I understand your frustration but don't reroll a fotm from scratch, they are NOT balanced and will be nerfed soon enough. If you like the play style just grin and bear it or play a different class. Playing OP maras is like a medicine ball, once they are nerfed they will be easy because you've played them when they were impossible. I can't really talk as I have unsubbed, but I won't leave my merc

Haha, this guy...

Vulgarr bro, you have to be THE worst arsenal merc in the galaxy (which means you are probably out and out the worst player in swtor) if you do not know that tracer heat signatures mean a target a is vulnerable to rail shot. It has always been that way and never changed. I mean honestly, woah. I can imagine you running around without HVGC (that means high velocity gas cylinder) and frustrated because you thought you had to use combustible gas cylinder. That's funny. And then you come in here spam posting rebuttals like that to everyone like EVERY end game merc is wrong? Oh man. You have to be trolling. And even then, that's just sad.

I would like you to prove you are wearing 6 pieces of war hero gear in the current gear grind environment of 1.2. It would actually be impossible. Crit-crafted and filled with BM mods, sure.

Have also unsubbed for the meantime. I'm not gonna occupy BW and play hackysack on their lawn until my demands are met but the following things really need sorting out for me to keep playing. 1) Arsenal is fixed again (said heat signature and tracer issue is at least identified) 2) Mercs are given more utility i.e. an interrupt for the new flashpoint and pve content, and possibly an escape or bubble to make them contenders in pvp. 3) Pyro is made closer in synergy and effectiveness to Powertechs. This is the mobility/dot pvp tree but it just doesn't cut it for mercs with our cast/channel ppa procs and lack of cgc proc chance. 4) Classes are balanced effectively. I cannot stand this fotm system. I am aware classes have advantages and disadvantages but maras, and tank sins in dps gear, are out of control. I don't even play a concealment operative but they have been nerfed the point where BW just seem incompetent. I feel really sorry for their community at the moment.

It is basically undoable. You cannot heal through that damage if you have one interrupt on your team. I'd like to see fraps of you doing it with 2 merc dps on HM.

What is this? I don't even... You are getting pyro and arsenal completely mixed up.

These are both FOTM classes and will no doubt be rebalanced at some point. Yes, PT pyros have a problem with them too as they are currently OP - all classes are suffering in fact. The best you can do is use knockback, stuns and kiting with rapid shots. Maras are always affected by your slow but sins are often harder because they can dispel and be immune to dots for a period of time. Sins also have a ranged slow up their sleeves which can really mess your kiting up. Like others have said, roll with groups and you will die less. Honestly, the past few weeks in 1.2 I have picked fights with maras just to try and get better. You should do this with any class you are having problems with as well as reading their forums. I've had "mixed" success with them so far though lol.

It crits for like 3.5k on a single target. it is excellent for stacking burst with other abilities like rail shot and power shot. I think it's great and love the few second daily on it. Would not change it - except for more damage or less cooldown ^^

high velocity = arsenal cgc = pyro for pvp pyro is better in my opinion. for levelling i would spam tracer

EDIT: Actually, you know what - not interested. Anyway, I bet mercs will get an interrupt soon enough. There is a pve requirement arising. You all think of it in terms of pvp balance, but if a group with 2 mercs can't clear content then there's an issue.

Truth be told, I am fighting the good fight with my pyro merc but the realisation that we are at a major disadvantage to so many other classes (not least our PT bro's who completely destroy us most of the time as they have better tree synergy) is frustrating. I am therefore also considering shelving my merc for pvp and raiding. I already have full BM and do NOT want to grind my way to WH gear while the comm exchange rate is how it is. I look forward to BW hopefully making some conscious decision about how they want to make this class more of a contender i.e. an escape, interrupt etc, less channeling and casting etc. I talk principally about pyro with the less casting ofc.

No, if you check the expertise percentages you will see that the damage bonus is much higher than healing and reduction. I play plenty of full BM players on my server. I have a warzone dummy. I hit more or less the same. People claiming their reduced dps in war zones with skills like fusion missile, rapid shots and TD because of some sort of stealth nerf is ridiculous. What was actually nerfed is there in the patch notes in plain view.

As a merc you would NOT want to get to someone with your jetpack, you would to get away from that. If you want to get up in the grill of a melee class you are basically insane.

I agree that PTs are massively better equiped than mercs as pyro, it just synergises better. More times than not I will lose to a PT unless they are bad in a 1 on 1. I have no idea how BW would ever balance it out in our favour given the lack of kiting ability and our channel/cast proc enablers, and given their lowing fruit of railshot buffs in their skills trees, and insta-proc cgc. You cannot dispel that for long.

Really nice ideas Hot. Can you share this please?

That's pretty amazing but I'm guessing at least one of those healers banging out 500k total heals was in your pocket!

Practice running away from the target, jump in the air, while jumping spin 180 degrees (or enough to have enemy in field of view), fire rapid shots, turn back again before you hit the ground. If cgc procs that will put a 2 second slow on them. Repeat. Also tie in your other instants like rail shot, thermal detonator and incendiary missile to keep your dots up. It takes a bit of practice. Remember to use your knockbacks to push them off ledges so they have to run back round to you. Also use your stuns when they get too close. Go to Black Talon starter area with a guild mate to practice this, as pvp can be too random. Degauss is excellent for this purpose (and therefore energy rebounder) as most melee class will stick a root or snare or on you making kiting impossible.

Sadly it's the same for all healers from what I've heard, though mercs got hit particularly hard.

Actually the OP very clearly talks about PvE and PvP, and leaves the discussion open to both hence the thread title. Open feedback from mercs.

All damage is up and healing down in pvp, therefore everyone is dropping like flies. I would like to know what gear you are using. If you are not full battlemaster expect to not hit as hard and drop faster. Certainly do not mix in PvE gear any more. I have the full eliminator set and I hit just as hard with the same rotations. People on this forum are completely confusing their own shortfall in expertise gear with some sort of stealth nerf conspiracy of merc dps. It just isn't the case. Also consider that if you got the 1.2 expertise buffs to battlemaster gear you are probably rolling gear that is only 65%. To get an increase start grinding those war hero sets that actually have surge on them.

HATED that. On our pvp server we felt so bad for this one rep who said he'd been ganked and had to wait for the next passing that we let him ride with us. OP, if you are level 50 you need the blue shards which are on Corelia, Tattooine and Hutta.

Factually inaccurate.

You're forgetting the complete other side to merc, pyro, which doesn't have the problem of being locked down.

For PvE BW need to sort the knockback out. Half the time you knock mobs OUT of the aoe if they are anywhere near the edge (which they always are now if you want to get more than one (but never able to get more than two) in the radius - see "aoe") - so either widen the radius a bit more, or make mobs get floored but not knocked back.