Sang's Operative PvP Healing Guide

[alanisUDL]

With Tox Screen you are able to dispell mental debuffs like Flashbangs, Sleep Dart, and the Shadow out of combat CC from your teammates. I find this helpful in Civil War and Voidstar when someone tires to flashbang a group of players to cap a turret/door or a stealth tries to sneak cap/defend a turret/door with their out of combat CC. Outside these WZs, from my experience dispelling flashbang off a DPS chasing a ball carrier in huttball can be very valuable as I often use my own flashbang to slow/stun enemies chasing my ball carrier.

 

This.

 

Additionally, in preparing for 1.2 I have begun to use DS over the past several weeks. I run THIS most often, though I also like Infiltrator builds.

[Jolt-n-Joe]

I just wanted to say great guide. I definately plan to switch to one of your listed specs once 1.2 comes out. Currently using a 24/17/0 spec with 2/2 in Pin Down. The extra root makes you basically unkillable 1v1 if you know how to use LoS angainst ranged and Sever Tendon against melee. The root also is amazingly valuable in Huttball, which I get to play alot being an Imp.

 

However, with the changes to RN in 1.2, it will be too good to pass up. Thanks again for the guide.

 

Edit: Also, with the lowered Crit values from the Lethality skill, are you planning to change to 31/10/0? I guess I generally find infiltrator more valuable than the skills found in Lethality, especially with the nerfs coming in 1.2.

Edited April 6, 2012 by Jolt-n-Joe

[Ahebish]

Concealment Operative - I'm sorry, but most of the concealment operatives you find are bad. If they open up on you at 15% HP and kill you, that's great for them. Just shrug it off and move on. If they are bad and you survive their first knockdown, stun them back, dispell acid blade with TS, heal, and then just ignore them. If they are actually good they will stun you immediately after their knockdown from hidden strike. If you to need to (and if able), break this second stun. Follow up by stunning them back, dispelling acid blade, healing, and ignoring them.

 

This was painful to read. Because of how true it is.

 

And yet operative healers get a boost, while concealment gets nerf'd again.

 

:/

 

Nice to be considered a non factor by operative healers who are supposed to be underpowered on live.

[sang]

I just wanted to say great guide. I definately plan to switch to one of your listed specs once 1.2 comes out. Currently using a 24/17/0 spec with 2/2 in Pin Down. The extra root makes you basically unkillable 1v1 if you know how to use LoS angainst ranged and Sever Tendon against melee. The root also is amazingly valuable in Huttball, which I get to play alot being an Imp.

 

That is probably one of more popular hybrid specs for those who don't go for RN, and it definitely has a ton value as you mentioned. It will be interesting to see how many of these type of specs continue when 1.2 is released.

 

Edit: Also, with the lowered Crit values from the Lethality skill, are you planning to change to 31/10/0? I guess I generally find infiltrator more valuable than the skills found in Lethality, especially with the nerfs coming in 1.2.

 

At the current moment, nothing could deter me from taking Slip Away. Sure, we are losing 3% crit, but with augments and the new gear tier, 3% isn't that much. Even if I didn't replace that crit, the loss would bring me down to 37% crit in my current PvP gear, which is still a healthy amount. Overall, I cannot stress how many times having the decreased stun CD has saved me, so baring any major nerfs or buffs in other areas, I'll continue to take 7 in Lethality for Slip Away.

[Jolt-n-Joe]

Thanks for your insight. I still haven't decided on 31/10/0 or 31/3/7 once 1.2 hits. I guess I'll just have to try both out. I've tried a Lethality hybrid before, and I found myself missing the increased speed (mostly in Huttball though). But yeah, I definately think I'd go with Slip Away if it wasn't for Huttball being so frequent. Hopefully Navarre Coast will help with that.

[FluxWing]

Any tips for 10-49 WZs?

 

I have been trying to lvl up in pvp. I has worked really well with a Shadow(50), Sentinel(50), Powertech(43), Merc(30) and a Sorc(24). All those ACs seem to have a complete kit for WZs at level 20.

 

But with my Operative(25), it seems like I'm getting slaughtered even against a horrible teams.

 

Kolto Probe doesn't seem to keep anybody up. Mostly it seems to inflate my healing done numbers, and alert enemies that there is a healer nearby.

 

Kolto injection is nice when you can chain cast it on a target, but it is rare to be allowed to free cast, but also uses up all your energy.

 

Defensively this AC seems to lack extremely. No gap creators. Atm I don't even have a slow.

 

I can't survive 1v1 vs any AC unless I can LoS them. And Sages/Sorcs have better mobility, ranged interupts and stuns. So basically tanks, mercs and snipers are the only thing that doesn't stomp me into the curb

 

Even Escape fails so often due to the lack of force/tech immunity in Evade like the Shadow's Resilience. Watchman Sentinels is the only AC that I can think of, who applies DoTs with ranged/melee type attacks. I especially have trouble against those Pyrotech PT/Assault Spec Vanguards who applies DoTs with their most spammable attack.

 

Tbh, I haven't played a healer in pvp since wow ~3 years ago, when I played resto druid for. Since they were also HoT based, I figured Operatives would be quite similiar. But they are really like night and day.

 

 

Should I avoid WZs until I unlock a certain ability or am I missing something really vital.

[LunacyJK]

My 2 cents on the subject.

 

I played 31/3/7 for a long time, whilst a much better healing output spec, being known as the "healer that has to be killed" and I get marked and focused as soon as I am seen, I opted for the 31/10/0 just for the extra survivability.

 

Whilst 31/3/7 will produce more healing, which is possibly better in ranked where your other healer/s can cross heal.. 31/10/0 solo survivability for me has made up the difference after getting used to it.

 

As in terms of mods/enhancements. If your taking the +4% alacrity in talents, I do feel that it only seems worthwhile if you take 1-2 enhance mods to lower the cast of Kinj to around 1.8sec. But if you are running the 31/10/0 spec i highly encourage trying out the +38 end +19crit +48 surge enhance. In total I have just near 18.6k hp (bh buff and with cunning rakata stim pack), and believe me its so hard to kill me.

 

I find that a well played rage marauder/jugg+ a powertech (with lucky procs) are the hardest to deal with, and the extra hp and survival helps a bundle.

 

I personally can't wait for 1.2, but I do feel that the well played operatives will be far too strong, and will see another nerf in the not so far future.

Edited April 7, 2012 by LunacyJK

[sang]

Any tips for 10-49 WZs?

 

I have been trying to lvl up in pvp. I has worked really well with a Shadow(50), Sentinel(50), Powertech(43), Merc(30) and a Sorc(24). All those ACs seem to have a complete kit for WZs at level 20.

 

But with my Operative(25), it seems like I'm getting slaughtered even against a horrible teams.

 

Kolto Probe doesn't seem to keep anybody up. Mostly it seems to inflate my healing done numbers, and alert enemies that there is a healer nearby.

 

Kolto injection is nice when you can chain cast it on a target, but it is rare to be allowed to free cast, but also uses up all your energy.

 

Defensively this AC seems to lack extremely. No gap creators. Atm I don't even have a slow.

 

I can't survive 1v1 vs any AC unless I can LoS them. And Sages/Sorcs have better mobility, ranged interupts and stuns. So basically tanks, mercs and snipers are the only thing that doesn't stomp me into the curb

 

Even Escape fails so often due to the lack of force/tech immunity in Evade like the Shadow's Resilience. Watchman Sentinels is the only AC that I can think of, who applies DoTs with ranged/melee type attacks. I especially have trouble against those Pyrotech PT/Assault Spec Vanguards who applies DoTs with their most spammable attack.

 

Tbh, I haven't played a healer in pvp since wow ~3 years ago, when I played resto druid for. Since they were also HoT based, I figured Operatives would be quite similiar. But they are really like night and day.

 

 

Should I avoid WZs until I unlock a certain ability or am I missing something really vital.

 

Without sounding too harsh, at level 25 you are missing too many key abilities. Sever Tendon comes at level 26 and that is your primary slow (and root if you choose to spec that way). While weaker than a Sorcerer's bubble, Shield Probe is your primary defensive ability on a 45s cooldown which you do not get until level 32. At level 25 you should have purchased Avoidance Training at level 24, which allows Evasion to purge all hostile removable effects. This is extremely important as it will allow you to purge force DoTs with evasion and safely use the Evasion --> Cloaking Screen combo.

 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, unless you have been specing almost exclusively up the Medicine tree, you may or may not have Surgical Probe (SP). SP is your #1 heal in PvP; it's instant cast, doesn't cost energy, and able to be repeatedly cast on targets below 30% with the additional talent. Some more directed answers to what you have brought up:

 

1) Kolto Probe (KP) is not really a healing tool in PvP. It should be on yourself and the ball carrier in huttball to help mitigate damage, but that's all its good for. KP costs too much energy and does not provide enough healing quick enough for you to use it as an actual heal. Think of KP as like a defensive buff you give someone, not a heal.

 

2) Chain casting Kolto Injectioin (KI) is nice, but it will wear on your energy and leave you very vulnerable to being interrupted since you are simply standing still healbotting all day. SP is pretty much the solution to this, as it will be your primary heal after KI and you should be generating a respectable amount of TA from having KP on yourself (and perhaps someone else) as well as using the Shiv -> TA -> SP combo I spoke about in my OP. Again, all this is predicated on you actually having SP - which would have required you to go very heaving into the Medicine tree to get by level 25.

 

3) You shouldn't worry about 1v1ing any AC to be honest. Just because you have to run away out of LoS, doesn't mean you are useless. Just keep healing whatever targets you need to (ball carrier in huttball for example) and try to stay alive as long as possible. If you do happen to get stuck in a 1v1 versus someone, just run to your closest teammate. It doesn't sound glamorous, but there really isn't a reason you should be directly fighting anyone.

 

4) I can't deny, operatives have arguably the worst utility in the entire game. For some reason GZ and the combat team seem to think a vanish makes up for not having a gap closer, knockback or grip, but its almost completely useless outside being a defensive escape tool for healing operatives. Best I can say is just learn to play through it. As stated earlier, you will get Shield Probe at level 32 so that should help defensively.

 

5) I've never seen escape fail, are you sure you were not rooted after you broke the the first CC? Escape doesn't have anything to do with tech/force - it's your standard CC breaker - so I'm a little confused at what you mean.

 

6) PTs and Vanguards are a pain, the best I can recommend is just to continue to dispell their DoTs with Toxin Scan and try to stay alive and avoid them. All their DoTs are either tech or physical so you should be able to dispell them all.

 

 

Overall from what you've said, it really just sounds like you don't have all the abilities you need in order to stay competitive in warzones yet at level 25. As a final recommendation, I'd make sure you are working towards you proper stat stack. You want between 33%-40% crit and 73%-75% surge at level 50. At the lower levels, however, your primary objective should be to get crit to around 33% as fast as possible. Once you have enough crit, you can then stack surge and power.

 

Hope this was helpful and best of luck.

[sang]

My 2 cents on the subject.

 

I played 31/3/7 for a long time, whilst a much better healing output spec, being known as the "healer that has to be killed" and I get marked and focused as soon as I am seen, I opted for the 31/10/0 just for the extra survivability.

 

Whilst 31/3/7 will produce more healing, which is possibly better in ranked where your other healer/s can cross heal.. 31/10/0 solo survivability for me has made up the difference after getting used to it.

 

Preference really when it comes to 31/3/7 vs 31/10/0. I'm my opinion at least, I find I'm able to get more survivability out of having the reduce stun CD, but overall I'd imagine the difference either way is negligible.

 

As in terms of mods/enhancements. If your taking the +4% alacrity in talents, I do feel that it only seems worthwhile if you take 1-2 enhance mods to lower the cast of Kinj to around 1.8sec. But if you are running the 31/10/0 spec i highly encourage trying out the +38 end +19crit +48 surge enhance. In total I have just near 18.6k hp (bh buff and with cunning rakata stim pack), and believe me its so hard to kill me.

 

The base operative healer battlemaster gear comes loaded with Alacrity so you shouldn't really need to switch out mods/enhancements if you want the faster cast time on Kinj. I personally have left most of my mods/enhancements alone and have a 1.7s cast time on Kinj. Again, personally preference, I find the faster cast time more valuable in PvP. (Also as a side note, I use SP over Kinj when and if I'm able.) As with all stats though, you just have to make sure you aren't pushing too far over their DR. With the 31/10/0 spec, I'd just recommend you watch how much surge you stack for that reason. Anything over 75% is starting to get much (250-300 surge) and those stats would probably better served trying to get more power.

 

I find that a well played rage marauder/jugg+ a powertech (with lucky procs) are the hardest to deal with, and the extra hp and survival helps a bundle.

 

I just try to avoid the Rage specs, especially when they have Smash coming up. I find PTs are harder to deal with just because of all the DoTs and Slows you constantly have to purge. Also as I mentioned in my OP, it's sometimes hard to get away using CS even with the Evasion -> CS combo.

 

I personally can't wait for 1.2, but I do feel that the well played operatives will be far too strong, and will see another nerf in the not so far future.

 

God I hope not lol.

 

 

Thanks for your feedback, insight, and opinions!

[FluxWing]

Without sounding too harsh, at level 25 you are missing too many key abilities. Sever Tendon comes at level 26 and that is your primary slow (and root if you choose to spec that way). While weaker than a Sorcerer's bubble, Shield Probe is your primary defensive ability on a 45s cooldown which you do not get until level 32. At level 25 you should have purchased Avoidance Training at level 24, which allows Evasion to purge all hostile removable effects. This is extremely important as it will allow you to purge force DoTs with evasion and safely use the Evasion --> Cloaking Screen combo.

 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, unless you have been specing almost exclusively up the Medicine tree, you may or may not have Surgical Probe (SP). SP is your #1 heal in PvP; it's instant cast, doesn't cost energy, and able to be repeatedly cast on targets below 30% with the additional talent. Some more directed answers to what you have brought up:

 

Yeah, at lvl 25 you only have 15 talent points, so SP is not available until lvl 30.

 

But if you're not applying KP on everything in sight, what do you do while waiting for TA procs? I mean it has a 9 sec CD on those procs, right?

 

And the giggle is driving me crazy, it is like an AoE taunt considering enemies hear it too.

 

3) You shouldn't worry about 1v1ing any AC to be honest. Just because you have to run away out of LoS, doesn't mean you are useless. Just keep healing whatever targets you need to (ball carrier in huttball for example) and try to stay alive as long as possible. If you do happen to get stuck in a 1v1 versus someone, just run to your closest teammate. It doesn't sound glamorous, but there really isn't a reason you should be directly fighting anyone.

 

Oh, I didn't mean I was trying to kill them 1v1. I just mean I don't last more than 10 sec vs most ACs. Very few people bother to protect their own healer, more likely they are sitting on the other teams healer.

 

4) I can't deny, operatives have arguably the worst utility in the entire game. For some reason GZ and the combat team seem to think a vanish makes up for not having a gap closer, knockback or grip, but its almost completely useless outside being a defensive escape tool for healing operatives. Best I can say is just learn to play through it. As stated earlier, you will get Shield Probe at level 32 so that should help defensively.

 

 

5) I've never seen escape fail, are you sure you were not rooted after you broke the the first CC? Escape doesn't have anything to do with tech/force - it's your standard CC breaker - so I'm a little confused at what you mean.

 

Sorry, terminology mix-up. I meant Cloak Screen there.

Ex. Powertech DoTs you up, and decide to stealth to hold a node longer in Alderaan. Use Evasion to get rid of the DoTs, then Cloak Screen dircetly after. But since Evasion gives you no real protection, the Powertech BH just simply use Flame Burst to DoT you again, and 3 sec after Cloak Screen activates you get taken out of stealth. Not being hit by AoE or their Stealth scanner.

 

And another question: What do you think about hybrid specs?

 

Would you recommend going Concealment or Lethality?

Melee ranged root vs AoE slow seems to be on the menu.

 

Your playstyle sounds very aggresive, considering you recommend being up there on the front using shiv, interupting, stunning. Sounds like those kind of specs would facilitate such a playstyle better than a full 31 Medicine spec.

[LunacyJK]

The base operative healer battlemaster gear comes loaded with Alacrity so you shouldn't really need to switch out mods/enhancements if you want the faster cast time on Kinj. I personally have left most of my mods/enhancements alone and have a 1.7s cast time on Kinj. Again, personally preference, I find the faster cast time more valuable in PvP. (Also as a side note, I use SP over Kinj when and if I'm able.) As with all stats though, you just have to make sure you aren't pushing too far over their DR. With the 31/10/0 spec, I'd just recommend you watch how much surge you stack for that reason. Anything over 75% is starting to get much (250-300 surge) and those stats would probably better served trying to get more power.

 

The only reason why I change the mods out of battlemaster gear is due to the fact that if 2-3 people see me I am always the first target to be nuked. The quicker cast time on Kinj does nothing for you if you have 2-3people hitting on you that actually know what the interupt button looks like. This is why I prefer the high end/crit/surge mods.

 

I just try to avoid the Rage specs, especially when they have Smash coming up. I find PTs are harder to deal with just because of all the DoTs and Slows you constantly have to purge. Also as I mentioned in my OP, it's sometimes hard to get away using CS even with the Evasion -> CS combo.

 

The way I have learnt to deal with rage specced, is using crouch cover. Yes they can obliterate to catch back up to you..but forcing them to waste that just to catch back up to you works in your advantage, as it means instead of getting a super smash 3times every 18sec, you only get 2 in the 18sec. As for powertech, they are just broken to the max, until 1.2 I just hate coming against them!

 

God I hope not lol.

 

Haha its inevitable I feel. The change to RN alone will mean that them pesky rage mara/jugg wont hurt much...frontloaded RN after a smash with kp, that right there is burst healing to the max, esp with the kiting we can do.

 

But for the record kudos for the good guide

Edited April 7, 2012 by LunacyJK

[Rapto]

Been using http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#401rcfMzhRozZMIhR0kM.1 lately mainly for the Imp Sever Tendon.

 

The root basically shuts down any melee chasing you down and gives you a little utility in grp play. With RN being very lackluster until 1.2 and really only missing out on accomplished doctor, I feel you have more utility going into a WZ and for 1v1 pvp.

 

Of course your burst healing won't be as high, but the root every 12secs is very nice.

[poluwave]

This guide is pretty awesome. I've been slowly getting the hang of operative pvp and I'm really enjoying it. Thanks for the tips! I find your knowledge on the subject insanely sexy.

[TheEdgeOfMadness]

A really fantastic guide - well written and informative. Thank you.

 

/sticky please

[Dreddmon]

First off, THANK YOU for this guide!

 

Just got my Healer spec operative to 34. Only in the healing tree right now, but leaning more towards the 31/10/0. Feels like it might fit better.

 

Never done any pvp-ing but since starting to play on a pvp-rp server I'm getting thrashed by folks in pvp kits way too often. pve gear just doesn't seem to be up to the level of the pvp gear I'm seeing. So, figured I'd just dive in blind, get my head handed to me repeatedly then slowly figure things out.

 

Not so much now. Still need to get the feeling for the "rhythm" for the playing the character, but this gives me a major head start!

 

Thanks again!

[DweezillKagemand]

I like to put a 2 stack on like 3-4 teammates as we are running out/just before the WZ starts.

 

It helps with getting early TA and helps deal with any immediate the burst the enemy team may have.

 

Also, Distraction has a 4 second lockout not 3.

Edited April 24, 2012 by DweezillKagemand

[TheNahash]

I don't actually use the extra evasion speed. This is actually the spec I use all the time in PvP and PvE: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#401McfrzGoRdsZ0cZGb.1

 

In my opinion it has no major deficiencies, and allows me not to go through the hassle of respec'ing for raids. (I'm lazy what can I say.)

 

Hey Sang, thanks for all the info. Great thread.

How important do you think the two points on Med Shield are?

My spec is pretty much the same as yours. The only difference is that I skipped Med Shield and went for two points on Razor Edge instead. The way I see it is that since (we want to) use shiv all the time for the TA, we might as well do some extra damage with it, while we're at it.

You think it makes any real difference?

[Sanke]

Okay to throw a curve ball out there, I run a 22/0/19 build. Two reasons for this build, i.e. utility and energy management in pvp. The build has served me well in pve, but my main focus has alwys been pvp.

 

There are two healers better at AoE heals, so why try to duplicate them? We are outright the best single target healers in the game. But to be so, we are heavily energy dependent. By refocusing into 0/0/19 this solves the energy problem, but also adds a utility factor to Ops healers in pvp.

 

I now have access to an AP with 30 sec less cool down (damned imperative in pvp IMO), reduced stim boost timer with additional energy bonus. Additonal AoE with movement debuff or +8% crit buf to periodic effects. This is excellent for corrosive dart or HoT's.

 

With the addition of an additonal AoE, I am better able to interupt others trying to capture doors/guns etc ....

 

Main down side with this spec, it sux in hut ball

[sang]

Hey Sang, thanks for all the info. Great thread.

How important do you think the two points on Med Shield are?

My spec is pretty much the same as yours. The only difference is that I skipped Med Shield and went for two points on Razor Edge instead. The way I see it is that since (we want to) use shiv all the time for the TA, we might as well do some extra damage with it, while we're at it.

You think it makes any real difference?

 

Med Shield is not really all that important in PvP, I mainly take it for PvE where when I take a lot of burst damage, I pop med shield and heal myself. There are a few occassions in PvP where your med shield talent can be useful, but most of the time it breaks too quickly.

 

Also just as an update, I'm in the process of updating this guide to fall more in-line with the 1.2 changes. Once I've finished compiling some new information on the different classes, I'll update the entire thread.

[sang]

Okay to throw a curve ball out there, I run a 22/0/19 build. Two reasons for this build, i.e. utility and energy management in pvp. The build has served me well in pve, but my main focus has alwys been pvp.

 

There are two healers better at AoE heals, so why try to duplicate them? We are outright the best single target healers in the game. But to be so, we are heavily energy dependent. By refocusing into 0/0/19 this solves the energy problem, but also adds a utility factor to Ops healers in pvp.

 

I might make the case that post-1.2 Operative healers have the best PvP AoE heal. An instant cast heal that doesn't require your teammates to stay within a single location is fantastic. Sure, Sorc AoE healing is technically stronger, but the proximity limitations can be taxing in PvP. Think of it this way, how many Sorc's use their AoE heal in Huttball? Like, none. Conversely, I use my AoE heal in Huttball all the time. Also, Merc AoE healing is awful, easily the worst in the game.

 

Overall, your spec does provide slightly more utility, but post-1.2 you are going to be missing out on a ton healing provided by Recuperative Nanotech, Post 1.2, RN is our single highest healing output ability. At the end of the day its simply a play-style preference, but if you want to maximize healing as an operative, you absolutely must spec a full 31 into medicine to take RN.

[Lazirus-]

Thank you for the thread Sang, subscribed and 5 star'd. Edited May 17, 2012 by Lazirus-

[Mr_Phil]

There's a lot of great info in here. I'm leveling up an Op healer (still only lvl23) and will undoubtedly come back here to check on things as i get new abilities

Thanks!

[Spinich]

One of the worst guides I've ever seen.

[doctor_]

Just found Ur Ops guide and loving it.

Thank U so much, but there is one thing I dont like.

Ur talent builds are on torhead skill calculators and they are bugged.

Each time I try to open any of talent build its not showing up properly.

Can U fix them please, try darthhater skill calc instead.

Thanx

[Mithgell]

Just found Ur Ops guide and loving it.

Thank U so much, but there is one thing I dont like.

Ur talent builds are on torhead skill calculators and they are bugged.

Each time I try to open any of talent build its not showing up properly.

Can U fix them please, try darthhater skill calc instead.

Thanx

 

My friend, you have made a Necro. The guide is from months ago, before 1.2 I believe.

 

Edit: And I necroed it again myself -_- FML, and take pity on me, O worthy forumers!

Edited August 11, 2012 by Mithgell
Uuuggh