skyfiredraco Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Hey all. Just got an opinion question for those that have been around the game a little longer than myself But what healer class would you guys consider to be the most "newbie friendly". And as an aside, which healer class solo's the easiest? Basically, i'm a ToR newb but an MMO vet. I've put 10 years (of varying intensity in play time) into WoW with forays into most of the big name MMOs. Rift, Aion, GW1 and 2, DDO, LotRO, Wildstar... you get the idea. But i'm still fairly new at ToR. Only been playing a couple weeks (tried it on a lark and subbed pretty quick because its awesome ) and am loving the game. I haven't preordered the expansion yet simply because i WANT to quest through the newbie worlds and have to do all the side quests etc. Anyway, i currently have a level 17 jedi sentinel. I'll be the first to go on the record in saying that DW lightsabers is absolutely sweet. I'm enjoying myself quite a bit and am looking forward to leveling this guy up... on the side... My main problem? In every other MMO i play i either tank or heal. I suck at dps. I know this, my guild knows this, my friends know this lol. I typically tank once i get comfortable with the dungeons, raids, world bosses etc. in a game, but in the phase when i'm still "learning" the areas, i usually go healer. So here i am. I don't really want to keep leveling a dps class (cool as it may be) as my first character to 55 (or 60). I also don't really want to tank yet, right out of the box. But i DO want to be more of a support role for flashpoints, group quests, tacticals, etc. as i level. TL;DR: relative ToR newbie wants to level a healing class. Preferably one that can solo at a speed that isn't painful (can and will be slower than dps classes, i understand that). Looking for a newbie friendly one for leveling up. Ty everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Essence_of_Light Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Definitely commando/merc healing. Most definitely. Just kidding, don't listen to me. I haven't played any class as a healer besides a few times when I had to on my commando. I don't think I have enough experience as a healer to recommend anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arunav Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Hey all. Just got an opinion question for those that have been around the game a little longer than myself But what healer class would you guys consider to be the most "newbie friendly". And as an aside, which healer class solo's the easiest? Basically, i'm a ToR newb but an MMO vet. I've put 10 years (of varying intensity in play time) into WoW with forays into most of the big name MMOs. Rift, Aion, GW1 and 2, DDO, LotRO, Wildstar... you get the idea. But i'm still fairly new at ToR. Only been playing a couple weeks (tried it on a lark and subbed pretty quick because its awesome ) and am loving the game. I haven't preordered the expansion yet simply because i WANT to quest through the newbie worlds and have to do all the side quests etc. Anyway, i currently have a level 17 jedi sentinel. I'll be the first to go on the record in saying that DW lightsabers is absolutely sweet. I'm enjoying myself quite a bit and am looking forward to leveling this guy up... on the side... My main problem? In every other MMO i play i either tank or heal. I suck at dps. I know this, my guild knows this, my friends know this lol. I typically tank once i get comfortable with the dungeons, raids, world bosses etc. in a game, but in the phase when i'm still "learning" the areas, i usually go healer. So here i am. I don't really want to keep leveling a dps class (cool as it may be) as my first character to 55 (or 60). I also don't really want to tank yet, right out of the box. But i DO want to be more of a support role for flashpoints, group quests, tacticals, etc. as i level. TL;DR: relative ToR newbie wants to level a healing class. Preferably one that can solo at a speed that isn't painful (can and will be slower than dps classes, i understand that). Looking for a newbie friendly one for leveling up. Ty everyone 3.0 is bringing a lot of class changes, but Scoundrel/Operative healing is often peoples' favorite. I don't know if this means it's easiest for new players. You might want to ask on the class forums or on swtor reddit (probably the latter, they are friendly and helpful). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CmdrShpd Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 For leveling, I think any healer you pick will probably be fine. I have leveled a merc, sage and scoundrel to 55 while spec'd as heals, and I didn't have a problem with any of them. For endgame stuff, I think that the Merc might be the most noob-friendly healer. You've got the free "pew-pew" heals and a decent aoe heal that is on a quick cooldown, among other excellent skills. The merc was my first healer, and I still think it's fun and relatively easy to play, though I love all the heal classes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyfiredraco Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Ty everyone. Think i'm gonna try a bounty hunter merc healer Honestly didn't think i'd be doing an empire alt this early... i always go jedi in my kotor games first and sith second That said... i'm already half RP'ing this in my head... I'm going to be a bounty hunter, but also a healer. I've had a few choices on my jedi that i went light side on even if it made me groan (sometimes i'm so sweet and goody goody i get a cavity ). But my jedi is going for full light side mastery (or whatever) so that works. This guy? Pragmatic. Honorable. Lethal. I get paid. I do the job. I don't like what my principles tell me (i don't like slavers for instance) i start killing. Someone hires me to do something, i'm GOING to get paid. But in general i'll be a nice guy. Just a snarky, practical nice guy Ty guys. You got me wanting to try a whole new side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grombrinda Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Sage or Sorc is probably the easiest for a new person... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomiSotto Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) I found Sage easier to play as a newb than a Scoundrel. It flows far better and as a lousy DPS on low levels Sage felt a better lousy DPS. In any case, it is probably easier to start them as DPSs and move to a Healer in mid-30'ies. Balanced Sage/Madness Sorc atm probably the easiest class to play, particulary if you are using Focus Target. Heal/Bubble Focus, back to shooting rocks... and little changes from that on higher levels/as heals. Smooth. The disadvantage is not being able to cast when on the move. Edited October 30, 2014 by DomiSotto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussircaex Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Sage/Sorcerer relies on a simple mana system, while the other two use the scaling energy regen mechanic, plus the scoundrel/operative has to manage their TacAd stacks. Sorc/Sage is probably simplest. Best is a matter of opinion, but all are perfectly capable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadoken Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 None are particularly complicated but yea, sage/sorc is going to be the most noob friendly if you've ever played other MMOs before. The regen mechanic with the other two is a little bit trickier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomla Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Sage/Sorc is probably one of the easiest to get to grips with. People know the mana system from other games which is similar to how they function. That plus they have quite a few utilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defecter Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Sage/sorc mimics classic MMO healing the most. If you are used to that, it's the easiest. Scoundrel/Operatives are mobile HoT-based healers. The only challenge here is resource management. Tactical Advantage/Upper Hand are buffs you have to maintain, but as a healer you'll have these buffs proccing like crazy, so not that big of a challenge. Merc/Commando is an amalgam of the two and in my personal opinion slightly more difficult to get to grips with initially. Personally, the mobility of an Op/Scoundrel beats the other options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kragorogark Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I find the merc easiest and most straight forward to play, even taking in to account their energy system. Another consideration would be class story line. Merc to me has one of the weakest storylines, while operative has one of the best, and sorc is kind of middle of the road. For soloing, hands down operative shines, simply for the reason you can stealth by stuff you don't need or want to fight. Plus their vanish ability makes it easy to get out of a tight spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordArtemis Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Sage/Sorc for soloing, khem is first companion and a great tank. You get quite a few abilities with some crowd control benefits which helps quite a bit. Easiest to manage and control IMO. Great first character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MillionsKNives Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Clearly everyone seems to differ so far, but in my opinion it would be the Merc. Sorcs' force pool, while straightforward in that it regens at a constant rate, can be a bit difficult to grasp for some at first when it comes to actually managing it through a fight. When to consume, and what abilities to string together so that you don't end up bottoming out with no way to recover. The thing that also scared me away at first was that it's harder to tell right away if you're managing force correctly since you have so much, but then if you let it go too far you're kind of screwed. Op/Merc energy pools are a lot more instant-feedback. You know if you're managing it well or if you're not (you're probably not doing it correctly if any of the arrows next to it go away and you don't let it come back up). But the Operative healing requires a lot more "maintenance" than the other healers. You have to keep probes on the right tank at all times and some of the DPS too, and also worry about the other stuff going on. Merc is the most straightforward for me. Heals are obvious, it's obvious if you're doing it wrong, and the most maintenance you have to do is kolto shell, which lasts for a long while. All that said, I prefer Sorc healer overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotharofxev Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 All that said, I prefer Sorc healer overall. Well Sorcs can "heal to full", so there's that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeweledleah Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) since you played WoW - I'll coach it in WoW terms - though mostly pre WoD wow, closer to wrath. scoundrel/operative - kinda druid like. very druid like. you roll hots. you have something similar to wild bloom, wild growth (before they gave it cast time >_>) regrowth and healing touch. you are extremely mobile. (diagnostic skan doesn't relaly have an equivalent.. unless you compare it to monk's channeled heal, except diagnostic scan heals for very little, but regens energy for you) sorc/sage - is like a cross between disc priest and a shaman (though more disc priest when it comes to healing). you have absorption bubbles that are awesome, healing rain type of AoE heal, friendly pull, couple of castable heals, and and instant heal with a hot component (more riptide then renew) you are less mobile and your energy regeneration mechanic is very similar to warlocks where you trade health for force (though you really should be doing that with a buff up, to not slow down your energy regen) you also have an instant, lovely self heal to help you with that. commando/merc is... I genuinely have no WoW equivalent. it a very unique, very fun IMO healing class. at the moment, I'd say its friendlier to newbies than other classes if only becasue you get some of your key healing/regeneration abilities much MUCH earlier. key difference between healing in WoW and healing in TOR? your energy/force regeneration is active. you never have moments where you stop casting to preserve energy. you are always casting, whether you are healing, or regeneration. merc and operative (my personal fave incidentally, though I enjoy all three healing archetypes) regen as they heal, sorc is a bit trickier as when you are regening, you are not healing. (I actualy disagree with saying that sorc has the easiest regen. merc and operative regen either through their basic attack, or in case of operative also through diagnostic scan. but just basic attacking the enemy when soloing (or early on in flashpoints) will help you with energy regen. in case of sorc... you don't even get you "life tap" ability until later, and while I adore sorcs, it can be somewhat more challenging to keep up with/keep track of) all three are fairly nice to solo on, but bear in mind - you get tank companions as a sorc and operative - you get healing companion as a merc/dps companion as commando. it can be a little... slow to level at first with your healing companion if you also go healer. (there are also ways to get neutral companions - Treek who tanks or heals, or HK51 who is a strong dps companion, but HK requires at least one level 50 to even unlock and then substantial credits/cartel coins to buy through legacy one character at a time - treek requires either legacy 40 and/or substantial credits/cartel coins) hope you have fun either way! Edited October 30, 2014 by Jeweledleah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItachiZaku Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I never liked the idea of shooting someone to heal them. I have Inquistor and Imperial Agent heals, Sorc was just easy and natural, very disc priest type. Agent was more resto druid (battlemaster in wow). Agent has more tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyfiredraco Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 wow! come back to check the post and we're up to 2 pages lmao. Ty everyone! and seeing a lot of varying opinions too. Thats good! Means that all the heal classes are viable (its usually fairly obvious if theres an outlier) and it comes down to playstyle (and ty to those that gave WoW comparisons, that helps ). I'm so torn right now lol. I started both a jedi councilor and a bounty hunter and have been slowly working them both up (still around 5-6 on each). I love the attitude and general "feel" of the bounty hunter (storyline, attitude, actually being able to dark side some decisions and not feel bad ), but i just have a hard time doing star wars without a lightsaber lol. Not to mention that i'm seeing force as a more traditional mana bar (as was noted in this thread). I've also seen it mentioned that sage plays something like a disc priest... and i love my wow disc priest lol. So yea... i'm KINDA leaning towards sage right now but i'm also liking my bounty hunter/merc. Meh, might just level em both lol. ty all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sxykitten Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Definitely commando/merc healing. Most definitely. Just kidding, don't listen to me. I haven't played any class as a healer besides a few times when I had to on my commando. I don't think I have enough experience as a healer to recommend anything. He said newb friendly....Merc & commando are hardest to master. most i run into suck badly & cant do what few of us can...... If anything Op/Scound is easyer & more all around a stable healer with good cooldowns & a Stealth... Commando/Merc is really tough to master & oh boy i have encountered loads of bad one's in FP's who cant heal or really bad one''s in PVP who cant pass 400k when i can pull 1.5m a match my OP however can go up 2m very easly by just Probes/HoT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sxykitten Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 wow! come back to check the post and we're up to 2 pages lmao. Ty everyone! and seeing a lot of varying opinions too. Thats good! Means that all the heal classes are viable (its usually fairly obvious if theres an outlier) and it comes down to playstyle (and ty to those that gave WoW comparisons, that helps ). I'm so torn right now lol. I started both a jedi councilor and a bounty hunter and have been slowly working them both up (still around 5-6 on each). I love the attitude and general "feel" of the bounty hunter (storyline, attitude, actually being able to dark side some decisions and not feel bad ), but i just have a hard time doing star wars without a lightsaber lol. Not to mention that i'm seeing force as a more traditional mana bar (as was noted in this thread). I've also seen it mentioned that sage plays something like a disc priest... and i love my wow disc priest lol. So yea... i'm KINDA leaning towards sage right now but i'm also liking my bounty hunter/merc. Meh, might just level em both lol. ty all no it's more about how well you play & how much time you are really wanting learn it. because as my above post Sorc/Sage & Op/Scound are easyer healers & Merc/Mando are not easy. Almost everything they have is a cast time & almost everything is Rotation based wheres as Op you can Spam 2-3 of your heals on a group & still do good. where's commando you gotta be on your toes 24/7. you also solely rely on procs & your Supercharged or your healing isnt so great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master-Nala Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Operative/Scoundrels are by far the easiest. Little to no resource management, and for most content, you can get by with the HoTs and Emergency medpack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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