I'm roughly around lvl 28 and I rolled Sniper for the fun of 1-shotting mobs whenever possible.

My problem lies in the fact that whenever I'm engaging 3+ mobs, she can't seem to take the hits. I'm perpetually Recovering after the fights when I'm not able to use the Mount trick to get her to 100% instantly.

And with Tough mobs, it's even worse and I've yet to have a Champion mob that didn't kill her.

It'd be different if I had an in-combat healing ability to use on her and keep her up, but that simply isn't the case.

Am I doing something wrong here? Her gear is up to date and geared toward Endurance and Defense stats, but she feels very squishy and it's annoying have to spend 5-10 seconds after every fight just to keep her up and alive.

Unfortunately, this is what happens with most tanking companions around this level when you're a pure dps class. I've played almost every AC at this point and it's always the same, even if you gear them up as well as possible (assuming you have). It helps if you've earned a ton of presence buffs through legacy and datacrons. Also make sure she's got her tanking stance selected and all her individual tank abilities active. I've been told companions do best to stack endurance and shield/absorb and not so much on defense.

Now at level 50, in full Rakata and BH, Kaliyo rocks. But you'll have to deal with her or a dps companion until you get your healer on Taris. When you do, it'll be so much easier.

Unfortunately, this is what happens with most tanking companions around this level when you're a pure dps class. I've played almost every AC at this point and it's always the same, even if you gear them up as well as possible (assuming you have). It helps if you've earned a ton of presence buffs through legacy and datacrons. Also make sure she's got her tanking stance selected and all her individual tank abilities active. I've been told companions do best to stack endurance and shield/absorb and not so much on defense.

 

Now at level 50, in full Rakata and BH, Kaliyo rocks. But you'll have to deal with her or a dps companion until you get your healer on Taris. When you do, it'll be so much easier.

Thanks for the advice. I'm really looking forward to my healer, since I just finished a BH and stuck with Mako from day-one. Having to stop and heal up after every fight is painful.

I only really started having trouble with Kaliyo dying on Taris, and only then I think because I overleveled on 2XP weekend and my mods and enhancements were a couple planets behind. But even then, the Gold elite Rakghouls are just devouring her, stacking Armor Reduction 5 times and killing her quickly. I haven't tried using Vector, because I don't know if his DPS is enough to overcome his light armor.

Do you have biochem as a crew skill? You can at least make and use the Med Units that heal both you and your companion during the fight. By the time you get to Prototype Squad Recovery Med Unit you can hit it for 3225-3950 healing on both of you, plus an additional 1435 over 30 seconds.

I'm leveling as a sharpshooter. (left tree). No super gear.

But, despite being a stationary cannon, I am not static. I position myself and use leg-shot (root) well enough that I don't take much damage. I just don't really stay out in the open too long. By the time I repsosition, my burst skills are back up. Its like moving in a chessboard, as opposed to wild jumping.

Same goes for pvp.

Unfortunately, this is what happens with most tanking companions around this level when you're a pure dps class. I've played almost every AC at this point and it's always the same, even if you gear them up as well as possible (assuming you have). It helps if you've earned a ton of presence buffs through legacy and datacrons. Also make sure she's got her tanking stance selected and all her individual tank abilities active. I've been told companions do best to stack endurance and shield/absorb and not so much on defense.

 

Now at level 50, in full Rakata and BH, Kaliyo rocks. But you'll have to deal with her or a dps companion until you get your healer on Taris. When you do, it'll be so much easier.

It's not just pure DPS classes. My Op is Medic/Concealment hybrid (up to Surgical Probe), and after a couple of rough fights on Belsavis with Vector I decided to get Kaliyo out, geared her up and everything. It wsa a slaughter

Rapidly turns into a downward spiral of 'Kaliyo can't kill can anything so you need to do it, only you can't because you have to keep healing Kaliyo because she's getting wailed on by multiple enemies who she can't kill, so you need to kill them, only you can't because you have to keep healing Kaliyo because..." etc.

Her damage is anemic and all her shields and heavy armor don't really give her that much more survivability over a DPS companion who can actually down enemies and therefore reduce incoming damage.

It's not just pure DPS classes. My Op is Medic/Concealment hybrid (up to Surgical Probe), and after a couple of rough fights on Belsavis with Vector I decided to get Kaliyo out, geared her up and everything. It wsa a slaughter

 

Rapidly turns into a downward spiral of 'Kaliyo can't kill can anything so you need to do it, only you can't because you have to keep healing Kaliyo because she's getting wailed on by multiple enemies who she can't kill, so you need to kill them, only you can't because you have to keep healing Kaliyo because..." etc.

 

Her damage is anemic and all her shields and heavy armor don't really give her that much more survivability over a DPS companion who can actually down enemies and therefore reduce incoming damage.

It's not just Kaliyo, though. It's just tank companions in general at that level. That's what I'm trying to say. It's just worse when you have no heals to back it up. Same thing happened to me with my Scoundrel with both Corso and Bowdaar, with Blizz on my merc,, with Quyzen on my Shadow.

Even Khem Val is starting to get a bit weak now, even with Sorc healers having a talented presence buff in addition to a ton of Presence I have accumulated from altaholicism.

Noobish IA question here, but does the IA get some sort of bubble ability that reduces damage 50 % for 12 seconds or something like the Siths and BH get ? Maybe something you can throw on Kaliyo to let her survive a bit more .

Nope. You have a personal damage reduction (shield probe) but none you can put on anyone else. You have lots of hots and you get a free instant heal that just consumes TA. So what you want to do as an Op healer is keep two stacks of Kolto probe on your target and swap between casting Kolto Injection, Surgical Probe, and diagnostic scan to regenerate energy. If you're lower level you may not have all that yet, but once you get surgical probe around level 30 (I think) it becomes much easier.

It's not just Kaliyo, though. It's just tank companions in general at that level. That's what I'm trying to say. It's just worse when you have no heals to back it up. Same thing happened to me with my Scoundrel with both Corso and Bowdaar, with Blizz on my merc,, with Quyzen on my Shadow.

Even Khem Val is starting to get a bit weak now, even with Sorc healers having a talented presence buff in addition to a ton of Presence I have accumulated from altaholicism.

So the conclusion that can be drawn is that, tank companions exist solely to get squishier classes through their early levels, and should then be retired in favor of a DPS or Healer Comp?

I'm just about to finish Voss, I've been using Vector since I picked him up on Alderaan.