Has anyone used a companion consistently other than Mako? I have tried all of them and given them (made) comparable gear.

 

I find non of them are worth using while questing other than Mako, if Mako is not out I’m spam healing a mediocre DPS or spam healing a crapy tank until my companion is dead then I’m soloing stuff. It takes longer and much more stressful.

 

Maybe it changes at lvl 50 (im lvl 48 now) but not sure why they would add other companions who are not really much use other than crafting?

 

Thanks

 

It really depends on your Spec. I'm Shield Powertech, and no one comes close to Mako. But, if I were a healer, I would probably take Blizz or Torian with me.

How does Blizz compare? I've heard Blizz can dish out some amazing damage, but I've yet to get him. Just gotten Gault myself.

Mako makes you green, not viable. Edited January 17, 2012 by Steeeeve

As a heal spec merc, Skadge is by far the way to go. He holds agro better than Torian and takes alot more dmg. Just has less DPS than Torian.

 

As any other spec, I typically take Mako.

The porblem with dps and tank pets, is that they do them witha lot of micro managing. Gault doesnt do enough dps to bother- when Mako can heal me, while I do the real DPS

Mako is useful? News to me. She's either too busy channeling electroshock or shooting my target while I'm dying. I hate her with a burning passion.

 

I've been using Torian consistently for everything and never looked back.

I finally geared up Torian a few levels after I got him and he does a lot of damage. If i get low on a elite I can just kite it while Torian finishes it off. DPS specced mercenary. Mako's heals aren't useful as a merc when you can CC one mob, and kill the rest for any given pull with a strong, without a strong you just aoe on all pulls and torian's aoe dps is a great help. I regularly do pulls 3lvls higher than my character with no problem.

The problem with not using Mako(assuming you're not a heal spec Merc) is that it turns every fight into a DPS race. You have to burn down the enemy before they down you. This will not always work in your favor. Having Mako out, while causing you to deal less damage, usually means you will successfully kill any group engage. DPS companions are a gamble while Mako is consistent and effective.

As a shieldtech specced powertech, I levelled to 50 pretty much using only Mako. Each time I got a new companion, I'd try them out, and realize how inefficient they were for levelling, and how bad they were for taking on elites.

 

I can take on 50k+ hp elites at level 50 and barely lose any health during the fight when using mako. With any other companion, I'm lucky to be able to even finish the fight alive. I even tried to go with a pyrotech/advanced prototypes damage setup once in the mid 40's, and tried out gault, blizz, and torian to see if it improved my levelling speed any - it didnt. I ended up spending more time healing up or rezzing my companions than fighting, and I wasnt able to take on the tough elites anymore.

 

Despite how much I love Blizz, or how cool Torian's mandalorian setup is (it was cool having a mandalorian duo tearing things up), Mako is the only companion I can efficiently operate with.

 

 

That's my experience exactly as a full ST PT. My Mako is a beast in full pvp gear, orange pistol, plus her heals. I'm only 45 but I have yet been able to make any other companion outperform her. I think the other companions may need a DPS boost or something else to make them useful to a PT. Since low levels I can solo a champion mob my level or lower no problem with Mako, doing a same level gold with anyone else seems quite a challenge. Personally I would really like the other companions to be viable, especially Blizz or Skadge.

 

Note I am on a PVP server. The other companions would need to be a lot better to outweigh Mako's heals and CC IMO.

I'm leveling as a hybrid mercenary, with just enough points in arsenal for tracer spam. The rest of my points are in the bodyguard tree. Lvl 45 atm in Belsavis.

 

I've leveled with Mako up until Torian joined the crew. I've used Gault before that, but at that time I still did way more DPS than him to really notice his presence. I quickly replaced him back by Mako.

The time Torian joined my crew, I had alot of points in the bodyguard tree and I noticed that elite mobs were getting harder and harder to do with Mako. Definitely possible, but with a dull and time consuming fight, requiring me to use all cooldowns.

So I tried Torian out, and found out that he suited my playstyle. For elite mobs, I give him kolto shell, make sure that I already have 30 charges on my combat support cylinder (for super charged gas) and then I just charge in. I dps mostly and heal when needed.

When sticking strictly to healing, I can take on elites that are a couple of levels above me. (no chaff flare needed, since torian does way more dps than I heal)

 

I'm now at level 45, and still happy about torian. Since Mako's affection is almost maxed out, I primarily use her for missions. Blizz was fun too, but the fights take a lot longer.

Reading all comments here, I'm going to try out Gault again. If he really does better dps, I'm sticking with him till 50. I'll first gear him up ofc...

 

TLDR;

Every companion is usefull, depending on your playstyle. If you're purely arsenal specced, maco is usefull. If your hybrid like me, you'll be able to try different tactics. There's no sure proof win companion.

As a tank I use torian all the time. He's equally geared to me, more or less, so not only can he take a beating, but he's also killing much faster than me. The only time I use Mako is when I'm doing 4 player heroic missions with only 1 other human player - it's quiet possible with two companion healers a tank and a dps.

As long as you toggle off auto-cast of Mako's stun, she's the way to go imo. The one thing that makes her tedious atm is the fact that the toggle resets everytime you enter a new instance, use the speeder... Once this bug is fixed it'll be nice and fun.

 

Dunno who designed that stun, it just breaks her "rotation" in some awkward way.

I leveled as a hybrid healer. I used Gault as soon as I got him and later Skadge. I used Blizz for a while but he doesn't like my decisions

Im pimping out those who use heavy armor gear with aim because i get a lot of that being BH. That means Torian and Blizz, havent tried out Skedge much tho. They use my own stuff when i get something better, and they are good at tanking, especially Blizz. But im healer merc. So i dont really need Mako in fights unless its pvp. I shoot at enemy and heal companion and Blizz aggro is insane. He got 3 times the amount of threat skills as a juggernaut, which is kinda stupid anyway. Edited January 17, 2012 by LinsesPreia

Im a hybrid merc (bodyguard/tracer) spec, and with mako i can solo champions at lvl50.

 

Can you do that with any other companion? Even with good gear, my tank companions die too fast - i tank waaay better than they do.

Edited January 17, 2012 by MajinMLF

Mako is useful? News to me. She's either too busy channeling electroshock or shooting my target while I'm dying. I hate her with a burning passion.

 

I've been using Torian consistently for everything and never looked back.

 

as others have said turn those abilities off.

 

as a PT shield tank, Mako is your minion of choice. I have no issue taking on an equal level champion. Sure it takes a while, but with Mako I have almost no downtime, if I use the DPS pets I cannot take on a champion. Though as a tank it is possible to "ping-pong" mobs with Blizz with you and him alternating taunts at maximum distance from each other.

 

My issue with the BH storyline is that you don't get tanking minions (Torian, Blizz) untill way later; on the SI your first companion is a tank, makes it easy to go healer/dps.

I am bodyguard spec'd and I haven't used Mako once since I got Gault. Now, at 47, I switch between Torian and Skadge. If the mobs are going to be more difficult, I use Skadge. If I know I can breeze through them, I use Torian. I rarely have to use anything other than Kolto Shell or Kolto Missile to keep them up. This also allows me to lay down my mediocre DPS. If something goes wrong, like a patrol joining the fight, throwing out an Emergency Scan every once in a while keeps us up.

 

Myself, Torian, and Skadge are also exceptionally geared (Don't think I have used a green item since lower 20's). I am one of those people that always has to have the best of the best gear and mods, even if I know I will out level them in a couple levels. Just my play style. Bc of this, Torian and Skadge are in full Orange/Purple sets at 47. They tear through things ridiculously fast. The gear is what really makes the difference. There is another Merc in my guild that is also 47 and he sports mediocre gear and is well under 2k hit points from me, Torian, or Skadge.

I really don't understand why people have so much trouble with Mako or her CC ability.

 

I made great use of it while leveling, I felt no need to turn it off at all, I just made sure she was targeted on the mobs I wanted her to CC and attack when going through her rotation and not in the middle of healing me.

Mako's CC ability is awsome when fighting many elites/champs. It gives you enought time to kill one of them, then focus on the other. Maybe blizz is the only one good besides mako for arsenal, since you always outaggro the others.

good god no. I ditched her for gault, then torian.

 

My Torian now has 2 pieces of rakata gear and is pimped out in purples from hard modes...he's beast.

 

Oh, I'm arsenal specced. I have run with a DPS companion the entire time. Mako was only for the toughest bosses, until I got blizz to be a sacrifice while i nuked them down to about 25%.

 

Killing is so much faster with a DPS pet, so the heals aren't as necessary.

 

I also like Torian for PvP in open world. He cuts through all the staple healer companion in seconds and then its 2 on 1 in no time. I am Merc Pyro. You would think I would use a Tank or Healer. On occasion I use Blizz (he has better aggro imo) for PvE.

I play a PT in tank spec, so I only use Mako for Heroic places I am trying to solo.

 

Every other circumstance, I find Gault or Torian better. Honestly Torian shreds it up in melee with me, and I am starting to use him more than Gault. I haven't messed around with the other two really yet.

 

I mainly just play with the companion that I want to work on affection for, they are each good for different things IMO.

I'm a Mako man myself, given that I levelled as tank.

 

Though these days when I grind dailies I usually take either Torian or Gault, only bring out Mako if I need a healer. Probably because I'm geared well enough to stop worry about dying to a same level elite now.

 

Between Gault and Torian I prefer Gault, even though Torian is better geared with my hand-me-downs, he takes too much damage from random AEs.

I switched to Torian at ~ lvl 40 (I'm full arsenal spec). Thought the lack of heals would be a huge problem, but its been working out ok. For tougher mobs I just go balls to the wall DPS, draw aggro, and when my life gets low I heal myself while Torian finishes the kill. Having to recharge after basically every fight is a bit tedious though.

When specd healer I use Blizz, or Skadge in guardian stance.

 

When DPS spec I mostly use Mako. Blizz or Torian in DPS mode work too...

 

I haven't really used Gault as much as I'd like...

Gault doesn't seem to engage quickly enough for me.

 

I start out a pull of a few mobs with Death From Above and during the whole time he just sits there and does nothing. Sure, I could send him in first, but seriously a companion should be keyed into what you are doing. If I'm attacking something, so should he.

 

This is something that a macro would fix, since companions don't attack unless you've unleashed a *targeted* attack or something attacks you. A combined command for your pet to attack and the activation of the DFA circle. Just mouse target whatever you want the companion to hit first, click the macro and then one final mouse press for DFA to go off since your mouse is already hovering over the right spot.

 

As it is, I send in Torian first since he's a melee and then DFA the pack when they collapse in around him.