Kekkora Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I have been playing a commando for over a week now and over the course of that week I have been having trouble staying alive trying to heal myself and my companion and running out of ammo. I have talked to other people that play commando's and they agree that 12 ammo is way to low for all the abilities we use. Jedi and Sith healers and dps get 100 force or power and they do really well with not running out. So whats the deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonlinar Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I read commando ammo and thought of trickle spots left on clothing by someone not wearing underwear. LMAO......hahahahahahaha Anyway, best thing I can advise is to keep your skills upgraded. I do think the classes should get more resource the higher they go. My highest character is up to 30 and that resource meter is the same cap it was at. That just feels off for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smackwell Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I have been playing a commando for over a week now and over the course of that week I have been having trouble staying alive trying to heal myself and my companion and running out of ammo. I have talked to other people that play commando's and they agree that 12 ammo is way to low for all the abilities we use. Jedi and Sith healers and dps get 100 force or power and they do really well with not running out. So whats the deal? The amounts of ammo versus force power isn't really a good comparison. Sure they get 100, but a skill will cost 25, 30, 50 points, etc. Your ammo based skills cost 2, 3 ammo or whatever. Also, remember that ammo regeneration is faster the more ammo you have. So if you keep your ammo high and pace yourself slightly, you'll be able to use more ammo than if you just let all your ammo run out then wait for it to come back. I haven't done any healing, but I imagine that you want to use your ammo-based heals sparingly, and spam any free heals you have (like your normal cannon attack that costs 0 ammo to use, and heals your target if you have a certain ammo pack in - haven't played my trooper in a while, I forget what they're called). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohnoto Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 You need to use Hammer Shot more. Use Hammer Shot after every 2nd-3rd ability and you won't ever run out of ammo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talorya Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 What level and specs? Early levels you shouldn't need or try to heal your companions since you'll suck at it from the lack of stats and skill points. If your companion is dying frequently, check for a few things, -Are their gear up to date? -Are their gear of the proper attributes? -Is the mob you're trying to fight above your level range? -What type of mob is it, strong(silver), elite(gold), or champion(messed up white star gold)? -You have a crowd control skill that can knock one enemy out for 60 seconds, concussive round (@22?)that will deal with extra strong/elites in a group so you can burst down targets while taking less incoming damage. Use the Attack command (ctrl+1 by default) to tell your companion to focus on killing the selected target, it's one way to reduce damage to you and also speed up on killing the group of mobs. Early on it's really just easier to kill things before they kill you unless there are still adds around. Let your companion pick up the strong/elite if a group of mobs have them, aoe the mobs when they're close to eliminate the trash as quickly as you can and then back to focusing on the remaining single target. So long as you're alternating your shots with the basic attack you should be able to handle things without running too low on ammo. You have recharge cells too, so use that if it gets desperately low. And if you are the healer of the group, you probably should ease up on dpsing outside of using your default shooting attack to maintain decent ammo level. The game isn't nice to people who double dip during battles and it's even more harsh at early levels due to the lack of skill points. Take a look at this topic too if you really want to focus on healing and managing ammo, http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=181529 But generally, it doesn't work out all that well to double dip, and overheating is a similar issue with bounty hunters as well if you dabble in too many roles in a fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smackwell Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 You need to use Hammer Shot more. Use Hammer Shot after every 2nd-3rd ability and you won't ever run out of ammo. Yeah that's the one. Hammer Shot with Combat Support Cell. Use a heal on your companion, blast him with Hammer Shot a few times, and repeat. As long as you keep your Ammo mostly full, it'll regenerate at a high speed (faster than if you've depleted your ammo) and be able to pull off more healing. Only go all-out on healing if you're fighting a tough battle, like a boss or something, and after you're depleted, use Recharge Cells and try to keep your ammo up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kharim Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I have been playing a commando for over a week now and over the course of that week I have been having trouble staying alive trying to heal myself and my companion and running out of ammo. I have talked to other people that play commando's and they agree that 12 ammo is way to low for all the abilities we use. Jedi and Sith healers and dps get 100 force or power and they do really well with not running out. So whats the deal? Never really had issues with ammo. Just try to be efficient, and make sure you're keeping ammo:damage ratio in mind when using your skills. One of the first abilities we get... explosive round i think it's called, is terrible for its ammo cost. I haven't used that thing for 20-30 levels. Full Auto, Stockstrike, and High Impact Bolt all have good damage for their cost. Mortar Volley is amazing. Factor in the charge/channel times on your skills as well, and the order you use abilities. The goal is to keep your ammo as high as possible for the fastest regeneration. When healing, start with AMP before MP. The charge time on MP is long enough that you'll regen the ammo you spent on AMP. If you look through your attacks, you'll find similar combinations you can use to minimalize ammo costs. Full Auto and mortar volley pretty much pay for themselves with the ammo regened during their channel times. Don't use AE attacks unless you have enough targets to warrant the ammo cost, though mortar volley is efficient enough to be the exception to this rule. If you're assault, keep an eye out for those free HIBs and use them wisely (and often) in your rotation. If you're a combat medic, use the instant/free heals as often as possible. Gunnery... is hard to screw up~ If all else fails, hammer shot and recharge cells are there for a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuQu Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 The key to Commando healing is our ammo regen management. Use Hammer Shot. Use Adv. Probe before Med Probe whenever it is off of cooldown. Try not to cast Med Probe when your ammo is below 10. You want to almost always have at least 8 ammo to maximize your regen. If you drop below that, consider using Supercharge Cells to regen 2 and let you spam AP/MP combos or cheap Charged Bolts, and if you get really low, consider popping Recharge Cells. It is only a 2 min cooldown, so use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dovahbrah Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I have been playing a commando for over a week now and over the course of that week I have been having trouble staying alive trying to heal myself and my companion and running out of ammo. Ammo is perfectly fine, this is honestly a learn to play issue. L2Conserve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gelantious Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I really enjoy the way our ammo works, with it's regen going faster the more we have. Makes the game interesting, way more interesting compared to other resource models. It's fine the way it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-sasori Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) The two DD Trees reduce ammo cost for certain skills (your main damage skills). The Healing Tree reduces ammo cost for MP (AMP buff). Going from 5 to 3 ammo for AMP->MP changes a lot. As much as going from 3 to 2 for charged bolt. etc Invest into the ammo cost reduction Tree skills. As far as i see it, if you want to heal and dps you should try to get a equal spread skilltree. get super charged cells (SSC) from the healing tree at least and switch to the according stance. It's not hard to keep the SCC buff at 30 and fully unload at each npc group a fight. Skilled, SCC gives 2 ammo upfront. (Charged bolts cost 1 ammo during that time). Deplete ammo, press reload and SCC, spam charged bolts once scc runs out you should be at 8-10 ammo~ deplete the rest. That way you can spend up to 60(untalented) ammo for the costs of 35 ammo. And everything is just dead then in Questing PVE Content. Edited February 1, 2012 by -sasori Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aritok Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I cant really say that i have any problems with ammo, unless hell is breaking loose and i have to chain heal like mad. But even at this time, you have more than enough skills to regain your ammo and keep it up for some time. As some already said: - Medical Probe for 1 ammo after AMP instead of 3. - Supercharged Cell gives 2 ammo (with the right skill). - Trauma Probe for free - Reserve Powercell. Let you cast your next ability for free - Recharge Cells. Give you 6 (8 with skills) ammo back. Together with all the nice buffs you get, like 10% less damage, 10% more armor, 10% increased healing. Not to forget, even as Healer i am able to fire alot of damage out. Spell Haste Relic + Supercharged Cell = 13 sec chain fire of Charged Bolt for a cost of 0 (currently i get out 13). 30 chain fired Charged Bolts (+3 GCD between) were even enough to steal the agro on a boss. Honestly, i love the ammo system. It is way more than blind clicking on your skills. But if you want to do a hybrid (doing good damage and being able to be a healer) than you become problems. Becauce you miss some important skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_chuckles Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) I have been playing a commando for over a week now and over the course of that week I have been having trouble staying alive trying to heal myself and my companion and running out of ammo. I moved to Commando (CM) from Sentinel about a week ago and, to be honest, have problems getting killed! (PVE, not done PVP on this yet). Compared to managing the force as Sent along with all the other skills Commando is way easier and the ammo recharge from Hammer is awesome. Regarding healing companion, if that's what I want to do then I target elite or whatever and get companion to attack. Takes him a couple of seconds to loose off whilst I get LOS cover and have had no problem whatsoever. tldr: Ammo is fine, just keep an eye on it, use hammer and plan your attacks. Oh yes, and don't forget..Gear your companion as well as yourself! Edited February 1, 2012 by mr_chuckles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withonor Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I am a commando healer and I like the ammo system. If it was anymore generous, I wouldn't have to play the game. I would just spam medical probe over and over again and forget everything else I can do. If the ammo system was less efficient, I would be upset, but it's great the way it is. It honestly checks whether you are ready for the content you are attempting. Skill may be one one thing, but the way cooldowns are coordinated, you need to practice in situations where healing is the limiting factor. I have a tanking pet, which is a significant decrease in what tanks can do, and a partner who does DPS with a DPS pet. When we do 4-mans, some of the situations push me too far... To the point my tank pet dies and I have to heal myself where I tank from agro and my partner does the damage. A couple times it was a wipe, but most of the time, I just healed myself through the damage. Supercharge Cells is awesome. Recharge Cells with that... Unbelievable. It's not east, but it's possible. Challenge yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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