SWTOR Understanding Your Healer Guide

SWTOR Understanding Your Healer Guide by xKiesix

As the result of the influx of new players, not only to this game but MMOs in general, I decided to make a guide on HOW to be healed. Some of it may seem obvious, some not. Essentially it’s to instruct players on how to get the most out of their healer.

Healing is the backbone to everything. Want to survive a heroic, flashpoint, operation, or warzone? Get a healer. However, just having a healer does not necessarily instant wins, especially if the opposing force acknowledges his or her existence.

1.) Kill the Adds (Additional Monsters) – When healing a flashpoint, my needs come last. If necessary, I heal the tank, then the dps, then myself, typically with a low HoT (heal over time). When adds are present during a boss fight and no one is killing them, my rotation is screwed. I have to heal whoever is an inch from death at that moment. I can’t attack the adds that are attacking me without risking losing someone. God forbid the boss has a blue circle of death that I have to run from. If you are DPS or even if you are the tank, TAKE OUT THE ADDS.

2.) Watch my back – It takes a lot to get a good healer in a warzone. Nine times out of ten, I’m left to die on my own unless I go in with a premade. I’ll see an area in danger, rush in and heal, and then suddenly everyone who was there makes a mad dash for it while the opposite faction is riddling my body with holes. Sometimes I’ll be in an area healing, several members of the opposite faction will see what I’m doing, and start attacking me. I die, literally five feet from three teammates who could have literally done ANYTHING but didn’t. If you see your healer in danger, protect them. They will keep you alive. Don’t leave them to die, because we remember that crap.

3.) Look for Circles – Most healers that I have encountered have an area heal spell. This means you receive minor to medium healing while standing in them. While it may not seem like alot, it actually helps us save on our force/ammo/whatever. We can now apply lower-level spells to you to keep you alive instead of moderate to high levels. I’m not saying you should stand in the circle forever, but if you’re guarding a door, or a base, or you’re fighting a boss where you could literally stand anywhere around and it wouldn’t matter, stand in the freaking circle. Don’t be afraid of it and keep your eye out for it. If green numbers are flying over your head in rapid succession, you’re inside it.

4.) Stop Running Away – Healers have to stand in one place to heal higher level spells. Sometimes we are there for up to three seconds calling on a spell. When you walk outside my bounds, I now have to go find where you went and attempt to heal you. In warzones, this equates to you being dead. With three levels to try and find you, if you aren’t in front of me, forget it. In PvE scenarios, this equates to me being very angry as I attempt to heal the damage you caused by running away. I get as a dps it can be frightening when an elite attacks you, but seriously, you are OK. I will not let you die–unless you run away from me.

5.) My first priority is the tank — but I love you too! – Things get heated up sometimes in flashpoints. Often this means everyone is taking damage and my spells are having a hard time keeping up. This is when I switch priorities: Tank first, then you. It doesn’t mean I hate you. It doesn’t mean you are going to die. It just means you might dip below half health before I get around to healing you. Don’t freak out. I am doing my best not to let you die.

6.) You have the ability to heal yourself between fights. Use it! – As a healer, I don’t heal between fights. We each have a recovering ability. If you see me using it and you’re at half health, consider USING it. It saves me on my ability pool and you’re not running into a boss fight with half your health. Also, if you have healing abilities or even medpacks, consider throwing some support heals around when things get difficult. It helps me SO much, even if it isn’t that strong.

7.) Stay in my line of sight! – Little note: Healers have the worst vision ever. If you are hiding behind a chair, or in a crate, or doing anything where there isn’t a direct line of vision, I apparently can’t see you. Which means I can’t heal you. Make sure to know where you are in relation to other players.

8.) If you pull, talk to the tank! – I understand you accidentally attacked the wrong mob. I understand that now you’re dying. What I don’t understand is why you are talking to me about it. Any heals I give you will be moot if the tank doesn’t take control of the situation. Talk to him and you will live. Scream “HEALZ!!” at me and you will probably die.

9.) Don’t break my CC’s! – If you see a guy floating, paralyzed, doing anything other than attacking you, DON’T ATTACK HIM. He’s floating for a reason. By attacking him, you are overwhelming the tank, the dps, and myself.

10.) Focus on the TANK’S target – The tank is the attention grabber. When he attacks a target, he’s building threat. Often he’s not actually doing a whole lot of damage in comparison to the DPS. You are supposed to kill what the tank is attacking. Don’t attack other targets unless they are non-elites, non-champions, and non-strongs. OR unless the tank tells you to.

11.) Stay by the tank – SWTOR has introduced ranged tanks, which means that tanks can actually stand pretty far away from mobs. However, by rushing forward as a melee dps, that means mobs are scattered. The tank can’t take control of the situation. Stand BY him to make sure he can’t target everything in the mob and increase threat as needed.

12.) Make sure I’m there! – Before you go attacking a mob, check behind you. Am I there? If there was an elevator and you start attacking the minute you get off, chances are, half your team didn’t make it, including me. Elevators don’t work once your team has entered into combat. Also, sometimes I’m a room away. Maybe I discovered a chest, maybe I was looting a mob, or maybe I was using my skill. Whatever the reason, I may not be directly behind you. That doesn’t mean yelling at me after you died. That means waiting for the five seconds it takes me to get to your position.

13.) Shield me! – If you have a shield, and we are in a PvP setting, throw it on me. That way when I get spotted, it won’t be instant death. If we’re in a FP, throw it on either me or the tank. I will love you for it.

14.) Don’t Stand in the Fire! – Bosses tend to have area-attack abilities. This means they will target an area on the ground and bombard it with a heavy attack. This is an easily avoidable attack. By simply leaving the area on the ground, I no longer have to heal the majority of your HP.

15.) Try to play a healer – Even if you don’t like healing, the best way to understand how your healer ticks is to actually play one. Try doing it for the first 5 levels of your AC and just run a few flashpoints. By playing the healer, you understand their wants and needs, and be able to better communicate to them as a DPS or a tank.

16.) Check my ability pool before you attack! – If we just exited a fight and you are at 100% health, its because I healed you until my resource pool went dry. I need 8 seconds to recover. Let me have those eight seconds and we won’t have to wait the 20 seconds it takes to die, call a droid, and recover to try it all again.

17.) Resurrect the guy with the cooldown LAST – So we wiped. Except for you. And without asking about cooldowns, you start rezzing someone. Then he tells the rest of the group that we have to walk because he still has a five minute cooldown. Before you rez—ask. Make sure everyone can revive before you rez. Do anything else and I will /ignore you.

In conclusion, thank you for reading this guide and I hope you found it enlightening. If you are a healer, please write below other suggestions you would like to be added to this.