Q: Leveling / DPSing with a Scoundrel Healer

[dracoda]

The short: I'd like to roll a Scoundrel and try their healing style, but you spend a lot of your time levelling up not healing - so I'd like to know what the rest of the play-style is like.

 

The long: So i've played a few different classes - I enjoy levelling toons up but don't spend much time at end-game. I've always been curious about the HoT healers and would like to try a scoundrel, but we spend so much time dpsing while leveling up (questing, random group quests with more than one healer etc) that the DPS mechanics require a serious consideration - will I find them fun?

 

Specifically - how do the fights feel when you are not healing? I understand there's an upper hand mechanic that's involved (is it involved with healing too?). How does that work - fun or tedious? What about range? I'm I forced into being some kind of weird melee gun fighter?

 

I know it's a very subjective question but I'm more concerned with the feel of play than the power of the class. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to answer

[OwenP]

I'll try to give you some answers as I too much prefer the levelling experience to end game and I'm not the best healer or anything and take less notice of facts and figures as I do with the feel and enjoyability of a class or character.

 

When levelling my Scoundrel I found he worked well at range as well as close in but with a tank companion you will find you can hang back and use your ranged abilities while healing your companion. Of course this doesn't occur until you get your tank and I'm not spoiling that for you....

 

I felt viable as a (minor) damage dealer when not in a group for most standard mobs and you get the bonus of stealth for the rest. Fight avoidance became necessary at higher levels and you will likely have to supplement the lost experience from stealthing past big mobs with FP's and other things like PvP and Space missions.

 

As I tend not to take too much notice of game mechanics I barely noticed Upper Hand until I was past level 50.

 

The Short of it: quite a few of the melee attacks, especially opening attacks coming out of stealth are fun and I found my self assessing the best way to set up the best opening attack, even on trash mobs, just for fun...

[cabled]

can't answer as to whether you will find them fun. each person is different.

 

myself? i enjoyed it. enough dps to kill normal mobs, just keep your companion up on tougher mobs and throw in a few hits.

[Deathstalker_]

I remember seeing someone in General Chat in-game boasting how they'd soloed a Heroic 2 as a Healer. They'd done it by sending their companion in, then worked on keeping him healed. Of course, the companion in question was a Tank, so that may skew things, but to me, it shows that you can leave at least some of the DPS to your companion while leveling.

[chasinginfinity]

I went 24/22/0 sawbones scrapper and had a blast. Role with corso and heal, role with risha and heal. At that point you can start throwing in backblasts, sucker punches, etc while staying in top condition due to heals.

 

You'll feel slightly gimped by having upper hand in the beginning, but leveling sawbones makes it easy (because it is so easy to get them and you can eventually store 3 I always seem to have a couple on hard), but it is hard if you go scrapper or especially DF

 

Note: I do respec as straight sawbones for war zones and will for flashpoints. Scoundrel is one of the few I would invest in field respec

Edited September 3, 2013 by chasinginfinity

[dracoda]

Thanks for the answers guys - very very helpful!