Tanks, 50 and still leveling. Who's your companion?

[EqualizeAndEvade]

I'm wondering if it is worth gearing up Rusk. I hear he has killer dps, but is he better than Kira? I'm looking for a change in companion, tired of seeing Kira since level 12.

 

So who's your companion? Do you have any experience with Rusk?

[Mystry]

I still don't get what people see in Kira. I never used her once, not even on Valis. Once the fight started I switched her for T7.

 

She still has level 13ish gear.

 

 

Also never bothered with Rusk, Doc is the only usable companion after balmorra.

[ldeclue]

I dont understand what peoples obsession with Doc is...sure you can grind along do slow dps and kill nearly any pack and still end the fight 90% or better health, but its SLOW. When your doing the dailies you want to get in and out fast and move on to the next daily. With Doc I have to clear mobs into the objective and clear mobs on the way out also. With Kira/Rusk I fight in, collect/using the station/seal the door/etc and then run out before any respawn .

 

Kira and Rusk give great dps to burn packs down fast, even if i have to meditate 10 secs after a fight to get back to 100% health its still much faster than using Doc.

 

I only pull Doc out for champions and packs with multiple strongs.

[Tenetke]

Doc without a doubt. Once you get him you will find the game so much more enjoyable.

 

I dont understand what peoples obsession with Doc is...sure you can grind along do slow dps and kill nearly any pack and still end the fight 90% or better health, but its SLOW. When your doing the dailies you want to get in and out fast and move on to the next daily. With Doc I have to clear mobs into the objective and clear mobs on the way out also. With Kira/Rusk I fight in, collect/using the station/seal the door/etc and then run out before any respawn .

 

Kira and Rusk give great dps to burn packs down fast, even if i have to meditate 10 secs after a fight to get back to 100% health its still much faster than using Doc.

 

I only pull Doc out for champions and packs with multiple strongs.

 

For me it's just so much easier. I kill about the same speed as with the others, but with doc I end the fights ready for the next group. No downtime, no medpacs, just pure beat down.

 

The trick to fighting with doc is to let him use his damage too. You can turn off a few of his heals and still be fine. Like any companion if you gear him he does really good, unlike any companion he can do good damage AND provide heals.

Edited February 9, 2012 by Tenetke

[HeroMystic]

I've never bothered looking at Rusk because I put too much effort into Kira and the game pretty much demands you use Doc. From what I heard, Rusk gives good AoE DPS.

 

Undoubtedly, Doc is your best companion hands down, but everyone else except T7 is still usable.

[FalcoLombardi]

Kira is great. For me she has several attacks over 1000-1500, Power strikes for 2000, and she has 2 bleeds which is really where her damage comes from, she's deadly

 

I saw someone say Doc is the only useable companion after Balmorra? No, he isn't, I only had to pull him out once on Belsavis I think to take down that officer Elite that spawned all the extra troops at certain HP levels, otherwise, it was all Kira and I tanked

[Ryat]

but everyone else except T7 is still usable.

 

-edit- Oops wrong class. Yeah, for Guardians, T7 sucks.

Edited February 9, 2012 by Ryat

[PhoR]

Rusk's AoE dps is better than Kira's.

Use Rusk to steamroll groups of multiple weak's.

 

If there's more than one strong+, Doc is still my go-to every time.

[VanguardXL]

Against anything not Elite (and sometimes even then depending) Kira/Jaesa). Yes, I have a Jugg and a Guardian. Against Elites, Doc/Quinn.

 

Tried, really tried, to jump on the "Doc is God Mode" bandwagon. Really did. And fights....

 

.... took....

 

.......

 

....forever.

 

Even respeced to DPS, just for comparison. There wasn't one. With Kira, my happy, snarky, red-headed blender things died much much faster. So Doc only comes out if there's an Elite with a more tricks up it's sleeve than I can comfortably interrupt. Otherwise I just yank the pullcord on Kira's back, start up the chainsaw, and watch her work. I'm back to Def spec, SHE does the heavy lifting, I'm just there to look good.

 

EDIT: I see this in thread after thread. Downtime. Seriously, 15 seconds or less is downtime?! How impatient do you have to be for 15 seconds to be such a huge chunk of time to be re4fered to as downtime?

Edited February 9, 2012 by VanguardXL

[Helig]

I'm wondering if it is worth gearing up Rusk. I hear he has killer dps, but is he better than Kira? I'm looking for a change in companion, tired of seeing Kira since level 12.

 

So who's your companion? Do you have any experience with Rusk?

 

I'm using Rusk. He's both, BA, and he does insane damage, if you gear him for surge and crit (minding accuracy - 5% should be enough in most cases). Mine tears through normal packs alone, demolishes Strongs 1 on 1 and greatly shortens fights with Elites with his 3-3.5k+ crits.

[EqualizeAndEvade]

I'm using Rusk. He's both, BA, and he does insane damage, if you gear him for surge and crit (minding accuracy - 5% should be enough in most cases). Mine tears through normal packs alone, demolishes Strongs 1 on 1 and greatly shortens fights with Elites with his 3-3.5k+ crits.

 

Thanks, this is the motivation I need. I will start gearing him up and give him a go.

[HeroMystic]

EDIT: I see this in thread after thread. Downtime. Seriously, 15 seconds or less is downtime?! How impatient do you have to be for 15 seconds to be such a huge chunk of time to be re4fered to as downtime?

 

For me it was never the downtime, it was guaranteeing your safety. I leveled to 50 with Kira and the downtime never bothered me. What did bother me was if something added on or I got ahead of myself and didn't check there was two strongs in that pack of mobs and so on. Using Doc just allowed you to relax.

[Blev]

I generally switch between Doc, Kira and Rusk depending on the situation. Doc for hard hitting stuff, Kira for stuff in which I want to use CC or single targets, and Rusk for multiple target packs. Rusk overall has higher DPS than Kira, but I think Kira does a better job in 1v1 situations. All of my companions are about equally geared with Daily Comm gear, 50 Mod/Enhancements and Tionese stuff. Edited February 9, 2012 by Blev

[Aleath]

Once I got Doc I respecced vigilance and started usin him. Otherwise when I'm tank spec I just guard kira

[Calibretto]

I used T7 until I got Kira, and Kira until I got Doc. Ever since getting Doc I haven't switched to any other companion. I too really want to use Rusk though and have been slowly getting him better and better gear (orange weapon, mostly blue at this point). Once he's got full blues, oranges and maybe a purple or two I'll pull him out to see how it is. That being said I think I'll have a hard time ever switching from Doc who allows me to end almost every encounter at 100% hp.

[Zallo]

Use Pure shockfrozen water and no need for meditation;)

[Aleath]

I tend to use Rusk when I run with my friend who plays a Commando. When he is specced heals I find that Rusk and Jorgan are a pretty deadly combo as far as companions go, and otherwise if we are both DPS spec we bring out Doc and Elara and still rip through everything pretty easily. If you gear up Rusk he's pretty good but nobody replaces Doc in my eyes as the best solo companion for a Guardian

[Remlish]

Heres a secret guys , with the proper gear all companions are created equal with the exception of C2-N2. Personlay i use either Kira or Scourge for everything but they are the ones i currently have fully geared to level. Doc/Scourge/T7 = slow and steady but allow to jump from fight to fight and Kira/Rusk = Fast kills but require out of combat healing between heavy fights.

 

The right gear is key... my advice is to pick your favorite humanoid and gear them up with the centurion commendations.

[Xarry]

I have totally decked out Doc, Kira and Rusk all with purple lvl 50 gear, best implants, ear pieces mods if needed e.t.c.

 

With Doc its god mode, I just jump into any packs no matter what mobs they are and just walk out un touched, no fear of death.

 

With Kira, she does some insane dmg, but more single target of course, but elites go down so quickly I am usually at 70%+ health.

 

Rusk is an AOE machine, groups just get smashed with him along, and his single target DPS is as good as Kira's, He is hitting for 3k.

 

They are all good, at 50 and still going through my clas story line and quests I find im using them all to be honest, when they are all decked out they are all pretty bad*****

 

I favour Doc just because its brain dead easy with him along.

[GarfieldJL]

You guys do know that T7 can use earpieces and implants right?

[Elyx]

I always find it interesting that people post their companions, but don't post what their specs are. Yes, having a tank spec and using a healing pet will slooow down your dps. adding a dps companion will...you'll never guess... speed UP your dps.

 

having a DPS spec is a different matter. More often then not, the people that say/love using kira (or other dps classes) often run a defense spec. This is not a bad thing, but it's a very important detail !!

 

In General (in other words, there will be exceptions) I find tank specs tend to favor DPS companions, and DPS specs favor healing/tank companions. Overall, the key is getting used to your companion and how they do damage, and compensating how you play for that. or pick the companion to suit your playstyle instead.

 

Level also makes a difference. once you hit 50, and get top gear, the same mobs that were a challenge in yoru fresh 50 blues or greens are ez mode (especially if you have PvP gear). so LEVELING a guard/jugg is far different then playing one at LEVEL CAP WITH GOOD GEAR. Anyone who gives you leveling advice from the perspective of lvl 50 with rakata gear you should take with a grain of salt. At least until your 50 with rakata gear ;D

 

My highest is a Jugg...I run solely a dps spec (vigilance/vengance) and use the healer, quinn. I've respecced to immortal/defense spec a few times and ran with it for a few levels each time to try it out. the downtime and massive juggilng I had to do with skills was more distracting then it was fun to me. but in vengance, with a healing companion, i kill mobs just as fast as my tank/dps role, and have NO downtime whatsoever.

 

Now, playstyle may also play a role in that. The tank spec isn't just automatically "tougher". even with tops DPS companion you have to constantly juggle and use your defensive CD's on every fight. with DPS classes this isn't as critical. But if that's something your used to, then it isn't a real issue. the reward for dealing with this is a wider selection of companions. On empire side, I love vette, your first companion. but my enjoyment of playing with her does not offset the frustration of contant regeneration (me or her), having to micromanage my CD's to last the fight with multiple silvers or elites. I can wade in the middle, laying wanton waste to everything, with my trusty pocket healer keeping me alive.

 

But there are many people who have solely leveled as tank specs, and are comfortable with how they play. they intersperse CD's regularly, pick tanking stats over dps stats to maximize survivability while their companions melt face...

 

I think that If i take other peoples experiences into account, both approaches work...it's a matter of getting used to their differences, and adapting your playstyle to fit. Vengance(vigilance) was the right fit for me. you should try both (even focus....not trying that myself until 40 or so)