Hey everyone. I'm a long time player, just came back from pre-7.0 break. I only really play for the PvE stories, but I'm noticing it's not really viable to play any classes that require a tank companion (i.e.: sniper, lightning fingers, etc.). It works for clearing trash and such, just have to take breaks between mobs, but if you pull too many or have a boss fight (without the kolto helper things) then you're screwed. For instance fighting Gemini would never work with a DPS class and a tank companion, and you can't swap the companion to healing because ... well you're not a tank, lol.

Is that a fair description of the current state? Or am I missing something?

Actually yes you do swap the companion to heals while you dps for basically all story content out there.

Balance may be different these days but you can look up X class in Y fight on youtube or suchlike for inspiration.

Actually yes you do swap the companion to heals while you dps for basically all story content out there.

 

Balance may be different these days but you can look up X class in Y fight on youtube or suchlike for inspiration.

So you would just face-tank as a sniper, for example? And have your companion on heal mode?

So you would just face-tank as a sniper, for example? And have your companion on heal mode?

You would have your companion heal while you dps and use your defensive abilities to slow down incoming damage.

Your companion will be doing a lot of "tanking" no matter what. Just happens that if they are healing they live longer than if they are a tank with no healing.

Companion performance got nerfed in 7.0 and is in the active process of rebalancing, it was adjusted a little in 7.0.2.

EDIT: "Fixed an issue where companions were missing attacks, taunts and heals, as well as some of their stats."

However, most other changes are "working as intended:"

Working as intended:

• The base Presence stat scales when Level Synced, but no bonus Presence scales. Bonus Presence includes all Presence gained through higher Influence with companions, Legacy Unlocks, and Datacrons. This can be observed in the Details button on the Character Sheet.
  

So, there is a certain amount of presence, and therefore companion power, which is removed because of level lock scaling, but since most of the presence boost comes from Influence rank, it can be somewhat mitigated. It is clear however that companions are not as powerful in 7.x as they were in 6.x

Also player accuracy and alacrity aren’t scaled well such that if you had sufficient ratings to reach the goals (110% accuracy and 7.14% alacrity) in uncapped areas, like the fleet or a stronghold, you won’t always have those when level locked. So, your time to kill enemies is going to be off if you are at a 1.5s GCD and missing sometimes.

EDIT: However, the issue with alacrity and accuracy was acknowledged by the devs and is slated for fixing in 7.1. It makes sense right? People build their rotations and muscle memory based on assumptions that they have the right GCD duration and correct accuracy, and for that to be negated in level locked content doesn't reinforce good habit building. Hopefully between what I've quoted above regarding "Bonus Presence" and your time-to-kill differences that can help you understand why you aren't doing as well post 7.0 as before.