How to Improve Commando Healer

[SOULCASTER]

Here is a quick list of things I feel need improvement, to make the commando healer class more viable.

 

1. BACTA INFUSION: This is a nice ability, but its healing is inconsistent and on a very long cooldown. When comparing it to the top tier capstone heal of both sage and operative, it doesn't quite stack up. I would like to see this ability auto crit somehow. I would recommend it auto-crit when used on a target already affected by your own trauma-probe. I would also like to see its cooldown lowered a few seconds more, but hey.

 

2. COMBAT SHIELD (talent box name): This box allows your Reactive Shield to prevent interrupts. I would like to also suggest that this box lower the cooldown of your Reactive Shield by X seconds, every time you are hit. This would greatly help interrupt issues with the class over time.

 

3. FRONT-LINE-MEDIC & PROBE-MEDIC: (Talent boxes) These 2 boxes towards the top of the talent tree, should be unlinked. If you are a healer who places your trauma probe on others, you often are WASTING these 2 points in Front-Line-Medic, because you don't take advantage of having that box. Yet, you are required to get it, in order to obtain PROBE-MEDIC.

 

4. SUPERCHARGE CELLS: Increase the ammo received when supercharge cells is activated to 16 energy cells (up from 8), how it used to be back in the day.

 

5. TRAUMA PROBE: Lower the lockout on this ability that prevents trauma probe from firing every 3 seconds down to 1.5 seconds.

 

6. KOLTO WAVE (Talent Box): In addition to what this box already does, I would recommend it also lower the cooldown of Concussion Charge (knockback) by 5/10 seconds (with 1 or 2 pts in the box respectively). This would not only bring it in line with Sage's 20 second knock-back heal that they have access to in tier 1 of their talent tree, but also give commando a little more utility and survivability.

 

I have one or two more suggestions perhaps. But thats a good start.

[Senscith]

1. I like that idea. Give commandos a really unique ability being the only healer class with an auto-crit healing ability as opposed to several DPS classes abilities to auto-crit their 36 point talent. It'd require set up if you tried to put it on someone else and would be a big boon to healing Tanks in PvE and people getting trained in PvP.

 

2. It'd need to be something lesser than what you find in the Gunnery tree. Some reduction like 2x as long like reduce it by 1.5 second but no more often than 6/3 seconds. It gives the class a small boon without making Reactive Shield OP for healers when they're getting trained.

 

3. Yeah, this is one of the most retarded things ever. Ever class I played in this game has not had absolute garbage boxes that your required to take for useful ones. Commando does for whatever reason. I'd say remove the link or change it to but a half strength trauma probe on the commando when they cast it on someone else. Maybe the second point would allow Bacta Infusion to auto-crit on yourself with the mini-probe, thought that might start teasing into imba territory.

 

4. Yep.

 

5. I think the 3 second lockout is fine, it just needs to do more base healing. It heals for about as much as a single stack of Smuggler's Slow Release Med Pack per pop. Make it equal or slightly higher than two stacks of the Smugglers heals with the current restrictions. The fact that it's as weak as a single stack and cannot be spammed or stacked like Slow Release Med Pack is kinda insulting.

 

6. Personally I don't like this box. I think these knockback heals are the silliest thing ever. You knock away opponents that someone might be attacking in melee range to give them an okay heal while at the same time building up their white bar. It'd be nice to get another heal on a quick cooldown, but I think it'd be better with a "Reduction on hit" like in the Assault Tree as opposed to flat. Also you have to realize that sage's AoE is about 1/4 the size of commandos, so using timers is not good justification.

 

Personally I'd love to see Commando's become slightly more like Paladin from WoW with AMP not having a cooldown and Field Triage be removed and changed to something else entirely. But that won't happen. I'd also like to see a skill or buff called "Don't you Die on me!" I don't care what it does really, I just wanna see it.

Edited October 18, 2013 by Senscith

[SpaniardInfinity]

1. BACTA INFUSION: This is a nice ability, but its healing is inconsistent and on a very long cooldown. When comparing it to the top tier capstone heal of both sage and operative, it doesn't quite stack up. I would like to see this ability auto crit somehow. I would recommend it auto-crit when used on a target already affected by your own trauma-probe. I would also like to see its cooldown lowered a few seconds more, but hey.

 

I think it would be fair game if it crit guaranteed on whoever has a Trauma Probe up. I don't think trimming the cooldown to 18 seconds would be bad either (the 4-set bonus would still reduce it by 3, making it 15 seconds after all changes are considered).

 

2. COMBAT SHIELD (talent box name): This box allows your Reactive Shield to prevent interrupts. I would like to also suggest that this box lower the cooldown of your Reactive Shield by X seconds, every time you are hit. This would greatly help interrupt issues with the class over time.

 

Could work, but it shouldn't make the cooldown less than 1 minute (assuming constant damage). That's pushing it.

 

Another idea, perhaps to Med Zone instead, could be to have you build 1 stack of Supercharge for every second that you are stunned, mezzed, knocked down, or otherwise incapacitated (does not include roots or slows). Will help in building charges and more Supercharges makes the spec harder to lock down.

 

 

3. FRONT-LINE-MEDIC & PROBE-MEDIC: (Talent boxes) These 2 boxes towards the top of the talent tree, should be unlinked. If you are a healer who places your trauma probe on others, you often are WASTING these 2 points in Front-Line-Medic, because you don't take advantage of having that box. Yet, you are required to get it, in order to obtain PROBE-MEDIC.

 

Agreed. Making Frontline Medic useful might justify the current link, but until then, it should be removed.

 

4. SUPERCHARGE CELLS: Increase the ammo received when supercharge cells is activated to 16 energy cells (up from 8), how it used to be back in the day.

 

Agreed, or let Field Triage stack up to two times.

 

5. TRAUMA PROBE: Lower the lockout on this ability that prevents trauma probe from firing every 3 seconds down to 1.5 seconds.

 

This is a curious change. With Probe Medic, Trauma Probe triggers every 2 seconds (it reduces the internal cooldown by .33 seconds/point). With this change, combined with Probe Medic's current effect, wouldn't this make Trauma Probe trigger every 0.5 seconds? This would cause all 13 charges to be consumed in 6.5 seconds (requiring it to be refreshed alot more frequently than the present 26 seconds). It would also be a massive HPS increase on the ability.

 

6. KOLTO WAVE (Talent Box): In addition to what this box already does, I would recommend it also lower the cooldown of Concussion Charge (knockback) by 5/10 seconds (with 1 or 2 pts in the box respectively). This would not only bring it in line with Sage's 20 second knock-back heal that they have access to in tier 1 of their talent tree, but also give commando a little more utility and survivability.

 

This actually make there be an interesting option available for Commando healers. With this change, you could sacrifice the 4-set bonus and take the Eliminator set bonus that additionally lowers Concussive Charge's cooldown by 5 seconds. Then Kolto Wave/Concussive Charge could be used every 15 seconds, which is the same cooldown of most leaps.

 

It would also be great if Kolto Wave did not wake sleeping enemies when used. It should still generate resolve, but this small change would help alot.

Edited October 18, 2013 by SpaniardInfinity

[SOULCASTER]

I'm glad you guys have provided some feedback. I could EASILY go more indepth about the changes, and why I have suggested them, but I wanted to keep the list concise and simple. I'm glad you have also provided your feedback on what I have posted.

 

I am aware of the 5 second set piece reduction to the knockback, I felt it would be an interesting alternative for healers to use, for reasons as you have mentioned Also the knock back heal for all classes is very nice honestly. As long as you don't go around wasting it as a heal, and use it tactically, it is very nice. I find it particularly nice when being focused heavily, as an escape + a heal for you and your guard. Though no doubt, PVE'ers probably skip this box.

 

Keep the feedback coming.

Edited October 18, 2013 by SOULCASTER

[Arehonn]

- I'd like to see their suggestion/hinting of turning Trauma Probe into a multi-target ability come to life.

 

- Another nice quality of life change for Combat Medic would be to have all your heals count towards your supercharge stack instead of just the Hammer Shot heal and Med Probe.

 

- Frontline medic does need to get reworked. An ammo regen when Trauma Probe procs would go a long way to making the box useful.

 

- A personal off the wall idea/wish that hasn't been mentioned yet: We're combat medics. Get rid of the useless snare done by Kolto Bomb and instead replace it with an AOE dot effect that is applied to all enemies that walk into our Kolto Bomb/Kolto Pod radius. This would give us a unique ability and make Combat Medics more wanted in group situations.

[Alzor]

Good ideas Jinxer. I wish more people took an interest in commando healer.

 

- Alzor

Edited October 20, 2013 by Alzor