Hello TORWarriors! Here’s a fantastic new episode #48 of Corellian Run Radio with guest host Terran Hawkins from SWTOR Unlimited. It was a pretty eventful patch week last week and of course in the show Carla and I cover all the little details, in addition, we chat more about what the future holds for players [...]
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Photo-Receptor Focus on: Healing
by Maer
It was a almost a year of raiding before I discovered I was actually a healer at heart. I’m not even sure how I started healing, but I know it was on an alt. My DPS was less than spectacular, no matter what I did, so I started bringing in my healer.
More after the jump…
Once I got in and really gave it a go, I discovered that I loved healing and was actually pretty good at it. Not great. I’ll never be that super brilliant player, but I’m solid, dependable and I love it. I work at it, though, because that’s the only way to improve and be the best I possibly can be.
Healers are a special breed. We can get blamed for just about everyone that dies in a raid, but the truth is, it’s often other players not knowing how to play their own class. Yep, healers get a bad rap, that’s for sure.
So what do I mean by that? Well, one thing is when DPS pull off the tank and die. It’s up to DPS to watch their threat and not pull off the tank to begin with, but too often they want to show how “bad” they are – and oh boy, do they ever show that. Unfortunately for them, it’s not the slang kind of bad, but just the plain old bad. And they often can’t take more than one or two hits before they are down. No way a healer can save them, but we get the blame anyway. And more often than we should.
Unless, of course, you’re in awesome groups. I’ve been in both, but don’t play for very long with those who don’t have respect for the healers. I’ve been pretty lucky in that regard. I’ve had fantastic guilds I raided with, who didn’t yell at their healers.
So what, exactly, does it take to be a healer? Like tanks, gear is important. You want to get the best you can and you need to know what stats to stack for your class because they vary.
Know you particular class’s abilities. Not just the heals, but your rez, CCs, quick movement abilities and interrupts. Anything that can help in a pinch. Have them on your bar and kdnow where they are. That way you can cast them without having to look for them and waste precious seconds.
Obviously, staying focused on the group’s health is key. That means using some sort of raid UI. I still miss those mods I had, but I’m adapting. Depending on whether you’re ops healing or tank healing will determine where most of your attention goes, but usually I try to keep everyone as full as I can get them. If it comes to a choice between DPS and a tank, the heal will always go to the tank first, though. Also keeping an eye out for the other healers is key. Tanks, healers, DPS is usually my order, but I do love to see nice full health bars across the board.
You need to be aware of what’s around you and under you. Not standing in fire is a good thing. Having to spend force to heal yourself needlessly is not a good thing. Yeah, that old situational awareness thing again. And healers can get into a healing “zone” where they start focusing on heals and their ops UI and forget about what else might be going on. Usually their tanks or ops leaders know who has a tendency to do this and will watch out for them. Hardcore groups have less patience with this type of healer, though.
Also, try to make an effort to actually watch the fights and see what’s going on. I remember practicing tanking back in the day and thinking,” Oh ,so that’s what this fight looks like.” I was so focused on little bars of health, I missed the good stuff a lot of the time.
Don’t try to “help” with DPS on a boss. It wastes force you will need for healing. Obviously, there are fights where you can do that, but not very often in ops. You may feel you need to be doing something, but you will be very soon and you want everything topped off when you get to that point.
So, to recap, have the right gear, know your class, stay on top of everyone’s health, be aware of what’s going on around you and don’t help DPS. Pretty simple, right?
That’s my two credits on healing. What’s yours?
Ready…set…discuss…
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Highlighted Guild
Nova Squad: Teamwork & Character
This week we take a look at Nova Squad a guild for the Republic. I came across them through Twitter. They had posted a PVP event and so I wanted to check this guild out. What I found was a family friendly guild that loves to have fun. For Nova Squad, this fun comes in many forms, Datacron runs, “Monday Heroes” heroic runs, and much more. After spending some time in their forums and getting to know them, it’s obvious they pride themselves on character; it is a definite strength in this guild. We will find out more about Nova Squad in our Q&A with their guild leader, Hoka.
We get to meet Hoka & learn more about Nova Squad after the Jump…
Was Nova Squad around before SWTOR or created for this game specifically?
We are purely a SWTOR guild. We managed to get started during the early beta and early access windows.
Nova Squad, like most guilds, has a code of conduct can you tell us more about this guild’s idea of proper conduct?
We want to be respected by our server-mates. Our code emphasizes behaving in a way that would maintain our good reputation. In addition, we have a PG rated rule for our entire guild, party and voice communication. Many of us are family and have kids who can read or hear channels. Profanity is not welcome.
Character is a priority I see throughout your guild. How does this translate into a better guild atmosphere and overall gaming experience?
Character is how you behave when no one is looking. The internet is just FULL of trolls and jerkfaces who enjoy being jerks because no one will catch them. By maintaining strong personal character in our players, the guild really benefits. No one in our guild is going to go ape if we wipe on content or if we make a mistake. That really allows players to trust each other. They know their guild will back them up even if something turns out badly. Everyone is cool when things go right. Your friends are there when things go wrong. We actually enjoy when a mistake results in something really amazing. Like getting stuck in the sky or falling to our death on an elevator over and over. (Looking at YOU Cademimu…)
What server can Nova Squad be located and what faction is the guild? Why did your guild choose this server and faction?
We knew from the start we wanted to be Republic. We were assigned to the server by Bioware prior to early access. You can find the Nova Squad on Krayt Dragon server.
I mentioned how I came across the guild, through a tweet about a PVP event. First off, how did the PVP event go? Secondly, has the guild held more events since then or are there more events scheduled in the future for Nova Squad?
We have regular events all the time. They include Heroic missions, level 50 dailies, PVP, FlashPoints and Datacron crawls. We’re starting to mature, level wise, so we’re going to be including Ops for players who want to pursue that. We had a great time! The PVP event is one of my favorites. It’s great to work together and win a WarZone. It’s also good to groan together when we get drubbed in a match. 
What class are you currently playing now? What advance class did you take, and is this your main character or do you suffer from “alt-disease” like I do?
I went Trooper Vanguard. I really enjoy tanking, as well as the mix of range and melee dps. SWTOR is very good and encourages you to see the story from many different angles. I have a Smuggler Scoundrel alt, but he’s a lower priority.
As of this week, what would you say is Nova Squad’s greatest achievement in the game? What is a future goal for the guild?
I’d say our greatest achievement is our turnout for our events. Nearly every event has at least half the guild participating. If you’re looking for a ‘check list’ I’d say its Datacrons and world bosses. We’ve tackled them all up to Nar Shaddaa at this point. We haven’t tried higher as we try to encourage our leveling characters to take part. Our current future goal is to field Ops groups for the 50s who want to pursue that. We’re in no rush and make no playtime demands on our players.
Is Nova Squad currently allied with any other guilds? On the other side, is there a guild that you would consider an adversary?
We have bumped into The Council a strange number of times. We’ve cooperated well every time we’ve met up. Nothing has been coordinated yet, but we’re starting to recognize each other and build on that relationship. They’re a good bunch of people. I wouldn’t say we have a guild adversary. When we meet Imps, Red = Dead so I don’t usually take the time to notice who I’m fighting.
Speaking of Nova Squad battling Imperials, here is a video from the Alderaan Warzone. Thanks Hoka for supplying the video!
We have just passed the two month time-frame since the game released in early access. How would you rate the game and what are some areas that the game needs to improve?
The game is amazingly good. I don’t have any serious issues with the game as it stands right now. Areas that need improvement are being able to abandon any quest if you want. Having to backtrack to knock out a grey quest because you can’t abandon it is not fun. I’d also really like to see a feature where you can right-click a guildie’s name and send them a /tell. Lastly, many of us would like alt-spec ability. With companions it’s easy to carry around alternate gear, but without a dual-spec, you have to visit the Skill Mentor to swap between roles if the party needs it.
The next big patch, 1.2, seems to have a lot of guild features. Are you excited to see Bioware listen to the community and address some of the needs, especially for guilds? What are your thoughts on the Guild Summit?
The Guild summit is exciting. We have a guild member who lives in Austin and could go. We are currently on the ‘wait list’ and I don’t hold out hopes that we’ll have a representative there. We’re very excited to hear from the developers about guild banks and possibly guild capital ships!
Is Nova Squad currently recruiting? If so how can potential recruits get in touch with the guild? Are there specific classes and advance classes you are looking for in future recruits?
Recruiting: Yes! We have a good player base now, but we’re looking particularly for DPS right now. However, we take players of any class or level, so long as they are friendship focused rather than ‘progression’ or ‘gear’ focused. We have a great website and anyone is welcome to apply.
How can folks follow the guild or correspond with Nova Squad to maybe take part in an event etc.? Players are encouraged to follow us on Twitter @nova_squad, follow our website, or message me (Hoka) or our officers (Khasper, Axecell, Torvasse) in game on the Krayt Dragon server.
That wraps up another Guild Checkpoint for this week. I want thank Hoka for all of the help with this week’s article. I also want to send shout outs to all the members of Nova Squad for making me feel welcome on their forum site, especially those posting the great screenshots. I might have to roll a character on Krayt Dragon to stay in touch
Are you in a guild or a leader in a guild? If so please contact me and see if we can tell the community about your guild. Just submit your guild’s website and some basic information in an email to me at, jason@corellianrun.com. Look forward to highlighting more guilds here at Corellian Run Radio. Thanks and see you next week!
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Greetings, TORWarriors and welcome to another installment of Bounty Hunter Weekly; the column that takes a peek into Star Wars: The Old Republic’s Bounty Hunter class and what it means to be one of the Republic’s Most Wanted. This week I’ll be taking a look at acquiring Level 50 PvP gear for your Hunter, the [...]
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We here at TORWars had an opportunity to interview the woman behind many a BioWare character, Jennifer Hale. Over tea and ‘hot water’ we sat and discussed her thoughts on BioWare, Satele Shan and primarily what it’s like to be a voice actress for a major video game company. Here’s the first part in a [...]
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Greetings TORWarriors, it’s time for another edition of the Imperial Agent Weekly. This week I’d like to continue last weeks discussion on Imperial Agent Operatives that are specced for healing. For the background information on resource and buff management when operating this spec, check last weeks article here. Lets jump right in and take a [...]
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I saw this little screen grab and a wicked grin played upon my lips. I hate my droid companion 2V-R8 and oh how I wish I could send him on this mission to never return. Is he truly that annoying? The answer is yes, yes he is. Why couldn’t we get an R2 unit or [...]
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HoloNet Links #33
Our top story on HoloNet Links has to do with an announcement from Drew Karpyshyn. After twelve years with Bioware, Drew is officially retiring from the company and video game developing. He let his fans know in his blog February 15th. Drew talks in the blog entry how he plans to use the time for other projects, writing novels, screenplays and playing some more golf.
More on Drew’s announcement & the rest of this week’s HoloNet Links after the Jump…
“I’m leaving to focus more time and energy on my novels and other non-video game related projects. But even though I’ll no longer be working on games for BioWare, I’m not going to be severing all ties with them. Many of my closest friends still work at the company, and I’m also in the process of writing the next Star Wars: The Old Republic novel, though I can’t say too much about it yet.”
Drew, you will be missed, from both Bioware and the video game industry. I personally want to thank you for creating my favorite character in the entire Star Wars Universe…Revan. May the Force be with you, in all that you do!
This past Tuesday was Valentine’s Day. I hope that you were able to celebrate and spend time with the ones you love outside of the gaming realm. That said, did you remember your companions? Did you get them any special gifts? If not maybe you can help mend the relationships with a new look. Nothing says love like a Star Wars: The Old Republic “facial.” I’m talking about the many customizations kits found throughout the galaxy. So, now you know what to get your companion, where can you find the customizations kit? Well, Dulfy’s Healing Corner has you covered. Not only does she have the locations and some sneak peeks at how the appearances look, but she has verified the locations. So get that spice back into your SWTOR relationship by visiting Dulfy’s article, “Companion Customization list.”
Dev notes
GeorgZoeller PvP -> People leaving wz is now out of control.
Patch 1.2, among many other PvP changes, will remove the reliance on daily quests for your gear progression (and therefore increasing the value of the commendations you get for playing a match to the end) and penalties for quitters.
All I can say…thank you Bioware! There has been needed a penalty for those not willing to stick it out and help the team during a Warzone.
GeorgZoeller Operative -> Operative Medical Therapy does not work
Update: The fix for this is scheduled for weekly patch 1.1.4.
– Georg
AmberGreen Customer Service -> Companion Conversation Bugged
Hello everyone! Thanks for your patience while we implemented a resolution for this issue. It’s wonderful to see your enthusiasm over the knowledge that our Companions really DO want our company when they say they do.
Remember that we’re always looking to improve the game, and we know that things such as this can make a big difference.
This has been a bug that has been driving me crazy. My companion’s icon to chat would come up, so I head back towards my ship and then to get there and they don’t want to talk…ugh. Thank to the testers and developers for hopefully getting this bug fixed.
DamionSchubert General Discussion -> Do not roll “Need” for companion gear.
Need vs. greed isn’t as simple in our game because of companions, as well as Orange Gear and mod extraction.
We will probably limit the ‘need’ button to only people who match the primary class the gear is meant for, and add a new button in between need and greed for players to choose if they intend the gear for these purposes – this will allow CC users to roll against each other without competing with the guy who wants to sell the gear for credits.
I don’t have a timeline on this for you guys right now, though – certainly not in the next major patch. In the meantime, I strongly recommend that players who care clearly decide the expected need/greed role behaviors (‘no companion need rolling or you’re out!’) when a group is initially formed. In the meantime, I’ll work on getting this feature in the works.
Not sure exactly how this will work. I do know that there should be a better way than currently, but that said if you actually communicate with the group members, everyone usually understands if you need an item for a companion. Perhaps class quests should drop more companion items and let Flashpoints, Warzones, general loot drops and Operations be the source for a player’s gear…Oh, let us not forget Crew Skills. Maybe schematics that are companion specific could be added for the crafting system.
What are some ideas you can think or to help with companion gear needs? Let us know in the comment section below.
DavidBass General Discussion -> Guild Summit Application Status
All emails have now been sent out. Please check your inboxes if you applied for the Guild Summit, and email guilds@swtor.com if you do not receive an email within the next hour or so.
For those who have been put on the waitlist, we’ll contact you sometime within the next week if a space opens up for your guild.
For those who did not apply but are anxiously awaiting more details about the Summit and the livestream, we’ll be providing that once we’re much closer to the event. For now, I can tell you that the livestream will run on Monday, March 5th for the majority of the morning and afternoon. Once we nail down the exact schedule, we’ll provide it to you so you can plan around it if necessary.
Thanks again to everyone who applied! We look forward to seeing you in Austin or on the livestream!
Be sure to check your email, including your spam folder for a possible invite to the first Guild Summit held in Austin Texas. If you are like me and did not get an invite, don’t fret the entire event is going to be on a livestream and recorded to watch. I am encouraged to see what Bioware plans to unveil for guilds and also things like UI changes etc. Be sure to mark your calendars now for Monday, March 5th!
Star Wars Community News & Events
This week we had a new staff writer add their talents to the website. Timothy De Block’s article “So, You Think You Can Fly,” is a really great start for him here at Corellian Run Radio. Be sure to check his article and all the rest over the past week submitted by the site’s writers. Please be sure to take some time and leave your comments for our writers. We appreciate hearing what you think, or even what you would like us to cover in future articles.
02/12 So, You Think You Can Fly by Timothy De Block
02/13 Episode 47: Carla & Deirdre Talk Ilum Woes and More – podcast
02/13 Guild Checkpoint featuring Redemption by Jason Taylor
02/14 My Two Credits: Tankage by Maer
02/15 Force Lore: Happy belated Valentine’s Day by Daniel Sperelli
02/15 Force Lore: Korriban by Daniel Sperelli
Huge shout to the video creator SwtorLEGIT (Riley Hastings), composer Mark Griskky and the vocals by artist Richie Branson. Trust me after this video you will, “pledge allegiance to the Cold Republic!” Sit back press play and enjoy! I am looking forward to share more videos from Richie and his crew in the future.
Have you created something like Richie and his friends that you want to share with the SWTOR community? If so we would like to help! Just send your in-game footage, music video, video parody, game tips, fan fiction, creative artwork… As long as it’s related to SWTOR the possibilities are endless – NO SPOILERS, Please.
Send links for your work and it might just get highlighted in future HoloNet Links articles. You can email me at corellianrun@gmail.com, or you can leave link suggestions in the comments below, or in the Facebook group. See you all next week!
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Senior writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Drew Karpyshyn, has announced on his blog today that he is leaving BioWare. Drew has worked on many of BioWare’s titles, including Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in addition to penning many of the Mass Effect novels and the [...]
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Remember when the only thing that you thought was missing from BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic was some Star Wars themed Hip Hop tunes to go along with the epic war brewing between the Republic and the Empire? Well, fear not TORWarriors – SWTOR fan and Hip Hop artist Richie Branson has created a [...]
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