I backpedal sometimes. It lulls my opponents into a false sense of confidence.

I must be on the other end of the spectrum then. I have a full set of Eliminator and healing BM Gear and my Mercenary and my Aim companions are almost decked out as well. I also have about 8 tokens saved incase i have to repurchase some pieces for the mods when 1.2 comes out. Thats with a little over two months doing the daily and weekly roughly 90% of the time.

As i said, AoE damage is weakening several enemies at once making them easier for your teammates to take down them down and making the healer have to choose who to heal. This makes them more prone to making a mistake than if only one player is getting pummeled. I am not saying you spam it the entire warzone but i am saying it has its place in capturing objectives. There are still alot of people who once they start taking damage they back off a bit and this leads to an advantage for your team. It creates chaos and gives enemies something more to think about when compared to standing free. I can see your point more for situations when you are in a premade and everyone is on the same page but when you queue solo and your team isn't as organized on who to target its AoE damage increases effectiveness.

Damage is still an important metric; more so in civil war and Voidstar. You have to kill your opponents to cap an objective or they will just sit and tag you while you try. AoE damage is important for two reasons. First, its makes enemy healers have to make decisions and can force mistakes on who needs healed and when to heal them. Second, it weakens targets for the more heavy hitters, allowing them to finish off enemies quickly. Damage taken is still damage, no matter how it is dished and there is only a finite amount of hit points each player has. That being said, using either as a metric for performance (damage or kills) isn't going to give you a clear picture of who is your mvps and until we get a revamp of objective points its not fair to use these numbers as indicators.

Playing while a little ill and carrying the ball when the urge to go to the bathroom overcame me. Came back 5 min later, still alive with the ball and carried it in for the score. Nature > Game.

I almost wish it would allow cross-faction fillers. If having 2 people from the Empire fill a shortman republic team would speed up the queues, improve competition, and make the matches fun and competitive i am fine with it. I guess you could have instances where people grief but i would hope that everyone would be professional enough to play to win.

I play a pyrotech mercenary so i know how ineffective classes can be at the huttball objectives but does that really matter? My role tends to be hold the middle, kill the ball carrier and protect our carrier. Occasionally i am in a position to catch a pass and score. I am fine with that. Its a team sport. Think of it like basketball. You have your point guard who handles/distributes the ball. Its his job. You have other players who are there to grab rebounds, others to score, etc. These aren't their primary functions and there can be overlap. I don't mind that Juggs and Powertechs are better at running the ball than i am or That sorcs have a burst of speed. If they get to a position where this hurts you then you are not properly defending against them. Countless times i have seen teams let the sorc get behind them to receive the pass or pull up an alley. This is an aspect of the game i really enjoy. You have to be aware of your surroundings. If you see that sorc running up the ramp, you better pull off and follow them and kill them or knock them off.

It has happened to me several times of late. /stuck didn't help either and unless someone came by and killed me i couldn't don anything. I wish they would allow quicktravel or add another clicky button to shoot you back to the spawn point in pvp to get around this situation.

DPS is a pyro is pretty darn good. I usually average 300k in huttball and civil war and 400-600k in voidstar, assuming i stick to the objectives and not just try to full on DPS. It takes alot less work to do damage in this range as a pyrotech. Heat management is more of an issue but once you get that down its smooth sailing. You get alot more mobility; its fun times. Here is a recent example from a warzone the other day. This included some downtime just guarding a stray door as well. http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh70/lijahrobinson/?action=view&current=Screenshot_2012-03-14_21_01_02_289014.jpg

I think its fine we dont have an interrupt. Each class has their own unique blend of pros and cons and to me, we feel pretty balanced without one.

We do lack some utility that the other classes lack in PvP but we are far from useless. I play a pyrotech and i will argue our burst is every bit as good if not better then an arsenal. 95% of the time i lead in damage. While damage doesn't directly = win it does go along way when focused correctly. here is some tips from my experience to ensure your victory. 1. Focus on pressuring enemy healers. You can do this in two ways. the first is directly attacking them or knocking them into positions (ie the pit) where they are neutralized. The second is using your aoe attacks. aoe heals in this game are weak compared to other games so when multiple people's health starts going down they have to make decisions on who to heal. A death from above followed by a fusion missile starts this process and if they heal the wrong person you have done your job. 2. Keep the catwalks clear. Aggressively kill people who run ahead of the ball. Typically these are sorcs and assassins and when they are focused on getting open instead of you, they are pretty much an autowin. 3. Get open yourself. Get on the catwalks. you have 1 stun break so try to get passes after the first enemy firetrap. Be careful with this break too and use it when needed. If that means waiting though a 4 sec stun so you can have it when going over the firetrap, then its a necessary evil. Also, don't be afraid to pop your bubble and run across the fire and then pop a warzone healpack. sometimes those 3 seconds matter. 4. Target the ball - Both sides if your not in pass position or someone else is. You do great damage, use it to keep them off the handler or to take down a handler.

I see what you are saying and i agree that heat management is the single most important part of playing a pyrotech. With that in mind, we have to weave in alot of rapid shots (our basic attack). This isn't a bad thing because of Combustable gas cylinder (16% chance to do 1100ish damage over 6 seconds). Also, Unload and powershot can reset rail shot and make it free as well as vent 8 heat. I agree if you are trying to 1v1 everyone that heat is a real problem but if your skirmishing (ie on the outskirts, targeting the important targets, switching as needed) heat is generally fine with your vent being up every 2 min (or 1m 30 if you spec that way).

Marauders are the toughest matchup in my opinion. It is winnable but you have to have to have most of your cooldowns available. I kill other mercs just fine with the exception of healers. If they are good its takes too long to solo them down and you are better off knocking them into the pit and moving on. I do fine vs assassins as well, with the exception of one tree (i cant remember which one it is).

I play a mercenary (not sure which is the "mirror" class on republic side) but I can give you some imput here. I play the pyrotech tree (no tracer missile/grav round) for me. Pros: MOBILITY - Alot of your attacks are instant cast or you can use on the run. Also, lets you get open for passes alot more than as an arsenal. Basic attack - It applies a pretty good DoT that does decent damage. Burst - Your burst is just as good if not better than an grav spammer. This is assuming a target that knows your attacking it and therefor moving. Not taken seriously - This happens alot actually. - The way you can line up your attacks, you can take 50% of a targets health before they really know whats going on. Cons: Heat/ammo management - It requires ALOT more effort to keep yourself where you want to be and to know then to burn out. That can take some time to learn. One less knockback Lose out on the debuffs that tracer missile provides These are just a few that i could think of off the top of my head.

I dont struggle at all. I haven't played a PT at all so i dont know how they compare to a merc. I feel i do more damage, am more mobile and contribute more to actual objectives as a pyro than i do as an arsenal. Here is an example that i had loaded for another post but damage output isn't a problem and the mobility actually lets you run with the ball while still doing damage and attempting to do the other objectives. http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh70/lijahrobinson/?action=view&current=Screenshot_2012-02-20_20_19_37_744617.jpg

This is not true. our tree gives it a 30% armor piercing and if it hits a burning target we vent 8 heat and refreash our CGC Dot timer. Also, Powershot has a 30% and unload has a 60% to reset it and make the next one we cast free (ie, vs burning targets, an automatic 8 heat vent). There are also damage enhancement options up the tree as well. It is probably the pyrotech merc's most used special attack

Heat Management is alot more important aspect to a pyrotech. But to counter that, their basic attack is alot better (16% chance to apply a 1000 damage over 6 sec DOT) The mobility, at least to me, really makes up for it. I am in the process of leveling a Powertech so i can try out the other side of it but that will be a while yet.

Hey, I know we are the vast minority. I rarely see another in warzones I participate in. Is it the same across servers? How do you feel about them compared to the million Arsenals roaming the catwalks? What do you think their power level is compared to other classes?

They already have an option number 2; its a pyrotech

As i said in an earlier thread, i am a Pyrotech Mercenary and Arsenal mercenaries are pretty much an auto win. I don't see how can as bad as 50/50 vs them in a 1vs1 situation. They are so bad in 1vs1. They have a game plan, true but it is easy to counter. If you run headfirst at them then yeah, you might bet burned down. Remember what they do, they stay outside of fights and rain down damage. So what does that mean. If they aren't focusing you, then go ahead and take them down. They fall pretty quick. The key is to hit them with constant pressure and don't run headlong into them. If i get my Incend, thermal, rail shot off, before they notice me, they seldom end up living through the encounter. Line of sight is a valid strategy if they are freecasting on you. They will quickly change tragets when they cant see you and you are free to heal up quickly and go take them out.

LOS IS a valid tactic. It absolutely funny to see how many times one will bend over to use a missile only to have it cancelled by darting behind a pillar at a flame trap in hutball. There is a blocker almost everywhere you are on every map. 95% of the Arsenal Spec isn't going to follow you. He likes it up on his catwalk as it is his tactical advantage. He could run into another enemy and i think everyone can agree arsenals are pretty horrid in 1vs1 situations. Even if he does follow you, he only has a few attacks that don't require him to remain stationary. He is going to stay where he can be defended by teammates and get heals. They are turrets, just get out of their range and attack them from their flank. once you land your openers on them, they will either run or die.

Keep them the way they are. Otherwise it would feel like getting in a fight with a 5 year old girl. They are easy enough to kill as it is. I play a pyrotech Mercenary and i kill arsenals all day long. If you are getting destroyed by arsenals then you have no idea how to play against them. If no one is focusing on them, and they are free to do what they want, then yes they can put out some damage. Be proactive. Knock them off catwalks. Kill them, they are pretty horrid 1 vs 1. Use line of sight. Just, for the love of god, don't stand in the center of huttball while there is one on the catwalks and then complain when you get destroyed.

I can. I use 3 mainly. 1. Wynz-tek firestorm - 2k damage over 12 seconds to up to 6 ppl. great for protecting nodes (although this will be removed with the next major patch) 2. Wynz-Tek Chemical Sludge Applicator - 5 targets, 70% slowdown for 8 seconds - great when you need to by some time or someone is resolved out. 3. Wynz-Tek Rakata Cryo-Shock - 4 targets are rooted for 5 sec' breaks on damage after 2. the bottom two are good for buying time for your teammates to get to you and to help prevent scoring. the biggest problem with these is their 5 min shared timer. I think they need to have different timers (and then even 5 min wouldn't be that bad, but i think three would be idea) or a 3 min shared timer would be fair. Right now they are one trick ponies that are useful and i have prevented scores in huttball and caps in voidstar/civil war but compared to biochem they are severely lacking.

http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh70/lijahrobinson/?action=view&current=Screenshot_2012-02-20_20_19_37_744617.jpg As a Pyrotech Mercenary. Not my best but pretty good for huttball. I think we lost on someone trying to throw away and throwing right to a sorc.

The daily nerf thread. As i always say in these, i play a pyrotech mercenary and i think the arsenal tree is fine. 1. There is a 1.5 sec cast time for this ability. It can be interrupted. It does similar damage to like abilities in other advanced classes. 2. Unload deals more damage and can be reset with tracer missile/power shot. If you are not keeping unload on cool down you are doing it wrong. Alot of abilities center around tracer missile, yes, but spamming it by itself isn't anywhere near as effective as using all your abilities. 3. You only see the tracer missile; people dont remember seeing the heatseeker or the rail shot that hit pretty darn hard. 4. Even with all the cost lowering abilities, if you spam it more than 10-15 sec, you will overheat. Conversely, if you allow an arsenal spec to do this, you deserve to lose. They are a turret. They stand still and hit hard. They give up 90% of their mobility to do this. Not being able to move is huge and is an excellent trade off for their abilities. Also, throw in a line of sight blocker and they cannot kill you. Focus down their arsenals or use line of sight. I cant help but htink that every one of these threads is the result of someone standing in the center in huttball while a merc is on the catwalks uncontested. Sometimes, the correct move its not to think about the ball and keep these classes from doing damage.