I'm glad you had a better experience than I did lol. Alderaan caused a lot of problems for me. For that reason, that was why I respecced in that hybrid spec. It helped quite a lot after that and really started enjoying the Tracer Missiles. By the time I reached The Foundry FP, I had to change my spec. The (spoiler) boss, 2nd before the last was THE hardest I've experience so far. Not sure how HM will go. But speccing back into full Bodyguard, I didn't have much problems. Recently, another player and I decided to two man the place with companions. Sure enough, the only time we wiped once was (spoiler). I was quite amazed how well we did. (His companion outgeared most average players). I'm leaving the spoilers for you. You will really enjoy them.

Sorry, I meant Power, not Surge!!!

That was EXACTLY what I was singing in my head when I did that last night. Then I proceeded to sharing my thoughts to the guild.

Flight of the Valyries - Richard Wagner This especially when I activate DFA and everything goes in slow motion / ORRR I walk away casually from an explosion.

As for now, Crit and Surge. Alacrity increases your downtime to do other things. The faster you pop off your heals the sooner you can dissipate your heat. Also, With Critical Reaction, you boosts in Crit will allow you to achieve almost a 100% upkeep in Alacrity. Also with Crit, when you crit, you are placing in more heals than you normally will heal for, this will help alleviate having to cast another and saving some heat. If you have time, find something to do with Rapid Shots afterwards.

Nice pointers there SoulFlame! When I originally wrote this guide, I was sadly only level 21 at the time. During that time I only experienced a few flashpoints but my collective experience in healing allowed me to write this guide. This guide is subject to change in the upcoming days because Flashpoint healing is starting to change as I do different ones as I level. My main focus in the healing spec was to increase chances of survival while working in Flashpoints and leveling (which I haven't noted anything about leveling it seems) because you will be getting a lot of aggro and will be taking hits, so I focus on the healing aspect until things change otherwise. I am debating in the end game part to remove Powered Insulators because I technically should not be getting hit at all if the tank is doing their job correctly. Chaff Flares haven't been working as I intend it to work so I resort to line of sighting temporarily until (hopefully) something happens. If need be, then I fire up Jet boost and/or Electro Shock and run towards the tank. Since some mobs are ranged this becomes problematic at best. I have as I level went with a hybrid spec (including Muzzle Fluting) since I'm trying to level quickly (and enjoy the storyline at the same time) without too much problem. As such, I always use SCG and fire down Power Shots until my heat has dissipated back to level 4 CD (hopefully at least and it should because of the -16 and the free shots). But that is when I'm leveling myself. When SCG is up and I have nothing to do, then possibly, I'll consider utilizing it a little. Also, that extra point in Power Shield I think should go in Integrated Systems (depending on how things go granted you shouldn't be getting much aggro at all, hopefully). I do however use Energy Shield to place the Kolto Missile buff on the tank and friends once I activate SCG (for certain fights that are iffy). In such reaction, the Heat Dampening I can agree with. However, I try to utilize CCing without much heat input because there are definitely times that I get aggro where I go. Raid wise, I sure hope aggro stays off me, then I would allocate that back into Power Shield for good measures. I'm too much of a stickler in staying specialized in healing and not damaging, but otherwise, sometimes I might have to change my playstyle a bit in order to better achieve our goal quicker. Either way, there is always damage somewhere on our friends and healing them as much as I can without cost helps me in the long run. Thanks for your input. TempestasSilva Let me know how Alderaan goes. That place was....I'm glad it got destroyed.

It's strange how some weak and Strong (if not the elies, I haven't raided just yet, so not sure if there are some champs mixed in there as well) pack quite a punch. Alderaan was a perfect example where it needed a major overhaul. Everywhere else, I was able to survive for longer than 5 seconds compared to Alderaan's single Strong and single weak taking me down too quickly. Since it is the early release of the game, one can hope major adjustment will be entitled to become in effect within the the next 30 days. Fingers crossed! Also loving your input. Thank you! I myself was a 100% resto shaman (well end game content) and never turned back after that (even pvp). I think this healing mechanics are almost (if not) similar to the Resto Shaman play and that was possibly one of the biggest increases in my respect for Mercenary healing. I am always open for discussion and if I do plan on getting healing put together sometime for raiding content. However, if you want, I invite you to putting together the raid guide and getting it stickied. I also have no problem in giving credit. I am not (like I say) a know all do all. I love learning and discussing topics and get a brighter spill of the criteria. I wasn't planning on monopolizing this section with the healing perspective lol Just had a dream for getting an accomplish done. I am also working on an Iqu healing class to see the other side of things as well as planning on working on another healing class once I finish the two. I think enriching yourself with ALL healing knowledge from all classes as much as possible will help an undoubtedly a lot. Thank you for the kind words!

I'm really glad you liked it! Healing is fun Nice bit of info there and some great pointers! I haven't sadly hit end game portions just yet and I am considering on reiterating some areas of the content to accommodate it for just causes of basic information. The idea of "For Dummies" is to target a wide range of healing functionalities to better suit the foundation of healing principles concerning the Bodyguard tree. As such, DPS roles should at least maximize their structure in rotation in order to achieve the highest mark in damage count in order to beat the rage timer. In a pressing matter, the ONLY time that I truly saw fit for a healer to dps was during a WoW encounter in the Earth, Wind, and Fire achievement where you had to down three bosses within 60 seconds of each other. This is when the Druid (in this case) was casting the simple Wrath spell to add some dps to the encounter. Granted there were downtimes because the healer was a group healer instead of tank therefore had some extra time. There's a fine line to it all and indeed you gain extra charges from damaging enemies. It's always a situational standpoint and each encounter is always different. As I mentioned early in the guide, it was said to do almost no damage. Maybe I might have to change some wording around since it's definitely a play on words. Thanks for your input. It was truly noted.

**bump**

I sometimes confuse myself with the differences between Heroic 4 and Flashpoints. I kept thinking in the back of my mind that Heroic 4s were supposed to be easier than Flashpoints when in reality, the H4s were actually much harder. Healing Flashpoints aren't too bad at all, even in Warzones healing is very interesting. But once I step foot into Heroic 4, my gauntlets are thrown to the floor ready for some keybind action. My first hybrid healing experience was in Alderaan for Insufficient Staff (Heroic 4). Indeed at first I wanted to rip my hair out, but the cc capabilities and maneuvers were vital when it came to healing in the forsaken place. However, if I was full spec healer, my chances of successfully healing the encounter would have been that much different. I believe the basis comes down to proper group mechanics, teamwork, and communication. Without any of those three, no healer would enjoy his/her role at all. Howbeit, the biggest thing is managing the tank and dps positions. Focusing on one target at a time (situational) and minimizing the output of enemy damage can make all the difference in the world. I was just recently playing a Sith Inqu with two other Sith players. In a Heroic 2 (I think it was) we mutually worked together without saying much at all. The three of us were kept alive the majority of the time, but we seemed to understand the basics of working as a team and assessing the situation and her surroundings. CCs were being placed out without much wording (except for a few occasions) but other than that it was a straight shot. I think some people overthink boundaries and tend to overanalyze situations when all it took was a simple do this and that. These little tiny things are something I wish players of all shapes and sizes can grasp as a concept to understand the formality of things in a wide scale region of this aspect.

Very nice tip TempestasSilva! I just added your quote portion to the guide because it was a nice addition and made some nice touches to the thought. We shall see exactly where our little haste stat friend will take us in our future endeavors. Alderaan seems to be very very rough in full healing spec. I earlier suggested that I was going to hit up Tracer Missiles in Arsenal then the rest in Bodyguard (again by TempestasSilva). It has helped me a great gain. We'll see how things unfold in the upcoming days at least. Check out Werdan's sticky on the Mercenary forums to see some more info on the hybrid spec.

I might have to work around the alacrity part a little bit. It seems that casting quickly to get the deed done would be important at some point while being able to spam Rapid Shots while the heat cools off. I'm still waiting (and researching) about the stat statistics and spreadsheets to see what is best to go for and I do no doubt see your point. Also, I wrote this guide as a means of being impatient and I figured that updating when I can was okay as long as the basics were placed down. BTW- I'm really curious as to why you placed 3 points into Advanced Targetting. Since we are not targetting enemies, we do not have a miss chance when it comes to healing, therefore the extra 3 points can go somewhere else, such as Critical Reaction x2 and a point in Cure Mind for the Doctor minded.

I think it's a beautiful notion and the essence of all that is green is in the power of the number 1 button. It can get to you sometimes, but it's like white noise to me. Maybe if they lowered the volume a tad bit....just maybe.

Without Kolto Shell and Kolto Missile (especially because of that nice shield) it's pretty rough. Pretty cool how such subtle differences in the tree can make a big difference in healing altogether.

Thank you! I totally agree about the heavy armor. I think it's quite a blessing that we can use it since we mesh well with having other specs. It's nice to be able to be a healer that can take a beating before it goes to mush. I recently did what TempastasSilva said about going up to the tracer missiles hybrid spec and it has helped great gains. Werdan's sticky mentions having that particular build. I can only wait for dual spec to be available so I can be able to heal when I need to. Hybrid healing proved to be a bit difficult at best.

I've recently started working on a Sith Sorcerer and so far the healing is..okay compared to the Mercenary. It's still in the early levels so it is too early to judge but I'll have to see how it is going. If it catches enough of my attention, then...sadly...I dunno if another guide is underway lolol. Best Healer is subjective and it depends on the player itself. It always boils down to how well that player can play and know his/her class and utilize it to its optimal performance. Of course stats and numbercrunching such as spreadsheets can tell otherwise, it still goes down to the player.

This may be true, but it shows that this community harbors a more mature audience. Now if you meant in a more respectful manner, then yes.

Hi Furter. This topic has been discussed quite a few times regarding dps rotations etc. If you have already tried to Google by the following: Site:swtor.com mercenary bodyguard leveling Or anything else after site:swtor.com If nothing of value then ill see what I can provide Healer leveling is difficult at best, depending on the situation. Some circumstances Mako is perfect (strong, Elite) some Gault is perfect (weak, strong) you may have to experiment because every instance of encounter is different. Heat builds up quickly. However, when using Supercharged Gas and Combat Support Cylinder , spamming Charged Shots while Supercharged Gas and heat is low takes down strong move and elites pretty well. Its a rough cause. The normal missile is a high heat eater and try to use very sparingly. Trying my best here while I'm on my phone. Hopefully others on here can provide some more support Sent by my EVO 4G

Pure healing makes my heart melt haha. As for the tree, that was something that was just put together. I haven't incorporated that into the guide yet and you were the first to have this tree calc placed together. Ill need to relook at it but it looks pretty solid. Alacrity will help if you have enough critical and need the haste. If you have enough haste, then you can get rid of alacrity and make sure you get Critical Reaction. Btw thanks for the compliment. I'm thinking of a good hybrid tree for leveling per what Tempestas said in my topic earlier. I went with it up to tracer missile and has helped out a lot. I haven't tried healing with it just yet. Ill just feel naked without all the right stuff. Sent by my EVO 4G

Are you talking about pure healing or leveling healing spec? For pure healing I would go for this: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRoRdcdkqZ0cZb.1 I left some breathing room for putting in either Critical Reaction, Integrated Systems, and/or Mandalorian Iron Warheads for the Kolto Missiles

I'm really glad you are wanting to head the healer route. That makes me happy. I really hope you enjoy being a healer just as much as I do. There is a huge community willing to help out so feel free to ask around if you have questions. I know I don't have the know all answers and there are always others who know what they are doing as well. A well of knowledge is greater than a cup of it. I wish Bioware has customizable UI, but for now there isn't any. Maybe I'll post a screenie on what I have just as a look at what the basics of what we're dealing with. I'm using all of the hotbars fyi. I do click as I mentioned, my guilty conscience, but eventually it boils down to not doing it at all. However you want to play, is whatever works best for you. And thank you for the kind comment. My writing style has always been a bit deranged. My writing classes have always been trivial and I enjoy creative writing. I have a very random mind and I get in a very creative mode. Sometimes I go overboard and tend to confuse people but then end up explaining it in the end. My main goal is to prevent boring the reader and provide at least an entertainment value at some point. Also, the For Dummies books ifrc, has some humor in it as well, so I tried to keep it in the same margin. Let me know if anything was confusing for you, maybe I would like to clean it up a bit!! BTW - Sorry for the prank table of contents portion tehehehehehe

Hey there thanks for the compliment. I haven't gotten into the stats just yet because I wanted to get solid into what was needed. As a bounty hunter, our main stats are Aim everywhere we go. Stick with this guideline which I will place in the guide soon: Aim = BH/Trooper Cunning = IA/Smuggler Strength = JK/SW Willpower = Inquis/Consular So the basic laydown will be Aim and Endurance in your gear. Now for the other stats, I wouldn't worry too too much on the extra stats until you start hitting high levels and max level for raiding. Alacrity will be an important stat but up to a certain amount. You should probably be focusing on Power and Crit since it will be adding towards your bonus heals and your crit chances. Surge just adds burst damage. BTW - Thank you for this. I decided to respec for now so I can have a more steady time leveling. It's a slight adjustment, but I should still be able to heal like normal. I'll need to try out the healing in flashpoints soon.

Literofcola For'farva I was sad. I thought my name would be the legacy for all my other toons because then Farvas Literofcola was to ensue.

Haha it's quite alright. I do agree about the dual-speccing since it's absolutely killing me atm. Leveling as a full specced healer is nice and all, but I am struggling doing my normal missions from time to time. I was seriously considering switching to a dps spec until things get stapled in and/or I heal a flashpoint. Leveling as a healer is basically atrocious around level 27-28+ and in Alderaan. Many mobs are wiping me clean in about 5 seconds and I found myself kiting and line of sighting consistently with all of the Elites I run into. I was considering making a hybrid heal/dps spec until the full fledged 50 is underway with raids and such.

Essentially what Xcetra just pointed out. Rotation varies quite greatly in this game and not every group is always the same. Granted you will run into problematic enemies that are Strong and grouped with a couple of Weak enemies. AOE would be your best bet. I have been lately using Gault because of his AOE specialization in Assault and has helped on more than one occasion in taking down the baddies let alone he can also take some hits before going down, so healing him (Bodyguard OH MY GOSSHH!! ) helps a great gain.