I notice our first robot that comes with ship - can heal for pve.

He also comes with no gear - what stat should I increase in order to get the most out of his healing?

Thanks!

Aim, tons of aim.

If you are doing Cybertech for a crewskill you can gear him up pretty well, or you can use your commendations to buy him "orange" customized gear.

All the "commendation equipment vendors" on every planets are selling a couple of items for him.

The ship driod's main stat is AIM.

Equip it with +aim gear in order to improve it's healing abilities.

And to that i have only one thing to say... Tell me i'm wrong about the stats i listed... then feel free to back it up with proof. Anyone that follows my advice will clearly see IN GAME, FIRST HAND; that what i listed is factual.

You are right about the secondary and tertiary stats, and you aren't completely wrong about Cunning either. For healing purposes it doesn't really matter which you get, Aim or Cunning, as you only want the boosts on Tech, which both will give, as Aim is the companion's main stat.

But as you insist, here's your proof then.

http://i.imgur.com/FlPF67d.jpg

//And alongside Power and Alacrity, also Critical rating and Surge would be beneficial stats towards better healing.

You are right about the secondary and tertiary stats, and you aren't completely wrong about Cunning either. For healing purposes it doesn't really matter which you get, Aim or Cunning, as you only want the boosts on Tech, which both will give, as Aim is the companion's main stat.

 

But as you insist, here's your proof then.

http://i.imgur.com/FlPF67d.jpg

Aim; "Damage added to the basic ranged attack. Powerful attacks gain a larger multiple of this damage."

So at what point, and from what source, exactly; are you getting "aim adds a bonus to tech abilities"?

Aim; "Damage added to the basic ranged attack. Powerful attacks gain a larger multiple of this damage."

 

So at what point, and from what source, exactly; are you getting "aim adds a bonus to tech abilities"?

Look closely at the image I linked. Check what effects it lists under the prompt for Aim that I have brought up for the screenshot. You'll find:

-Ranged Damage Bonus

-Ranged Critical Chance

-Tech Damage Bonus

-Tech Critical Chance

-Healing Power: Tech

I see the problem here. I think we're both right. When i did my post i was looking at Talos. If you look at the two companion's "Tech" stats they are slightly different. 2V-R8 lists tech as one of his stats, whereas Talos does not. From my understanding i was only aware that Aim added to ranged damage. If that is incorrect i will admit to my mistake and happily add Aim to the list of aiding stats!

I may have been slightly wrong and i will admit it. However, the facts about cunning, power and alacrity remain and i advise you not overlook my advice due to a slight error in information.

I see the problem here. I think we're both right. When i did my post i was looking at Talos. If you look at the two companion's "Tech" stats they are slightly different. 2V-R8 lists tech as one of his stats, whereas Talos does not. From my understanding i was only aware that Aim added to ranged damage. If that is incorrect i will admit to my mistake and happily add Aim to the list of aiding stats!

 

I may have been slightly wrong and i will admit it. However, the facts about cunning, power and alacrity remain and i advise you not overlook my advice due to a slight error in information.

The problem is that Talos is a cunning-based healer(all healer companions except Elara, Treek, and the ship droids are cunning-based, actually), and the ship droids are aim-based.

Every class(regardless of advanced class) and every companion except HK-51 has one main stat that improves all of their abilities; HK-51 has two. Sith Warriors, Jedi Knights, Lord Scourge, Bowdaar, Broonmark, Khem Val, and Ashara use Strength. Sith Inquisitors, Jedi Consulars, Kira, Nadia, Jaesa, Xalek, and Vector use Willpower. Troopers, Bounty Hunters, T7-O1, Sgt. Rusk, Jorgan, Elara, M1-4X, Tanno Vik, Yuun, Corso, Akaavi, Qyzen, Iresso, Torian, Blizz, Skadge, Pierce, Kaliyo, SCORPIO, C2-N2, 2V-R8, Treek, and HK-51 use Aim. Smugglers, Imperial Agents, Doc, Risha, Guss, Tharan, Zenith, Mako, Gault, Vette, Quinn, Andronikos, Talos, Lokin, Temple, and HK-51 use Cunning.

To muddy the issue a little for new players, Strength and Willpower classes gain small benefits from each others' stats, as do Aim and Cunning classes. However, the benefit is so small that, since you will never find a piece of gear or modification with more than one main stat on it, equipping anything with a main stat other than your own is a huge waste of that gear/modification slot. The only time you should ever do it is if you literally have nothing else whatsoever to put in the slot, because at least you'd be getting the extra armor and (probably) endurance(and possibly some secondary stats).

Secondary stats(critical rating, power, shield rating, and the like) are a whole other ball of wax, and optimal stat distribution is a hotly debated topic. The only secondary stats that are ever a pure waste(as in, they provide no benefit at all) are shield rating, absorption rating, presence, and expertise rating. Shield and absorb do absolutely nothing at all if you don't have a shield equipped, companions' presence stat is permanently set to 0 no matter how much is on their gear, and expertise has no effect except in PvP; if you're not fighting another player, expertise will not do anything except eat up your stat budget. (Items have budgets for stats; items of a given level will all have the same relative stat value. I don't know how it's all calculated, precisely. There are threads about it. But if you don't PvP that expertise is taking up space that could have something useful like surge or alacrity or something.)

TL;DR: If you put any main stat(Strength, Willpower, Aim, Cunning) other than Aim on your ship droid(C2-N2 or 2V-R8) you are Doing It Wrong.

As a side-note, I found this "main stat only" principle of SWTOR highly underwhelming. My very first MMOP was DDO (Dungeons & Dragons Online) in which *every* main stat actually matters.

Everyone going from SWTOR to DDO would fall into a huuuuuge pitfall because of SWTOR's rather simplistic system.

There is one and only 1 item the ship droid needs to be geared with: a crew skills sensor.

At later levels when you have a full crew complement, sure, but some classes go a long time without another healer companion(2 of them don't get theirs until Hoth), and not everyone can afford the credits or coins to pick up Treek.

But he has comments on Makeb! That's a pretty good indicator he needs to come out at least some times. And he's a melee healer, so you can gather all melee enemies into a nice neat pile for AoE decimation.

Whenever someone says "(any companion) should never be used", I can immediately think of at least one way to prove them wrong.

If you're using the ship droid in combat, at any time and with any class, you simply haven't learned how to play your character properly. He tells you this himself when you first meet him on ship. The fact that he can't equip any main hand weapon should be another pretty good clue that he is never meant to leave home.

Oh the old "learn to play" argument. How helpful [/sARCASM]

Thing is, at lower levels MOST people don't know how to play their class yet. And everyone has their own play style, so your first couple times through, there's nothing WRONG with wanting a healer along.

If you keep him geared up, he doesn't NEED a weapon. He generates threat just by healing himself freeing you up to DPS from a distance and not worry about your companion dieing on you every other fight.

So if you are playing a ranged DPS, fairly new to the game (little or no legacy bonus to Presence), and don't get your healer till late in the game, the ship droid IS a worthy companion.

So exactly what class benefits from using a weaponless ship droid on Taris or Balmorra (and even later???)instead of the true companion you'll already have by the time you acquire it?

Is it better to use the ship droid rather than Qyzen?

How about Kira?

Corso?

Aric?

Khem?

Vette?

Kaliyo?

-or- Mako?

btw, what dialogue does he have on Makeb? My guess would be something along the lines of: "What the hell are you doing using me. Get me out of here!" I've logged hundreds of hours of play time on Makeb and never once seen anyone using the ship droid.

Saying a newbie benefits from not learning how to play his character right away and instead it's okay to rely on an ALWAYS UNDERGEARED (no weapon) ship droid for some ineffective healing is a bit disingenuous.

Anybody using the ship droid in combat at any time is mis-playing his character.

I am going to have to go with huh? I have never felt the need to use my ship droid as a healer...he is too busy re-painting my quarters.

Lvl 47 - Operative, maybe the sniper AC needs a healer, but Kailyo has always been a great tank for me. The only times I need to use my healing abilities on her or me is when I screw up something and "vanish" is on cooldown.

Lvl 44 - Guardian, early stages I relied on T7 for holding aggro and he did great. Tried using Kira, but always seemed slower. By the time I met Doc, I was normally pulling aggro without trying and found having his healing fine, though still inadequate if I screwed something up. I assume he heals better in crap gear than the ship droid heals in cutting edge gear. Plus he deals damage in between heals.

Lvl 28 - Assissin, Khem Val so far has been a great tank and with stealth + CC, I barely ever need to rely on my self-heal. I may have a real healing companion by this point, not sure, but I like being called little sith and the big guy grows on you.

Lvl 28 - Commando, ok, so once again I am able to heal myself. But with Jorgan on dps, we blow through most mobs rather efficiently, and I think I have a healing companion by now had I gone Vanguard.

Lvl 20 - Mercenary, Mako is a healer. Not a great one, but still likely better than the ship droid.

Lvl 16 - Sage, Dryzen is a good tank, just wish he wasn't reliant on those dumb *** tech blades. Tech and force bonuses should be tied to the armoring, not the item Bioware!

I also dabbled with a maurader and thought Vette was a healer. But at the end of the day, you really should have a good grasp on how to play the game as well as your character by the end of your first planet post-ship droid. If you don't, it isn't like you can really afford to gear the droid well enough for its healing to matter anyway.

Just my 2 credits.

So exactly what class benefits from using a weaponless ship droid on Taris or Balmorra (and even later???)instead of the true companion you'll already have by the time you acquire it?

 

Is it better to use the ship droid rather than Qyzen?

How about Kira?

Corso?

Aric?

Khem?

Vette?

Kaliyo?

-or- Mako?

 

btw, what dialogue does he have on Makeb? My guess would be something along the lines of: "What the hell are you doing using me. Get me out of here!" I've logged hundreds of hours of play time on Makeb and never once seen anyone using the ship droid.

 

Saying a newbie benefits from not learning how to play his character right away and instead it's okay to rely on an ALWAYS UNDERGEARED (no weapon) ship droid for some ineffective healing is a bit disingenuous.

 

Anybody using the ship droid in combat at any time is mis-playing his character.

Actually, he is better than Corso Riggs for a Gunslinger for the simple fact that he's HARDER TO KILL and does a passable job tanking. (and by tanking, I mean getting and holding agro away from the DPS) He heals himself, and keeps the bad guys off the gunslinger long enough to do what gunslingers do best, KILL EVERYONE IN THE ROOM.

I rolled a gunslinger early so had very little legacy boost to presence. So without that, your tank tends to die quickly, so I began experimenting. And wouldn't ya know, the useless little droid wasn't so useless after all, if you gear him up a bit.

Send him in first, he immediately generates threat just by healing himself, but even though he has less health and armor than the tank companion does, he survives longer.

And the gunslinger kills stuff. Isn't that what DPS are supposed to do?

Face it. Annoying dialogue aside, NO companion is useless, just because YOU proclaim it.

So the ship droid can now also be used as a tank?

You simply didn't know how to manage your dps and the actual tank you had at the time (Corso).

Here's the deal. If you are using the ship droid in combat, at any time and with any character, you are basically running around with a big sign on your back that says: "Ha! I have absolutely no idea how to play this game".

So the ship droid can now also be used as a tank?

 

You simply didn't know how to manage your dps and the actual tank you had at the time (Corso).

 

Here's the deal. If you are using the ship droid in combat, at any time and with any character, you are basically running around with a big sign on your back that says: "Ha! I have absolutely no idea how to play this game".

AMEN! I will admit, Gunslingers are kinda weak early-game. but Corso is still pretty useful. When you get Bowdarr, use him IMMIDEATELY. Bowdarr is probably the best comp to gear up for Gunslinger. him or Akaavi.

So the ship droid can now also be used as a tank?

 

You simply didn't know how to manage your dps and the actual tank you had at the time (Corso).

 

Here's the deal. If you are using the ship droid in combat, at any time and with any character, you are basically running around with a big sign on your back that says: "Ha! I have absolutely no idea how to play this game".

So glad I could annoy an elitist know-it-all. Please! Of course it never occurred to you that YOUR way isn't the ONLY way, and actually take the time to do some experimentation and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the various companions at your disposal.

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?

So glad I could annoy an elitist know-it-all. Please! Of course it never occurred to you that YOUR way isn't the ONLY way, and actually take the time to do some experimentation and learn the strengths and weaknesses of the various companions at your disposal.

 

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?

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.

For my Sage, I often used the Ship Droid as a Tank in the beginning (Taris, especially) - of course I should've used Qsen for that, but sometimes he has to do Crew Work, since he is the only companion for a looooooooooong time in the class story ...

You should have been sending your ship droid to do the crew work, as Qyzen is a much more effective companion to go questing with.

Let me rephrase that: your questing would have gone more smoothly and quickly if you had used Qyzen and sent your ship droid on Crew Skill missions. I hate telling people what they should and should not do.