Can Merc be used as a good healer?

[Athilias]

Question on if merc can be used as a good healer, with a bit of DPS to go along with it. If anyone has any specs or anything that would help too. I've played a bit of all classes (Sith side, since that's what my guild seems to be set on), except for bounty hunter. I don't really care much for the Sith Inquisitor, so I figured next best healer would be Bounty Hunter, but have no real experience with it.

 

Halp?

[Frontplayer]

I don´t have much experience healing but so far the heat system is a bit tricky. Once you get the hang of it you can make for great healing if you use your combat support cylinder while cooling off between the scans. And from the looks of it the bodyguard tree provides well enough abilities to make the Merc a good healer.

[darkkyn]

Bodyguard:

This is the healing tree for the Mercenary. The Mercenary is a fully capable healer, able to successfully heal in PvP, Flashpoints, Raids and World PvP. The Bodyguard needs to be a little more proactive as a healer as compared to the Sorcerer or the Operative. Most of the Bounty Hunter's heals tend to have long cast times, requiring him to stand in place. If the Bodyguard falls too far behind in healing, it can be a bit difficult for him to "catch up". Alacrity is an important stat for a Bodyguard as it will let you cast your heals faster.

 

Bodyguard specced Mercenaries have successfully healed throughout the end game in beta. They do have a few problems - namely their primary focus in longer, powerful heals. This makes them fairly stationary. They also tend to run into problems if you "fall behind" on your healing; it's not as easy for them to catch up as it is for other classes.

 

The two major benefits for the Bounty Hunter healer are that first, if you manage your Heat correctly, you will always have the ability to heal, and second, your Combat Support Cylinder changes your Rapid Shots so that shooting your allies will heal them. This gives you a quick, no-Heat cost heal and is useful in times where you are required to be extremely mobile. Of all the "free heals" that the healer classes get, this is certainly the best one.

 

Many people suggest that the Sorcerer is the best healer, and in some ways they're right. Their Resource system is a lot more forgiving than the Bounty Hunters. If a Sorcerer has to spam burst heals, it's not a big deal. If a Bounty Hunter has to do the same, he will drive his Heat meter up into the slow dissipation zone and have difficulty regaining his tempo.

 

But, a Sorcerer will inevitably run out of Force points for healing, whereas if a Bounty Hunter is careful with his Heat, he can potentially heal forever; still, this might not be a huge benefit. Most end game bosses have strict enrage timers, so even if a Mercenary could heal for 20 minutes straight, it doesn't mean that he'll ever realistically be able to do so.

 

Still, as pointed out earlier, Mercenaries have successfully healed all of the content in the game. If you want to play a Bodyguard, more power to you. Don't let people tell you that you're going to be a fail healer or useless at end game. You won't be.

 

Talent Skill Notes:

 

Kolto Missile: It's not a fantastic AoE heal. You won't be able to get by in instances just spamming this ability. You'll frequently find yourself using it more for the +10% buff on targets than the actual heal. You'll generally want to keep the buff up on the tank at all times.

 

Supercharged Gas: An important ability for the Bounty Hunter, Supercharged Gas changes your playstyle a bit when you activate it. Getting 30 charges of your Combat Support Cylinder isn't too difficult. You can shoot allies during downtime between pulls or before the start of a PvP match. Knowing when you use this ability is very important, especially in PvP. While it does allow you to spam Healing Scan, keep in mind that you'll overheat very quickly if you try to do that.

 

info found at: http://blackrabbit2999.blogspot.com/2011/12/swtor-bounty-hunter-beginners-guide.html

 

and my personal choice for OP healing: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300rfRMR0cdkqZrcoZb.1

[hctibyllis]

We are great healers, once you get the hang of our unique playstyle.

[Nightsorrow]

We are great healers, once you get the hang of our unique playstyle.

 

This^^

 

Also, just to throw my 2 credits in, I am a dps-spec on my mercenary, and I have successfully main-healed up till cademimu flashpoint (not tried that yet). I think too many mercs are afraid of their heals. I've seen a couple of time the main healer going down, and the merc in the group just stands there, while the tank is bleeding like hell. Oh well, makes me look better I suppose...

[Efioanaes]

Im torn between my mercenary and my sorcerer as a main.

I find the sorcerer to be the better healer if im being honest.

Ive sussed out and got used to heat management with the merc but still find it inferior to the sorcerer.

You could argue the merc healing mechanic is superior in terms of keeping you busy and more interesting to the sorcerers more traditional mechanic but personally i just find it easier to heal with my sorc, then again both are only lvl 20 and 21 so i cant comment further.

I also find i can output more dps to help the party when im on the sorcerer, with the merc im constantly playing catchup.

The best thing about the merc is the healing guns pity they dont heal for much though.

[Storik]

I love healing on my mercenary. I find myself joining groups just so I can heal. The heat system is interesting and once you get used to it, you will have no problems at all.

[Eildalior]

I play BH - Mercenary too but I did not have great opportunities to really enjoy my healing skills.

 

However I suppose each class have a different way to heal and Mercenaries would be requested for a specific purpose while playing in group / raid.

 

It would be great if more experienced Mercenaries could confirm if that's the case: are Mercenaries better to heal a group or more main tank?

Regards.

[DervimNorth]

Personally, I'm going for the hybrid build, so I'm focusing at arsenal tree first and I'm more of an off-healer(lvl19 so far). From my experience so far, I can say that the trick is not to wait. You have to maintain HL bar as soon as someone starts taking hits, otherwise their HL falls too low and simply don't have any "oh sith" button to pull someone out, leave that part to force-healers.

 

And yeah-heat managing is extremely important. Don't just go spamming dps/healing powers, use your filler shot. Combat Support Cylender is only usefull if you don't like switching between targets, it allows you to vent your heat on your party members and to heal them afterwards.

 

But honestly, I prefer to blast opponents with HVGC along with healing my groupmates. Hey, the sooner mob dies the better, right?

[Ironeyes]

We are great healers, once you get the hang of our unique playstyle.

 

Not true, we are the worst of the 3 healers. I'd play another class.

[Tikita]

Not true, we are the worst of the 3 healers. I'd play another class.

 

Nice amount of proof to back up that claim. Out of the instances I have done so far a Merc healer has never seemed to have much trouble keeping me up.

[DervimNorth]

Well, merc healer is the hardest to play with.

[Murah]

from darkkyn:

"The two major benefits for the Bounty Hunter healer are that first, if you manage your Heat correctly, you will always have the ability to heal, and second, your Combat Support Cylinder changes your Rapid Shots so that shooting your allies will heal them. This gives you a quick, no-Heat cost heal and is useful in times where you are required to be extremely mobile. Of all the "free heals" that the healer classes get, this is certainly the best one. "

 

Question about Rapid Shots and the Combat Support Cylinder... if I have this cylinder active, and If I never do dps with my rapid shots, will I be able to target an ally with rapid shots and heal him?

 

Or do I have to dps in order to charge it up , so to speak. From the skill description, "Charges increase all damage and healing dealt, up to a maximum of 3% at 30 charges. In addition, targeting an ally with Rapid Shots will heal the target for 100% of your tech bonus healing. "

It doens't sound like I have to dps in order to use it as a heal. It does appear that I have to dps in order to attain the 3% bonus. Am I reading this right?

 

I'm confused because in a warzone last night, it seemed like sometimes I'd target an ally and try to heal with rapid shot, and it wouldn't do it.

[Favith]

from darkkyn:

 

Question about Rapid Shots and the Combat Support Cylinder... if I have this cylinder active, and If I never do dps with my rapid shots, will I be able to target an ally with rapid shots and heal him?

 

 

Yes, that's how it builds charges. You build your Combat Support Cylinder charges by shooting your friends (make sure Combat Support Cylinder is the one you have activated---it's easy to forget to switch over to it when you enter a Warzone or a Flashpoint).

 

The other way to build charges is with Rapid Scan (once you talent it to build 6 charges).

[djinnerman]

The Mercenary class for healing is actually very fun to play with. I find it challenging at times, but certainly don't think it's hard at all. It's just a matter of working the class and its techniques properly and you will go a long ways.

[Carob]

from darkkyn:

"The two major benefits for the Bounty Hunter healer are that first, if you manage your Heat correctly, you will always have the ability to heal, and second, your Combat Support Cylinder changes your Rapid Shots so that shooting your allies will heal them. This gives you a quick, no-Heat cost heal and is useful in times where you are required to be extremely mobile. Of all the "free heals" that the healer classes get, this is certainly the best one. "

 

Question about Rapid Shots and the Combat Support Cylinder... if I have this cylinder active, and If I never do dps with my rapid shots, will I be able to target an ally with rapid shots and heal him?

 

Or do I have to dps in order to charge it up , so to speak. From the skill description, "Charges increase all damage and healing dealt, up to a maximum of 3% at 30 charges. In addition, targeting an ally with Rapid Shots will heal the target for 100% of your tech bonus healing. "

It doens't sound like I have to dps in order to use it as a heal. It does appear that I have to dps in order to attain the 3% bonus. Am I reading this right?

 

I'm confused because in a warzone last night, it seemed like sometimes I'd target an ally and try to heal with rapid shot, and it wouldn't do it.

 

Both friendly and enemy targets build charges when you use rapid shots. This is nice when questing because it can help you manage your heat for dps also. If you have the talented rapid scan you can also build charges that way. Drop a few heals on yourself or your companion and then get a boost and heat reduction. Works pretty good.

Edited December 21, 2011 by Carob

[dende]

I currently have a thread regarding healing going on here http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=45673

 

I am compiling my experiences and putting them there currently working on a level 33 update.

 

So far it seems that the BH Bodyguard might be the best single target healer on the Empire side. With unlimited resources you can heal forever if you manage your heat plus you get a lot of bonuses that your heals provide especially to a single target.

 

 

tl,dr: imho, BH Bodyguard the best single target healer

[nersbud]

I have recent hit level 40 on my bodyguard merc and have been enjoying it very much. With all my talent points in the bodyguard tree I am probably lacking a little bit of exta dps while questing but using Gualt or Torian works out great.

 

I have (solo) healed every flashpoint up through Foundry with no issues at all. It really is all about heat management. I have played a few other MMOs (and a LOT of WoW) and the heat system is unlike any resource I have used to heal with; and DOES TAKE TIME AND PRACTICE to get used to. But once you get the hang of heat management and get abilities like Supercharged Gas and Kolto Shell healing as a bodyguard is very engaging and fun (my opinion of course). *NOTE: this is the only character I have played thus far so I can't really comment on comparisons to scorscer or operative healing.

 

Bodyguard DPS

A friend I play with a lot is an Imperial Agent Operative healer and when running FPs together I usually let him main heal (as I am a few levels higher) and help out if needed (which is usually unessesary). Although it would be nice to have a meter of some kind to support this, but it seems that bodyguards can do a fair amount of dps in flashpoints if needed, mainly though the use of Supercharged Gas and Power Shot/Unload. *NOTE: In no way am I recommending bodyguard as a straight dps spec, mearly stating that bodyguard is not completely useless as a dps.

 

Last night a few guildies and a few PUGs (8man group) killed the Ancient One (a Taris world boss) with myself and my operative friend healing and niether of us had any problems keeping the group healed.

 

If you are looking for a WoW comparison I would say bodyguard is most similar to a holy paladin, in that your main heals are cast (activation) time abilities forcing you to remain stationary. But that is as far as I will go with similarities since as stated earlier the heat system is quite unlike mana. *EDIT: also similar in that a bodyguard, while capable of solo healing smaller groups (i.e. flashpoints) are very stong single target healers.

 

I highly recommend playing a bodyguard for anyone looking for an unique and engaging healer expierience in this wonderful game. Cheers!

Edited December 21, 2011 by nersbud

[Brene]

 

However I suppose each class have a different way to heal

 

Nope.

[DarthBloodloss]

There are alot of people trying out a Arsenal/Bodyguard hybrid build, but hybrids are normally looked down upon. The hybrid consists of getting Tracer Missles from arsenal but then using a lot of points in bodyguard.

 

The theory is that Tracer is good enough for damage, and the heals can be potentially more useful than additional damage from the top Arsenal skill. Its a valid theory but we will see how it works in reality.

 

I actually hope it works well, so that people wont be afraid to hybrid and more builds will be viable.

 

And BH can even heal decently without having any points in bodyguard. At least I can so far, up to level 31. I have been the only healer in several heroics and everything went fine. It can get tuff at times since you aren't built for heals, but if you switch to a healer mindset from the start and don't try to heal at the last second, you can be fine in 4 man groups.

Edited December 22, 2011 by DarthBloodloss

[Thirzzar]

It's different then any other healer I played. But I heal perfectly fine, the whole idea of an mmo is "balance" not one class will be a better tank, healer or dps (for the most part) in an ideal mmo; the idea is skill and gear is everything, class is just your favorite flavor.

 

I've healed every flash point I've had available with maybe one wipe in each one running this spec so far (I'm only level 30). It's a waste to dps while healing, no point in crippling your heat to add sub par dps imo.

 

http://torguild.net/calculator/bounty-hunter/mercenary/?p=22000000000000000000022322121211032121151020000000000000000

 

Edit: Didn't update, take two out of surgical precision system, and one out of power shield to put those three into ironsights in the arsenal tree.

Edited December 22, 2011 by Thirzzar

[MackSevenThree]

Edit: Didn't update, take two out of surgical precision system, and one out of power shield to put those three into ironsights in the arsenal tree.

 

This? http://torguild.net/calculator/bounty-hunter/mercenary/?p=22300000000000000000022320121210032121151020000000000000000

[alkanterah]

Not true, we are the worst of the 3 healers. I'd play another class.

 

Having played both a merc and inquisitor past 30 I can say that this isn't true. While the reactives need to be enhanced (mostly in frequency) I've yet to encounter any fight I couldn't heal a group through as a merc.

[DrekorSilverfang]

Not true, we are the worst of the 3 healers. I'd play another class.

 

Sorcs are the worst.

 

Mercs and IA's are both very good although there is probably a slight edge to IA's at higher levels thanks to surgical probe being completely OP.

[ShoelessHobo]

I have seen a few good merc healers. Now it is still early into game so I can't really vouch for high end PvP but as of right now Bounty hunters look pretty well set to be healers. My main focus right now is to find out if there is a good hybrid build between Bodyguard and arsenal or pyrotech. Would love to have a class who can burst out some heals while still helping burn down the republic scum.