Hello all. I am putting together a quick guide to sage raid healing. Here you will find some possible specs along with common rotations, tips, and tricks.
We will start with the spec I am currently using.
This spec is designed for raid healing. It is almost identical to the standard healing spec you can find on many sites with a key difference. I have swapped a point from Pain Bearer into Valiance.
Valiance grants reduced damage taken when casting Noble Sacrifice. Whereas Pain Bearer reduces total damage taken. This might seem like an odd choice but it is extremely important as of patch 1.2.
In patch 1.2 they made Resplendence (a talent that would grant you a pain free use of noble sacrifice) still cause damage to the caster. In current raiding scenarios I find myself taking large percentages of my damage taken through sacrificing myself. This extra 2% reduction helps to alleviate that.
Tactics
A healing sage heals quite similarly to a holy priest (for you WoW vets). There are 5 core abilities that should be the most commonly cast by a raid healer. These are…
Deliverance WoW vets think Greater Heal. This is your biggest hitting heal with the most 1 shot healing potential. In full rakata gear this will crit for anywhere between 5k and 6k depending on itemization.
Healing Trance This is a channeled heal that will heal your target 3 times for a variable ammount. Each seperate heal has a chance to crit. This ability is the most force effecent heal a sage has and is key to sage force regen. When this ability crits you are granted resplendence which allows you to use noble sacrifice without reducing your force regen rate (note: this will still damage you as of 1.2)
Rejuvenate This is a HoT ability that heals an instant amount and then a variable amount that is critable every few seconds. When using this spec this ability will also grant the target 10% bonus armor which is huge for tanks.
SalvationThis is the ability that usually heals the most for me in any boss fight. This is the core ability that distinguishes sage healers from Commandos and Scoundrels. It places an AoE heal on the ground at a target location that heals an initial amount and then every few seconds for up to 8 players. Positioning this AoE and staggering/stacking this with other sage healers can produce great results.
Force Armor This is a great utility ability and is key to any sage healing strategy. This will create a shield on a target player that will absorb a “high” amount of damage. WIth this spec this ability only costs 15 force and has no cooldown.
Healing on a sage is reactive rather than proactive. That means there is no “best rotation” It is all about knowing which heal to cast when. My most used heal is healing trance. It is quick healing and when it crits the numbers are high. It also allows me to regenerate force when needed by using noble sacrifice.
It is important to use Rejuvenate often as well. In this spec there is a talent that gives the player a buff when casting rejuvenate. This buff augments your next cast of 3 of your main abilites. Healing Trance – higher crit chance, Slavation – lower force cost, Benevolence – lower force cost. Durring heavy damage fights where you can’t stand in one place your best bet is to use force armor and rejuvenate to keep people up until you can place a salvation for group healing. It is very important to always be using your chain talented abilites throughout the fight to take the greatest advantage of the spec.
Example:
Force Armor -> Rejuvenate -> Healing Trance -> Noble Sacrifice -> Force Armor -> Rejuvenate -> Salvation
Casting rejuvenate on somone who is taking damage is always a good idea is it enhances your other abilities.
Tips:
♦ Make sure when you use Noble Sacrifice you already have a plan for replacing your lost health. A great strategy for this is to make sure you either have Rejuvenate cast on yourself or are standing in either yours or another’s Salvation.
♦ Communicate with the other healer/healers to set focus targets for each healer. It is very easy to overheal with a sage as there are alot of AoE and slow cast heals.
♦ When deciding what gear to get / what mods to equip remember that power and willpower will make you a more effective overall healer while surge and crit will make you a better burst healer. Since most fights in the current Operations last over 5 minutes I would recommend power/willpower/alacrity in that order.
I will edit this post if I think of other tips and or better ways to explain these things. If you have any questions please ask!
Andy Rudi
