Please don't copy Sawbones resource management!!

[Hawk_IV]

Original here

As for venting Heat/recharging Energy Cells when Rapid Shots/Hammer Shot is used, that may be something we could do. However, it is also possible that the energy return tied into Diagnostic Scan makes Operative healers better than they should be. It does seem strange that one healer would have an energy-returning ability, while another healer using basically the same type of resource system has nothing to compare with it. We will investigate this further, and the outcome should be positive or at least neutral for Mercenaries/Commandos.

 

It should not be too difficult to add a 1-100 UI scale for Commando Energy Cells (like the one that Mercenaries can enable for Heat), and we will try to add that in as soon as we can.

 

I play all 3 healers, and I DO NOT want a copy of the same healer! All 3 healers have unique abilities and resource management. If both tech healers were to have the same resource management, that would be depressing.... you guys are more creative than that, you made this game! Come on BioWare!

 

An idea for resource management - make supercharged cells generate a larger portion of your energy cells when you use it. This would enable a unique mechanic to the Commando healer. The Commando would rely more heavily on using supercharged cells, thus using hammershot more often as a heal. It wouldn't exactly change the way we heal as a whole, as much as it would reward us for playing the healer right. I think it would be cooler then hammershot-heal just plain out giving us resources = which would copy scoundrel heals.

 

ALSO: Don't enable us to hammershot-heal ourselves, that doesn't make ANY sense at all... instead, improve Frontline Medic by having Trauma Probe also trigger when you hammer shot an ALLY too. Not just an enemy. That would improve the Commando healer by alot. You'd also have to give us at least 2 Trauma Probes, so we can put one on ourselves and one on the tank..... or 2 on each tank (depending on the situation).

Edited October 8, 2013 by Hawk_IV

[Helmholtzz]

Front line medic is the most useless skill in that tree hands down. Ask anyone. Players have been pressing bioware to remove that skill from the chain. You have to think from a PvE perspective too. No one uses trauma probe on themselves in PvE.

 

Edit: If they decide to make trauma probe applicable on more than 1 player, that will solve a lot of the problems commando healers are now having. The biggest thing they lack now is a legitimate hot. If commando healers get that I dont think anyone will ever complain about not being able to heal themselves for free.

Edited October 4, 2013 by Helmholtzz

[Hawk_IV]

I agree with your statement. Now if only BioWare would listen to us

[Hawk_IV]

In terms of Operations and Flashpoints - Frontline Medic is never used. The most useless skill in end-game PVE. It's definitely a PVP focused move that they force us to get. They could make it a PVE move by giving us multiple Trauma Probes, and by changing Frontline medic so it procs when you hammer shot an ally too. Otherwise this skill is a waste of 2 points for PVE Commandos.

[BobaFaceroll]

They won't copy the Sawbone resource system...we already use that system. Small resource pool, tiered regen rate where you drop to lower and lower rates as your pool depletes. They mentioned using the Sage/Sorcerer system instead though, where you get a rather large pool that regens at a slower, fixed rate.

 

That said I don't think we will see a new system. It's far easier from a programming perspective to tune our skill costs and energy regen rates to make resource management for the AC less intensive. Changing the energy system for Commandos and Mercs impacts all three skill trees. They would have to rebalance every skill to use that system, not just the ones used when we heal. I don't see that much retooling happening when it's far easier to tune what's already in place.

 

Scoundrel/Operative healers used to have serious energy issues in PvE, but those are gone unless you're forced to hard cast constantly. I expect the same treatment will be applied here as opposed to a major overhaul of how Troopers and Bounty Hunters operate.

[Gloomycakes]

What Bobafaceroll said. We already work with the same energy system, just different ways of managing it. We rely solely on not casting too much and loads of hammer shotting / supercharged cells to stay at positive levels. For fights with constant equal damage, great, but anything with bursty phases and sleepy phases, not so fun. What the OP (and me) are afraid of is that we'll get hammer shots changed into a more or less diagnostic scan.

 

An idea for resource management - make supercharged cells generate a larger portion of your energy cells when you use it.

 

This sounds like a wonderful idea to me if it works something like a cells-over-time (like cell-charger with armour-piercing cell) it promotes using super-charged cell more or less whenever it's up (unless a mechanic goes from loads of healing to almost none.) yet without resource management being too easy (this is how Scoundrel feels to me, even in PvP I have to struggle to get out of energy before coolhead is back up) If it's not cells-over-time but straight on X cells restored I'm worried it will be too much like a Recharge Cells every so many seconds.

 

Scoundrel/Operative healers used to have serious energy issues in PvE, but those are gone unless you're forced to hard cast constantly. I expect the same treatment will be applied here as opposed to a major overhaul of how Troopers and Bounty Hunters operate.

 

To me Scoundrel felt like it was in a good place in 1.7. The resource management was definitly there and less Slow-release medpacs flying around, but it was relatively solid aslong as you scanned as much as you could afford in between. I found a good Scoundrel really stood out from a bad one and I hope we can get all healers to such a point. But I do fear you're right. It's an easier fix than a complete overhaul. On the other hand certain other aspects need to be viewed aswell, mainly PvP survivability. Though same goes for Sage. Currently nothing is hold it's own as easily as Scoundrel, though a good team can support a good Sage/Commando.

 

We can only hope. To be fair I feel the Shadow update will make Tanks more and more similar. Maybe the same will go for healers.