From a solo PVE standpoint:

If I use DPS things die faster, but I'm in danger of dying and have downtime after each fight to regain health. This negates the reduced encounter duration.

If I use a Tank they're amazingly squishy and don't do enough DPS to end encounters quickly enough to not require healing mid-fight. So I end up having to heal them and the encounter takes longer than if I just use a Healer.

I guess we're supposed to be able to offset our specialization with a companion. For example, I think the design intent is to use a DPS or Tank if you're a Healer. Or use a Tank if you're DPS, or whatever. But, it's far more efficient to just specialize in DPS and bring a Healer. Things die reasonably fast, and you have almost no downtime making your overall efficiency much higher than any other combination I've tried.

Am I wrong? Is there something I'm missing in terms of tactics or mindset or whatever? Help me out!

As a Jedi Guardian tank, I leveled from 14 (when I got her) to 50 with Kira as I disliked Doc and the other companions didn't mesh with my play-style nor my story. I had ZERO issues with any content. Keep in mind that I was a few levels higher for each planet (I do EVERY mission, heroic, space dailies, little PvP, all Flashpoints, etc). We mowed through the mobs, she would often "off-tank" for me as needed... it was great! She is still my primary companion. Every once in awhile I'll pull out Doc but in general it is Kira all the way. Being a Biochem with reusable medpacs helps.

My Vanguard tank uses Elara as a healer and they pair well, but I can easily swap out Jorgan and still kill stuff.

My Sage dps prefers to use Qyzen or Nadia with similar, or the same, results as the above.

In general I think you either have a gear issue, a tactical issue (and it could be... ability, not using stims/meds, cc, etc), or you are underleveled. I dunno...

It's largely a matter of gear on the part of both yourself and your companion. The safe bet is..

Tank + Healer Companion.

DPS + Tank Companion.

Healer + Tank Companion.

Tank, healer and healer, tank can be more ambitious in the type of mobs or size of the groups they pull. DPS, tank combo needs to be able to burn down what ever you pull before your tank dies.

I've always wished for solo only pve content I could roll around with two companions out. It would add more flavor to the solo content and I'm talking purely 50+ content. I don't mean being level 20 rolling with two people. Content isn't geared towards that. But from the level cap raise and new planet etc. I'd like to see companions take a new step forward as well.

Being a Gunny Commando, I'd love to run around with my decked out Dorne and Jorgan!

For me, Being a avid daily guru, It get's boring soloing the SAME content everyday and slow! Yes I can group but sometimes the people are slower then me! Where as with my companions, They all over 21K+ health and they follow me around.

Not everyone only uses the healer. I used a DPS when I could used a tank. It's all about personal preference. My question is, why feel the need to make a thread about the type of companion you use?

Because it's a topic I think people like to discuss? By telling people what companion I use it automatically prompts them to talk about which one they use. And, just in case that was too subtle I even asked for feedback.

Anyway...

I should clarify that I'm on level for each planet using mostly orange and blue gear. I use either Elara or Aric, both of which are using my hand me downs so they're one 'tier' lower than what I'm wearing. So in other words they're fairly well geared.

In general I find it easier and more efficient to just use Elara while I'm specced for DPS.

I just got 4X and he's pretty wimpy as a tank. Maybe he gets better once he's geared? I mean how long does that take is there a certain point in the play through where I can expect him to hit a 'turning point' and stop sucking?

At this point given the choice between Aric and Elara I find it much easier to use Elara. It's also important to note I hate micromanaging pets so I don't command my companions to attack or use abilities I just leave them on 'autopilot'.

If you're all getting good performance from your companions via micromanagement that's something that should be mentioned. I personally hate doing it because it turns every class into a pet class.

So for my no micromanaging DPS play style I find Elara the best fit for now.

Legacy level 42 and with the exception of two encounters (severly underleveled alts facing bosses in story) I've used nothing but a dps companion. All my chars are dps. There's really no need for a dps to bring a heal/tank pet as long as you are on level with the content. They will only slow down the pace. With presence legacy unlocks I'm now at a point where I can send a dps to single handedly fight a lvl 50 elite while I'm doing something els.

What is your down time like in between fights? Do you have to stop and use the regen skill often? How do you play - do you manually command your companion or just leave it on autopilot. Do you use any CC?

My Kaliyo is a beast with 22k health and huge shield and absorb ratings. I can solo any heroic 2 with her, and I'm DPS.

Once they are stupidly overgeared for solo PvE like this (and assuming you have 500+ presence from legacy +buffs), then the tank companions can work very well. If there was a "/pet hunt" command in this game, Qyzen could basically run my dailies for me on his own at this point, now that he is in mostly Columi and sporting similar huge HP and shield / absorb ratings.

That said, if you are a DPS spec, you will have a tough time while leveling if you use anything other than the heal companions. It can be done; I know because I did it on my DPS shadow using nothing but Qyzen right up to the end. But honestly, if you just want leveling to be easy, you are far, far better off going heal spec with a tank pet or tank spec with a heal pet. It might seem slower at first, but overall you will clear things quicker, with no downtime, no wipes, and no roadblocks; and you won't have to hesitate or take any do-overs on the odd stupidly hard encounter.

The bottom line is that the tank pets work marvelously when backed up by a heal spec player keeping them alive, but without the heals, they are far too weak to "tank" anything. Compared with the DPS pets, they're somehwat pointless, because in most cases it's just as easy for a healer to keep the DPS pet alive, and the DPS will kill stuff for you quicker. The only place they really stand out is when massively overgeared, they can survive fights on their own when you're playing a DPS spec beside them, where the DPS pet will die without any support.

The heal pets on the other hand are mostly very good, which is typical of NPC healers with reasonably good AI in most games. They will keep a tank spec player alive better than 80% of player healers when well geared, and are good enough for most purposes even when neglected.

I just leveled a guardian, focus specd, and used t7-01 all the way to 50. he took all the aggro and most of the damage so my down time was me slight heal while i mount and dismount to get him back to health immediately. What I used for my toons:

DPS Gunslinger: Bowdarr

DPS Sage: Fess

DPS Guardian: T7-01

DPS Commando: Elara (Jorg on dailes to go faster)

Basically DPS with melee tank companions I think is the best and they can be healed almost instantly which limits downtime. My commando I went far right tree and needed my healer as I did not like playing with the other companions, but prolly would choose his tank companion when I do my Vanguard. I do like the:

DPS > tank companion

Tank (dps spec) > tank companion

Tank (tank spec) > healer companion

Healer > dps companion

I don't always use the healer.

I tend to roll with DPS on my tanks, and healers on my DPSers. Don't have any healers yet, but I'd likely use dps companions for those, or tank companions...depends on how aggro works out.

What is your down time like in between fights? Do you have to stop and use the regen skill often? How do you play - do you manually command your companion or just leave it on autopilot. Do you use any CC?

On my main, dps sorc in BH gear, there's pretty much no down time on solo content. I will jump from mob to mob and the health will regen while I'm scooting to the next daily. I will solo the +2 heroic dailies if I can't find someone to do them with. Since I don't have camo I actually have to fight everyone on the way so encounters like that require CC and some regen time. I'm always using Ashara.

I use a DPS companion, typically Ashara but I switch to Andronikos whenever I get to something that cleaves. Ashara's in full Columi though, with Andronikos in a mix of Tionese and Columi. I use them to solo the H2/H4 missions, with the exception of Torvix.

The only time I switch to the healing companion is on the champ mobs for Torvix [H4 daily on Corellia]. The groups of mobs at the end before the boss make it so I can't keep Dark ward up, so if I happen to get some lag he keeps me alive through it.

Am I wrong? Is there something I'm missing in terms of tactics or mindset or whatever? Help me out!

You're not wrong. The only viable and efficient companion for the DPS character is the healer.

So... Bioware is wrong here.

Yes you are wrong, but thats ok

Its a matter of opinion anyway you turn it. I used a DPS companion on my sentinel, which made things difficult but fun. Im sure it wasnt the optimal choice though.

On my sniper I use a tank. As a sniper I am very squishy though have a lot of AoE attacks. So I want the mobs to be concentrated yet not hitting me, since I die too quickly. Works like a charm.

On my tank I use a DPS. Some argue that a healer gives you less downtime, but a DPS deals a lot more damage than a healer, so the fact that you kill faster probably makes up for the downtime.

On my consular I use a tank. As a stealth consular I want to be behind the target as much as possible, which is a hell of a lot easier with a tank companion. Especially with elites it is much better to have a tank because thats pretty much the only way to use your most powerful ability multiple times in one battle (in the beginning at least).

As a Jedi Guardian tank, I leveled from 14 (when I got her) to 50 with Kira as I disliked Doc and the other companions didn't mesh with my play-style nor my story. I had ZERO issues with any content. Keep in mind that I was a few levels higher for each planet (I do EVERY mission, heroic, space dailies, little PvP, all Flashpoints, etc). We mowed through the mobs, she would often "off-tank" for me as needed... it was great! She is still my primary companion. Every once in awhile I'll pull out Doc but in general it is Kira all the way. Being a Biochem with reusable medpacs helps.

 

My Vanguard tank uses Elara as a healer and they pair well, but I can easily swap out Jorgan and still kill stuff.

 

My Sage dps prefers to use Qyzen or Nadia with similar, or the same, results as the above.

 

In general I think you either have a gear issue, a tactical issue (and it could be... ability, not using stims/meds, cc, etc), or you are underleveled. I dunno...

This works because you are a tank. If you are dps then there are many parts of the game (see almost all of it) where you must take a healer.

Companion tanks die way too fast. They aren't effective until they have BH or campaign gear, which is ridiculous.

[quote=Arkerus;4863351

Companion tanks die way too fast. They aren't effective until they have BH or campaign gear, which is ridiculous.

I'd disagree with that. While leveling to 50 (and I have six of them now) I almost always used the tank companions. If you have a cybertech or cybertech alt, gearing them while leveling is a breeze. If you don't keep their gear absolutely up to date, though, yeah. You're better off with something else.

This works because you are a tank. If you are dps then there are many parts of the game (see almost all of it) where you must take a healer.

 

Companion tanks die way too fast. They aren't effective until they have BH or campaign gear, which is ridiculous.

I use Xalek for my Belsavis dailies and mow through them on my Sorc. It goes faster because I can just chain pull my way through everything and stop Force Storming everything down to heal him up to full every two or three packs. He's in part Columi, and some of his gear is stuff I put on him when I got better pieces for myself.

I rarely had to rez Khem. It was close sometimes, but unless an add joined in we were fine for most fights incl the story ones. I DID switch to Talos for the final fight, but that was all.

EDIT: Now, he's not a great tank or even a good one, but he did the job.

I'm currently a gunnery commando and I find myself using a mix of Yuun (DPS) and Tanno Vik (Tank) for solo PvE. In a PvE group if I have a companion out it is usually Elara Dorne (Healer).

I like Yuun as a character I just wish I could give him something besides that damn electrostaff.

As a Jedi Guardian tank, I leveled from 14 (when I got her) to 50 with Kira as I disliked Doc and the other companions didn't mesh with my play-style nor my story. I had ZERO issues with any content. Keep in mind that I was a few levels higher for each planet (I do EVERY mission, heroic, space dailies, little PvP, all Flashpoints, etc). We mowed through the mobs, she would often "off-tank" for me as needed... it was great! She is still my primary companion. Every once in awhile I'll pull out Doc but in general it is Kira all the way. Being a Biochem with reusable medpacs helps.

Same, except I was Guardian DPS (Vigilance tree, Shien user) using Sentinel mods on Heavy Armour.

We basically destroyed everything, just had to control the HP pools,i mean, make Kira hold the aggro for the first half of the fight, then use Challenging Call/Taunt. Sometimes pull an Enure.

With the tanking CDs and natural bulkiness of the class + the heavy armour, it wasn't quite difficult.

Though I assure you I had a BAD time with my Sorcerer, my first 50. He was specced as DPS and I liked the idea of having a Force-user companion, so I used Ashara til Xalek. Keep in mind Sorcerers are ultra squishy and so is Ashara. Geared in greens, having to pull off A LOT of emergency heals and medpacs . Also I was on verge of not being able to roll the planet, which means constantly 4 levels underleved. By the end of Voss, I had to WZ a bit as I got 5 levels underleveled and wasn't even hitting stuff Even when I caught up to 4 lvls I died a bloody LOT to those elites in the class quest in Voss.

Good times though.