Sorry, I posted this in the wrong section, so this is a repeat. Heh.

 

Anyways, my main character is a Trooper, Vanguard to be specific. I wanted to try a healing class (since I've never really tried healing in an MMO before) so I decided I'd go with a Mercenary, considering it would be the same trooper style but different specialization.

 

I'm up to level 20 now, and so far I'm really enjoying it. I've done a few flash-points and had no complaints so far (nobody has blamed me for wipes yet, so I guess I'm doing a good job. xD). However, upon traveling to the fleet to do some auctioning, I overheard a conversation about bounty hunters; mercenaries in particular. People were saying that Mercs were better at DPS, and were "horrible healers' and similar sentiments. Then again on Balmorra, the question was asked in general "Which class is better at healing, Ops or Mercs?" Everybody replied "Ops" without missing a beat.

 

So I guess the question is, is merc healing bad towards the end game? I don't pay attention to the FotM or anything like that, so I wouldn't be sure. I just don't want to spend time leveling a character I really like only to be turned down from groups because "We need an operative healer for this FP/OP"

Merc's aren't bad healers, unfortunately, the only thing we really are better at than the other 2 healer classes (sorcs, ops) are single target heals. This is great in FP's, not so great in Operations. You'll never see a group try to complete an Ops with 2 Merc healers in it and expect to actually live, unless those Mercs were seriously overgeared for the Ops. Needless to say we are often passed over for Ops because the other 2 healers are much better at healing groups of people, which most Ops require.

 

Not saying you'll never be able to do a good job in an Ops, it's just going to be a bit more of a challenge for the group. Sadly enough, most people don't really want a challenge, they want 'easy mode'.

 

Hopefully they bring Merc's back to pre-nerf specs soon, then you might see a change in attitude about us.

Are they bad? No, but they are harder to use efficiently compared to the other two healing classes. They excel in single target healing, so to heal an eight man op, you have to be quick on your reactions and have your gear set up properly. We are more than capable of healing ops runs as long as we are teamed with an OP or Sorc (preferably a sorc). I will say that Bodyguard Merc is probably the hardest to play (play well that is) of the three healers for serious OPS runs as compared to the other two. Edited January 14, 2013 by BlownSi

2 Mercs that know what they're doing can heal an Operation with ease. Actually, any combination of healers should be able to heal the current content (with maybe the exception of 2 Sorcs healing Kephess Nightmare).

I was healing Asation HM last week with my Merc and a another Merc and it was by far the easiest healing in that Op ever. Both had mostly 61ish gear with some 63. Not heavily overgeared in my opinion. So no, Mercs are not the worst healers. All heals are good (I have all 3). The easiest to play is the Sorc and the hardest the Merc. But merc is also the most fun imho.

2 Mercs that know what they're doing can heal an Operation with ease. Actually, any combination of healers should be able to heal the current content (with maybe the exception of 2 Sorcs healing Kephess Nightmare).

I was healing Asation HM last week with my Merc and a another Merc and it was by far the easiest healing in that Op ever. Both had mostly 61ish gear with some 63. Not heavily overgeared in my opinion. So no, Mercs are not the worst healers. All heals are good (I have all 3). The easiest to play is the Sorc and the hardest the Merc. But merc is also the most fun imho.

 

 

Yeah no doubt it can be done with two Mercs, just makes it a little more challenging. But hey, nothing wrong with that either....hehe. After hearing you say you did HM TFB with 2 mercs, I am now wanting to get mine in there to heal. I am always running as dps on my Merc or Jugg...lol.

 

I am really learning quickly that gear setup has a huge effect for merc healing, much more than I have noticed with other classes when optimizing gear. It could just be my perception though.

Edited January 16, 2013 by BlownSi

Mercs are not bad healers, but they are the worst of the 3, from a mechanical perspective.

 

They lack the AoE heals of Sorc (or Op, if you count rolling Kolto Probes along with RN).

 

They lack the ST heals of OP (Cycling Kolto Injection > Surgical Probe is a more sustainable and higher throughput ST heal than Merc can manage due to the CD on Healing Scan).

 

The secondary buffs they provide are of limited value. They're not worthless, but they're not good enough to be essential.

 

They have the least forgiving resource to manage.

 

They ARE the sturdiest, generally speaking, but both Op and Sorc have other means to offset their squishier nature.

 

The class is certainly viable, but anyone who can play it well is better served, from a purely mechanical perspective, by leveling either of the other 2 healing ACs if they just want to heal.

 

Aesthetics are their own thing, and it is certainly undeniable that Merc can respec to a significantly better DPS than Op or Sorc can. That, in and of itself, is valuable.

 

Edit: Kinda sounds doomy and gloomy, sorry. There's nothing insurmountably bad about Merc, it's just harder to play and the end result simply isn't quite as good. I wouldn't kick a Merc healer out of a group, but I've NEVER thought "man, I wish that <insert healer> was a Merc instead".

 

Edit2: For the record, I do have a 50 Merc with full BH+ level gear, and have gone back and forth between healing and DPSing before mostly retiring the class to be a craft alt due to the lack of need to ever use it. I have better DPS classes, I have better healing classes, and I don't rate aesthetics as a primary motivator for myself.

Edited January 17, 2013 by Omophorus

I have only done healing to about 30 levels with Smuggler and now with Merc. My experience is that merc is bit simplistic class. We don't seem to have lot of options.

 

With smuggler I used to stay further back, but with Merc I go next to tank and hope rest of healed are melee too.

The kolto bomb is superb if you spam it on all and it hits you too.

 

The way mechanic works with merc suggest that everybody should hug the healer so max efficeny is gained by hitting as many as possible with kolto bomb, including the merc healer itself. Its upside down view of common healing and I think many dont grasp it.

 

I ended doing that way because I simply aggroed about everyone everytime I did one those big heals. Moving next to tank actually made him keep aggro better and made me spend less heat on healing because kolto.

Isn't Kolto Missile (which gives both healing AND armor buff) a better AoE heal than whatever Operatives get?

Isn't Kolto Missile (which gives both healing AND armor buff) a better AoE heal than whatever Operatives get?

 

Yes and no.

 

The Operative AoE heal, Recuperative Nanotech, is target-based and a HOT.

 

Kolto Missile is ground-targeted, instant, and has a shorter CD. Plus, it adds Kolto Residue. Only get the armor buff with Supercharge active (which is the WORST healing mechanic in the game, for the record).

 

So on the face of it, Kolto missile is probably better.

 

BUT!

 

-Operatives get a talent to increase crit multiplier on RN by 30%. Since it's a HOT, each tick gets its own chance to crit. Operatives usually run very high (>40%) crit rates. Over a short period, you get results much closer to the long-term statistically smoothed average than does Mercenary.

-Operatives can use 2 piece PVP + 2 piece PVE set bonuses to both increase the healing done by RN and decrease the cost.

-Operatives get a 6% buff to their healing so long as they have Tactical Advantage up. This does not benefit the other healer, but has effectively 100% uptime on the Operative if they are competent. 6% on one healer is effectively the same as 3% on 2 healers. And works on every heal. On every target.

-Operatives rely heavily on their single-target HOTs (Kolto Probes), which are very easy to keep rolling on multiple targets. They're not AoE heals per se, but they are resource efficient, have no cast time, and have a long duration. Empty GCDs can easily be spent re-upping HOTs across multiple targets.

 

So yes, maybe Op has the weakest single AoE heal in theory. In practice it is as good or better, and overall AoE healing is much easier.

Some good input guys. I won't give up on my Merc, so I'll see how things go later on.

 

Another question though. I've notice Kolto Missile only affects four people at a time. Does this limit ever increase, or is it like that for every AoE heal? It's useful during Flashpoints, but it might be problematic during Ops.

Some good input guys. I won't give up on my Merc, so I'll see how things go later on.

 

Another question though. I've notice Kolto Missile only affects four people at a time. Does this limit ever increase, or is it like that for every AoE heal? It's useful during Flashpoints, but it might be problematic during Ops.

 

4 max ever.

 

In a FP thats you and everyone else round a boss.

 

In a 8m ops let alone a 16m ops who knows who the hell its going to heal when you drop it.

i have played the Sorc and now i play Merc and healing using Merc is much simpler for me because i can manage my heat better then the Force. The Force depletes fast and what then no heal let me take to regenerate my force?

 

In Merc class i have to 2min CD Heat reducer but even when i have high heat i can still heal for small amount without pauses. Yeah the problem is when it comes to 1 Healer more then 3 to Heal and if they are scattered the efficient healing is gone, you can heal 2 people i n acceptable pace. please also understand that i haven't done any OPs yet just Flashpoints

 

on the other hand merc is an bodyguard so it combines firepower an early 4 AoE damage with healing so its very good with group that don't need every sec healing to stay alive and still need that extra fire power to slay down enemies with speed. (i just love to see the power of 2-3 bounty hunter class AoE in action so much damage in such short time)

 

If we wanted to make mercenary a better healer is to make the kolto shell accessible to all of your group (now it is just single target only) but that would probable made soma balance problems with other Sorc and OP

I have a level 39 Merc Healer and I love it. It is a challenge but i was able to solo heal world boss Snowblind. It was rough but it was fun and I really enjoyed it. I do notice that my heals are not as big as the Sorc's and Op healers but I do not think they are better. I am glad people posted about Merc's, so I could see what the fuss was about.

I've solo healed most of the KP as merc healer in tionese gear...(only needed help at the big droid.)

 

So no we're not bad healers.

 

But as with everthing: We mercs can do everything, just others can do it better, while our way of healing is more fun.

 

(mercs are imo the most fun class, just not the best...sadly

Mercs have a somewhat higher skill floor. They are absolutely capable of clearing any content in the game (including when co-healing with another merc). The healing classes are extraordinarily well-balanced. Anyone who's unwilling to take a skilled merc in an operation is remembering a time when merc healing really -was- inadequate to some PvE content. That is no longer the case.

I know this may be a tad bit late but just to throw in my 2 cents for merc healing in 8 man pve I average 1500 hps and can burst 22-2400 hps when I get to the higher content it seems I'm avering 1800 hps I have cleared tfb bm and am on the third boss of ec nim. I have been able to outheal sorcs in nim just cause when you get heat management down merc healing isn't so bad and actually is a lot of fun. That being said, pvp mercs are damn difficult to play and I've only broke 900 hps twice, but supposingly we are getting a tad bit of love in the future cannot wait! Edited February 9, 2013 by totherkins

There is no "better" healer than any other healer.

 

There's skill with the class, and gear.

 

Yes, Merc healing requires some changes in larger groups (so does Op healing). If you're in a 16 with largely Merc and Op healers, position in 4-person groups so you KNOW who's going to get the AOE heals. Hell, same thing in a 16 with Sorc healers - that Revivification isn't going to heal everybody, either. Adapt.

 

People who will only run with Sorc healers are lazy. ::shrugs:: The BEST healing team is a combo of two different healers, period.

 

You can do any content in this game with Merc heals. Don't let anyone EVER tell you otherwise.

After playing a 50 Operative and trying a healing BH I have to say that I prefer the Operative hands down when it comes to running PUG groups. I can carry bad groups on my Operative and still throw out some DPS when needed, unless it's in a HM FP and the DPS suddenly forget how to do damage leading to enrage. One guy called me a noob for doing damage to the boss, nevermind that they were at 90-100% health the whole boss fight thanks to my HoT's yet because they didn't do enough damage we hit the enrage timer and wiped....totally my fault.

 

Anyways...on my BH I feel very limited by the heat mechanic. Having to juggle between that and supercharge while hoping that randoms don't pull threat or stand in crap and take damage I have to heal (because lets face it unless you run in a premade group there will be those "special" people who take the avoidable damage just so us healers can heal them.) Then suddenly the tank takes spike damage I have to swap to him, then back to the DPS who are also nearly dead, meanwhile my heat is almost always just over halfway up... I honestly think alot of problems could be solved if BH could get one single HoT skill in the healing tree. Allowing us to lightly keep one or two people alive while we focus on someone else for a moment.

Mercs do have a HOT. Healing Scan, when specced, heals over time.

 

Honestly, if you have a terrible group, there's only so much *any* healer can do. That doesn't make that class a bad healer.

 

If you're having trouble with heat, utilize Thermal Sensor Override more, as well as making sure you're throwing Healing Scan before Rapid Scan any chance you get. Keep the Kolto Residue buff up on at least your tank at all times to maximize healing done, and throw in Rapid Shots often if you don't need to throw a big heal.

 

If everybody's taking a lot of damage, pop Supercharged Gas, start spamming HS + RS, throw your Kolto Missiles, and use Vent Heat once you're over 40-50 heat if people still need healing.