(PvE only) Mistake rolling a commando healer?

[thecoffeecup]

I have a commando, sage and scoundrel, all at low levels waiting for me to make a choice.

 

At around 21, I *much* prefer commando healing. I like the dynamic (that I just received and tried a few times) of supercharged gas and kolto bomb. Scoundrel is OK to me but I like it less, and sage healing bores me for some odd reason.

 

I just seem to read everywhere that commando/merc healers are by far the weakest. I honestly don't mind putting in more thought or effort, don't even mind if they are somewhat weaker if they are just viable, but it'd suck getting to 55 and finding out people are saying they don't want commando healers at all (no, I don't play regularly at 55 but I'd like to).

 

This is for PvE only. Don't care one bit about PvP. I have years of experience raid healing in other MMOs and challenge is not something I'm afraid of, if that makes a difference.

Edited August 24, 2013 by thecoffeecup

[Gnimish]

Commandos are extremly viable. They may not be best. But they get job done, they lack the hots, and sages raid healing. But are good at keeping tanks up, they could use som QoL improvements and a few tweaks. And probably are the weakest of the three healers. But definitly still viable for PVE. Worse thing about commando is their energy is very strict. Isnt very forgiving. Takes practice. But if you enjoy it, stick with it. and Welcome

[thecoffeecup]

Yeah I noticed the energy management was far less forgiving than when I tried it on my 34 scoundrel, but so far it seems that correct usage of supercharged gas can really work wonders. Edited August 24, 2013 by thecoffeecup

[Gnimish]

It gets better as you go up the tree but its always something you have to pay attention to

[Songwhistle]

have all 3 classes and found the commando to be the least viable healer especially so for 8 mans.

 

Firstly their overall HPS and eHPS values are generally up to 25% lower than both the scoundrel and sage. Secondly they are next to useless when it comes to situations where the entire raid is taking damage. Commandoes can use their supercharge however many choose not to due to the lack of ammo regen. Thus your left with a single target healer that can still produce less healing than any other in the game.

[Songwhistle]

if the commandoes were given better regen and some more aoe heal viability i would consider going back to play it but as it stands right now we have more or less excluded them from raiding unless in 16 mans. we mostly do 8 man nightmare runs. they simply are not useful.

[DaiKaede]

Ive done every healer in the game and I think Commando is the most viable healer Ive played (tho I enjoy all 3). The commando's AoE heals are awesome, despite what some people think.

 

Yes the main heal of kolto bomb only hits 4 targets, but thats not the point. Their minor HoT after the initial hit may be small, but it affects an unlimited number of targets within its radius while also buffing all targets with the 3% healing received increase for 15 seconds and the 5% damage reduction for 15 seconds when used with supercharge cells. Top this with the fact that, while kolto bomb isnt a big initial heal, it can be spammed every 6 seconds. This is huge because the other aoe heals don't have this quick of cooldown. And due to this cooldown, the healing buffs can be applied almnost 100% of the time, so for 16 man raids especially this is amazing. For an unlimited ammount of targets you can increase their heals received by 3% all the time (making every heal used by any healer 3% stronger on affected targets), and also do the 5% damage reduction for 15 seconds. With the 2-piece PVE set bonus you can have supercharge cells for 13 seconds which means u can use kolto bomb twice in 12 seconds to maintain this buff. This makes Kolto bomb arguably one of the best AoE heals in the game.

 

Now, that is not the only aoe heal the commando has. After much experimentation, I found the Kolto Wave talent to be invaluable. I used to think it was a PVP move but then I realized its usefullness in PVE. It has the same radius as kolto bomb and affects unlimited targets. When you spec into Efficient Conversions it costs no energy. So every 30 seconds you are doing a free, large, instant aoe heal. Its not massive, but I found it does at least ~3-7% of most raid members health. This is on top of the face that it is mobile.

 

Now to the solo target heals. Trauma probe is awesome. Yea being able to place it on multiple targets would be nice, but then it would be too OP. One target is fine, it does make a difference in cushioning attacks. Bacta infusion. With the set bonus, you do a considerable sized heal at no energy cost every 18 seconds. It does quite a bit more than emergency probe used by scoundrels. This move is awesome. Advanced medical probe is good for a quick heal with a little HoT. Not as big as Kolto pack used by scoundrels, but it increases the armor of the target by 10% which is quite useful. Its main use tho is buffing Medical probe, reducing its heat cost. Healing points per energy, Medical probe with the energy cost reduction is more efficient than the scoundrels' underworld medicine.

 

The Commando has the best oh-**** moment heals in my experience. Using Reserve Powercell and Tech Override is amazing for healing in a pinch. Bacta infusion is already free and instant, and making Medical Probe free and instant is even better. In two seconds, you can do more heals than any other class, and since both are instant and cost no energy, you actually help your energy regen by giving it two full global cooldowns. No class can do that much healing in two seconds.

 

I find Commandos to be just as mobile as Scoundrels. You only have 2 channeled moves. Both of your AoE heals are mobile, your hammershot is mobile (unlike Diagnostic Scan), Bacta infusion is mobile, and using your Tech Override and Reserve Powercell makes you Medical probe instant and mobile. The cast time of their two casting heals is very short as well.

 

Commandos are very bursty healers. They burst every time they do Supercharge Cells and every 1.5-2 minutes when they have Tech Override and Reserve Powercells off CD. Being an effective Commando healer is all about managing those cooldowns and bursts. You can't objectively say that Commandos are not mobile healers, nor can you say their AoE heals suck, because no other healer can use their AoE heals as often, have them buff the targets that much, be as mobile with 2 aoe heals, do quick instant heals, and hit an unlimited number of targets in most aspects of those heals.

 

During the lulls of bursts and cooldowns Commandos are not the most amazing single target healers, but in a pinch they are they best in my opinion. I've never had trouble keeping up with heals on my commando compared to my scoundrel or even my sorc. Being the only healer that gets an AoE heal pre level 45, I found my People just don't know how to manage their cooldowns or really see how useful a Commando's heals are. Just as is the case with every tanking class (which Ive also played each), every healer is different and has different pro's and cons. BUT, I do not in any way agree that Commando's are sucky healers (which everyone seems to think). They are the most useful in combination with another healer when it comes to raiding however. Pairing with a sorc is my favorite

Edited August 30, 2013 by DaiKaede

[KeyboardNinja]

I've played every healer in the game, and I have to say that I feel I have the most control and potential with my commando. Even in nightmare content, I don't feel that the other two healers are at a pronounced advantage relative to what I can do. My HPS is definitely lower (though not always), but my effective HPS is generally slightly higher. This also doesn't account for the unique buffs applied by commando healers, which are noticeable, despite their low magnitude.

 

I definitely wouldn't run double-commando healers in a raid (though I have done this in HMs as well as pre-2.0 Nightmare EC, and it sort of works if both healers are super-sharp). Commando/Sage is really strong, but Commando/Scoundrel is also fully viable. Sage/Scoundrel is probably the most popular combination right now, but I don't feel that it's fundamentally any stronger than Sage/Commando. The extremely high-burst single-target healing makes commandos substantially better tank healers than Scoundrels are. On top of that, Commandos actually have better burst AoE healing than either of the other two healers (including Sages), though lower sustained AoE healing.

 

Overall, no, you didn't make a mistake. Commandos are really quite good healers in PvE, and while they take a lot of skill to play ideally, the results are extremely good.

Edited September 4, 2013 by KeyboardNinja

[DaiKaede]

^ Got Tam here to back me up