Combat Medic -- viable group healer at level ?

[marnold]

I'm pretty down on my Combat Medic at the moment. I'm saddened that, at early levels, the advanced class can't be a viable sole healer of a Flashpoint or Heroic-4. I expect the clouds to lift at later levels. But at early levels, healing 4 players is an exercise in frustration.

 

Granted, I can heal forever. But I have no burst healing at early levels. Quite often, the DPS of the environment brought to bear against my team far exceeds my HPS (when staying in the max ammo-regen zone.) If damage is focused on one player (e.g. tank), that player will likely die. In many cases, success only comes from spreading the incoming damage around to all players -- i.e. success occurs when we can buy me the TIME needed for the combat medic to slowly clean up the damage.

 

Judiciously choosing to heal aggressively and fall below the max ammo regen zone is tricky at best. At these early levels, I have a very shallow bag of tricks. I have only one-and-only-one trick -- Recharge Cells. On a 2-minute cooldown.

 

Many healing guides praise the merits of Supercharge Cells (SCC) (aquired at level 15.) But SCC offers nothing for healing until Kolto Bomb (KB) is acquired at level 20. The signature AMP/MP combo doesn't open up until Field Triage (FT) is acquired at level 27.

 

Things look rosier at 30-32 when Preventative Medicine (AMP gets a HoT) and Trauma Probe become available.

 

My question to the community is at what level the combat medic can viably heal a 4-player group? I'll probably try again at level 32.

[Refmo]

Become viable? Probably around the time I got Medical Probe.

[Refmo]

Which you know was like level 10.

[offbeatpaladin]

Level 10. Gunnery Commandos, and I believe Assault Specialists may also perform this feat while leveling with little to no trouble at all.

[kittykarate]

I understand what you are saying, and I agree. At low levels and the only healer in a 4 person group I could not keep a tank who was being heavily focused up for a long time. I think a primary reason for this however was that tanks at those levels don't have very many damage reducing talents.

 

If I remember correctly I don't think I could solo heal a 4 man group effectively until I got Kolto Bomb specced with residue. I would use it all the time on the tank to keep residue up. This made my heals hit harder and I could solo heal 4 man heroics. Even with this it was not perfect but doable, I also had to have a tanked specced tank.

 

But having just AMP and AP without upgrades I do not believe is enough at really low levels to do much of any group healing. The only times I was able to do groups as a healer was either if I had a "backup" healer in group, or I was the backup for someone else.

I think this is something the devs should look at, our hps with just those 2 skills unimproved is atrocious for lowbies.

[RuQu]

Keep in mind, this is the exact situation faced by the other healers, although Sages benefit from getting Force Armor early.

 

The problem is, probably, one of lack of CC. Especially early on when you healer options are limited, you really need to CC, and you need to tell your group to use their stuns and interrupts. I'm not sure what level shadows get their out-of-combat CC, but Commandos/Sages/Scoundrels all have a repeatable CC for anything, and Smugglers/Sentinels (knights?) have a spammable droid CC. Also, make sure people are killing the weakest mobs first. Some people are used to focusing down the hardest mob first, and that doesn't work here. The little guy's damage adds up fast.

 

When we only have Medical Probe, Sages only have a very long cast spell, or a short cast one with the same price, but half the healing done, and Force Armor. FA won't last long if the tank is being focused, and that 3 second cast on Benevolence makes them wish they had MP. I know because I was playing my low TK alt yesterday and wound up healing, and really missed MP. Going out of Force is also far worse than going out of ammo, since they don't have Recharge Cells.

 

So I understand where you are coming from, and it is easy for the groups to blame you, but it isn't your fault. Take charge of the group, set marks, and get them to do the following:

 

1. CC
   
2. Dont break the CC!
   
3. Use stuns
   
4. Interrupt!
   
5. Focus fire.
   
6. Kill the weakest mobs first.
   
7. Use defensive cooldowns (even dps troopers have Reactive Shield).
   
8. Self-heal out of combat. That's not the healers job.
   

 

Everything on that list will reduce the amount of healing you need to do, which will make healing with a limited toolset easier.

 

I need to go run some errands, but Ill try and add a low-level healing section to the CM guide.

[Tajz]

I think u need to CC in those heroic dungeon. If u're not or someone break the cc, the elites will wipe ur face regardless of healer class.

 

If there is already a CC, and u said u cant keep up with the healing, then i think there is ur problem not the class. Yea i can understand that our AoE healing sux balls compare to others, but for 4 ppl dungeon, it is ok to just keep 4 ppl up.

 

True that it sux to be combat medic for now... i hope they really look into buffing us a bit. Especially our AoE heal.

[kittykarate]

Something some of you are forgetting is that at early levels, teens and 20s, we don't have our cc. The only thing we have is the ice grenade that only lasts a few seconds. From what I can tell, with my very limited experience, it is a similar story with other classes as well.

So telling someone to use cc in dungeons and flashpoints at low levels is not useful advice. There are some classes that receive cc relatively early but there is no guarantee that you will have someone capable of cc in your group while leveling up.

The fact of the matter is, that AMP and MP hit like wet noodles when we first receive them. This may be the case for all healing classes. But I have had it happen in heroics while leveling that I was spamming those two abilities nonstop on the tank vs 4 or 5 gold mobs and was unable to keep them alive by myself, and cc was not an option.

I remember thinking on several occasions how ineffective my healing felt and how I did not feel powerful at all healing. Now this changes at higher levels and probably has alot to do with the tank being squishy, but it takes some time to get there.

I do think this is something that should be looked at, because this might be enough of an inhibition for some to not go healy specced.

[quaesitor]

I agree, it's a bit tough in the early levels to spot-heal a group when the entire group is taking boatloads of damage. Sure, you can do it, but you will be out of ammo very quickly.

 

Two things I noticed players doing that drove me batty and made it harder for me to heal were:

 

1) not using CC and/or breaking CC stupidly

2) NOT healing themselves after fights with their regenerate abilities

 

I think as a healer in the early levels, you really need to be vocal about these things. I even had to come down on my guildies because they were being lazy and not realizing that I was working overtime to compensate.

 

If the group isn't CCing, say something. "Hey guys, the group is taking too much damage. We need to start marking targets and using CC."

 

If the group members are running up to the next fight at 50% health, say something. "Folks, it really helps me heal and keep the progress rolling if you all use your class regenerate abilities to heal yourselves up." Feel free to nag on them, because they will probably need it. "Heal up, please." "Heal up, please." "Folks, heal yourselves up, please." Do it as many times as you need to. If people refuse, well.

 

If theyre dropping to 50% during a fight, chances are they would have died. Doesn't take too many deaths to get the message home.

[marnold]

Thanks for the empathetic comments. I appreciate the feedback.

 

I believe low-level sage healing is easier, by comparison. When the tank is MELTING, a sage can spam heal for decent HPS. Low-level combat medics have a fraction of that HPS (lest they run out of ammo.) I rationalize the lower HPS as the cost of being able to heal indefinitely. (Only the game designers can answer for sure.)

 

Yes, you can compensate for non-ideal conditions by executing perfectly. In fact, I expect the game to demand better and better execution from players as you do heroics and raid progression. But players don't expect perfect execution as a requirement for grouping with a combat medic. It's a harsh introduction to the world of healing, to be sure.

 

I'm sticking with combat medic. I'll make it work. I can play in hard mode. I just feel uncomfortable asking others around me to up their game to compensate for (what I believe to be) deficiencies in my advanced class. Granted, it's a temporary lull; it looks like the clouds lift with the talents offered in the late 20's, early 30's.

[Tipkaee]

I healed all flashpoints from essles to maelstrom prison with no problem at all, are you sure your issue is not a DPS awareness fail more so than a healing issue? I have never had an issue keeping my group alive. Yes you get better at healing once you get your 20, 30, and 40 point skills but the opening content is so easy you can enter at minimum level and should be able to heal it no problem.

[Razhah]

I have group healed all the way through as a medic. Of course it is tougher at first, just like as a tank class it is nearly impossible to reliably hold aggro at first. Through your teens all classes are basically a dps class with slight variations. From my experience, especially early on, if the damage gets spread around the group alot, I find myself in an ammunition crunch. If the tank is able to keep the focus on him, I can keep him alive for days. support cell and supercharge cells are your bread and butter.

 

I usually go through the fights starting with advanced med probe then med probe since with talents, the med probe after advanced med probe only costs 1 ammo. Then if the damage is slow enough I will toss in a hammer shot or two so I can rebuild the ammo I used. For spikey damage, I dump supercharge and cycle AMP and MP as often as I can to get through the spike.

 

I think my most difficult time healing was the mandalorian heroic on Nar Shaddaa. That was low 20's and I had to pull out all the stops to keep the tank upright but once the group learns about crowd control and marking targets, it gets easier.

[Aaoogaa]

You're doing it wrong then.

[Warkyd]

At these early levels, I have a very shallow bag of tricks. I have only one-and-only-one trick -- Recharge Cells. On a 2-minute cooldown.

 

Every commando regardless of level and build has this problem. Commandos have 1 mediocre support button. Commandos are the paladins of WoW 1.0, flavorless and straightforward, everything they can do someone else does significantly better possibly with the excpetion of aoe damage.

Edited February 7, 2012 by Warkyd

[kivanos]

It's slightly difficult to give insight into your problems as you haven't given us your current level, build, or the content you are trying but I'll give what help I can.

 

CC if you can. It is not always an option but it is possible and do not discount stuns. As a healer it is easier to throw a cryo grenade at a mob attacking you or another dps to give the tank time to grab it, then it is to heal the damage.

 

Always go into a fight with a full 30 stacks of OCC if possible. It doesn't do much to enhance abilities until you get adv medical probe, but disreguarding all the other effects? when you pop it it gives you 2 free cells.

 

Prioritize your targets: You simply never will have awesome AoE healing. You know your tank is going to take consistent damage. DPS can usually get tossed a heal and then use hammer shot on them to top them off. If they are taking consistent chunks of damage more than likely your tank isn't doing a good job, or your DPS is doing something he is not. Keep to the healers motto. "You can't heal stupid"

 

Don't be afraid to use medipacs for yourself instead of wasting cells on a heal. All other classes should be doing this too.

 

Observe the fight, figure out what is going wrong. Is there something that should be interupted that is not? Is someone standing in the fire?

 

Keep in mind almost every class has some type of DR skill at low level. Saberward, reactive shield, ect. If a DPS is getting focused, they need to be using these abilities.

 

Unless you are in an extremely tough battle, you can do about 70% of your healing with CSC+Hammer Shot. You don't have to keep people at 100% life, but that is usually enough to stabalize the life bar, or mitigate lost life enough so you will not have to throw heals as often.

 

It will get better, don't forget that, but it is not impossible to do either. Chances are somewhere in the group someone is not doing what they are supposed too.

[HOCUHA]

Combat medic is really better then sage.

1) He looks much better. (sages look fansy )

2) Commando's burst healing is stronger

 

Ammo manegment was described here 100500 times:

1) use MP after AMP (MP alone just when its really critical)

2) dont let your ammo lowers more then a half

3) to raise ammo use hammer shots and supercharge as often as possible

4) always remember that >ammo = >ammo regen (SO! If you feel bad, breaking normal manegment healing, use all types of reloading to make your ammo closer to full condition.)

5) the critical healing combination (can be shared between several players)

5.1 Use supercharge (+10% healinga and other bonuses)

5.2 Throw Kolto Bomb (+5% heals recieved and 10% damage reduction for 3 targeted playes)

5.3 Use AMP+ MP (3 times possible during the supercharge). You can, for example, AMP for tank, MP for DPS, next AMP for 2nd DPS, next MP again for tank and so on.

This is very helpful in HM Ops, but in different Heroics and FPs it also can be useful.

5.4 After all this you can use MP without AMP only once, them hammer shot hammer shot and then ALL AGAIN.