Hello all

 

I recently returned to SWTOR after a (very) long break and am looking for advice on which healer to play. I used to play a Sorc healer but never really got into progression raiding or any other form of competitive play.

 

I already have a Sorc, Operative and Merc but can't really decide which one to level to 55 and start healing (on a more serious level) with.

 

Since I have fairly limited time and also don't enjoy leveling that much I'd rather choose the "best" of the three from the beginning so I don't waste time on a sub-par class.

 

Since I'm aware that there is likely no outright "best" healer, here are the aspects that are particularly important to me when it comes to choosing a healer:

 

- I find the user interface of SWTOR one of the worst I've ever seen in an MMO so this really puts me off playing any healing class that is overly dependent on tracking buffs/HoTs (or DoTs when it comes to DPSing). This sort of puts me off the Operative. As far as I could tell you can't even track your HoTs properly on the raid frames so I see little point in playing that class. Or am I wrong? Is there perhaps some way to configure the UI so it's not utterly terrible (ie. display only my own HoTs on the raid frames and/or some way to filter what buffs/debuffs are displayed etc.)?

 

- DPS in healing spec is somewhat important to me. I'd enjoy playing a class that can at least deal some DPS (in healing spec) during those times when little or no healing is required. I'm not overly fond of melee DPS so I'd generally prefer being able to deal ranged DPS in healing spec (unless it's generally not viable and melee is the only way to go..?).

 

- I'd like a class with strong options for DPS specs. Again, I'd prefer being ranged over melee (unless the difference is hugely in favor of melee..?).

 

- I want a healing class that is considered strong for progression raiding and if possible also viable in high-end PVP (though my focus is primarily on PVE).

 

So what do you guys think would be the best healing class for me?

 

So far (after limited play-testing) I've been enjoying the Sorc the most - mainly due to the resource management which allows me to pump out loads of healing and burn my resources quickly when needed and regenerate during less intense phases. This was the main thing that disturbed me when playing my Operative (besides the UI from early WOW betas) - my energy was so limited that I basically had to stick to my "rotation" so I didn't over-extend my resources and end up resource-starved. This gave me the feeling that I can't really react that well to changing situations. I really enjoyed the flexibility of the Sorc in that regard. I had the same resource-issues with the merc (but this is the class I have least practice with so I'm not sure how bad that issue really is).

 

So how viable is the Sorc as a healer? In high-end PVE? In high-end PVP? How good is the Sorcs DPS in healer spec compared to the other healers? How good is the Sorc as a DPS class compared to other classes that can heal?

 

Any advice on which healer class to roll would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Cheers

Gaalon

Edited June 12, 2014 by gaalon

I don't know how far you've leveled any of them, but operatives have (IMO) the easiest resource management out of all the healers. Hot tracking can be a bit of a pain in the ***, particularly when you have another operative healing with you, but with one of the tablets it becomes cheap enough that if you do waste a gcd refreshing one that didn't need it, it's not going to burn you out. If you die and need to be rezzed too, it's normally not as awful getting your energy back up as with a sage for instance.

 

Operatives are also very mobile which is great in pvp environments and certain boss fights. They are also very reactionary, and you don't find yourself waiting on many cooldowns which I find makes them a lot more flexible than the commando, or sage.

 

That said if you want to DPS any you'll probably have to be in melee range and behind the target if possible. Furthermore, while they can be great aoe/raid healers, it does require quite a bit of setup which means that fight knowledge helps a lot, and it can be hard to pull off if a lot of spike damage is going oh at the same time.

 

Sorcs are great and their aoe abilities require a lot less set up compared to an operative. That said running two sages might be challenging in certain situations. Bubbles can't stack for one, and you have to wait for the debuff to fall off to use it again on the same target. This is one of the only things you can do on the go.

 

I agree. The energy management is really fun. ^^ Some fights where you might be taking an unusual amount of damage it can be very challenging to get it back up though, and I find with a so you are much more dependent on everyone else in the group doing their job for you to be able to do your job.

 

The commando is great a ton of fun. I really appreciate the group wide armor and healing buff that you can provide with this one, and in a fight with a ton of aoe/movement, trauma probe is king. I've even seen commandos pull agro in the first few moments of a fight due to trauma probe. xD

I don't have much first hand knowledge of this, but I have been told that running two commandos can have them sync up their abilities due to a fairly rigid rotation. I don't know if this has changed much though.

 

 

I main scoundrel, and they are by far my favorite healing class so I'm a little biased towards them. I have a commando as well, which I use mainly for pvp, and the occasional story mode or guild run hard mode. I'm least experience with the sorc, although I'm normally paired with one for progression. Almost all of my experience with them comes from either other players, PVP or flashpoints.

 

I think all of the classes have a lot of good points and negative points. Some boss fights will favor one class over another but they're all capable of contributing to and completing content.

I share your antipathy for Operative healing for PVE in light of the limitations of SWTOR's UI. It's DPS options are melee, too, so you're preferences eliminate Operative.

 

A Mercenary healer is better for off-DPS than a Sorcerer healer. The primary reason is that a Sorcerer's attacks whittle away GCDs and Force precisely during the periods of light incoming damage when you must use Consumption to replenish it.

 

For high-end PVE:

 

• Like for an Operative, resource manage is short-term for a Mercenary. Unlike for an Operative, this isn't a material drawback, because Supercharged Gas allows for incredible burst.
  
• A Mercenary healer has higher output than a Sorcerer healer. A Mercenary is a better tank healer. A Mercenary is a better and more versatile raid healer, too, because Revivification is useless in too many circumstances in DF and DP. An excellent Sorcerer can't match a competent Mercenary (or Operative) when the raid is spread out or always moving, such as for Draxus or Tyrans on Nightmare Mode.
  

 

 

For high-end PVP, a Mercenary healer is better for Arenas than a Sorcerer healer. For unranked warzones, I favor a Sorcerer, but the difference is small.

Edited June 14, 2014 by Orderken

Thanks for the advice!!

Are mercs better ranged dps than madness sorcs now?

A down and dirty version:

 

My main is a commando healer and yes, it can be fun to use in raids, but I gave up pvp healing with it, since it's an easy class to shutdown and people know this, so they love killing mandos.

 

The Op is the best all around class imo. While I had to very watchful of my energy with my commando, I never really went below 75% energy on my op. It tends to focus more on HoT healing. Also great for pvp, since you have a lot of mobility and can heal on the fly. And being able to stealth as a healer is never a bad thing.

 

Just started getting into the Sorc, but after toying around a bit in both pvp and pve, I can't wait to really get this class rolling. You have a variety of heals (channel, HoTs, etc.) and you can beat the large healing AoE pool.

so i should level my sorc or op and dps an heals and level my pt as straightup dps

I find the Operative quite decent from a healing point of view but dealing damage in heal spec (in PVE) is simply terrible as Operative... the class just seem to be all over the place... so far I haven't found a decent rotation for melee or midrange (not to mention long range). It just ends up this wild spamming of mediocre abilities... on the other hand my sorc healer has a very clean and nice little rotation to deal DPS in PVE (for example during leveling).

 

What I'd absolutely love would be to have the DPS-option of the sorc healer and the healing tool set of the Operative healer.

 

What's sort of putting me off the merc is the clunky healing mechanic - the energy management is quite a pain and being forced to use ground-targeted spells (kolto missile) as part of my healing rotation is also a huge pain in the arse... I'm used to having a proper healing UI where I can use my mouse-over macros (thank god for gaming hardware) and being forced to constantly move my vision from the raid frames and search for the people i want to heal with kolto missile is just clunky. i do find the healing-output of the merc quite impressive though...

 

can anyone give me a hand with the DPS-rotation for an operative healer (for solo-play and leveling)? i just seem to have sooo many abilities that are all really terrible and i'm left with a totally ineffective DPS-rotation for every range... simply no comparison to the DPS-tools of a sorc healer (at least for solo).

I find the Operative quite decent from a healing point of view but dealing damage in heal spec (in PVE) is simply terrible as Operative... the class just seem to be all over the place... so far I haven't found a decent rotation for melee or midrange (not to mention long range). It just ends up this wild spamming of mediocre abilities... on the other hand my sorc healer has a very clean and nice little rotation to deal DPS in PVE (for example during leveling).

 

What I'd absolutely love would be to have the DPS-option of the sorc healer and the healing tool set of the Operative healer.

 

What's sort of putting me off the merc is the clunky healing mechanic - the energy management is quite a pain and being forced to use ground-targeted spells (kolto missile) as part of my healing rotation is also a huge pain in the arse... I'm used to having a proper healing UI where I can use my mouse-over macros (thank god for gaming hardware) and being forced to constantly move my vision from the raid frames and search for the people i want to heal with kolto missile is just clunky. i do find the healing-output of the merc quite impressive though...

 

can anyone give me a hand with the DPS-rotation for an operative healer (for solo-play and leveling)? i just seem to have sooo many abilities that are all really terrible and i'm left with a totally ineffective DPS-rotation for every range... simply no comparison to the DPS-tools of a sorc healer (at least for solo).

 

Double-click button and groundtarget is issue no longer

You can buy the field respec and level in other in other trees rather than suffering through the low damage of the heal tree. The field respec would then allow you to switch back over to healing for flashpoints or pvp. If you dont have access to that, I would just respec at the fleet and stick with damage for leveling. Its very fun to do healing while leveling unless you have a very well geared companion. If you are subscribed, the respecs are free.

I play a commando (Which is the republic version of a merc), and I do a lot of pvp with my guildies.

I went a while as healing specced, and i thought they were quite viable as healers, and they can do a substantial amount of damage when they don't need to be throwing heals.

I can't really speak for raiding because i have not done any, but commandos also are good in flashpoints, imo:rak_03: