As DPS Powertech i'm forced to use only healer companion.

[Lord_Karsk]

Really sad. I wanted to use the mandalorian i got on Taris, but he just doesnt hold up in a fight against an elite

or group of mobs with one or more strong mobs.Because i'm getting all the agroo no matter what.I mean

why the hell i'm i getting all the agroo from the mobs,atleast if the companion also got agroo i could stand atleast

some chance.Well we know that bioware dident do a good job on companions when it comes to tanking healing etc

but to be force the entire lvl up experience to use only 1 companion as a DPS is just dumb.

 

Guess this means when i get blizz and skadge they are useless aswell.

Funny thing is, even if i were to go down tanking i would still be forced to use Mako the healer .....

[MystbladeWA]

Hmm not really I use Torian now i have him and dont run into many problems at all really. Im lvl 38 Pyro.

 

Whats ur gear like? and rotation? As long as you have him geared i prefer using dps companions tbh. Gets through content much quicker and provided you dont over pull packs of mobs you should be fine.

 

Also consider, when you are questing, to use a Presence stim. This stat is really useful when u are solo questing. In fact if u are flush with cash getting the +100 Presence buff for unlocking humans is also really worthwhile (assuming u havent unlocked it by lvling a human that is).

[dardack]

Yeah get pressence stim, if you have another 50 get all that toons dudes to max affection/quests done so you get the +50 presence. Also, the human.

 

I ran with dps for almost every quest. If it was 2 elites or 1 eliete 1 champ I'd bring out mako. This is why I had torian/mako geared. Depending on situation but mostly torian.

[Woofpack]

Torrian won't hold aggro because he is not a tank and has no defensive stance. it's not suprising your pulling aggro...

 

You can direct him to attack a non-elite mob while you focus on the stronger ones.... and he does fine.

 

I think most DPS PTs use Mako unti they start getting geared up... then they pass their hand-me-downs to Torrian and Blizz and Skadge...

 

I am in a progression raiding guild so have been fortunate to receive a lot of great BH gear... So my companions are Rakata/Columi/Black Hole geared... And I use all of them when doing my Belsavis/Ilum/Correlia dailies.. The only time I use Mako anymore is for soloing the heroic dailies (Freeing the Fallen, Old Enemies) or if we need a healer for Torvix or Poisonous Strategy...

 

So don't give up on the other companions... Just learn their strengths and weaknesses and try to adjust your play style. The game is funner when you use all your companions because they are so different and bring a little variety..

 

i will agree with you though that it was difficiult when I started using other companions and lost my pocket healer... but stick with it.. You will eventually prefer to have the extra DPS for faster kills than the healing...

[clearsighted]

Unless you're a baddie, you can roll any content in the game, up to Heroic 2+ (with the exception of one or two over-tuned ones with weird mechanics such as quadruple stacking bleeds and armor rends), with any combination of companions, provided you know what you are doing, and keep your gear top-notch.

 

Anyone who claims otherwise, either doesn't know what they're doing, or doesn't keep their gear in the blue-purple range.

 

DPS pyros especially and kite some elites all day.

Edited May 16, 2012 by clearsighted

[Mordeguy]

Unless you're a baddie, you can roll any content in the game, up to Heroic 2+ (with the exception of one or two over-tuned ones with weird mechanics such as quadruple stacking bleeds and armor rends), with any combination of companions, provided you know what you are doing, and keep your gear top-notch.

 

Anyone who claims otherwise, either doesn't know what they're doing, or doesn't keep their gear in the blue-purple range.

 

DPS pyros especially and kite some elites all day.

 

I have to agree. I see a lot of posts about how certain companions cant be used by certain classes and specs and it's just not right.

 

I used Torian a lot, Blizz as well and was always pyro while leveling. Mako makes it easy but she's not needed.

 

Adjust your strategies based on the companion you're using, and you'll see you can use whichever one you want. Healers just negate the need for strategy.

[Lord_Karsk]

Never said i could not play with a DPS companion.It is just way more easy to use a healer.

And as someon who hates lvl up i just want to get up to 50 as soon as a can,not gonna grinds heroics alone

and kite elites all day.Just want to kill stuff and move on.And as a DPS myself i do know that having a healer

with me doest so i can kill faster and just move on.With a DPS companion it is alot more kiting and AOE mobs with

better use of CC etc.Also my point was, if my DPS companion also most times get more agroo i wont always

have 5 mobs attacking me while ignoring my companion who most times doesnt takw damage because the mob

IA reg me as a bigger threat.

[Agooz]

I really have no idea what you are complaining about. Mako, the first 30 lvls or so, is the most efficient way to level. After that, either Gault or Torian, will speed things up alot; assuming you know how to use them and have them well geared.

Being able to solo Heroics is part of leveling fast. By the time someone else is spamming LFG to form a group, you'd be done with it.

[Pendrych]

Never said i could not play with a DPS companion.It is just way more easy to use a healer.

 

I'd like to point out that your thread title states that you are "forced to use only healer companion." So actually, yes, you did say it.

 

On a more constructive note, take the advice given earlier in the thread. Vary your tactics:

 

Send Torian of Gault in to deal with the normals or a silver while you concentrate on the rest of the pull. Tank companions are a little weak but with proper gear, Skadge and Blizz can do all right against anything but a Champion.

 

Learn to kite. Against golds/champs I found you want to keep the ranged mobs in melee (usually for interrupts) and kite the melee mobs to lower their damage output on you (due to not being in range 24/7 and not being able to use channeled abilities). I leveled as AP pre-1.2 so it can be done even without a slow.

 

Interrupt constantly. You may already be doing this one, but it bears repeating. I don't recall having to save my interrupts for specific abilities anywhere outside of PvP and level 50 PvE, so spam it.

 

Target priority. You may also be doing this one. Gold mobs don't usually hit that hard, relatively speaking... it's the silvers that kill you. I think of the golds as the tanks of the pull and the silvers the DPS. That gold star attracts your eye and you may think you should down it first, but like a taunt, it's a trap. Even when I've died to pulls, if I can kill a silver first, that usually slows the damage intake down enough that I can clear the rest of the pull no problem when I return.

 

Hope that helps. One thing I like about the leveling experience in SW:ToR is that they actually ease in a lot of these mechanics, like training you to interrupt, that will be vital to being a good player at endgame. You *can* brute force your way through the content, but it's a headache and you're doing yourself a disservice by thinking in those terms.

[Sookster]

I stopped using Mako once I got Torian and then stuck with Blizz when I got him, I swear by Blizz and have no problems. Mako is still wearing level 20ish gear right now and I'm level 50, that's how often I use her.

[FlatOut_nlF]

So we stuck with healer?

[Hexhno]

Can someone please list the companions that I get as a powertech and at what level I get new companions? I am currently 26 and still only have Mako. If there are certain quests that I must accomplish, can you please listed those as well?

 

Thanks.

[Megatfx]

Can someone please list the companions that I get as a powertech and at what level I get new companions? I am currently 26 and still only have Mako. If there are certain quests that I must accomplish, can you please listed those as well?

 

Thanks.

 

If you don't buy a companion with Cartel coins, you will be using Mako until level 55.

[DarkSaberMaster]

I've used healer companions for the majority of my time in SWTOR since early launch. I have four level 55's. I just started playing my Powertech again a month ago and decided to try a DPS companion (HK-51). I swear by him now because he kills things super quick. I have him in mostly 69's and me and him steamroll everything. Healer comps make things a little easier. But a geared out DPS comp helps you kill things so quick, you don't need to heal. Just my opinion.

[Ottoattack]

Really sad. I wanted to use the mandalorian i got on Taris, but he just doesnt hold up in a fight against an elite

or group of mobs with one or more strong mobs.Because i'm getting all the agroo no matter what.I mean

why the hell i'm i getting all the agroo from the mobs,atleast if the companion also got agroo i could stand atleast

some chance.Well we know that bioware dident do a good job on companions when it comes to tanking healing etc

but to be force the entire lvl up experience to use only 1 companion as a DPS is just dumb.

 

Guess this means when i get blizz and skadge they are useless aswell.

Funny thing is, even if i were to go down tanking i would still be forced to use Mako the healer .....

 

With all my dps toons I only could run healer comps. Nothing else works. You have to sit and heal. It is weaker and slower. It is not just dps PTs problem. Mostly all dps and tank comps are useless.

[Hexhno]

I found out there is a quest you can do to get another companion [Catching a Slippery Eel] and from what I have read this also gives me a companion. Hope the link is helpful -----> http://www.swtor-spy.com/companions/

[Cordarn]

I used torian when I got him, and still use him. Im a shield tech and it works way better then mako. Ive got him in mostly level 50 harmode gear and this is a testimony to how useful he is. I took on a elite, and five normals on makeb and killed them all. Granted torian died and I used all my cooldowns but I still succeeded. Edited January 14, 2014 by Cordarn

[ZeroPlus]

I found out there is a quest you can do to get another companion [Catching a Slippery Eel] and from what I have read this also gives me a companion. Hope the link is helpful -----> http://www.swtor-spy.com/companions/

 

You've kind of answered your own question about what companions you get as a Bounty Hunter. As for "how" you get them, just keep doing your Class Story quests, as the companions will be unlocked along the way (case in point, [Catching a Slippery Eel] is a part of your Class Story on Tatooine).

[Blowwtorch]

As DPS Vanguard, I used Aric Jorgan all the way through the story and never had issues. Just make sure your gear and their gear is mostly up to date.

[Kaos_KidSWTOR]

on my DPS Powertech (Pyro) i plan to as soon as i can use Torian, use him before that i will be using Gault. I run my Merc Healer with Torian as my companion... So, no you shouldnt be stuck with Mako/Heals Treek. If a Healer can run with a non-tank companion a DPS can run with a non-healer/tank companion, heck on my DPS Guardian i use Kira, and on my Marauder i use Jaesa.

[Heith]

every tank companion is viable and in some situations IMO more optimal than the healer. you can just dismiss them when they get low on health and resummon them to insta heal.

[JamieKirby]

As others have stated, all companions are viable, though to me, bioware should have left them as they were during closed beta, where you can choose their roles, that would have been so much better then the crap system they put in its place.

[sanctified]

With all my dps toons I only could run healer comps. Nothing else works. You have to sit and heal. It is weaker and slower. It is not just dps PTs problem. Mostly all dps and tank comps are useless.

 

Not even remotely true. There's a trilogy to how you're supposed to proceed when using your companions.

 

If you're a tank, it's faster to use a dps companion. (Preferably ranged dps because they're easier to keep alive. They don't stand in the middle of a champ doing spinning strikes, for instance.) You hold aggro, they wipe everything out.

 

If you're a dps, use a healer. They keep you up, you kill all the baddies. Fair trade.

 

If you're a healer, you use a tank companion. Properly geared, tank companions are nearly as strong as player tanks.

 

But these are only suggestions. Good players who know what they're doing can use any combo and succeed. Saying that any companion than a healer is useless is silly and sounds entirely like being unable to adjust.