as the titles suggests i htink gunslingers really get screwed when it comps to companion order. i mean its all well and good scoundrel getting healer companion last as they can heal BUT GUNSLINGERS CANT bowdaar is ok if well geared same with corso but if they die in a tuff fight at least lowe lvls (currently lvl 29) u dont have to much survivability agaisnt 2 mobs or an elite that packs a punch. wot on earth psssed bioware to say they gave companion order a think as to when they need each role the most when sligners really coulda used healer as second companion not a second tanking one

.............. Edited July 6, 2014 by vdeity

well clearly some people are not as hardcore player as u. only reason u posted that imo was to brag that u did that. fyi healer comps are always the best used for dps to get it so late in game with an ac that has no self heals and cant take damage to well its a joke u get it so late in game when other classes get handed there healer comanions before or on balmorra

I just took my gunslinger to 50 and never used Guss, hilarious as he is. Corso is my bro.

 

Why are you pulling two mobs at once? That's just bad tactics.

I think the way my gunslinger got its comps was actually pretty good, and allowed for me to more evenly use them than I did with my trooper or BH (who get their healer very early and never looked back)

 

Corso was fantastic early game with the presence bonus from having maxed my trooper companions affection he killed packs of mobs practically on his own.

 

Bowdar is not awesome functionally wise but he's a freaking Wookie so he gets a pass from me.

 

Akaavi is like a combo of Bowdar and Corso with higher dps, which is great but she's really boring

 

Risha is a DPS machine when you first get her, my TTK when using her was hilariously low

 

Even after I got Guss, I very rarely used him as a Gunslinger, as his chatter pissed me off and cut my TTK way down.

............. Edited July 6, 2014 by vdeity

Yeah, I have to agree that the order is a bit skewed. Why is the order, Tank, (Another) Tank, Damage, (Another) Damage, Healing?

 

Personally, I think the companion order should give you some diversity. The way it's set up now, the second and fourth companion don't give you any more options. Tank, Damage, Healing, for the first three would have been much nicer.

You're not wrong about the order being strange. You don't really need a healer most times though. You can instantly heal up a companion by dismissing and resummoning. Now yes, there are times when a fight is pretty tough and a healer would be nice, but as evident by all the level 50 gunslingers, it can be done. Edited September 8, 2012 by Mordeguy

I got my Smuggler to level 50 without an advanced class.

And I didn't use Guss even after I got him.

 

 

If I can do it as a Smuggler (basically only spamming Charged Shot and Vital on Strong/Elites), then any Gunslinger should be able to do it too.

 

Why? I mean I am seriously asking, as I have seen a number of people do this. A few who have even popped into lvl 50 pvp. Is it fear of commitment or...?

Inquisitors have it slightly worse: We also get our healer on Hoth, but he's not even our last companion: We get our 'ranged tank' in an interlude between Voss and Corillia.

 

Imperial agents are nearly as bad, but they get their healer two planets earlier (if you call Quesh a full planet).

 

If you really need heals, you can gear up your ship droid: It's a PITA to do (since he uses droid parts and can't use a weapon) but he can keep you alive. My Marauder went this route on Balmorra until he got his 'real' healer at the end of that planet (mind you, this was before they improved Warrior leveling back in 1.2 or so).

Corso took my gunslinger all the way to lvl 50. i didn't need/use anyone else. he could take the beating and hold the agro i needed him to, and i did the DPS he needed me to. only started using Guss once i started doing lvl 50 dailies so he could heal heroics my guardian friend and i would duo. plus it got easier to gear him up than it was to gear Corso as Guss just used my hand me downs.

Corso took my gunslinger all the way to lvl 50. i didn't need/use anyone else. he could take the beating and hold the agro i needed him to, and i did the DPS he needed me to. only started using Guss once i started doing lvl 50 dailies so he could heal heroics my guardian friend and i would duo. plus it got easier to gear him up than it was to gear Corso as Guss just used my hand me downs.

 

Eeeeh.... The "tank" companions are kind of a joke. I've found that as a Gunslinger, a healer companion ultimately tanks better than they do, because they can replenish their own health and have access to a CC. Endgame, with Guss I can start combat with a group of enemies (BH district), go get a beer, and come back to find all the enemies dead. Guss can heal the both of us very well, while dishing out a fair amount of damage to boot.

 

Given that tank companions have only marginally better defenses than damage companions, having our first two companions be "tank" companions seems a bit of a waste.

Given that tank companions have only marginally better defenses than damage companions, having our first two companions be "tank" companions seems a bit of a waste.

 

eeeeh, i tried all the companions, and Corso was the beefiest as far as defenses went. Akaavi and Risha were too squishy for my taste. not to mention i was always out DPSing them and pulling all the agro. Bowdaar surprised me with how squishy he was too when i first got him. healer companions only heal well if you gear them well, and as i didn't start gearing Guss until end game, Corso was my best option as he was the only companion i bothered to gear up to that point. i actually did better fighting elites with Corso than i did with Guss pre-end game. but yeah, that's just me.

I really, really, really tried to give my tank companions the best chance of success. I set them up with the best endgame gear I could, making sure they'd have the best possible ability to tank, but I've found they're just a temporary meatshield. While for healer classes it is an entirely different case (the little bit of defensive bonus and aggro grabbing goes long ways if you're looking for something to tank a champion), as a Gunslinger, Corso and Bowdaar are simply slowing down the countdown to destruction. A healer companion can reset the clock. True, a companion can never truly match a player in healing ability, they can at least make a competent stand in. A tank companion conversely loses out on a huge amount of tank buffs.

 

Running two-man CtS (4-man heroic) I've heard a lot of "I've got a good healer companion", but never "I've got a really good tank companion". At endgame, a fantastic tank companion is no match for a great healer companion.

actually, a sawbones friend and i almost duoed CtS with Corso tanking. and none of us were in end game gear. the only time we had trouble was at the final boss. it was hard getting him out of the giant aoe attack. i bet we could do it now though seeing how our gear is much, much better.

 

but you are right. it's usually easier with a human tank and a companion healer. it's also a whole lot easier to find a tank than it is a healer anyways.

I used Corso as a meat shield until I got Guss. I would die every once in a while, but for the most part Corso did an excellent job as a distraction while I either killed the enemy or ran like hell.

Corso was fantastic early game with the presence bonus from having maxed my trooper companions

 

Well, that's one way to do it, but not every Gunslinger is going to have that benefit.

I turned off all the tank taunt skills and leave them visible down left side of screen, then I use them manually to share the damage between corso and my gunslinger. Usually I took all the early aggro, then let corso take over.

 

This allowed me to take corso right through. I noticed that the healing companion is effective but not always the most fun. This also worked for my dps sorc/khem val combination all the way to 50 including storyline bosses.

 

I play 4/4 imp/rep and one of everything, so i try not to use the same type of companion each char..

Edited September 11, 2012 by Elkirin

People crutch on their healing companions too much.

I almost never use mine on any of my characters.

 

The only time I whip 'em out if when I'm soloing a heroic or fighting a Champion.

 

Any other time, a DPS companion serves you way better.

 

 

Some people say, "Derrrrrp, well with healer I haz no downtime between mobs."

 

That may be true. But you spend 50% more time fighting each group of mobs than I do. And it only takes me 2-3 seconds typically to heal up to full.

agreed the only character i use my healer is my knight and just cause i love doc so much.

i use bowdaar on my gunslinger and have never had a problem.

I used Corso up until Risha was available. Used her all the way up to 50 with very little problems.

At level 50, my Columi-geared Risha does 500 dps (if I'm lucky) in the Black Hole, but I do 1500. It helps but not really that much. Corso as a tank only does about 250. I used to think dps companions made a big difference but once I started actually checking the logs I was pretty disappointed.

 

I pretty much just use Guss now because he's funny.

i think DPS companions are more effective if you're a tank or healer. not that they don't help if you're DPS yourself. my slinger always did kill stuff faster with Risha/Akaavi out, but it was never as drastic of a difference as say my guardian using Kira vs Doc. Edited September 13, 2012 by happysister

DPS + DPS is great if you're just doing some run of the mill standard quests. If you're not fighting Elites, double DPS will get you through it fast.

Even on Elite, I'd take Akaavi anytime, and she'd win hands down on any other companions you have.

 

I seriously don't understand the complaining here, you get Corso first, which is easily the 2nd best besides Akaavi. And you get Akaavi as early as Balmorra.

 

Anyone saying they "need" a healer pet are doing it wrong, and they are nerfing their ability to go through content at a decent speed too. Seriously, healer companion didn't help on my Guardian and didn't help on my Slinger. I'm assuming they are no use to a class that can already heal, so I say they are useless mostly. The only healer pet that I put to some use, was Mako, which is great really only because you get her first and you wear plate, so you can go through very hard content early on. I switched her for a DPS as soon as I had one though.

 

In general, I'll use tank pets or healer pets for group quests, when we don't have someone that can fill that role. Otherwise, they are gathering dust on my starship.

 

And I prefer the melee DPS companions over the ranged, but that's a question of taste. And I like the ranged tank over the melee... go figure...

Getting a ranged tank first is a blessing for a gunslinger imo. I love Corso (no ****)'; take cover, tell him to attack, and then open up.... insta-death for anything in the way. I would much rather have a tank than a healer or DPSer as the first gunslinger companion. Edited September 16, 2012 by bahdasz