I updated it my post and the guide after I realized there was no 4. So thank you for that. However, I'm still picking a bone on Sithwarrior about their values of where and when it starts and stops.

I still stand by my values (OH! Except for 3 H/S so thanks for that pointer). I just double checked and the values change from Moderate to Fast when it hits 39. When it hits 40, it stayed on Moderate. When it hits 60, it stays in Slow whereas 59 switches to Moderate. As far as TempestasSilva said, I have definitely been busy. Life crept up on me and my second job has been starting to get me up and going. I have yet to sit down and crack down on reiterating the entire guide to make it up to date as best as I can. It's rough when things change so much, so I tried to leave out a lot of the serious stats out until things get stapled in a little nicely without moving around so much (i.e. - buffs, nerfs, etc.) BTW - I saw your guide I about a couple weeks back I think, great job! PS - Nice calculator too

Without Critical Efficiency, you are going to find yourself in a heat management problem rather quickly. Since Rapid Scan is a hard hitting heal, we need it to heal up some of the damage the group gets. If any part of healing involves lowering the heat cost by whatever means, then you are off to a better playing field. Howbeit, when leveling as dps spec, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone popped a heal or two during a fight. So technically for everyone: yes

You know, I read something about that and find it quite interesting. Why not something nice like that for the PvE setting?

Usually in a pvp setting, definitely been hitting 5k heal crits no problem. Sometimes I don't realize it until I see the final stats for the match. I rarely use relics and I don't use adrenals sadly. During pvp, I have been known (to me at least lol) to never use relics at all and I still hit the 5k mark. I really just focus hard on healing my teammates the best I can. This was pre partial raid gear with zero pvp gear but this is what I have right now (still no pvp gear): Aim: 1407 Crit Chance: 27.73% Crit Mult.: 64.68% Bonus Healing: 424.2 Activation Speed: 8.38%

Pain in the Butt (Swap Butt for another name for a donkey) Our raiding gear like Tempestas mentioned is forced with Alacrity. With that in mind, the Columni gear for instance wields level 56 purple mods. This is raid quality material. Finding Enhancements with this level quality is troublesome at best since you will be sacrificing gear by pulling mods out of other gear you have to win over, granted people are in no need for them whatsoever. Finishing the HM FPs. that's a slightly different story, but same principle, as long as no one is in need of the piece. I read that two heroics, one on Belsavis and one on Illum will grant you an Advanced 23 Artifact mod. But not as good enough as the raid drops since they are 24.

I knowww the feeling lol. It's fun to write and when you have time maybe a paragraph or two a day would suffice. Either way, it's a good starting point for people looking for leveling information.

I don't think 'Flag'ging this post will be worthwhile since you wouldn't be following the directions stated in the link I would probably abstain from working around the system, my 2 cents. I think the way stickies work normally is by popularity and the ability to aid future players (also as a support). TempstasSilva Looking good there, would like to see this stickied. Maybe you can explain sometime how and why each talents are worth getting for each level bracket etc lol. That would be a lot of work.

I'm still in the process of changing things around with the spec. There are some errors which are being pointed out, such as Heat Dampening. The reason why Heat Dampening was there in the first place was because of three possible points: Starting off with leveling. This guide was written during my early twenties and knew that there were changes to be had once I hit the endgame margin. This will lead into number 2. [*]FPs (leveling phase) During FPs, the problem with Kolto Shell is the aggro draw on first contact with the enemies. What's happening is that the tank will "heal" themselves from the proc which will cause aggro from the enemies, next thing I know, I am taking the hits (with Powered Insulators), line of sighting (not straying far), and/or using CC abilites (in which CC section and Damaging needs to reiterated.) [*]PvP I am currently in a PvP server environment. Because of this, I had to sacrifice some placement in points in order to stay alive during my leveling encounters. I also pvped occasionally for a change of pace. This is where Energy Shield helped out in numerous occasions to keep my teammates alive while I'm taking hits. Keeping my heat down as well as my downtime (casting being lengthened) as much as I can was my priority. Now that I am in HM FPs and raiding, things change. Therefore, I had to focus on what was best for me to heal while leaving some PvP skills for my little side fun. Cure Mind also contributed towards the PvP environment as well as possible future raids that will require curing. Curing also cuts off any movement impairing effects which contributes both in PvE and PvP. There are times that the tank is knocked far back and placed with a slow movement debuff that I immediately remove off him to optimize their threat. I'm expecting (once the custom UI update comes out) that the Buffs and Debuffs are sizable (making it much easier to see) and future raids and FPs require some sort of negative debuff removal at some point. I still use it a lot, but mostly in a PvP setting. With Ironsights, that is definitely an important skill to have as mentioned from the two posters above. Custom Enviro suit is more suitable for PvP as well as a DPS spec in the PvE range (I'm hoping dps isn't taking hits, but it's subjective.) Having some more heals from me can certainly help me out a lot.

I agree. I think this one is very good for those who are wanting to move on to the next step and overall. I originally focused on new healers and those who possibly never healed before since spreading healing love is my main goal. Even experienced healers may learned a thing or two as long as their mind is open for knowledge.

I appreciate the comment there. As you mentioned, I never specifically focused on spamming Healing Scan when SCG is up, only that you can potentially cast it x amount of times. After I placed Critical Efficiency, that's when the note for casting Rapid Scan after Healing Scan for it to cost the same and more healing from the RS. Just as a side note and to be frankly quite honest, I wrote this guide at level 21 as I was merely excited about the class mechanics for Bodyguard healing. As I leveled and eventually hit 50 and did raiding and pvping, I learned quite a lot. Also, I read your guide (which I found very helpful for me during my leveling process and overall) and I didn't want to go about reiterating some of the guide and saying I know what what I know as an egotistical individual, I'm a very honest person. So what I have been thinking of doing is linking and quoting your rotation for that cause and giving you credit. I've been busy with life, so I haven't had much time to keep up with the guide :S I still haven't even done Emergency Scan and SOOO SOOO MUCHO much much on the to-do list..wahhhhh.

I'm glad all of you enjoyed it. Nice comment Tempestas I appreciate your comment. As such, my main goal wasn't to reach a pure 'professional' approach. If I did that, the reading would be very dull and technicality isn't really my style of writing. My real style of writing is creative writing. Every paper in my college class for English Composition received an A and every single paper had humor. It's not about 'trying' to be funny, but having a light-hearted sense of humor. My main focus was to achieve a sense of entertainment as well as keeping the analogies practical in order to keep it simple and understandable. I do understand that I spent a straight 12 hours for the beginning portion of this guide because of how excited I was in writing it overnight and my brain started to shutdown overtime until my sleep went underway. And I LOVE exaggeration, but sadly, I didn't implement it in the guide. Also, I love to be a people pleaser, but this will not always happen. You win some and you lose some, but in the end, I gave it my very best to provide the best of my knowledge (newbish perhaps? maybe so. Ask Mario, the red damage dealer. If you read that far into the guide.) and my joy is the joy of giving. (Besides Christmas time). Thank you! I'm here till Thursday, try the veal!

Yeah, I've been as of late thinking about seriously reiterating major parts of this guide. I've done small sections of it and will continue to do some more large sectional changes. I believe you're right about being outdated since I first started when I was playing during early release. I agree on the change on the tree since I have noticed that I haven't been needing to use the cc abilities as much but I feel it would have been more suitable towards pvp since I do play on a pvp server. I should note that there as well. I just recently started doing HM Flashpoints and just did 4/5 Eternity Vault (will pick up tomorrow for the final one) and had a blast. During that time, I had a HUGE learning experience, especially the whole Kolto Shell healing bug bind-up where I get instant aggro until it gets attended to. So I wait to put that on until a little bit after the tank generates aggro. As far as Power Shield, I'm not sure why I have that there, so I will need to pay some extra attention in the tree in getting things optimized right. I know my spec now doesn't have it set. I'm not too sure since I'm not huge on pvp, but I have absolutely no problem hitting over 5k heal crits, so surge shouldn't be your concern. I would focus on your power and crit. Even healing gear that BW gives you gives you an option between Power and Crit with a little mixture of Surge in it. Just remember, this is a pve perspective since I do do both pve and pvp, I don't pvp as much as I intend to nor will I.

"I'm trying to heal you not bloody tickle you!"

I was just thinking the same thing. lol

I think its fairly subjected to the cause in what is best in your playstyle. You play best on how you think you play best and how you master your class which is paramount in being a successful player. That being said, each advanced class has their weaknesses and strengths and it is up to you to know them by experience and overcome them and work around them to the best of your ability. Everyone plays differently so don't let them tell you any different than how you want to play. Sent by my Evo 4G

A soft cap is either the point at which a stat stops providing a particular benefit but continues to provide others and a hard cap is a point beyond which a stat becomes useless

I think the biggest debate about alacrity is the difference between being useless and being a priority. While maintaining a stat pertaining to a casting class, certainly we aim to get to our destination at a quicker pace than we are intended to by default (without haste stats period). In such case, alacrity does not make or break the player, but tweak the efficiency altogether in order to get the most bang for your buck. The hottest topic I have seen so far is about ratio. While we need to maintain a certain threshold in our other prioritized stats, one cannot neglect other minor details in order to fulfill the entire role of the class. A body would not be complete without a hand and if the minor things are missing, such as fingers, then we are lacking a perspective as a whole in the entirety of a bodily function, such as a human body. Furthermore, for those of us who have heard of the Golden Ratio are aware of the perfected proportions in the mathematical field. Whether it is physical or astronomical, we are seeing a certain pattern somewhere in the system. Yank out a speck of that area and we have ourselves a flaw. Now what I am proposing is something to be taken very lightly as this was only a portrait of various analogies, but we can see the possibilities one may introduce to another that may indeed become beneficial. Simply put, is it really all that worth it to focus heavily on one thing or all in general? @Tempest Thank you. My heart dropped since this was my dream. I'll need to plan on reiterating the guide to be a little more accurate since after gaining weeks of experience as a bounty hunter, things have been subjected to change. @Myli Thank you for your kind words @Nyth I highly value your input and you have made some good points.

You should be using Rapid Shots quite a lot during your Mercenary career. During that time, the upkeep time is pretty much almost forever with Critical Reaction, let alone the other skills you use that will crit.

Hi guys thanks for the love. Alacrity is a nice stat that gives us haste. Contrary to the cause, people deny alacrity as a useful stat because of heat "complication" issues. If you heal right and use the right rotations for healing, you shouldn't be running into much trouble with heat issues at all. That being said, the quicker you get a heal off, the better you're off. This is because of the major crunch time you have between you and damaging foes. In a PvP aspect, this is even more essential because popping off your heals quicker can mean life or death in the battlefield. We need to focus on Alacrity and Power. Power doesn't scale as we are expecting per say, but the added boost in the healing benefits can prove contrary. Also, look at the note that I placed in quotes that TempestasSilva mentioned located in Healing Specs (subjected to be moved into Stats and You). The quicker the heal, the more time you have to do other things. ALSO, another cool thing is that alacrity affects the Global Cooldown. The faster the GCD, the more likely you are able to set off another heal. Just remember, working the right rotation can make a large impact in your heat management. TempestasSilva I just did some field testing and heat dissipates even after you begin your casts for healing.

I think it's the same debate in many other mmos about casting speed vs the amount, crit, etc. Even in WoW, we needed to hit a certain haste criteria to become a more efficient healer, but that would also include running the mana reservoir dry even quicker. I think the fact of the matter is that completing your tasks quicker while giving you more time off the casting window will give you that breathing room, much as the heat dropping to 0. Pretty much as you mentioned in your notes aforetime. That video you posted is actually very interesting. Although, I thought the GCD was one second and not 1.5. Maybe I'm missing something here?

It has been doing that it seems. I've been getting a couple heals out of a discharge. With you there, definitely not complaining. But I'm sure it is going to be relooked into in the future because of aggro problems and of course this little small extra proc we are getting out of it. It's rough that once the tank pulls a group and is hit, he is healed. Once that happens, some of the un-taunted mobs are already aggroed on you. That's something that is driving me up the wall :S Also, chaff flare doesn't seem to be working as intended (afaik) Great tips btw!

I was about to post a topic about that skill but it was already in the Bounty Hunter forums. I feel like it works sometimes as well as it doesn't at all. It drives me up the wall sometimes especially when I draw a lot of aggro from deploying Kolto Shell on my tank in the middle of a fight. Hopefully the skill will be relooked into. Also, I couldn't redo my keybinds. I tried it once and it felt completely out of place for me. I know that it takes time getting used to, but I'm used to multi-tasking to the max. Example: utilizing the map, guild chat, etc while I'm running forward. I know there's an auto-run function, but that doesn't help with the fact that I might need to stop on a dime if I'm about to run into trouble or a cliff.

Riftmaster I have been really thinking about moving my keybinds around more since I'm using a whole lot of mouse + key binds for my healing and such. I find it interesting that you and Jilla have been using Rapid Shots on #3 instead of where it usually sat. Usually I'm so accustomed to using the normal awsd keys. Maybe I should move it to the center of the boardlike drfg (where f has that notch) and remap the whole thing, even removing the normal hotkeys for guild, codex, jounral etc and using the upper bar by clicking on the respected options. That would take a lot of getting used to lol. Or maybe I should unbind my q and e and use modifiers with that as such. Going to have to really experiment. Jilla Thank you Jilla! Healing is actually an enigma and it's extremely fun too, especially this class. Soloing as a healer was OKAY during my 1-20s. Once I started hitting the 30 range, things started getting rougher as the enemies started getting more deadlier and can self heal etc. I went with a hybrid spec (in Werdan's sticky) until I got Blizz. Blizz, is something else. He became my all time favorite companion (save Mako for her personality even as a light side player, but she stuck with me the whole way through). Ever since I specced back into full heals because of The Founrdy flashpoint, I decided to start giving Blizz a try in his DPS mode. That little guy is actually quite a little bad*** for the most part. His cuteness contradicts his awesomeness as you see him Ziplining towards enemies and firing a Salvage Rocket. He's been keeping me going and I have been moving quite well through my missions with him by my side. Keep Kolto Shell on Blizz and you will see some magic fly (quite literally lol). I think best companion is subjective and it all comes down to how you are wanting to play. I have heard a lot of people going with Gault, but he goes down like a fly in a flyswatter (maybe because I was hybrid specced with him).

I'm unsure on why the players are forcing you to do anything. There are two other classes that can heal and if there is an SI or IA, I don't understand why they aren't being forced to heal when you are. Politely remind them that you are specialized in DPS. If they object otherwise, I would think it to be wise to politely refuse and leave. It is better to stand on what you want to play as. Even as a healer, you can still kill things by firing Rapid Shots at them and gaining charges. But I digress, play how you want to play it and stand your ground. My 2 cents.