My Two cents about the current state of Mercenaries

[MrFosters]

THIS IS NOT A NERF NAO OR BUFF NAO THREAD!

These are basicly just my current thoughts of the mercenary and its weakness.

 

As Almost all mercenaries do they play it up the Arsenal tree. Using Tracer missile as their main source of DPS they'll spam the target with heat signatures lowering their armour rating by 4% stacking up to 5 times, but can be talented to 6 times, stripping an enemy of 20-24% of their armour making a great side line supporter as it'll also deal QUITE a load of damage.

Your bread and butter basicly.

 

However as some people fail to notice building up your heat signatures increases the damage of rail shot by 6% per heat signature, basicly besides stripping them of 20-24% of their armour, you have a great finisher in you back hand capable of doing 30-36% extra damage with its shot.

While firing your railshot you can add a standard rocket to it firing 2 instant abilities.

As you've reached 40 you can also throw Heatseeker misle in instead of the instant rocket, or fire all 3 after having added 5-6 heat signature's on your target which is guaranteed to do quite a lot of burst.

 

Basicly insane single target dps over a period of time.

However not mobile at all, as the first introduction to the class makes it sound like, it is more of a turret that has to standstill for a 3-4 seconds period to be able to utilise its damage.

 

But as its a ranged dps it's suppose to be squishier than its powertech counterpart, I understand that it is to die. But what annoys me as of current, would be the whole your slowed your dead.

 

Merc's have no escapes what so ever. We've got an out of combat sprint, sure that's nice but the second you open fire, or get hit and go out of combat your moving at normal speed.

I'd have expected some sort of ON THE HUNT kind of ability which would increase ones movement speed if you had a low health target near you, or perhaps it could be an active that'd give you a rocket jump so that'd you'd be able to jump a level, or a short speed boost making you able to kite enemies.

The rocket jump wouldn't be OP at all, as other classes all have their own escapes.

Sorcerers / Councillors's Have their classic put on a shield, sprint the f away, heal. Resume the fight or run even further away as they'd have made enough distance making it impossible to follow as a Merc.

 

Assassins / Shadow's have their in case of emergency pop stealth and the sprint

 

Jedi / Sith have their push, And some have the jump which will also stun you for a few seconds, besides that they've got slow effects making it impossible to kite them

 

Scoundrels will sneak up on you, bash you, unload on you, and unless you can push him off an edge he's won against you as the burst is crazy.

 

Gunslinglers are more prone to fight you over at range, making this a rival. But this class has escapes unlike you! Not only does it have a blinding grenade, but with Hustle and Covered Escape it can actually kite enemies unlike Merc's!

 

Powertech / Vanguards Your evil stepbrother so to say. Will rocket charge you, blow you up real good as he flies with a RAWKIT PAWNCH straight to your face slowing you down and having great instant burst making it hard as a sustained DPS to do much, same case with the scoundrel, if you don't blow this guy off an edge he'll kill you as your slowed and have no escapes.

 

And of course the Commando. Yourself mirrored on the other side. I'm guessing this class is why Bounty Hunters doesn't have any escapes. In terms of DPS both classes. How the grenades function I am not precise about.

 

I don't have anything to say about imperial agents as of current, as I haven't played much against them.

 

These are basicly my 2 cents.

 

I think Commando's and Mercenaries deserve an escape option. Rocket jump, tumble, a blowback shot that'd launch themselves backwards while slowing enemy, or something similar.

Mostly I'd like them to actually make use of Sprint making an active to it, or changing the ability, I'd rather have an active escape mechanism just like the Inquisitors / Councillors making it way easier to escape assassins and such and actually kite enemies like a hunter could in WoW.

 

Feel free to discuss, or add to the parts that you've felt I've left out.

[Airees]

Mercenaries have heavy armor and heals. Afaik noone else has that combination. We're not supposed to escape, we're supposed to survive. Combined with the fact that if we're specced correctly we have an aoe knockback and a 9 sec CD knockback we have more than enough opportunity to get our heals off.

 

A mercenary doesn't put his tail between his legs and runs, he endures and comes out the victor.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Airees

[Gorlough]

Welcome to the Arsenal Merc - you better have the balls and the wits, else you die.

 

You know, you can outgun almost every opponent if you don't decide to run and use your few CCs right. Just don't chicken away and you'll be able to win most of the fights.

[Zutha]

I'm sorry, but If I had 1 more escape mechanic wiith my merc i'd take the piss more than I do now

 

Great class if played correctly!

 

errr what am i saying...

 

buff merc's!

Edited January 3, 2012 by Zutha

[MrFosters]

Mercenaries have heavy armor and heals. Afaik noone else has that combination. We're not supposed to escape, we're supposed to survive. Combined with the fact that if we're specced correctly we have an aoe knockback and a 9 sec CD knockback we have more than enough opportunity to get our heals off.

 

A mercenary doesn't put his tail between his legs and runs, he endures and comes out the victor.

 

That is some advice to consider. Thank you for that, Just wished they'd get slowed while one had knocked them back >___>

 

Welcome to the Arsenal Merc - you better have the balls and the wits, else you die.

 

You know, you can outgun almost every opponent if you don't decide to run and use your few CCs right. Just don't chicken away and you'll be able to win most of the fights.

 

Now I have quite a hard time believing that based on my current PvP experiences, then again I'm just in my learning phase.

 

I'm sorry, but If I had 1 more escape mechanic wiith my merc i'd take the piss more than I do now

 

Great class if played correctly!

 

Wish there were some who'd show how to do it correctly then :x

[Gorlough]

well, watch this guy

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3e3o86GkoA

[MrFosters]

well, watch this guy

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3e3o86GkoA

 

Much appreciated. This just makes me all exited to hit lvl 50.

[Kaizergi]

Mercenaries have heavy armor and heals. Afaik noone else has that combination. We're not supposed to escape, we're supposed to survive. Combined with the fact that if we're specced correctly we have an aoe knockback and a 9 sec CD knockback we have more than enough opportunity to get our heals off.

 

A mercenary doesn't put his tail between his legs and runs, he endures and comes out the victor.

 

bulls-hit

if you aren't heal specced, you can't effectively heal in combat

if you aren't damage spec, you can't effectively fight.

 

You can't escape when outnumbered..and you can't catch enemies who can escape..

something is not right here..

 

Welcome to the Arsenal Merc - you better have the balls and the wits, else you die.

 

You know, you can outgun almost every opponent if you don't decide to run and use your few CCs right. Just don't chicken away and you'll be able to win most of the fights.

 

That may be true in 1 on 1 situation. Those are rare on BG's. Other classes can kill one enemy and escape from being killed by another while being wounded, weakened(overheat) and on KDs

As BH - you will die, and others just escape..

 

For each time when i kill an enemy..just to be finnished off by another one jumping on me from around corner.. i get two times when enemy escapes, when he is low on HP or outnumbered..

[Rimbaldo]

To be fair, most classes can't escape from a group of enemies beating on them. The only ones I've seen do it reliably are stealthers with vanish and sage/inq with their sprint, but even then they usually get drawn out by AoE or stunned while they're trying to turbojet away.

 

I guess tanks are good at it too simply because they're ridiculously hard to kill, but I honestly foresee a nerf of some sort headed their way. Tank variants of every class in SWTOR do only slightly (like 5-10%) less damage than their DPS counterparts while having far, far more utility and survivability. It makes no sense.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Rimbaldo

[Aetla]

well, watch this guy

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3e3o86GkoA

 

No fun there,

 

He basicly spams the rockets and kite. You won't needed to be skilled PvPer to that.

[MrFosters]

bulls-hit

if you aren't heal specced, you can't effectively heal in combat

if you aren't damage spec, you can't effectively fight.

 

You can't escape when outnumbered..and you can't catch enemies who can escape..

something is not right here..

 

 

 

That may be true in 1 on 1 situation. Those are rare on BG's. Other classes can kill one enemy and escape from being killed by another while being wounded, weakened(overheat) and on KDs

As BH - you will die, and others just escape..

 

For each time when i kill an enemy..just to be finnished off by another one jumping on me from around corner.. i get two times when enemy escapes, when he is low on HP or outnumbered..

 

 

Pretty much what I'm feeling in PvP. I'll agree with everything you've said. Give Jetpack jump anyone?

[elumarom]

Everybody always raves about the rocket punch knock back, but other than knocking people off ledges in huttball with that ( which is nice ) i find little to use it otherwise ( poor interrupt as it doesn't lock the spell school ). The knock back of it is so small that the enemy is back on you before your global cd has ended so cant use unload to slow them down or get a heal off.

 

Could someone tell me how to effectively use the knock back of talented rocket punch?

[Raetheon]

I read a lot of these "please help the mercs" or "What i see wrong with the mercs" threads and I wonder if I am playing the same class. Currently level 43, and I don't seem to run into the issues that you mention. Sure, I am not a ranged mobile dps (sounds funny). In pvp I can get away from just about anyone. Determination removes all snares, that with Jet blast + Electro dart I can get away, then nail them with a talented unload and they are slowed.

 

In PVP its all about knowing when to use your abilities. I only use the aforementioned skills in Huttball. The other warzones really have little use to kite/escape. I pick my battles, I make sure I get the drop on my targets, and if I have to 1v1 I heal as needed.

[DervimNorth]

If anything, I believe we're lacking an interrupt power...An additional breakout would be nice too, though.

[Airees]

bulls-hit

if you aren't heal specced, you can't effectively heal in combat

if you aren't damage spec, you can't effectively fight.

 

It's not about being an efficient healer, it's about getting that 3-5k more hp in.. Just a small amount like that is a major advantage, especially with our armor and damage reduction buff. And as for heal spec dps, you're just wrong. I've been in WZs and done 250k damage 350k healing as bodyguard.

[MrFosters]

It's not about being an efficient healer, it's about getting that 3-5k more hp in.. Just a small amount like that is a major advantage, especially with our armor and damage reduction buff. And as for heal spec dps, you're just wrong. I've been in WZs and done 250k damage 350k healing as bodyguard.

 

3-5 k a healing scan sounds pretty redundant as a the Merc isn't specced into bodyguard but Arsenal instead. rapid healing scan is doing is barely 1,8-2k.. Where a Councillor can out do you with his shield and a single heal in comparison when he's damage specc.

Edited January 3, 2012 by MrFosters

[gabrielhead]

I'm a fairly lackluster PvP player and even i think the merc is easy mode. I kill with impunity. We seem to want different things from a fight. I have no intention of running. I just kill everyone until i die. And that take focused fire from at least 2 people. In most fights i kill 2 people before im even noticed, and at least one more before i go down. Other classes may have more tools to "get away" but they don't work well enough to keep them alive if i have them targeted. And then im coming for their friends.

[Iskandarian]

i'd take your post more seriously if you weren't constantly misusing 'your' for 'you're'.

 

you don't sound very bright.

[Auilt]

The heat signature talent does not allow you to make 6 stacks. It simply makes each Tracer Missile add 2 stacks. The progression goes 2->4->5. It's a 20% debuff, not 20-24%.

[Smellis]

Mercenaries have heavy armor and heals. Afaik noone else has that combination. We're not supposed to escape, we're supposed to survive. Combined with the fact that if we're specced correctly we have an aoe knockback and a 9 sec CD knockback we have more than enough opportunity to get our heals off.

 

A mercenary doesn't put his tail between his legs and runs, he endures and comes out the victor.

 

A dps merc at lvl 50 cannot out heal ANYONE's damage. A healer merc could kill you if you tried to take that route. You have to play it smart and use your heals as small patch ups using your knock backs and LoS. Heavy armor is meaningless without the skill that gives you a % boost to turn you into an actual tank like juggs/powertechs have. Its a little more mitigation than what say an op or mara would have to be sure but in the grand scheme of things you're still very squishy and will die under focus fire without support.

 

Basically playing an arsenal merc is a frost mage without the escapes. You have a lot of CONTROLLED burst which is essential in pvp when you need someone to die asap, but you get reamed by most melee classes if you're caught out of position without anyone to help you out of the jam. Mercs have their damage for a very specific reason, because they don't get most of the goodies other classes to help them survive.

[Smellis]

well, watch this guy

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3e3o86GkoA

 

And this guy isn't even all that great, rarely abuses the CRAZY synergy that unload has within the arsenal tree. (Hint its your hardest hitting single ability and its very useful for cycling into your rotation to maintain a good heat level)

[MrFosters]

i'd take your post more seriously if you weren't constantly misusing 'your' for 'you're'.

 

you don't sound very bright.

 

Just Because of a few grammatical errors you disregard me? Pft.

[Angryorc]

Meh... that video isn't good

 

Mostly abusing low level targets while having personal stats exceeding the warzone bolstering is foul play.

 

Since Faction was nice enough to hide his own health values, I'd say he's got 2-3k more than the normal warzone bolstering buff

 

Did you have to break CC on yourself more than once?

Did you get ambushed by multiple stealthers?

Did you zerg all by yourself mostly away from objectives?

 

And as other have pointed out... Unload, use it!

[Rimbaldo]

And this guy isn't even all that great, rarely abuses the CRAZY synergy that unload has within the arsenal tree. (Hint its your hardest hitting single ability and its very useful for cycling into your rotation to maintain a good heat level)

 

Perhaps, it's buggy as hell though. It seems like half the time I use it in warzones the bar pops up and I start channeling but the animation doesn't fire and I don't actually do any damage. It's aggravating.

[twincannon]

Using Tracer missile as their main source of DPS they'll spam the target with heat signatures lowering their armour rating by 4% stacking up to 5 times, but can be talented to 6 times,

 

stopped reading after this