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[Guide] Sage Healing


Orderken

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This is an in-depth guide for healing Operations (PVE), and a basic guide for healing Warzones (PVP), as a level 55 Sage. It’s current as of SWTOR 2.8.1, and was last updated on July 12.

 

This guide is organized as follows.

 

 

  1. PVE

    1. Skill Points
    2. Rotation
    3. BIS Gear
    4. Playing Like an Expert
    5. Parsing
    6. Tips for Certain Bosses

 

 

[*]PVP

  1. Skill Points
  2. BIS Gear
  3. Basic Advice

 

 

[*]Maximizing Your Performance

  1. Datacrons
  2. Companions
  3. Consumables
  4. User Interface

 

 

[*]Your Abilities in Detail

 

This first post includes Section 1. The second post includes Sections 2-4. This guide is available as a Word document.

 

 

PVE

Skill Points

 

 

For progression, I usually allocate my skill points as follows: 36/7/3.

 

You may reallocate up to two points among the four skills discussed below.

 

 

  1. Mend Wounds improves your cleanse, Restoration.

  2. I recommend this skill for Dread Fortress. With this skill, you can cleanse at least one debuff during four of the five bosses.
  3. This skill is useful in fewer situations for Terror from Beyond, Scum and Villainy, or Dread Palace.

 

 

[*]Jedi Resistance reduces damage taken. I recommend this skill for progression.

  1. A Sage has the least Armor, and unavoidable damage is common in Operations.
  2. This skill is more valuable in 16-man Operations, because many attacks deal substantially higher damage than in 8-man. In fact, a Sage without this skill could’ve been globaled despite perfect play in Nightmare 16-man Kephess the Undying or Olok the Shadow.

 

 

[*]Master Speed increases Force Speed’s duration and causes Force Barrier to finish Force Speed’s cooldown. Though not significant for PVE, a skilled healer can leverage it for the occasional clutch play, and less time moving means more time for casted or channeled abilities. Uses included the following.

  1. For Dash'Roode, to return faster after being lost in a sandstorm.
  2. For Titan 6, to reach a distant rock from the corner to which a DPS ran one of the Huge Grenades.
  3. For Thrasher, to switch between tanks, or to handle Firebug, faster.
  4. For Writhing Horror, to drop the DOT's puddle in a safe location and return faster.
  5. For Kephess the Undying, to catch a tank kiting Kephess while giving Energy Distortions a wide berth.
  6. For Raptus, to be in range of tanks after a challenge for which the healing and tanking doorways are far apart, or to return faster after being ported to the entrance.

 

 

[*]Amnesty reduces by 30% the duration of the Force regeneration debuff from using Noble Sacrifice without Resplendence. It also allows Force Barrier to remove this debuff.

  1. At its best, this skill is training wheels for an inexperienced healer or belt and suspenders for an experienced healer. A healer who benefits from this skill has room to improve his Force management.
  2. At its worst, this skill encourages weak Force management and misuse of Force Barrier.

    Rotation

     

     

    As a healer, you have a unique and demanding job: triage. You must determine an order to heal your allies and a rotation that will prevent deaths. A fight that is challenging to heal tests your ability to make quick, accurate decisions that complement your co-healer’s.

     

    Though no rotation is ideal for every situation, your goal is using Rejuvenate > Healing Trance on cooldown. As a rotation, this is Rejuvenate > Healing Trance > two or three other abilities. Using Healing Trance on cooldown, and having it consume Conveyance, is the key to Force management and, for healing one ally, provides unrivaled HPS (healing per second) and HPF (healing per Force).

     

     

    Guides adequate for the casual player have sprouted like mushrooms. Most recommend one or more poor techniques regarding rotation. I redress these below.

     

     

    1. Though Salvation usually has the largest share of a Sage’s effective healing in an Operation, using it merely because its cooldown is finished is poor technique. To maximize this ability’s, and your total, effective healing, synchronize Salvation with AOE damage. Using it more often wastes time and Force, and using it early wastes its healing, which is slightly front-loaded and requires good positioning.
       
       
    2. Using Conveyance, the buff given by Rejuvenate, for an ability other than Healing Trance is almost always poor technique. For example, using this buff to reduce the cost of Salvation reduces not only the HPS that you can sustain but also your ability to regain Force.
       
       
    3. Treat Salvation and Force Wave as alternatives unless using them back-to-back won’t overheal. If Force Wave is sufficient, use it alone. If Force Wave is insufficient, and Salvation alone will be sufficient over its 10-second duration, use Salvation alone.

     

     

    If you wish to analyze HPS and Force management with rotations, see worksheet “Operation HPS” in my model.

     

    BIS Gear

     

     

    For PVE, this is BIS. See my model for a detailed explanation and supporting calculations. The rule-of-thumb is:

    1. Willpower.
    2. Power > Critical. Zero Critical from gear is optimal.
    3. Surge between about 250 and 300, and afterwards stack Alacrity.
    4. Zero Accuracy is optimal, because abilities used on allies can’t miss.

     

     

    Set Bonuses

     

    The Mystic’s 2-piece PVE set, which reduces the cooldown of Healing Trance by 1.5 seconds, is mandatory.

     

    The Mystic’s 4-piece PVE set, which increases maximum Force by 50 (and, as a result, causes Noble Sacrifice to restore 4 more Force), isn’t worthless for a fight that’s challenging to heal. It’s decent for a few fights, such as Brontes, with one or more lulls that permit you to top up your Force between periods of intense damage. Despite being lackluster, it’s better than either alternative.

     

     

    • The Master’s 2-piece PVE set, which reduces the cooldown of Mental Alacrity by 15 seconds, is worthless unless it ensures that Mental Alacrity will be available for one additional period of intense healing during a fight. I’m not aware of any such fight.
       
       
    • The Mystic’s 2-piece PVP set, which reduces the cooldown of Force Armor by 1.5 seconds, is inferior in every respect. The lower stats on PVP Armorings reduce not only non-tank healing, but also tank healing. Even if you were to refresh Force Armor on a tank on cooldown (which is usually poor technique), your maximum potential healing for this tank falls. In addition, your Armor is lower, increasing your damage taken, and your maximum HP is lower.

     

     

    Augments

     

    Use Resolve (Willpower) Augments. Though Overkill (Power) Augments provide roughly equal total output if you have BIS gear and use Force Armor as often as you should, Willpower increases the likelihood of Resplendence procs.

     

     

    Relics

     

    For relics of the same tier, Focused Retribution = Serendipitous Assault > Boundless Ages. I don’t recommend a Boundless Ages relic, not even for Raptus’s Healing Challenge.

     

     

    Power versus Critical

     

    There is no sound argument for any Critical in BIS gear. (As you upgrade from one tier of gear to the next, however, an item of the higher tier with Critical > an item of the lower tier with Power until you have almost 200 Critical. Please consult my model or contact me with any questions about mixing gear from multiple tiers.)

     

     

    1. The math is straightforward and definitive: zero Critical maximizes tank or non-tank healing. A very low amount of Critical would be optimal if Force Armor were less than about 10% of your effective healing, but using Force Armor so sparingly is poor technique for a fight that’s challenging to heal, even with a Sage co-healer.
       
       
    2. No benefit from Critical outweighs its cost.

    3. Guaranteeing that Deliverance crits with Force Potency requires nearly 1000 Critical, but so much Critical reduces overall healing about 4%.
    4. Critical increases the likelihood of Resplendence procs, but poor rotation is the sole cause of having too few for Noble Sacrifice. Rather than lessening this one symptom of a poor rotation with Critical, correct your rotation. Mistakes in your rotation have additional penalties, none of which Critical can alleviate.

     

     

    [*]Even if all else were equal, healing favors consistency (Power) over RNG (Critical).

     

     

    Surge versus Alacrity

     

    Both metrics of my model (see worksheet "Gear") show that, in Underworld or higher tier gear, BIS gear has 3 items with Surge and the remaining 7 items with Alacrity. The alternative, with almost equal output, has 4 items with Surge and 6 with Alacrity.

     

    There is no sound argument for having more Surge in BIS gear. In fact, the more important of my model’s two metrics, EHPCT Rating, doesn't even capture the following benefits of Alacrity.

     

     

    1. While Alacrity is undesirable for most specializations, because it forces an additional weak ability into your rotation while the cooldown of a proc or strong ability finishes, the opposite is true for a Sage healer. In gear from Arkanian to Dread Master, increasing Alacrity tightens your rotation, maximizing your HPS and stacks of Resplendence by allowing you to activate Healing Trance sooner after it's off cooldown. To examine this, see worksheet "Operation HPS" in my model.
       
       
    2. Alacrity reduces time spent managing Force or cleansing, leaving more time for healing.

      Playing Like an Expert

       

       

      1. Heal to prevent deaths, not to top meters.
         
        Meters are a valuable tool and enhance competition, but don’t influence a skilled healer’s decision-making. For example, suppose that 8 DPS are at half health and won’t take damage for another 20 seconds, and, meanwhile, 1 tank is at half health and might die in a few seconds. Triage says Force Armor or Healing Trance the tank, but meters say Salvation the DPS.
         
        AOE heals can have high EHPS, but heal slowly. Before choosing an AOE heal, be sure that you’re using your head (triage), not your epeen (meters).
         
         
         
      2. Minimize over-healing, especially of non-tanks.
         
        HPS is trivial for a skilled healer. As shown on worksheet “Operation HPS” in my model, in an 8-man Operation, a Sage healer may indefinitely sustain over 7k HPS (8k HPS including Force Armor’s absorbing), more than twice what any fight requires.
         
        Among Sage healers, a quality that sets an expert apart is efficiency. In particular, efficient use of Salvation is crucial to your EHPS and Force management. In general, rather than using this ability on cooldown or prematurely, use it after AOE damage only if Force Wave is insufficient.
         
         
         
      3. Replenish Force before a period of intense damage, so that you can heal through it without pausing to replenish Force.
         
        Among Sage healers, a quality that sets an expert apart is the ability to leverage his resource pool, which is generous compared to the other healing classes’. For example, since damage can be intense during the first phase of Nightmare Cartel Warlords (Horic), and will be manageable during the second phase (Tu’chuk), I’m willing to heal without pausing to replenish Force during the first phase, even to the point of nearly 0 Force. I can use Noble Sacrifice during the second phase without risking an ally’s death.
         
         
         
      4. Avoid debuffing your rate of Force regeneration.
         
        Among Sage healers, a quality that sets an expert apart is almost never debuffing his rate of Force regeneration. This debuff is perilous; it can start you down a vicious spiral on which you’ll always be Force-starved. Two techniques allow you to replenish Force without debuffing your rate of Force regeneration.
         
        First, until you’ve replenished enough Force to heal through the next period of intense damage, every 7.5 seconds use Rejuvenate > Healing Trance followed by Noble Sacrifice for one or more charges of Resplendence.
         
        Second, don’t hold 3 charges of Resplendence for your next Salvation unless it must be used while moving. When I have 3 charges of Resplendence, I often use Noble Sacrifice once immediately before Salvation. This offsets most of the cost of Salvation. It also allows me to use my next ability sooner than if Salvation were instant.
         
         
         
      5. Use Force Armor liberally and wisely.
         
        Among Sage healers, a quality that sets an expert apart is liberal and wise use of Force Armor.
         
        For tanks, it’s usually fine to refresh Force Armor immediately as Force-imbalance expires. There is, however, an important exception: reserve Force Armor for immediately before (or after) moments when a tank’s health is likely to be low. For example, time Force Armor so that you can apply a fresh one to a tank whenever Titan 6 puts a Huge Grenade on him or Brontes’ targets him with Arcing Assault.
         
        For an ally targeted by a damaging mechanic, such as Kephess the Undying’s Dread Bomb, you have only a moment to mitigate damage with Force Armor. Your awareness and quick action can be the difference between life and death.
         
        For a non-tank likely to take unusual and high damage, such as from adds or an uncleansable DOT like Tyrans’ Affliction, Force Armor can prevent his health from dipping too low. Preventing such an emergency with Force Armor can give AOE heals time to top up non-tanks, which, in turn, allows healers to focus on tanks.
         
        See “Tips for Certain Bosses” for a list of the rare circumstances in which spamming Force Armor is prudent. Otherwise, this is almost always poor technique, because AOE heals provide superior HPCT (healing per cast time) and HPF (healing per Force).
         
         
         
      6. It’s very rarely appropriate to use Benevolence.
         
        Benevolence has no place in a rotation.
        • Force Armor and Healing Trance have higher HPS and HPF.
        • Deliverance usually has comparable HPS and always has higher HPF.
        • Though Benevolence is a small heal, it isn’t for topping up allies. It costs too much Force, and merely snipes your or your co-healer’s HOTs or AOEs.

       

      When an ally is about to die, it might be appropriate to use Benevolence, but only if none of the below abilities is available.

      1. Force Armor is instant, and it absorbs more than Benevolence would heal.
      2. Healing Trance has higher HPS than Benevolence, and its immediate tick and first channeled tick occur before a cast of Benevolence would finish.
      3. Deliverance buffed by Force Potency and Mental Alacrity is usually more effective than Benevolence. An ally saved by Benevolence will remain close to death without further healing; Benevolence won’t resolved his emergency. Deliverance buffed by Force Potency might resolve his emergency, allowing you to heal someone else next.

       

      Parsing

       

       

      Running a parser during an Operation helps you refine your technique over several pulls of a challenging boss. I recommend Parsec, which can estimate the amount of damage absorbed by Force Armor.

       

      Challenging content’s demands on your time and Force require at least 70% effective healing (excluding Force Armor). Avoid the MOX parser, which encourages poor technique by failing to distinguish effective healing from over-healing.

       

      Tips for Certain Bosses

       

       

      Operation: Terror From Beyond

       

      Dread Guard

      • Use Force Armor on the tank with Kel’sara’s Leech.
      • Force Barrier resists damage from Heirad’s Lightning Field.
      • Though Force Barrier doesn’t purge Ciphas’s Doom, it resists the damage that it deals upon expiring.
      • Force Barrier purges Kel’sara’s uncleansable DOT, Withering Terror.

       

      Kephess the Undying

      • In the first phase, Force Barrier clears any stray Energy Distortion that attaches to you or resists damage from Laser Blast.
      • In the second phase, Force Barrier resists damage from Dread Bomb or, if you’re unable to channel a Pylon, purges Corrupted Nanites.

       

      Terror from Beyond

      • Use Cloud Mind to lower your threat with each Tentacle during the first phase, and on cooldown during the second phase.

       

       

      Operation: Scum and Villainy

       

      Dash’Roode

      • Rejoin your group in record time after being lost in the sandstorm with one point in skill Master Speed rather than two points in Egress.

       

      Titan 6

      • Force Barrier resists damage from a Huge Grenade.
      • Force Barrier resists damage from Launch (Defensive Systems 5) if you’re unable to find a rock with a vacancy.
      • During the final phase, spam Force Armor whenever Salvation, Force Wave, and Rejuvenate > Healing Trance are on cooldown.

       

      Thrasher

      • Adds in the stadium’s upper level spawn every 45 seconds, which matches Cloud Mind’s cooldown. Use Cloud Mind just after each group of adds spawns.
      • On Nightmare Mode, after Thrasher’s health falls below 50% and more than one pack of Mercenary Snipers spawns, it’s helpful to spam Force Armor immediately before the knockback to the stadium’s upper level.

       

      Operations Chief

      • Use Force Barrier to purge one of his Explosive Probes.

       

      Cartel Warlords

      • Though I’ve never done this for any other fight, on Nightmare Mode, it’s helpful to blanket the raid with Force Armor (and then channel Meditation to replenish your Force) immediately before pulling.
      • If you’re unable to heal an ally through Garr’s Stabbing Spree, and he doesn’t have a CC break available, use Rescue to pull him far out of Stabbing Spree’s range.

       

      Styrak

      • On Nightmare Mode, to control a Chain Manifestation, I recommend Force Wave > Force Slow > Force Stun when Force Slow expires. A freeze grenade works, too, but has a 3-minute cooldown.
      • Immediately before Styrak divides himself into 4 (or, on 16-man Nightmare Mode, 8) Manifestations, it’s helpful to Force Armor each ally who’ll likely be closest to a Manifestation.

       

      Hateful Entity

      • Use Force Barrier when Hateful Entity will strike you with the next Dread Touch (because your debuff has just expired). Hateful Entity will strike you with Dread Touch though you’re channeling Force Barrier. Dread Touch still knocks you down and stuns you (cancelling your channel of Force Barrier), but Force Barrier resists its damage.
      • If you revive an ally while in combat and after everyone has been struck by Dread Touch, it’s imperative that he be topped up immediately. Dread Touch’s debuff doesn’t persist through death, and, therefore, Dread Touch will strike him next.

       

       

      Operation: Dread Fortress

       

      Nefra

      • Using Force Barrier to purge the DOT allows you to complete a round of cleanses 4.5 seconds faster.

       

      Draxus

      • On Hard or Nightmare Mode, you can’t cleanse a Guardian’s Affliction. Force Barrier purges it from you, and Force Armor stabilizes another’s health.
      • If you tank a Dismantler in your team’s strategy, channel Force Barrier after it begins casting Strong Swipe. Force Barrier resists Strong Swipe’s damage, knockback, and debuff. If you stop channeling Force Barrier immediately after Strong Swipe, you’ll retain aggro on the Dismantler and be able to tank it through its second Strong Swipe.
      • On Nightmare Mode, a Bulwark debuffs any player under its shield with Dread Disruption, which prevents healing. This debuff doesn’t diminish damage absorption, such as from Force Armor, or damage reduction. Cleanse Corrosive Grenade as soon as possible from any player with Dread Disruption.

       

      Corruptor Zero

      • Force Barrier neither purges a Concussion Mine nor resists Anti-Gravity Field.
      • Force Barrier resists damage from Unified Beam. I don’t recommend relying on it, however, because your allies need healing during this phase on Hard or Nightmare Mode.

       

      Brontes

      • An ally with an Orb takes steady, light damage from the Orb before detonating it. Heal him through this damage, reserving Force Armor for immediately before the detonation.
      • Force Barrier isn’t useful if you have an Orb, because your Orb won’t detonate while you’re channeling Force Barrier.
      • To prepare for the phase with six Fingers, blanket the raid with Force Armor while two or three Robots remain. Force-imbalance will expire as the initial rounds of damage during the six-Finger phase have exhausted Force Armor, allowing you to blanket the raid with Force Armor a second time. This technique is incredibly effective, maintaining everyone at full health for much, and sometimes most, of this phase.

       

       

      Operation: Dread Palace

       

      Tyrans

      • On Hard or Nightmare Mode, you can’t cleanse Tyrans’ Affliction. Force Barrier purges it from you, and Force Armor stabilizes another’s health.
      • On Nightmare Mode, when you have Simplification:
        • Before falling, help your co-healer as much as possible. In general, use Salvation > Force Armor > Force Armor. (Neither Force Armor is on yourself; you can heal yourself while falling or moving across Tyrans’ basement.)
        • If you stand on the tile that you’ve selected for elimination, Force Barrier prevents fall damage.

       

       

      Raptus

      • For each Tanking Challenge, give each tank a fresh Force Armor. To avoid proccing relics before entering a Healing Challenge, don’t refresh a tank’s Rejuvenate.

       

      Rotation for a Healing Challenge

      1. Triage Adrenal (for one of the two rounds) > Mental Alacrity > Salvation with 2 stacks of Resplendence. If you have 3 stacks, use Noble Sacrifice once while waiting to enter the Healing Challenge.
      2. Rejuvenate > Healing Trance.
      3. Force Potency > Deliverance three times.
      4. Healing Trance (without Conveyance).
      5. Finish with Deliverance > Benevolence. If this Benevolence fails, because the Healing Challenge ends while casting it, try replacing the Deliverance with Benevolence. Benevolence > Benevolence should outheal one Deliverance.

       

      On Nightmare Mode, Curse of Enfeeblement must be removed from the Dying Captive, you, and your co-healer as soon as possible.

      • With a Scoundrel co-healer, purge yourself with Force Barrier for the first round, and cleanse yourself with Restoration for the second round. For both rounds, your co-healer cleanses the Dying Captive and purges himself with Dodge.
      • With a Commando co-healer, your co-healer cleanses only himself each round.
        • For the first round, cleanse the Dying Captive and purge yourself with Force Barrier.
        • For the second round, replace Steps 1 and 2 above with: Restoration on the Dying Captive > Salvation with 1 or 3 stacks of Resplendence > Rejuvenate > Mental Alacrity > Restoration on yourself > Healing Trance. You bear the healing loss of Curse of Enfeeblement, because you can setup both of your long-lasting HOTs while cursed.

       

      Additional advice for a Healing Challenge

      • If Mental Alacrity isn’t active when you begin the channel of Healing Trance in Step 4, delay Mental Alacrity until after Salvation.
      • In general, exactly one healer uses a Triage Adrenal during each round. On Nightmare Mode with a Commando co-healer, you both use it during the second round.
      • Don’t substitute a Boundless Ages relic for a proc relic. The pause in healing before entering a Healing Challenge almost guarantees that both of your proc relics will buff you during each Healing Challenge. This is more valuable than having a Boundless Ages relic for only one round.

       

       

      Dread Masters

      • Shortly before triggering the final phase, blanket the raid with Force Armor. During the final phase, spam Force Armor on non-tanks whenever Salvation, Force Wave, and Rejuvenate > Healing Trance are on cooldown.

       

       


  3. In addition to hastening Noble Sacrifice, Alacrity increases the amount of Force that you'll regenerate during any moments of downtime.
  4. Even with skill Mend Wounds, Restoration's HPS and HPF are abysmal, so its use is strictly to cleanse.

 

 

[*]Alacrity increases your APM (actions per minute), a boon for triage. This benefit of Alacrity is especially valuable for a Sage, who has the lowest APM among healers. For example, Alacrity increases the likelihood that you'll be able to preempt damage with Force Armor.

 

 

[*]Increasing Alacrity reduces the likelihood that a cast or channel will be

  1. broken, because your target becomes out of range or line-of-sight;
  2. interrupted, such as by a knockback; or
  3. cancelled, because you must move or switch immediately to healing another.

 


If you learn the rotation and techniques discussed in this guide, you should never have this debuff.
Using Force Barrier to remove this debuff means that it’s unavailable to cheat death, avoid substantial damage, purge an uncleansable debuff, or complete a crucial round of cleanses 4.5 seconds faster.

[*]If you choose this skill, and choose to use Force Barrier to clear a Force regeneration debuff, you’ll benefit most by channeling Force Barrier immediately after using Noble Sacrifice without Resplendence for four or more consecutive GCDs.

 

Edited by Orderken
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PVP

Skill Points

 

 

If you choose to invest 36 points in the healing tree, I recommended the following allocation: 36/7/3.

  1. Mend Wounds is mandatory for PVP.
  2. Master Speed is mandatory for a PVP allocation with 36 points in the healing tree.
  3. I favor three skill points in Clairvoyance and none in Life Ward.

    1. My impression is that Life Ward hasn’t saved or materially extended my life. While I channel Force Barrier, my resolve wears off, leaving me vulnerable to being stunned and killed the moment that I stop channeling.
    2. There are two factors that might change my mind.
      1. Life Ward’s HOT can proc a relic, increasing a proc relic’s uptime.
      2. In the brief moments when I’m not the target of the enemy team, and I’m confident that there isn’t a nearby enemy in stealth, I’ve allowed Life Ward’s HOT to heal me slowly while I heal my allies instead.

       

      The alternative, which is usually superior for 4v4 (arena), is “Bubble Stun”: 26/18/2.

    • Pros
      • Bubble Stun is wonderful against melee who are attacking you.
      • Burst damage is crucial in PVP. The skills in the middle tree allow you to dish some out.
      • Force management is easier, for reasons including skills Concentration and Tidal Force.

      [*]Cons

      • Bubble Stun is worthless against ranged who are attacking you.
      • You’re trading healing potential for DPS potential. A healer who has 36 points in his healing tree can provide more healing.

 

Though Psychic Suffusion adds healing to Force Wave, I don’t invest points in this skill for PVP. I can’t afford to use Force Wave merely for healing when it’s usually necessary for defending myself or, for Warzones, the cap.

 

I urge you not to queue for Solo Ranked as a Sage healer. The design of our class prevents us from competing with the other healing classes.

 

BIS Gear

 

 

This is likely BIS for PVP without Warzone Bolster.

 

At this time, however, Warzone Bolster allows you to cap Expertise while also having the Force-Mystic’s 2-piece PVE and 2-piece PVP set bonuses (see here for details). You may test your PVE components on Fleet with the "Bolsterizer". For example, a piece of Arkanian gear (each component of which has an Item Rating of 162) costs only 3 Expertise, a negligible amount.

 

For Augments, Overkill (Power) > Resolve (Willpower), because Force Armor usually has the largest share of your total output.

 

I urge you not to queue for Solo Ranked as a Sage healer. The design of our class prevents us from competing with the other healing classes.

 

Basic Advice

 

 

  1. Use grenades like any other consumable. The 3-minute cooldown on grenades matches the 3-minute cooldown on Force Barrier, which is convenient when an enemy is licking his chops anticipating the denouement of your Force Barrier. In general, I prefer seismic grenades, which knock enemies unconscious. When you shouldn’t add to enemies’ resolve, cartel waste or freeze grenades, which slow or root enemies, respectively, are better.
     
     
  2. Don’t give an enemy full resolve unless this will secure an objective or ensure his death. For example, in Huttball, an enemy ball-carrier shouldn’t have full resolve close to fire pits, because this will prevent pulling or knocking him into a fire pit.
     
     
  3. Except for Novare Coast, when you’re defending a node, stand away from the cap. For example, in Hypergate, if an enemy can CC you and begin capping your pylon in less than 2 seconds, he will finish the 6-second channel to cap it unless you have a CC break available. In addition, don’t pursue an enemy out of range or LOS of your node, because an enemy in stealth will cap it behind you.
     
     
  4. Don’t over-rotate between two nodes that your team is defending. First, don’t leave the quiet node vulnerable to join a battle at the other node unless it’s reasonable to expect that this other node will be lost. Second, if you’re at the node under attack, and your team’s kills have given it the upper hand, consider leaving for your node that had been quiet while the remaining enemies are mopped up.
     
     
  5. Focus on winning, not healing. For example, in Novare Coast, it’s often appropriate for you to channel to cap though not healing will allow an ally to die. As another example, in Huttball, you’re capable of carrying the ball whenever Force Speed is available, and even better at getting ahead of your ball-carrier and advancing him past fire pits with Rescue.
     
     
  6. Assist with killing enemies with low health. If an enemy crosses your path or leaps to you while barely clinging to life, stop healing and Project him dead. A reasonable goal is having 30,000 damage and 1 killing blow in every competitive Warzone.
     
     
  7. You’re naked without Force Armor, and inviting an enemy to appear from stealth and relieve you of half of your health. However, it’s good to give a Sage ally a chance to Force Armor himself, because he may have Life Ward or Kinetic Collapse.
     
     
  8. While there is safety in numbers, there is danger in a stack. Stacking attracts AOE damage, stuns, and CCs, which are far worse than the benefit of any AOE healing.
     
     
  9. The keys to your survival are using your environment to LOS; your environment in combination with Force Slow, Force Speed, or Force Wave to kite; Force Wave or Mind Snap to interrupt; Force Stun to stun and reduce an enemy’s damage dealt by 25% for 10 seconds; Warzone Medpac and Force Mend to heal yourself when moving, especially when your health drops near or below 30%; and Warzone Adrenal to increase your damage reduction. In addition, monitor the battlefield for health packs, and treat them as healing cooldowns that you can use Force Speed to snap up. Without guard, a reasonable goal is exceeding 90,000 damage taken per death in every competitive Warzone.
     
     
  10. Cleanse early and often with Restoration. It’s easier to prevent damage with this instant ability than it is to replenish health by casting or channeling heals. You can also cleanse certain CCs, such as Force Lift. If you’re desperate, Restoration is also a small heal for yourself while moving.
     
     
  11. In Warzones, dying restores you to full Force. If you or an ally can monitor the time remaining until a respawn, it can be strategic to die and respawn quickly with full Force. This takes some gumption, since you must die in time to respawn without catching a full door, but, as a healer, you’ll usually have multiple enemies who’ll be happy to dispatch you post haste should you present the opportunity.

 

 

Maximizing Your Performance

Datacrons

 

 

You should obtain all datacrons that provide Willpower and, especially for PVP, or Endurance.

 

Companions

 

 

Completing all dialogue and quests available from certain companions for a character in your Faction and Legacy will grant a bonus to certain stats. You should obtain:

  1. 1% Critical from Zenith,
  2. 1% Surge from Nadia Grell,
  3. 1% healing received from Tharan Cedrax, and,
  4. especially for PVP, 1% total health from Felix Iresso.

 

Consumables

 

 

  1. Stim: Prototype Nano-Infused Resolve Stim, which provides 169 Willpower and 70 Power for 2 hours. This is superior to any reusable Stim available with Biochem.
     
     
  2. Adrenal

    User Interface

     

     

    Tailor your UI for healing. For example, I use this for PVP or 8-man PVE, and this for 16-man PVE. Use your discretion and the guidance below.

     

     

    1. Operation Frames and Action Bars should be adjacent and centered horizontally along the bottom of your screen. A common mistake is separating Operation Frames and Action Bars, such as having Operation Frames centered vertically on the far left and Action Bars centered horizontally on the bottom, which forces you to look away from Operation Frames to view an ability’s cooldown.
       
       
    2. For Operation Frames, set “Buff Scale” as low as possible, and disable “Show Health Text”. This information is useless for triage and clutters Operation Frames.
       
       
    3. For Operation Frames, increase “Debuff Scale”. Debuffs should be prominent.
       
       
    4. Enable Focus Target and its Castbar. For certain bosses, it can help to set the boss as your Focus Target. For example, when you see Brontes’ Arching Assault, Force Armor her tank.
       
       
    5. Under Preferences > User Interface, enable “Show Cooldown Text”.
       
       
    6. I place Chat and Mini-Map on either side of the bottom of my screen.

       

      Your Abilities in Detail

      Heals

       

       

      For calculations of GCD, cast, or channel times; healing amounts; or HPS or HPCT with gear that you select and all skills, buffs, and bonuses from Datacrons or Companions, see worksheet “Abilities – Current Gear” in my model.

       

      Force Armor

       

      Description

      • This instant single-target ability is a large absorb rather than a heal. It lasts up to 30 seconds.
      • It can’t crit, and therefore doesn’t benefit from Critical or Surge.
      • Though this ability has no cooldown, it debuffs each recipient with Force-imbalance, which prevents you or another Sage from reapplying it to him for 20 seconds (reduced to 17 seconds by two points in skill Preservation, and, for PVP, further reduced to 15.5 seconds by the Mystic’s 2-piece PVP set).

       

      Use

      • For PVE, skill Life Ward causes your own Force Armor to heal you for 1.09% of your maximum health each second.
        • This restores much of the health lost to Noble Sacrifice.
        • In general, don’t use Force Armor on another Sage healer.

        [*]For PVE, it’s crucial for tank healing, as well as for absorbing imminent damage when an ally is targeted by a damaging mechanic, such as Kephess the Undying’s Laser Blast or Dread Bomb. See “PVE” > “Playing Like an Expert” > Topic 5 for a detailed discussion.

        [*]For PVP, it provides more healing than any other ability, and it can be used while moving.

       

       

      Rejuvenate

       

      Description

      • This instant single-target ability delivers a small immediate heal and leaves a HOT that ticks once every 3 seconds thereafter for 9 to 15 seconds (each point in skill Force Shelter adds a tick to the HOT). It has a 6-second cooldown.
      • Each point in skill Conveyance grants you a 50% chance to proc a buff of the same name upon using this ability. You can have at most one charge of Conveyance, which lasts up to 10 seconds.
      • Skill Force Shelter adds a buff of the same name that increases any recipient’s Armor Rating from gear alone by 10% for Rejuvenate’s duration.
        • Though not substantial, any increase in mitigation is helpful.
        • This buff doesn’t stack. That is, an ally’s Armor Rating from gear alone may be increased by at most 10% regardless of the number of Sage or Commando healers who have so buffed him.

       

      Use

      • Since the HOT lasts for 9 to 15 seconds, it’s optimal to rotate this ability between 2 to 3 allies. In general, the recipients should be the tanks, and, if it lasts for 15 seconds, yourself (to restore much of the health lost to Noble Sacrifice).
      • For PVE or PVP, use this ability on cooldown, if only to gain Conveyance. Conveyance is consumed by, and benefits, your next Healing Trance, Salvation, Deliverance, or Benevolence.

       

       

      Healing Trance

       

      Description

      • This channeled ability delivers an immediate heal and 3 channeled ticks. It is immune to pushback.
      • It has a 9-second cooldown, which the Mystic’s 2-piece PVE set reduces to 7.5 seconds.
      • Conveyance increases this ability’s Critical chance by 25%.
      • Each point in skill Resplendence grants you a 50% chance for each critical heal from this ability to proc one charge of a buff of the same name. You may have up to 3 charges of Resplendence, and each proc refreshes the 25-second duration of all of your charges of this buff.

       

      Use

      • For PVE or PVP, using this ability on cooldown, and having it consume Conveyance, maximizes your HPS and Resplendence procs.
      • You’ll consume Resplendence with Noble Sacrifice, each use of which consumes 1 charge, or with Salvation, which consumes all charges.

       

       

      Deliverance

       

      Description

      • This cast replenishes a respectable amount of health to a single ally. It has no cooldown.
      • Conveyance reduces the Force cost of this ability by 30%.

       

      Use

      • This is your default ability for single-target healing when Rejuvenate and Healing Trance are on cooldown.
      • It’s better to use Conveyance for Healing Trance.

       

       

      Salvation

       

      Description

      • This ability is the more powerful of your AOE heals. It has a 15-second cooldown.
      • Over 10 seconds, this ability delivers 11 ticks of healing, 1 immediately and 1 each second thereafter. It has a radius of 8 meters, which is about twice the radius of the ground graphic. Up to 8 allies within its radius receive each tick.
      • Resplendence reduces its cast time. One charge reduces its cast time by one-third; 2 charges reduce its cast time by two-thirds; and 3 charges make it instant.
      • Conveyance reduces the Force cost of this ability by 30%.

       

      Use

      • Use this ability immediately after AOE damage that exceeds Force Wave’s healing.
      • Unless you must use this ability while moving, it’s optimal to cast it with only one or two charges of Resplendence. The cast of this ability reduced by either one-third or two-thirds is shorter than a GCD. That is, you can activate your next ability sooner if Salvation is a cast shortened than if it is instant.
      • If more than 8 allies are within its radius, each tick heals the 8 closest to its center for that tick. In a 16-man Operation, if two or more Sage healers intend to heal more than 8 allies, they should center their Salvations at least a few meters apart, as though drawing a Venn Diagram with little or no intersection.
      • It’s better to use Conveyance for Healing Trance.

       

       

      Force Wave

       

      Description

      • This instant AOE heal replenishes a small amount of health to each ally in your frontal “cone”. This “cone” is a semi-circle that has a 15-meter radius and spans about 150 to 160 degrees.
      • Besides Force Mend, it is your only heal that costs no Force. It has a 20-second cooldown.

       

      Use

      • This is a useful heal for Operations, especially 16-man. Use it instead of Salvation when AOE damage is less than Salvation’s healing. Use it in conjunction with Salvation when AOE damage exceeds Salvation’s healing.
      • Position yourself so that as many allies as possible are within your frontal “cone”. Force Wave retains its knockback and damaging effects, so ensure that you don’t knockback adds or break CC. During boss fights, this usually means being at the rear of the ranged stack. During trash pulls, this usually means being at the front of the ranged stack, with your back to the trash.

       

       

      Force Mend

       

      Description

      • This is an instant, large self-heal with a 30-second cooldown.
      • Besides Force Wave, it is your only heal that costs no Force.

       

      Use

      • For PVE, it isn’t only a defensive cooldown, but also a means of replenishing your health immediately after using Noble Sacrifice two or three times in a row.
      • For PVP, it’s an excellent defensive cooldown, especially with Force Potency or when casting is impossible.

       

       

      Restoration

       

      Description

      • This instant single-target ability cleanses up to two mental or Force effects. With skill Mend Wounds, it also cleanses physical effects and provides a small heal.
      • It has a 4.5-second cooldown.

       

      Use

      • For PVE, when an effect is of a type that this ability can cleanse, it’s almost always better to remove this effect than to heal through it.
      • For PVP, it prevents damage (though it’s far less useful in this regard than the cleanse of either of the other healing classes) and removes certain slows, roots, and CCs. If you’re desperate and moving, it’s a small heal.

       

       

      Benevolence

       

      Description

      • This ability is a small single-target heal with a cast time equal to the GCD. It has no cooldown.
      • Conveyance increases its Critical chance by 60%.

       

      Use

      • For PVE, it’s very rarely appropriate to use this ability, primarily because of its poor HPF. See “PVE” > “Playing Like an Expert” > Topic 6 for a detailed discussion.
      • For PVP, when an enemy with an interrupt on a short cooldown is tunneling you, and it’s time for him to interrupt you, queue up this ability for his interrupt.
      • It’s better to use Conveyance for Healing Trance.

       

      Cooldowns for Healing

       

       

      Mental Alacrity

       

      Description

      • This adds 20% to your Alacrity, and grants immunity to interrupts and pushback, for 10 seconds.
      • It’s off the GCD and doesn’t use a GCD. It has a 2-minute cooldown.
      • Though no amount of Alacrity from gear or an Efficiency Adrenal can provide 30% or more Alacrity, this “cap” doesn’t limit Alacrity from Mental Alacrity.

       

      Use

      • For PVE, this is for an emergency or a burn phase. For an emergency, it’s often used in conjunction with Force Potency to hasten Deliverance.
      • For PVP, this is primarily for interrupt immunity. Therefore, it’s ideal to use this ability immediate after gaining full resolve.

       

       

      Force Potency

       

      Description

      • This buffs you with two charges of +60% Critical chance for certain heals (or certain direct Force attacks). This buff expires after 20 seconds.
      • It’s off the GCD and doesn’t use a GCD. It has a 90-second cooldown.
      • One charge of this buff is consumed by each Force Mend, Deliverance, Benevolence, or Rejuvenate (or certain direct Force attacks) that crits.

       

      Use

      • For PVE, this ability is for single-target healing emergencies. It’s usually used in conjunction with Mental Alacrity to cast Deliverance on a tank who is low. Since each of the other healing classes has better single-target healing abilities or cooldowns for such an emergency, it’s not unusual for this tank to be saved while you have one charge of this buff remaining. But you shouldn’t hesitate to activate this ability because its second charge might not be necessary; better safe than sorry.
      • For PVP, it’s optimal to use this buff with a Force Mend and a Deliverance. I sometimes use it with Mental Alacrity, but not habitually.

       

      Force Management

       

       

      Noble Sacrifice

      • This instant ability exchanges 11% of your maximum health for 8% of your maximum Force. You must have at least 11% health to activate this ability.
      • Health exchanged for Force using this ability isn’t considered damage. Force Armor, Armor, damage reduction, or skills that reduce damage (i.e., Serenity or Jedi Resistance) won’t reduce the health cost.
      • Activating this ability when Resplendence isn’t available debuffs your rate of passive Force regeneration for 10 seconds. This debuff stacks up to four times, and gaining a stack refreshes the 10-second duration of this debuff. Each stack reduces your rate of passive Force regeneration by 25%. For example, if you have no charges of Resplendence, after using Noble Sacrifice for four consecutive GCDs, your rate of passive Force regeneration will be zero for the next 10 seconds.
      • With discipline and preparation, you should never have this debuff in PVE. See “PVE” > “Playing Like an Expert” > Topics 3 and 4 for detailed discussion.

       

       

      A Well-Timed Death in Warzones

      • In Warzone, dying restores you to full Force. If you or an ally can monitor the time remaining until a respawn, it can be strategic to die and respawn quickly with full Force. This takes some gumption, since you must die in time to respawn without catching a full door, but, as a healer, you’ll usually have multiple enemies who’ll be happy to dispatch you post haste should you present the opportunity.

       

      Threat Management

       

       

      Cloud Mind

      • This instant ability lowers your threat with each enemy by 25%.
      • It’s off the GCD and doesn’t use a GCD. It has a 45-second cooldown.
      • For PVE, you should be in the habit of using this ability proactively, especially after adds spawn.

       

       

      Rescue

      • This instant ability lowers the targeted ally’s threat by 25%, and pulls him about one-third of a meter in front of you. You can’t use this ability on yourself. It has a 1-minute cooldown.
      • For PVE, this is handy to drop the threat of a DPS or co-healer who continues to have aggro even after using his threat drop. You can also pull someone out of harm’s way to your safe location.
      • For PVP, you should anticipate using this ability to advance an ally ball-carrier across fire pits in Huttball or to pull an ally into the central shelter in Hypergate as the Pylons explode. You may use this ability to pull an ally away from a group of enemies who are focused on him, but you might regret it. More often than not, you’re bringing not only him to you, but also those enemies.

       

      Useful DPS Abilities

       

       

      Weaken Mind: This instant ability is an 18-second DOT. If you must contribute DPS to beat a boss’s hard enrage, your best option is maintaining this DOT throughout the fight.

       

      Mind Crush: This cast deals immediate damage and leaves a 6-second DOT. It has a 15-second cooldown, and is therefore limited to one target.

       

      Project: This instant ability deals respectable damage. It has a 6-second cooldown.

       

      Telekinetic Throw: This channels damage and, in PVP, slows the target’s movement speed by 50%. It has a 6-second cooldown.

       

      Forcequake: This channeled AOE damages up to 5 enemies. Despite its high Force cost, it’s useful in PVP for interrupting multiple enemies who are capping simultaneously. I’ve observed that it may not strike an enemy within its radius immediately, however, even when there are 5 or fewer enemies within its radius. If an enemy is a second or less from capping, Project is a more reliable interrupt (and, unlike this channeled ability, can be used while moving).

       

      Crowd Control (CC)

       

       

      Force Stun

      • This instant ability deals immediate damage and stuns the target for 4 seconds. It has a 1-minute cooldown. Its range is 10 meters.
      • For PVE, if you’ll CC an enemy with Force Lift and you’re already within 10 meters, it can be useful to stun this enemy first to prevent it from moving or acting while you cast Force Lift.
      • For PVP, this is a defensive or offensive cooldown.
        • Defensively, this ability may allow you to escape from an enemy who is tunneling you. With skill Humility, it reduces the enemy’s damage dealt by 25% for 10 seconds after its stun effect ends.
        • Offensively, if an enemy’s health is low enough that he can be killed during the 4-second duration of this stun, stun him to ensure that he doesn’t escape. This is particularly valuable when used against an enemy capable of stealth.

       

       

      Force Lift

      • This cast CCs an enemy for 60 seconds in PVE or for 8 seconds in PVP. It has a 1-minute cooldown. This CC breaks if the enemy takes damage, including from a DOT of yours applied before this CC.
      • For PVP, this is a defensive or offensive cooldown.
        • Defensively, you can try to CC an enemy who is tunneling to you. Though you’re unlikely to complete this cast, the enemy has used his interrupt on this ability rather than a heal.
        • Offensively, if your enemies have two healers in a fight, it’s valuable to use this ability against the healer who your team isn’t focusing, especially if there isn’t a Sage to cleanse it.

       

      Other

       

       

      Force Speed

      • This instant ability increases your movement speed by 150% for 2 seconds or, with skill Master Speed, 2.5 seconds.
      • It’s off the GCD and doesn’t use a GCD. It has a 20-second cooldown.
      • For PVP, with two points in skill Egress, Force Speed removes all movement-impairing effects and, for its duration, grants immunity to movement-impairing effects.

       

       

      Force Slow

      • This instant ability deals a small amount of damage immediately and slows the enemy’s movement speed by 50% for 6 seconds. It has a 12-second cooldown.
      • For PVP, this ability is useful for kiting an enemy who is tunneling to you or hindering an enemy who needs to rotate or interrupt an ally of yours who’s capping.

       

       

      Mind Snap

      • This instant ability interrupts the enemy’s current cast, provided that the enemy isn’t immune to interrupts.
      • It’s off the GCD and doesn’t use a GCD. It has a 12-second cooldown.
      • For PVP, this is a defensive ability when used against a DPS who is tunneling to you, and this is an offensive ability when used against a healer.

       

       

      Force of Will

      • This instant ability breaks you out of roots, stuns, and CCs.
      • It’s off the GCD and doesn’t use a GCD. It has a 2-minute cooldown.
      • For Warzones, I don’t treat Force of Will as a cooldown for my survival. It’s better to save this 2-minute cooldown to prevent an enemy cap. With proper positioning when defending a node, you’ll never need to break the first stun or CC to block a lone enemy from capping.
      • For PVP, another rule-of-thumb is not to use this ability to break a root or, unless you have full resolve, to break stuns or CCs. For example, suppose that you Force Stun an enemy. If this enemy were to break your stun without having full resolve, he’d be vulnerable to spending a full 8 seconds in your Force Lift without a second break.

       

       

      Force Barrier

       

      Description

      • This channeled ability grants you immunity to all negative effects from enemies. You can maintain this channel for up to 8 seconds.
      • It’s off the GCD and doesn’t use a GCD. It has a 3-minute cooldown.
      • Channeling Force Barrier builds stacks of Enduring Bastion, a shield that absorbs damage and grants immunity to interrupts and pushback for up to 5 seconds. You gain one stack of Enduring Bastion upon activating Force Barrier, and one additional stack for every 2 seconds spent channeling Force Barrier, up to a maximum of 4 stacks after channeling Force Barrier for 6 or more seconds. The amount of damage that Enduring Bastion can absorb increases with the stacks acquired when channeling Force Barrier.
      • You can begin this channel while stunned or CCed, making it a second CC break. Since it’s a channel, however, you can’t begin it while in motion, nor can you maintain it if an ally puts you in motion with Rescue.

       

      Use

      • For PVE, this ability resists most damage. See “PVE” > “Tips for Certain Bosses” for examples of when this is most helpful.
      • For PVP, and Arenas in particular, use this ability to thwart substantial damage rather than delaying until you have only a sliver of health.
      • For Arenas, if a round lasts until the poison, a Sage with this ability available should win the round. Though channeling doesn’t resist damage from the poison, Enduring Bastion does. Time your channel so that it ends immediately before the poison begins to deal damage.
      • For Warzones, this ability allows you to defend a cap by yourself for some time. Prevent the enemy from capping as long as possible, channeling Force Barrier to prevent your death, and, finally, stop channeling Force Barrier to interrupt the enemy’s cap just before it finishes. This buys your team an additional six to eight seconds to reinforce the cap.
      • For Warzones, since you’ll have skill Master Speed, if a cap is suddenly undefended, you may be able to interrupt the enemy’s cap with Force Speed > Force Barrier (for a moment, only to reset Force Speed’s cooldown) > Force Speed.
      • For Ancient Hypergates, this ability doesn’t protect you from dying in an explosion of energy from the Pylons.

       

       


  3. If you need to select an enemy with your mouse, such as the first Droid during Brontes, it’s almost always in a top corner of your screen. Don’t risk obscuring your target or, worse, clicking in Chat.
  4. Having the Mini-Map close to Operation Frames is helpful for a few fights, such as Thrasher or Corruptor Zero, in which adds spawn in one of several possible locations.

 


For PVE, Nano-Infused Triage Adrenal, which provides 675 Force Power for 15 seconds. This is superior to any reusable Adrenal available with Biochem. For a detailed analysis of the expected benefit of Adrenals in BIS gear, see worksheet “Relics & Adrenals” in my model.
For PVP, Warzone Adrenal, which increases Damage Reduction by 15% for 15 seconds.
An Adrenal can be used at any time (i.e., it’s off the GCD) and doesn’t use a GCD. Adrenals have a 3-minute cooldown.

 

 

[*]Medpac

  1. For PVE, Prototype Impeccable Medpac, which restores 5575 to 6800 health immediately and leaves a HOT that restores 2475 health over 15 seconds. This is superior to any reusable Medpac available with Biochem. The cooldown shared by all types of Medpacs usable outside of Warzones is the longer of (a) 90 seconds and (b) the end of combat.
  2. For PVP, Warzone Medpac, which restores 35% of your total health immediately. This has a 90-second cooldown.
  3. A Medpac can be used at any time (i.e., it’s off the GCD) and doesn’t use a GCD.

 

 

[*]Grenades: Reusable grenades are available with Cybertech, and otherwise you may purchase single-use grenades.

  1. For PVE, grenades that stun can be useful for trash mobs or boss adds. A freeze grenade will root a Chain Manifestation on Nightmare Mode Styrak.
  2. For PVP, grenades are very useful.
  3. The cooldown shared by all types of grenades is 3 minutes. Throwing a grenade uses a GCD.

 


Edited by Orderken
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So you say use the hot and channel on cd, with 2-3 fillers. In terms of staying force positive, and healing yourself after using the channel procs for sacrifice, what should those fillers be?

 

edit: nevermind, found info in ability section and playing like an expert section. perhaps the rotation section could point to those sections.

Edited by dipstik
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So you say use the hot and channel on cd, with 2-3 fillers. In terms of staying force positive, and healing yourself after using the channel procs for sacrifice, what should those fillers be?

 

edit: nevermind, found info in ability section and playing like an expert section. perhaps the rotation section could point to those sections.

 

The abilities that follow Rejuvenate > Healing Trance vary.

 

In general, a healer's use of abilities is fluid compared with a DPS's. This is expected and, in light of the trend in recent patches of removing RNG from DPSs' procs, embraced by BioWare. Among the healing classes, a Sage's use of abilities is the most fluid. While this prevents me from spelling out a generic complete rotation, it's also why I enjoy my Sage more than my Commando or Scoundrel when healing.

 

If a rotation is what you seek, DPS. If you must heal, play a Scoundrel. A Scoundrel can be a valuable co-healer despite having a rotation. While a Sage has high-HPS, force-neutral rotations (see, e.g., worksheet "Operation HPS" of my model for the rotation with the maximum sustainable HPS for a Sage), on the many occasions that I have healed with such a Sage, I often double his EHPS and render him redundant.

 

I'm glad that you've found advice in various Sections of this Guide that address your questions. If you have further questions, please reply with the specific bosses or topics that you'd like to discuss.

Edited by Orderken
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  • 3 weeks later...

Today I added advice for healing Nightmare DP to "PVE" > "Tips for Certain Bosses". In particular, I discuss Raptus's Healing Challenge in great detail.

 

I also released a new version of my model for PVE healing. To tailor the model for the typical PVE Sage healer, the data on worksheet "Boss Fights" is now based on Nightmare DF and DP 8, rather than on Nightmare TFB and S&V 16.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Wish they would allow the UI customisation to make your raid frames be 2 high and go across the screen more than up...

I like to have my Raid frames just above my task bar too... But his takes up half you screen and can cover your own character if you don't resize

Having them only 2 high and 4 across would take up less screen space

If anyone knows how to do this for 8 man pvp frames... Please let me know

 

I posted this in your original thread... Anyone got any ideas?

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I posted this in your original thread... Anyone got any ideas?

 

As far as I know, Operation Frames must have a multiple of 4 players in each Party/Column. If you disable "Show Health Text", you can shorten the height of each player a lot. For an example, see the screenshot of my UI for 16-man PVE under "Maximizing Your Performance" > "User Interface".

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As far as I know, Operation Frames must have a multiple of 4 players in each Party/Column. If you disable "Show Health Text", you can shorten the height of each player a lot. For an example, see the screenshot of my UI for 16-man PVE under "Maximizing Your Performance" > "User Interface".

 

Thanks, except show health is what you need as a healer;)

 

 

.

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Thanks, except show health is what you need as a healer;).

 

You don't. I've never missed it. Having it isn't necessary for my triage, and it shouldn't be for yours.

Edited by Orderken
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Thanks, except show health is what you need as a healer;)

 

 

.

 

Those numbers add just that, a number and a percentage. You can guess the percentage well enough with the bar's length which eliminates the need for the percentage and leaving only the number.

All that number tells you is how much health points a person has. But that informations says nothing. All it can cause is that you try to read the number which hurts your focus in the fight.

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I personally like the numbers, I use them to prevent overhealing as much as possible, by estimating my heals. For the same reason I actually prefer the old way of xxxx/xxxx rather than the percentage.

 

But it makes no substantial difference. Bar goes down, heal.

 

Also there is nothing quite: "Holy **** I just saw 1 HP" or "You were on 0% there" moments

Edited by Darth_Dreselus
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey Orderken I have some more questions for you!

First off thank you for the models for scoundrel and commando that's pretty cool :)

 

About Sages now... My guild's been doing Nightmare for about a month now, and I'm having some issues with what to prioritize for my gear (and for the gear of my guildies since I'm more or less the one doing the TC for everybody).

 

For now I've prioritzed 186 token for tanks (since Armor index is bound to the Armoring) and Implants and gloves and/or off-hands for our damage dealers. We have our damage dealers pick Accuracy implants,gloves and offhands (for those who can) so that they get 4 accuracy enhancement to reach their Precision cap which basicly frees them another surge enhancement.

I know it's not directly sage related (we're getting there) but maybe you have some stuff to say about that I don't know :p

 

Anyway that leaves me with basicly no 186 token gear and I have to find some unorthodox ways to enhance my gear. We're dropping a lot of Aim armor with crit mod and crit/alacrity enhancement and I'm wondering if those can be of some help.

 

I know from your spreadsheet that 0 crit is optimal for us Sages but would you say that an Insight 36 is better than a Quick Savant 34 ? I'm trading 62 power for 68 crit and gaining 8 alacrity rating.

My first guess would be it's not an improvement, but the way you have to gear yourself as a Sage healer puzzles me to say the least as there is crit on at least chest and legs. (I imagine that having maybe one Insight is less of a problem than having like 3 of them)

Should I aim to get lots of gloves token to get optimal mods and enhancements and in the end work my way to get the armorings ?

 

I might not have put enough work on what pieces I should aim for but I have to say I'm in need of some help. ^^

Anyway this post is getting long so I'll just leave it like that and continue toying with your spreadsheet, I'll update or post again when I have more information I guess :p

 

 

EDIT :

Ok I've tryed on the spreadsheet to simulate my having either no Insight enh. then 1 and then 2.

On the "gear" tab here are my numbers

Without any crit :

EHPCT 112.278

HPS 112.439

 

1 Insight enhancement

EHPCT 112.259

HPS 112.583

 

2 insight enhancement

EHPCT 11.,206

HPS 112.683

 

So it indeed looks a bit better to get those Insight enhancements!

Edited by Cheveu
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I've prioritzed 186 token for tanks (since Armor index is bound to the Armoring) and Implants and gloves and/or off-hands for our damage dealers. We have our damage dealers pick Accuracy implants,gloves and offhands (for those who can) so that they get 4 accuracy enhancement to reach their Precision cap which basicly frees them another surge enhancement. [...] Anyway that leaves me with basicly no 186 token gear [...]

 

Your plan is reasonable. Once your tanks are surviving, gear DPS. Gear for tanks is less important for NiM DF than for NiM DP. For example, a Shadow or Commando can tank NiM Brontes in 180 gear with a hybrid specialization that reduces damage taken from AOEs, but Brontes' DPS checks remain tight.

 

Heals need gear the least. That said, neither Head nor Gloves is great for most DPS, and each has all BIS components for a Sage healer (and I believe for the other healing classes, as well).

 

 

I have to find some unorthodox ways to enhance my gear. We're dropping a lot of Aim armor with crit mod and crit/alacrity enhancement and I'm wondering if those can be of some help.

 

I know from your spreadsheet that 0 crit is optimal for us Sages but would you say that an Insight 36 is better than a Quick Savant 34?

 

As I noted in the Guide ("PVE" > "BIS Gear" > "Power versus Critical"), as you upgrade from one tier of gear to the next, an item of the higher tier with Critical > an item of the lower tier with Power until you have about 200 Critical. I wouldn't exceed this by much for NiM DF or DP, because Force Armor is more important than it was for previous Operations.

Edited by Orderken
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Hey I just saw your update on "Tips for certain bosses" and was thinking about what you said about us sages/sorc relying more on Static Barrier in NiM. Your tips emphasize your point quite well tbh, and I'll add another tip you might want to add to your guide.

 

On Draxus NiM when your group deals with the Dismantler on phase 4 you can blanket it with Shields since you will only be able to heal your tank, your co-healer and yourself in the next phase. It really helps preventing your op from dipping too low as you will be able to blanket it again a few seconds later.

Usually I'll go and blanket the raid with shields when one dismantler is left, when I'm done shielding I just have a few spare GCDs before I have to interrupt my corruptor (2nd interrupt, first one done by a dps here).

 

 

On another note I wanted to ask you yet another question!! :D

I talked a bit with a healer from another guild who told me they run double scoundrel for NiM Fortress, and I quote him as he said "Sages are not welcome in NiM since the fight mechanics don't allow efficient pool use". At first all I could tell him was "Well it's a good thing it's not our only healing spell then!" but then it got me thinking about what he said...

I personnaly use very efficient Salvations on Nephra since we have only 2 classes who can dispel (my pool hits like 6 ppl, 8 when I hit the tanks too)

On Draxus I use a pool to heal the raid on basically any phase where the damage dealers go and hit the boss, so I hit the tank and 3 melee dps. I also use pools on guardians phases and hit almost everybody

Grob thok I use it sparingly depending on how the fight is going and how well I managed my force.

On corruptor I use it to top off the raid everytime there's a laser and sometimes during missile salvo hitting 3-4 ppl.

And on Brontes I still feel like it's a great tool in phase 2 and 3 (boss+kephess and fingers). On the last phase though I don't really know if I should use it since I quickly have force issues, and since we always wipe there I imagine I'm probably doing something wrong...

 

Anyway lots of words... Do you believe what the other dude says is true? Is double scoundrel a superior line-up as say scoundrel-sage or scoundrel-commando? It is true that I sometimes feel a bit "disarmed" when I have to heal tank(s) as obviously healing trance isn't enough and those benevolences take forever to cast, often having to cast a long heal on a tank will just slow me down for like topping off a dude with a sphere or shielding someone who has the clone jumping on him. Sometimes I just wanna go Rejuv / Flash to buy me some time off but in the end it just messes up my force management (which is completely logical) and puts me back even more.

Maybe I'm just undergeared for Brontes but I don't know, the other 4 bosses are pretty much easy to heal so I don't really get it. Just for the record my gear is BiS 180 with 3 186 crit/alac enhancement, and head token 186 and I use both medipacks and adrenals on a regular basis.

I know it's not a really well constructed argument but I don't really know what's wrong and I thought you might help :)

Edited by Cheveu
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I talked a bit with a healer from another guild who told me they run double scoundrel for NiM Fortress, and I quote him as he said "Sages are not welcome in NiM since the fight mechanics don't allow efficient pool use".

 

[...]

 

Do you believe what the other dude says is true? Is double scoundrel a superior line-up as say scoundrel-sage or scoundrel-commando?

 

In general, Scoundrel-Commando > Scoundrel-Scoundrel > Scoundrel-Sage > Commando-Sage. Any of these was fine for NiM DF pre-2.8. Any of the first three is fine for NiM DP (Commando-Sage is challenging for Dread Masters unless your tanks never swap Calphayus and Bestia).

 

 

Regarding Salvation, it delivers more healing per cooldown than a Scoundrel's or Commando's AOE heal only if 5 or 7, respectively, receive every tick of its healings over its 10-second duration. This may occur in Nefra, Grob'Thok, or Corruptor Zero, and does occur while under the shield of each Hand during Brontes's final phase.

 

 

The Scoundrel advising you undervalues Force Armor, which allows a Sage to perform well in Draxus or Brontes.

 

 

  • Force Armor is ideal for an emergency. A Scoundrel has no comparable ability, and a Commando's Bacta Infusion (which must crit to heal as much as Force Armor) or Tech Override is rarely available.
     
     
  • For Draxus, Force Armor alone bypasses Dread Disruption.
     
     
  • For healing Brontes, Commando-Sage > Scoundrel-Sage > Scoundrel-Commando > Scoundrel-Scoundrel. (I have Conqueror of the Dread Fortress on all three of the healing classes, and have healed about 25 kills of NiM Brontes 8 with co-healers of various classes and from various guilds.)
     
     
    • Because of the lull before the six-Finger phase and before each of the three burn periods of the final phase, Force Armor can soak up so much of the damage that a Scoundrel can't match a Sage's EHPS. (Trauma Probe can do the same, though to a lesser extent, for a Commando.)
       
       
    • Though in general the Scoundrel's out-of-combat rez is the most valuable utility among the healing classes' by an order of magnitude, a Sage's utility is best for Brontes's final phase. First, for one of the times that Brontes selects a Sage during a burn period, Force Barrier allows him to resist her damage and knockback. Second, Rescue allows a Sage to pull one straggler into a shield from a Hand.

Edited by Orderken
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Sometimes I just wanna go Rejuv / Flash to buy me some time off but in the end it just messes up my force management (which is completely logical) and puts me back even more.

 

Anticipate running low on Force three times during a Brontes kill. First, if the latter half of phase 2 goes poorly. Second, during the six-Finger phase. Third, as the third burn of the final phase begins. Benevolence only exacerbates this. As a tactic, it's even a worse than it usually is.

 

 

On the last phase [of Brontes] I don't really know if I should use it since I quickly have force issues, and since we always wipe there I imagine I'm probably doing something wrong. [...] [M]y gear is BiS 180 with 3 186 crit/alac enhancement, and head token 186 and I use both medipacks and adrenals on a regular basis.

 

The six-Finger phase has the most intense healing during Brontes. I suspect, therefore, that your group's strategy for the final phase is the culprit, not your group's healing.

 

 

Before I describe how I heal the final phase, some observations.

 

 

  • Double Shadow tank is easiest, though not necessary. A Shadow or Vanguard tank must use a hybrid specialization that reduces AOE damage taken. Almost 100% of damage taken by a tank during Brontes is AOE. I'm not aware of such a hybrid specialization for a Guardian tank, but I know first hand that it's phenomenal for a Shadow or Vanguard, reducing their DTPS almost 30%.
     
     
  • The total EHPS (including Force Armor) for you and your co-healer is usually 5.1-5.5k for a kill. This amount of healing is easy with 180 gear. Healers can't prevent a wipe, however, if your DPS are unable to meet the DPS check or if someone deviates from your strategy for the final phase.

 

 

To develop a strategy for your group for the final phase, review several kill videos. Notice what their strategies have in common.

 

 

  • Healers have Guard.
     
     
  • A Gunslinger or Sentinel debuffs Brontes's 10-second heal, so that she has 60% HP as the first burn begins.
     
     
  • A DPS calls each person whom Brontes is targeting. Her order is regular, so learning it helps healers pre-cast.
     
     
  • All non-tanks stack for each burn period.
     
     
  • All non-tanks use Prototype V-6 Pyro Grenades (blue quality) to help meet the DPS check.
     
     
  • Proc each shield with no more than 6 stacks of Supremacy. Brontes's attack is almost always fatal with 7 or more stacks of Supremacy.
     
     
    • Imagine the room as a square picture in a square frame. Divide the room into four equal quarters with a line E-W and N-S. The stack should be on the perimeter of the quarter that contains the Hand whose shield will shelter you next. For burn periods 1 and 3, I prefer close to a wall (i.e., where the picture meets the frame), so that each knockback is stopped short by the wall and non-tanks remain loosely stacked. For burn period 2, I prefer gravitating toward the center of the room.
       
       
    • No one can be knocked into an area where a tank might slam an Orb.

     

     

    [*]DPS don't assist tanks with Orbs during the first or second burn. During the first burn, tanks detonate each Orb with the Hands. During the second burn, the tank on the remaining Hand detonates each Orb spawning from three of the corners. The other tank (a Shadow if you have one) controls and detonates each Orb from the fourth corner that would reach 20 stacks before the second shield.

 

 

The above leads to straightforward (rote, even) healing.

 

 

  1. Before the final phase begins, (a) Force Armor everyone; (b) top up your Force; and © Rejuvenate the far Hand's tank, since he'll be out of range for much of the first burn. It's crucial to begin the final phase with full Force; after the six Fingers have been killed, your co-healer can easily keep both tanks up while you prioritize Noble Sacrifice.
     
     
  2. Use Salvation at 3 stacks of Supremacy. Using it earlier is wasteful, because damage is neither widespread nor heavy. In fact, you can top up your Force until about the third stack of Supremacy. Using it later risks it being on cooldown as the first shield is procced at about the sixth stack of Supremacy.
     
     
  3. Give everyone in range another Force Armor, and heal Brontes's target or, as needed, a Hand's tank.
     
     
  4. Immediately upon proccing the shield, use Salvation. Next, heal the tank who'll leave the shield early to position the remaining Hand. Use Force Wave only if you're certain that it won't knockback an Orb that's being detonated under the shield.
     
     
  5. The second burn is similar to the first, though I'll often use Force Potency, Mental Alacrity, and my Triage Adrenal at 3 stacks of Supremacy. DPSs' damage reduction abilities are on cooldown from the first burn, but, since you still have a Hand to slam Orbs, it's important to have a full 6-stack second burn. For the same reason, it's fine to use Force Barrier in this burn phase (though not when you're the first or second person attacked, because damage is still low, and Brontes might cycle back to you before 6 stacks).
     
     
  6. The remainder of the healing is the same. If I run out of Force during the third burn, which isn't uncommon, I'll Noble Sacrifice whether or not I have Resplendence to continue healing the DPS or to DPS Brontes myself.

Edited by Orderken
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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

so with the changes, the rotation will have to change a bit right?

right now there are some consecutive sacrafices, which should be spaced out in order to best take advantage of the off gcd aspect of the changes. part of the problem is we only have a few spells that cause a gcd. i think most notably these are: bubble, instant dark heal, cleanse and overload. im not a huge fan of bubbles other than burst and raid wide damage, so i cant think of being able to use consume off gcd very often due to it having to line up with a cleanse, overload or bubble (if they reduced the force cost of instant dark heal i might consider using it).

 

questions:

what will the new "rotation" be? as in operation hps:

Static Barrier|Force Armor

Static Barrier|Force Armor

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Dark Infusion|Deliverance

Overload|Force Wave

Revivification|Salvation

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Unnatural Preservation|Force Mend

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Static Barrier|Force Armor

Static Barrier|Force Armor

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Revivification|Salvation

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Overload|Force Wave

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Static Barrier|Force Armor

Static Barrier|Force Armor

Revivification|Salvation

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Unnatural Preservation|Force Mend

Overload|Force Wave

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Static Barrier|Force Armor

Static Barrier|Force Armor

Revivification|Salvation

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Dark Infusion|Deliverance

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Overload|Force Wave

Static Barrier|Force Armor

Static Barrier|Force Armor

Revivification|Salvation

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Unnatural Preservation|Force Mend

Resurgence|Rejuvenate

Innervate|Healing Trance

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

Consumption|Noble Sacrifice

 

#2. what are the tradeoffs of using the pvp set bonus? you wont have to waste gcds healing yourself up (i consider using consume to be negative hps).

Edited by dipstik
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From what I have been testing on the PTS, I just replace the NS with a Force Armour and keep the rest of the 'rotation' the same.

 

The instant Benevolence is interesting, it still costs a lot to cast so not really a part of the rotation but it gives another highly reactive ability to play with when Force imbalance is up. Will likely lead to a lot fewer oh **** moments.

 

And the trade off from getting the PvP set is massive, right now just having a bubble on you is almost enough to keep your health steady and it will be even easier with a non-GCD Force Mend. Having a shorter cd on Trance massively outweighs the benefit of not sacrificing health, not to mention the WP lost. Basically you will be lowering your own output just to deal with something which is not even a real issue now (PvE wise).

 

The PvP benefits on the other hand are significant. It's almost back to pre 1.2 Sage healing in PvP.

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with the ops hps rotation i calced a 195 hps drop from the wp loss (without changing innervate cd), but that may have been off. its hard without a new "rotation" but what is the health cost of consume... like 4.5k at 40,000 health or something, and that is used 1 time every 7 seconds or so... so thats 643 hps loss from consume... so it seems to me that you come out ahead... but that is not factoring the cd reduction. innervate says 10353 healing average per activation. without the set bonus you get 1380 hps from the ability. with the pvp armorings you lose 148 willpower which bring innervate to 9 second cd and 10201 heals to give 1133 hps. the difference is 247 hps.

 

so even if you add 195+247 it still doesnt add up to the 643 hps consume without the pvp bonus costs. this is a quick napkin calc, which overestimates since it double counts the hps lost due to 148 less willpower (pre buffs). what would be required is a post mitigation extra damage form the lower armor rating to be more than 201 dtps in order to make the pve armorings worth it.

 

but again, i would appreciate orderken doing a thorough analysis.

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