Okay, so my commando just started Tatooine (she's level 26 now). I had been using Jorgan, and although my health would take a heavy hit during our fights sometimes, we would mow stuff down. I could concentrate on the Elite, and he could take the adds. I didn't even bring out Elara. Then I got FourEx. Was going to use FourEx so he could tank for me, but guildies convinced me to use Elara. Don't get me wrong, staying healed is great, but the fights are so much longer, and I end up running out of energy now.

So my first question is, which companion do you suggest?

Second question - what is a good leveling rotation? I had a good one down with Jorgan, and the mobs imploded quickly (I have high presence, so he ends up doing more damage than I do), but now with Elara, like I said, I'm running out of power with the same rotation.

Any advice you could give on either of the above topics would help me. Back in the beginning of the game, I had Elara out the whole time after I got her, and I managed, but I haven't played that character since February, so I can't remember all that did.

Also, do you recommend leveling up companion affection mostly at the same time, or concentrate on one until you've had all the chats you are going to have that chapter, then moving on to another, etc.?

Well my preference would be Elara. 4X is perfectly viable, but a bit more difficult to gear, since he needs droid parts, whereas your other pets can just use your obsolete pieces. Still, he is pretty awesome, so I wouldn't blame you for using him! One last note about Elara; not sure if this is still true or not, but I recall much of the gear that drops for her had cunning on it. Ignore that gear...she uses aim.

Managing ammo on a commando is pretty much the bane of our existence, so getting good at that is really important. Remember, the more ammo we have, the faster it regenerates, so you want to keep it at level 4 regen most of the time, and really avoid dropping it lower than level 3. That said, the gunnery talent that makes ammo mgmt. much easier is pretty high up. So you could always go plasma cell/assault tree until you have enough skill points to spec deep into gunnery. Or go gunnery and keep plasma cell until you can get the armor-cell specific traits. Either way, plasma cell + hammer shot is quite a bit of damage with no ammo use.

It has been too long since I leveled my commando, so I can't really help much with a leveling rotation, mostly because I can't remember what skills you get when. But priority is probably high-impact bolt when it is off CD, then full auto off CD, then grav round if you have energy, or hammer shot otherwise. The only real difference between assault and gunnery would be no grav round for assault.

Also, don't be afraid to burn your recharge cells early in the fight. Open up with as much burst as you want until your ammo is gone, then recharge cells, then pay attention to ammo mgmt.

EDIT: corrected reserve power cell to recharge cells, and note about ammo regen.

I use Jorgan exclusively. Dual DPS burns through MOBs faster than any other combo, and since I tend to be a bit overleveled due to PvP, it goes very fast. I typically keep Jorgan geared within a few levels of my own gear, giving him my old stuff when I upgrade.

Once I hit 50, I'll switch to HK-51. Unlocked him through Legacy and have been itching to use him. By far the best DPS companion in the game.

I just got my Gunnery Commando to 50 two days ago, so my leveling experiences are still pretty fresh. I used Elara pretty much the whole way and didn't feel like the fights were abnormally long or drawn out.

Use your Sticky Grenade directly followed by Mortar Volley for any grouped baddies. Those two combined take out almost any weak/normal mobs. If there's anything left, one Hammer Shot each is enough to finish them off - or use Hail if you're in a hurry.

For elites, I found that the most boring rotation was the most effective. Basically use FA and HiB when they are off CD, and fill in the spaces with Grav Rounds. If you find yourself with extra ammo, drop a Mortar Volley or get in close and throw a stockstrike in there.

For elites with adds, AoE is your friend. Throw a Sticky Grenade on one of the normals to stun them, then drop your Mortar on the group. If you're feeling nimble, line them up and blast them with Pulse Cannon. Mortar/Sticky/Pulse takes out pretty much any adds you'll face in solo content.

Okay, so my commando just started Tatooine (she's level 26 now). I had been using Jorgan, and although my health would take a heavy hit during our fights sometimes, we would mow stuff down. I could concentrate on the Elite, and he could take the adds. I didn't even bring out Elara. Then I got FourEx. Was going to use FourEx so he could tank for me, but guildies convinced me to use Elara. Don't get me wrong, staying healed is great, but the fights are so much longer, and I end up running out of energy now.

 

So my first question is, which companion do you suggest?

 

Second question - what is a good leveling rotation? I had a good one down with Jorgan, and the mobs imploded quickly (I have high presence, so he ends up doing more damage than I do), but now with Elara, like I said, I'm running out of power with the same rotation.

 

Any advice you could give on either of the above topics would help me. Back in the beginning of the game, I had Elara out the whole time after I got her, and I managed, but I haven't played that character since February, so I can't remember all that did.

 

Also, do you recommend leveling up companion affection mostly at the same time, or concentrate on one until you've had all the chats you are going to have that chapter, then moving on to another, etc.?

Gunnery spec I used Elara pretty much exclusively once I got her. I felt like my DPS was sufficient on my own and having her healing me meant I could chain pull 3-5 encounters before having to stop to regen health and ammo. Other than Mortar Volley I also usually didn't use my other AoEs because I thought they burned up too much ammo too fast compared to the damage done. MV would usually kill 1 group, then I'd kill the next group or 2 with FA, grav round and HiB, then MV would be off CD, lather, rince repeat. I started using the other AoEs once I got the higher tier ammo regen talents because I could afford it then, but not early on.

For comp affection I usually buy them off as much as possible and whatever else they get while I'm out is just a bonus, then save up all their conversations until I got to a planet I didn't like, then I'd use companion converstations to get a level or 2 fast so I could just do my class story on that planet and get off of it fast.