Hey, which TANKS and HEALERS have you found to be the most EFFECTIVE in PvE content??

[syntxerr]

I totally agree to the fact that the Sage needs some help regarding his Force regeneration. However, this is also somehow problematic because we don't have a classic 'Mana' recourse that applies to all classes anymore.

 

Troopers and Smugglers have a fast regenerating resource. This theoretically enables them to heal endlessly but their resource is also limited in amount, which means when the tough gets going a Sage is able to throw out much more healing power than the other two classes. The problem is that the Sage will never recover from this during the fight. I'm not sure how to balance that but generally I agree. Sage regen is too slow.

[Vgbeee]

Opinions on this topic are so widely varied it's ridiculous. Maybe there is no clear cut answer.

 

It's pretty clear cut that the force user healers are the worst at long fights. That at the very least, is not up for debate.

[Tommot]

Not sure about the others but I'm having a really hard time tanking multiple mobs as a Jugg. Hopefully it gets better at later levels. Edited December 26, 2011 by Tommot

[Morlaak]

I liked the Vanguard tanks I saw. Not sure about healing, though, but scoundrels seem more versatile than commandos.

[Trevalon]

This is my opinion on healing/tanking based on my experience so far with the game (I have not tried every class, but this is what I have seen from experience with multiple group compositions)

 

Early game tanking, Powertech and Assassins are hands down the better tanks. Juggernauts have very little tools that allows them to grab multiple mobs without having to cycle through targets and "rage dump" on them. However, once Juggernauts get their AoE taunt at ~30, as well as a few other abilities, their readiness to tank goes through the roof. Based on what I have seen/played, it's safe to say that Juggernaut tanks are true end-game tanks, as past 35, tanking encounters became almost trivial as I have so many tools at my disposable to not only survive, but hold aggro on multiple mobs.

 

For healing, once Operatives get their free insta-cast HoT's as well as a few other perks from their skill tree, healing becomes a joke. Healing became very trivial, and from my healing experience as an Op as well as recieving healing from one, I can say that they are very easy to use (note that I have not played one past 36). Sorcerer and Mercenary healers are solid, but I noticed that the better healers have generally been Mercenary's and Operatives, but I am not sure if that's from class mechanics, or because the Sorcerer is home to new MMO players/bad healers that can't manage their resources effectively.

 

In the end I'd say:

 

Best Tank: Juggernaut/Powertech, Assassin feels lacking when it matters (end-game).

Best Healer: Operative > Mercenary > Sorceror

 

 

While I like your post and it makes some decent points, I have to completely disagree with your bottom assessment and must assume you just haven't had much experience with higher end content.

 

Juggs/Guards are CLEARLY the worst of the 3 tanks - and it is by quite a bit - I would never take a Jugg/Guard as they are now over any other tank in the game...

 

They are just not very good right now. I am very sorry to just drop this on people who are leveling those classes, but frankly, at lvl 50 you may find groups for the Flashpoints but if you have aspirations of tanking raid bosses you should probably choose another class, make your own raid group, or hope Bioware gives you some love...

 

I hope they make the Jedi's better, They FEEL like they should be the best single target tanks...unfortunately they just airnt.

Edited December 26, 2011 by Trevalon

[Trevalon]

How do you think that can alleviate this... it seems like force is capped at 600.

 

The obvious answer is that they need some more Mana Regeneration and/or Conservation talents...

 

Until this happens they will always remain the 3rd healers and would never be my first choice to heal anything with any bit of difficulty (Read: Length of Fight).

[Tamanous]

I am finding Operative to be pretty good once you start getting probes. Granted I am a hybrid and kill as I heal. Dedicated healers can spec full if they so desire.

 

The one thing I noticed though with Ops is they heal themselves FAR better than others due to talents. At least that works in their favor for pvp and solo killing

 

Their energy mechanic is very good though and good Ops can heal forever and eve pop off damage without tapping out.

[TheToony]

I've only played commando healer but I healed Athiss earlier and felt discouraged when at the last boss we wiped several times and the group leader commented we needed more healing and that I should "respec to healing tree" (I had all my points in combat medic).

 

We did end up finishing it. My only wish is that commando had an aoe heal worth a damn.

[Israel]

I've only played commando healer but I healed Athiss earlier and felt discouraged when at the last boss we wiped several times and the group leader commented we needed more healing and that I should "respec to healing tree" (I had all my points in combat medic).

 

We did end up finishing it. My only wish is that commando had an aoe heal worth a damn.

 

It gets a lot better at level 50 for a Commando healer. Trust me, they are amazing.

[EthicsGradient]

I've only played commando healer but I healed Athiss earlier and felt discouraged when at the last boss we wiped several times and the group leader commented we needed more healing and that I should "respec to healing tree" (I had all my points in combat medic).

 

We did end up finishing it. My only wish is that commando had an aoe heal worth a damn.

 

I'd agree commando feels a bit weak healing at lower levels because such a large majority of our ability comes from spending a lot of skill points. Things do get better.

[Cronhour]

I would have to agree with you on the Trooper part. Healing a Trooper feels so much easier than healing a JK or Shadow tank. Trooper also seems to have better aggro. But that's just from my observation.

 

I'm a trooper tank so I may seem biased, but I often find that healers keep me really highly topped off without struggling or without me having to blow cooldowns, endgame i'm not there yet but coming for heroic wow progression raiding as a warrior the tropper tank toolset seems very comprehensive (and so fun!)

[Cronhour]

I've only played commando healer but I healed Athiss earlier and felt discouraged when at the last boss we wiped several times and the group leader commented we needed more healing and that I should "respec to healing tree" (I had all my points in combat medic).

 

We did end up finishing it. My only wish is that commando had an aoe heal worth a damn.

 

The last boss isn't about healing in Athiss it's about numptys staying out of the fire, personally I find it really easy to tank as sinestra beam kiting on a crappy laptop tuned my senses pretty well, but i've found some people who fail massively at it despite server attempts, coaching and visual demonstrations about the tactic.

[Zalekanzer]

EDIT: To answer the OP...

Healing-

Commando/Mercenary = Best single target

Sage/Inquisitor = Best multi-target

Scoundrel/Operative = Good at both single and multi-target

 

Can't really comment on the tanking, since I've only played a Vanguard to 33 in beta. However, both Vanguards and Guardians have been pretty easy for me to keep up, though I haven't played with a Shadow tank yet.

 

The last boss isn't about healing in Athiss it's about numptys staying out of the fire, personally I find it really easy to tank as sinestra beam kiting on a crappy laptop tuned my senses pretty well, but i've found some people who fail massively at it despite server attempts, coaching and visual demonstrations about the tactic.

No, the last boss in Athiss is totally about healing. If you're running Athiss at the appropriate level (18-20), healers don't have access to thier "cleanse" ability yet, meaning we can't get rid of the debuff the boss places on a random target. The debuff causes an incredible amount of damage in a short amount of time (about 2/3s of the targets health bar).

So we have to burst heal a random target every 15ish seconds to keep the party alive. Yes, staying away from the corruption balls is very important, but please don't assume that it's the only danger of the fight. If you're running with an over-leveled party of 24s, then yes, the final boss is a breeze.

Edited December 26, 2011 by Zalekanzer

[Lazzerswords]

I can tell ya right now at 50 this is how it stacks up pretty much across the board (Though obviously Player skill comes into play and this is ALWAYS subject to change) - and obviously I guess some opinion comes into play, but this comes from playing every healing archetype of many betas and running with dedicated healers of multiple archetypes - I also have played all 3 of the tank archetypes personally to a respectable level in beta (though the Vanguard is my highest).

 

Tanking:

 

Assassins/Shadows are the best tanks in the game having both a good mix of single target and AE agro abilities to them. WIth good gear they also tank the best of all 3 though at low levels before their good shielding comes up they are pretty tuff to heal.

 

Bounty Hunters/Vanguards are the second best tanks with great AE agro and good mitigation abilities to keep them up.

 

Juggernauts/Guards are by far the worst of the three tanks with very little way of getting AE Agro - they also have less mitigating factors then other 2 and rely more on active "Oh crap" buttons making them overall strong tanks when they pop their stuff but subpar when their stuff is down - this makes them the worst tanks by quite a margin actually.

 

Sin/Shadow >=BH/VG >> Guardians/Juggs

 

Healing:

 

This is also subject to the player as all healers are "technically" viable.

 

Commando/Mercenary: These Healers are probably at the top of the healing right now. They get some big oh crap heals and have the least problem with regeneration (a well played healer of this type will NEVER run out of ammo even when healing a full group taking lots of damage). They also can easily drop the highest amount of DPS while in Heal spec - which makes a big difference at 50.

 

Operative/Scoundrel: Though I would rate Commando/Merc Higher the Op/Scoundrel are also great healers and don't have much resource issues either because they have a ton of +resource talents in their trees. The only reason Iput them behind the Merc/Commando is because when they spec healing their DPS drops off significantly where as the Merc/Com can still pull good numbers even in healing spec - but for pure healing alone they are pretty dang close or even with the Comm/Merc.

 

Sage/Counselor: Unfortunately for all the rabid jedi fans, just as the Guard/Jugg the Jedi classes are clearly the losers for overall healing. Their abilities are definitely on par with the other classes but they suffer from a bigger issue of mana regeneration over longer fights that the other 2 healers don't have. While you will see alot of Sage/Couns say they have awesome dots and heals etc, the other classes get those exact same heals dots too and dont suffer the mana issues that the Jedi's do. Also Jedi DPS drops a ton when specced into Healing - even moreso than the Op/Scoundrel. Overall Jedi healing is fine for short or mid-range fights, but if the fight starts to drag out (Long bosses in Flashpoints or in Ops) the Jedi healing will drop off significantly as they struggle to maintain their mana.

 

Com/Merc >= Op/Sco > Sage/Coun

 

 

AGAIN - This depends ALOT on the player - a Terrible player can make a Merc/Com look horrible and a great player can make a Sage/Coun look good...but overall abilities + talents + DPS throughput + Resource management makes the order pretty much set like I said at lvl 50.

 

This This This

[Israel]

EDIT: To answer the OP...

Healing-

Commando/Mercenary = Best single target

Sage/Inquisitor = Best multi-target

Scoundrel/Operative = Good at both single and multi-target

 

Wrong wrong wrong, Sage would probably be the most versatile IF they didn't suffer so greatly from broken resource regen.

[Hykon]

I'm currently leveling a Jedi Guardian. I'm in the early stages and tanking doesn't seem too bad. I realize I don't really have an great AoE threat gen ability. If this is really how they are late game, I hope they get some love.

[RecklessFable]

See the Juggernaut forum. Their AOE doesn't really get better.

[StlBluenote]

Every tank and healing class is dependent on the person behind. Not everyone in the game has the mechanics figured out for their class. So play what YOU are good at. And instead of asking which is better, ask those who are doing well what you are doing wrong. Have fun, stop bashing your class and instead get better or move on. It's still early.

[Israel]

Every tank and healing class is dependent on the person behind. Not everyone in the game has the mechanics figured out for their class. So play what YOU are good at. And instead of asking which is better, ask those who are doing well what you are doing wrong. Have fun, stop bashing your class and instead get better or move on. It's still early.

 

Seriously man? Did you really have to type all this if you had absolutely nothing worthwhile to do other than white knight a cause? If you don't "agree" with the basis behind the thread don't post in it period.

[Greylor]

Tanks:

 

Bounty Hunter

 

I am a BH tank, and I absolutely love it. The main weakpoint of the BH imo is the lack of CC abilities, but if the group knows how to play that is not an issue.

 

I've seen bad BH tanks, and I've seen good BH tanks. There's a lot of skills to juggle, all the while maintaining your heat, but that is what makes it awesome to me. It's never dull.

 

A lot of players can't seem to handle having lots of abilities to juggle while managing heat and having next to no CC...but if you can do it, the BH is an awesome tank.

 

Sith Warrior

 

I've seen a lot of Juggernaught tanks who were utterly useless, so I was beginning to think that there really was something to the complaints that people have about them...but then I ran a flashpoint with one who was at the lower level range of the flashpoint, but the guy was hard as nails and aggro was never an issue (and it was NOT only the healer making him look good. The guy was sharp).

 

Sith Inquisitor

 

I havn't had any experiance of Sith Inquisitor tanks. Only times I've seen a Sith Inquisitor tank anything was when they were so far ahead of the content in levels that they just ploughed through everything.

 

Conclusion

 

It all comes down to the player him/herself for tanks. You get good ones and you get bad ones. I don't buy into this "the class is broken" rubbish. Take everything you read on the forums with a bucketload of salt because 99.5% of it is rubbish.

 

 

Healers

 

Again, I've seen good and bad ones of all classes. If I were to rank them I'd say Sage is best, Operative second and Merc third...but they're very close and play very different.

 

The reason I put the Sage and Operative above the Merc is the added utility that they bring along, but in the end it again comes down to the player.

 

 

Ultimate Conclusion

 

When it comes to tanking or healing, in my opinion all classes and specs can do the job equally as well. Some classes have to work a bit harder on some things while the other classes have to work harder on other things.

 

It is remarkably well balanced.

[xioix]

pls stop mentioning bh/trooper as bw might nerf them

[xioix]

I've only played commando healer but I healed Athiss earlier and felt discouraged when at the last boss we wiped several times and the group leader commented we needed more healing and that I should "respec to healing tree" (I had all my points in combat medic).

 

We did end up finishing it. My only wish is that commando had an aoe heal worth a damn.

 

pass the blame. say "maybe we need more dps" or "maybe we need a real tank"

 

never take the blame!

[Froteus]

I've seen some amazing knights tank, some amazing vanguards, and I myself have been referred to as, "the most awesome shadow tank ever seen".

 

It's a about the player.

 

If I had to rank...

 

Tanks: shadow> vanguard > knight.

 

I feel shadows have such a great amount of versatility and a siiiiick tool belt, they do start of slow but become powerhouses by 30, and by 40 it's just disgusting.

 

Vanguards: have only run with one but I don't think his health ever dropped except on a boss. It let the sage just shield and dps.

 

Guardians: AOE seems lacking but the JK I run with frequently is a beast. Very well played, health rarely moved and I've never seen him lose aggro on a boss.

 

Healer?

Scoundrel > Commando/Sage

 

Mostly have sage healers and they do alright but towards the end of long fights it can be brutal if they haven't gone into the TK tree for the forc regen and just toss a disturbance every 10 seconds. Sage is great if healing over geared tank since a shield will do it with spot healing while unloading dps. Possibly commando too but haven t run with many.

[Trevalon]

The only real redeeming quality of a Consular/Sorc healer is bubble and group heals...

 

Think of it this way:

 

Commandos/Mercenaries are Holy Paladins

 

Consular/Sorcs are Balance Priests

 

Operative/Scoundrel (a little harder to pin down) but they are more like Druids than Shamans...

 

Just for some WoW context

 

Either way all healers are viable but I would go with the non-jedi classes as Main healer first...Bring the Jedi along in operations for group healing...

Edited December 29, 2011 by Trevalon

[KelbornX]

I haven't played many classes yet, I just got my Powertech to being a Powertech, but I can attest to the Sage / Sorcerer feeling very weak in resource management over longer fights.

 

IMO, Force should regenerate faster the lower it gets (at least for the Sage / Sorc adv classes). Ex:

0-20% Force - 20 Force per sec

20-39% Force - 15 Force per sec

40-69% Force - 12 Force per sec

70-100% Force - 8 Force per sec

 

This way you're not overly punished for having to spam heals, and can recover faster. I feel like that's the main problem for Sage/Sorc - recovering after pulls or after a phase of burst healing. Before you get the HoT heals, it's really just spamming the two burst heals that are really inefficient in the long run. Both Bounty Hunters and Troopers get abilities that replenish their resource at level 1; Consulars and Inquisitors do not. Granted it's on a 2 min cd, but it's still something.