Prior to any expansions, my buddy and I used to raid <Nightmare Mode> Eternity Vault, Karagga's Palace and <Hard Mode> Terror From Beyond. We took a long break from the game and returned about a month ago. We're looking to join or form an operation group to raid on the weekends (due to work). The raid environment would be casual fun yet completed with skills as we would like to progress. I play a BH Mercenary healer as well as a BH Powertech tank. I am competent in both and would play what is needed. My buddy is an IA Operative healer and also has access to his SW Juggernaut tank but prefers to heal. We also have another person who plays SI Sorcerer DPS. Feel free to contact me via reply or in game: Atenra In the meantime, we're going to continue capping elite/ultimate commendations to prepare for some HM/NiM progression. Thanks for your time!

I don't mean to sound like a jerk but it sounds to me you may need a bit more practice playing the Mercenary Healer. It's all about knowing how to manage your heat and knowing when to use certain abilities. Previously, we spammed Rapid Scan and Healing Scan more than anything. The only difference now is we throw in Rapid Shots and Kolto Missles more frequently than before, which is actually not bad. Super-charged gas is also more used more often than before as well mainly for the 5% increased healing. The additional heals from the trinket procs and Kolto Shell definitely adds up as well. I can't say much for PvP as it has never been my focus however we do great for healing in Nightmare mode EV/KP as well as the new Lost Island flashpoint. Our guild syncs our raid damage/heals together and we're satisfied with the results. Sometimes we run Sorcerer/Mercenary, sometimes Mercenary/Operative and the heals are pretty evened out for both healers. Now of course it is a team effort... so no matter how competent you are as a healer, if you have DPS and tanks in the raid who aren't so great with raid awareness, then you may receive the blame for something they failed at. These can include standing in bad stuff, not using cooldowns, reaction time, or just not knowing how to play their character in general. Overall, I'm satisfied where Mercenary healers are at this point. I'd welcome any buffs the developers may consider giving us however I have nothing to complain about.

My advice is to make friends. And when I say make friends, I mean if you've grouped with someone who you think is good company or a good player, add them onto your friends list. Keep in touch and chat often. Eventually you will find yourselves grouping together often. My guild was formed with a bunch of pugs who find themselves grouping together often. A bond was created which resulted in a guild. Now we run operations and flashpoints all the time. Take initiative and talk to people, make friends! Don't always expect them to come to you. Its a two-way street

I'm sorry but I disagree. You can have 19-20k HP and your group can still wipe in any HM if people don't know how to play their class. Gear is definitely a clear indication of how much gear you have but it certainly does not determine how skilled you are. It's no surprise when I see a Marauder with 13k HP destroy a target versus another Marauder with 17k HP. No DPS meter to back it up, you might be thinking? You can determine roughly how much damage someone is doing based on how fast a mob dies (for example if there is a trash pull of 5+ strong mobs, each DPS usually tries to take one on their own). This also has a lot to do with knowledge and awareness. For example in Kaon HM, if you do not move away from the exploding ghouls, then you've just made your healer work harder by taking unnecessary damage. Or perhaps you've been in a group where some random moron clicks the barrel before the boss enrages, so that by the time you need to kite him, there's nothing to snare/slow his movement speed. Reminds me of meeting Ebayed toons back in the day in older MMORPGs. They got all the gear in the world but no brain to back it up. My point: A group of 13-14k health players can tear through Kaon HM no problem.

The title should have been called "Why am I so desperate for attention?" I don't know about you guys but after reading the original post, it indirectly translates to "I am such an awesome tank, please priase me and rub my e-peen; I will use the threat meter subject as an excuse to post about my awesomeness". You know you were thinking about it!

I usually like to give the benefit of doubt however if I were the group leader, believe me I would have removed him with a vote. I could have easily left but being in a position where I need gear, I didn't want to make a hasty decision. At the moment, there's not much we can do about it except post our experiences here on the forums to vent. I really like the idea of the "Need for companion" button.

To each their own. Every player has a different preference for playstyle. You may find Warzones awesome yet another player can find it utterly boring. The same goes for raiding. Some players who are satisfied with normal mode can just feel accomplished after a clear of normal mode raiding but there are other players who may prefer a little more. The game is meant to cater to multiple playstyles and preferences. Some people just prefer sprinkles and nuts on their plain vanilla ice cream.

Yeah I believe both Rift and World of Warcraft has the loot system figured out as far as Need/Greed goes. I play a Bounty Hunter Mercenary and if a strength item drops, I should not be able to select "Need" and vice versa with the Sith Warrior Juggernaut.

I find it disappointing that a nice upgrade drops for my Mercenary in HM Flashpoint runs and then the Juggernaut chooses "Need" and wins the item claiming it is an upgrade for his companion. This particular player disconnected and wasn't present for 80% of the Flashpoint. ** Sigh ** I understand its a better idea to group with friends, but sometimes they aren't online during the same time. I understand that not everyone plays fair. I hope that Bioware seriously considers the way loot is handled in Flashpoints.

Changing up my quote, eh? If you're referring to our fast heal, there is a long cooldown however the cooldown is removed when you activate Supercharged Gas, which can is very easy to keep uptime on. Each time you use the fast heal, your main heal costs only 9 heat. You can spam 6 heals back to back with no delay while maintaining 20 heat built by the end of it. In the end, there really is no reason to compare the heals as all 3 are beasts if played with the proper skill. Sorcerers may have a slight advantage, but not as great as many exaggerate them to be. You either haven't come across an excellent Operative and/or Mercenary healer... or you're just looking to have the community troll your thread. Until there are combat logs for healing logs, this thread is pointless.

...as a Bodyguard (Healer). A healing Mercenary with a healing companion. That's right! I can solo just about any named Champion and Heroic 4+ quests. We wear heavy armor and can definitely take some hits. Mako in healing stance usually keeps my health above 70% against Elites and Champions in combination with Kolto Shell and a few heals of my own when I drop below. With proper heat management, we can keep ourselves alive with infinite heals. Soloing is very easy yet it can take a bit of time to complete Heroic 4+ quests or soloing a named Champion. Depending on what you're fighting, you may find yourself healing yourself more and DPS less but gradually the mob will die. Normal quest content is a walk in the park. So for new players who are considering a healing Mercenary spec, you'll have a great time plowing through content considering you use your abilities properly. - Baroness Aten'ra - Ajunta Pall (RP-PVP)

From a healer's point of view: I enjoy the chaos to an extent. Proper CC and pulling makes my job kind of boring. Now obviously if someone squishy like a Sorcerer pulls a group of Elites/Champions without any of the group members being there, that's a whole different story.

It costs 9 heat when used in combination with other abilities. Its about heat management and knowing how to use your heals properly. A Mercenary can heal infinitely.

Black Talon I dont remember the exact wording, but something along the lines of... "Is that the holocron image or is your face THAT ugly?"

The best advice I can give you is to level a Bounty Hunter Mercenary and find out for yourself. What I can tell you is that all 3 healers are beast healers if played properly. Sure, many have proven that the Sorcerer's current state may give them a slight advantage but honestly it boils down to the person behind the keyboard. Not everyone can play a certain class to its full potential. Pick the style that feels most comfortable for you. I play a Bounty Hunter Mercenary and I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoy it. We have good burst heals and make great tank healers. Grouping healing is decent, but not amazing. I personally think the heat system is very easy to manage. We are also viable in PvP. Good luck with what you choose.

...in your opinion. Everyone has their gameplay preferences. Have you ever thought about those who enjoy the game much more with certain add-ons. What if these add-ons make certain players have more fun? That would be okay then?

This!

Mercenary healing is pretty good. While I agree that Kolto Missles could use a little buff, we do pretty good with healing, even some decent AoE healing. Healing Scan has a 9 seconds cooldown but Supercharged Gas is used pretty often which removes the cooldown for the duration. That doesn't mean that we spam Healing Scan mindlessly though. Using Healing Scan causes the next Rapid Scan to only generate 9 heat making the heat generation very manageable. It would go something like this: Healing Scan > Rapid Scan > Healing Scan > Rapid Scan > Healing Scan > Rapid Scan before Supercharged Gas dissipates. It works great for not only tanking healing, but group and raid healing if used properly. Building charges in between Supercharged Gas is quite fast as well. Being aware of Kolto Shell remaining charges and using Kolto Missles helps a lot as well. Kolto Missles also serves to leave residue to increase healing received by targets and gives them a slight buff. Emergency Scan is pretty sweet on top of it all as well. My only complaint is lack of in-combat resurrection.

If you posted in the right section and maybe include more details about your character such as server, you might get more responses.

Most of the time, I'd say it is the player behind the keyboard. Gear definitely can make a difference although a proper rotation and awareness comes into play as well.

Crashing is hardly a bug.

This is why we have our kids stay in school.

Any good player will know all 3 healer types have their strengths and weaknesses. No healer is better than another. It boils down to the person behind the keyboard. For example, Mercenaries are seen more as tank healers (and they are) but can handle AOE healing well if played right. Having played all 3 healers, I can say that Sith Sorcerer is definitely new-healer-friendly playstyle making it a good choice for many players. The other two require a bit more effort to play but pays off if mastered. My point: All 3 healers are beast if played with the appropriate skill level.

Each healer has their own strengths and weaknesses. The true potential lies behind the person behind the keyboard. I have seen healers that obviously don't know what they're doing as well as average-skilled healers who consider re-rolling because they can't seem to master the mechanics of their current class. Please do not allow a few bad players make the class seem inferior. There are plenty of beast Operatives and Mercenaries out there.

You never want to spam Healing Scan as you will overheat quite quicky during a use of Supercharged Gas. Rule of Thumb: Always use Rapid Scan after a Healing Scan (with points spent properly in the healing tree, Healing Scan causes Rapid Scan to build only 9 heat) So during heavy group damage alongside using the Kolto Missles, you pop your Supercharged Gas and then Healing Scan > Rapid Scan > Healing Scan > Rapid Scan. Do not use Rapid Shot when Supercharged Gas is active as you will not build stacks, unless the incoming damage has lessened enough to where you can use it as a filler. I have never had any issues with heavy incoming AOE damage to my group. If you use your skills properly and read all the descriptions, you'll be non-stoppable - assuming group members cooperate and not try to kill themselves with lack of awareness.