Healer-spec Scoundrel & Combat?

[Makikou]

So okay, a newbie healer in all MMORPG and i went out with the Scoundrel here. Just wondering, as im going to go full spec on the Sawbones tree, how do you deal with combat. Just might be the fact that im still level 11 or so but i was doing Esseles today with my newly opened healing skill and such, i was feeling really confused. Didnt know when to heal, what skills to use for attacking anymore.. Didnt utilize scattergun. Its all very confusing.

 

If theres anything you guys could tip me up for or know a guide for this, would be VERY appreciated.

 

Thanks, Velia/Makikou

[Lurpa]

Cunning > Tech Power > Critical Rating > Surge > Alacrity from the healing 101 post sticky here

[Burtlebe]

I am going to be sawbones once i get to 50, for now though I am a scrapper with two points into sawbones to pick up the free upperhand on heal cast. I am not having any issues healing any of the heroic quests and flashpoints. Exception is when i am low level for the flashpoint or the only person with a heal, in which case i respec to sawbones. If you are going to do alot of warzones or pvp then specking into sawbones with some spent in dirty fighting might help you some. The few times i have respecd to sawbones then forgot to respec back to my scrapper build, the leveling solo was slow.

[JakeLightbearer]

If you're gonna heal you need to prioritize the healing. That means watching your party members' health. Whenever anyone's health drops, throw a heal on whoever's health is the lowest (you should only have the one at this point). Quickslot your heal to 1 for greater efficiency. Don't DPS unless everyone's at or near full health, or unless healing will bring you below 60 energy and no one's in urgent need (in which case you can throw in a default attack). Going lower than 60 energy hurts your energy regen, so make sure to stay in the top two bars.

 

As you get new skills, make sure to work them into your rotation. For now, just keep an eye on everyone's health and your energy, and try to get a feel for the balance of it. Due to the way energy regens, there's a definite rhythym to healing without dropping below 60 energy, so just try to get used to it while dropping heals on whoever needs it the most (but don't be afraid to drop below 60 in an emergency, especially if the fight's almost over).

 

EDIT: At level 12 you get a slow heal that costs no energy. Although you can throw it in when you don't want to spend energy, you'd probably be better off just using your default attack for a little DPS; that heal's pretty worthless until you get the talents that improve it (after which it does have a role in your rotation).

Edited December 22, 2011 by JakeLightbearer

[Shainra]

As was mentioned above me, the most important thing you need to remember is to keep your energy above 60%. If you get to low, you can blow Cool Head in an emergency, but that's a last resort.

 

Second thing to remember is that Pugnacity is your very best friend. Use it whenever your buff falls off/comes off cooldown. It helps with the energy starvation.

 

Three, stuns - after Pugnacity - are your nearest and dearest buddies. Don't be afraid to run up and Dirty Kick a mob, or Flash Bang the ranged guy off to the side before he pulls to you. Obviously not all mobs can be stunned, but those that can, do it. You'll find you need to expend a lot less energy when you mitigate incoming damage with a well placed kick to the... family jewels.

 

...Which leads us to CC. Yes, I know DPS (and some tanks) just can't wait for it, but try to convince them to give you just a half a second. Scoundrels are incredible CC'ers. We have two CCs available to us by the mid-twenties. Tranq Dart and Slice Droid. When CCing (for anyone not used to it), try marking the mobs and always CC mobs to the outer edges of the pack. CCing a mob in the middle of the group won't work, it'll get hit by tons of AoE. As a hint for using Tranq Dart, since it has such a short range, try to sneak in from behind the mobs if there's room, and use your stealth boost so you're less likely to pull. Even CCing a strong or normal mob can be a considerable help, one less bad guy that might accidentally pull to you.

 

Finally, don't be afraid to add in a little DPS of your own. Early on, you'll want to spend most of your time concentrating on healing your teammates, but as you improve and gain better utility in your healing spells, you can start contributing a little DPS to the group. Run in a give a quick Back Blast or Blaster Whip. If you're worried about resources, then just use Flurry. Just be certain to keep an eye on the health meters, your first priority should always be keeping people alive. And remember, sometimes being a healer means letting a DPS take the fall so you can keep the tank alive. Prioritizing is hard, it stinks to lose someone, but better to lose one person than everyone.

 

Happy Healing!

 

EDIT: Oh, I had one last thought after I posted. Unlike healing in many other MMOs, I find that trying to keep everyone in your group "topped off" (at 100%) is actually detrimental. Particularly because of the harsh penalties that come with spamming a heal. So my rule of thumb is, if it's not the tank, they don't need healing if they're over 60% health. Unless you have 100% energy and the tank is nearly full. Otherwise, let your energy regen some, you'll need it when the tank starts taking the hits.

 

I know some people will disagree with me on that, but I've had great success with this particular style in this particular game. It took me awhile to break the "must keep everyone at 100%" mentality, but once I did, I found I could contribute a lot more to the group than just spamming heals, and never really had a problem keeping a group alive.

Edited December 23, 2011 by Shainra

[signahead]

Sawbones level really well, but it's an unusual experience. Because your companion is a competent tank, you can actually heal your way though all of your encounters without firing a shot from your scattergun or blaster.

 

Most of your early fights can follow the same pattern:

 

 

Phase 1: The Warmup

To start a fight, follow these steps.

 

1. Pick a target and order Corso to attack. I like to start with the soft ones. Leave the strong ones for later.
   
2. Then immediately switch your target to Corso. Once the fighting get's heavy, it's easy to forget who you're targeting and waste several heals on a completely healthy character. So choose your target while things are reasonably calm.
   
3. While Corso fires the first shots, move a few steps to the side. It gets you out of area-of-effect attacks and makes targeting easier.
   
4. Cast Underworld Medicine right away. At this point, Corso hasn't taken much damage, but you need to activate Upper Hand.
   
5. Once Upper Hand is activated, exploit (aka spend) it to cast Pugnacity and boost your energy regeneration.
   
6. Then cast Underworld Medicine again in order to reactivate Upper Hand.
   
7. Cast Underworld Medicine one more time, to give youself a stack of two Upper Hand buffs. This way you can exploit one Upper Hand buff and still have another one active.
   

 

When the Warm-up's finished, you should have Pugnacity and two Upper Hand buffs on your Scoundrel. It feels a little weird, casting so many heals before the damage really starts. You're tempted to fire a few shots of your own to get the damage rolling, but those buffs are much more important than a few extra points of damage.

 

Trust Corso. He's not a monster, but he does enough damage to get you through the fight.

 

 

 

Phase 2: Healing

Now Corso starts taking some damage, and it's time to start healing in earnest. Along with the obvious one, keeping Corso and your Scoundrel alive, there are 3 goals for this phase:

 

• Keep your energy bar above 60%
  
• Keep Pugnacity up all the time
  
• Keep 2 Upper Hand buffs up as often as you can
  

 

I follow these steps:

 

1. Check the energy bar. If it's not above 60%, pause for a few seconds to let it recover.
   
2. Is Pugnacity ready? If it is, cast it now. If not, move to step 3.
   
3. Check Corso's health. If he needs a heal, or if he's just taking damage, move to the next step. Otherwise, pause and let your energy recover.
   
4. Then check your Upper Hand buffs. If you already have two, exploit one to cast Kolto Pack. It's cheaper than Underworld Medicine, so it's my preferred choice.
   
5. If you have less than two Upper Hand buffs, then cast Underworld Medicine to build up the stack.
   
6. Then jump back up to step 1 and repeat until all the opponents are defeated.
   

 

A word of warning: while Corso's finishing off his targets, your healing will draw aggro from a few mobs. They'll wander over to attack you, but Corso will usually pull them back before they do too much damage.

 

Those are the basics. You can get through most of your encounters, without adding anything to this approach. Once you're comfortable, try a few "advanced techniques".

 

 

Diagnostic Scan

Instead of pausing to regain energy, cast Diagnostic Scan. It's free, so you're still regenerating energy just as fast, but it adds a little bit to your healing.

 

Crowd Control

I prefer the kick. There are always one or two mobs that get away from Corso for a few seconds, and a well-placed kick can give you some breathing room.

 

Give Orders to Corso

If a specific mob is giving you trouble, target it and command Corso to attack it. He'll pull it off you fairly quickly. Then retarget Corso right away.

 

Heal yourself

Usually the mobs that get away from Corso don't do enough damage to really hurt you. But if they do, target your self for one or two heals. Then make sure you retarget Corso right away. Alternately, use a medpack. They don't cost energy and you don't risk losing your target.

 

Burst heal

If you're healing right from the start, Corso's health should stay comfortably high. But if you need some extra healing, you can cast several Underworld Medicines in a row to get him back to a safe level. Or, for quicker healing and greater energy efficiency, try alternating Underworld Medicine and Kolto Pack. Then recharge your energy bar with Cool Head.

Edited December 23, 2011 by signahead

[AocStabs]

Does anyone else use Focus (Alt+f) to set Corso as the focus target?

 

I find it easier as i can then either heal him ("End" key + Heal button) or myself or dps whatever mob i have targeted.

 

Trying to taget stuff in the thick of things I always find difficult

[jgmcdee]

Does anyone else use Focus (Alt+f) to set Corso as the focus target?

 

I find it easier as i can then either heal him ("End" key + Heal button) or myself or dps whatever mob i have targeted.

 

Trying to taget stuff in the thick of things I always find difficult

 

Another option is to use the 'switch to target of target' option, which defaults to alt+t but I've remapped to something more friendly. This works really well when fighting a single target, as you can switch from damage dealing to healing at the click of a button. The benefit of this over focus target is that if the monster/enemy player switches their target you can very quickly follow their focus with this method.

 

For example, if I'm starting in healing mode then want to do a bit of DPS I just hit the 'switch to target of target' and do some damage. When I need to go back to healing mode I just hit the button again and I'm back on the person being damaged and am ready to heal.

 

From my experience with healing this is about the best way of switching targets during fights until we get skill forwarding (if we ever do...)

[Loekii]

Can you operate as a 'range' healer, or are too many of the ac perks based around melee?

[Cyrana]

Can you operate as a 'range' healer, or are too many of the ac perks based around melee?

 

What do you mean exactly? Our heals aren't melee or like 4m distance heals.

[Loekii]

What do you mean exactly? Our heals aren't melee or like 4m distance heals.

 

Sorry, I mean the dps aspect of the Sawbones. If I go sawbones, can I effectively DPS at range, as I level, or is the scoundrel aspect reliant upon melee attacks for its DPS viability?

 

I know I would not have the range that Snipers have, but are Sawbones Scoundrels effective 'range' dpsers (obviously not the best), or are you really gimping yourself staying at range?

[BoulderTroll]

Sorry, I mean the dps aspect of the Sawbones. If I go sawbones, can I effectively DPS at range, as I level, or is the scoundrel aspect reliant upon melee attacks for its DPS viability?

 

I know I would not have the range that Snipers have, but are Sawbones Scoundrels effective 'range' dpsers (obviously not the best), or are you really gimping yourself staying at range?

 

 

 

I'd love to hear the answer to this as well. I like stealth, I like healing hybrids, and I like the smuggler look, but I am completely over the melee class. If the scoundrel can DPS well from a distance it just might be the class for me.

Edited December 24, 2011 by BoulderTroll

[Wallach]

Sorry, I mean the dps aspect of the Sawbones. If I go sawbones, can I effectively DPS at range, as I level, or is the scoundrel aspect reliant upon melee attacks for its DPS viability?

 

I know I would not have the range that Snipers have, but are Sawbones Scoundrels effective 'range' dpsers (obviously not the best), or are you really gimping yourself staying at range?

 

You do have some damage stuff to use at 30m range: Charged Blast, Sabotage Charge, Vital Shot, Headshot, Thermal Grenade and of course the default attack. I would say it is flexible what distance you engage from, but you're still lacking a fair amount of options until you get into 10m range at least. As far as PvE leveling goes I don't think it would matter much if you're playing Sawbones. I'm leveling with the tree and I typically don't stay at range without a reason, but my long range attacks still feel fairly strong as of level 36 and I still use them heavily. When it comes to group PvE and PvP, it's the other way around usually; I'm trying to stay at range and only go in to 10m or closer with a reason (usually for Distraction, Flash Bomb or Dirty Kick).