Bodyguard spec questions

[RoyalConsular]

Hey I am a level 42 Merc, currently arsenal spec. I was considering going healing spec at level 50 but I just had some questions,

I first wanted to know if they are viable healers?

This is because I have yet to see even a level 50 bounty hunter top 250k healing in a warzone while my sorc friend casually gets over 300k and has achieved 707k in voidstar before!

ALso could you guys tell me some of the boutny hunters strong points in healing compared to other classes? I understand our big cast healers would make for a good MT healer but apparently all healers are MT capable so is there anything that makes us unique or at least a reason as to why we might get chosen when there are sorcs and Imp agents about? cheers!

[Gundor]

You probably don't see any Bounty Hunters topping the PvP healing charts simply because there are not a ton of Bodyguard Spec'd Mercenaries out there. I just hit level 50 and I intend to spec out of Arsenal into Body Guard very soon.

 

Bounty Hunter Healing Advantages:

5% Additional Healing Buff after Using Kolto Missile (with Talents)

Heals apply 10% Armor Buff (with Talents), (Shared with Sorcerer, I'm not sure if this stacks)

Kolto Missile applies Shield if used while using Supercharged Gas (not sure if this stacks with Sorcerer Shield)

Proactive Healing Buff (Kolto Shell)

 

Those are just a few of the things I could think of.

[Gyromite]

Firstly, I would like to comment on the fact that this post should have been made under the Mercenary sub forum as you can get better Mercenary responses there.

 

Secondly, I believe the healing mechanics on the BG are very differnt from any healing mechanic I've seen. They have a lot of tools and are very versitle during combat. Healing numbers don't mean anything. It's not about quantity but quality instead. A BH healer may have lower numbers on the board but with their tools and 'on the run' healing tactics they were the difference between the group failing or succeding at the current objective. I would much rather have a healer that CC'd and shielded more so than cap high numbers on the boards and was the deciding factor in the success of the run.

 

I would not let numbers deter you from trying out the healing mechanic. I find it quite enjoyable myself. Although I would like to add that I don't PvP often, I'm more of a PvE healer. I find it extremely usefull to have on the run tactics for fights that require you to be on the move the whole time. IE: Not standing in fire.

 

Lastly, just as a rule of thumb I would highly contest your intentions of 'switching to BG at 50'. It is not a difficult mechanic to learn but changing once you've reached the level cap means having to learn all the BG skills and mechanics. Not to say you cannot learn them but the learning curve will be much higher than if you had started BG @ 10. I believe that people who do this become easily detered from healing and end up complaining about how much it sucks because they never took the time to learn it from the ground up. You will mess up a lot during that learning process and it will be frustrating. I would suggest to start a new BH and go BG from scratch. I have this advice for anyone playing DPS until level cap and then switching to healing or tanking regardless of the class. You will become frustrated at having to learn a new set of rotations and skills and you will also make a terrible healer during clutch situations because you didn't take the time to learn the abilities as you leveled up and found their sitation and uses. The people you play with will also feel the pressure of your novice approach and you will lose a lot of tanks and dps during tense sessions of spike damage.

 

This is just my opinion though. There are a lot of people that excel at learning new specs quickly and you may be one of those people. But more often than not it ends up just being an uphill challenge.

 

TL;DR: BG healing is extremely fun but I would suggest bringing up a healer from scratch in order to really learn the abilities and situational uses. Lots of utility and mobility.

[DukSaber]

i just switched from arsenal to bodygaurd at level 43. So far idk, only one weak aoe heal and direct heals really arent strong at all. Using the cylander seems key so im still getting used to all that. so far im not impressed though, it almost feels like we need one stronger direct heal.

[Ripfang]

I leveled as a BG, and had no problem completing any of the content. As someone mentioned above...understanding our mechanic is key. Start with the following thread, and pay particular attention to the rotations section.

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=120269

 

Once you become familar...and comfortable...with the mechanic, you'll have no problem excelling in both PvE and PvP. Our healing throughput is endless once you have a firm grasp on the mechanic. I can solo heal all of the FP with no problems...and am always in the top 3 for heals in WZ...even when Hutt Ball is overloaded with SI's.

Edited January 5, 2012 by Ripfang

[Gyromite]

i just switched from arsenal to bodygaurd at level 43. So far idk, only one weak aoe heal and direct heals really arent strong at all. Using the cylander seems key so im still getting used to all that. so far im not impressed though, it almost feels like we need one stronger direct heal.

 

This is a perfect example as to why you should start BG spec early on if you really want to be a good healer. Our heals are not weak at all. You just need to learn how to utilize our cooldowns.

 

Are you using Supercharged Gas on CD? Are you putting talents into the extra shield when using Kolto Missle? Have you equipped the proper gear (+Alacrity)? Are you using the proper rotations on Rapid Scan and Healing Scan? Are you constantly weaving in Rapid Shots into your rotations? Are you maintaining Kolto Shell on your MT?

 

These are all things you pick up along the way. You can't just switch specs and expect to top off people with one heal. It's not faceroll healing. You need to understand how each one of our skills affects the other.

 

I also agree with the previous poster about handling the game content solo. It's not very difficult if you know which panion to use for which situation.

[Qcto]

See my sig, healed on the op to 45 then switched him to dps because I like merc healing WAY more. In pvp it feels like you have way more utility, its much easier to live while being focused by other players who notice you healing, and you pump out some good single target heals and you can help kill targets much easier than a healy op. The op is a little easier to play in pve to due to hots you can stick on people but I think I'm liking the BH more there too, it just seems like a better healing class from what I've played so far. Plus doing the burst people are crying about on the forums is fun on my op, but I have always liked healing so thats what my merc will stay.

[Imhotep]

i just switched from arsenal to bodygaurd at level 43. So far idk, only one weak aoe heal and direct heals really arent strong at all. Using the cylander seems key so im still getting used to all that. so far im not impressed though, it almost feels like we need one stronger direct heal.

 

Im lvl 40 and the healing mechanic and abilities are fine. Make use of supercharged gas. Wait till someone gets upset with you for shooting them...thats always fun.

[Galaxay]

I leveled as a Bodyguard, so far i'm level 44.

 

In the beginning I was a bit doubtfull due to the 1 aoe heal only.

 

But it turns out that it's an unbelievable healing class.

You have to understand how it works and have the keybindings and tactics known out of heart to make this work.

 

Once I felt I had it under control (level 30isch), I felt "at ease" during healing, carefully and patiently selecting my heals.

 

In essence, Rapid Shots is your main buddy.

Use it constantly on anyone that you can top to 100%, make a habit to use it in calm periods. If you do that you'll get to Supercharge in no-time, especially if you use Rapid Scan (adds 6 charges via talents) when needed.

 

Once you hit Supercharge (on big fights, once every 30s or so), hit Kolto Missile on the tank / group asap, the damage reduction really impacts healing under stress or not (besides the obvious extra healing, which btw applies to other heals to !)

 

Lastly, use Healing Scan as a top-off or defensive approach, it adds armor, and it adds heal over time. This is not bound to one character, so use it on those who take the hits.

 

I've become very used to it now, also in PvP, and the only disadvantage I see is that it's not an aoe healer, it's a tank healer with a bit of aoe capabilities, but with one great superadvantage : Rapid Shots, allowing you to heal when moving !

 

G

[Phenomen]

my gear is far from the best but im on top of healing charts like 50% of matches.

http://i.imgur.com/IDOG4h.jpg

[rheia]

i just switched from arsenal to bodygaurd at level 43. So far idk, only one weak aoe heal and direct heals really arent strong at all. Using the cylander seems key so im still getting used to all that. so far im not impressed though, it almost feels like we need one stronger direct heal.

 

This is the problem with people switching spec mid game without taking time to learn the purpose of the skills, unfortunately.

 

Our 'weak aoe' heal isn't made with a purpose to 'aoe heal' it's a DR screen + incoming healing buff for your other heals, with added benefit of a tiny spot heal for 2 people near the tank. Sure, mando warheads from arcenal will add +20% to that heal, but if you are using it for raw healing, you playing your bodyguard wrong.

 

I'm not going to retype the guides already available on the merc forums, but I'll just say that BH are very strong healers in the right hands. Particularly, very strong tank healers.

Edited January 9, 2012 by rheia

[oxente]

I'm leveling a alt Merc with the purpose of healing pvp. Still lv 12 so i don't have any skills. But analysing the BG talents and having some experience healing on WoW, i think that the class has potential.

 

Probably will be one of the hardest class to kill. Many self increase heal buffs.

 

With Mandalorian Iron Warheads, Integrated Systems, Custom Enviro Suit,Protective Field and Kolto Residue your kolto missile become a Holy Shock.

 

 

Get a free heat heal with med CD Emergence scan, Kolto missile 6 sec CD, Earth Shield like skill(Kolto Shell), Panic Button Power Surge, High Armor and damage reduce buffs.

 

Want more?

Edited January 9, 2012 by oxente

[teyngodown]

BG healing is great! lvl 41 BG spec merc and lovin it. Every flashpoint i've ran we haven't had a tank. Just me and 3 DPS specs. Needless to say not a single person that i've run with has died any of the times i'm healing.

 

i'll say that figuring out a rotation that works for you and your group is going to be tough early on no matter what lvl you are. Just make sure you are consistantly doing rapid shots in slow periods to keep your supercharge gas up and you should be fine. Read every skill and talent you pick carefully so you know what to do and when to do it. If you're doing things right you'll rarely have to use vent heat and still be keeping people at or near max health the entire time you're healing.

 

PVP on the other hand is a little different. I've found that picking your targets for healing is tough. In huttball don't stay by yourself... you're worthless alone period. Stick with the ball carrier and use your cc skills effectively and your team should rarely have a problem scoring. In the other 2 WZ's is when it gets tricky. I tend to find someone that i know is going to do a TON of damage and stick with them. An arsenal spec merc and a BG merc will dominate an objective when defending. Most people think to go after the healer first, but with an arsenal merc the people going after the healer most likely won't outdamage him and they'll be dead before they kill the BG. They're only hope is to overwhelm you which leaves the rest of your team to cap the other objectives. On the void star I tend to stick with the stealth guys.... just try not to rapid shot them when they're about to ninja cap somehting .... keep the ninja's alive and kickin and you can blow through all the doors and finish in about 5-6minutes. Giving the other team almost no chance of winning as long as you're team can slow them up somewhere.

 

BUT Finding a strategy that works for you and is most importantly FUN for you is key to success as a BG merc. You may not top the leaderboards with damage, healing, medals etc , but the more effective you are and the more comfortable you become the better your experience will be.

 

Remember as a healer you are a game changer. Either you're effective and you changed it for the better or you sucked and you caused your team to lose because 1 more dps is better than a healer who can't figure out the buisness end of a kolto dart.

[Kodat]

you guys need to really get to 50 and some decent gear. i'm full champ (valor 59, will try to get 60 today) and i can easily, if i dont feel like dpsing, break 400k healing no sweat, if i dont dps at all. But, since im 59 i go medal hunting which only usually nets me around 200k healing and like 150k dps but i get 8-9 medals. My thoughts of the class is this: We cant aoe heal. Don't expect to try and keep up 5-6 targets at once without destroying your heat. You shine keeping 2-3 people alive at once with good heat management. The other positive thing is you dont feeking die. You are a tank. When i throw up my shield and pop my trinket+adrenal, and have stim up, I crit myself for 7.5k. 7.5k crit heal is Fckig dirty.

 

I got rid of kolto missile because frankly its a waste of 3 points (assuming kolto+side skill, forgot the name) and i realized finally that i cant aoe heal. Even while silenced I have better options than wasting a gcd(global cooldown) on kolto missile. Some may disagree but thats fine, we all have our gameplay styles.

 

Here is my aim + gear : http://imgur.com/nkQQB

 

And this is my skill tree : http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRk0kfdzqZbcoMZb.1

 

Hope this helps, i also stream daily either PvP or hardmode/nightmare EV and other stuff @

twitch.tv/kodatius

[mgaizo]

The way I look at in terms of the healers wow contained is this:

 

Sorc heals are very similar to the way Disc Priest functioned in WoW.

 

Merc Heals function similar to Shaman healers.

 

And IA Healers function almost similar to a Holy Priest/Druid hybrid

[Forge]

I'll bite. We've cleared EV 5/5 in normal and hard, and 4/5 nightmare. Bonecrusher on both normal and hard. We've 10-12 man 16 man normal content in EV just for more drops.

 

This is how we look at BH healing. Never bring a BH when you could bring another sorc. Sorcs are just more well rounded and have more get out of jail abilities for raiding. This flows down into flashpoints as well. Don't take this like the BH healing spec isn't good. I've completed every flashpoint on hard and all the raiding above. I just have to work far harder than the sorc next to me. I've got better gear than both all rakata -bp. The problem is that bioware gives us the wrong stats on all the medic gear or just seem to randomly pick what we get. Why would columi give power then when you move to rakata you get almost all crit. Makes no sense. So there are itemization issues which we will have to struggle with. Decked out in medic gear I have more hp than some of our tanks. While this sounds good on paper it gimps our heals. I actually heal better in a mix of elim / tech / medic gear.

 

People post these write ups about using all these abilities before other abilities and maxing our potential using kolto missile with the spec etc etc etc. It doesn't work like that most of the time. You are either healing non stop which prevents you from using rapid shots 100% of the time. Or you have no use in using it, because you should just drop a single rapid scan to do the job. There is almost no use in rapid shots. Next Kolto missile is almost useless. You won't have time to click it then target a area in raiding. If you do you just gimp yourself because it's not smart healing. What I mean by smart healing is you can't drop it on 5 people and get the best benefit. It simply heals the 3 closest targets. What this means is that in 16 man you could have 6 melee. Three of which are almost dead and 3 at full hp. You fire it on top of them and the 3 with full HP could be healed rather than the 3 almost dead players. Its simple range that decides this. Now you could argue "play better", or "use better aim". But by the time you target it or shoot and not heal 2 of the 6 you need. You are almost always better off single healing the targets. This is the major problem of the class.

 

This is touted as the WoW Paladin class where you drop big heals on single targets. This however isn't the case either. Both of our sorcs have worse gear and can consistently drop larger single heals on targets at will. The root of our issue is no AE healing when needed and NO huge heals when needed. We can heal much faster than sorcs without a doubt, however this is only after we've got 30 ticks to use supercharged. Which remember you won't have time using rapid shots to build. You'll build all 30 from rapid scans / healing scans. Which means you generally save this ability for when most people get hit with AEs. This lets you heal them all up quickly via single target healing. However again a sorc gets to use one button to do this.

 

The next problem is there are no raid bosses to tank which require a single full time healer. Almost all EV damage is ae/frontal/cone of some type. Bone Crusher doesn't require a tank at all. Basically 3 of the 5 EV bosses won't require a tank which means you'll be focused on healing pretty much everyone but a tank (hence ae of some type). It's arguable that you really even heal a tank on the other 2 as well, but I'll say we do just for the argument. Our tank sometimes goes up to 20 seconds without needing a heal on Gharj just because the sorc can put a bubble on them every 20 seconds. You pretty much don't need a tank for Soa except in certain stages which his damage isn't even major.

 

Here's a list of the current problems with BH healing:

 

No at will shields (sorcs have this)

 

No combat res (sorcs have this)

 

No AE heal which is even reliable (sorcs get reviv: just stand in the purple)

 

GCD hurts us just as much as helps because of heat. Alacrity allows you to heal faster but you build heat faster as well. Alacrity does not effect heat loss at all!

 

Takes up to 10 seconds or more depending to heal up a single player from 1/10 HP to full. (raid gear with players hp ranging from 15k-25K).

 

If you don't healing scan -> rapid scan you build up to much heat after 3 rapid scans.

 

No use for rapid shots because it either doesn't heal enough to use instead of a healing scan/rapid scan or takes to long to heal the same amount. Novelty use only during sleepy time.

 

Have to build up 30 ticks of gas before starting fights to go in prepped.

 

10% armor bonus on healing scan is useless since it's the quickest heal/smallest and normally not used on a tank. The duration is to short and it makes more sense to have kolto shell give this armor bonus to a tank.

 

Kolto shell is weak vs shield, as shield prevents damage entirely and shell only gives small hp back after hits. The 10 ticks x healing amount is only half of what a shield will prevent. Not even counting to get the full benefit you have to get hit over 30 seconds.

 

Visual only, rapid scan and healing scan names should be swapped.

 

 

We decided as a guild that a BH is much better as a dps tool using the 20% armor reduction than healing. I have since switched to DPS for the time being until BH healing is correctly aligned with the needs of healing in this game.

 

 

If you've been having problems with soa maybe it's time to bring in sorcs. BH healers are not up to par for any Nightmare modes. Sure you CAN do it. But why would you when having 2x sorcs makes it that much easier. Endgame raiding is all about small percents that give you the edge. If it means stacking classes to complete certain bosses, sometimes that what must be done. The problem is there is never a time when you'd want to stack BH healing, and you'll always want to stack sorcs. I am in serious hopes that some Dev will read this and have a discussion about the issue at bioware. I would be willing to talk in more detail to any dev about this on any of the raid bosses or flashpoints as well to detail issues.

[SheepishOne]

I've only done hardmodes, but I find the same to be true. Sorcerers are always pick of the litter for PvE. 3k+ instant shield absorb with their "SCG" on a 6 second CD with no necessary buildup? Easily accessible armor/mitigation buffs? In-Combat Rez? Actual AoE healing? Hell. Even their cleanse heals on top of removing effects.

 

Keeping a tank up is ridiculously easy in this game. There is rarely a "Oh god, the tank is going to die!" moment. If you heal them, they're geared and competent, then they will stay up. This makes our instant/quick heals rather weak and unnecessary in PvE. It's also heat intensive to cover simple AoE healing tasks for the rest of the group.

 

For the record, Sorcerers Revivification is currently broken. The sage's is a burst heal (~1.5-2k for all in AoE), with a follow up heal over 9s of about the same amount. Sorcs are only healing over the duration sans burst heal. When they get that fixed, they will then become an even greater primary and supporting healer.

 

Kolto Shell is also broken. It can dispense all its healing within 15 seconds, twice as fast as intended. When this gets fixed, we get even weaker. It still heals for less on average than Shield prevents within that time, and lacks the talented CC's and buffs in the skill tree.

 

We aren't totally gimped. We carry some really nice anti-focus healing in PvP. We're just not preferred in PvE, or any other setting that requires AoE healing. I think the only instance where a BH might be preferred, PvE wise, is Directive 7 for bulwark.

 

Since the OP asked for a healing chart of over 250k. This is me in my own crafted 49 blues. I'd been 50 for about a day. The opposing team was equivalent level, but lacking in any real focus--hence why my 3 man pre-made could stick at a door permanently for the ultimate stat padding. I'm currently in Champ/Cent/Columi/Rakata mashups now, and the score isn't typical.

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/6335/screenshot2012010216371.jpg

[karashanna]

I am still low level (21 atm) but I have played healers in several other MMOs and I LOVE the BG spec! The heals that I've seen so far aren't very big, but the thing is I'm an Energizer bunny! I keep healing, and healing, and healing.

 

As long as I group with competent people who know how to do their part so I can focus on the tank, I have absolutely no problem keeping my team alive. The key is to use Rapid Shots ALL THE TIME. It's a small heal, but it's instant AND free. Even when I've played in a group as a secondary healer with a sorcerer, eventually in a tough fight the sorc will run out of force. Ideally he would manage it perfectly but stuff happens and they can run out.

 

I have not had a problem with heat that I couldn't quickly fix or learn how to manage better.

 

I really look forward to end-game healing because this class is quite different from other healing classes I've played, and it's just plain FUN. If you're smart about your heat and you take the time to LEARN THE SKILLS I see no reason this class wouldn't be great at level 50. Maybe not number-crunching great, but it's a practical and capable healing class in the right hands.

[Forge]

I am still low level (21 atm) but I have played healers in several other MMOs and I LOVE the BG spec! The heals that I've seen so far aren't very big, but the thing is I'm an Energizer bunny! I keep healing, and healing, and healing.

 

As long as I group with competent people who know how to do their part so I can focus on the tank, I have absolutely no problem keeping my team alive. The key is to use Rapid Shots ALL THE TIME. It's a small heal, but it's instant AND free. Even when I've played in a group as a secondary healer with a sorcerer, eventually in a tough fight the sorc will run out of force. Ideally he would manage it perfectly but stuff happens and they can run out.

 

I have not had a problem with heat that I couldn't quickly fix or learn how to manage better.

 

I really look forward to end-game healing because this class is quite different from other healing classes I've played, and it's just plain FUN. If you're smart about your heat and you take the time to LEARN THE SKILLS I see no reason this class wouldn't be great at level 50. Maybe not number-crunching great, but it's a practical and capable healing class in the right hands.

 

You need to get more experience before in raiding and hard modes. You can't spam rapid shots all the time as it's a waste, and locks you with the global cooldown. You also can't heal nonstop. When you are L21 sure its great, once you get in raid gear and people have 20k hp. It takes far to long to heal a single person. Now if you use rapid shots it would take you over a minute to just heal someone. It's not even practical. You are reduced to spamming healing/rapid scan.

 

If I have to respec to healing because we're short one night during a raid. I won't even bother to pick up kolto missile/shell. The only raiding I've found a use for missile is dropping down the platforms on Soa. Then still it only heals about 1k-1.5k. Meanwhile a sorc puts down a single reviv and heals the whole raid up. While I'm waiting for my 3 second cooldown to expire.

 

I think BH are decent for dps though spamming tracer missile is pretty Zzz. But it could be worse. We just need to be given a class defining role as healers. Currently sorcs have every defining role. Don't nerf sorcs, give BH something unique instead.

[Murah]

Kodat... I loled that you have Torian shirtless in your gear screenshot. that was great.

 

you said, "The other positive thing is you dont feeking die. You are a tank. When i throw up my shield and pop my trinket+adrenal, and have stim up, I crit myself for 7.5k. 7.5k crit heal is Fckig dirty. "

 

I die all the time, so pls help a grrl out. What adrenal and what stim are you using in the above example? And what trinket do you have... Thanks.

Edited January 10, 2012 by Murah