Each class has a CC breaker (known as a “trinket” in other MMOs). Operatives’ CC breaker is called Escape, which is on a 2-minute cooldown.

Escape is arguably your most important DCD. Knowing when to break a stun is incredibly important for healers. Now that you know the basics of the resolve system, you can start thinking about using it optimally. Something that might be a force of habit is breaking the first stun—this is a big mistake. The only time you should break your first stun is when you or a teammate will otherwise die.

Why shouldn’t you break your first stun? Simple: good players will take note that Escape is on cooldown then stun lock and kill you. Stuns are what can kill healers; most of my deaths in warzones happen when I’m stunned and unable to break. Patient, thoughtful use of your breaker will increase your survivability. Situational awareness and knowledge of other classes/disciplines are also key: knowing whether you can survive incoming damage without stun breaking takes practice, trial and error.

A good healer will typically break when white-barred. During this brief window, they are immune to stuns. To reiterate: there is no point breaking a stun unless you will otherwise die or a teammate will die if you don't heal them.

When Escape is on cooldown, you are in a very dangerous predicament. This is when positioning is critical. In this situation, I maintain my distance from the fight (unless I have a tank) and try to avoid being in a position where multiple players could jump on me. Without a breaker, you can easily die within a double hard stun window.

Tip: When you are CC’d, the only thing lit up on your action bars will be Escape. This isn’t to say that you should use it. Consider carefully whether you need to; don’t break just because you can.

Tip: Please don’t break the first stun over one DPS. For example, if an Assassin opens on you from stealth, stuns you and starts their burst rotation, don't freak out and break the stun. Let them burst, break the second stun, stun them, heal up and roll away. If, instead, two Assassins were to open on you, they could probably kill you before the first stun expired. In this instance, quickly break and use your combat stealth then use Evasion to cleanse their DoTs (so you aren’t unstealthed and put back into combat).

Tip: Decide quickly whether to break a CC. To get the most value from your breaker, don’t hesitate and break, say, 6 seconds into an 8-second mez. If you are going to break, break straightaway. If you choose to wait it out, commit to your decision rather than wasting your breaker just before the CC expires.

Tip: Let’s talk about Mercenaries and Commandos’ Electro Net. This ability slows you by 50% for 9 seconds and causes you to take heavy, stacking DoT damage if you move. Every time you move, you gain another stack of this DoT (up to ten stacks). It also hinders you, preventing you from using high-mobility actions/escapes like Exfiltrate and Cloaking Screen. Don’t panic: by breaking the Electro Net, you will be able to use Exfiltrate and Cloaking Screen. However, it won’t purge the stacking DoT damage, which will continue to tick if you move (this DoT cannot be purged or cleansed). Sometimes it’s best to save Escape for Electro Net if you expect to be the target. Remember also that there is another option which is to not even break. If you feel safe you can just stand still so the DoTs don’t stack and wait out the net.

Note: When in trouble, your instinct might be to use Escape then Cloaking Screen. Consider whether you really need to spend these two important cooldowns at once. If you can break and pop another DCD like Stim Boost to survive, do so. You might need your combat stealth later.