Yep, I picked the wrong class

[LastSurvivor]

I guess I've known it for a while now, but I just didn't really have the stomach to face it, having put about an ungodly amount of hours into my mercenary. But yes, this class is meant for casual play and PVE play ONLY. It's a vanity class, pure and simple... all flash no depth. Arsenal is nooby, has no utility, and is incredibly dull to play. Pyro is equally dull to play and has even less burst, but hey, you're mobile... You could make an argument for medic, but half the time I spend healing myself, and maybe 20% of the time I'm in a good position to heal my teammates in huttball (75% of PVP).

 

In general, merc has absolutely no utility except jet boost and rocket punch (if specc'd in arsenal), and we have one 4-sec combat stun and another that breaks on damage. My god I wish I had anything of use that the other classes have... a leap, a pull, an interrupt, force speed, stealth.... or an ACTUAL shield (not this half assed excuse for one).

 

Not to mention our resources are complete crap and quite possibly the worst resources in the game. Actually yes, our resources ARE the worst in the game. Constant management is required and if you let if get above 30% it quickly spirals out of control, at which point you have to resort to using useless rapid shots for countless seconds. That is, if vent heat (your only means to reduce a large amount of heat) is on cooldown (and at 2 minutes, let's face it, it most likely is).

 

My god, I wish someone told me this way the wrong class from the beginning, it would have saved me so much pain.

 

So here's my warning to all the newbies...

 

DON'T PICK MERC -> IT IS THE WRONG CLASS!!

[Ihazcrayon]

I have a 50 marauder and 50 sniper. Specced Annihilation and lethality.

 

I have also been leveling up a pyrotech merc and HAVE BEEN LOVING IT! The burst potential of my lethality sniper on squishy targets.....and all the mobility I want. Pema slowing, an amazing knockback that can slow down a whole offense for a few seconds to buy you time to allow your team to get into position.

 

And honestly the resource system is braindead easy. Id day this class is more noob friendly than my marauder is by miles.

[Ciry]

I think you need more practice if you think Merc is bad in pvp. Especially pyro.

[LastSurvivor]

One of my main problems is that mercs are practically useless in helping the team score in huttball. Huttball, which is 75% of pvp in my experience, means that if you want to roll a class to play pvp then you better be sure it is good for huttball.

 

As it is now, merc and snipers are practically useless in helping the team score in huttball as they have no utilities to do so... and operatives are a close 3rd. Huttball is dominated by force users and powertechs, thus pvp is dominated by force users and powertechs.

 

Sure mercs have dps, but at the end of the day.... it's not going to help your team score.

Edited March 4, 2012 by LastSurvivor

[HellFlame]

mercs are unkillable in pvp if you play it correctly... best healbot in pvp...

you got a shield which makes u immune to interrupts and u get +20% healing on yourself if you activate it with the correct skilltree... + rakata medpac = ...

 

and in the upcoming patch you even get medals through healing ... yeah ok.

[LastSurvivor]

I'm not arguing against the mercs effectiveness to kill or be killed. I'm arguing about it's effectiveness to helping the team score in huttball.

 

Basically it boils down to this... unless you have speed, bubble, pull, leap or stealth, then you're not helping your team NEARLY as much as classes with said abilities. The only thing we have is ONE defense against being scored against... a knockback. For scoring potential, we basically have nothing. Mercs and snipers might as well not even be there.

 

If I didn't have to play huttball 75% of the time then I wouldn't have as much issue with this, but since I do... it is a huge issue.

[TalkingDinosaur]

I think you need more practice if you think Merc is bad in pvp. Especially pyro.

Once again the problem here is between the keyboard and the chair.

[HellFlame]

It sounds well idc how it sounds... just farm medals till the new patch comes out. No need to try hard.. just get medals. If you really wanna win make a premade. Thats how it works.

[Duxk]

As a healer in PvP I am unkillable. I love playing a healer in general, but I PvP it all about getting a buddy be it from the Imperial Fleet or your on guild to help you out. Me and Parekura (Shieldtech Powertech) who is a battlemaster wreck in PvP. We just coordinate alot. I call out when he needs to shield himself or taunt people off of me, and he warns me about incoming people. In huttball we have about a 50% win ratio together its all about passing and passing lanes. Alderaan we are about 60% win ratio we dislike the size of Alderaan and suggest it being about 15% bigger. Voidstar we have 95% win ratio we wreck people. Bring a bodyguard is like being a medic in an armed service, it is all about Violence of Action. Example: Parekura has 3 guys on him, I supercharge heal once, defense screen him, and then Death from Above. Healers need to realize its about survival of your team mate and completion of your objective. Which is probably why most games I average 350k healing and almost 100k in damage.

 

Sorry for teh rant. MERC ISNT BAD!

[Voxx_Voltaare]

Being on a bad team is detrimental to scoring and no one person, whatever their spec, is going to dominate in Huttball.

 

Being a distraction is a function in itself. Most people despise Mercs in PvP, because if ignored, we're just going to DPS the heck out of you. So we often get mobbed and then people complain because they can't hold their own in that kind of a situation. But if you are on a decent team that can use a distracted mob to move the ball, then you have performed a valuable role on your team. You may not get credit for it when all said and done, but you may get the win.

 

Playing Merc in PvP forces you to play smart as well. You have to pick and choose your battles and be aware of your surroundings, as well as use them to your advantage.

 

There's no "I win" spec, just different play styles. Merc is not for everybody. Personally, I don't care if I'm dying a lot in PvP. I'm usually close to the top of the round most of the time anyway. Besides, Huttball really has nothing to do so much with specs and abilities as it does with a good team that understands how to move the ball. It's just that too often teams degenerate into a free-for-all while trying to kill the closest person they can target.

Edited March 4, 2012 by BaggyMacDouche

[Ihazcrayon]

Once again the problem here is between the keyboard and the chair.

 

PEBCAK

 

BH is miles easier to manage and play than alot of other classes. Just have to learn the synergy between your spec/abilities/heat management. Once you have that down and (as for pyro) know how to chain your attacks.

 

For me pyro isnt about big big nukes but a small ramp up time for lots of attacks culminating to some decent burst.

[The_Beastwood]

Psshaaw just use Arsenal.

 

Everyone knows Powertechs have a much better Pyrotech tree.

 

*Hides with flameshield*

[Synacus]

I'm not arguing against the mercs effectiveness to kill or be killed. I'm arguing about it's effectiveness to helping the team score in huttball.

 

Basically it boils down to this... unless you have speed, bubble, pull, leap or stealth, then you're not helping your team NEARLY as much as classes with said abilities. The only thing we have is ONE defense against being scored against... a knockback. For scoring potential, we basically have nothing. Mercs and snipers might as well not even be there.

 

If I didn't have to play huttball 75% of the time then I wouldn't have as much issue with this, but since I do... it is a huge issue.

 

Your main job in Huttbal is to work the killbox and play D.Work the top back ledge just watch for mara and jugg ball runners don't let them leap you.

 

You have tons of skills to aoe the team down if they group up to run the ball and save your jetboost for ledge knocking ball carriers.

 

You are the Ray Lewis of huttball I know people like to be the Joe Montana or Emmit Smith but if you want to play like that your in the wrong class you Need to be a assassin it sounds like.

[ManiacalShen]

It does sound like you need to reexamine your tactics, or at least your view of them. Knockbacks are awesome in Huttball, as altitude-based as it is. Try hanging out on the scaffolding above the fight as often as possible. Hell, you may even catch the ball when your team's carrier is about to die, since you're positioned away from the fray. It's valuable for you to be there to catch the ball, hold it until your team arrives, or even to score with it if things go well. And even if you have to throw it away, at least the enemy doesn't get it, right?

 

As the above poster said, we're not the center-stage stars. However, you should never feel useless in Huttball. Knocking a ball carrier into the pit or helping your team nuke the center in anticipation of a ball respawn is very conducive to winning. And Alderaan can be rough, since you're always assaulting uphill, but Voidstar? So much damage to deal! That game's a meat grinder.

[JClawson]

As it is now, merc and snipers are practically useless in helping the team score in huttball as they have no utilities to do so...

 

I don't know what kind of scoring utilities you arent using on your sniper, but you might need to re-examine how you play that class. You have a knockback that immobilizes, you have flashbang that can stun darn near the whole enemy team, you have a melee stun, you have a pinning shot on a really quick cooldown. If you sit up in the rafters you can basically prevent any ball carrier from walking past you until your team can take them down. Not to mention that you can range from one side of the middle to the other. Who cares if you personally never carry the ball, as long as you are helping your team.

 

As a merc, the easiest way to help in huttball is to go full healing spec. Heals on the move, instant heals on the move, damage reduction from heals, aoe heals and damage reduction on the move. Give the ball to a jugg or some other tanking class and just heal them all the way to the finish line.

[omarunaoe]

Arsenal Mercenary in huttball is a pretty weird thing to get used to. This is what I usually try to do, and I feel like I make a pretty decent impact on every single game.

 

1.) Controlling Midfield- It is important. Laying into people as soon as they grab the ball can be the difference between a pass to a sorc and a recovery. Keeping opposing ranged at bay so your team can move is critical (and there isn't any ranged class that can slug it out with us outside of interrupt range). Being successful at this is ALL about positioning. It's very easy to find yourself LOS'd and running around stupid if you don't set up and react well.

 

2.) Retrieving the Ball, then Passing- Take the time of one tracer missile to find someone not squishy upfield to pass to, or be ready to spike it. I make a lot of recoveries, and you need to be ready or you're just going to melt near your endzone. Think of yourself as the goalie- not only do you need to stop the goal, but you need to get it back into play.

 

3.) Jet Boost- Talented, this is up pretty much all the time. Watch the ball carrier's Resolve, because if it's full and you waste it you won't get another chance. This is about all the utility we have, but its easily the strongest single button to push that doesn't move you across 20% of the map.

 

It's also incredibly useful on offense. Jump into a clump of enemies and send them all flying away from your carrier. Often this will result in a score if used to catch the spawners who are rushing the final fire trap (hoping to use their own KBs). You can also use it on the run in (the side platforms is generally a great place) to slow down melee knowing full well it will be up again when you need it.

 

---

 

Mechanically, Mercs are simplistic... but that simplicity requires a lot of strategy to do anything more than hit top damage. Trying to carry the ball as a mercenary is just silly. With Energy Shield and a self-heal up, I can make it through about one trap consistently. I go so far as to tell people not to guard me at the start of the match, because the odds are it will be wasted on me while I run around the ramps.

 

Maybe it isn't the class for you, OP, but the contention that it's a useless class in huttball is completely inaccurate.

[unclekaula]

I play a ball carrier jug and also an arsenal merc.

 

A jug does boss things... a merc stands near mid and tries to control it for resets. Its boring and the merc doesnt have anything cool. You can stand on the walkways and push back people as they come up, either preventing them from using ramps to your side or helping fight back people after your ball carrier. You pretty much do as much dmg as possible and thats really it.

 

So yeah I agree with the OP except on the useless rapid shots.

[Hyfy]

Once again the problem here is between the keyboard and the chair.

 

In the Army we called it "operator headspace".

[CedricDur]

We may not have dem fancy pulls, pushes, runs and etcs, but we be killin' dose who do! While they are respawning they aren't using dem fancy skillz.

[Ciry]

One of my main problems is that mercs are practically useless in helping the team score in huttball. Huttball, which is 75% of pvp in my experience, means that if you want to roll a class to play pvp then you better be sure it is good for huttball.

 

As it is now, merc and snipers are practically useless in helping the team score in huttball as they have no utilities to do so... and operatives are a close 3rd. Huttball is dominated by force users and powertechs, thus pvp is dominated by force users and powertechs.

 

Sure mercs have dps, but at the end of the day.... it's not going to help your team score.

 

Your right, we don't score in huttball. That's not the role of the Merc in Huttball and if that is in fact what you want to do then yes, I supposed you did pick the wrong class. Rather than restate what a few others have said now, your job in Huttball is to play D. Slaughter the other team at mid and light up the ball carrier.

 

Merc is great in Huttball, just not at being a scorer in Huttball. I rack up 400k+ damage and 40-50+ kills per game. Usually end up with number 1 or 2 in objectives as well if I make sure to stay on the other teams ball carrier and grab the ball and throw it to a teammate who can run after the ball comes back to center. Hope you can find joy in playing D in Huttball, otherwise you are right about it being the wrong class for you. This would be an example of why I'm in support of AC respecing.

[RazielHex]

I'm not arguing against the mercs effectiveness to kill or be killed. I'm arguing about it's effectiveness to helping the team score in huttball.

 

Basically it boils down to this... unless you have speed, bubble, pull, leap or stealth, then you're not helping your team NEARLY as much as classes with said abilities. The only thing we have is ONE defense against being scored against... a knockback. For scoring potential, we basically have nothing. Mercs and snipers might as well not even be there.

 

If I didn't have to play huttball 75% of the time then I wouldn't have as much issue with this, but since I do... it is a huge issue.

 

I help my team by killing their team before they kill my team.

[Strifegambit]

My god OP must be so fail at his toon it almost makes me cry haha

GO heal spec, become unkillable & do premades = WIN

[DomingoDarkrage]

We are fine, and not only a pve class.

[MMornard]

So you have "all this time" in this character.

 

Are you also one of the people who complains about how easy the game is and how quickly you can reach 50? Apologies of you're not, but a lot of people do exactly that; complain the game is too easy in one thread and then complain they have too much time in a character and don't want to start another one in another thread.

[radbass]

Pyrotech powertech is the bomb-diggity. i imagine merc is exactly the same since its the shared tree. spamming railshot for 3.5k per crit with no cooldown and no heat generated... i started topping the rankings at level 15. SO much more fun than my sniper.