Sorc/Sage PvP Heals 3.0 (ranked viable?)

[ProcessHeals]

Looking to start a discussion about the viability of Sorcerer/Sage heals for ranked (and regular) warzones, by themselves and also compared to the other healing classes. Feel free to also discuss gear, strategies, rotations, etc here.

 

I am currently level 55 in min/maxed brutalizer gear, so keep in mind that I do not have a complete understanding of 3.0.

 

That being said, I am currently extremely disappointing with the changes thus far. My heals are way down compared to before the update, while dps abilities seem to be doing the same or more damage and net dps is definitely way up. We also lost the instant dark heal/benevolence proc via penetrating darkness/clairvoyance, which is really killing my mobility, rotations and burst healing capability. Also, force surge/warden has been nerfed, making revivification/salvation nearly impossible to get off without all 3 stacks.

 

Now I understand there's the new roaming mend ability, and an instant&free benevolence/dark heal off altruism/dark concentration. However, they look on paper to be a net loss in effective healing (keeping a target from dying) if not also hps when compared to the nerfs described in the paragraph above.

 

I feel gimpy, when I was expecting a noticeable buff and ranked viability. What are your thoughts on healing in 3.0? Am I doing things wrong, do I just need to wait till 60 for everything to come together?

[Rendet]

Sorc/sage healing definitely took a hit in 3.0. I'm hoping that there is a simple rotation change that we aren't figuring out yet that will make everything make sense but so far no luck.

 

When people are taking massive damage I used to be able to burst through it pretty well but now I am pretty helpless. I have no hard hitting heals anymore that are quick. Now it is almost built like an exclusive support class that needs another healer (which makes the whole role pointless).

 

It doesn't help that all basic/elite/ultimate comm gear is crit/surg based which is awful for sages. The only way to get power/alacrity gear is to rip mods from boots/gloves or get drops from operations.

[ProcessHeals]

In 2.7 there was almost no delay in my rotation and everything was instant except for an occasional 0.7s cast on revivification, since the patch I find that I'm forced to stand and cast dark heal/infusion to fill in the gaps.

 

It's slowed me down so much that I don't even have to consume anymore and I really can't see any way to tweak the rotation for burst or even decent sustained hps without stand-and-cast.

 

Has anyone had better results? Is there something we're missing here or do I need to start collecting dps gear for the next year(+) until they (maybe) make some positive adjustments to the spec again?

[Jaiyne]

I am reserving judgement until I am 60 and geared(ish). I have been leveling both my main healers (op and Sorc) simultaneously and I can say that I think the sorc is more viable than my op now for 4s even though burst healing is much lower than pre-3.0. So far that's how it feels but again, may change when I hit 60 and get some gear. I haven't started my Merc heals yet...

[nevenavasovic]

I kind of have to agree. I got my sage and sorc to 60 and equipped them in 186 gear, with 158 resolve augments. Pretty basic stuff I know, but I could tell a difference right away. My 180 almost felt better than the newer gear. Getting the stats is really difficult with the way they've set up the sets. Can't really get much of dps sets, and the healer set is packed with crit. Since alacrity is so important you'd think there would be more included in the set. I bought 5 pairs of boots just so I can rip all the stuff out and get alacrity. But then getting surge up to an appropriate level is a pain. At this point, I either pick surge or alacrity. Can't seem to get both up to what seems like a good %. And while the force management seems much much easier, the heals are weaker. MUCH weaker. It's noticable in single target heals as well as AOE heals. Maybe because force management isn't as big of an issue, not all augments need be Resolve? And while the mobility is nice, it feels more like an Operative pre 3.0 with the way you apply HOTs. The 192 set bonuses seem to offer clues on what the gearing will be like.

 

Maybe I'm just not looking at this correctly (totally possible) but the style of play has changed. My way of healing is

Resurgence* > Static Barrier > Innervate > Resurgence > Dark Infusion, with an add of Dark Heal when it procs

(*resurgence comes back off cooldown after Innervate, boost Innervate and Dark Infusion with the less GCD. Also Barrier bf Resurgence makes it so you can use Resurgence once). Ideally, we'd want Resurgence > Static Barrier > Innervate > Resurgence > Dark Infusion > Dark Heal (DI cast procced the free DH). This makes you more mobile. Getting 3 stacks of Force Surge with use of Recklessness (if on CD use Innervate again) > Innervate also gives you an instant, on the run, AOE heal when needed. Though depending on how well you manage force you might want to prioritize Consumption first, then AOE heals. So far, that seems to be for me the best way of dealing with changes. I'm curious what everyone else thinks. I'd love some advice and suggestions on gear stats especially.

Edited December 4, 2014 by nevenavasovic

[JadeOneAle]

helloo

 

i have to disagree since i find roaming mind the best thing in 3.0

 

ofc dark infusion went from 10-13k crit to 7-9k and revification need all3 stack otherwise took a while to cast and u are already dead when it end.

 

but.. man! mobility will let u kite better than bfore, DI is used only with the bonus set auto crit and resurgence that make it cast faster and gives you free and instant DH.

and RM will heal everyone fast and better than every other ability u have!

my rotation atm is still a work in progress but i go like this:

>RM>bubble>resurgence>innervate>revification(if i got 3 stack)>DH(from rev buff)> resurgence>RM>bubble >resurgence>innervate>(check force for consumption)>resurgence(if u have the cd free)>DI (bonus set auto crit otherwise we need rekelness)>DH>bubble>res>innervate>rev>DH>res >RM

 

keep in mind that u have to stop only when casting DI all the other ability can be casted while moving (mobility is a MUST HAVE)

 

tips: RM is ours new best ability, use it as much as u can! i got a 4hit crit each one over the 8k in just 1sec. it means 32k heal on 2+ different player in less than 2s (while u can cast other thing in those 2 sec!!)

[Lhancelot]

I heal for more at 55-58 so far... Not sure how this translates in 60 pvp. I find myself with tons more survivability, I can use all of my heals effectively whereas before our biggest heal was useless it took too long to cast... I find roaming mind useful... I don't see how any sorc/sage is healing for less than what they used to heal for. Really.

 

I don't even have the instant dark heal yet (I am 58 now), and I heal for more overall and have better survivability. Maybe it depends on what utilities people pick? No idea. Anyway. I guess I am an anomaly.

 

I like the changes to sorc/sage 3.0. It's been a huge buff seeing I don't have to kite crazily just to stay alive and try to work in a couple heals before I am bursted dead or near dead, popping bubble only to live 5 secs longer after the bubble drops.

 

I have not even changed my style of play, the changes have meshed well with how I always played in fact now I can actually relax a little bit while healing. Before it was non-stop helter-skelter-run-for-my-life-while-healing-people.

[ProcessHeals]

helloo

 

i have to disagree since i find roaming mind the best thing in 3.0

 

ofc dark infusion went from 10-13k crit to 7-9k and revification need all3 stack otherwise took a while to cast and u are already dead when it end.

 

but.. man! mobility will let u kite better than bfore, DI is used only with the bonus set auto crit and resurgence that make it cast faster and gives you free and instant DH.

and RM will heal everyone fast and better than every other ability u have!

my rotation atm is still a work in progress but i go like this:

>RM>bubble>resurgence>innervate>revification(if i got 3 stack)>DH(from rev buff)> resurgence>RM>bubble >resurgence>innervate>(check force for consumption)>resurgence(if u have the cd free)>DI (bonus set auto crit otherwise we need rekelness)>DH>bubble>res>innervate>rev>DH>res >RM

 

keep in mind that u have to stop only when casting DI all the other ability can be casted while moving (mobility is a MUST HAVE)

 

tips: RM is ours new best ability, use it as much as u can! i got a 4hit crit each one over the 8k in just 1sec. it means 32k heal on 2+ different player in less than 2s (while u can cast other thing in those 2 sec!!)

 

Now that I have RM, I agree wholeheartedly that it's the most positive change. The tooltip for it was very confusing, but as soon as I started using it... wow.

 

My HPS are definitely a lot better now, however the amount each ability is healing for is still around 20% less in the same gear compared to pre-3.0 (now lvl 59). Things will be very interesting if it goes back up to where it was (or higher as some are saying) when I get BiS gear at 60.

 

Your rotation is a little bit different than mine, why open with non proc RM? Right now mine is something like: res>bubble>innervate>res>rm>rev/overload>res>di+proc dh.

 

Results have been decent, in min/max ob/brut mix with no alacrity (was originally dps gear and all I did was swap out armorings before xpac) and I'm easily putting out 2-2.3k hps at level 58/9. I feel like there is a lot of room for improvement in my play though, interested to see other people's rots and please also mention your current gear/lvl/hps.