DPS Mercs SUCK.

[Gadrak]

yep we could use another escape tool (i want to use my frikking jetpack!)but our dps dont suck at all,you just have to gear yourself a little and you are going to have one of the most outrageous DPS in the game

 

against melee,there is only thing that you can do,burst them down before they burst YOU down,tryng to get assasins off you is impossilble,they have 3 gap closers(stealth pull sprint),when i see an assassin i use the jet boost power surge instant tracer,second tracer,heat seeking missiles,rail unload and rocket,if im lucky enough he will run away,(i cant kill him due to the damn vanish)and if im even more lucky i can catch him with the stealth scan but is very very situational,9 times out of 10 an assassin will faceroll you in any possible way.

 

i know that the game isnt balanced around 1v1,but there is a little difference between having an hard time and having no chance at all

[Murderous]

^ well said. And by the way, time will tell. If the devs notice that a certain class/spec is not being used much, they'll eventually fix it. Personally I plan on getting one of each class to 50 so if i get frustrated with one, I'll just start on another. Btw my main is a merc, and I love it.

Melee with flashy sword= death, so follow jango fett's example and keep them the hell away from you.

 

 

Edit: was referring to Lark's comment

Edited January 10, 2012 by Murderous

[Lotusfreek]

You do have jet boost... although the CD is sorta long if you don't have gear and spec, when you do (which you should have) it's a core ability that gives you a ton of escapability. You could also argue that rocket punch is a jetpack ability and it also gives a decent amount of escapability if specced.

 

Rocket punch knocks the target back 4m. The range on almost all melee attacks is 4m. Unless you are pushing them off a ledge, the skill is a lot less useful that people try to pass off. If it had a slow attached to it, it would be great...

 

My ideal change would be to put Tracer on a 4.5 sec CD. Make it instant. Slight buff to Power Shot damage. Would really free up the spec for more mobility. You could always spam Power Shot if you are left alone in that situation.

[xxTYPOxx]

I duno man, I do pretty decent in 1v1 but I specced Werden's bodyguard/arsenal hybrid spec so I have some awesome healing abilities.

 

Also LOS abit, it will keep you alive long enough to get a few heals off and you can save your electro dart for when your target starts to run.

 

Oh I also have the Cybertech slowing nade to slow my target so i can get away or stop them from running.

 

<3

 

Niks.

[jackalious]

I'm still quite new to bounty hunter but will say that as a merc you are a jack of all trades. You are a healer and DPSers however not the best at either. Would be nice to have an escape but if they did it would have a huge cool down timer because if you had the option to jump away from combat then you would have an advange to keep other away from you. Not something AoE people would like. I understand that you have a 30 meter range of attack but if a Jedi/Sith finally made it to you and attacked they closed the gap and only have a 4 meter range with their sabers so you being able to jump away makes it kinda unfair. Also Jedi/Sith have only a 3 second sprint which I think all careers should have their force run do break snares if I'm not mistaken. So far is fair but 30 meters comapred to 4 meters isn't bad for a merc against a saber.

[Thankyjack]

Some of you just kill me. Merc arsenal and IA sniper are pve specs. They are turrets with high damage and no mobility. When someone comes up with a dps meter for this game (which I would not support, but it's coming), and you get into raids, you will love your character. In pvp, you will always hate them. You want mobility then you have to give up the damage and go pyrotech. If you want survivability, then you should have rolled powertech.

 

This is how mmos everywhere are designed. Maybe it needs a little tweaking, but merc arsenal will never get good mobility or survivability. That's why you get a choice. Make your choice between awesome pve dps or good pvp mobility and embrace it.

[Stormbreed]

In Hutt-Ball what we tend to do is give the ball to Craig, he is a tank BH and can take a large amount of damage. In return I set up shop and DPS away. Pick a location along the side you plan to score on, lvl 2, behind the boxes, from there you can dps nearly 21.5% of the map. I then have Rickk, Sith Maurader, stand point guard. He knows now, and will always know, the only reason he is welcome in the guild is because he's like a 200 pound pit bull, he loves me, more then his life, but I know if he bites me, even just one time, I have to put him down. Zulato ( tank sorc ) usually will run the ball with Criag, they have some nice combo's they can pull to keep the ball moving while me and Rickk handle the rest of the team. ZULATO IS GREAT, because no matter how bad, he won' rage, you could be down 5-0 2min into the game and he'll actually sit the whole team down, and go from one person to the next and explain what they've done wrong. My kinda dude. Usually near the end I am around 200+ in damage with 1 maybe 2 deaths at most. ALWAYS target low levels, they are garbage and should NOT be in the PVP, I think Bioware let low LVL's into PVP as a Christmas present to us. Keep in mind, nothing is more important as KNOWING YOUR CLASS, you're NOT a Wizard Harry. You're a turret, find a good place with walls to your back and side, and turret everything in sigh. If you have any questions feel free to contact me on my server, or join us in vent (pm me) for details, I usually stream our matches so you can watch and learn if necc. God Speed Dan Edited January 10, 2012 by Stormbreed

[Yazule]

Some of you just kill me. Merc arsenal and IA sniper are pve specs. They are turrets with high damage and no mobility. When someone comes up with a dps meter for this game (which I would not support, but it's coming), and you get into raids, you will love your character. In pvp, you will always hate them. You want mobility then you have to give up the damage and go pyrotech. If you want survivability, then you should have rolled powertech.

 

This is how mmos everywhere are designed. Maybe it needs a little tweaking, but merc arsenal will never get good mobility or survivability. That's why you get a choice. Make your choice between awesome pve dps or good pvp mobility and embrace it.

 

i agree that AS is more of a pve class, until big battlegrounds come up, then we are the wave of archers behind that row of melee... just sayin

 

for small skirmishes not as effective until you put a healer on me, i have wiped 3-4 peeps with a healer on me, i would have gone from ego to dead in .01 seconds had i not had the heals.

 

people are still learning, there is a place for pure dps in this game and in pvp, people have not learned yet how to work together well imo, but AS is definitely a squad position not a solo position, my alt will be more "uber" 1v1, this toon is support.

[The_Archon]

I am really, really, REALLY sad I wasted my time leveling this character to 50 only to find out the amount of balls it sucks is unreal.

 

First, I have a jetpack strapped to my back but are by FAR the most immobile of characters... What the hell is up with this? People sprint away from me in combat, jump halfway across the screen, or just flat out disappear only to come back 10 seconds later at full health and kill me... I have a rocket on my back, but get to stand around looking stupid? What the hell? The lack of mobility is beyond comprehension. Any plans to give us ANY type of utility from this thing that we should be able to use atleast once a minute?

 

Why are we the only class that has no distraction ability? Its nice that my only good attack gets taken away from me in PvP by every single person I fight, not to mention the chain stuns laid upon me while i slowly bleed away my health leaves me aghast. If I amazingly do get the upper hand, the fact that other class just calmly leaves the fight is astounding.

 

Now that I am done ranting, is there any plans to make a DPS merc a viable PvP class in the future? Sure, I am great shooting off rockets when no ones attention is turned on me, but god forbid if I get in a 1 on 1 situation. People have no issues escaping a merc; they are a joke. The fact this class is called a bountyhunter is somewhat of a joke in itself as they can't catch anything but NPCs. The class description we get when asked to choose our advanced class is a downright lie.

 

This class genuinely sucks. I have never been so disappointed with a class in an MMO and will probably re-spec it a healer and move on to a class that isn't a joke.

 

Go play Marauder. Then come back and apologize.

[Warcrawl]

With all the melee class having a gap closer, we should have a gap creator. Give us one ability that uses our jet packs that will allow us to jet jump as far away from melee as they can jump to us. So they close gap, we use our push back unload slow them down. They close gap again, we use our jetpack to get back into range. Just ONE flipping jetpack ability other than death from above. Would be nice. Edited January 10, 2012 by Warcrawl

[The_Archon]

With all the melee class having a gap closer, we should have a gap creator. Give us one ability that uses our jet packs that will allow us to jet jump as far away from melee as they can jump to us. So they close gap, we use our push back unload slow them down. They close gap again, we use our jetpack to get back into range. Just ONE flipping jetpack ability other than death from above. Would be nice.

 

You realize that melee classes lose 85% of their effectiveness if you just move away from them. The reason they have a gap closer is because ranged DPS can run & gun and melee cannot. Kite them.

[Yazule]

You realize that melee classes lose 85% of their effectiveness if you just move away from them. The reason they have a gap closer is because ranged DPS can run & gun and melee cannot. Kite them.

 

 

do you even read about things? we are not mobile, if we move we loose 50% or more of our dps throughput, kiting reduces maybe 30% of melee, it is a loosing proposition.

[Dominiking]

Play smarter. Can't have it all, so learn to work with what you got... Learn the maps, learn how to position yourself, stop complaining about 1v1 play because this is a team game. Find a PVP guild and form groups... Learn how to play with each other.

 

Most importantly, KNOW YOUR ROLE!! When I play my MERC, I know I can't take a hit cuz I'm not design to take hits... SO, I pick my spots.. I know most players wanna sit in the middle and just brawl it out to see who can burst who down first. I find a nice location and blast away.

 

Every class can't be excellent against every class... If that was the case, everyone would play selfishly.. By giving classes weaknesses, you encourage team play.. And judging from the bonuses given to groups while doing missions as a group, you can tell that SWTOR is really focused on making this a social game...

 

 

I remember playing wow and I didnt want to group with people because you'll get less XP... That made me want to find the best SOLOing class in the game...

 

Enjoy the game and learn to master the class YOU chose... I'm sure changes will come in the future... Still a new game with not enough maxed out players to see how things really balance out, so just be patient and see where it goes...

 

I'm Having a BLAST playing this game and it has a lot of potential... now back to MERKING!

[The_Duck]

The biggest problem IMO is how all the melee classes can get up to you so easily. Either with stealth or the retarded jump that has as much range as all your ranged attacks does ( yes makes sense...). Hopefully they make BHs a bit more mobile or give them some more added survivability as it is right now your best bet is that the enemies are focusing someone else so that you can get off a few shots.

 

OK, so they jump to you.

1. hit your SHIELD right away.

2. JET BOOST THEM AWAY FROM YOU OVER THE LEDGE!

Their leap is on a long cooldown. They cannot get to you for some time or will fight someone else.

 

You can spec to have your jetboost refresh pretty quickly.

 

Also, you should always (or most of the time) be on some type of ledge or edge. That way when melee close in rocket punch actually is really beneficial. Rocket punch off ledge, run to another ledge. They will forget about you.

 

Why do you HAVE to kill them? You don't. Just make it frustrating for them to try to kill you.

 

Also, jetboost slows the target by 60%. Make it easier to run away from 2-4 people who are *************** you.

 

USE YOUR PvP MED KITS.

HEAL YOURSELF.

Sometimes if you last long enough everyone forgets about you and you survive.

Also, don't start fights at < 80% health. Take a minute to heal yourself up.

 

If you are in the middle of let's say Hutball map then you are not taking advantage of your class and spec and surroundings. You should be up high and blasting from above. If you are in the middle then you should expect to be killed.

 

#1 rule in any shooter like this PvP stuff (or Halo or whatever) is don't run after people who are running away. That = death. Guess where they are running? To their friends or a sprint and heal thingie. Just let them go ....

 

If the only complaint is your mobility then you either specced wrong or didn't go powertech. That would be what you want in that situation. Others have said the fire tree is fairly mobile so check that out.

 

Do I wish I was a powertech or a different class sometimes? Sure!

I am also sure others wonder how I can dish out so much damage or survive for so long.

 

Any class can get their heads kicked in. Depends on the scenario.

 

Don't fight from the middle of any map unless you have a dedicated healer.

Fight from the corners or up high and know when to run.

[McFribble]

Some of you just kill me. Merc arsenal and IA sniper are pve specs. They are turrets with high damage and no mobility. When someone comes up with a dps meter for this game (which I would not support, but it's coming), and you get into raids, you will love your character. In pvp, you will always hate them. You want mobility then you have to give up the damage and go pyrotech. If you want survivability, then you should have rolled powertech.

 

This is how mmos everywhere are designed. Maybe it needs a little tweaking, but merc arsenal will never get good mobility or survivability. That's why you get a choice. Make your choice between awesome pve dps or good pvp mobility and embrace it.

 

Perhaps some of us would LOVE to go Powertech, given a chance to re-spec our AC. However, because this is not an options, Merc BH will only be good for healing and stationary DPS. I hardly see ANYONE specced into Pyro, because it's a gamble spec. I'm sure there are more Arsenal Mercs than not who would love to sacrifice some DPS for mobility, because surviving longer = more DPS output than any set stats would offer otherwise, since you can't be dealing damage if you are stuck trying to respawn every time someone focuses you.

 

People have already suggested making Tracer Missile a 4.5 CD instant cast. This prevents the attack from being spammed as much, and gives the Merc the mobility needed while still dealing damage. Everyone wins.

[fatherjimbo]

You should put PVP in the title of this thread since that is what you are speaking of.

 

Incidently, I despise MMO's in which they use PVP performance to "balance" the class. It pisses me off as it affects PVE play as well. It needs to be a separate game entirely.

[The_Archon]

do you even read about things? we are not mobile, if we move we loose 50% or more of our dps throughput, kiting reduces maybe 30% of melee, it is a loosing proposition.

 

Then stand still and get melee'd. How much DPS will you lose when you're dead?

[Yazule]

Then stand still and get melee'd. How much DPS will you lose when you're dead?

 

you cannot kite and win, that is my point, you said "just kite them" like it solves the problem, it just delays your death.

 

I often "just stand still and get melee'd" and win quite a bit, depends on each of our health at that moment, whether i can electo dart, whether i can knock back.

 

running is NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT the answer unless you have yeilded the field to them, and more often than not you dont get away because .... suprise... we have no mobility and if they are melee the DO have some kind of mobility

 

basically, your "solution" was not a solution, it was a /slashwrist move

 

better to stand your ground and do whatever damage you can than to run around like chicken little...

 

kiting for merc is a pve move

[Xesorla]

you cannot kite and win, that is my point, you said "just kite them" like it solves the problem, it just delays your death.

 

I often "just stand still and get melee'd" and win quite a bit, depends on each of our health at that moment, whether i can electo dart, whether i can knock back.

 

running is NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT the answer unless you have yeilded the field to them, and more often than not you dont get away because .... suprise... we have no mobility and if they are melee the DO have some kind of mobility

 

basically, your "solution" was not a solution, it was a /slashwrist move

 

better to stand your ground and do whatever damage you can than to run around like chicken little...

 

kiting for merc is a pve move

 

It is fun kiting arsenal mercs as a pyro merc

[Yazule]

It is fun kiting arsenal mercs as a pyro merc

 

 

 

roflol true that, I am speaking from the turrets point of view

[-Kraxis-]

Wow.. buncha people that don't know how to PVP with Mercs in this thread... /flamesuit

 

We're not mobile?? BS!

 

Bind your keys accordingly; we have half a dozen useful and DAMAGING shots we can fire on the run, including Heatseaker (damn near our best attack), Rail Shot, Missile Blast and Electro Dart, just to name a few. Fire off a couple Tracers, then you can move around and fire HS, RS, MB.. that's a crap-load of burst damage in about 5 seconds, especially if you have high Crit, like Arsenal Mercs SHOULD.

 

I come near the top in damage, kills and usually medals with my Arsenal merc in WZ's... and I'm always moving around and usually not stationary for more than a few seconds at any given time.

[bobafetea]

Wow.. buncha people that don't know how to PVP with Mercs in this thread... /flamesuit

 

We're not mobile?? BS!

 

Bind your keys accordingly; we have half a dozen useful and DAMAGING shots we can fire on the run, including Heatseaker (damn near our best attack), Rail Shot, Missile Blast and Electro Dart, just to name a few. Fire off a couple Tracers, then you can move around and fire HS, RS, MB.. that's a crap-load of burst damage in about 5 seconds, especially if you have high Crit, like Arsenal Mercs SHOULD.

 

I come near the top in damage, kills and usually medals with my Arsenal merc in WZ's... and I'm always moving around and usually not stationary for more than a few seconds at any given time.

 

I came here to post this because it's completely true. And with high surge as well, that much burst damage really kills

[Voxx_Voltaare]

Seems to me like a lot of people think that whatever class they end up choosing should have an "I win" button on their toolbar.

 

Arsenal Mercs have a weakness, lack of mobility and resistance to melee. We are ranged fighters with tons of damage.

 

I have always considered myself a horrible PvPer. I'm currently level 33 and have found that I have been doing rather well in warzones. I get tons of damage and kills and few deaths. When I die it is either because I have not kept up my surroundings and/or find myself in close with a lot of enemy players. Once two or more people are on you, you are toast. I don't even try to fight, I just accept it, because I let myself get out of position.

 

The other issue that is being resolved with the next major patch is that everyone is thrown into the same mix in PvP. It's hard for a level 25 to compete against a level 50. The gap is going to be significantly closer after the update, which should make PvPing overall a little easier at lower levels.

 

I still love being an AS Merc. Sure it involves a lot of TM spamming, but there are still a lot of other useful and viable skills to use, not to mention fun.

[TheNinjaboy]

It's not really a problem of Mercs, it's more of a problem of CC locks / Interrupts being a little TOO good vs. some main builds in PvP.

 

They just need to resolve the interrupt / stun issues and it will fix itself.

 

You should be able to be stunned and interrupted btw but just not like some classes do it now.

[Midfrost]

I don't get it, what are everyone complaining about?

The only class I've ever lost against 1v1 are Operatives, and I'm now Valor rank 43, I've yet to loose a 1v1, even when I don't get the drop.

 

To be able to stack shields, pop your own shield, kolto overload, insane knockback with slow, knockdown in melee range, stun, make-instant CD and a super-strong attack.

Even if your Tracer gets interupted and put on long CD, smack his ***, run and throw instant rockets until it's back.

 

If anything, I say we're extremely strong, almost on the brink of overpowered.

 

BUUUUT

 

I would also like to see something involving our jet pack... I mean.... it's there, would be awesome to have some sort of ability to go with it.

 

I'm thinking maybe a charge like ability, where we rocket into the air.

Maybe with the same targeting reticle as DFA and we propel into the air doing an arc to reach the area.

Would be very nice.