What if they made it with a 'mute' ability on a per player basis,..so that screaming 9 y.o. could be muted whilst you hear the rest of the adults playing?

Yeah, I do this to an extent already. I was really thinking of it from point of view of non premades -they simply can't/wont co ordinary/react fast enough to a a premade with Voice Chat. Makes for a very one sided affair, and diminished the game enjoyment.

ewww, never thought of that, although,that could happen using 3rd party software as well.

Oh, i stand corrected.

I've seen it in action. Don't ask me for specifics though, don't know at this time.

Thanks for the advice, sound reasoning here. I dont chose FOE though, since its situational, i opted for 20% more to heals. I have the root and greater pushback ability, i chose the 30% DR when stunned and Tech Over ride to be used twice,..which means i can either instant heal, stun, tracer missile twice, or a combination of one of each. I try not to spec defensively because in a 'oh shiyte' situation, it isnt going to save you, and speccing defensively takes away from your ability to deliver dps - the mercs only role (unless specced for heals, of course).

30% DR is applicable if you spend a point into it, and is applicable when stunned only. It's nice, no denying it, but not a 'oh shiyte' ability is the sense of this thread (absolutely vital in a 1v1 with a sin though).

Sorry, I completely, utterly disagree. Mercs suffer a huge mobility issue compared to other classes. Perhaps i should define what i ment by 'mobility' a little better though. In this discussion, i was talking about mobilty being able to get from point A. to point B. in the shortest time possible, Hence, the comparison to barrel rolls, leaps, sprints etc. Yes, we can use los, but that is an observation of tactics used, as opposed to examining the mobility mechanics available to the class. Again, i restate, Mercs are the least mobile class in the game.

True. I've seen their mobility on the field though. Snipers have amazing defences, and more dps than mercs, and have that aoe stun, flashbang? is it called? plus a barrel roll Maras, they can vanish, that's their 'oh shiyte' ability.

I told myself that i'd max out my pvp gear on the merc,..and if still not viable, retire him. My sorc is restlessly waiting on the wings. When i am pounced upon, activate tech overdrive (giving me 2 instant casts of abilities which normally have a cast time), stun one, target switch, shock another, target switch, electronet another, then priming shot the electronetted one (who's now bashing on me), then, as stuns etc are broken, pushback the lot, tracer missile, blazing bolts, (they are now all beating on me), seismic shockwave (from cybertech skill tree, aoe knockdown, instant self heal, HO, run either for los or healing node, or if none nearby (i still usually get intercepted), death from above, going to die anyway, might as well slap them in the face. Note the amount of GC'd i had to burn through to do all this. If opponents have stun immunity's, breakers etc, then whilst im doing all this fancy stuff, they are beating on me, pushing, chocking, stunning me etc. No 'oh shiyte' option. If i was a sorc, i'd use immunity bubble and,..wait. Either help will come, they will target switch or they will wait with me. I heal whist bubbled, then pushback etc. Stealth uses evasion, barrel rolls, etc etc.

These are tools that you could poosibly use 1v1. Not to mention the nerfs that mercs have had to some to these items ( i'm looking at you, 'heals') and the better defenses against these tools that other classes now enjoy (electronet now being a good example some a tool that can be countered by stealth classes). The 'oh shiyte' button is for times when 3-5 players are going to pounce on you. You need to either A. Buy time for your team to help or B. Get the heck out of there. There is no Phase walk, no immunity bubble, no nothing.

An immunity bubble that heals me - sound familiar?

The "oh shyte" button is there to force a target switch. Its tactics and can save your bacon when being pounced upon. Besides, it is more likely that Mercs get one, as opposed to the developers taking it away from everyone else in my opinion.

Please, educate me.

lol, cool! I'll have to try it. Mercs are mobile after all

It seems that more people did actually use voice communication though -because they knew others were too? To my way of thinking, that seems like a step in the right direction.

I seriously doubt that. Response times are too quick (eg, you ambush a player by herself - next thing you know, the guardian that was covering mid in civil war, is the to guard, taunt etc.) Besides, when i've used TS in a premade, its only to discus movements etc. The other trash talk is done out of the actual wazone.

lol, ok, now i'm curious. What would happen if i used /stuck in a wz?

I invited alternate viewpoints for discussion. You need not contribute further. Thank you.

Lets examine mobilty in other classes shall we. Snipers,..get barrel roll Operatives - barrel roll Juggs and Maras - leap to enemy and/or ally, and immunity to stun for 4 secs, if Vengeance spec, +15% speed increase constantly active. Sorcs/assasins - sprint Powertech - HO,..but if speced for speed - twice the normal rate and duration Mercs - HO - which only provides a speed increase when in combat. A leap can catch you, force speed is superior, barrel roll - no contest. Hence my statement - Most immobile class in the game.

Would be nice if this was a feature in all pvp games,..would remove advantage of one team of premades using it v's a random team without it. Any real reason why this couldn't be done from BW's end? It could even be made available only to subs - again, to increase the subscriber numbers in game - coders have to eat as well : D Agree? Disagree? Cheers, Thermisticles

Hey guys, The title says it all. All classes have it as a standard feature, be it stealth, immunity bubble, heal through damage etc etc. The merc, the most immobile class in the game, has no such 'hard' defence that can force a target switch to occur. That is why in pvp they are currently a fail. The merc shield offers some damage reduction, but is hardly cause for target switching. Enough said. Agree? Disagree? I open the floor to discussion,.. Cheers, Thermisticles P.S. My merc is fully geared and augmented except for off hand weapon, which, whilst augmented, is still at 168? (reg wz weapon)

Its so predictable,..pvp is very dynamic, pve,..i'll do it for story (and often not even that),..high level,..its just,..lacking.

Some interesting replies, Thanks one and all. I currently play arsenal spec. Today i played 2 very interesting and different Voidstar games. In one, I was guarded by a Jugg and healed. We won that match and i topped dps. I was covered by my team mates and didn't die once. In the other, I had no guard, and 1 healer. That, we lost,, and i had 13 deaths. You can look at this 2 ways. 1, that the team needs to 'carry' the merc to get any use out of him, 2 That the group needs to work as a team to win. Either way, this is terrible for the Merc. The reality is that most matches aren't premades, and nor should they, imo. Each class should be able to pull their own weight in pvp, without having to rely on others to forfill their function. Issues concerning the Merc Mercs continue to be the most immobile class in the game (relative to all other classes). Not enough Burst damage. I came to this conclusion just recently. Healers can render my dps to 'fluff' status. This is a direct consequence of insufficient burst damage - my higest cri, has been 14k , and this has only occurred twice since 3.0. Channeling dps i.e. blazing bolts, is a waste of time, if the have a good healer topping up or if they are guarded. Our DPS should, by far, outstrip the dps of other classes if we are not to have any 'hard' defences. It shouldn't be a contest - 2 blasters or lightsabers should double the damage - make it rude, especially since you're being focused anyways - or maintain current dps and provide a 'hard' defence (not simply percentage mitigation) This price for all this OP dps you ask? I died 13 times - a price I'm paying anyway. I refuse to PVE with this class. It's just as boring. My current plan is to max out the class in 176 gear (almost there - 4 pieces to go) - fully augmented - and if it still doesn't perform, ill retire him and roll a sin for the win : D Previous strategies discussed have been used, but against 2 sages and a dps vanguard,... hmmm, strange how they ignored everyone else and went for me,..consistently. Need a hard defence, pure and simple, or enough dps to shred a tank and pierce sorc bubbles etc. Today was my 'Disenfranchised' day i suspect Nerd rage rant concluded

wow - say it aint so Billy!