Suggested Merc Fixes

[Baarabas]

There are enough posts in both Trooper and Bounty Hunter forums pointing to an obvious deficiency in the Merc/Commando AC. Anyone who raids, anyone who PvPs knows that Merc DPS is sub-par. Our survivability is laughable. If you fixed one (DPS or survivability) you could fix the class.

 

If we are supposed to be "Glass cannons" then so be it. Increase our DPS so we can bring something to the fight and be a decent opponent in a 1 on 1 situation. Make the other guy work for it at least.

 

If "glass cannon" is not our class concept then we need more utility to increase our TTK/survivability.

 

Mercs are tired of messages like this:

"LFM for Rated WZ, Mara/PT Pyro w/ 1280 exp. PST with stats"

 

There are many suggestions to improve our class:

 

In order to increase DPS for Mercs to bring them online with the community while NOT increasing the DPS of our cousin the Powertech, we must focus on Merc only abilities to avoid code problems.

 

"Glass Cannon" Route:

 

Powershot - It used to be a 1.5 second cast ability higher heat and more damage. Nothing was wrong with this skill as it was. No one ever complained that it was grieving or OP. The nerf (like DFA and Hired Muscle) was completely unnecessary. The only complaints associated with Merc DPS were Tracer Missile. If anything this skill was disregarded by Arsenal Mercs and not even used; complained about by Pyro Mercs and Bodyguards as being not worth the heat cost compared to DPS. Muzzle Fluting used to reduce the heat cost at the expense of an expertise point, but it hardly made the 1.5 second armor mitigated 1400 damage skill worth the cast time and heat. What this skill needed was a damage increase. What it got was a nerf, and bad. We got a cast time increase, a heat decrease and a DPS decrease. Muzzle Fluting returning the cast time back to normal at the expense of a point.

FIX: 1.5 second cast time. 16 heat. Damage increased by 10% (like it was). + Muzzle Fluting remains same (reducing cast time by .5 with the investment of a point into the 2nd Tier of Arsenals).

This returns the ability back the way it was and gives Mercs the possibility to invest a point to reduce the cast time down to 1 sec. This would give all Mercs the possibility to gain some DPS back.

 

Fusion Missile - Fusion Missile cost 33 heat and a 1.5 sec cast time on a 30 sec CD for a skill that does 1700 and 1900 over 6 sec (unless the cleanse) damage. This ability will hardly ever get used (even in PvE) due to its heat cost and cast time to DPS ratio. In PvP you almost always have to use it with Power Surge to avoid pushback and interrupts.

FIX: Increase the damage dealt by 20% on this skill.

This will make the cost and risk to cast worth it.

 

Utility (Survivability) route:

 

Concussion Missile - 2 sec cast on a 60 sec CD. Mercs (Troopers) are the ONLY class that has a stun, that breaks on damage, on a cast timer! Agents, Warriors, and Inquisitors all have instant cast abilities that stun the target, but break on damage (after 2 sec, ect). The only exception is Inquisitor's Whirlwind. However they have a plethora of options to take advantage of: Haunted Dreams is in shared tree and makes it instant cast and adds a 2 sec root, every other AC has stuns/snares that they pickup in expertiece (Electric Bindings, Backlash, Whither, Low Slash, ect). Mercs do not pick up ANY additional snares/stuns or have the ability to modify our current ones. This leaves us with Electro Dart (4 sec stun) as our ONLY viable means to CC! Power Surge helps with Concussion Missile, but as mentioned earlier, it has a very long CD and is a MUST to activate other skills like Heal Scan and Fusion Missile.

FIX: Make Concussion Missile Instant Cast.

This will fix two problems. It will give the Merc more survivability and Utility, and give us an ability we can use as an INTERRUPT.

 

Power Barrier - This nerf was unnecessary. The only thing that made Arsenal Mercs hard to kill was the fact that Tracer Missile hit so hard, so fast in a scrap.

FIX: Return this ability to pre-1.2 status.

 

Afterburners (Custom Enviro Suit) - This is a very valuable skill that every Merc needs to have access to. Due to cast timers and the current state of the game being Melee friendly (gap closers, interrupts and an abundance of CC), kiting is a dead art. Mercs ALL need an ability to get a melee fighter off of us for a few seconds so we can channel a counterstrike.

FIX: Swap positions in the Arsenal Tree with Afterburners and Custom Enviro Suit. Change Custom Enviro Suit with an ability that grants a 3 second root to Afterburners (1.5 x 2 points) (this is for both Rocket Punch and Jet Boost).

This will allow (not give, but allow with proper point investment) the Mercs to have an ability to extend their life in combat (TTK). It will also remove a usless skill and give the Arsenals (a class that has almost no mobility to kite) the ability to invest in a root effect that will help them.

 

I tried to use previously suggested Ideas from the community. I am NOT asking for all of these at once! Almost all of these suggestions will require point investment over current point set up. So there is a cost for a gain. It goes without saying that I must pull points out of current skills (DPS increases) in order to place them in new abilities. So it will not be an overall performance increase off our current platform/baseline. These are merely suggestions to raise to the Devs for improvements.

Edited July 15, 2012 by Baarabas
new title

[sithterror]

1) Poweshot doesnt seem that bad to fix. i always hear Mercs talkin about how they avoid using it or it doesnt fit thier rotation.

 

2) Fusion missile...seems BW can either make it do 20% more base dmaage or they can make it cost less heat and drop CD to 15s reuse. Maybe even a step further in that muzzle fluting would drop .5 sec for all missiles including this one.

 

3) Conc Missile could also be a 1.5s cast Aoe Slow. Same heat cost, 5m radius affects 3 targets max with same CD as Missile has now.

 

4) i dont know. the ability to get 5% for 15s but it applies to energy, kinetic, elemental and Internal protection. I know Sorcs get 2% permanently from Sith Defiance......maybe power barrier should be similar 2% permanently???

 

5) IMO Afterburner should add 2 sec of slow to the existing 4s slow and should add 4m knockback instead of 2m per point....and adds the 4s slow from Afterburner to the Rocketpunch KB.

 

 

Just how i see it to add more to a dps lacking AC.

[Ifrit]

The problem is specific to PVP, not PVE. Hence why it is hard to buff merc when their PVE numbers are fine but their PVP numbers are soo bad. They have to make specific changes without upsetting PVE dmg. I think the best way to do this is make Powershot and instant ability.

[Baarabas]

The problem is specific to PVP, not PVE. Hence why it is hard to buff merc when their PVE numbers are fine but their PVP numbers are soo bad. They have to make specific changes without upsetting PVE dmg. I think the best way to do this is make Powershot and instant ability.

 

Well, I think all Mercs could use some DPS increase in PvE as well. Arsenals out perform Pyro, but still both Merc DPS fall way short from similar geared PT BHs, Mara's, and Snipers. Many guilds wont even group a Merc on a Denova HM. Its all over chat.

[TheRiddick]

Yeah I have to agree that the damage output is not as well in pve. I have played around with all the classes, 5 of which i have end game raided with. My sniper blows my merc out of the water as does my sentinal, not so bad in pve but in pvp the margin is huge! me and barabbas raid together in the same guild, myself on my sniper, and 2 pyros (one a merc pyro) and a marauder, you should see the parser numbers, we are talking over 150 k difference at the end of a battle between myself, the PT the marauder and barrabas, and its not a l2p issue either cause he has one class only and has his CDs practically mentally memorized. it is a class issue. Here are a few things I personally would like to add to his statements. (i have only played arsenal and bodyguard so pyro is not my expertise.)

 

Arsenal/gunnery

for this I see one fix that would make arsenal/gunnery soar and that is allow tracer missile to be insta cast, with a 3.5 second cd, this skill is the CORNERSTONE of the build yet it can so easily be interrupted gimping the class. this way the dps stays the same... but it is viable in pve AND pvp... this would increase the viability of the spec 10 fold. another thing i would change is make power shot part of the rotation, by allowing it to stack a damage buff to tracer missile by 2 % a stack up to 5x. this can be interrupted and will allow people to use their interrupts on the BH to lower his dps. these two things would bring merc arsenal back into the mix.

 

Pyro/assault specialist

I talked earlier tonight about this build with Barabbas and he mentioned above the things he would like to see, however, I personally would like to add another, instead of the hilariously bad proc with rapid shots and Combustible Gas Cylinder, It needs to be increased to 75% chance to proc, and slow 50%. this will allow the pyro class to effectively "kite" those melee classes that so easily shut down the spec.

 

Bodyguard/combat medic

very hard class to play, but can be played... HOWEVER , it needs some changes. Kolto missile NEEDS TO BE A SMART HEAL, how many times do we have to say this.... it makes raiding a pain in the *** for this healing class. ALSO bring back our damage reduc from the cylinder kolto to pre 1.2 nerf. it was fine, and LASTLY bring back the 16 heat vent from activating the cylinder. heat management is a pain as it is now...

 

OVERALL

 

there are a few overarching changes for all specs that need to be addressed, we have NO defensive CDs at all. AT ALL, one very bad knock back, and by very bad.... i mean very bad. get rid of it all together, add a rocket boost that sends you back 25m that AOE roots people for 5 seconds, with a 2 second damage break. this would be SO MUCH BETTER. Now the shield, its nice for an oh crap moment, but the mercs NEED to have the CD reduced I am talking 1 min cd 10 seconds of duration. this NEEDS to happen. right now we have NO defense, at all, and it makes us unwanted in rated as well as in pve raids. I feel that these changes will bring the merc class overall, up to par with the other classes.

 

long story short, I dont know what metrics BW is looking at, but as for me and my guild/server, mox parser is provin you wrong, over and over and over again. increase the dps bring them up to par with the 2 highly balanced dps classes, being mainly PT and Marauder, and you will see a huge increase in the amount of players pulling these unwanted classes off the shelf and becoming a viable class other than healing again.

Edited July 17, 2012 by TheRiddick

[Phrase]

........................... Edited July 23, 2012 by Phrase

[Baarabas]

Yeah I have to agree that the damage output is not as well in pve. I have played around with all the classes, 5 of which i have end game raided with. My sniper blows my merc out of the water as does my sentinal, not so bad in pve but in pvp the margin is huge! me and barabbas raid together in the same guild, myself on my sniper, and 2 pyros (one a merc pyro) and a marauder, you should see the parser numbers, we are talking over 150 k difference at the end of a battle between myself, the PT the marauder and barrabas, and its not a l2p issue either cause he has one class only and has his CDs practically mentally memorized. it is a class issue. Here are a few things I personally would like to add to his statements. (i have only played arsenal and bodyguard so pyro is not my expertise.)

 

Arsenal/gunnery

for this I see one fix that would make arsenal/gunnery soar and that is allow tracer missile to be insta cast, with a 3.5 second cd, this skill is the CORNERSTONE of the build yet it can so easily be interrupted gimping the class. this way the dps stays the same... but it is viable in pve AND pvp... this would increase the viability of the spec 10 fold. another thing i would change is make power shot part of the rotation, by allowing it to stack a damage buff to tracer missile by 2 % a stack up to 5x. this can be interrupted and will allow people to use their interrupts on the BH to lower his dps. these two things would bring merc arsenal back into the mix.

 

Pyro/assault specialist

I talked earlier tonight about this build with Barabbas and he mentioned above the things he would like to see, however, I personally would like to add another, instead of the hilariously bad proc with rapid shots and Combustible Gas Cylinder, It needs to be increased to 75% chance to proc, and slow 50%. this will allow the pyro class to effectively "kite" those melee classes that so easily shut down the spec.

 

Bodyguard/combat medic

very hard class to play, but can be played... HOWEVER , it needs some changes. Kolto missile NEEDS TO BE A SMART HEAL, how many times do we have to say this.... it makes raiding a pain in the *** for this healing class. ALSO bring back our damage reduc from the cylinder kolto to pre 1.2 nerf. it was fine, and LASTLY bring back the 16 heat vent from activating the cylinder. heat management is a pain as it is now...

 

OVERALL

 

there are a few overarching changes for all specs that need to be addressed, we have NO defensive CDs at all. AT ALL, one very bad knock back, and by very bad.... i mean very bad. get rid of it all together, add a rocket boost that sends you back 25m that AOE roots people for 5 seconds, with a 2 second damage break. this would be SO MUCH BETTER. Now the shield, its nice for an oh crap moment, but the mercs NEED to have the CD reduced I am talking 1 min cd 10 seconds of duration. this NEEDS to happen. right now we have NO defense, at all, and it makes us unwanted in rated as well as in pve raids. I feel that these changes will bring the merc class overall, up to par with the other classes.

 

long story short, I dont know what metrics BW is looking at, but as for me and my guild/server, mox parser is provin you wrong, over and over and over again. increase the dps bring them up to par with the 2 highly balanced dps classes, being mainly PT and Marauder, and you will see a huge increase in the amount of players pulling these unwanted classes off the shelf and becoming a viable class other than healing again.

 

Need to keep the ideas conjunction yall.

[Henu]

how many topics are we going to have on this....

[Kusanami]

Just an Idea, maybe move the Shield Talent in the Bodyguard tree that makes you completely uninterruptable when you have the shield up to the Arsenal Tree, and replace it an alacrity bonus or critical bonus to heals when the shield is up?

[Jarlgon]

Just an Idea, maybe move the Shield Talent in the Bodyguard tree that makes you completely uninterruptable when you have the shield up to the Arsenal Tree, and replace it an alacrity bonus or critical bonus to heals when the shield is up?

 

because it would hurt the merc healers even more to do so, merc healers have a low survivabilty as is, we need either a health boost passive ability or all heals need to be boosted to make merc healers a viable option in any FP, Ops or PvP

[Sinsavz]

Just an Idea, maybe move the Shield Talent in the Bodyguard tree that makes you completely uninterruptable when you have the shield up to the Arsenal Tree, and replace it an alacrity bonus or critical bonus to heals when the shield is up?

 

I've been saying for a while now that the uninterruptable energy shield talent needs moving to a lower tier, so all mercs can take it.

[Raji_Lev]

I've been saying for a while now that the uninterruptable energy shield talent needs moving to a lower tier, so all mercs can take it.

 

Better yet, make it a passive skill you train upon unlocking the Mercenary AC like Hired Protection.

 

And another random idea that, if nothing else, seems cool (which is what's important ): While Supercharged Gas is active, you vent heat at the maximum rate regardless of your current heat level.

Edited July 24, 2012 by Raji_Lev

[Hxxr]

how many topics are we going to have on this....

 

Infinite until the class is fixed.

[Soljin]

how many topics are we going to have on this....

 

You ned to just stop fella...At this point all your posts are just trolls...Your not even using any type of counter arguement anymore...Im sure it makes you feel superior in some way to try and act like you are all top notch at merc and the AC is fine and the rest of the community just needs to L2P...But your the minority, and honestly Merc does need utility/Survival increases for their DPS tree's...Just because you dont get it...Doesnt mean its not true. These topics will continue until either BW says NO! Or they acknowledge some changes are needed. So there is your answer all Mighty L33T king of the Mercs!

[T-Assassin]

You ned to just stop fella...At this point all your posts are just trolls...Your not even using any type of counter arguement anymore...Im sure it makes you feel superior in some way to try and act like you are all top notch at merc and the AC is fine and the rest of the community just needs to L2P...But your the minority, and honestly Merc does need utility/Survival increases for their DPS tree's...Just because you dont get it...Doesnt mean its not true. These topics will continue until either BW says NO! Or they acknowledge some changes are needed. So there is your answer all Mighty L33T king of the Mercs!

 

this is one of the main reasons i have cut back my play time and posting.

 

the class is VERY functional. in PvE, i have little to NO issues...

 

in PvP, i also have little to no issues. the class kicks ***, if you play it right. but, playing it right means running, hiding, picking your fights, and not really being able to eff ess up as well as PT/VG, tanksins, JK/SW...

 

and that is the problem.

 

some minor adjustments, either to improve survivablility, or bring our burst/dmg potential in line w/ PT/VG, and the Merc would be very playable in 50 PvP RANKED...Merc/PT...Merc/PT....Merc/PT...i am not speaking on, or about, Merc/Ars AT ALL.

 

[Soljin]

this is one of the main reasons i have cut back my play time and posting.

 

the class is VERY functional. in PvE, i have little to NO issues...

 

in PvP, i also have little to no issues. the class kicks ***, if you play it right. but, playing it right means running, hiding, picking your fights, and not really being able to eff ess up as well as PT/VG, tanksins, JK/SW...

 

and that is the problem.

 

some minor adjustments, either to improve survivablility, or bring our burst/dmg potential in line w/ PT/VG, and the Merc would be very playable in 50 PvP RANKED...Merc/PT...Merc/PT....Merc/PT...i am not speaking on, or about, Merc/Ars AT ALL.

 

 

Personally Im not looking for DMG increases at all...If I am allowed to dmg I feel my Merc can bring the hurt...If I had a root, an Interupt, and a more reliable snare...Then I would be able to put out said dmg...As it is my numbers are not what they could be since Melee is very prevalent in this game and every other AC in the game has an interupt, a root, or a very reliable snare...Which Mercs do not have.

[Phasersablaze]

In the Arsenal spec we have 2 decent knochbacks. The problem is that after a knochback there is nothing preventing the player from jumping/sprinting back to you. Add a strong root component on jet boost...the snare is pretty useless.

 

The other issue is the knockdown/cc/interrupts that shut us down and make us useless. I like the Power sheild idea, but that doesn't help with knockdowns. Hyraulic Overides is an amazing ability in the AP spec for Vanguards. Giving this ability to Arsenal Merc would single-handedly fix us for pvp.

 

Then there is the DPS issue. Powertechs lvl 50 ability "Explosive Fuel" boosts crit chance by 25% for 15 secs. Merc got Powersurge which, while being a nice ability, does not increase our dps due to global cooldown. We need a burst dps ability. Its what our class is about. The lack of such an ability is why dps Powertechs are so much better.

[Baarabas]

 

some minor adjustments, either to improve survivablility, or bring our burst/dmg potential in line w/ PT/VG, and the Merc would be very playable in 50 PvP RANKED...Merc/PT...Merc/PT....Merc/PT...i am not speaking on, or about, Merc/Ars AT ALL.

 

 

that's all I'm asking for here bro. I tried to spell that out in my post. I don't want all these suggestions, just one would make my day.

[Baarabas]

In the Arsenal spec we have 2 decent knochbacks. The problem is that after a knochback there is nothing preventing the player from jumping/sprinting back to you. Add a strong root component on jet boost...the snare is pretty useless.

 

I suggested this in OP. Swap Positions with Afterburners and Custom Envirosuit. Skill-link them. Change custom Envirosuit to an ability that grants a root after an Afterburners knock back is applied. This gives All mercs (we're all dealing with survivabilty issues) access to afterburners at a tier II level and helps us with survivabilty, while also giving Arsenals Mercs a unique Tier III ability they much need. As stated many times, with a little more survivabilty, our DPS will hold weight and we will not get face rolled in a 1 v 1 as bad.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Baarabas

[Svarteryttaren]

Make attacks instant and/or channeld so that one can run around and use moblity + attacks or stop and do damage from the first second. Its what separates mercenary/commandos from the other classes.

 

Instant attacks and mobility will prevail over a class that can be CCed and have casting and need to stand still.