Healing

So i started a smuggler and gone healing spec. I use it a lot in PvP and starting to like the class. Even with PVP I can keep my companion up while he tanks elite bosses and win combat with no problem. I have noticed so far the main healing abilities are channeled so I'm thinking Alacrity will be important later on.

I don't see any posts about Scoundrel Healers so I am wondering if their are any out their with some tips for end game or is the Scoundrel Healer a class no body wants in end game?

What I am hearing from guildies: Scoundrel healing, survivability and efficiency increases exponentially with level. I cannot corroborate yet, mine is only lvl 23. And yet...noticed gradual improvement, I have.

Teh Z.

Sawbones is an extremely viable spec for Scoundrels. I have a level 50 Scoundrel who leveled from 10-50 as Sawbones, and have had zero issues both healing and dealing enough damage to easily complete every PvE leveling encounter. If you are still low level, I would recommend you hang in there. Scoundrel is a "late bloomer" for all specs, and you will not really see your DPS or healing skills fully develop until you get in to your 30s. Until that point you are slightly underpowered, but nothing that a little creative damage dealing can do. Learning little tricks like throwing a grenade to knock down a mob then Back Blasting him will help a lot in leveling. I won't post any story spoilers, but you will get better DPS companions later to help offset your healing.

I have played almost exclusively PvP from lvl 40 on. I waited until then to get in to Warzones because as a class we don't have access to many of our vital abilities and talents until later levels, and didn't want to feel gimped running around doing things. After a week at 50 doing dailies and weeklies, I'm about 3/4 geared in purple PvP Centurion/Champion gear, and have no problem healing my PvP teammates and avoiding pesky Imps trying to kill me. If you have any more specific questions about specs, , stats, playstyles, etc, I would be happy to answer them. If you would prefer to develop your own playstyle, go for it! While I do frequent various TOR theorycraft sites to gain some insight, I have in general developed my playstyle and spec on my own, and feel it has been in general very successful.

As far as alacrity, there is a huge debate in the theorycrafting community, but it is generally felt to be an underpowered stat for Sawbones Scoundrels. If you want more info I can provide links and/or discuss it with you.

Cheers!
Enki, 50 Sawbones Smuggler, Republic, Hedarr Soongh

Power>Crit>Surge>Alacrity. Cap your Crit and Surge at ~300-400 rating each and focus as much on Power after that as you can. Reason being is that while large crit heals are nice, you're going to have more non-crits than crits, and Power increases the base heal amount. Also, with a higher base amount you do get a slightly higher crit out of it.

Alacrity is a in kind of a bad place as a stat and doesn't work too well with the way the resources are managed in this game. On one hand it's great to get your casts off faster, but on the other hand the more you end up casting... the faster you burn through your resources, since you have less time to regen. If you're healing in short bursts (such as PvP) it's not too noticeable, but in any sustained PvE encounter will see it after a while. With no Alacrity you can pretty much cast an Underworld Medicine + Emergency Medpack combo until the cows come home. But if you have a significant amount of Alacrity, if you don't pause your rotation you'll end up burning out of resources faster since you have less regen between casts. For Op/Scoun and Merc/Comm healers Alacrity is kind of a double-edged sword; it works better on a Sorc/Sage but still isn't favorable.