankenstein or Dr. Clayton Forrester; He uses the excuse of "healing" to cover the fact that he is doing horrible experiments on living tissue and getting away with avoiding lots of tedious paperwork and red tape.

I bet it is hard to even find a vein on Kaliyo, she looks like she has shot up, sniffed, and drank quite a lot on her time.

I have two names I like, "Damian" for the sorc and "Eighteen" for the operative. I figured he doesn't need an actual name, as I only plays darkside. Ill stick with the sorc for now and if I get a hankering for stealth, guns, and trenchcoats I have a backup.

 

Right now I have all my dps lightning abilities set to my top bar, and all my healing/shields/cc right below it set to control + 1, 2, 3 etc. Its pretty fast with the naga I did a few BT runs and it went well, though BT is so easy it isn't a really good test.

 

I guess an evil healer is rather like Frankenstein or Dr. Clayton Forrester; He uses the excuse of "healing" to cover the fact that he is doing horrible experiments on living tissue and getting away with avoiding lots of tedious paperwork and red tape.

 

I bet it is hard to even find a vein on Kaliyo, she looks like she has shot up, sniffed, and drank quite a lot on her time.

Just like Tanking, Healing doesn't really become a role of it's own until Hammer Station at the earliest, and even then, you don't even need to be spec'd into it until about Mandalorian Raiders level range to do the job effectively.

Basically what that means is that you won't be able to tell how well you like healing or how well you will do with your healer choice until after level 25 or so.