Hey folks,

 

I'm looking for a little help getting my spec done for pvp healing with my Merc. I've read some posts on the forums but most of them seem to be from pre-1.2. Not sure how much has changed since then, but I figured I should try and get the most relevant data possible.

 

This is what I'm looking at right now:

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRoodsdzqZrcoM.2

 

Does this look even slightly viable, or did I pick some bad ones?

 

Also, if anyone wants to share some tips for WZ healing, you'd be awesome!

 

Oh, and please be constructive, I've read all over the forums that the Merc class is in a bad place PvP wise right now, I'm just trying to do the best that I can with this guy. I promise, I won't try and take him into any ranked warzones

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRzRds0kqZbcoMZb.2

 

this is what i use and have proven to be most useful for me and have the most output without losing survivability.

i run with aprox 850 power 42% crit fully buffed, 76% surge with companion buff and 10% alacrity.

 

i run ranked daily and i can out heal sorcs and have more survivability. opps fully geared ones who can play i struggle to even keep up with but again we are much harder to kill and can put out a fair amount of dps. around 100k damage each wz where they usually get 30 40k

Edited August 31, 2012 by geftra

Hey There!

 

I spent a good chunk of time just yesterday trying to tweak my Bodyguard Merc so I'd love to pass on what I've learned.

 

Basically, Bodyguard Merc's can spec one of two ways: Heals or Survival

 

Personally, I WZ a lot, so for me Survival is of the utmost importance.

 

This is the spec I use: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300bfRRRdfdkqZMco.2

 

I guess what I'll do first is go over some of the key talents that I've chosen, and explain why, and then I'll talk a little about my playing style.

 

TALENTS

 

NO IMPROVED VENTING

I know I'm going to get some Flak for ignoring this talent, but honestly, I rarely need to vent heat, so why waste 2 points in it, when you can put one in Heat Damping to make your Electro Dart, Jet Boost and Concussion Missile all free. Seems pointless to me.

 

HEAT DAMPENING

I overlooked this talent to begin with because I didnt realize that the three skills it reduces heat for are actually free to cast with this talent in place. Super useful....

 

POWER SHIELD

Necessary for survival. If you save your power shield and your escape move (forget the name) for a critical moment, you will almost never die in a WZ. Next talent listed below is crucial with this one.

 

PROTECTIVE FIELD

This gives you a 20% boost to healing yourself when you have your power shield on. Now like i said before, if your save this until a critical moment, you can pretty much get yourself back up to full health every time. That's super frustrating for a DPS to beat on you for ages, while you group heal allies with Kolto, and then have you pop Power Shield and heal back to full. Wasted a lot of their time and energy. Good practice and timing will lead you to never dying in a WZ, and thats my favorite thing to do

 

SUPERCHARGED GAS

This seems obvious, but have you actually read what it does for you? It's incredible! Here I posted it below:

 

 

Pay close attention to Healing Scan. It's reduced by 100%, meaning you can cast it over and over again. Assuming you also have the Critical Efficiency talent, you can then bounce back and forth between Healing Scan and Rapid scan when Supercharged Gas is active. You'll almost never fail in keeping someone alive when rotating between those two, throwing in the odd Kolto Missile to increase healing efficiency.

 

CURE MIND

I use this one on the move all the time. It's great to land a quick instant heal (something that Mercs lack in), and cure's the odd debuff, which can be super helpful.

 

PROACTIVE MEDICINE & REACTIVE ARMOR

The 10% bonus in armor boost is incredible. 10% is a huge chunk to add on, especially if you're healing a Juggernaut, or even yourself, considering you're a heavy armor class.

 

I think the rest of the choices I made in my build are pretty self-explanatory.

 

PLAYING STYLE

 

So as I mentioned before, I tend to enjoy surviving the most. I mean, it seriously annoys me to DPS someone only to have them heal to full in the matter of seconds.

 

To start, remember to always be shooting your allies with your basic attack so you build charges for your Supercharged Gas Cylinder. It's super helpful to always have it, because once you pop it, you aren't going to die.

 

My rotation usually goes as follows:

 

- Kolto Missile as I approach my allies

- Emergency Scan, to quickly give someone a boost of healing, and get it's cooldown tickin' so I can use it again

- Healing Scan, to make Rapid Scan cost less

- Rapid Scan, since Healing Scan's cooldown isn't up yet

- Cure Mind, to remove any debuffs and give a quick heal

- Supercharge Gas Cylinder, if I need to, I'll pop this

- Healing Scan -> Rapid Scan -> Healing Scan -> Rapid Scan, if you see someone dying, this will save them

 

and then I rotate back to my beginning Kolto Missile to make sure all my future heals are an extra 5% stronger

 

Throughout all that, you'll learn to continuously shoot people with Rapid Fire to build back your chargers. Think of it as a constant Heal over Time. Oh, also always have the WZ Med Packs on you. They only cost 10 WZ point, and heal you something like 20% or something? It's saved me more times than I can remember. (as a side-note, I just rebound my WZ Medpacks to the Z key, and now I can get them off RIGHT before I die )

 

That's all I got! Fire off any questions and I'll do my best to answer!

 

Peace.

nice written post there but one thing that i see in merc healing talents that i hate is 2 points in critical reaction, with the 6 second buff on it the two points is a waste just try to use your kolto missile on cd not to mention your casting crits and it will always keep that 5% up with only 1 point in there and you could move one point into the improved venting or somewhere you would get extra use out of a point Edited August 31, 2012 by geftra

Wow, thanks much Geftra and Farseen. I've already got the whole Rapid Shots + Supercharged Gas thing going. I especially enjoy it now that I know it makes Kolto Missle give a small shield. Not much, but better than nothing right?

 

The only question I have is on the Kolto Residue skill. I've read a few posts where people say to skip it because the 3% healing that's sometimes active isn't worth it compared to the always active Integrated Systems or Custom Enivro Suit, or the small dps boost from Muzzle Fluting. In your experience, is it worthwhile to pick it up instead of one of those talents?

 

Thanks again for the great feedback!

nice written post there but one thing that i see in merc healing talents that i hate is 2 points in critical reaction, with the 6 second buff on it the two points is a waste just try to use your kolto missile on cd not to mention your casting crits and it will always keep that 5% up with only 1 point in there and you could move one point into the improved venting or somewhere you would get extra use out of a point

 

good call, i'm gunna give that a shot right now. thanks for the advice!

 

also going to look into those other talents mentioned, will report back.

I wouldn't run without kolto residue, aslong as you use it regularly enough it's a benefit to not only you but the other healer your running with. Use the 3% buff on asmany as you can get together help your other healer or with knock backs and cc's and you will make a great combo for any ranked team.

 

My build runs with all the healing % buffs except the 20% on all missiles I did used to have it but moved the points into the alacrity buff and has proven more benificial for me.

I wouldn't run without kolto residue, aslong as you use it regularly enough it's a benefit to not only you but the other healer your running with. Use the 3% buff on asmany as you can get together help your other healer or with knock backs and cc's and you will make a great combo for any ranked team.

 

My build runs with all the healing % buffs except the 20% on all missiles I did used to have it but moved the points into the alacrity buff and has proven more benificial for me.

 

So do you not find Proactive Medicine and/or Reactive Armor to be very useful? They were in most of the builds i've seen, and I know they're fairly handy for PvE.

The armour buff is nice if someone is being focused but the hot is just not enough to help anyone out and I don't want to waste 2 points to get the armour buff every 8 seconds on one person just doesn't seem worth it for me so I moved the talents to the improved venting and Custom enviro suit

 

Also I'm a pvp player only. Spent far to much time doing pve in other games.

Edited September 1, 2012 by geftra

The armour buff is nice if someone is being focused but the hot is just not enough to help anyone out and I don't want to waste 2 points to get the armour buff every 8 seconds on one person just doesn't seem worth it for me so I moved the talents to the improved venting and Custom enviro suit

 

Also I'm a pvp player only. Spent far to much time doing pve in other games.

 

Ah I see. Thanks for explaining it to me, I think I'll be trying your spec (or something similar) once the respec costs reset/go down next week.

 

I have one more question, if anyone is willing. As a Bodyguard Merc, do you have any suggestions for surviving when you're being targeted? I know there's energy shield, jet boost, and electro dart, as well as los tricks when you can pull it off. Anything else you might suggest?

I personally use this- http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRoRdfdkqZrM.2 but I just hit 50, so I'm not sure what would work better

Cure is a must to use when being focused. other then that use the environment around you just don't Los your team to much, call for taunts on the biggest damage dealer and play offensively if it's just the one person attacking you. Fusion missile, electro dart, cc then death from above if you can throw in an unload, rail shot or rocket punch as well using your instants to keep you up make them play defensively and they won't hurt as much.

 

We are the most durable of healers.

I would recomend Getting some v1 or v2 seismic grenades aoe cc that you can use and get a big heal off.

Try to rotate instants between all your rapid scans, this being emergency scan, kolto missile and cure.

I try to use my jet boost and electro dart to get dps off my team mates which saves heat in the long run.

While you have your bubble up cast on others and instants on yourself till their health is safe then cast on your self.

Your tank is equally improtant as yourself and above dps team mates, if you keep you and your tank alive you can usually survive till the dps get back.

But running with a good tank who can switch guard to the person being focused and taunt constantly will help boost your healing as your not burning heat to save people.

Edited September 1, 2012 by geftra

Also, many people seem to forget that we have an ability that removes your next ability's cast time, and another that removes the next ability's heat generation.

Don't think anyone has forgot its just such simple abilitys on a 2 minute cool down which is slightly to long for them to be any real use use the thermal override when you get to about 40 heat to keep it lower for longer and the instant when you need an extra instant heal

Hey There!

 

I spent a good chunk of time just yesterday trying to tweak my Bodyguard Merc so I'd love to pass on what I've learned.

 

Basically, Bodyguard Merc's can spec one of two ways: Heals or Survival

 

Personally, I WZ a lot, so for me Survival is of the utmost importance.

 

This is the spec I use: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300bfRRRdfdkqZMco.2

 

I guess what I'll do first is go over some of the key talents that I've chosen, and explain why, and then I'll talk a little about my playing style.

 

TALENTS

 

NO IMPROVED VENTING

I know I'm going to get some Flak for ignoring this talent, but honestly, I rarely need to vent heat, so why waste 2 points in it, when you can put one in Heat Damping to make your Electro Dart, Jet Boost and Concussion Missile all free. Seems pointless to me.

 

HEAT DAMPENING

I overlooked this talent to begin with because I didnt realize that the three skills it reduces heat for are actually free to cast with this talent in place. Super useful....

 

POWER SHIELD

Necessary for survival. If you save your power shield and your escape move (forget the name) for a critical moment, you will almost never die in a WZ. Next talent listed below is crucial with this one.

 

PROTECTIVE FIELD

This gives you a 20% boost to healing yourself when you have your power shield on. Now like i said before, if your save this until a critical moment, you can pretty much get yourself back up to full health every time. That's super frustrating for a DPS to beat on you for ages, while you group heal allies with Kolto, and then have you pop Power Shield and heal back to full. Wasted a lot of their time and energy. Good practice and timing will lead you to never dying in a WZ, and thats my favorite thing to do

 

SUPERCHARGED GAS

This seems obvious, but have you actually read what it does for you? It's incredible! Here I posted it below:

 

Converts 30 charges of Combat Support Cylinder to supercharge your blasters, venting 8 heat and increasing all damage and healing dealt by 5% for 10 seconds. While active, the following abilities gain Supercharge effects:

Power Shot: Heat cost reduced by 17.

Unload: Heat cost reduced by 8.

Healing Scan: Cooldown reduced by 100%.

Kolto Missile: Places a shield on all targets, reducing damage taken by 5% for 15 seconds.

 

Pay close attention to Healing Scan. It's reduced by 100%, meaning you can cast it over and over again. Assuming you also have the Critical Efficiency talent, you can then bounce back and forth between Healing Scan and Rapid scan when Supercharged Gas is active. You'll almost never fail in keeping someone alive when rotating between those two, throwing in the odd Kolto Missile to increase healing efficiency.

 

CURE MIND

I use this one on the move all the time. It's great to land a quick instant heal (something that Mercs lack in), and cure's the odd debuff, which can be super helpful.

 

PROACTIVE MEDICINE & REACTIVE ARMOR

The 10% bonus in armor boost is incredible. 10% is a huge chunk to add on, especially if you're healing a Juggernaut, or even yourself, considering you're a heavy armor class.

 

I think the rest of the choices I made in my build are pretty self-explanatory.

 

PLAYING STYLE

 

So as I mentioned before, I tend to enjoy surviving the most. I mean, it seriously annoys me to DPS someone only to have them heal to full in the matter of seconds.

 

To start, remember to always be shooting your allies with your basic attack so you build charges for your Supercharged Gas Cylinder. It's super helpful to always have it, because once you pop it, you aren't going to die.

 

My rotation usually goes as follows:

 

- Kolto Missile as I approach my allies

- Emergency Scan, to quickly give someone a boost of healing, and get it's cooldown tickin' so I can use it again

- Healing Scan, to make Rapid Scan cost less

- Rapid Scan, since Healing Scan's cooldown isn't up yet

- Cure Mind, to remove any debuffs and give a quick heal

- Supercharge Gas Cylinder, if I need to, I'll pop this

- Healing Scan -> Rapid Scan -> Healing Scan -> Rapid Scan, if you see someone dying, this will save them

 

and then I rotate back to my beginning Kolto Missile to make sure all my future heals are an extra 5% stronger

 

Throughout all that, you'll learn to continuously shoot people with Rapid Fire to build back your chargers. Think of it as a constant Heal over Time. Oh, also always have the WZ Med Packs on you. They only cost 10 WZ point, and heal you something like 20% or something? It's saved me more times than I can remember. (as a side-note, I just rebound my WZ Medpacks to the Z key, and now I can get them off RIGHT before I die )

 

That's all I got! Fire off any questions and I'll do my best to answer!

 

Peace.

 

I love this write up. I just started leveling my merc bodyguard and I think this will come in handy.

 

Thanks for this and the OP asking.