Need advice: Mercenary Raid - HPS

[Joeblows]

Hi,

 

This is my build:

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRRRdfdkqZMM.1

 

Gear: All columi except pants which is Rataka and ear which is tionese.

 

When i run healer in say EV or Kara im only doing about 600 HPS. (Normal mode)

 

Kolto is my biggest heal and i only use it when i can hit 3+ people.

 

I always rapid shots when possible so i can build the super charged gas. When ever possible i use the healing scan before Rapid scan for heat bonus.... In situations where we get hit hard ill use Rapid scan because of healing scan cooldown.

 

I normally use the supercharged gas as a "Get out of **** card so i can spam heals for 10-15 secs) in bad situations.

 

I always put the heal buble on my tank. i use Emergency scan when ever needed and when i cannot use the other.

 

We play 8-mans and the other healer who is a operative hits 900 HPS easily with more crappy gear compared to me.

 

I dont have the logs from last raid but his AREA heal did around 120,000 more heal than my area heal so some of the HPS difference comes from this. But 600 HPS i dont find good and i really need help to get it up.

 

Stat wise Im responsible for 42% of the heals in the raids... give or take.

 

Can anyone tell me if i should expect it to be around 600 HPS or if im having any leaks from what i have told you.

 

/Joeblows

Edited May 10, 2012 by Joeblows

[Codek]

Let's see, your spec could use a few tweaks for added potential. Most notably:

-Powered insulator is unnecessary unless you are really afraid to die in a fight (Mercs tend to get plenty of endurance from the gear for some strange reason....)

-Protective Field is more for PvP, keep it if you PvP a lot else lose it.

-Heat dampening is also for PvP, mostly useless for raids

-Power shield is more PvP, nothing should interrupt you in raids

 

This will give you 6 points to spend else where for more healing, I suggest

Arsenal:

-Integrated Arsenal for another 2% bonue to healing

-Finish off ironsight for more aim

-Upgrraded Arsenal for 3% tech crit

Pyrotech:

-System calibration for bonus alacrity

 

 

It is also a good idea to play around with your abilities to find a rotation that you like best that will keep you within the 0-40 heat range. Something like Healing Scan -> Rapid Scan -> 2x Rapid shots -> Kolto Missle -> Rapid Shots. Depending on your alacrity, this may or may not allow you to break even on heat. Test some stuff on your companion untill you find something that works.

 

I would also use super charged gas as often as possible unless you know the timing of boss burst damage phases and wish to use it then. The reduction in heat from it helps to maintain control of your resources if you want to push a bit more healing out.

 

We are given vent heat and two relics as back up buttons and all of these have a unique 2 minute cooldown so as long as your rotating them every 30 seconds then your healing will receive a very strong boost from them. Don't be afraid to use them! Just never all at the same time unless you know the situation is going to be that bad.

 

This all might at least help you catch up on some of the HPS, you could also always just drop a kolto bomb on the AoE circle from the sorc ultimately making there heal for the most part just overhealing (Edit: this only applies to effective healing calculations). I do not actually suggest competition for heals though since this is just a waste of resources. Alternatively, you can push your heat up to around ~70 heat, pop overcharged gas, and spam power shot for 10-15 seconds if you know the other healer can handle it for the time being. Power shot is basically a free cast with gas going and your heat will dwindle down to 0 while your unleashing maybe 600DPS to the boss.

 

Please ask any questions if anything seems confusing!

Edited May 10, 2012 by Codek

[Joeblows]

Thanks alot,

 

so you also prefer two relics instead of one + my cube?

 

Also do you recommend two relics that will boost crit, power or defense relics?

 

Good info mate!

[Codek]

I've stuck with Crit/Surge and Power relics, but I also keep the Alacrity one on the side if I feel speed burst healing through some boss phases is more necessary. As long as you use the relics (which you should) the ability to time your bursting healing with the uptime of the relics gives them a much larger advantage over anything passive. The matrix cube is a good start but it's like training wheels on a bicycle, just meant to carry you along.

[Codek]

Also keep in mind that you have energy shield and a self heal ( I always forget the name of it but it gives 15% health back) for defensive situations. This along with medpacs and healing yourself is everything you should need to survive any dangerous situations. Defensive relics and talent points will only take away from your primary role of bigger and faster heals.

[TempestasSilva]

1) Spec more like this: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRzR0fdkqZMckZb.1

2) It is hard to compare your HPS to an Operative for many reasons. Most I wont go into, but consider that they tend to overheal more because of HoTs. So you should really be comparing EHPS not HPS.

3) Keep Kolto Shell up as much as possible. Always at the start of the fight. Then refresh during any lull where no on is in danger of dying and your heat is low.

4) Make sure you are using Healing Scan on CD and Rapid scan right after.

5) Only pop SCG when it is really needed, You are trading a 3% bonus for a 5% bonus netting you 2% which is laughable. Under SCG, try to use KM twice. Use HS spam on multiple targets or HS+RS spam on a single.

6) Unles you plan on using Vent Heat, you will have to weave in rapid shots during SCG or you will gain WAY too much heat.

7) Really mange your heat well. NEVER go >40 unless either 1) You are going to use Vent Heat or 2) You know there will be a lull in the fight allowing you to spam rapid shots alone until you dissipate to 20ish heat.

8) Whenever you are not casting a heal, you should be using Rapidshots.

Edited May 10, 2012 by TempestasSilva

[Slipt]

Silva is right on the money, though I'd also suggest that when you have to go over 40 heat to keep people alive, you use rapid shots, emergency scan and TSO+RS(or HS) to keep healing while you work your heat back down.

 

A major part of heat management is doing everything you possibly can to avoid using vent heat.

It's a last resort.

 

My spec, for comparison.

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRMR0cdkqZrcoM.1

[Cody-licious]

Okay, despite fear of ridicule and finger-pointing, I will post up my healing raid log from a recent attempt at Karagga's Nightmare Mode.

 

http://www.fryingtime.com/?filename=combat_2012-06-04_20_43_36_897962.txt#22_24_18_511000

--Of particular note are the 3 more difficult fights: Jarg & Sorno (1272 HPS), the 2nd Fabricator (1368 HPS) and the 2nd Karagga (1222 HPS). And Yes, the multiple attempts mean that we wiped on the first version .

 

I don't really know how these stats compare with other healing Mercs, or even with the other healing classes. But the analysis with this tool is pretty fascinating to me, even just the simple things about knowing exactly how much crit results you get over the course of the fight.

 

This is the build I use:

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRMR0cdkqZrcoM.1

 

I am in full Rakata, with 3 Black Hole items (Helmet, Earpiece and 1 Implant).

 

Anyone else brave enough to share/discuss?

[TempestasSilva]

Okay, despite fear of ridicule and finger-pointing, I will post up my healing raid log from a recent attempt at Karagga's Nightmare Mode.

 

http://www.fryingtime.com/?filename=combat_2012-06-04_20_43_36_897962.txt#22_24_18_511000

--Of particular note are the 3 more difficult fights: Jarg & Sorno (1272 HPS), the 2nd Fabricator (1368 HPS) and the 2nd Karagga (1222 HPS). And Yes, the multiple attempts mean that we wiped on the first version .

 

I don't really know how these stats compare with other healing Mercs, or even with the other healing classes. But the analysis with this tool is pretty fascinating to me, even just the simple things about knowing exactly how much crit results you get over the course of the fight.

 

This is the build I use:

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRMR0cdkqZrcoM.1

 

I am in full Rakata, with 3 Black Hole items (Helmet, Earpiece and 1 Implant).

 

Anyone else brave enough to share/discuss?

 

I'm your huckleberry. (movie quote, apologies if it is too obscure)

 

Here are my thoughts:

1) In general, your HPS for the content and gear level is decent. I have seen better, and that is because they used Kolto Missile more. When you can hit 3+ targets that need healing, this is your best HPS. So try to work it in more when you can. However it is prone to overhealing and padding your numbers without raising your Effective HPS(EHPS). Which leads to:

2) Dont get too hung up on HPS. HPS is good for knowing what the maximum output for a healer is, but it hads flaws. There are some fights even in 8-man denova that everyone is high enough in health and I am just spamming rapid shots to cool my heat which lowers my HPS. So, HPS is only really a good metric when there is more damage that can be healed at all points in a fight. It is also includes overhealing, so a better metric is EHPS.

3) SWTOR logs don't show overhealing directly. the only way to approximate EHPS is by looking at threat. Since no threat is gained by overhealing, you can calculate EHPS by looking at threat. Since Healing does 50% threat. If you healed for 1000 and did 500 threat, you had no overhealing.

4) EHPS is also not reliable because healing classes can put point in threat reduction, plus a tank could put guard on you, etc.

5) The parser you have used has problems because even accounting for #4, your threat per second (TPS) on one of the Karaga fights is close to your (HPS) and I don't see how that is possible.

6) While there is nothing "wrong" with your spec, you might want to look at some items, think about your playstyle and situation, and see if changes would be better for you.

You put points in these non mandatory skills:

Critical Reaction. (2) - I find that I crit enough that 1 point is sufficeient

Vent Heat. (2) - I ind that 1 point is enough. If I am n such a bad way that a 1-point vent heat is not enough, a 2-point vent heat won't be either.

Integrated systems. (2) - If you look just at HPS, taking the points out of here would only cost you about 25 HPS. That is not much.

Custom Enviro Suit. (2) - In PvP where you heal yourself a lot, I see the value in this. For PvE, not so much. You should not be taking that much damage that the 6% is worth it.

So if you take some points out of the above, where can you spend them?

Protective Field. (2) - I love this. If the S hits the Fan, I pop my shield and Kolto Overload. With a 20% increase in healing while the shield is up, I can focus on others more. I think a 20% situational is better than a 6% constant.

Muzzle Fluting. (1) - For thos times when you can contribute DPS, this activation time reduction is nice.

Systems Calibrations. (2) - While I am not a fan of alacrity and on gear I tend to swap it for power if possible and crit/surge if not, you are not giving up stats to put points in it. How many times has someone died while you were mid cast on say rapid scan?

 

Again, you have to look at you playstyle to see whether you could improve things or not. And nothing is earth shattering, just small tweaks.

 

P.S. Your healing graph is a great counter for the morons who keep arguing that Kolto Shell is worthless. It is not, as the pie chart clearly shows. Do you have to be smart about when you spend the 16 heat? Yes. Worthless? LOLLOLOLOL NO.

Edited June 5, 2012 by TempestasSilva

[jmoyers]

http://www.fryingtime.com/?filename=combat_2012-06-10_13_15_24_739149.txt#17_51_07_592000

 

The above is story mode denova. We cleared it. Its only our second week in, and our second week clearing it. I'm healing with an operative opposite me.

 

In general, looks like you are relying on rapid scan a **** ton more than me. I think this leads to less effective heat management which leads to lower overall hps. I'm in 2 pieces black hole, 3/5 rakata main set, rakata offhand, the rest columi. I can sustain between 1200 - 1400 hps with no trouble.

 

I'm sure I overhealed some with the kolto missles, but I tend to throw it out a bunch because I find that the only time the group is under healing pressures generally is when we let the non-tank heals get out of hand.

 

Btw, the kp numbers were in story mode. We were fooling around getting some folks mounts, ignore.

Edited June 11, 2012 by jmoyers