There are few (if any) PURE 100% clickers. Most "clickers" are hybrids that use a few of the generic key binds (ie.1-5) but in large part click most skills. With the very customizable inter face you can locate skills in places that make them very easy to click quickly.

If you are just doing PVE the commando DPS still has 2 decent heals. But the commando right now is not a good choice for PVP. As already stated, pick a role then a class. Commando, smuggler, sage all can be Healer and re speced to DPS down the road if you like or vise-versa. In PVP commando and sage DPS are lacking and the smuggler DPS can be very good but it is more difficult to play in PVP than most other DPS classes. For leveling up if you like DPS you will get a companion healer before long anyways. If you are DPS in a group then DPS, it is the job of the healer to keep the group alive (for the most part). Off healing rarely has a place in group mechanics in this game.

^ ^ ^ This. As a tank and a healer I agree 100%. When tanking I usually side step in a continuous circle around the boss making loops around him and poping cool downs as I go. I once had some DPS give me a hard time about it because it looked silly and they though I didn't know what I was doing. I asked the healer in chat how much he had the heal me. He replied "barely at all". I had no problems the rest of the FP as we went on to 1 shot everything.

Just another thought. Where is your "target's cast bar"? I put mine smack dab in the middle of the screen right about where my character is. That way as soon as an enemy starts casting (incinerate in this case) it about slaps me in the face. I also have my interrupt skill hot keyed to a button on my mouse for quick casting. If you haven't done this or something like it yet, make sure that you do.

To OP. What server are you on? If you are on Prophecy of the Five I would be happy to heal for you and help you master it. I tank and heal this on a regular basis. I also do not recommend PUGing this unless you absolutely have to. Get with your guild and get on ventrillo or something so you can better coordinate fights. If PUGing is your only option make sure that you communicate well with group before and after fights. SOOO many people THINK they know this fight and will say as much in chat but in reality their play prooves otherwise. This fight (and whole FP for that matter) REQUIRE the group to be very mechanically sound and use proper techniques or it will be an endless string of wipes. Just 1 week link or someone not doing it right usually means a wipe. All the roles need to know their part and perform well, DPS, Tanks, Healers all need to do it right. It's not just the tanks or healers fault. But like I said, 1 weak link CAN bring the group down.

People will argue till they are blue in the face that their way is the right way... in the end it is personal preference. Its nice that we have the option to do either clicking or keybinding (or even a little of both). Try both ways out and make up your own mind as to which is better.

Ya, I don't agree with this either. When you become proficient with clicking you are not studying your UI that much. It only takes a quick glance. As somewhat of a clicker myself (heals and tank) I'm constantly glancing around the screen at all things...UI, health bars, situation and surroundings, etc. Just like driving, you don't stare at the road the entire time, you learn to glance at the mirrors, instrument panel, radio, etc. when you need to check the relevant information. Just like I don't need to watch my speedometer go all the way from 0-60 with out watching the road, a clicker doesn't need to stare a the UI non-stop. Just as keybinders get used to their methods and improve muscle memory, so too do clickers. Good situational awareness is not dependent on your imput type but rather on experience and, well...awareness. (imagine that). It's all about what is comfortable to YOU. If the nano-second difference between clickers and keybinders is THAT important then I would say that you have lost sight of the reality of this being a GAME.

To the OP. what server are you on? I under stand due to time constraints you might have a difficult time finding a group. But I have to ask, are you in a guild or have made friends? When I was first learning end game content I would go with the guild or ask friends if I could go with their guild to learn a new op. usually they were helpful, sometimes it did not work out. I realize that GF is a handy tool but I don't think a GF PUG is the best solution for you. It's a MMO, so hit up some friends and get them to take you along

In PVE, like others mentioned, it's about skill and what is comfortable to you. I tend to be a clicker more but have some skills keybound. In PVP it is a litte different. While ultimately it is still about skill I believe that keybinders have a higher potential as the key binding would allow for slightly better response time. It's a game, go with what works for you.

Lol, thank you Mr. English professor for illustrating your own point of "elitism". Brilliantly done! For being a fan of English I would think you would be familiar with context. The following sentences in my post further explained my "elitist" view that I DON'T think ALL PVP gear is inappropriate, as I stated, player skill is more the determining factor. But why is it so "abhorrent" for me to be a "little frustrated" when someone shows up for LI HM in recruit PVP Gear or insists on tanking HM KP in partial recruit/WH when the other tank is better geared in PVE gear. Is that so elitist? Maybe I generalized to much in that specific sentence that you so amazingly over analyzed, but I assumed the rest of my post would be read and my view on the matter would be further clarified. Forgive me for making that mistake. I will endeavor to avoid such absurdities in the future and be sure to run my posts by the editor before doing so. Thanks for setting me straight.

/palm forehead. Doesn't anyone read a WHOLE post before they make ignorant posts? Hey genius, try going back and reading all of it this time. Here you go I'll make it easy for you:

Read my WHOLE post, rather than taking something out of context genius. Bottom line... It is more about Player skill than the gear but THERE ARE the people that think just cuz they have PVP gear they are capable of doing all end game PVE content. Is tionese gear better than WH PVP gear... No. Is Some PVP gear better than some PVE gear...yes. PVP and PVE gear are designed for their respective roles so when someone shows up with the other type of gear it can be a little frustrating to the other members of the team. Is it something to fret over? Usually not. I tend to reserve judgement until I see if they can pull their weight or not. But we have all seen the players show up in the wrong gear that just don't cut it and think it the groups responsibility to carry them. But it does and will continue to happen so there is no use in crying over spilt milk.

While I tend to agree with the OP some, I believe it is more about the person at the KB. Skill definately can overcome under geared toons at times and the same can be said about good gear can overcome bad players at times. But I do have to say that when someone shows up for an op or HM FP in PVP gear it kinda says "I'm to lazy to grind the correct gear, I expect you to carry me". I don't have a problem with the people who at least have WH or EWH because those are on par with some columi and Rakata gear. What I do have a problem with is the bung-hole tank in recruit/WH mixed gear who endurance stacked augments that thinks he would do better at tanking than an experienced tank in BH/DG with proper dmg. mitigation. As an end-game healer and tank I can tell you HP are over rated. Just cuz you have 20k HP does't mean you are worth a crap. I would rather have a player with 18k HP in PVP gear who knows how to play over a moron in Rakata/black hole.

^ This is correct. Your direct LOS at a mob impacts your "nearest" target. So it's actually part nearest target and part target "under crosshairs" so to speak. I recommend also hot keying "next enemy target" so you can cycle throug targets. I use my mouse wheel up and down for this.

if you want to do good DPS and good heals then either Scoundrel healer or Commando are your options. Commando DPS still gets 2 heals and you can also spec up the healing tree a little to get Combat support Cell that will turn your gun into a healing beam. That along with the 2 heals will allow you to heal some but DO NOT consider your self a main healer unless you spec all the way up the Healing tree. You can spec up the healing tree and still do reasonable DPS as a commando or a Scoundrel but the commando has a little more durability. however I would recommend going DPS with the commando and then have both of you use your companion healers as soon as you get them, then you would only need your heals as a commando in an emergency. The other option would be to use a tank class like a vanguard then you could be the TANK and taunt mobs off your sister and better control the fight.

My main is a Commando healer so I know exactly what you went through. Bottom line as other posters mentioned... You had a bad tank and bad DPS. My other too. Is a tank and being a healer first has helped me become a better tank. A tank first and greatest priority is to gather agro on all targets not CCed. If a DPS pulls agro off in a trash group, no big deal, but the tank should ALWAYS have an eye on the healer and quickly taunt or attack mobs off the healer ASAP. If this breaks down or the tank can't hold all the agro the DPS should help pull mobs off healer. Further more, while this is not directly your "fault" there is some things that you can do to help avoid this. - put trauma probe on your self in a FP untill your gear level improves. This will help survivabity. When your gear improves put it on the tank. - Avoid dropping Advanced medical probe or medical probe as your first heal. They generate a lot of agro. Try throwing a few bursts of hammer shot on the tank while he and the DPS generate agro... THEN drop AMP and MP as needed. - Don't forget your skills! Use diversion religiously. It helps drop your agro on mobs near you, often completely. Also as you mentioned , you have your defensive shield, but you also have other skills to be used... - Adrenalin rush- a small Self HOT that may be just enough to keep you alive. - Concussion charge- AOES knockback. Don't over use this as it will not help with agro but could buy valuable time. - Cryo grenade- stun at least 1 mob and keep them off you. - tech override followed by concussive bolt- insta cast your CC on a blue or gold star mob attacking you. - kill them your self- as commandos we have some of the best AoEs, drop them all on the mobs and if you don't have ammo left you can pop emergency reserve cell. In the end... A halfway decent group should not let this happen.

My commando is BT3 and he looks awesome. BT3 is taller, more proportionate in trooper gear and doesn't have the "bobble-head" look of BT1&2 .

I'm no genius, but all the other classes get 5 more points too... So I'm taking a stab in the dark here and guessing maybe they will get stronger too? Even if my beloved Commando got 5 more points and all others did not, it still would not solve its major PVP flaws.

Stack AIM and END. AIM is your base stat(always good) and END for survivabity for which the commando needs some help. POW helps tech abilities but as gunnery you will rely more on your general ranged damage so other than AIM/END you might want to stack CRIT and SURGE for burst DPS. Almost forgot, you will want to stack accuracy untill you reach 100% or you will be missing players often and negating a lot of your damage. Once at or near 100 stack the other stats.

Exactly... Changing the Green beam of death animation so it is not nearly as noticeable will bring back a very important mechanic in our healing rotation. Especially in PVP because it allows us to heal AND stay moble. Simply changing this would go a LONG way to fixing the commando but not entirely.

Yes and no... My commando is in optimized full Black gear with 63 Barrel and about 5 or 6, 63 armorings and mods. Using a parser I can sustain around 800+ DPS. A comparable DPS should do 1100+ in a raid. That being said as a ranged DPS you could probably do OK as DPS on SM and HM KP/EV and SM EC if you have comparable gear to what I have. I HAVE gone as DPS on those and we did just fine...even throwing out a heal or 2 HM Daily FPs you could probably be ok DPSing. But be warned that running as a role you are not speced for is largely frowned upon... yes I'm looking at you DPS-pretending-to-be-tanks. Commando Heal Spec still does excellent AOE damage along with any other skills that are Tech based. However we do not have the procs and skills that "stack" like a gunnery or Assault tree spec has. Ammo management becomes an issue if you don't know what you are doing. Bottom line... as heal spec you could potentially do DPS comparable to a DPS 1 or 2 gear levels below the gear you are wearing. If you want to Heal, Heal.... if you want to DPS.. just Respec. Healer gear still works good for DPS spec.

If I ran a ranked WZ in full campaign gear I would get chewed out, and rightly so. It the same for someone running HM ops in PVP gear. These are HM Ops, not SM. They take Everyone on the team pulling their weight. The issue is not CAN it be done, but is it acceptible. In my opinion NO. If you are running PVE in PVP gear you are limiting your potential and therefore the team is having to make up for that. HM FPs.. Thats one thing... Those are easy and its not a big deal for someone to be carried by the team a little. You are trying to take a short cut, instead of doing the gear grind. HM OPS are tough and require each member bringing their best. While you may be a skilled player and you were able to get by... It speaks more of the other healer and those in the raid who made up for your "handicap". While it worked out this time, don't be surprised or offended if you get the boot or uninvited the next time due to your gear.

You make some good points and Commandos in PVP are EXTREMELY frustrating to play and they need some love. However there are some things that we CAN do well: Diversions, delays, and bait. I can't tell you how many times I have run into or near a pack of imps..start throwing around GBD (green beam of death) and then poping shield and stims.. Then running away while using kolto bombs and bacta infusion. Almost every time 3-4 imps will drop what they are doing and chase you. Even with that many you can survive for a little bit (if you know what you are doing) giving your team some much needed time to cap a node or finish off their healers. Imps can't resist and often you can bait them away. Using shield, stims, adrenalin rush, kolto bombs, and self heal... We have the potential to survive longer than any other healer under duress. However if we are healing ourselves, we are not healing the team... But it also means that the imps are not attacking our team mates when they are swarming us. If you are helping to guard a node you can delay quite well with the skills we have untill help arrives. I don't put up a lot of big numbers on the board but I have learned to become better at surviving attacks and delaying death so as to draw off, delay, and bait imps. Along with healig my goal is always to tie up as many imps as I can as long as I can. While it isn't always fun, and certainly not glamorous... It can still help your team win. Hutt ball- follow the ball carrier with GBD... Either you will help keep them alive or imps will attack you instead. Voidstar- lure imps near pits away from the bombs and sometimes you can freeze them and then knock them off Alderman & Danova- play off nodes just a bit if attacking and lure imps out away. When defending stay moble with KB and BI heals. Use shield, stims, addenalin rush, CCs, knockback, and KB slow effect to delay untill help arrives. Hyper gate- more of the same. Bottom line it YES it is a very difficult class and procs nerd rages frequently, but it is not useless and we just need to be creative with the skills that we do have, which are more useful than you might initially think.

Please play through LI story mode a few time before running it in HM. It is VERY frustrating to have to teach new people mechanics in HM when they should have played SM first. As to your gear... Keep working towards black hole gear by running dailys ( section x, black hole, daily HM que, etc). You already have the gear for that. Also keep running SM ops (KP,EV) for black hole comms. Once you have full columi, a piece or 2 of BH (augmented) then start running HM KP & EV. Once in mostly augmented Rakata/BH gear then start on EC SM. Once in full Rakata/BH move to sm TFB and then HM EC. If you are in much less gear than what I suggest then the team is carrying you, more than you are helping the team. Make sure you do SMs first and learn the ops. HM adds more mechanics and if you don't have the basics down already from SM them you are likely going to frustrate other members of your team. Most people don't mind teaching new people if they have put in their time and done their homework.... But most people hate the noob who comes in "I just turned 50 and never done this HM op before, when do I get to loot the gear, blah,blah"

Even as a commando healer spec. Elara is still very usefull. Most of my leveling up I used her as my companion. In PVE commando medic can still put out OK DPS (far better than any companion). So I would let Elara heal and I would DPS / tank throwing an occasional heal as needed. Commando AoEs are particularly effective. Elara is a solid healer and her CC abilities have saved me many times. Using Tanno Vik for tanking and healing him works good, but Elara is still a very useful and effective companion.