So while I was hunting around for some info about rotations I stumbled over a debate about companions. I ended up interested and looked around for more, and it seems like they aren't all balanced as well as the devs think they are? I've seen DPS rankings and stuff like that. Now I (currently, anyway) play a lightning sorc. My comp is almost always set to healing because it reduces downtime since I don't have to heal during combat as a general rule, and it almost 100% removes the need to heal between fights. So I went looking for heal companion info, and this seems to be up in the air as well? Some say ranged dual wield is the best but it has to be a non cartel comp (is Nico cartel?), some say force user melee is the best. Well, really, everybody says Zoom is the best but I do not have Zoom, so I have to make due. Some say never use ranged healers because they have a habit of planting roots wherever they are standing as long as they are within 30m of the enemy, even if you're out of their range, so you get no heals. Some say melee healer is better since they tend to stay between you and enemy, which can keep them within heal range, but you want to disable certain heals on them... So what's the best healer for a dps sorc? Because I thought they were mostly balanced but this seems to make it sound like you could be gimping yourself pretty hard using the wrong one.

I feel I should preface this with some notes, and I apologize in advance for such a long post. I know people hate "tell me what to play" with no info or preferences given so I am trying to give as much as I possibly can to get good advice. Now, I know that 99% of the game is soloable as far as PvE content goes. However there are still some classes that are simpler or better suited for doing it, particularly regarding the few remaining Heroic 4's, some of the repeating event "bosses", and for my particular condition that can limit my class choices. For the first point, I have peripheral neuropathy in my hands. To put this as simply as possible, my hands (particularly my fingers) do not move as quickly or as accurately as they should. That's a gross simplification but it's accurate enough for this. This means that classes that feel like playing the piano are a bad idea. If you've ever played Engineer in GW2 or Bard in FF14 you know what I'm talking about. Also, because I know it will be brought up, I have tried a gaming mouse. My thumb does not move well enough to use one, I've tried a few different ones and they simply don't work for me. The missions I'm referring to, and I apologize for not knowing names but it's been a while since I played, are things like The H4 on that one daily planet where you can skip the boss and plant a bomb (lots of enemies there), or the Gree event where you click a tower and summon a few waves of bots followed by a champ at the end, or the rakghoul event where there's an H4 to fight those champs in the last cave (I seem to remember this one being particularly difficulr). Some of the fights in that wookie arena in the expansion. Stuff like that. These are obviously easier with some classes over others. There could be other missions as well but those are the ones I remember. The only class I have any real experience with from last time I played is MM Sniper. It has only one (that I can remember) proc and it is 100% so really it's just part of a rotation rather than a "you have 1 random second to hit this power before it's too late" sort of thing. It has a one button AoE rotation (possibly my favorite AoE in the game) and a fairly simple priority rotation. I loved the class back when I played but as the neuropathy has gotten worse since I last played the fact that the class can be a little squishy may cause me issues. Don't get me wrong, I intend to try the class again, but I really would like some advice. I tend to prefer playing dps because it means I don't have an important role in groups, at least not as important as healer or tank. I've tried healer, I absolutely lack the reflexes to play one. In some games I can tank, in some I can't, depends entirely on how often I have to simultaneously move, target, fire off skills, turn the screen, etc. This generally leads me into a ranged dps character since they tend to have the lowest amount of required work to do outside of the occasional need to strafe. It seems to me my best bet would be the tankiest ranged dps class but I could be wrong here? That class might be too convoluted to play, have too many procs that need to be clicked too quickly? This is why I need some help, and any advice is appreciated. Also, please don't misunderstand my intention. I have nothing against grouping for whatever content with friends or guildies (when I get one), but I very rarely group with randoms. I know I am slow, there's nothing I can do about it, and I do not like to negatively impact other peoples experiences. Friends and guildies would already know about it and hopefully not get frustrated with it, but I don't expect randoms to sit there and listen to me talk about it before every single dungeon. It's embarrassing (like posting this on reddit, lol) for me and a PITA for them. This means I need a class that can do as much content as possible on my own so I don't have to bother people. I am likely leaning towards Arsenal Merc, MM Sniper, or Lightning Sorc. All the hunting I've done has shown these three are consistently recommended when it comes to easiest class to play, and I absolutely need easy in order to be able to enjoy playing without pain. My play sessions are limited enough already, no sense playing a complicated/fast APM class and making it even worse. I generally see the sniper and merc being called the tankiest of the ranged dps classes, but a lot of posts are pretty out of date so, again...advice appreciated. I know I say that a lot but it's true. I hope this is enough to help me figure out my best course of action. I haven't played this game in a long time and I'm looking forward to getting back into it. Thank you in advance, especially if you read this whole thing

I may give madness a try, see how that feels. My big problem with lightning is the random procs and basically playing whack-a-mole with the glowing buttons. Maybe madness will feel better? And it still has good aoe (I love AoE). The whole dot dot then AoE to spread dot seems like a PITA for buildup though. Maybe see if I can get into lightning again...assuming I don't stick with sniper...assuming I don't go pub instead... /sigh

Thanks for the advice. One thing though, I actually am very much enjoying both classes. The problem is that I only really want to do the grind on one of them, not both (for now) for obvious reasons. Like you said, very long grind. I'm just having a terrible time choosing between them.

Yes, getting that out there in the open in the title, I am incredibly indecisive and have problems with stuff like this. It's stupid, I'm blowing it out of proportion, I'm aware of that, I make myself crazy. Now that that's out of the way... This is likely going to be a slightly convoluted train of thought, I apologize, I'm typing it as I go to hopefully avoid missing something. I am currently playing and enjoying both the Marksman Sniper and Lightning Sorcerer. Yea, low dps, I know, but I enjoy them. Part of the problem I'm starting to have is that the farther I get into the game (I'm in KotFE for sniper, only just finishing sorc story) is that I seem to be starting to lean more towards my sniper. The problem with this is that it's very obvious the story will be more interesting (to me anyway) with my sorcerer. The agent is starting to feel a little bit out of place surrounded by all these demigods and with the various story points that I won't spoil but you know if you've been there what I mean. You might just think I should play both, and I will play both, but I'm starting to get to the point where I want to really begin some grinding. Rep grind and command point grinding in particular are something I would like to start to work on, and while rep grinding can be done on multiple characters (which is amazing) the command point grinding is really better done on one first so you can get the account wide buff for hitting 300 in legacy. The agent seems a bit easier to play than the sorc, it's mostly just putting down their 4.5s AoE (vs the sorcs 3.0s AoE) and cleaning up whatevers left afterwards. Even their single target rotation seems easier, although that might just be because I've played agent more and am more used to it. So this seems like agent would be the obvious choice for me, but in wanting to focus on one character, picking the right one has me hesitating badly. Most importantly, I suppose a good key point would be trying to figure out which is the better grinder, but they both play similarly and I'm not experienced enough to be able to say for sure one way or the other. It seems to currently be coming down to sniper > sorc for gameplay, but sorc > sniper for story, and you would think gameplay > story since I have to play the character longterm, but...it's just not clicking for some reason. The fact I like to roleplay on the force user far more than the agentsmuggler is also giving me pause. Obviously I don't have to actually play the force user to roleplay with it, but it would be really nice if my main for gameplay was also my main rp character. Again, silly, but it causes indecision on my part. Of course faction is even better issue. I like the agent more than the smuggler, that ones pretty easy. But as far as sorc or consular go, it's much harder. Not because of in-game story in this case, but because of rp again. A light side, semi-pacifist sorc makes no sense and would likely get murdered unless they were already strong enough to either be ignored by other sith since they aren't an important target or overpower any of them that tried to attack them...which to me falls into godmoding territory. On the flip side, a light side semi-oacifist consular is...normal. Nothing stands out about that at all really. Back and forth again, empire rp tends to be rough, sneaky, backstabby, lots of powerplays, and holy cow are there a ton of people with power boners. You don't even need lightsabers with all the ***** being waved around trying to show off whose is bigger. That said, it's more accepted to be a good (and I use the term loosely) sith than it is to be a jedi that doesn't follow the code to the letter. Sith code is more of a guideline, which I think is an actual quote from the game, not sure. On the other hand, pub side tends to be far friendlier, way easier to get into roleplaying, more accepting of new players, but the rps can be a bit on the dryer side also. There generally isn't as much happening. Jedi RP tends to be a lot of standing around and teaching lessons, maybe a bit of exploring, some diplomacy. Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just...dunno. As you can see I'm a bit of a jumbled mess, part of the point of this post was just to air it all out and see if I could find any rhyme or reason in there. Failing that, I could definitely use some help. Thanks for the help. Heck, thanks if you even bothered to read the whole thing but can't think of any advice tldr: MM Sniper or Lightning Sorc, I guess, although that may be a little bit too tldr

Suppose I'll ask since I'm thinking about putting in an app maybe...when you say traditional Jedi, I assume that means emotionless robot Jedi are the only ones that need to apply because 100% of emotions are dark side? Figure I'll get that question out of the way.

Thanks for the info, I'll aim for Bio for my sniper than, maybe stick one of the others on another character. However, one thing to note. The light/dark side thing I was referencing was not the universal gain of light/dark, I'm fine with that. Diplomacy missions give you the opposite if you fail though, I don't think the other skills do that.

I have a tendency to like making my own stuff and using the GTN as little as possible. It's not like I won't buy anything if I really need it but it's just not how I tend to do things. There's tons of guides out there on how to make credits, and those are great, but I'm specifically looking for the ones that will make myself and my alts (if I ever get around to making them) the most useful stuff. I've never actually gotten a character past...40-50 I think...so end-game crafting is completely unknown to me. I've only been back in the game for a week or so and I've mostly just stuck to slicing since I've been unsure what to do. My current character is a sniper, although whether or not that will change...who knows? Biochem seems obvious, heals, buffs, and implants that are universally useful for all characters. I dislike diplomacy because of the whole light/dark thing if you fail but...not that big a deal. Cybertech seems useful also since, again, universally useful for all characters. All characters need enhancements, mods, and earpieces. Added bonus is I like the space missions and I can make ship parts, although I have no idea if that's actually useful in the slightest. Artifice is also universally useful for relics, although the rest of it is less so unless you're playing a character that needs the offhands or sabers. Of course dye and crystals are great fun, but not necessarily useful The other three don't seem all that great to me honestly, at least from a universal "can help all my characters" way. They don't make left side gear and they are very specialized in what they make. Doesn't mean they're bad, but maybe not as useful as the other three, especially Bio and Cyber. Any advice is appreciated, thank you

Preface: I have nothing against grouping. In fact, it's entirely likely I'll be grouping quite a bit with this character. However, I love to solo, and the harder the content the better. It's my hobby when the guild isn't around for grouping. That said, this character is being "built" for solo first, group second. I will virtually never PvP so no worries about that. I've been popping in and out of the game for a few days at a time over the last couple years but haven't really played the game since the end of 2014 for any real length of time. I basically haven't played the game in about two years, so a lot of info I have might be outdated, but I've been doing all sorts of researching while I'm installing the game (since that takes me a couple hours) and have gone through about 50 or so threads and the like. I've narrowed it down, I think, to Powertech and Assassin. I suppose Jugg could be an option but I've never been that fond of Rage mechanics for classes. I know from reading the mountain of threads it appears that with recent(?) changes to the game that literally any/everything can solo now thanks to some companion buffs. This is good news, of course, but there's still always going to be a class that is better at it than the others, and there is always going to be some content that one class can manage to do that others either can't do or have a much harder time doing. Now I'm not necessarily looking for the best, not even sure how you would really define that in a game like this, but I do have some things I'm looking for that can maybe narrow it down. I know forums like people with questions to be as specific as possible so I will try my best. 1: I have problems with tunnel vision, admitting that right up front. Easier rotations are better. I'm expecting a gaming mouse for christmas but that's a bit away. Reading seems to suggest that Powertech is easier than the other two tanks, followed by Jugg, and Assassin is the hardest. Yes? Assuming that's accurate, PT would win this point. 2: I prefer passive mitigation over active. This basically hits the same as #1, PT > J > A. If accurate, PT wins again. Now, having said that, I'm still not sure if it's that simple. I was leaning towards the Assassin since I've never actually played one all that far, and even doing the research doesn't really say how the classes play. From what I remember, PT basically uses ranged to pull and then blows everything up with melee/AoE. Juggernaut jumps into mobs and then blows them up with AoE. Assassin sneaks in, and...I forget. I actually got pretty far with an Assassin (when the game first came out) but it's been so long I forget how they play. I remember Assassin being good because you could stealth past some really nasty fights when trying to solo H4's (which apparently no longer exist?). 3: I plan to make one of every class eventually assuming I have enough fun and stick around, but this will likely end up as my main, taking into account doing holiday events, dailies, weeklies, stuff like that. My grinder, so to speak, who handles all my "chores". That may make a difference in class recommendation, it may not, but it seems worth putting out there. 4: Slightly off topic here, but still important for a main...any recommendations on Crew Skill? I know biotech is the default but I'm personally fond of artifice and cybertech. Any of these three would likely be good but...not sure. I don't generally craft for profit, I craft for personal usefulness (and to help friends of course). 5: I want to be immortal. I know, so does everybody, right? What I mean is, even if I have to slow down my killing, or move through whatever FP/etc slower, I just don't want to die. That may not even be a concern anymore based on what I've been reading but, as mentioned, I do plan to make some attempts at soloing stupid stuff when my guild is busy, so...it might make a difference? I don't know. I feel like this is basically going to come down to stealth being the most convenient thing ever (assassin) or shieldtech being really easy to play but having to swim through all the enemies instead of stealthing. I don't know, just really torn on what to play and hoping to get some good advice. Thank you!

I think at this point it's basically down to a couple for me... Bio: Obviously for heals and stims. Also implants. I don't use adrenals too often. Honestly I don't use medpacs too often either but I'm not exactly doing difficult stuff right now... Artifice: This just seems...fun. Not sure how useful it actually is since all crystals are equal, but at least I can make relics? And fun should count for something, right? Shiny crystals. Could actually use the hilts too on my assassin. Cyber: Mods, Enhancements, ear pieces, ship parts...so many things that I wouldn't have to worry about buying Doubt I'll do the other three, so at least that narrows it down to half? Not sure what to do T_T

Somehow managed to forget artifice was even a thing If I decide to go biochem, would you recommend diplomacy or slicing as the third spot?

I'm planning to play an assassin tank, and be mostly solo (I haven't played in years, I want to see the whole story and xpac stuff)... The way I was guessing was biochem is good for making my own meds and stims, but how useful are they really for soloing? Especially with a healer companion, plus only biochem can use the reusables so that doesnt help me if I want to make alts later on Armormech makes armor...but I don't need armor since I have all orange gear. Armormech makes armor mods, but cybertech makes augments and enhancements, so 2 > 1? Cybertech makes mounts (meh) space gear (does it even make the best space gear? vendor stuff is better isnt it?) and two parts for my orange gear Armstech is useless for assassin And synth is just cool for crystals and dye, but otherwise not going to make me useful gear? Am I too far off the mark? Like I said, I haven't played in a long time. I just want to craft something but don't want to pick something that won't help me out

I am not looking to make credits, there are tons of guides out there if I wanted to learn how to make credits. I am looking for which crew skill would be the best for helping my own character(s) along. I currently only have one character, my guess was either Biochem or Cybertech but I could easily be wrong, and I wanted to find out before I started to invest time/credits into this. With the crafting changes (I haven't played the game in a long time) I am also unsure which combo's to use now. Is Cyber/Scav/UT or Bio/bio/diplomacy still the best way to go? I thought I read that slicing is now a lot more important to crafting so I was unsure of how to proceed. Any advice is appreciated, figured I would ask while the server is down

Well, after finally having a day off to actually play the game for more than 20 minutes, I can definitely say it's down to Powertech or Assassin. Strongly dislike the rage mechanic on Juggernaut. I'll still play one eventually for the story but not as my main, and not as solo, that's for sure.

You can stealth out of a nasty situation on the sin, but you wouldn't likely need to escape the fight in the first place on a jugg. You can bypass trash and get to objectives quickly on a sin, but jugg can just swim through the trash anyway. Sin can spam AoE, not sure if jugg can? Force is easy to use, rage can sometimes be a little bit harder, but...not really. Honestly, at this point, I think it's coming down to the ultimate convenience that is stealth vs the juggs toolkit and natural heavy armor, and I'm really unsure which will serve my purposes better =/