[Question] For those that got into the beta

[obdigore]

I am looking at playing a healing role, but am unsure how the questing as a healer goes, so a couple questions.

1) I know that after selecting your Advanced Class, you cannot 'respec' into the other advanced class, but I am assuming you can respec and move your talents around inside the trees? Does TOR currently have a dual-spec system like current WoW has, where you can have two set and switch between them as needed?

2) How is solo questing as a healer-spec? I know you can bring a companion, but I'm just wondering. Responses from people who have played both a healer and dps/tank spec while solo questing would be most helpful.

3) I have seen contradicting info regarding gear for healers, especially jedi healers, some people saying that you can gear for force regen and some people saying that has been taken out. Can anyone comment on the current state of the game regarding gearing choices, is it amazingly obvious like WoW has become, or are there interesting choices to make regarding stats?

[Zachyveng]

I am looking at playing a healing role, but am unsure how the questing as a healer goes, so a couple questions.

1) I know that after selecting your Advanced Class, you cannot 'respec' into the other advanced class, but I am assuming you can respec and move your talents around inside the trees? Does TOR currently have a dual-spec system like current WoW has, where you can have two set and switch between them as needed?

2) How is solo questing as a healer-spec? I know you can bring a companion, but I'm just wondering. Responses from people who have played both a healer and dps/tank spec while solo questing would be most helpful.

3) I have seen contradicting info regarding gear for healers, especially jedi healers, some people saying that you can gear for force regen and some people saying that has been taken out. Can anyone comment on the current state of the game regarding gearing choices, is it amazingly obvious like WoW has become, or are there interesting choices to make regarding stats?

1. Regarding changing of Advanced Class, you cannot do it. Regarding respeccing within your AC, yes you can do that. Regarding Dual Spec within your AC, not currently but they've said it's on the board.

2. While I personally didn't level a healer in the beta my RL friend did and he said it went decently fast (certainly far faster than in WoW, for example). According to him his dps companion mixed with his own offensive abilities was made questing pretty easy.

3. No idea, I didn't play a healer in the two weekends I got in so can't really help you there. Sorry and hope I answered everything you asked.

[anewok]

2) How is solo questing as a healer-spec? I know you can bring a companion, but I'm just wondering. Responses from people who have played both a healer and dps/tank spec while solo questing would be most helpful.

I leveled as a tank specced Juggernaught, and I felt it went pretty well, considering i got to 32 and didnt skip any dialogue. Aside from doing 1 flashpoint, 2 or 3 space missions, and the heroic group quests on Korriban, everything else was solo questing. I used Vette, who is a DPS companion, and felt she melted face at a pretty good clip. If other DPS companions are on par with her, I dont see how leveling as a healer spec would be an issue.

[Deleted]

I am looking at playing a healing role, but am unsure how the questing as a healer goes, so a couple questions.

1) I know that after selecting your Advanced Class, you cannot 'respec' into the other advanced class, but I am assuming you can respec and move your talents around inside the trees? Does TOR currently have a dual-spec system like current WoW has, where you can have two set and switch between them as needed?

2) How is solo questing as a healer-spec? I know you can bring a companion, but I'm just wondering. Responses from people who have played both a healer and dps/tank spec while solo questing would be most helpful.

3) I have seen contradicting info regarding gear for healers, especially jedi healers, some people saying that you can gear for force regen and some people saying that has been taken out. Can anyone comment on the current state of the game regarding gearing choices, is it amazingly obvious like WoW has become, or are there interesting choices to make regarding stats?

I have lvld a Scoundrel - sawbones, Commando - Combat medic and a Jedi Guardian - defense.

It looks on your post as if your thinking about going sage - seer ?.

While lvling as healer, your best shot is to role with the tank companion and off dps while keeping him alive - though, some packs of strong elite mobs can be abit harder smashing down, because you cant pop a offensive cd and smash them down, you can pretty much take on anything + if you find a mate to smash around with, you are abso unstopable.

The companions make lvling very easy as a healer. I've always lvld my healers in wow as healers and it is alot easier.

If you compare it to lvling as a tank, it is alot different, though you can take on the same amount of packs.

Before you get the healer companion as a Jedi, you can actually take on harder mobs as healer + tank companion because you can outlast them, while as a tank in the lower lvls (15-25), even with some hard defensive cd's, he will wear you down due to lack of dps and his immunity to stun/cc.

I die more while lvling as tank (maybe its cus I try to see how much i can take on - but thats another matter :P)

Regarding healing as a whole - the core of healing in Swtor, is never to get behind on healing - if your always on top of your target, you can manage your resoruces way better.

When healing in swtor, and if you are used to WoW mechanics especially, you are able to drain yourself totally with just a few major heals - the idea is to make sure to always stay on top of your regen (the more energy/ammo you have the more the smugger / trooper regen)

Regen wise, some say that you can affect the regen of the sages, though I stil havent found out how, mainly cus I havent lvld one to a lvl where i bother speaking about their mechanics yet.

But all healers have a way of keeping up their resources.

e.g : with buffs and cooldowns as a scoundrel - at 100 % regen - you will regen 5 energy per second - and if you keep pugnacity up (which you should!) you will have a flat 8 energy/sec. That doesnt sound of much - but you will feel the difference when you play more than just semi hard packs.

If you have read the healer comparison compendium on this forum, you will see that he favors the sage above the others - and you will find alot of players who does that.

The main reason is that force is the easiest resource to manage and the fact that force shield + hot, life grip etc is abso awsum abilties !

back to topic - definetly lvl as a healer - since the resoruce system requires alot of practie to get really comfortable with - you might hit a slow pack now and then - but that time will be regained by miles when lfg'in.

So I say go for it and enjoy

[Prag]

You get BONUS experience for anything that grants experience if you're in a group. If you have the option, roll with a DPS. Outside of that, as a Bodyguard (Bounty Hunter), I had no problems 1-20. I spoke to a few 50's that leveled as Healing and they said that worst case scenario was you had your companion do the killing while you kept them up.

[Benaud]

Not sure if you're talking about the full beta or the (all but) open weekend. I played a tanking trooper to 24 and someone I know played a healing smuggler. Neither had any problems destroying things in good time.

Looking at it and without having played through the levelling process I think that healers in the game will be far more capable of dealing damage than in wow, albeit not as well as a damage dealer.

You should be fine. And you'll die less, and dying can actually occur in ToR.

[Sunfire]

2) How is solo questing as a healer-spec? I know you can bring a companion, but I'm just wondering. Responses from people who have played both a healer and dps/tank spec while solo questing would be most helpful.

I played both a Jedi Guardian and a Jedi Shadow as both tank and dps into the late teens. Leveling as a tank is very viable in fact, especially as a guardian (the shadow needs a lot more talent points to get the basic tanking talents due to lighter armour). Grab the mobs and lock them down, your companion will do the rest if he/she is a dps-companion. I can't comment on a healing spec, however my best friend leveled her Jedi Sage as healer and didn't had any issues. Every advanced class capable of healing has at least one talent tree dedicated to dps anyway, so you could just respec. Or get a different companion, they are very strong in this game and should never be underestimated.

[obdigore]

Thank you for the responses all, very helpful.

And Elobi I was trying to decide between a Jedi Healer or a Smuggler/BH.

[Uncle Julian]

I lvled a consular sage to heal my friend tanking, and my other friend dpsing and we shred stuff. What I didn't know before going into the beta, is you're companions can be completely geared just as much as your main character. The problem for me was any medium/heavy armor I came across went to my friend, so when I was solo-questing my companion tank was a bit under geared. I could see the potential there though and would be quite fun. I bound my companions attack to my mouse so I didn't even have to think about sending him into a battle...the only problem I found was he was a bit slow (and I expect this will be fixed for release). Example: I click his Attack spell on an enemy, and he instantly pulls out his lightsaber thing, but then just stands there for a sec or two, then slowly gains momentum -then- charges the target. It felt very sluggish starting a fight, but once engaged it was easy. So other than that I think they have a good system set up.

[Voidism]

I lvled a consular sage to heal my friend tanking, and my other friend dpsing and we shred stuff. What I didn't know before going into the beta, is you're companions can be completely geared just as much as your main character. The problem for me was any medium/heavy armor I came across went to my friend, so when I was solo-questing my companion tank was a bit under geared. I could see the potential there though and would be quite fun. I bound my companions attack to my mouse so I didn't even have to think about sending him into a battle...the only problem I found was he was a bit slow (and I expect this will be fixed for release). Example: I click his Attack spell on an enemy, and he instantly pulls out his lightsaber thing, but then just stands there for a sec or two, then slowly gains momentum -then- charges the target. It felt very sluggish starting a fight, but once engaged it was easy. So other than that I think they have a good system set up.

I noticed this too. Though, it might be a kind of "are you sure?" mechanic in case you target the wrong mob or something.

[Karazee]

I am looking at playing a healing role, but am unsure how the questing as a healer goes, so a couple questions.

1) I know that after selecting your Advanced Class, you cannot 'respec' into the other advanced class, but I am assuming you can respec and move your talents around inside the trees? Does TOR currently have a dual-spec system like current WoW has, where you can have two set and switch between them as needed?

No.

How is solo questing as a healer-spec? I know you can bring a companion, but I'm just wondering. Responses from people who have played both a healer and dps/tank spec while solo questing would be most helpful.

I've leveled two healers. It's extremely easy. You get enough dps abilities and between you and your companion, you can do the damage necessary without much trouble. It's really not a concern at all.

3) I have seen contradicting info regarding gear for healers, especially jedi healers, some people saying that you can gear for force regen and some people saying that has been taken out. Can anyone comment on the current state of the game regarding gearing choices, is it amazingly obvious like WoW has become, or are there interesting choices to make regarding stats?

There will never be "interesting choices" because some random "Elitist Jerks" kind of web site will always do theorycrafting and tell you to gear for a certain stat to min/max.

I can say WoW has a ton of interesting choices right now with having to decide to gear for spirit or haste or crit or mastery. It all sounds great until you read a site that tells you that for your class three of them suck and you have to stack the one that doesn't.

---------- Post added 2011-12-01 at 09:21 AM ----------

Thank you for the responses all, very helpful.

And Elobi I was trying to decide between a Jedi Healer or a Smuggler/BH.

I think you should decide which healer you want to play based on which resource management mechanic you want to use. All three have different regen methods and resource management. Find out which you'd rather do and go with that.

[Alraml]

You get a companion at around lv 10 which is useful for DPS classes but I think it's mainly to help people who go healing/tank speccs to level solo

[Kesac6932]

Right now in beta i am lvling a JC healer specced, My first companion is tank companion just like SI's who ive lvled in previous build.The companions make it so much better
to lvl as long as you keep em geared as well.Same goes for lvling as a tank as well just use your healing companion.

[Lusitan]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...of-the-Healers - have a read there

[jearle]

I am looking at playing a healing role, but am unsure how the questing as a healer goes, so a couple questions.

1) I know that after selecting your Advanced Class, you cannot 'respec' into the other advanced class, but I am assuming you can respec and move your talents around inside the trees? Does TOR currently have a dual-spec system like current WoW has, where you can have two set and switch between them as needed?

2) How is solo questing as a healer-spec? I know you can bring a companion, but I'm just wondering. Responses from people who have played both a healer and dps/tank spec while solo questing would be most helpful.

3) I have seen contradicting info regarding gear for healers, especially jedi healers, some people saying that you can gear for force regen and some people saying that has been taken out. Can anyone comment on the current state of the game regarding gearing choices, is it amazingly obvious like WoW has become, or are there interesting choices to make regarding stats?

1. Not on release

2. Awesome, healing abilities allow you to easily solo class quests and most H2s throughout the game. Keep your companion geared, through drops and the GTN (AH) and you will be good to go. Also there are +Presence stims to use while soloing that make your pet do more damage.

3. In the previous build there was no regen gear in the game, the main stats you can focus on as a healer are:
Alacrity rating(speed up cast and channel times)
Power (+ modifier to healing/dmg)
Surge rating (Increases the critical bonus of heals/damage)
Crit Rating (increased chance to crit)

There will always be an optimal way to gear/spec. But you can usually go with what you like and be fine for the most part, we shall see how end game pans out for healers.

All this coming from a 48 Operative who heals ~ 50% of the time.