Just wanting some opinions on which classes you think are the best for healing in PvP.

I've found that mercenaries are pretty good. Heavy armor+AOE knockback+a stun with decent range+ an ability that (with the right perk) can make you immune to interrupts while it's active.

 

If you set it up right, mercenaries/commandos can be VERY sturdy healers.

Atm operative healers are the best on accounts on their instant cast hot's that allow them to move around while healing, and can't be interrupted. After the come sorcs, with the highest healing potential if left alone, but rather squishy and easy to interrupt. Lastly come mercenarys, who got decent survivability when their shield is up so that they can't be interrupted, but when it is on cool down they are just as squishy as the other healers, and their lack of instant cast or powerful aoe healing make them mainly single target healers, so when they get focused, they won't be able to heal anyone but themselves.

I haven't properly played a Merc healer so I can't comment on that, though..

 

I'd say Sorcs can do great healing, but aren't the best when targetted, and can run out of force pretty fast if your having to spam heals.

 

Operatives are my favourite because they have good mobility and can heal, their scan when specced properly is also a good little heal and restores loads of energy with critical hits. Operatives also pretty much have unlimited energy, after a Kolto Injection you can follow up with scan and get your energy back instantly especially with Tactical Advantage.

 

Oh, and with tactical advantage, when everyones full health you can use snipe followed by rapid shots then snipe again and have 80+ energy constantly, also hits like 2ks so it's a good little damage dealer if you don't need to heal.

Operatives Imo are the best. Great heals, stealth and you can still pack a decent beating. Almost too many tools. Other thing is I think their resource management is superior if you learn not to spam heals (which you shouldn't on any healing class.

 

Merc: Kind of a cools style of healing, a little like Operatives but without stealth and imo not enough defensive tools to compete with operatives.

 

Sorc/Sage: Most potential, really good heals and a ton of tools, but you go down like a ****** in a strip club. You have many tools to manage combat, but if your stunned you just wont live. You can be an ok off healer/hybrid damage dealer with balance though and its a rather fun play once you get used to it.

Pre-50 all three healers come into their own in the low 30s. All are competative and effective.

 

At 50 in the open Q brakets operatives are the better healers with Sages and Commandos performance affected significantly by the level of the competition.

 

In rated scoundrels are the premier healers to run with Sages second due to the AE stacking and then Commando because they have the worst ammo management of all 3 and almost all healing is cast time healing...but for 12 seconds every 2 minutes Commandos are gods. Well that is only if the team you're playing against are bad...the good teams will just wait for the shield pop chain CC the Commando and then blow them up when the shield drops. When guarded with a dedicated Tank all three healers become a little more viable but the order does not change.

I like Operatives because of instant casts and mobility. The emergency 30% heal is great. However, I cant compete with a good Sorcerer, they do amazing heals. Mercenaries are good and their saving grace seems to be that they are the one class that can dish out some DPS as well.

OP is probably the best esp for your avg. player seems much easier than say a Sorc but i as a pyro PT have the most issues finishing a skilled merc..granted ive only seen maybe 2-3

Healers in the current state are pretty balanced. They all 3 have different play styles different ways of healing.

Operatives. The mobility is fantastic, they can just run away all day...

 

As a Merc/Commando, you can take quite a beating by just purely sitting there casting strong heals, however if you realise the fight is going downhill there's not much you can do, you can't escape, you have to sit there in order to heal at all.

 

As the guy above says though, healing is in a pretty balanced state atm, I'm happy enough with my merc. Operatives do edge though it due to survivability, moblity, and excellent raw healing output.

I would also like to add that mercenaries have 3 (or 4, depending on how you look at it) shields (with the right perks)

 

-the one you start with can only be cast on you, and makes you "unshakable"

-kolto missile is AOE (aimable), adds a shield (weaker than the one you start with, ofc) and increases healing received for whoever it hits

-one heal can buff another heal, adding a (weak) HoT and a (weak) shield

-kolto shell isn't exactly a shield, but it heals on damage- sortof works as damage reduction

 

clearly, the spec name "bodyguard" is an accurate name.

Edited July 30, 2012 by bobmcbo