Is playing Mercenary too easy?

[smballer]

I'm currently torn between rolling a Powertech or a Mercenary.

 

I've heard that Merc is more of a noob class because someone can stand in one place and spam the same attacks over & over again....

 

 

Which class did u guys find more fun to play for BH?

Edited March 31, 2012 by smballer

[MagnisLupus]

You heard wrong, merc is no more a "noob" class than any other, people always tend to think that of ranged classes simply because they prefer melee. Simple fact ranged classes have a higher comfort zone because they can keep their enemies at a distance, there's nothing "noob" about it, it is simply a play mechanic that ranged classes are always going to catch heat for from know it alls who like to stir the pot.

 

Play what you like, people who talk down other classes generally have no idea what they're talking about. As for Merc being "too easy", I had an easier time leveling my shieldtech than i did my merc..... not to say that merc is difficult, but a shieldtech is like an invincible god, if you apply the same logic, wouldn't that also make powertech a "noob class"?

[ShakesMcQueen]

Mercs have an incredibly simplistic rotation that currently relies way too much on using tracer missile over and over again (and is being somewhat changed in 1.2), but I don't think that makes it a "noob class". You do what works - if casting tracer missile a lot works, then so be it. You aren't going to wreck your own rotation to avoid being called a "noob" by other people.

[Kaplow]

I play an arsenal mercenary as my main, and I have to agree with the above posts. Many people think all mercs do is spam tracer missiles, but you do have to rotate in other attacks to optimize damage/heat. Really it comes down to your playstyle. I mained a mage in WoW and this seemed like a good fit for me. A friend of mine prefers to more be in the thick of things so he rolled a powertech...to each their own really. You may also want to keep in mind their utilities, for instance mercs have healing abilities, and powertechs have grapple and have the option of tanking.

[McGarnagle]

Here is the thing with merc arsenal. If your team is rolling the other one, it's easy as heck. if not, you are in a world of hurt. All melee classes can close the gap in a split second with their abilities. In order to deal with that you have to use a ton of cooldowns to survive. Plus having to use one ability over and over again to get max effectiveness is a negative.

 

The only people that complain about mercs are people that are getting rolled and let them free cast. Mercs are so easy to deal with it's a joke.

 

I have 4 different classes, and being a really good merc is one of the toughest things in the game since they are so easily dealt with by other classes. Arsenal mercs are easy to interrupt, kite, and los. To deal with that you have to use a lot of smarts and other abilities.

 

Can some mercs just spam tracer and do good damage? Sure. Against bad players. When it's a close game mercs are awful. They are easy as hell to deal with. You know what is noob? Going stealth and hitting the same few buttons with no chance to be interrupted while the target is lying on the ground. Spaming lightening with other dot abilities that are also powerful (so interrupt is not a big deal) combined with stuns, roots, force speed, a bubble available every 20 seconds, ranged interrupt, etc. Jumping to whomever you want (more than 1 time too) and running through the usual rotation with no fear of interrupt (plus vanish, undying rage, and a whole host of other things). Creating your own cover without fear of stun or knockback and just running the usual rotation. Those things are easy. Having to deal with other classes that can interrupt the one thing you need to be effective is hard. You have 5 fingers right? It's not like keyboards have keys 50 feet apart where it's hard to hit a different one.

 

Merc is far from a noob class, and anyone that says so is a noob themselves that don't understand the fact mercs are really easy to deal with.

[jbuschell]

Mercs are easy to deal with, los or interrupt its that simple

[Hyfy]

McGarnagle,

 

I'm not sure if you were trying to refer to an Operative then switch to talking about Sorcs or if you are confusing the abilities of what an Assassin has available to him??? If you were talking about an Operative then switched to talking about Sorcs, then carry on. If you were however talking about Assassins through that whole bit then you would be incorrect.

 

As to the OP, Mercs get the rep as being a noob class because of idiots that DO spam things like Tracer Missile, which to be honest is so easy to recognize that it's no wonder. Powertechs while still pretty easy to play do take a bit more concentration and setup for your big hit. You have to be a bit more situationally aware of not only what's going on around you but what is going on right in front of you and what you are doing. Sometimes though it's just a matter of personal preference. I started off with a Merc and at 25 shelved her. Then tarted a PT and played him straight through till the end. Did the same thing with a Sorc then my Assassin also but that's a topic for another thread. Basically, play what you want and how you want. It's a game so play it the way it is entertaining to you.

Edited March 31, 2012 by Hyfy

[DEuZZ]

I'm currently torn between rolling a Powertech or a Mercenary.

 

I've heard that Merc is more of a noob class because someone can stand in one place and spam the same attacks over & over again....

 

 

Which class did u guys find more fun to play for BH?

 

All mmo's have a more "easy" class to play, don't make it bad, i don't understand people who QQ about a class to be to easy... If thats how THEY feel they can play a class thats more "hard...."

I love that it's "easy" and if bioware starts making my class like super hard to play just since some people don't like the "easyness" i will stop sub on the day that happens, infact that they change tracer missile animation makes me wonder if i should quit... Bioware understand some of us PREFER it like it was made, to start changing that is just stupid, just cuz some said they did not like it...

And for all YOU know it might be people who don't even play bounty hunter's who only trolling... GOD DAMIT!

[DarthPunitor]

honestly, it depends what you consider to be noob qualifying.

 

i have a 50 merc, 41 marauder, 31 operative, 27 scoundrel, and a level 1 trooper (lol). Frankly, the marauder is by far the most difficult for me to play. i dont even have a rotation because i use every one of my abilities + buffs and usually my opponents are pretty much done at the end of it.

 

As for standing in one place spamming the same attack from a distance? i think youre thinking of snipers...

 

But it's true that mercs (arsenal) do stack tracers. i only shoot 3 tracers and then switch to my next abilities, but the rotation is a LOT shorter (mostly because of the need to keep up the armor penetration stack) as well as a lot easier to master (comparitively). Good players will give you a run for you money, but generally there isnt AS MUCH challenge when playing a merc.

[McGarnagle]

McGarnagle,

 

I'm not sure if you were trying to refer to an Operative then switch to talking about Sorcs or if you are confusing the abilities of what an Assassin has available to him??? If you were talking about an Operative then switched to talking about Sorcs, then carry on. If you were however talking about Assassins through that whole bit then you would be incorrect.

 

As to the OP, Mercs get the rep as being a noob class because of idiots that DO spam things like Tracer Missile, which to be honest is so easy to recognize that it's no wonder. Powertechs while still pretty easy to play do take a bit more concentration and setup for your big hit. You have to be a bit more situationally aware of not only what's going on around you but what is going on right in front of you and what you are doing. Sometimes though it's just a matter of personal preference. I started off with a Merc and at 25 shelved her. Then tarted a PT and played him straight through till the end. Did the same thing with a Sorc then my Assassin also but that's a topic for another thread. Basically, play what you want and how you want. It's a game so play it the way it is entertaining to you.

 

Yes, I went through multiple classes (warriors are in there too).

[NubBeah]

As a pvping arsenal merc I can tell you first hand 99.99% of mercs are just bad. They don't use stealth scan, they don't self cure, they don't insta cast heal etc... We are a class based around tracer missile, there is no avoiding this. However you really only cast it 3 times, after that there's explosive dart, HS, unload, RS, Fusion missile if you can free cast it. If there is a group you have DFA and sweeping blasters which if you stay aware of your heat is great cause while its damage is okay it will push back heals, decloak stealth, and make you look like a ******. By the time you've used these other abilities and you don't suck, your target should be dead so you shouldn't need any more tracer missiles.

 

Merc can be incredibly complex IF you use ALL your abilities.

 

Unfortunately most prefer just to put tracer on every bar slot and proceed to play using their face.

[K_Schrimer]

Arsenal spec mercs are awsome for PvE due to the utility and dps we can bring (we can back up heal/cure for short periods of time and debuff armor for the whole raid). But for PvP Pyro is much more efficient and 'easier' to do good with due to it's mobility and the fact almost all of your attacks are instant cast.

 

Arsenal

-You need 5 stacks of armor debuff on the enemy in order for heatseeker to do max damage.

-You need 5 stacks of tracer lock to do max damage on rail shot.

-You need to unload EVERYTIME it's up and available when the enemy has max armor debuffs and specially when barrage is in effect.

 

Pyro

-set people on fire

-rail shot each time it pops up

-stack dots

-thermal detonator for burst

-repeat

 

Pyro specd powertechs are among the best pvper's I've had to go up against and are pretty much the mercs weakness regardless of our spec.

Edited April 1, 2012 by K_Schrimer

[NubBeah]

I disagree, you do not NEED max tracer or railshot to be EFFECTIVE. True for max damage you do but consider this, you can heatseeker and put an explosive dart on someone running out of los in roughly the same time as one TM. Even if they get out of los the dart will still explode and can potentially kill them, and the combination of a dart and even a non buffed HS is more then a TM. Focusing too much on generating 5 stacks of either railshot dmg or heat signatures can effectively deny you kills and damage. If they los you can DFA or sweeping blasters to hit them around corners.

 

People get too caught up on stacks, it doesn't matter how many stacks you get on someone if they los you and heal. The goal is to kill the target, not stick to a static rotation.

[K_Schrimer]

I disagree, you do not NEED max tracer or railshot to be EFFECTIVE. True for max damage you do but consider this, you can heatseeker and put an explosive dart on someone running out of los in roughly the same time as one TM. Even if they get out of los the dart will still explode and can potentially kill them, and the combination of a dart and even a non buffed HS is more then a TM. Focusing too much on generating 5 stacks of either railshot dmg or heat signatures can effectively deny you kills and damage. If they los you can DFA or sweeping blasters to hit them around corners.

 

People get too caught up on stacks, it doesn't matter how many stacks you get on someone if they los you and heal. The goal is to kill the target, not stick to a static rotation.

 

I was mixing pvp and pve in my assesment; in pvp you just need to get what you can, when you can, which is far easier as a pyro spec.

[NubBeah]

I was kinda generalizing that, not just at you. You'll find a lot of mercs go for stacks instead of a potential kill cause they are tunnel visioned to their stacks, in pvp and pve. Like rail shot, a free rail shot with the set bonus is great whenever. Damage is damage and it helps you have a spare second to vent heat as opposed to more mindless TM which only adds heat.

[K_Schrimer]

I was kinda generalizing that, not just at you. You'll find a lot of mercs go for stacks instead of a potential kill cause they are tunnel visioned to their stacks, in pvp and pve. Like rail shot, a free rail shot with the set bonus is great whenever. Damage is damage and it helps you have a spare second to vent heat as opposed to more mindless TM which only adds heat.

 

The biggest mistake i see people doing as arsenal is they don't realize unload is their #1 damage dealer (specially once you have Riddle+Barrage)

 

The irony with the 'nerf' comming up is they just moved some dps out of TM and put it in unload (barrage pops more); since unload is channeled and rail shot is free heat (once you have set bonus) we can potentially do MORE dps.

Edited April 1, 2012 by K_Schrimer

[Hizoka]

I play an arsenal mercenary as my main, and I have to agree with the above posts. Many people think all mercs do is spam tracer missiles, but you do have to rotate in other attacks to optimize damage/heat. Really it comes down to your playstyle. I mained a mage in WoW and this seemed like a good fit for me. A friend of mine prefers to more be in the thick of things so he rolled a powertech...to each their own really. You may also want to keep in mind their utilities, for instance mercs have healing abilities, and powertechs have grapple and have the option of tanking.

 

here is a good post he went from playing a 2 button class in wow to a 3 button class in tor, he stepped his work up 50%.

 

 

Mercs are the most simplistic thing in this game to play, if you want the ability to watch TV and eat a sandwich while raiding, roll a merc. If you want something that cannot be played by a dippy bird play anything else.

[K_Schrimer]

Mercs are the most simplistic thing in this game to play, if you want the ability to watch TV and eat a sandwich while raiding, roll a merc. If you want something that cannot be played by a dippy bird play anything else.

 

You are incorrect.

To play any class well, you need to know what you are doing.

Tracer spammers (that really do play like you say) are some of the easiest kills to get in PvP; the mercs that know what they are doing are different.

[NubBeah]

here is a good post he went from playing a 2 button class in wow to a 3 button class in tor, he stepped his work up 50%.

 

 

Mercs are the most simplistic thing in this game to play, if you want the ability to watch TV and eat a sandwich while raiding, roll a merc. If you want something that cannot be played by a dippy bird play anything else.

 

Thank you for providing us a perfect working example of the word ignorance. May you continue to lead the community by showing them how not to be if they want to excell at anything in life.

[DarthPunitor]

here is a good post he went from playing a 2 button class in wow to a 3 button class in tor, he stepped his work up 50%.

 

 

Mercs are the most simplistic thing in this game to play, if you want the ability to watch TV and eat a sandwich while raiding, roll a merc. If you want something that cannot be played by a dippy bird play anything else.

 

roll a merc and watch yourself get facerolled in pvp

[Angryorc]

I have a R70+ Arsenal merc as my main.. cleared all content on NMM mode with it...

 

Now I actually have a level 49 powertech pyro and lol... if people think mercs are easy to play... roll a 31 pt pyro

 

The mobility, utility and allover much more pleasant ways to deal damage.. makes me love it much more than my merc.

[iDraxter]

Arsenal

-You need 5 stacks of armor debuff on the enemy in order for heatseeker to do max damage.

-You need 5 stacks of tracer lock to do max damage on rail shot.

-You need to unload EVERYTIME it's up and available when the enemy has max armor debuffs and specially when barrage is in effect.

why do ppl always forget to add Power Barrier to the list of why Arsenal BH cast TM a lot...stacks up to 5 times , each stack gives us 2% damage reduction for 15 seconds, has a 50/100% to proc while casting TM or Power Shot

Edited April 1, 2012 by iDraxter

[K_Schrimer]

why do ppl always forget to add Power Barrier to the list of why Arsenal BH cast TM a lot...stacks up to 5 times , each stack gives us 2% damage reduction for 15 seconds, has a 50/100% to proc while casting TM or Power Shot

 

Because it has no relation to rotation of other skills and thus no context with the current discussion.

[iDraxter]

Because it has no relation to rotation of other skills and thus no context with the current discussion.

"why do ppl always forget to add Power Barrier to the list of why Arsenal BH cast TM a lot", easier to spot this time?

[NubBeah]

Because other then survivability it offers nothing to dps, and 95% of these discussions happen with the focus being on a dps. Edited April 1, 2012 by NubBeah