I am a bit of a SWTOR noob. i just had my first baby 4 months ago with my wife, and along with a new 60 hour a week job, my spare time has not been my own to get all the details on the game that i would like. A few questions if you guys dont mind...

1) What level is instance running possible?

2) How viable is leveling more in instances than questing outside of them?

3) For those who have played BETA, are there other classes that seem better for healing pve than a sorc?

I just havent had the time to scour the forums for all the answers i need. I am excited to play, and have been checking my email excited to play! Thanks to anyone that can help

Good evening fatheadx!

Congrats on your baby and a steady demanding job! Raising a family is never easy, more so when you try to balance work, kiddos, wife, and an MMORPG addiction! lol

To answer your questions:

1) Yes, very viable early on, you will do your first flashpoint at level 10, your first group instance around 8-9

2) Both are necessary for leveling... plus the story in SWTOR is amazing. You will want to level outside of instances!

3) There are other healing classes, BH, and IA can heal...I prefered sorc over them though... it just seemed cooler by far.

Hope this helps!

I am a bit of a SWTOR noob. i just had my first baby 4 months ago with my wife, and along with a new 60 hour a week job, my spare time has not been my own to get all the details on the game that i would like. A few questions if you guys dont mind...

 

1) What level is instance running possible?

 

2) How viable is leveling more in instances than questing outside of them?

 

3) For those who have played BETA, are there other classes that seem better for healing pve than a sorc?

 

I just havent had the time to scour the forums for all the answers i need. I am excited to play, and have been checking my email excited to play! Thanks to anyone that can help

1. 9, you can start healing at 10

2. Not very viable. Flash points have a level range roughly in line with where you are after leaving a planet: 10, 16, 22, 27, etc. They start getting fairly low level after a while, and there start being multiple planets in between flash points after you hit the mid 20s. You're intended to quest in this game.

3. ATM Sorcs are the best healers. This can change on a patch by patch basis of course.

3. ATM Sorcs are the best healers. This can change on a patch by patch basis of course.

Don't get me wrong, I'm rolling a Corr. Sorc, but is that fact per se or personal preference? I haven't seen anything to indicate a massive superiority to any of the others (and I enjoyed the BH healing in beta - healey laser beams are awesome!)

Don't get me wrong, I'm rolling a Corr. Sorc, but is that fact per se or personal preference? I haven't seen anything to indicate a massive superiority to any of the others (and I enjoyed the BH healing in beta - healey laser beams are awesome!)

Unfortunately it is mostly fact. Sorcs have much better burst healing (partially because of Force, largely because of our shields) than other healers, making them a bit easier to play when you need to heal massive amounts of burst damage. They start having some disadvantages over long fights because Force regenerates slowly while Energy and Heat are "infinite," but overall Sorcs are a bit more flexible than the other healers right now.

Just look at it this way: there is always going to be a "best" healer in an MMO. Doesn't have to a huge advantage, but there will always be one in practice. Right now it's Sorcs.

In regards to sorc healing being the best. Looking at the abilities, sorcs have the most versatility. The only weakness I've found is that they have to manage their force over long fights, which is not to be discounted.

In WoW terms, sorcs to me seem to have the best of both worlds, holy and discipline wrapped up in one tree with a splash of resto shaman and a drop of warlock even.

If you prefer druid like healing, the sorcerer is probably not your class. Otherwise there is a lot to like in the corruption tree. The 31 point talent I'm iffy about, though, seems somewhat weak for the cost. Perhaps it's better in live or will get buffed.

I also had a few questions about Corr Sorcs and felt it better to not start a new thread.

-Stats-

Obv Willpower is out prime stat.

As for secondaries I'm to infer that power/Force power will also affect healing done.

If so, which I am pretty sure is true, then that would make it the best secondary stat with alacrity, crit and surge(assuming it works with crit heals[heals don't crit /endbadWoWjoke]) following in that order, true?

That site also showed that we get lightning drain at level 1 but I don't recall seeing it in any day 1 vids. If it's gone do we have any in combat force regen mechanic besides speccing into lightning, which I don't really want to do, before we get consumption?

Finally, how are the low level heals? Like pre-20 healing as it looks like we start getting other goodies around then.

That site also showed that we get lightning drain at level 1 but I don't recall seeing it in any day 1 vids. If it's gone do we have any in combat force regen mechanic besides speccing into lightning, which I don't really want to do, before we get consumption?

 

Finally, how are the low level heals? Like pre-20 healing as it looks like we start getting other goodies around then.

I am not sure about the rest of your post but I levelled my Sorc to 18 in the beta and although I went with Lightning I didn't feel that the heals were very good at all.

From what I hear it isn't that necessary to be a specced healer until level ~30 anyway.

I would also say that you might want to re-think not putting points into Lightning. The 9% Force cost reduction and the +100 Force points are very very good skills for a healer, and so is the +20% shield efficiency in T2 because your shield is a very good power in your healing arsenal and one of your best ways of protecting a tank until you get your bigger heals and it stays an essential power even then.

I hope I worded that right.