Mercenary Changes Brainstorming

[xobobox]

Maybe the ability to backpedal at the regular forward running speed for a period of time would be great. You could use the current jet animation for the recharge that slightly lifts you off the ground and you'd be able to cast while escaping.

 

I know I just said above that we didn't need more escape abilities, but

[Sylvane]

I disagree for Arsenal spec. With Afterburners, Pining Fire, Hydraulic Override, and Electro Net you can gain plenty of distance these days. I use rocket punch(w/ afterburner for root) and pop H.O. That gets you out of there plenty fast. Also, the extra Jet boost knock back you gain with afterburner combined with electronet or pinning fire keeps the smash monkeys at bay just fine. AS long as all my stuff isn't on cool down I'm not scared of any of those Mother F'ers these days.

 

I find the biggest problem playing a merc in unranked matches is the class prejudice that was cemented into the minds of pre-2.0 PVPers. You used to be able to feel the eye roll when you'd show up in a WZ. You'd get focused first, because you were the easy kill. Healers would pass over you and focus on the "good classes".

 

Last week I was running unranked with guild members and I went undefeated and got 1.2million dmg. I was consistently at the top of the chart in DMG and kills. STOP THE MERC HATE!. Hug a merc today.

 

P.S. This is more of a general change than a merc specific but here it goes. It would be nice to be able to re-spec just a few points by right clicking, rather than the full reset we have now. Running PVP and PVE I usually only need to swap out 4-6 points.

 

The issue with Merc dps has never been about 8v8 play, I've never seen someone complain about merc dps in an 8v8 warzone because since the game came out it has been fantastic dps in those situations.

 

The problem is in 4v4 Arena when you are staring down multiple dps tunneling you for 5 minutes at a time. In team ranked its common to have the tank and both dps hitting me 100% of the time doing kick rotations on my casts shutting me down. We have no interrupt immunity on unload or tracer missile so it's basically a sit and wait for your instant cast kinda scenario most times. Pyro would seem like a good substitute but with nearly every team having an operative you'd just get cleansed. The damage output is great, we just need some sort of quality of life improvement for when we are getting locked down with kicks.

[DragulThrawn]

Can we see a reply from a Dev after couple of Weeks ???

 

Mercenary are the worst PvP Class !! We neeed love !!!!

 

here are many many ideas ... Dev´s what are you doing all the day ??

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

:confused::confused::confused:

[ArchangelLBC]

The issue with Merc dps has never been about 8v8 play, I've never seen someone complain about merc dps in an 8v8 warzone because since the game came out it has been fantastic dps in those situations.

 

The problem is in 4v4 Arena when you are staring down multiple dps tunneling you for 5 minutes at a time. In team ranked its common to have the tank and both dps hitting me 100% of the time doing kick rotations on my casts shutting me down. We have no interrupt immunity on unload or tracer missile so it's basically a sit and wait for your instant cast kinda scenario most times. Pyro would seem like a good substitute but with nearly every team having an operative you'd just get cleansed. The damage output is great, we just need some sort of quality of life improvement for when we are getting locked down with kicks.

 

If you weren't seeing complaints about merc/mando DPS in 8v8 you weren't paying attention. Pre-2.0 they were known to be free kills, easily shutdown with an interrupt with no real way to consistently get away, and the best devs could say was "pillar hump moar!"

[Arsenalman]

Give mercenary a passive skilled called Upgraded Energy Shield or something, that makes you immune to interupts while you have it activated. Then you can remove the Power Shield in the bodyguard tree and replace it with something new that can give Bodyguard mercenary better chance in ranked. For example make all our heals have a 20% chance to give our next healing cast immune to interupts.

We are fine 1on1 but we need something that can give us free castign time and better survivability seeing that we are the first to be nuked down in each ranked wz.

We are Bounty Hunters for crying out loud... make use of our jetpack. Give a skill that makes us fly up in the air for 6 Seconds, reducing damaged taken or something.

But why do I even try.. I see lots of good stuff in this thread but no response and nothing is ever going to be done....

[cs_zoltan]

you guys want a pat on the head after every post or what? Obviously Bioware reads this thread since they made it. What do you want them to respond?

And saying that merc is the worst pvp class is hardly true...

[NathanielStarr]

you guys want a pat on the head after every post or what? Obviously Bioware reads this thread since they made it. What do you want them to respond?

And saying that merc is the worst pvp class is hardly true...

 

Yeah we all know the worst classes are marauders, powertechs, assassins, snipers, juggernauts, and operatives with their terrible healing ability or the Republic versions thereof. That is why the warzones are filled with Mercenaries and those other classes are never represented.

 

In fact Mercenaries are just as good as everyone else if you're talking about Galactic Starfighter.

Edited December 25, 2013 by NathanielStarr

[Sylvane]

If you weren't seeing complaints about merc/mando DPS in 8v8 you weren't paying attention. Pre-2.0 they were known to be free kills, easily shutdown with an interrupt with no real way to consistently get away, and the best devs could say was "pillar hump moar!"

 

Pre-2.0 you could stack the armor pen debuff and truck people with HSM, you also had 2 knock backs for most of it. I'm sure if they solo queued and ran into the middle of a fight and never moved they were a free kill, but in a group with a healer or with dps to provide peels it was exceptionally easy to stay alive. I have played on a commando since a week after the game launched and have done 8v8's the entire time and it has never done poorly in damage, kicked or not. It wasn't throwing out the 900k~1 million games the smashers were capable of doing back then, when 1 million was actually impressive, but it still was doing over 700k in long matches.

[cashogy_reborn]

Merc is not the worst PvP class. But it has a significantly higher skill cap and suffers when all of its cooldowns are not available (which is often bc of the obscenely long cooldowns they seem to have).

[DragulThrawn]

Merc is not the worst PvP class. But it has a significantly higher skill cap and suffers when all of its cooldowns are not available (which is often bc of the obscenely long cooldowns they seem to have).

 

Says the 1100 Rating Merc ....

[midianlord]

Just as an aside:

 

Where are our Advanced Class-native versions of Explosive Fuel, and/or an ability analoguous to the Sorcerer's Polarity Shift (/Sage's Mental Alacrity, IIRC what the Jedi version's called?)?

[cashogy_reborn]

Just as an aside:

 

Where are our Advanced Class-native versions of Explosive Fuel, and/or an ability analoguous to the Sorcerer's Polarity Shift (/Sage's Mental Alacrity, IIRC what the Jedi version's called?)?

 

We get Power Surge at the same time PT gets Explosive Fuel.... Im assuming Bioware intended them to be of the same 'usefulness', but as with basically everything else about this class they massively misinterpreted how it would play.

[irishdrunk]

My feelings towards why Merc's are so slouch in 4v4 is; in that environment, insta-cast wins hands down.

 

Both Merc dps specs have to much tied into casting Tracer, channeling Unload/casting power shot. All the benefits from these casts, whether its heat sig, snares, or proccing rail shot, still come from hard casts.

 

Basically, if you could put out even short term pressure while focused, it would help tremendously.

 

As it sits now, the only viable way to play a merc in ranked 4v4 is to pop cd's and run and hope your teammate's can kill an overextending enemy or land a kill before your cd's are up.

 

I like the idea of a mez that pops on damage like sorc, but that may be too op if added to everything we have.

 

CD's are too long for how much and how soon they are always needed.

Arsenal can't do **** for damage if kiting

Need something that will make attackers pay for getting close, but not something that brings the class too far away from the "ranged turret" archetype.

 

I like the idea of a proc, or addition to HO that allows Unload to channel while moving, or periodic interrupt immunity after gather stacks like Darkness Assassin.

 

Basically, I shouldn't need the stars to align to eventually position myself where I can setup 4 globals of burst damage,

[Phrase]

It's cute how people are still posting in this thread as if it matters.

[Ottoattack]

We get Power Surge at the same time PT gets Explosive Fuel.... Im assuming Bioware intended them to be of the same 'usefulness', but as with basically everything else about this class they massively misinterpreted how it would play.

 

They are not comparable or at the same level. Explosive fuel is level 50 skill and is considered the capstone skill of PT, while power surge is level 46. Having said so, power surge CD is ridiculous for what it does, especially outside arsenal (120 sec for 1 instant cast...).

 

IMO, TC, unload and PS need interrupt protection to make merc dps viable, especially in arenas. Anything else is beating around the bush, and will not make merc dps equally viable at competitive PvP. The devs extremely over evaluate the value of heavy armor, thus keep making mediocre minor decisions when it comes to damage delivery methods.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Ottoattack

[VitorFox]

Supercharge Gas could do with some love. Extend base duration to 12 seconds and have it vent 4 heat every 3 seconds.

[silentwords]

I've noticed that the Arsenal is having trouble keeping with Pyro at the high end.

 

It seems as though the elemental tech damage of Pyro is scaling faster since the Arsenal tree leans more on Unload.

 

Perhaps changing the damage type of Unload to elemental tech when High Velocity Gas Cylinder is active, would be the easiest fix.

[ArchangelLBC]

Pre-2.0 you could stack the armor pen debuff and truck people with HSM, you also had 2 knock backs for most of it. I'm sure if they solo queued and ran into the middle of a fight and never moved they were a free kill, but in a group with a healer or with dps to provide peels it was exceptionally easy to stay alive. I have played on a commando since a week after the game launched and have done 8v8's the entire time and it has never done poorly in damage, kicked or not. It wasn't throwing out the 900k~1 million games the smashers were capable of doing back then, when 1 million was actually impressive, but it still was doing over 700k in long matches.

 

Pre-2.0 you had to get 5 stacks of the armor debuff for full effect, we lost the second knockback less than halfway through the pre 2.0 time frame. Saying we did well in a group is all well and good but fact is EVERYONE does well in a group with a healer. We were still much easier to shutdown than pretty much any other class in the game, and don't forget we also lacked an interrupt for a huge chunk of pre-2.0.

 

We were fine on damage if we could be left alone. We had no tools to ensure we were left alone. Anyone saying different is looking at the past with very Rose-tinted glasses.

[NathanielStarr]

Apparently this is what we are getting

 

Quote: Originally Posted by EricMusco View Post

First off, Happy New Year everyone! I am back in the office now from the holidays so we are right back to some yellow posts

 

Game Update 2.6 first and foremost will mark the launch of Galactic Starfighter! That will mean the introduction of:

 

 

 

Also, Game Update 2.6 will come with a few class changes, here is just an overview of some of what you will see:

A fairly significant DPS boost for Operatives/Scoundrels.

Mercenaries/Commandos will now have a skill to eliminate pushback on Tracer Missile/Grav Round and Power Shot/Charged Bolts.

Sorcerers/Sages will now have a skill to eliminate pushback on Lightning Strike and Force Lightning/Disturbance and Telekinetic Throw.

Mercenaries/Commandos can now cast Kolto Shell/Trauma Probe on more than one target at a time.

Mercenaries/Commandos can now use Rapid Shots/Hammer Shot on themselves while Combat Support Cylinder/Combat Support Cell are active.

As always, look for the 2.6 patch notes for a full list of all changes that are coming! That is just a preview of what is to come.

 

-eric

Edited January 3, 2014 by NathanielStarr

[KalElc]

Apparently this is what we are getting

 

Quote: Originally Posted by EricMusco View Post

Also, Game Update 2.6 will come with a few class changes, here is just an overview of some of what you will see:

 

Mercenaries/Commandos can now cast Kolto Shell/Trauma Probe on more than one target at a time.

Mercenaries/Commandos can now use Rapid Shots/Hammer Shot on themselves while Combat Support Cylinder/Combat Support Cell are active.

 

As always, look for the 2.6 patch notes for a full list of all changes that are coming! That is just a preview of what is to come.

 

-eric

 

Yesh i shall start dust off my merc healing here, i hope this is the change it needs, nothing sounds op here but im not sure how much it will help, only time will tell.

[NathanielStarr]

Mercs will be more firmly in the number 2 healing spot and the other supposed DPS fix will make very little impact on anything.

[Macroeconomics]

Mercs will be more firmly in the number 2 healing spot and the other supposed DPS fix will make very little impact on anything.

 

It will depend on what limits are placed on Kolto Shell. We know you will be able to have more than one running. Two? Four? Eight? At those upper numbers, I can see Mercs being preferred over Operative healers in some situations. Not so much as two....

 

Am in agreement with you that the pushback rule change will have virtually no effect. Tracer Missile/Power Shot is defeated by interrupts, stuns and mezzes. Not by damage pushback. This rule change is a red herring.

[BigDumbViking]

It will depend on what limits are placed on Kolto Shell. We know you will be able to have more than one running. Two? Four? Eight? At those upper numbers, I can see Mercs being preferred over Operative healers in some situations. Not so much as two....

 

Am in agreement with you that the pushback rule change will have virtually no effect. Tracer Missile/Power Shot is defeated by interrupts, stuns and mezzes. Not by damage pushback. This rule change is a red herring.

 

Unless they give us a skill like polarity shift where we get both pushback and interrupt immunity. I noticed they used the term Skill, which makes me think that it isn't going to be a passive talent.

[TezMoney]

The pending 2.6 changes are OK, but I'm not too excited since A) Eric said you can put Kolto Shell on more than 1 person, but not how many and B) possible nerf to the output of Rapid Shots and Kolto Shell (especially if the ability can be applied to more than 2) to go along with these changes.

 

I really would have liked to see a new escape or interrupt protection added, but I guess it a change in the right direction

Edited January 3, 2014 by TezMoney

[midianlord]

Unless they give us a skill like polarity shift where we get both pushback and interrupt immunity. I noticed they used the term Skill, which makes me think that it isn't going to be a passive talent.

 

Said it before, I'll say it again:

 

We need this. We urgently need this.

 

The whole pushback-immunity thing...We get +70% pushback immunity from talents already (healers have their own version in their tree) and even without that talent, it's not a huge thing usually anyway.

 

Of course, I'm not even going to try and guess how absurdly long the cool-down will be on any such ability, it seems that they are, once again, completely ignoring this glaring-from-day-one problem.

 

Where's the reversion of ElectroDart to 30m, or even 35/40m? The latter especially in light of the continuing absence of anything remotely like a proper large gap-opener. Snipinger getting the dive-roll solved a lot of tactical problems for that class, it will solve even more for us.

 

We urgently need ^^those,^^ too.

Edited January 3, 2014 by midianlord