My Guide has moved: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=745366. It exceeded the character limit for a single post, so I had to split it into two posts in the new thread.

My model for Sorcerer or Sage PVE healing has been available for over a year. I recently cleaned up my models for the other two healing classes. These models help answer certain questions about abilities or optimal stats for PVE. In my signature is a link to the model for each class. To use a model, download it, and open it with Excel.

Thanks! Please subscribe to this thread, instead. I've closed this thread, and won't be updating it, because I added some content to the OP that caused it to exceed the character limit for a single post. I split the Guide into two posts in the thread that I linked above, so I won't run into that issue in the future.

Dhurwin, it doesn't sound like you've played SWTOR since the release of 2.0/ROTHC. For the 10-month period from 2.0 up to 2.6, the only healer that might be regarded as "dominant" for PVE is Operative. (This is true even ignoring an Operative's ability to stealth rez, which can salvage many fights on 8- or 16-man.) Since 2.6, it's Mercenary. Please visit the Statistics page of TORParse.com for evidence of this well-known fact. For TFB or S&V, while describing Sorcerers as dominant is absurd, we performed well. I had opposed any changes that would have buffed our healing for PVE. For DF or DP, however, Sorcerers are least desirable. It's easier to heal Draxus, Brontes, Tyrans, or Dread Masters on Nightmare Mode (or, though to a lesser extent, on Hard Mode) as a Mercenary or an Operative. The pair of healers for almost all top 8-man progression groups is a Mercenary and an Operative. For PVP, there is a dominant healer since 2.0 in every format: Operative. I doubt any skilled Sorcerer has 1k EHPS from Static Barrier on any fight. In BIS 180 gear for PVE, 1k HPS is about 9 Static Barriers each minute. I've done this on a very few pulls of Brontes on Nightmare Mode, but that's it. 2k is out of the question. Replace "hundred" with "thousand", and you'd be accurate. A competent Mercenary can top any Sorcerer's EHPS by a thousand or more in 16m. There's little raid healing left for a Sorcerer after a Mercenary's Kolto Shell HOT and Kolto Bomb AOE burst. Since 2.0, Bubble Stun's advantages are blinds and DPS, not HPS. Bubble Stun's HPS is less than full Corruption's. Bubble Stun lacks Revivification and skills that buff our heals. Even Static Barrier absorbs more with full Corruption than Bubble Stun.

Hi NeNiMel, I had time to clean up the Mercenary|Commando model for PVE healing that I developed some time ago. I added a link to it in my signature. As noted in worksheet "Introduction", my use for the model has been to optimize Critical from gear for the amount of Surge that I choose to have. In addition, since the link in the OP to MMO Mechanics is broken (MMO Mechanics no longer exists), my model is a source for abilities' properties, such as Coefficients.

I share your antipathy for Operative healing for PVE in light of the limitations of SWTOR's UI. It's DPS options are melee, too, so you're preferences eliminate Operative. A Mercenary healer is better for off-DPS than a Sorcerer healer. The primary reason is that a Sorcerer's attacks whittle away GCDs and Force precisely during the periods of light incoming damage when you must use Consumption to replenish it. For high-end PVE: Like for an Operative, resource manage is short-term for a Mercenary. Unlike for an Operative, this isn't a material drawback, because Supercharged Gas allows for incredible burst. A Mercenary healer has higher output than a Sorcerer healer. A Mercenary is a better tank healer. A Mercenary is a better and more versatile raid healer, too, because Revivification is useless in too many circumstances in DF and DP. An excellent Sorcerer can't match a competent Mercenary (or Operative) when the raid is spread out or always moving, such as for Draxus or Tyrans on Nightmare Mode. For high-end PVP, a Mercenary healer is better for Arenas than a Sorcerer healer. For unranked warzones, I favor a Sorcerer, but the difference is small.

No, Eric, it's your responsibility to inform the designers of this issue when you're so misinformed or mistaken. You should be as embarrassed by your claim above as "heal to full". Yes, this influences healers' priorities. Sages rank higher in triage priority than any other DPS class in the fights below for which your claim is incorrect. Let's examine the most recent 3 Operations on Nightmare Mode. S&V - For 7 of the 8 bosses, all or almost all of the unavoidable AOE or single-target damage is Energy or Kinetic. Dash'Roode - All damage is Kinetic. (Though Howling Sandstorm doesn't have a type in my combat logs, damage taken is inversely proportional to Armor like any other Energy or Kinetic damage.) Titan 6 - All damage is Energy or Kinetic. Thrasher - The majority of Thrasher's damage, and all of Mercenary Snipers' damage is Energy or Kinetic. Operations Chief - All damage is Energy or Kinetic. (Note, too, that a Sage is the only class with a healing specialization that can't cleanse Explosive Grenade.) Olok the Shadow - All damage from the Wealthy Buyer or Olok the Shadow is Energy or Kinetic. Cartel Warlords - Most damage in the first phase, which is the most challenging for healers, is Energy, but by the end of the fight about a third of total damage taken by a Sage is Energy or Kinetic, so I'll treat your claim as true for this boss. Styrak - Before the final phase, all damage is Energy or Kinetic. (Toxic Spines is Internal, but avoidable or, if you fail to avoid it, a negligible percentage of your total damage taken.) Hateful Entity - Hateful Void and Hate Pulse, which together account for over 90% of your total damage taken, are Energy. Dread Fortress - For 3 of the 4 bosses that warrant analysis, all or almost all of the unavoidable AOE or single-target damage is Energy or Kinetic. Nefra - The DOT, Voice of the Masters, is Internal. Your claim is true, but this boss doesn't count, because (a) it's a joke, and (b) a Sage should take almost no damage. Draxus - Your claim is true, because almost all of the damage taken is from Force Lightning, which is Elemental, and Affliction and Poisoned, which are Internal. Grob'Thok - All of Grob'Thok's damage is Kinetic. The adds' damage is Energy. The only Internal or Elemental damage is from Fire, which is Elemental. Corruptor Zero - All damage is Energy or Kinetic. Brontes - Almost all damage taken is Kinetic or Energy. Brontes' Manifest Supremacy and Fire and Forget are Kinetic. Corrupted Clones' Dread Bomb is Kinetic and Laser Blast is Energy. Fingers' Pulse Beam and Focused Beam are Energy. Dread Palace - For 3 of the 4 bosses that warrant analysis, all or almost all of the unavoidable AOE or single-target damage is Energy or Kinetic. Bestia - Your claim is true. Dread Monster and Dread Tentacle melee attacks are Kinetic, but a Sage should avoid more than enough of these so more than 60% of his damage taken is Elemental (Expectorate from Dread Larva or Spit from Dread Tentacles) or Internal (Combusting Seed from Bestia). Tyrans - Smash is Kinetic. If Tyrans is ever pointed in your direction, Thundering Blast is Energy. Affliction is Interal, and fall damage ignores Armor. I'll count this boss against your claim, because (a) a Sage can purge one or two Afflictions with Force Barrier, and (b) Affliction and fall damage are easy for healers to preempt. Calphayus - Your claim is true, but this boss doesn't count, because its raid healing is a joke. Raptus - Force Wave is Energy. Dread Masters - Raptus's Smash is Kinetic, Tyrans' Shock and Thundering Blast are Energy, and Brontes' Jolt is Energy. Since I and many others have shared many, detailed ideas for improving Seers for PVP in other threads, here I'll share only a few ideas that are minor and therefore usually overlooked. Our cleanse is the least useful for preventing damage. This is a material disadvantage at higher Elo. Generating Resplendence is tied to a channel with a cooldown. A quick interrupt of this channel prevents us from using Healing Trance for its 9-second cooldown rather than for the shorter duration of the interrupt's lockout (e.g., 4 seconds). I suggest that Healing Trance's ability cooldown be waived whenever it is interrupted. For example, if a melee's gap closer with no ability lockout were to interrupt Healing Trance, it could be activated again immediately. If an interrupt with a 4-second lockout were to interrupt Healing Trance, it could be activated again in 4 seconds. A knockback or CC that breaks a Healing Trance probably shouldn't affect its cooldown, though it is as hilarious as it is sad to be shut down as a Seer in an Arena by merely being knocked around (a push or pull can be added into the mix, as well) until a teammate is dead. Sage healing needs to be buffed for PVE, too. Presently, Sage is the least desirable healing class for PVE. This would be true even if Commando healers hadn't received a colossal buff for PVE via their buff for Arenas (i.e., allowing an unlimited number of players to have a Trauma Probe). A Sage is least desirable for tank healing. A Sage is least desirable for raid healing, as well, because Salvation is useless in far too many circumstances in both DF and DP. Salvation must be redesigned for PVE and PVP. The range of AOE heals in SWTOR is backwards. A Scoundrel's AOE, which moves with each recipient wherever he may wander, has a 10-meter radius. A Commando's or Sage's AOE, the location of which is fixed, has an 8-meter radius. This is careless design that affects PVE and PVP, and a reason, albeit a minor one among the many, that Scoundrel healers dominate PVP. A Scoundrel's AOE heal moves with each recipient. A Commando's AOE provides burst healing (its HOT is small and short-lived). In contrast, Salvation is slow and steady. This loses almost every race in DF or DP. Every fight that is challenging to heal (i.e., Draxus, Corruptor Zero, Brontes, Tyrans, and Dread Masters) requires spreading, constant motion, or both. Even if the raid weren't spread out or moving, a Commando's Trauma Probe and up-front healing from Kolto Bomb handles most AOE healing before Salvation's first tick. Similarly, it's easy for a Scoundrel to maintain Slow-release Medpac on several allies in addition to the tanks. With Commandos' unrivaled, bursty raid healing, and Scoundrels' excellent, mobile raid healing potential, Salvation is pathetic and brings only overhealing to the table. [*]The vast majority of Hard or Nightmare Mode raids are 8-man. Ranged and heals are almost always separated from melee and tanks. Salvation heals an ally for less relative to its cooldown than a Scoundrel's or Commando's AOE heal. On its face, this is a trade that a Seer would gladly make for Salvation's potential to heal up to twice the number of allies. In practice, however, this is a poor trade for 8-man, because it's rare for more than 4 to be in range of Salvation for much, or even any, of its duration. You've been forced to recognize (more than one year later than your players), that a Sage's design is terrible for healing Arenas. In light of this failure's enormity and longevity, reluctance to consider instants is stubborn and foolish. Among the healing classes, a Sage has the lowest HPS from instants. The more that a healing class relies on casts or channels, the less competitive it is in Arenas. This is true even if Salvation is counted as an instant, which it shouldn't be for PVP, because interrupting Healing Trance every 9 seconds prevents a Sage from gaining Resplendence. There will be no solution until a Sage's HPS from instants can equal a Scoundrel's or Commando's. In addition, any temporary buff to allow a cast to be instant must be distinct from Resplendence and unrelated to Healing Trance. Otherwise it'll remain too easy to cripple a Sage healer merely by interrupting Healing Trance. The Mystic's 4-piece set bonus for PVE and for PVP should both be changed. For PVE, whether Noble Sacrifice has a health cost or not is usually irrelevant. Unavoidable damage must be regular and high, such as during the final phase of Titan 6 or Dread Masters, for its health cost to be prohibitive. This requires a Sage to plan ahead, replenishing his Force before a phase during which Noble Sacrifice's health cost presents a material risk. This is a reasonable trade-off for a Sage's deep resource pool. If Force Mend were to be off the GCD, Noble Sacrifice's health cost would be even less relevant in PVE. Regarding Mystic's PVE set bonuses, the 2-piece is crucial, and the 4-piece is worthless for easy content and lackluster at best for challenging content. The PVE 2-piece is so important that most Seers use it (together with the PVP 2-piece) for PVP, sacrificing a few points of Expertise for the shorter cooldown on Healing Trance.

Today I added advice on customizing your User Interface. This may be found in "Maximizing Your Performance" > "User Interface". I also updated Section "Your Abilities in Detail".

Today I added advice on customizing your User Interface. This may be found in "Maximizing Your Performance" > "User Interface". I also updated Section "Your Abilities in Detail".

The abilities that follow Rejuvenate > Healing Trance vary. In general, a healer's use of abilities is fluid compared with a DPS's. This is expected and, in light of the trend in recent patches of removing RNG from DPSs' procs, embraced by BioWare. Among the healing classes, a Sage's use of abilities is the most fluid. While this prevents me from spelling out a generic complete rotation, it's also why I enjoy my Sage more than my Commando or Scoundrel when healing. If a rotation is what you seek, DPS. If you must heal, play a Scoundrel. A Scoundrel can be a valuable co-healer despite having a rotation. While a Sage has high-HPS, force-neutral rotations (see, e.g., worksheet "Operation HPS" of my model for the rotation with the maximum sustainable HPS for a Sage), on the many occasions that I have healed with such a Sage, I often double his EHPS and render him redundant. I'm glad that you've found advice in various Sections of this Guide that address your questions. If you have further questions, please reply with the specific bosses or topics that you'd like to discuss.

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PVP Skill Points

This guide has exceeded the character limit for a single post. As a result, I've created a new thread. Please consider this thread closed. I won't be updating it.

This is an in-depth guide for healing Operations (PVE), and a basic guide for healing Warzones (PVP), as a level 55 Sage. It’s current as of SWTOR 2.8.1, and was last updated on July 12. This guide is organized as follows. PVE Skill Points Rotation BIS Gear Playing Like an Expert Parsing Tips for Certain Bosses [*]PVP Skill Points BIS Gear Basic Advice [*]Maximizing Your Performance Datacrons Companions Consumables User Interface [*]Your Abilities in Detail This first post includes Section 1. The second post includes Sections 2-4. This guide is available as a Word document. PVE Skill Points If you learn the rotation and techniques discussed in this guide, you should never have this debuff. Using Force Barrier to remove this debuff means that it’s unavailable to cheat death, avoid substantial damage, purge an uncleansable debuff, or complete a crucial round of cleanses 4.5 seconds faster. [*]If you choose this skill, and choose to use Force Barrier to clear a Force regeneration debuff, you’ll benefit most by channeling Force Barrier immediately after using Noble Sacrifice without Resplendence for four or more consecutive GCDs.

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This guide has exceeded the character limit for a single post. As a result, I've created a new thread. Please consider this thread closed. I won't be updating it.

PVP Skill Points

This is an in-depth guide for healing Operations (PVE), and a basic guide for healing Warzones (PVP), as a level 55 Sorcerer. It's current as of SWTOR 2.8.1, and was last updated on July 12. This guide is organized as follows. PVE Skill Points Rotation BIS Gear Playing Like an Expert Parsing Tips for Certain Bosses [*]PVP Skill Points BIS Gear Basic Advice [*]Maximizing Your Performance Datacrons Companions Consumables User Interface [*]Your Abilities in Detail This first post includes Section 1. The second post includes Sections 2-4. This guide is available as a Word document. PVE Skill Points If you learn the rotation and techniques discussed in this guide, you should never have this debuff. Using Force Barrier to remove this debuff means that it’s unavailable to cheat death, avoid substantial damage, purge an uncleansable debuff, or complete a crucial round of cleanses 4.5 seconds faster. [*]If you choose this skill, and choose to use Force Barrier to clear a Force regeneration debuff, you’ll benefit most by channeling Force Barrier immediately after using Consumption without Force Surge for four or more consecutive GCDs.

I'll upload later today a version of this guide that incorporates a reply to your inquiry in Section "PVE" Subsection "BIS Gear".

Regardless of healing assignments, choreography matters far more in 16m than 8m. It's crucial that a 16m take advantage of AOE healing by stacking whenever there isn't a mechanic that penalizes stacking. In 16m, I recommend designating 1 healer for each tank, preferably a Mercenary|Commando or Operative|Scoundrel. While not neglecting the tanks, the remaining 2 healers have primary responsibility for non-tanks. A few fights have a lot of cleanses. Below are examples of reasonable cleansing assignments. Nefra -- Each healer is responsible for 4 cleanses (e.g., the 4 players in his row or Group/column in Frames). Draxus -- Each side has 2 healers, one cleansing Grenades from the top and left in Frames, the other cleansing from the bottom and right in Frames. Dread Masters -- If you have 4 or fewer players who can't cleanse themselves once a minute, use the buddy system. That is, assign one healer to each such player. Brontes -- When there's an infrequent, single-target debuff that any class can cleanse, such as Corrupted Nanites from Kephess during Brontes, I recommend assigning a Sorcerer|Sage healer. The Sorcerer|Sage's cleanse costs the least relative to resource pool. If you have 2 Mercenary|Commando healers in a 16m, I recommend that each manages Kolto Shell|Trauma Probe for 8 players. Each has a tank, who need refreshing most often. Each has himself, as a bellwether for when non-tanks need refreshing. Even if one Mercenary|Commando has greater Bonus Healing, allowing him to Kolto Shell|Trauma Probe everyone may generate too much threat, and refreshing 16 impairs his ability to build Supercharged Gas|Supercharge Cells.

I'd estimate that having the PVE Mystic's 4-piece set bonus (i.e., +50 Force) is better than about two tiers of Item Rating. For example, if your only Armorings with the PVE Mystic's 4-piece are Arkanian, Dread Forged > Arkanian > Kell Dragon > Underworld. It can depend on the fight; in particular, whether it has one or more lulls that permit you to top up your Force between periods of intense damage. I can use most of my Force, and then top it up, several times during Dread Guards, Titan 6, or Brontes, so +50 Force is a valuable set bonus. In contrast, Thrasher doesn't have a lull between periods of intense damage, so +50 Force is lackluster.

For PVP, I recommend having the 2-piece PVE and 2-piece PVP set bonuses. Based on brief use of the "Bolsterizer" on Fleet, 162/150/146 continues to receive full Expertise, and an Arkanian piece (162/162/162) receives nearly full Expertise. I suspect that 162/162/162 is ideal, though I encourage you to experiment with the "Bolsterizer" and share with me any questions or findings.

Today I updated the OP. The links to external sites for skill trees and PVP gear are up-to-date. I described the fact that Warzone Bolster continues to grant full or nearly full Expertise to certain PVE gear.

Today I updated the OP. The links to external sites for skill trees and PVP gear are up-to-date. I described the fact that Warzone Bolster continues to grant full or nearly full Expertise to certain PVE gear.

Orderken - Empire Hilts (Advanced 34) Might Enhancements (Advanced 34) Adept Battle Insight Quick Savant Modifications (Advanced 34) Agile Aptitude Deft Resilient Weighted Armorings (Advanced 34) Commando Might Reflex Resolve Skill Relics DF Shield Amplification