Umbara should be cool. Keith, remember, if you touch merc DCDs, gonna need some of our DPS back to compensate.

I think the point is, players in PVP don't seem to want to utilize other abilities. They want to keep DPSing without their rotations being interrupted. These DCDs are easy to work around. If i'm fighting another merc, they pop a shield, guess what, I'm going to hit them with CC abilities or line of sight them if possible. You'd be amazed how many people are still rolling their faces on their keyboards trying to DPS me when I got a shield up. With that being sad, Currently as a Veteran merc, I've been playing way more defensively perhaps even more than I did pre 5.0. The dps loss is noticable, but since I"m picking my targets, and saving my cooldowns for those real bad moments, I"m still doing okay. However, if they end up nerfing my DCDS, I'm going to need compensation in the form of a DPS buff within the same patch, none of that "we are going to nerf your DCDs, but buff your DPS next patch" crud.

Heat Management hasn't been a issue for me yet. I am noticing the DPS loss more. I'm still sticking to my original thoughts on the topic, I wouldn't have touched DPS but adjusted the DCDs.

Yeah i'm not a fan of the "target dps" either. I've always felt that a equally geared/skilled dps class should be able to deal the same amount of dps as another class. the concept of "Target Dps" to me makes me feel like i'm being forced to play a certain playstyle. However, I agree that these nerfs definitely impacted PVE more than PVP. Again, i feel that if they decided to mess with the DCDs, need they to either revert these changes or at least give some dps buffs.

Well after a long day, finally logged into the game. The DPS nerf is noticable, but I'm managing, Honestly if they leave the Utilities alone the class should be fine. if they nerf the DCDs, they need to gives us some compensation via some dps increase.

Same, I've been a arsenal merc since launch, the roller coaster ride that is this class continues.

I've got my powertech on standbye, but i don't like the idea of having to grind out command ranks again lol.

Concerning the crystals, thats good then. Arsenal main myself, I wasn't saying that we didn't need to adjustments, I'm just not sure if these were the right ones to make. Heck, may not even notice the difference tomorrow. However, if these changes do end up being to strong and they nerf our DCDs in the future, it will place this class in its worst state ever. Good Hunting though on your Commando.

I'm dismayed and discouraged that the Proposed Arsenal/Gunnery changes stayed the same, especially after the community feedback told you these changes were to much. I would have perhaps reduced the initial proposed changes by half. Truly hope the team monitors the class closely. ( I am aware that there was a recent dev post about this) When the Utilities Patch happens, if you nerf Arsenal/Gunnery Utilities without buffing the DPS you will have ruined my main character and favorite advanced class in the game. It is not fun to play a character class that can't effectively compete in PVE and PVP. The change to color crystals and weapon tunings is just bad. The purpose of Legacy gear is so we can transfer gear between our characters with ease.

These aren't bad ideas for the DCDs if our DPS wasn't getting nerfed. As recently stated by musco, they are aware that majority of the community wanted nerfs to Merc DCDs and not our DPS. Given the history of this class, pre 5.0 we were basically glass cannons. I don't think it would be a good idea to nerf the dps and the nerf defenses, it would make the class weak, both offensively and defensively which wouldn't be good for PVE or PVP. I My thoughts would be to remove the kolto utility and give it the PTs, reduce the amount healed by trauma regs and perhaps revert some of the DPS changes coming in 5.3. In terms of electronet, i think the reason this ability has come into the spotlight lately, is because of the fotm mercs. Once these players move on it won't feel like your being spammed with nets. If this class were to be more about kiting instead of having strong DCDs, we had to see some minor buffs to dps, buffs to rocket out/increased movement speeds. Personally i still play my merc like I did pre 5.0, i try to save my strong DCDs for the really bad moments and i try to keep at a distance and choose my targets. In short, i agree that changes need to be made, but you can't have nerfs to both offensive and defensive abilities.

Thank you for sharing this Eric. I've been a arsenal merc since launch, its been a roller coaster ride. This post is encouraging because it showed that you did hear/read what the community had to say about these changes. My hopes are if DPS seems to low that changes are made quickly to fix it and if changes are made to their survivability then perhaps we could see some sort of dps increase to compensate.

I'd like to point out the following statement in my original post "My biggest fear is if these DPS nerfs go live and then our DCDs get nerfed, this class will not perform at a competitive level in both PVE and PVP scenarios." I admit its short and maybe not the most detailed, but it is feedback. It expresses my concern about if these changes go live and if those changes are followed up with DCD nerfs that it could make the class not able to perform at a competitive level in PVE and PVP. I also provide some small alternatives about these nerfs and I also ask the following questions 1) If these DPS nerfs go live and the class begins to really under perform, can we expect DPS Buffs? 2) If you nerf our DCDs in the future, can we expect to see DPS buffs to compensate for loss of survival perks? Even if my posts are wrong in your opinion, It shouldn't stop people from talking about the possible changes coming to Arsenal/Gunnery in 5.3. I am aware that this class/spec isn't the only one in this boat or facing the chopping block. Again this post is about these changes to this particular class/spec. Fifteendoller, you've done a great job at giving feedback/constructive criticism about my posts. But perhaps you could express your views about the proposed changes for Arsenal/Gunnery in 5.3? Do you agree with all of them or just some of the changes? Do you have any relevant suggestions/feedback/comments about this particular class/spec? Are you aware the suggested Target Dps for this class/spec is 5% decrease but members of the community have run the numbers and are saying that this is more than a 5% nerf? If not, i'm sure you have better stuff to do, just move along dude.

Well since you missed them, i'll repost them for you fifteendollers. I disagree with their proposed changes and provide a few suggestions for them to perhaps consider. If you don't agree with them that is fine. Overall, I think these nerfs are to harsh. For Target Tracking I would suggest 20% (down from 30%), the changes to Decoy were not really needed. I personally wouldn't mess with blazing bolts or Barrage, however if you have to nerf something then pick only one of these skills to nerf, not both. In general, the player base has always felt that the DPS for Arsenal/gunnery is spot on. The real issue began with the introduction of the new Defensive cooldowns. I realize again that utility skills are not being touched in 5.3. My suggestion would be to reduce the number of stacks of trauma regulators and reducing the amount healed and I would reduce the amount healed by Kolto Overload. Responsive Safeguards i wouldn't touch, but if i had to, I would reduce the amount healed or increase the cooldown time. My biggest fear is if these DPS nerfs go live and then our DCDs get nerfed, this class will not perform at a competitive level in both PVE and PVP scenarios. In conclusion, I ask these following questions: 1) If these DPS nerfs go live and the class begins to really under perform, can we expect DPS Buffs? 2) If you nerf our DCDs in the future, can we expect to see DPS buffs to compensate for loss of survival perks?

Yes but consider that many of the veteran/non-FOTM mercs are predicting major nerfs to our utilities. So if they nerf those utilities without compensation it really does put the class in a major disadvantage in both PVE and PVP situations.

Dude, wall of text. You could have given less examples. The core purpose of this post is about providing constructive feedback/suggestions about Mercs and Mandos in regards to the changes they are receiving in 5.3. Unless relevant to the topic, please limit other class discussion to their respective forums. Personally I'm frustrated because numerous people have posted valid arguments and suggestions concerning these changes in 5.3. Truthfully, I was hoping that some new information or least some news that they are re-examining these changes would be nice. I've been playing arsenal since launch, its my favorite class. I don't want to be at the top but I don't want to be at the bottom either, i think most people can sympathize with that.

Respective Swtor team, I have played this game since launch, It's been a roller coaster of a ride. So many players including myself have posted constructive feedback, criticisms, suggestions over the years. We actively play this game and in the purest form that isn't influenced by a controlled test environment. The class changes proposed the past few weeks have received very harsh but constructive feedback/criticism with numerous suggestions within their forum posts and class forums. You guys have yet to comment about any of the said feedback about these class changes which makes us believe you don't actually care, the player base is telling you that you're making a mistake and it seems like these changes will go live no matter what in 5.3.

That's quite the claim about my emotional state about this topic. I'm certain most people that are passionate about the game and about their respective main character/spec would be upset if similar changes were being made to their own class/spec. You are entitled to your opinion of course. However, I believe I wrote a fairly constructive post concerning my thoughts on these changes. A number of players have run the numbers and these proposed nerfs place the DPS below BIoware's projected dps range. Also, our DPS wasn't a problem pre 5.0 and the only reason our DPS is on the chopping block is because of the strong DCDs/utilties skills we were given. I.O has been a lackluster spec since launch, the rotation is very clunky and the payoff isn't rewarding in both PVE and PVP. If anything I.O rotation needs to be smoother and the dmg boosted. As it stands, if these changes go live, then I don't think that the DCDs should be touched otherwise I'll be flinging spitballs while wearing cardboard armor. I'm not saying adjustments aren't needed, just saying that the proposed aren't completely correct either.

The issue is this, they are nerfing our dps and we are expecting nerfs to our DCDs when they look at the utilities. So potentially we are going to seeing back to back nerfs and if that happens the arsenal will no longer be a viable or competitive spec in the game.

I truly appreciate the amount of communication in regards to how the team receives/re-acts to feedback. So its my responsibility to provide more in-depth detail when providing feedback. I hope this is a improvement compared to previous posts. In regards to the posted Arsenal/Gunnery class changes, I strongly disagree with the posted changes and here is why. Please note I have read all dev posts that have been posted recently concerning how you guys determine numbers/balancing. Below are the possibly upcoming changes to Arsenal Mercs and gunnery commandos. "Mercenary Arsenal Blazing Bolts deals 4.89% less damage and costs 20 heat (up from 16) Barrage no longer increases the damage dealt by Blazing Bolts, but still finishes its active cooldown Riddle no longer improves Unload The critical damage bonus provided by Target Tracking is now 15% (down from 30%) Decoy now has 2 charges (down from 5)" Overall, I think these nerfs are to harsh. For Target Tracking I would suggest 20% (down from 30%), the changes to Decoy were not really needed. I personally wouldn't mess with blazing bolts or Barrage, however if you have to nerf something then pick only one of these skills to nerf, not both. In general, the player base has always felt that the DPS for Arsenal/gunnery is spot on. The real issue began with the introduction of the new Defensive cooldowns. I realize again that utility skills are not being touched in 5.3. My suggestion would be to reduce the number of stacks of trauma regulators and reducing the amount healed and I would reduce the amount healed by Kolto Overload. Responsive Safeguards i wouldn't touch, but if i had to, I would reduce the amount healed or increase the cooldown time. My biggest fear is if these DPS nerfs go live and then our DCDs get nerfed, this class will not perform at a competitive level in both PVE and PVP scenarios. In conclusion, I ask these following questions: 1) If these DPS nerfs go live and the class begins to really under perform, can we expect DPS Buffs? 2) If you nerf our DCDs in the future, can we expect to see DPS buffs to compensate for loss of survival perks?

I believe the concept about letting mercs keep the crit dmg was due to the fact that we didn't have many survival DCDs pre-5.0. However, majority of the community actually were not complaining about Merc DPS numbers, just the fact that our DCDs were really strong. What I was hoping for was seeing the amount of trauma regulator stacks reduced or the percentage of the healing reduced, same with Kolto Overload-reduce the healing, and honestly responsive safeguards(the reflect) I wouldn't mess with and if anything increase the cooldown on it. These DPS nerfs were a huge blow to this class especially in PVE and I might as well be throwing pillows in PVP.

Yeah, i can't say I'm happy about these changes, these were some very serious DPS nerfs. Just hoping that the feedback is being read and they re-think there approach. At the very least reduce how much they are nerfing, but seriously DPS wasn't the issue people had with us, it was survival abilities. In honest truth, I'm not surprised this seems to be the circle of life in this game. somewhere down the road, they'll go "yeah, arsenal needs buffs to dps"

Well they posted 5.3 changes, and they are messing with our DPS numbers, which I strongly disagree with. I agree that potentially in terms of PVP, the player populace didn't want to learn how to counter these abilities properly. Again, I do not agree with the dps changes, it was the healing numbers that needed adjustments.

Strongly disagree with the changes to DPS, you guys simply needed to adjust the healing numbers of the our survival abilities. I think the player community would agree that our DPS was fine it was just that the healing capability of some of DCDs needed to be less. I do not support these DPS changes.

I also find it funny when people are still attacking me when the shields are up. I think adjustment to the healing numbers of the DCDs or perhaps increasing the cooldowns recovery time would be the best route. Arsenal/Gunnery dps has always been in a good place and I would hate to see that messed with. IO has never been a effective spec in my opinion, the rotation is very clunky with very little pay off dps number wise. But again, my recommendation would be to adjust the cooldown recovery/healing numbers of the DCDs, leave the dps alone for now.

We knew this day was coming folks, I hope they adjust the DCDs accordingly but leave our dps alone but I also don't want to see us returned to the point where we are viewed as a free kill in PVP. However, no matter what happens i'll continue playing this class and I will make my opponents suffer in the warzones.