I think pretty much all he was saying was "Don't go questing with the weak-*** companion who, himself, says he's not prepared for combat. When you do so, you're telling the world you don't know how to play this game." The rest of that stuff, he did not say.

 

And 2V-R8 is a waste of space in combat (that space would not be wasted if you had a companion along who could actually equip a weapon). YES he can heal! But he is the absolute worst companion for any class to use ever (with possible very situational exceptions). If you're so desperate for a healer that you bring him out, at least do it in private, with the shades drawn.

 

I brought him out once ever. It was to help complete a low-level Heroic on my 1st character. We badly needed a healer and couldn't find one, so it was agreed that one of us would pull out 2V-R8 to at least heal us a little. NOT ENTIRELY USELESS! Just ... mostly useless.

 

Aim is his primary stat if you still want to gear him up.

I did find him somewhat useful for my gunslinger. Not because I needed healing, but because his ability to heal made him somewhat more durable than my other companions. And because he actually had some gear on him, he filled in, in a pinch, on a low level flashpoint when our healer DC'd. Sadly, he was actually a better healer than the other player was...

Also, not having to pause and self heal after every fight makes questing faster.

Downside, healing companions tend to act buggy when sent after recourse nodes if you're not at 100% health.

Nope, anyone who doesn't use the same companion as you is an idiot.

Anyone who doesn't use the exact same spec as you is an idiot.

And anyone who doesn't use the exact same rotation as you is an idiot.

Does that about sum it up?

No I wasn't saying that at all and your hurt feelings seem to have taken a gigantic leap into hyperbole because you're embarrassed by having explained in a public forum how poorly you understand the game and how poorly you play it. When you start arguing that the ship droid is an effective tank, you have to expect ridicule. I didn't even do that, just tried to correct the misinformation that you were spreading.

But if you want me to use your terms and adopt your overall nastiness, I will indulge you. Anyone who uses the ship droid in combat at any time and with any character, is an absolute idiot.

Anyone who uses the ship droid in combat at any time and with any character, is an absolute idiot.

I have to disagree with this statement. Now, don't get me wrong; I don't claim that the Ship Droid is the most OP comp ever, or anything remotely approaching it. However, I don't see how he is such a bad healer. The Ship Droid's biggest (and really only) plus is that he can equip Droid Armor. Droid Armor is considered Heavy Armor, so that alone is going to make him more durable than most other healers (the only exception is Elara Dorne, the Trooper's Healer). Since healers generate threat on every enemy in the encounter simply by healing, he's probably going to take a few hits eventually; his heavier armor will reduce the damage he takes, so he won't need to be babysat as much as your standard healer would.

Of course, that comes at a cost. First, the Ship Droid is very, very hard to gear. Combine that with the fact that he starts with nothing equipped, and most players decide then and there that it's not worth the effort it would take to get him up to snuff. The second issue was mentioned already: he can't equip a weapon. Any new Sage or Sorcerer is probably going to ask, 'Should I even bother equipping a Lightsaber?' at some point, to which more experienced players of those classes will say, 'Yes. You may not actually use the Lightsaber, but it still provides Stat Bonuses that make the spells you cast more powerful.' The same thing applies to the Ship Droid, but in reverse: because he can't equip a weapon, he will never be able to heal as much as your class's standard Healer will be able to, because he doesn't have access to one of the equip slots that your standard Healer does.

Short version: if you want a more durable healer who requires less babysitting, you're willing to take the time and effort to gear him out, and you understand that he won't heal quite as much as your standard Healer, then the Ship Droid can make a solid (though not amazing) healer. Personally, I find that he has too many negatives and not enough positives, so my personal recommendation would be to stick with your class' standard Healer. But if you decide you want to use the Ship Droid instead, I wont call you an idiot.

Aside from the fact the ship droid is, well, a droid, and thus more difficult to gear unless you have cybertech, you lose out on stats because he can't equip a main hand as far as I can tell. That's good chunk of stats both in the early levels and end game.

It's even more noticeable in the early levels if you have a class that gets your 'main' healing companion early. Your companions all come with basic gear, the droid has no gear at all to start out with.

Aside from the fact the ship droid is, well, a droid, and thus more difficult to gear unless you have cybertech, you lose out on stats because he can't equip a main hand as far as I can tell. That's good chunk of stats both in the early levels and end game.

 

It's even more noticeable in the early levels if you have a class that gets your 'main' healing companion early. Your companions all come with basic gear, the droid has no gear at all to start out with.

Well, you don't get earpieces, implants or relics starting out either, so complaining about a main-hand weapon is rather silly.

Most, or at least many of your quest rewards include a droid piece as an option. So for a starting player, gearing him isn't much harder than any other companion.

I think he was intended as a fill-in for new players in a class with no healer until late, but lacking the know-how to dominate content without one.

He was never intended as a "first choice" companion, and NO ONE has made such a claim throughout this entire debate.

But he is a VIABLE choice for the new player who still lacks the skill and/or gear (and legacy bonuses) to blow up multiple targets.

This is NEW PLAYER HELP, after all.

Not really sure why you're yelling, bolding and capitalizing half your post towards me, I don't recall accusing you directly nor passive aggressively insinuating in general that no one should ever use the ship droid. I just said it was more difficult.

And yes, I'm well aware that no companions come with ear and implants, not sure how that counters what I said about the lack of an ability to even use a main hand. In fact he's even worse because all starter companions come with a minimum of a chest, legs and boots along with a main hand, the droid comes with no items at all.

To take it even a step further, all healing abilities fall under force/tech. The only way to up force/tech bonus healing is on two pieces of gear; a main hand and an off hand. By having a healer that can't equip one of those you lose out on half of your bonus healing from force/tech.