Merc Ars no good in 1v1 situations?

[Balbosa]

I am a lvl 38 ars and have a hard time with melee classes. Are ars only good at fighting other ranged classes? And PT good at fighting melee?

[Gadrak]

Reroll,mercenaries especially Arsenal arent meant to 1v1

 

but i can give some tips to you

 

always activate your shield and kolto overload when you start a fight

 

if you are facing a sith assasin try to catch him with the stealth scan first,if you dont, use you aoe knockback followed by your electro dart,at this point he should trinket him,cast concussion missile(if you are 50 combine it with power surge),to incapacitate him,heal your wonds asap and start with a fusion missile to prevent him to steal again,follow up with 2 tracers Heatseaaking missiles railshot and unload

 

if he is an operative or a scoundrel,well not much that i can say here,they will kill you in a single stun,you can trinket but you are gonna get sapped and stunned again

Edited January 2, 2012 by Gadrak

[Ciry]

I think what Gadrak said is pretty spot on. My experience has been that Merc is not meant to be one on one at least for melee. It is designed as an AOE wrecking house, at least for arsenal spec.

 

At 45 I was going toe to toe just fine against other ranged classes one on one but as far as melee, I would get smacked around like a paper doll in seconds by a melee player.

 

Honestly though I haven't had a chance to do some one on one testing with a melee player to try out different ideas. I'd be interested in hearing from a merc who has spent some time dueling a melee friend and what they've found. I would defiantly suggest finding a melee friend to spend some time with and try things out, I know I plan to. I'm sure there are ways to give a melee player a good fight one on one, just gotta figure it out.

[Skapek-Skocap]

I have to disagree. If you have the right setup in a 1v1 matchup with a Melee class, you should do alright.

 

Start up with a 5 tracer missile spam, then unload after the buff, then railshot, followed by HS Missiles. At this point, you can use Kolto Overload if you're hurting or Shields to reduce their attack's damage. Make sure to keep your heat level within a reasonable range and use Vent Heat when you're maxed out.

 

When dealing with Jedi and Sith, you need to watch for a powerful attack or heal and electro dart them and cancel out the attack. Jet Boost and the Punching attack work well for keeping them at a distance also.

 

I've had little problems with a 1v1 with any class, even melee.

[Dvius]

The reason you're having problems with melee characters is because their interupting and locking out whatever ability you were using. Mix it up a bit more, pay attention so you're not tapping an ability that isn't doing anything, and you should see better results.

 

If all you do is tracer spam to build up debuffs, you're doing it wrong. With tracer crits for 3.6k, HS crits for 4.8k, exploding dart doing 2k and unload doing 5k over 3 seconds, you have a lot of ways to put out fast damage without being stuck using one. Its not PVE where you need to have a consistent amount of damage to be efficient. Just outdoing your opponent is what matters. Different abilities for different occasions. I never thought i'd use rapid shots as often as I do, but its a quick 800 dmg per use on the move while positioning yourself for your bigger hits.

[Wallaid]

I'm a really poor PvP'er and haven't had much experience inside the Warzones yet.

So far I have faired pretty well imoo. I've had a few decent 1v1s against Jedi Knights and Counsellars and they have mostly had a positive outcome for me.

 

But there are a few things I'm aware of here.

First I know Warzones boost stats of players, so it may not be as accurate as a pure 1v1 duel outside Warzones.

Second I may just have met other bad PvP'ers, who knows.

 

My main focus is on PvE, and so far mainly levelling still. So personally I don't care much about whether I kill another player or he uses me to wipe the floor.

[Kormarf]

The reason you're having problems with melee characters is because their interupting and locking out whatever ability you were using. Mix it up a bit more, pay attention so you're not tapping an ability that isn't doing anything, and you should see better results.

 

If all you do is tracer spam to build up debuffs, you're doing it wrong. With tracer crits for 3.6k, HS crits for 4.8k, exploding dart doing 2k and unload doing 5k over 3 seconds, you have a lot of ways to put out fast damage without being stuck using one. Its not PVE where you need to have a consistent amount of damage to be efficient. Just outdoing your opponent is what matters. Different abilities for different occasions. I never thought i'd use rapid shots as often as I do, but its a quick 800 dmg per use on the move while positioning yourself for your bigger hits.

 

 

3.6k tracer crits? How much expertise do you have? I run a PvE setup with really good gear/high surge rating and I only get 3k tracer crits unbuffed.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Kormarf

[SheepishOne]

As a bodyguard merc:

 

The only situations you really survive your counters are when you're with a group and have voice communication. This is while you're similarly geared as your opponent. My friends know that when their healers die, everyone starts to die. When the DPS dies, it's because the tank is in trouble. Etc. Your friends should learn reflexively to fold in on the pressures facing the people keeping them alive.

 

You lack the controls necessary for 1v1 fights. Stick with your group and do your job. Knockbacks are great for group fights. They use little Resolution, keep people in attacking range and otherwise let people get messed up. They do nothing in solo PvP since your cooldown is when the person is supposed to receive damage. Merc is completely lacking in interrupts and mobility--trademarks of the top 1v1 archetypes. You are not a solo puppy without great and creative craftsmanship.

[Dvius]

3.6k tracer crits? How much expertise do you have? I run a PvE setup with really good gear/high surge rating and I only get 3k tracer crits unbuffed.

 

I run 8%. WIth 34% crit and 81% surge. Its only 8% instead of 10, because I opted to wear 2 piece pve set for 15% extra crit on tracer missle over the 15% crit on railshot from the 4piece bonus. If I pop the relic and crit adrenal, my crit jumps to 45% and surge to 91%, so those numbers go into 4k's for tracers, but of course that's a small window.