Hey guys, planning to play a healer in swtor.
Been reading a lot, but more curious about playstyle.

Saw a crude breakdown saying
sage/inquis is like a disc priest (burst and hot's) battle rez
troop/merc is like a holy paladin (burst heal) no battle rez
scoundrel/operative is like a druid. (hot's?) battle rez

Will likely play all 3 to hedge against FOTM and nerfhammer, but want to focus on one at first. Leaning towards merc, then inquis, then operative. Pre-ordered late and missed all the beta's and testing. Appreciate your experiences.

Tks!
Azzi

operative and SI are fun. I have no information on any of the other classes.

The comparisons are as fair as can be, but you can't shoehorn classes from swtor into WOW class shaped holes.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Well basic healing styles are usually:

- twitch healing (pal)
- reactive healing (sham)
- shields (disc)
- HoT's (dru)

there is also usually a stacking or trigger mechanic, that really sort of defines the playstyle. watching a lot of beta video's, at low levels they're just spamming a single heal. so since all 3 seems to have the same healing sets, I guess the mechanic is the key item.

merc spams no cost heal shots to stack up to 30 and then trigger a vent and a free heal? mobility using the mechanic? does it really just come down to visual preference? robe/lightsaber vs armor/blasters vs leather/blaster ? some say consular/inquis are the most developed/balanced, smugg next, troop/bh the least and still being fixed.

I did an Athiss run last night before beta closed as a Powertech tank, and the Merc healer had little issue keeping me up. It looks quite fun.

I wouldn't get into optimal classes. It's a losing game. Just play what you want.

Only complaint I heard from healers was the UI, which is the same for everyone. They didn't have much trouble healing the early flashpoints with no tanks.

I was a lv 16 Sage, and I did not have much issues healing in a heroic missions. And I was not specced (a few points I had) into the healing tree as well. With the limited amount of healing I did, I used my big heal more than anything. A few casts and everything was ok.

I think that might not be the best way tho. Once the game is live, I will start using the small "flash" heal more to see how it goes. I'm hoping BioWare adds dual specs soon. Someone saw I was a Sage, and invited me into their group so I can heal lol

"You heal ok?" haha sigh what can you do. If I pick Shadow, it will be "You tank ok?" I'm thinking. But I'm sure a DPS spec Sage won't be able to heal once you are up in the higher levels in the game. And it will suck if you are out questing, and far from town to respec etc. We will see how BioWare handles this in the near future. SW:TOR does lack some of the more modern elements that other MMO's have now.

I'm sure they will add these features sooner than later.

I am no longer playing a class that "can heal". This too often turns from "you can heal" to "you must heal". That sadly turns into "You can heal, why do you want to do XXX as good as anyone else?"

I have played that game before, not going to do it now. I'll gladly be a tank but I am not going to be forced into a healer because the class I choose has a option to heal.

I played a sage and I loved it. Solo mode I always picked my melee tank to duo with. In groups I knew that I wasn't picked for dps. I spent all my ability points on healing. Towards the later levels, my light saber was just another ability enhancing item, I think that I stopped melee attacking after like level 10 (much like eq casters I guess).

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Musnicki

How is your DPS as a Sage when you spec into the healing tree?

Do you mean solo dps? In this game, it doesn't really matter much. Unlike WoW, you can tailor your companion to make up for your lack of dps, and companions do respectable damage.

As a Powertech tank, things might die 2 seconds slower, out of 10 seconds. What's the issue?

The last beta weekend I was in, I was playing a Sith Marauder, and Vette kept pulling aggro off me. Once i got the imperial captain guy, I was much happier because he was just a pocket healer.

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World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

I played one of the tank/dps classes and felt that my sage could dump damage quicker than the tank, I think it was a guardian, but I only played the guardian up to level 16.

Like previously stated, I put on the heavy armour for one of my followers. He tanked and I would dps/spot heal. It worked great but I can't match that up with any other class because I didn't play but one other class. I was looking for a healer follower so that I could play the tank and have a healer as a follower.

I'm more of a tank player but I will open with a sage in this game. I think that I still bear scars from playing a paladin in early EQ. No body wanted a paladin in thier groups, it was a rough time until velious when the exp mod changed, weapons choices increased, spell revamps, other class nerfs etc. It's nice being able to solo stuff and also wanted in groups. Also being able to mooch my way into a group a few levels higher than me is nice. You can't do that as a tank.

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Musnicki