I generally find it much easier to use IO's burst. Every time I play Arsenal it's always hinging on doing a ton of damage (getting criticals) or not that much. It's kind of unpredictable depending on what crits and what doesn't. I don't know - maybe my mindset is just more sorted to IO. I feel like with DoTs + Mag Shots/TD/Unload and Electro Net, I've got a target locked down. And that Missile Blast warhead execute is nothing to shrug off, either. EDIT: Also people saying it's basically impossible to manage your heat as IO. It's really not too difficult once you understand what will overheat you and what doesn't. It just takes a bit of getting used to. I rarely burn myself out with Vent Heat still on cooldown.

I just find it so fascinating that some people find Arsenal to be a more mobile spec than IO. I personally find that to be completely switched. A lot of my time as Arsenal is spent frustrated that I can't deal pressure when someone is sitting on me. The reliance on tracer missiles when Priming Shot is down is rather frustrating to me. However, when I play IO, I almost never, ever cast. It's usually me running about throwing Incendiary, Thermal Detonator, Mag Shots and Unload with Thrill of the Hunt (giving me another Mag Shot) and then Mag Shot giving me a instant Power Shot, Serrated Shot or Rapid Scan. I'm almost never standing still as IO. As for DoT-spread - it's actually not bad if you stack Death from Above on top of it. You'll get some mean numbers. However, I generally avoid doing that unless their team is really stacked. As IO, I'm generally going after the healers and trying to get them down enough to blow Electric Net and gut them for good.

That's what my IO Mercenary needs - a harder time with operatives! Please learn to time roll (unless you're Lethality or Medicine - in which case, just heal it up).

I would bring up that Rocket Out has the lowest CD of any ability being added to the game in 4.0, but I'm honestly tired of talking about this game's balance - especially the hypothetical balance of the game's future. So whatever.

Heh. Our cherry pops ranked group moved to Harb, too. Sad to see you go. I enjoyed playing with/against you in regs. Let me know if you come back (or I'll let you know if I go there hehe).

Pfft. Bumper gap too stronk. Nerf.

Same happened to my mercenary. Completely disgusting things sent my way. I don't queue unless it's group and I know everyone. We didn't even lose and people still get pissed I'm queueing as non-FOTM. You guys can wait forever in queue for all I care. I'm not going to endure that crap.

Except it's not, considering you can get awards for ranked that regs cannot get. I don't care about losing some rating because some members on my team aren't the best. That doesn't mean I don't care about it at all. Except this balance is only broken in 4v4. In 8v8, the game is entirely more balanced. Playing a mercenary isn't a horrible experience. Basically, they made ranked dependent on the game mode that only a few classes excel at, instead of the game mode where everyone can play what they like to play.

That's the problem, though - they can't balance the game around death match. They've been trying for years. Mercenaries still suck at arena. Everyone is balanced in 8v8, though. Every single class has a role and advantage. I don't want to be punished for picking the "wrong" class

You can counter a solo stealth capper pretty well by just standing far enough away or having two guards. What does get kind of tedious is having like 4 assassins just trolling the cap the entire game. I assume that has more to do with "everyone rolled sins because they're overpowered" though.

Not like 4v4 is much better. Try playing a Mercenary in 4v4 and seeing how much fun it is.

I'm not sure what to tell you dude. I accept the possibility that I'll be grouped with bad players any time I enter a regs. It's just a rating in a fictional game. I don't let losses get to me like it might to you. You can stick to 4v4 if you like. I didn't say remove it. I assume you probably play one of the classes that does well in 4v4 and want to cling onto it. That's okay. I just don't like 4v4 because my class literally can't play in it. I'd rather play 8v8 with some bad players than not play at all. As for the ratings - yeah, I mean. BioWare can do what they want with it. Tie to medals, don't tie it to medals. The rating system already sucks for 4v4 (powertechs like 1000 points over mercenaries lol), so it's not like 4v4 is a working system. At least 8v8 is fun for everyone.

I didn't want to respond to this thread because it's kinda old now and I think people basically just missed the point. Balance is a problem, yeah. I play a Mercenary. I know things aren't great for us. However, a lot of the changes in 3.3 were for the better - trading comms between legacy, lowering the cost of gear, making DR gear accessible to people who can't do ranked. If we can't let the devs know they're doing a good job with the things they are doing a good job with, then why would they ever focus on PvP content? So yeah, I thank them for that. I'm just curious. Whenever I post a positive thread here I get lept on by people saying how horrible and terrible the game is and will always be. What are you guys doing here? What are you playing this game if you hate it so much?

I'd really like it if the Medpacs just became a reusable item like the health potions in Diablo 3. I burn through the adrenals/medpacs so often because BioWare decided it'd be funny if my class' defenses were terrible.

This doesn't stop 4v4 from happening, though? There's tons of 4v4 matches where everyone blames everyone else for being awful, and people cry queue sync because guildies get put on the same side. This problem is completely independent of 8v8 - it's a PvP problem in general. Rating changes would definitely have to be based on role and objectives, I'd think. They already have a medal system that can tell when you're guarding, taking orbs, putting the bomb on Voidstar, ect. For example, if your team wins at Voidstar, and you personally put the bomb on one of the doors, you'd get a higher rating increase than someone who didn't put any bombs on. On the other end, if you lost the game, you'd lose less rating if you were guarding the whole time and defused a bomb.

You have to draw out their CC breaker with a stun/burst combo before you go for the real kill with e-net. Don't be predictable with your netting.

/sign up as Mercenary /Operative opponent /Leave game

Except it's not? You can LoS MM pretty easily while waiting out their defensives. If you couldn't, Snipers wouldn't be sitting near the bottom of the leaderboards while Powertechs laugh from the top on top of mound of corpses. I have both a end-game Sniper and Gunslinger. I would not bring those two in solo rank over my PT even if you paid me 50k credits every game.

I'm curious, because regs 8v8 is doing perfectly fine. Reg pops all day and night on the Bastion. The reason why ranked 4v4 isn't played by many people is because unless you're a Powertech, Assassin or Sorc, you aren't capable of reaching the top tier. If you play a Sniper, Mercenary or Marauder, you don't have any hope to play at a competitive level. I will never queue solo ranked on my Mercenary or Sniper ever again.

Are you seriously one of those people that suggest that Sorcs/PTs/Sins are so popular right now because all the people playing them are "super skilled."? Lol.

First of all - I want to thank anyone who disagrees with this idea but left more than just "you're an idiot" or "lol no." Even if you don't like the idea, talking about why you don't is more helpful for me, people who agree with it and any devs who manage to glance over the thread. We come back to games all the time? My friends and I have participated in PvP in this game at launch, in season 2, and came back for season 4-6. I've returned to several other games to see how PvP has changed over time. This - however, I think we're on the same page. The main reason I'm unhappy with the game's PvP at the moment is that the class I enjoy, Mercenary, just has no place in it. I can't play solo ranked. Group ranked requires convincing that "hey, you know - Mercenary isn't that bad - honest!" I don't feel like a crutch in 8v8. I feel like I actually help the team win. Why am I not allowed to be apart of ranked unless I play other classes that are more powerful but I don't enjoy as much? This last patch made a good step forward. I can actually get the best gear through 8v8. But, still - I'll never see the season rewards on my Mercenary. I'll never be in a position where 8v8 doesn't have 3-4 players who still gear in PvE gear. I want to feel like my contribution actually matters while having an environment where things are even and people care about winning.

Mercenaries I can understand, but Powertechs? Have you played AP lately? You're squishy, yes - but you're also a giga-death cannon that evaporates players within mere GCDs.

The regular warzone times on the Bastion are fine. The ranked times are pretty cruddy thanks to the whole brilliant "Let's all move to the Shadowlands!" idea a few months ago which just about destroyed the ranked scene on every server except for Harb.

4v4 solo rank is a tragedy. Only a handful of classes are represented properly and almost every match-up is some form of 4 dps vs. 4 dps. The leaderboards don't matter because no one takes solo seriously anymore. So let us solo queue for ranked objective warzones. I can actually attempt to win games on my Mercenary if it's Novare Coast or Civil War. It's much easier to pull off wins when I'm not shoved into a small ring with Rocky Balboa-powered classes. I can kite people away from points, stop caps and plant bombs. Have a separate leaderboard if you need to. Especially now since tokens just let us get a bunch of meaningless titles and aesthetic changes. The main reason I'd want to do ranked 8v8 is because it still requires people to wear 2018 gear. More people would queue if their classes weren't completely worthless in the current rendition of solo ranked. At least let us have fun if we happen to enjoy a class that can't compete.

It's probably because of PvE. They are worried that buffing our survivability is going to make us even more appealing in PvE. And that's the major downside to balancing a game with completely different play modes. As long as Commandos/Mercenaries are powerful in PvE, we'll continue to lack what we need to compete in PvP.