BH Heals still manageable post 1.2

[NicWester]

My secondary and tertiary stat preferences work perfectly well, thanks. "Newbieish" would be to accept all the gear as-given without giving it any consideration. Also, my join date is when the game was released, because I didn't play beta. What's the issue there?

 

Pretty much the issue is that you're not blindly following the QQ warpath.

 

Look, the thing about pre-1.2 was that certain classes didn't have to worry about their mechanic at all. They had no limitation on how they operated, so you could use the highest cost stuff at any time without fear of running dry. Other classes, meanwhile, were hogtied by their mechanic. A Sniper or Operative who went under 60% energy rapidly found themselves in a downward spiral of suck--now go figure that the deep end of the heat pool is 40%.

 

Stop trying to play the exact same way you did before. OF COURSE it's not going to work. Because what worked before was BAD.

 

I rolled a Mercenary after the patch and have been playing it in warzones and PvE. Granted I'm only level 40 so the PvE experience hasn't been as challenging as ops, I admit that. But PvP scales with level extremely well, and I am able to do very well at healing players if I just treat heat as if it were Energy and try to stay at an optimal point. Except Huttball, I blow *** at Huttball because I've just got Rapid Shots, KM, and (now) Emergency Scan for instants... But, meh, s--- happens.

[TempestasSilva]

Pretty much the issue is that you're not blindly following the QQ warpath.

...

Stop trying to play the exact same way you did before. OF COURSE it's not going to work. Because what worked before was BAD.

...

I rolled a Mercenary after the patch and have been playing it in warzones and PvE. Granted I'm only level 40

Congratulations. You have convinced me that Mercs are "fine". LOLOLOL

[Smoothjedi]

 

Granted I'm only level 40 ...

 

 

You should have started with this so I could have just skipped to the next post.

[mpcunlimited]

I haven't healed for a few days since I joined a new guild, but they did let me heal once when our regular healer was not online. We did the minesweeper boss in EC storymode, and the sorc healer got herself killed by not moving out of the red circle from the boss after we turned off the minefield. I was able to solo heal that last part of the boss with zero issues and not a single person died.

[YhuLee]

For me, BH is still a good healer. Before the patch 1.2 comes out, we do not need to worry about the heat. After the patch 1.2, there will be no HEAL SPAMS AGAIN! Now we need to focus not just on our teamates that we are healing, also for our heat as well.

[Ewert]

People saying pre 1.2 there was no heat management only show how poorly they performed then.

 

Nightmare pushing DPS while healing = heat management

Bursting for gas use to maximize overall healing / dps = heat management pro

Solo healing hard modes = heat management ultra

Solo healing hard mode Jarg & Sorno = heat management INFERNO

 

People saying post 1.2 there is heat management just show they have troubles with whack-a-mole gameplay

Heat over 30? Rapid Shots

Heat over 40? Dude! You forgot Rapid Shots!

Heat over 60? Vent heat dude, and more rapid shots next time!

Heat over 60 again? Busted!

Heat under 30? Here's a clearcut list of heal order of priority (shown elsewhere plenty of times), pick the top one, oh and RAPID SHOTS after don't even worry bout anything else right after...

[TempestasSilva]

And the lack of communication continues:

http://www.darthhater.com/articles/swtor-news/20452-darth-hater-interview-game-update-1-3-with-swtor

 

Any thoughts on current class balance that players can expect in 1.3?

 

Austin Peckenpaugh, Senior Designer: In 1.3, we're making some balance and quality of life adjustments. The highlights include tanking survivability and threat generation, with an emphasis on getting all tanks on the same target, particularly where AOE threat is concerned; Mercenary/Commando DPS improvements; Sniper/Gunslinger Marksmanship/Sharpshooter tree improvements; and some visual improvements to a few slow abilities and abilities that still aren't quite mirrored cross-faction (including Shock and Project).

 

Hey Austin, I am a Mercenary HEALER. Any love coming my way?!?!?

Hello??? Bioware?!?! <taps on glass> Anyone home?!?!

 

Maybe I am out of touch, but is tank survivability and threat more out of balance than the healers?!?!

Merc DPS may need some love, but it isn't as far behind as Merc Healing, is it?

[TempestasSilva]

http://www.swtor.com/blog/community-qa-may-25th-2012-%E2%80%93-special-edition-game-update-1.3

Brutalos: What class balances can we expect from Game Update 1.3 and will it undo some of the changes done in 1.2?

 

Austin: Game Update 1.2 brought damage dealing and healing roles closer to target than they had previously been. If for you and your class that meant a reduction in performance, that can be a hard thing for me to justify to you. I think it's fair to say that some of those changes were made by reducing usability instead of just reducing numbers, and it's these usability issues that we want to correct and negative changes to usability that we don't want to repeat in the future. Like I said before, we'll have more detailed information for you soon, but if I had to identify a motif for class changes in future updates, it'd be "improved usability."

 

That actually gives me a little hope. On the one hand he is saying that if I think BG heals were nerfed too much number wise, suck it. On the other, he is admitting that maybe changing the way things work instead of reducing numbers was a bad idea, especially if it made something like SCG close to worthless. And they plan to correct that. Well, even if we are the worst healer in total output, if they fix SSG and make a few other changes to make it have more decisions, that is surely a step in the right direction.

[TrooperCam]

I enjoy post 1.2 heals to be honest. Bioware basically made it to where you have to include kolto missle in your rotation. Btw kolto shell has always been a pre pull ability for me, and if you needed it any more than that pre1.2 you must not know your skill rotation. Koltomissle's benefits are very beneficial. The fact that it only shields four people per shot is not a problem btw because you should be able to use two of them before SCG runs out.

 

I will be trying this as I am not having the problems now with heat as I am LTP.

 

Sure I have to spam the 1 button for rapid shots but its 10 x 1 then I can pop my shield over the group of 4 if they are standing close enough together. I think the most important thing I need to tell people before a mission is this is how my buff for them works best.

 

Using the above works best in BT when the jedi pulls the group in as one. I am now saving my AOE heal for that moment and hopefully shielding everyone at the same time.

 

So all in all I'm thinking the OP is on the money.

[TempestasSilva]

I will be trying this as I am not having the problems now with heat as I am LTP.

 

Sure I have to spam the 1 button for rapid shots but its 10 x 1 then I can pop my shield over the group of 4 if they are standing close enough together. I think the most important thing I need to tell people before a mission is this is how my buff for them works best.

 

Using the above works best in BT when the jedi pulls the group in as one. I am now saving my AOE heal for that moment and hopefully shielding everyone at the same time.

 

So all in all I'm thinking the OP is on the money.

 

Oh yeah....Op is a GENIOUS.

Btw kolto shell has always been a pre pull ability for me, and if you needed it any more than that pre1.2 you must not know your skill rotation.

Never mind the fact that it is our most efficient heal and anyone with 1/2 a brain will cast it as often as it needs to be refreshed so long as someone is not dieing and your heat is fine.

 

The OP is "on the money". Wooden nickles maybe.

 

Ron White is obviously right...

Edited May 26, 2012 by TempestasSilva

[WhiskeyGin]

So, I'm a merc healer, and only started playing as such after 1.2. Therefore, I have no experience with the supposed golden days of pre-1.2 merc healing (though I'd say it's a bit early for anyone in the game to have a supposed "golden days").

 

I've consistently been raiding HM KP and EV for the past month and gotten full Rakata gear. I'll admit, I haven't gotten into Denova yet due to a recent guild change (plus my server isn't exactly great). Anyways, I haven't ever felt like my heals were inadequate. I get it, I'm built for single-target efficiency and AOE situations are pretty difficult-- the transition phases of Soa come to mind...

 

Yes, there are things that are difficult to do, but that's really the fun of playing this class. You have to work for it, and the payoff is great.

 

Also, an idea that I had: Can we have a mechanic to make our Cure ability has no CD during Supercharged Gas? I don't think it'd be game breaking and would be a cool mechanic. Also, is there any way we can change the size of debuffs on the raid frames? They're really hard to see.

 

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/cb985b71-9c70-45e8-b1fe-3a2f469d3522 (my Armory profile).

Edited May 27, 2012 by WhiskeyGin
forgot a suggestion I wanted to include

[Ehlin]

So, I'm a merc healer, and only started playing as such after 1.2. Therefore, I have no experience with the supposed golden days of pre-1.2 merc healing (though I'd say it's a bit early for anyone in the game to have a supposed "golden days").

 

I've consistently been raiding HM KP and EV for the past month and gotten full Rakata gear. I'll admit, I haven't gotten into Denova yet due to a recent guild change (plus my server isn't exactly great). Anyways, I haven't ever felt like my heals were inadequate. I get it, I'm built for single-target efficiency and AOE situations are pretty difficult-- the transition phases of Soa come to mind...

 

Yes, there are things that are difficult to do, but that's really the fun of playing this class. You have to work for it, and the payoff is great.

 

Also, an idea that I had: Can we have a mechanic to make our Cure ability has no CD during Supercharged Gas? I don't think it'd be game breaking and would be a cool mechanic. Also, is there any way we can change the size of debuffs on the raid frames? They're really hard to see.

 

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/cb985b71-9c70-45e8-b1fe-3a2f469d3522 (my Armory profile).

 

 

I don't see an issue with merc healing, seems to work fine for me. There are rare occasions that I overheat but that's only if the people I'm healing are taking way too much damage. Which is more of an issue with their gear vs their enemy(s).

 

In pvp specifically, merc's should have no heat issues unless they are focus firing players which a good team will do. But ideally you wont be the only healer, so should be all good.

[WhiskeyGin]

@ Ehlin: These are truths. I'm not complaining at all about merc healing. It feels fine to me; however, my only frame of reference for healing is my sorc healer (which doesn't feel as fun lately-- artificially increasing a healer's damage taken =/= fun).

 

I can't really speak to pvp, I spend most of my time either raiding or working on alts (cause I'm clearly not playing the game correctly unless I've got all 3 healer classes leveled, maxed, and geared up). I've dipped my feet in the pvp waters but definitely not enough to form an informed opinion.

[Alash]

People saying pre 1.2 there was no heat management only show how poorly they performed then.

 

Nightmare pushing DPS while healing = heat management

Bursting for gas use to maximize overall healing / dps = heat management pro

Solo healing hard modes = heat management ultra

Solo healing hard mode Jarg & Sorno = heat management INFERNO

 

People saying post 1.2 there is heat management just show they have troubles with whack-a-mole gameplay

Heat over 30? Rapid Shots

Heat over 40? Dude! You forgot Rapid Shots!

Heat over 60? Vent heat dude, and more rapid shots next time!

Heat over 60 again? Busted!

Heat under 30? Here's a clearcut list of heal order of priority (shown elsewhere plenty of times), pick the top one, oh and RAPID SHOTS after don't even worry bout anything else right after...

 

lol, you kind of hit the nail on the head for me.

 

In no way do I feel we are weaker healers for 99% of the situation besides doing much less dps. I actually found one of the hardest nerfs to bodyguard wasn't in the healing tree but the powershot cast time change. Popping SCG, crit alact buff and trinket was pockets of nice DPS when healing was light. And it literally made soloing bearable.

 

The only real negative things I have to say about 1.2 regarding healing

 

It's boring as hell now, heat management controls all. Everything bad stems from this. Playing a BH healer is like playing this game in slow motion. You are so limited with what you can do and how you can do it. It's a good thing macros aren't in this game because you could run a BH healer with 3 buttons then.

 

Now clutch moments are very few and far between. It used to be we could save a raid or group by doing the perfect heals, in the right order, while charging your gas/heat management to pull off some amazing feats. Then go back to doing your job. Now I don't bother unless the fight is going to end right after. It just gives people false hope. I can do it the same as before but the heals stop after that for good for a while. It's better to just let people screw up, know it's them, and learn from it than to save them and then wipe 30s later from overheating. Then the anger just gets put on you. 1.2 took away the days of props to merc healers for kicking some ***. But it is fair now, you never hear (even before 1.2) "OMG awesome puddle placement man!" "Nice job spraying your green hot loads on everyone!" Nobody says jack to any healer now a days lol Well except when they screw up haha

 

Ops and Sorcs just destroy us on MOX. I don't think we heal ANY less effectively than them. NM KP, EV HM, EC story are all snoozefests even with two BH healers lol.. EC HM is the only challenge. But after the fight ends, man do OPs and Sorcs destroy us on the meters and that's all most other people care about. Not the dmg mit shields we put down, not the kolto reactive heals, not even the fact that we won! It's sad but it effects some raids I get into (or not get into to be more precise)

 

Now with all that ************ out the way, We still do somethings very well.

 

We can keep 1-2 people up very well.

We can still AOE trash and lead the dps meters now that those pesky arsenal mercs all rerolled snipers.

We still can do a round of burst healing like no other. Critting rs/hs/ES then popping TSO/PS followed by another hs really pushes out some burst in 3 globals.

We are still the only healer class that can make fun of the tanks because we have more hps than some of them.

[kithsyn]

I agree that I feel solid in PVE as well. However, does anyone have a good link or website that gives a thorough guide to healing for MERCs?

 

Thanks in advance.

[mpcunlimited]

Last night myself as a merc and another merc healer cleared Hardmode EC no problems. We one shot torn and voth, Killed the tanks on the 2nd attempt, one shot minefield, and killed kephis on the third attempt.

[TempestasSilva]

Last night myself as a merc and another merc healer cleared Hardmode EC no problems. We one shot torn and voth, Killed the tanks on the 2nd attempt, one shot minefield, and killed kephis on the third attempt.

 

Congratulations!

Edited June 9, 2012 by TempestasSilva