Mercenary Changes Coming in 2.7

[idnewton]

in order to help make merc pyro as good as PT pyro

 

I stopped caring after reading that.

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=685275

[Gyronamics]

in order to help make merc pyro as good as PT pyro, i think mercs should get double rail shots since we are dual wielders. It would also help if power shot was made an instant cast, or atleast make the second power shot an instant cast.

 

It does get double railshots.

 

That's why it's parsing higher than Commando. Not because of the railshot damage itself but because the mainhand THEN the offhand refreshes the CGC dot at the same time for a double damage refresh.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Gyronamics

[yoomazir]

What do you guys think of Cashogy official questions? Did we, on the merc side, send any question or was it "globalized" on the commando forum? Edited April 1, 2014 by yoomazir

[odawgg]

What do you guys think of Cashogy official questions? Did we, on the merc side, send any question or was it "globalized" on the commando forum?

 

Not sure the 2nd part of your question exactly, we had our round of questions answered already http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=684660

 

as for this round, everything is being discussed on Cash's thread, both mandos and mercs can participate in the discussion

[odawgg]

What do you guys think of Cashogy official questions? Did we, on the merc side, send any question or was it "globalized" on the commando forum?

 

Not sure the 2nd part of your question exactly, we had our round of questions answered already http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=684660

 

as for this round, everything is being discussed on Cash's thread, both mandos and mercs can participate in the discussion

[Bloodrusher]

Changes are fine but i think aresenal/gunnery dont need dmg buff they need more deff cd-s or just something like leg shor or imobilaze from range distance not close to you , and what the point to playn heavy armor user and i still get same dmg in pvp like my sorc of shadow/sins maras / jugs (not smash) whit melle atacks think about that and made this class more playable in pvp as a dps and please dont focus on mara,op,jugs only in pvp thinki about other classes ingame no buff no changes for like fover only nurf Pt/Vanguards i think not anyclass in this game are equal as should be in pvp >>

[Macroeconomics]

Merc is fine for pve. Arsenal is not very good, but no one uses that spec for pve anyway.

 

It's pvp that is the issue. Because neither Merc dps tree is very good for pvp. And let's be honest here. It (they) never will be. The problem with the Merc dps trees is that they are too easy for low skill players to play. A low skill player on a Merc dps will easily outperform a low skill player on a melee dps. And if you simply buff the abilities on the Merc trees, that disparity will only grow larger. For two full years since this game launched that trait dominated the pvp class balance landscape as far as Mercs go. It's not all that different now.

 

What needs to happen is for Merc dps to become significantly harder for low skill players to play. Then you can outright add traits to Merc abilities that will make a difference in high level pvp play. But none of the Merc buffs we see in 2.7 go in that direction. Indeed they all make the class easier for low skill players to deal with. Remove RNG to proc Barrage? Yup. Flat decrease in Power Surge? Yup. What they should have done is introduce more chained abilities for Mercs. For example, for Pyros - JetBoost snares target to 45% for 4 sec IF they already have two DoTs on them. Or for all Merc - Kolto Missile gives a 10% chance per ally healed to make your next RapidScan cast instantly if used in the next 5 sec.

 

The only way you are going to get big buffs is if those buffs are not low hanging fruit. All of these 2.7 buffs are low hanging fruit that are easily accessible by low skill players. That is the kiss of death. It has always been this way for Merc dps.

[odawgg]

Oh no Macro is back Edited April 5, 2014 by odawgg

[midianlord]

Merc is fine for pve. Arsenal is not very good, but no one uses that spec for pve anyway.

 

It's pvp that is the issue. Because neither Merc dps tree is very good for pvp. And let's be honest here. It (they) never will be. The problem with the Merc dps trees is that they are too easy for low skill players to play. A low skill player on a Merc dps will easily outperform a low skill player on a melee dps. And if you simply buff the abilities on the Merc trees, that disparity will only grow larger. For two full years since this game launched that trait dominated the pvp class balance landscape as far as Mercs go. It's not all that different now.

 

What needs to happen is for Merc dps to become significantly harder for low skill players to play. Then you can outright add traits to Merc abilities that will make a difference in high level pvp play. But none of the Merc buffs we see in 2.7 go in that direction. Indeed they all make the class easier for low skill players to deal with. Remove RNG to proc Barrage? Yup. Flat decrease in Power Surge? Yup. What they should have done is introduce more chained abilities for Mercs. For example, for Pyros - JetBoost snares target to 45% for 4 sec IF they already have two DoTs on them. Or for all Merc - Kolto Missile gives a 10% chance per ally healed to make your next RapidScan cast instantly if used in the next 5 sec.

 

The only way you are going to get big buffs is if those buffs are not low hanging fruit. All of these 2.7 buffs are low hanging fruit that are easily accessible by low skill players. That is the kiss of death. It has always been this way for Merc dps.

 

Merc was always an easy and forgiving class to get into and learn the basics of.

 

It is much, much harder to truly master, especially in PvP and top-tier PvE.

 

Oh and regarding the last bit of your "chained abilities" thing with Kolto missile:

 

The last thing we need is more RNG-dependent ********.

 

So prove to me your high skill, then? Or is your lack of visible signature and avatar indicative of you being banned for trolling? Again.

 

2/10.

[SgtJeremy]

Changes are fine but i think aresenal/gunnery dont need dmg buff they need more deff cd-s or just something like leg shor or imobilaze from range distance not close to you , and what the point to playn heavy armor user and i still get same dmg in pvp like my sorc of shadow/sins maras / jugs (not smash) whit melle atacks think about that and made this class more playable in pvp as a dps and please dont focus on mara,op,jugs only in pvp thinki about other classes ingame no buff no changes for like fover only nurf Pt/Vanguards i think not anyclass in this game are equal as should be in pvp >>

I think with Jet Boost and Unload it's possible to keep them at range relatively easy. I am a pretty big fan of these changes. I been playing my Merc more so then my other characters lately, looks like that won't be changing anytime soon.

[Transcendent]

Some good changes there from what I can see, looks like the feedback given by the community has been taken seriously.

 

Pass my thanks on Eric to everyone involved in the changes (also thanks to you ).

 

Merc is fine for pve. Arsenal is not very good, but no one uses that spec for pve anyway.

 

It's pvp that is the issue. Because neither Merc dps tree is very good for pvp. And let's be honest here. It (they) never will be.

 

Really hate to disagree, I play Arsenal in both PVE and PVP. Yes I need to respec between situations to get the most out of the tree, but that comes with learning the class itself.

 

To me, it sounds like you haven't spent much time playing the class (sorry if you have!). Different abilities such as AB or JE are useful in PVP, but have no place in PVE. It really is a class you need to carefully choose which CD is going to be more important in any given scenario. Especially if you consider most classes see a merc and automatically think "squishy", but you can say that about a fair few classes

Edited April 7, 2014 by Transcendent

[Macroeconomics]

The last thing we need is more RNG-dependent ********.

 

2/10.

 

Because you can't keep track of it? You can't even come up with a reason for your position. The reality is that adding capabilities that trigger only some of the time still makes the class stronger. It is true that only the better players will be able to make full use of such capabilities, but the class does not become worse for weaker players.

 

Really hate to disagree, I play Arsenal in both PVE and PVP. Yes I need to respec between situations to get the most out of the tree, but that comes with learning the class itself.

 

Respecc'ing for different situations is not an option for pvp. And as I previously stated pve is not the problem here. Arsenal is actually pretty good in most pvp 1v1 isolation situations. It was even prior to 2.7, and is better now. But where it is severely lacking is in group fights. It has lower raw output than a sorc/sage and yet has lower survivability when focused upon than does the sage. That is not a good combination.

[Transcendent]

Respecc'ing for different situations is not an option for pvp. And as I previously stated pve is not the problem here. Arsenal is actually pretty good in most pvp 1v1 isolation situations. It was even prior to 2.7, and is better now. But where it is severely lacking is in group fights. It has lower raw output than a sorc/sage and yet has lower survivability when focused upon than does the sage. That is not a good combination.

 

You may have misread, respec between the PVE and PVP environment. As for being focused in PVP, sure we could use some heavy armour, but equally we can survive quite well depending on what classes are attacking us.