Devs: Please read concerning 1.2 changes!

[Baarabas]

This issue is running out of time and needs to be addressed soon before 1.2 goes live. Our Merc Pyro community is small. It is the second smallest within the BH community. Therefore we have had the smallest amount of player input prior to 1.2. We are getting the smallest feedback based of the 1.2 notes. We have not been and are not now the "squeaky wheel". Yet we have ALWAYS needed attention.

 

Merc Pyro is going to take a NERF! Why, I don’t know. We were never considered an OP class. Judging by the changes, we took a nerf based upon changes need to "balance" other classes in our profession.

 

We are collateral damage.

 

 

-Death From Above now has a 5-meter radius to bring its range in line with other Bounty Hunter Area of Effect abilities, and it now begins dealing damage sooner after activation.

 

It doesn’t matter that it begins dealing damage sooner, this is a nerf.

 

Hired Muscle now increases critical chance by 1% per point.

 

Almost every Merc Pyro I know uses this skill. We have 10 points to invest outside our tree. It is bad enough that our PT Pyro brothers have way better Tier I abilities to invest in than we do:

 

Prototype

1)Puncture - Rail ignores 60% of Targets Armor

2)Prototype Burn Enhancers - Increase all Crits on fire effects by 6%

3)Rail loaders - Rails damage increased by 6%

4)Iron Fist - 8% increase to damage by Rocket Punch

5)Electro Surge - 10 sec redux on Electro Darts CD

6)Advanced Targeting - Accuracy increased by 3%

7)Intimidation - Increase the damage of all fire effects by 6%

 

With Hired Muscle, they just took one of the few skills we have and nerfed the crap out of it. Why? Because it made Arsenals or Bodyguard OP? I don’t know. What do we have as Tier I:

 

Alacrity, Endurance, Accuracy. Within our tree. Our best choices across AC include:

 

1) Iron Sights

2) Hired Muscle (pre 1.2)

3) Mando Iron Warheads

4) *Tie* Advanced Targeting / Improved Vents (Improved Vents hardly gets picked due to the need to pick up tier II muzzle fluting)

5) ...

6) ...

7) ...

 

....Oh that’s it folks. 4 skills. We already were gimped, and we took a nerf.

 

Tracer Missile and Fusion Missile's animations have been exchanged by popular demand from the community.

 

No one sees this a quasi-nerf, but I do. Let me break it down. Interrupt. When I saw an Arsenals Merc bent over at the waste it was time to shut him down. It is the most eye catching animation in this game. Interrupt, stun, blowback, whatever. Shut it down. That image is still resonating on everyone’s brains, except we have it on Fusion Missile. We spam Rail Shot for DPS. We have to rotate Unload and Power Shot (see below) to proc Rail Shots ability. Outside those options (15 sec CDs except Power Shot, but PS builds heat) TD and Fusion Missile were our DPS fillers to keep us on par with our Cousin PT Pyro's DPS and brother Arsenals DPS. Fusion missile was great in warzones firing into a group and keeping an opponent on fire to trigger our Pyro abilities. Most of us used a Thermo Sensor Override/Power Surge combo to fire Fusion Missile. Some of us reserved Power Surge for Concussion Missile or Heal Scan. It was a must with Concussion Missile due to our deficiencies with CCs that is inherent with our AC.

 

Well in my opinion, if we want to keep Fusion Missile as a viable DPS application to our targets and not suffer the interrupt, we will almost have to use it in combo with Power Surge. This is a nerf.

Prototype Particle Accelerator now requires Combustible Gas Cylinder to trigger. The chance to trigger this effect has been increased significantly but cannot trigger more than once every 6 seconds.

 

Well, no word from the TC to see how this is playing out. Kind of evident to how many Arsenals there were to Pyros in the first place. We had the chance % of Unload and Powershot increased, but how does the 6 sec CD affect this? It is more luck, but I know I can spam (on average) rail shot's proc effect more than once every 6 seconds over the course of let’s say 1 minute.

This rotation gave me a 35% chance to proc: Unload (CD 15 sec, so not used again in rotation), 1.5 global, Power Shot, 1.5, Power Shot - Proc. 3 abilities total 3 sec to proc. This rotation gave me a 60% chance to proc effect: Unload, Power Shot, Power Shot, Power Shot. 4 abilities, total 4.5 secs to proc.

If I was unlucky (40% of the time), I would have to use 1 more PS which would give me a 6 second rotation.

In PvP this rotation is exposed to chaos, so it is not as constant. But in PvE (a purer environment) this is how long it takes me to proc rail shot. I’m not 100%, but it looks like a nerf for us, so that PT Pyro can have their Parakeet build destroyed.

 

Power Shot has been rebalanced. It now generates 16 Heat, has a 2-second activation time, and deals approximately 10% less damage.

 

Now the one we have been debating. No doubt this is part of our rotation. If it is not, you are using Merc Pyro wrong. 16 heat is great. 2 second activation time and 10% less damage = NERF. Now we have to pick up Muzzle Fluting destroying much of our customization. But we still do less damage. No big deal? We were already second place compared to Arsenals in DPS. We were already second place compared to PT Pyro in DPS. We were third place compared to them both. Based on TC results. My guilds and what is on the forums, Arsenals is actually getting a DPS buff. With the tweaks to Unload, they come out ahead. All they have to do is alter their rotation. PT Pyro got nerfed, but not as much as us (since we took the same nerfs they did). But their Rocket Punch didn’t get its CD lengthened. It didn’t get a 10% damage redux.

 

We got nerfed.

[Otaking_SW]

I really think you guys should not be quibbling amongst specs because all of Merc sucks right now tbh and it is getting worse.

 

I never feel threatened by a Merc on my Sin, they are free kills.

 

Mara eat you guys up too and they're getting boosted to the moon.

 

PT may be a powerful spec and can suffer some nerf but Merc is just left in a void since it didn't have a lot going for it in the first place. No mobility to get away from competent melee...not enough heals to live (in any spec other than 70% or full heals) or damage to burn it down vs. melee defense and cc/interrupts.

 

It's like taxing the rich (PT) vs. taxing the poor (Merc), it may be the same 10% tax for both but it's a much larger percent of the poor's living allowance vs. the rich's disposable income.

Edited March 31, 2012 by Otaking_SW

[sithterror]

]-Death From Above now has a 5-meter radius to bring its range in line with other Bounty Hunter Area of Effect abilities, and it now begins dealing damage sooner after activation[/i].

I dont see this as a nerf. Sure it begins combat sooner and evens out the aoe range for all similar abilities....ok i can deal with it.

 

Solution:

I would like to be able to cast this upon myself.

I havent been to PTS and I dont have lots of time to read every single forum, i did check the most likely, so if this info is/has changed great.

I know i can cast pretty much on myself with my sorc and do not see why i cannot cast this 'Danger Close' when i have to get the AOE pretty much on or as close to me as possible.

 

Hired Muscle now increases critical chance by 1% per point.

going from 2% to 1% per point is a small loss 3% crit. Considering PT-AP gets a 6% to all fire effects it doesnt seem fair in some points of view does it.

 

Solution(s):

Swap Integrated Systems and Hired Muscle. Then swap Hired Muscle with Systems Calibration. Then make Hired muscle a 2 point talent to increase all fire Crit chance by 3% per point. fix Integrated systems to be a 3 point talent and all is even.

As far as other talents to 'glean' making pyro 'better':

1) Move Custom Enviro suit and Jet Escape with each other. this allows a 31 pyro to get this as part of his extra 10 talent points

2) Swap Afterburners with Muzzle Fluting

3) Degauss should be modified to remove and prevent movment impairing effects while Energy shield is active. 15 second shield gives 15 sec free of slows, roots and snares and since it has a 2 minute CD can be used sparingly to aid in kiting and escaping melee chains.

4) Fusion Missile should be an instant fire like PT Missile Blast

5) Concussion Missile should be instant cast

 

Tracer Missile and Fusion Missile's animations have been exchanged by popular demand from the community....Well in my opinion, if we want to keep Fusion Missile as a viable DPS application to our targets and not suffer the interrupt, we will almost have to use it in combo with Power Surge. This is a nerf.

Seems to me the advantage will be in Mercs favor for initial changes since the 2 animations are basically swapped with each other. people caught up in combat will probably use interupt on Fusion based on so much TM uses prior to 1.2. However, after a while it will be back to a status qou and TM will be being interrupted more over Fusion. Since the Dev's said they wanted more Arsenal AC to use powers other than TM and HSM so having to use Power shot and Unload more in the rotation for DPS.

I see the issue with using Power Surge and Fusion M due to the activation time which allows you to maintain dps or make a surge due to cluster of players OR saving it for Concussion Missile. Seems there is a choice having to be made due to activation timers which i think makes in particular the Merc-Pyro less of a dps with the changes than an aresnal AC.

 

Solution:

--Make Fusion or Concussion Missile instant

--Make Merc-Pyro Burnout modify with .5 second less activation for Fusion Missile.

 

Prototype Particle Accelerator now requires Combustible Gas Cylinder to trigger. The chance to trigger this effect has been increased significantly but cannot trigger more than once every 6 seconds.

I see a few reasons for this and it impacts PT more than it did Merc. First, was obviously the Parakeet build which is now less usefull as a build post 1.2. secondly, high amounts of crit stacking allowed multiple procs to spam and with PT extra 60% armor ignore was great use of a bad implementation of talent placement. Simply moving Puncture with Hitman or Cylinder Ventilation would have been an easier application IMO but we are stuck with BW changes. Lastly, was explsoive fuel added into the previous 2. Explosive fuel is great as it is and allows the burst to be used when used....it was the combo of all 3 that allowed the perception of abuse and OP'ness to the PT over the Merc.

So the changes to PPA for both AC's is/was needed and we have to adjust to the changes. You Mercs get Power surge PT gets Explosive Fuel.

 

Solution:

All ready made by BW

 

Power Shot has been rebalanced. It now generates 16 Heat, has a 2-second activation time, and deals approximately 10% less damage.

It is seemingly unfair that you are forced to take Muzzle Fluting to make power shot instant where as the PT isnt forced to take any talent outside of Pyrotech to make any of his skills instant. you do have access to Stabilizers that gives 2 of your abilites push-resist where the PT doesnt. Your Mando warheads affects 2 abilities also where PT doesnt get a talent to affect 2 powers in his tray. Being impartial it seems you still have some upperhand there that evens some issues but still leaves the aforementioned ones to be commented on.

[Ricktur]

I really think you guys should not be quibbling amongst specs because all of Merc sucks right now tbh and it is getting worse.

 

I never feel threatened by a Merc on my Sin, they are free kills.

 

Mara eat you guys up too and they're getting boosted to the moon.

 

PT may be a powerful spec and can suffer some nerf but Merc is just left in a void since it didn't have a lot going for it in the first place. No mobility to get away from competent melee...not enough heals to live (in any spec other than 70% or full heals) or damage to burn it down vs. melee defense and cc/interrupts.

 

It's like taxing the rich (PT) vs. taxing the poor (Merc), it may be the same 10% tax for both but it's a much larger percent of the poor's living allowance vs. the rich's disposable income.

 

dude. . . why are you even on the merc forums? unless. . . you are secretly so interested in this class and plan on rolling one soon. . .

 

this quote is what you may call, Bounty Hunter Envy.

 

dont feel bad bro, everyone has it

[Daiyukie]

 

It is seemingly unfair that you are forced to take Muzzle Fluting to make power shot instant where as the PT isnt forced to take any talent outside of Pyrotech to make any of his skills instant. you do have access to Stabilizers that gives 2 of your abilites push-resist where the PT doesnt. Your Mando warheads affects 2 abilities also where PT doesnt get a talent to affect 2 powers in his tray. Being impartial it seems you still have some upperhand there that evens some issues but still leaves the aforementioned ones to be commented on.

Since when is power shot instant with muzzle fluting?

[sithterror]

Since when is power shot instant with muzzle fluting?

 

Speaking of patch notes for 1.2....lowers Power shot and Tracer Missile by .5 seconds.