PaSWolf Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Hey guys. I've been back to TOR for about a month and a half after about six months away. I was mainly a gunnery spec up until a month or so before I left. Since that point, I've been trying out healing in PvP, mainly because I figure that's the best way to learn to adapt and survive as a healer due to the hectic nature of PvP. I readily admit I have a long way to go to be a good healer and only have 3 pieces of Battle master and the rest champ gear (although I do have the Elite war hero gun). My question is, should I be trying to be a commando healer in PvP? It seems to be the least common healer by a large margin and when I do see one, I rarely see them anywhere near the top in the amount of heals. I regularly see them out-healed 2 or 3 times the amount of healing as other classes. I myself manage maybe 250k to 275k if I'm doing well. I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining, I'm just curious if commando healers are really that far off from other healers. Lots of times I feel like I'm not really contributing to my team as much with numbers like this as apposed to DPing. Just would like to get some thoughts from some of you guys. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goshik Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I've spec'ed CM throughout my entire commando experience, being my main character I've spent a lot of time with him. To give you a gauge of where I'm at I have almost full BM augmented (my implants aren't just yet) but I'm pretty resilient sill. On an average game I get around 300K-350K and usually come in second or third next to other healers. Now, with that out of the way. I think CM's are pretty fine where they are, if left alone they are very powerful healers by sniping probes across the field. If you have a great line of site behind a corner or on another level then you're practically invisible (as long as you don't use hammer shot). Managed well a CM can heal for long skirmishes but unfortunately if a battle drags on it can be hard to come back up to speed with your ammo. However, that's usually not the case. More so you will be often stormed by a Juggernaut or Marauder before you can get to cover and though 1 vs 1 the CM can put up a good fight or at least piss off the opposing player, usually it's a losing battle. We lack the ability to enter and leave battles on our own terms, were supposed to be able to endure (and heavy armor does do a decent job) but because of constant interrupts/stuns/knock-backs we don't do so well. Reactive Shield (RS) eases the pain somewhat, you need to have put a skill point in combat shield in order to get off any chain of heals and be immune to those interrupts. So basically if you don't have that RS when you just have one enemy on you, he/she will just keep timing their interrupts/stuns/knock-backs with your channeled heals until your dead. This of course only happens if your team is terrible and doesn't protect you. TLDR? Basically the CM is amazing if protected or backed up with a great team but in any other situation we just can't live without being babysat by some tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFishing Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Personally I think healing is the best thing commandos can do ATM in WZs. Gunnery is just pointless, unless you are *really* good at hiding around a corner and being inconspicuous. Assault can do some ok damage, especially against multiple opponents. And it is more mobile, at least as far as commandos go (which is not very far very fast). But medics are strong single-target healers with quick cast times, which makes them surprisingly effective. My favorite thing is to try to get the opposing team to fill my resolve bar with CCs and stuns. When they do, pop reactive shield, and become an unstoppable healing god for about 15s. This is frequently enough to distract 4-5 enemy players long enough for the rest of your team to cap a relatively unguarded node. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schooch Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Basically the CM is amazing if protected or backed up with a great team but in any other situation we just can't live without being babysat by some tank.[/color] *disclaimer* (I am fully WH +augmented, so it may be a gear issue.) CM can heal through a lot and still pull off good healing even with no tank and bad team. IMO sage is worse for no tank or a bad team, cause they have no survivability (I know they can use force run and drop combat, but then they are just running around doing nothing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFishing Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 *disclaimer* (I am fully WH +augmented, so it may be a gear issue.) CM can heal through a lot and still pull off good healing even with no tank and bad team. IMO sage is worse for no tank or a bad team, cause they have no survivability (I know they can use force run and drop combat, but then they are just running around doing nothing) I dunno about that....I have both a CM and sage, and I generally think my sage's stunning bubbles are better. Of course it will be nerfed at some point, but applying bubbles to my entire team and watching the results as they pop is pretty awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schooch Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I dunno about that....I have both a CM and sage, and I generally think my sage's stunning bubbles are better. Of course it will be nerfed at some point, but applying bubbles to my entire team and watching the results as they pop is pretty awesome. yeah but we all know that it is lame, stupid, and annoying, and probably not going to be around much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaoogaa Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 (edited) *disclaimer* (I am fully WH +augmented, so it may be a gear issue.) CM can heal through a lot and still pull off good healing even with no tank and bad team. IMO sage is worse for no tank or a bad team, cause they have no survivability (I know they can use force run and drop combat, but then they are just running around doing nothing) No tanks and a poor team make escapability more important. A sage will outperform a commando without support...or with support. Sage running hybrid to splody bubble and knockback root will outperform a full heal specced commando except for the 12 seconds of our bubble. Edit: easily outperform Edited December 5, 2012 by Aaoogaa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schooch Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 No tanks and a poor team make escapability more important. A sage will outperform a commando without support...or with support. Sage running hybrid to splody bubble and knockback root will outperform a full heal specced commando except for the 12 seconds of our bubble. Edit: easily outperform If a sage is being focused and a CM are being focused, the CM will out heal the sage. the sage will die and have to respawn a ton, where a CM can heal through most of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoFishing Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 If a sage is being focused and a CM are being focused, the CM will out heal the sage. the sage will die and have to respawn a ton, where a CM can heal through most of it. If you can change "most" to "some", I'll agree. My commando typically survives more of a beating than my sage could ever hope to, balanced somewhat by the occasional escape that force speed and stunning bubble offer. But being focused is pretty much the same result on both, death and respawn. IMO, the main difference is the sage respawns with most CDs available, while reactive shield is still a long way off for the commando. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BounceDK Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Yes commandos should heal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adellion Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Commandos have the lowest healing output compared to scoundrels and sages, but they can tank a bit more damage. However, that's because unlike scoundrels and sages, commandos cannot escape from combat (no stealth like a scoundrel, or force speed/bubble stun like a sage). So the class if pretty flawed (and imo, deserves a buff). A lot of damage in PvP ignore armour anyway, which makes heavy armour pointless against some types of damage. Pity BW don't realise this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heechJunzi Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 (edited) I am primarily DPS assault, and I would recommend it as a starting point for anyone. It really teaches you to kite / LOS / escape, which are skills gunnery troopers don't get to use but medics SHOULD use. Escape until your shield is off CD, or you can supercharge. Throw kolto bombs to self-heal and slow pursuers. But I wanted to get more flexible, increase my usefulness in ranked. So, now on some maps I try to run half in assault and half in heals. Yesterday in Voidstar, I dd 280k on offense and 280k heals in defense. My goal is to work on both and get both 300k medals in the same match. I think that's something no other AC can bring to the table. I also have an op healer, and in pugs at least find myself putting up equally good heal numbers in my commando medic... often breaking 500k heals in a full match. Edited December 8, 2012 by heechJunzi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicagoBearsFan Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 (edited) My main is a heal spec commando in full WH/EWH gear. I primarily heal but I have actually found that playing a "support" role works very well with heal spec commandos. By this I mean you heal first and DPS to support. Commandos have some of the best AOEs in the game... Use them. It's not uncommon for me to have 150-200k DPS and 200-250k heals in the same match. If there are no other healers I defiantly hit the healing harder and have around 350k or more if I'm not constantly focused. Commandos getting 500k heals is not the norm and if that happens it is likely against a bad opponent who doesn't mark/focus healers. If there are 2 other healers and you work together your team should be tough to beat. In that case I try to help keep the other healers alive by healing them or harassing their attackers. I can't tell you how many times I have sean juggs and maras peel off other healers for a nice "juicy" commando, only to find they have a hard taking me down through my shield and support heals of the now free healer I was supporting. It's amazing how long we CAN last on the move by popping shield, an adrenal, adrenalin rush, and throwing down kolto bombs at our feet while spamming kolto infusion when it's off CD. I see the commando as more of a "jack of all trades and master of none" type role. We are not going to put up the best Heals since we don't have a viable HOT in WZ (ie green beam of death), and we are not going to top the boards in DPS, nor should we. But the commando CAN do both as the situation dictates. Other than Hutt ball, I usually change cells to the armor piercing one since after you die in a match it is hard to build up 30 charges again. In hutt ball I still use the combat support cell so I can run with the ball carrier bright green beam blazing. It either heals the ball carrier or draws them off. It's amazing how often I can draw 2-3 imps off the ball carrier like moths to a flame! Also, when you get marked, and you will know it when you do, instead of thinking "poor me", USE it against them! Coordinate with another player and use that marker above your head to draw imps off nodes and doors. Even experienced players have a hard time resisting that big marker above your head and can sometimes be drawn off and CCed too far from an objective to do anything about it. I say all this to say that commandos in WZ SHOULD heal, but to ONLY heal is limiting their potential, especially since we are rarely going to put up the big numbers like a sage or scoundrel. I have only topped 500k healing a few times, and that's OK because I know my role and I try to play it the best that I can. Edited December 9, 2012 by ChicagoBearsFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommanderKirk Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 (edited) I play a healing commando and it is possible to put up high numbers but you need to either be supported with another healer or a guard. Here is a couple examples of some games granted some were full length voidstars but i consistently put up around 500k+ games depending on speed of games and such. The most important and overlooked ability is kolto bomb which is a great aoe heal which also increased healing done. And trauma probe is a nice ability as long as you have ammo to spare.http://i.imgur.com/Iard8.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/kBU4i.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/hOn8o.jpg Edited December 11, 2012 by CommanderKirk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts