Open the Cartel Market window. On the upper right hand side you'll see a tab called "Collections." Click it. Scroll down and find the "Specials" section. Click it and find Treek there. There will be a small button on it that you've got to click in order to unlock Treek account-wide. You'll have to pay 700 Cartel coins and that will unlock her for all of your characters.

Sarcasm aside, the point remains. Groups have no place going up against solo queuers. It's an unfair match-up. Groups versus groups and solo versus solo.

Coming back to PVP after a long break I see that pre-mades still rule the roost. A night consisting of an unbroken string of losses isn't terribly thrilling. You can tell you're up against a pre-made because they're too well-coordinated. They know where you are and where you're hitting and they swoop in and pounce. It's too precise to be a PUG team. I'm stunned that Bioware still hasn't kicked pre-mades out of the solo queue. It is called "solo" queue, after all.

Simply for the sake of clarification, the First Amendment applies only to the United States Constitution. It isn't something that applies to the entire planet.

I noticed that this thread's mirror in the PVP sub-forum has been removed. I don't mind the removal. The thread really should've been in this sub-forum anyway.

The merc doesn't need any new abilities. If you recall, your first, and most worthwhile, proposal entailed simple reduction in cast times to zero for both power shot and tracer missile. Now that same idea would make Pyrotech a god? That's a drastic change of opinion. This run and gun idea is not going to do it. You propose giving the merc a single combat ability that has use in only one combat situation against a single opponent. And as you have said, PVP is rarely a 1 vs. 1 situation. Run and gun is far too limited to provide the class with any overall benefit.

Actually, the instant power shot/tracer missile debate did not run its course. Instead, it was abandoned and replaced with inferior ideas. The notion of "fixing" the merc quickly devolved into an endless spiraling debate of extended compromises that continually reduce any possible benefit to the merc. In the end, if anything was to be implemented, the merc would end up with a .5% damage increase to heatseeker missiles, a 10% damage reduction to tracer missile, and a self-inflicted slow whenever power shot is used. This is the inevitable result of compromise. And it also becomes a stalling tactic. Whenever, if ever, this debate is resolved, SWTOR will be in version 4.8 (if the game lasts that long). And by that point there will be roughly three remaining mercs in game. And they will have endured further nerfs and will have the combined effectiveness of a womp rat in PVP. The simple truth of the matter is that the merc needs something drastic and perhaps even a bit over-powered in order to become viable in PVP. Anything less than that is a waste of time.

You must be joking. All of the existing threads of complaint and suggestion about and for the merc haven't spawned because of a perfectly functional class.

I once read that on the PTS the droid's gear did scale. For some reason, the patch for it was not included when 1.5 went live.

Like I said, no one wants a fighting merc. Players are used to the easy kills and anything that would change that would disrupt game balance. The game's current balance is that mercs are free kills. If you change that, you make mercs over-powered (to some people).

Egg Toss Activation: 5 secs Heat: 16 Range: 15 m Launches an egg at the target that deals 20 kinetic damage and applies a 2 second stun. Requires the use of the DL-CHKN blaster. An interrupted shot cause the DL-CHKN to backfire, stunning the bounty hunter for 10 seconds.

You've got to realize that the only updates to the merc class that everyone (except mercs) will approve would be to replace our blasters with rubber chickens and let us throw eggs at opponents. That way it's more of a laugh when we get slaughtered. They don't want a fighting merc and they don't want competition. It's a shame that the instant Tracer Missile idea was abandoned. That had true potential. Let me know when we get those chickens.

The next logical step for the merc is a nerf to Tracer Missile. We use it far too much so it must be too powerful. I figure a 5% damage reduction is on the way. The Bioware statistics have killed the class and as long as those stats continue to be used, I expect additional nerfs.

It would be nice but would also require the use of Vent Heat. Getting off five successful (uninterrupted) Tracers (for ten stacks of heat signature) would take you to 80 heat. Using either Rail shot or Heatseeker Missiles would take you to 96 heat (unless you pop Thermal Sensor Override). Of those two options, Rail Shot (1404 - 1591 damage) does the greater amount of damage. Even with the 50% damage increase of the heat stacks on Heatseeker Missiles (1224 damage). Heat is still the limiting factor in the use (or feared spamming) of Tracer Missile. Unmolested, a merc can get off six Tracer Missiles before overheating. Use Vent Heat and you can pop off nine. Also use Thermal Sensor Override and you can squeeze out ten. In each of these runs, a merc could do 4020 damage (six shots), 6030 damage (nine shots), or 6700 damage (ten shots) respectively. Whether instant, cast (uninterruptable), or cast (interruptable) a merc is only going to get off six to ten Tracer Missiles under pressure without overheating. That's to the exclusion of any other damage-dealing ability. It then comes down to shot frequency. A merc can get burned down in ten seconds. In a panic-fueled Tracer spam reaction a merc could get off six (instant cast) Tracers in those ten seconds (4020 damage isn't much of an over-powered reaction). Let's say the merc is a bit more rational... they fire three Tracers (instant cast), a Rail Shot, and a Heatseeker Missiles. That's 4434-4621 damage. Better, but still not enough to destroy anyone. Same situation... Let's now imagine that Tracer Missile is still cast, but uninterruptable. With a two second cast time that same merc can get off five Tracers (3350 damage) in those ten seconds. He/she isn't putting out quite the DPS as they were with an instant cast Tracer Missile but at only 80 heat they aren't quite so close to overheating. Now let's give our merc some credit and say he/she can last twenty seconds. With heat, they're still limited to six Tracer Missiles before overheating. But since this merc is clearly skilled, they use both Vent Heat and Thermal Sensor Override. Spamming Tracer, this merc would pump out 6700 damage. They've still got five seconds to live but they're overheated. Our merc wouldn't do that, though. Our merc, being sensible, fires three Tracer Missiles, Heatseeker Missiles, Vent Heat, Rail Shot, Unload, three more Tracer Missiles, Thermal Sensor Override, and a Power Shot. Though close, our merc hasn't overheated. They've even managed to squeeze all of this in within twenty seconds. Let's be charitable and say that nothing was interrupted (remembering that our Tracer Missile is immune to interrupt here). Our sensible merc pumped out between 7743-8202 damage. That's not bad, considering that is was an under-pressure reaction. It's not enough to put anyone down, but it's respectable. Due to the frequency of Tracer Missile interrupts I won't attempt to put together the numbers for our current interruptable cast Tracer Missile. I think we can all agree that the damage numbers are lower than anything else put forth here. The numbers clearly show us two things. First, Tracer Missile is and will always be balanced by its heat cost. If it were instant cast and spammed for all its worth, it would only put out between 4020-6700 damage (and that's with Vent Heat and Thermal Sensor Override). And second, we see that even with the greater frequency of use of an instant Cast Tracer Missile that its damage is relatively low. Our survivability (or lack thereof) is another mitigating factor of an instant cast Tracer Missile. For what damage it can do, that damage is stopped the instant a merc is killed. Admittedly, that doesn't take long or much to accomplish. With an instant cast Tracer Missile you'd have have to survive for great lengths of time in a war zone in order to be devastating, and that simply isn't the reality of how the merc works. The math and simple logic reveal that an instant cast Tracer Missile would, in no possible way, make the merc over-powered. The ability can only do so much damage and can be used only so many times. It is a limited ability with limited uses. In its current cast state it is a liability and a weakness to mercs. Why not make it instant cast and let it be a help rather than a hindrance?

Interesting, but I don't think that mercs would ever really get it fully set up. We struggle to get off three Tracer Missiles in the best of circumstances. Up the need to four or five Tracers and you'll rarely see it happen. I agree that it would be one heck of a hit with all of that armor penetration, but the Tracer requirement could make it nigh impossible to do. And unfortunately, upping the Tracer requirement would leave us spamming it more than we do now.

Fair enough. It was a suggestion and I repeated it. The previous point remains, though. Our best chance of seeing improvement is to modify existing abilities. Using that as a base parameter, I have yet to see any suggestion(s) that offer a better solution than Cashogy's. I'm happy to see further suggestions along those lines and I hope to see more.

As an aside, the damage reduction proposed to go with instant Tracer was removed to appease PVE players. That, I suspect, may be part of the reason that people are against an instant Tracer.

What suggestions has anyone got that don't require the addition of any new ability(s)? I'm genuinely asking. I'm not trying to pick on anyone or put them on the spot. The merc's best chance at improvement seems to lie in the modification of existing merc abilities. Increasing the effectiveness of our off-hand weapon is one idea (DPS). A number of people aren't thrilled with the notion of making Tracer Missile/ Power Shot instant cast. I haven't seen anyone shoot down the modifications to jet boost or restoring the knock-back to Rocket Punch (Escapability). Modify Energy Shield to 50% damage reduction for 30 seconds (2 minute cool-down) is an idea (Defense). Our main issue here is still interruptability. How do you address that without creating a new ability? Reducing cast times helps but people aren't thrilled with taking the cast time to zero.

To open, remember that Cash's suggestions are a minimal Dev effort solution to the woeful merc. All they require is adjustment in current game coding. Furthermore, they are actions that could be implemented in Update 1.6., rather than leaving us forgotten for another six months to a year. Moving on... Despite the mobility that bounty hunters are supposed to have, we are, quite clearly, ranged turrets. We're interruptable and extraordinarily easy to kill. Our DPS is not equal to other classes (partly due to our easy interruptabililty). Obvious counters to these weaknesses would be to grant us some sort of interrupt immunity, increase our defensive capability, and increase our DPS. There's also the issue of escapability that a Dev actually has acknowledged. The modified Hold the Line ability would grant us interrupt immunity. Defensive capability could be improved with an improved Energy Shield (reduce all incoming damage by 50% for 30 seconds [two minute cool-down]) and additional CCs. With PvP already being referred to as Stun Wars, though, I doubt that anyone wants to give the merc more CCs. Simple damage buffs to our high tier abilities would increase our DPS. Let's be honest, mercs need a DPS boost. Escapability: Cash's modifications to Jet boost (the included speed burst) would grant an avenue of escape. The suggested jetpack ability in the bounty hunter forums would also grant escape ability. Utility. Cash already stated that mercs are good at area denial. Jet boost does that job well, except against players that have knock back immunity. So why not boost that merc capability? Increase the knock back distance of jet boost and add a root to it. Return the knock back to Rocket Punch. Give mercs an AoE stun that negates all current actions for 4 seconds (that would halt those Marauders that Dejavy got ganked by). Things like that would give the merc area denial utility. It certainly would make them better at guarding nodes. You may love, like, loathe, revile, or abhor any of the above possibilities. And that's alright. What any or all of these would require is time and effort on the part of the Devs. You certainly wouldn't see any of the above in Update 1.6 to go along with the new war zone. And that is part of Cash's point. He's hoping to get mercs a much-needed improvement to coincide with the next update. Mercs in PvP have been at the bottom of the barrel for months now. More and more Mercs stop queueing for PvP ( I know that I have) and our pitiful state is not going to encourage new Free-to-Players to roll a bounty hunter. Like it or not, the merc needs a fix as soon as possible. Otherwise, less and less players will take up the class. If anyone wants even the possibility of a merc fix in Update 1.6, it has to be approached in the same way that Cash has done it... we've got to look at modifications to existing merc abilities (not creating or granting new merc abilities). I still agree with and stand by Cash's suggestions. An instant Tracer Missile/ Power Shot would grant us a degree of interrupt immunity. They also have defensive use (being able to kite [run and gun] is an effective defensive strategy). Instant TM/ PS actually wouldn't increase DPS, but it would enable us to meet our DPS potential. The suggested modification to jet boost would increase our escapability. Cash's suggestions address each of the merc's current weaknesses. They may not be perfect solutions, but no such thing exists. A key to these suggestions is that they are easy and even quick to implement. There is little to no point in asking for new abilities for the merc. All those wondrous ideas would require a complete overhaul of the mercenary abilities and the Devs simply aren't going to do that. Ever. So instead, look at modifying what we've got because that's all we're ever going to get.

Fair enough, mercs don't have an assortment of readily available CCs and other classes have gap closers that can bring them within that magical 4 meter melee range. So, if I understand correctly, you think we need a few unbreakable CCs and/or that other classes need their ranged abilities' ranges reduced. While it's possible that mercs could be given additional CCs, it seems unlikely due to the effort involved. Making them unbreakable would be seen as over-powered by many, I believe, and so I severely doubt that would happen. I'm pretty sure that the ranges of other classes' ranged abilities would never be altered simply to accommodate mercs. So I think that we can forget that idea. Is this what you're saying? I sincerely hope that I've understood you correctly. If not, I apologize.

In war zones, I've had to call for reinforcements when left alone at a node. My personal favorite... "Please don't leave the bounty hunter alone." Followed quickly by, "Inc 3 East! 2 Jedi 1 stealth"

The title of this thread itself made me laugh. I've lost count of how many times I've been left to solo guard a node as a DPS merc. When that happens all you can do is call incoming when they appear. You'll never survive the encounter on your own.

True, a merc could intersperse Rapid Shots with Tracer Missile to manage heat. That would be a ton of Rapid Shots, though. And considering the relatively low damage of both abilities, you'd be running and gunning for some time. If these changes were implemented, what tools would mercs have to maintain distance... Jet Boost (knockback and speed boost) Rocket Punch (knockback and root) Missile Blast (slows enemy) Nothing above prevents the merc from being CCed. There are no immunities for the merc either. There's also the simple fact that 1 vs. 1 fights aren't the norm in a war zone. In that situation, left alone to hunt, a merc could do the whole "run and gun" thing. But in an active war zone with 14-16 players there's no way that situation could ever play out. No enemy team would leave a merc to stalk one of their own, especially not with an instant cast Tracer Missile and Power Shot.

Too much turkey, Cash. Throw a cast time on HM and you open it up to interrupts. Which I thought you were trying to reduce. Heatseeker Missiles depends on the stacks of Heat Signature from Tracer. If Heatseeker gets interrupted, your Tracers were robbed of their utility. We don't have many instant cast abilities in the first place. I don't recommend taking one of them away.

Agreed, having all of that instant cast would be way over-powered. We could blow out starships with that capability. All Cash wants as an instant cast are Tracer Missile and Power Shot. Everything else remains cast or channeled.