3 things to fix or change in order for mercs to be pvp viable imo

[Iserath]

i was promised tonight at the cantina that mercs will have their day very soon... and that i wouldl " be VERY HAPPY with what was coming downn the pipe for us mercs" Having a signed boba fett card by jeremy bulloch as well as a 6 foot cut out signed as well that i had to show them had to let them know how much i love bh<3333

[Floplag]

i was promised tonight at the cantina that mercs will have their day very soon... and that i wouldl " be VERY HAPPY with what was coming downn the pipe for us mercs" Having a signed boba fett card by jeremy bulloch as well as a 6 foot cut out signed as well that i had to show them had to let them know how much i love bh<3333

 

One can only hope.. i watched part of the stream and it mostly wasnt anything we didnt know and they carefully avoided any real pvp questions.

i had hoped to go myself but was alas otherwise occupied till right around the stream time

[Iserath]

yeah everything that was up on the screen that im sure you guys saw was bull... it was all from the last stream... mostly.. but afterwards when I could go up to them all and ask questions, they were much more open about giving answers cause it wasnt posted on a forum or on some video somewhere so people could keep going "BETTER THAN CROSS SERVERRR?!?!?!?" ahahaha but i still did that a few times... btw eric says he mains a merc.... and he said that he KNOWS some of the upcoming changes will make me SUPER happy pvp wise... i also met the number one rated merc... he plays IO btw... i was like whaaaaaaat??? i had to double check with him that we were talking about ranked pvp and not pve or some cr@p.. but yeah he gave me a ton of good info and insight on how to go about using IO in ranked with proper timing, positioning, and comp.

[straseed]

Specific utility suggestion - make Suit FoE into FoE Probe or something and let it work on any friendly.

[leegrisham]

I started playing Commando DPS in pvp a few weeks ago. I started using the bolster trick using 162 black hole coms to get 2018 expertise and over the course of 3-4 weeks have built a full Exhumed set. When I first started I attributed my woes to my lack of gear, experience, augments ect. However now that I've played for a few weeks and am getting a good feel for the merc/commando (I legacy my gear and play both now) and some of the inherent problems with the class that are laid out in multiple threads here. I have pretty good success most of the time, specifically I'm talking about unranked 8 man teams, however 4 man games and ranked solo the merc needs much love to get on par with the other ranged DPS classes. If you're being really honest the merc/commando doesn't fair well (comparatively) in either and is very situational at best to where it can perform - usually that situation is where it can stand back and free cast, however kiting and moving is the name of the game. I am going to put my list and the reasons down.

 

1) Priming Shot / Vortex Bolt can't miss, if they can miss, then the buff for instant Grav Round / Tracer missile should still apply.

- Having a very important part of your rotation and keeping the class mobile miss and cost your proc hurts alot. The solution I suppose is stacking accuracy but since no other class, that I know of, is penelized for accuracy. If the ability misses that's fine too, but at the very least give us the proc guaranteed.

 

2) Hold the Line and Hydraulic Overrides should grant immunity to 4 second stuns for 2 seconds.

- Not being able to escape when your using your escape talent is bad. Adding at least a short window to attempt an escape would help improve the flee-ability. If I remember correctly sorcs are able to skill into immunity for force speed, which lasts 2 secons (200% movement), giving us 2 seconds to escape from a 4 second stun will be nice.

 

3) Remove the cool down from the 1.5 second heal.

-Why have this at all? Roaming groups of off healing mercs/commandos causing big problems?

 

4) Here are my ideas for changes to increase merc longevity.

-I'M NOT SUGGESTING ALL OF THESES BE TAKEN BUT A COMBINATION TO ADDRESS MERC/COMMANDO ISSUES-

4a) Kolto Overload and Adrenaline Rush should heal you past 40% like the tanking version.

-Stopping heals at 40% when no other class has such a restrictive regen ability.

4b) Chaff Flare and Diversion - remove the stacks of damage absorb - should make you unable to be targeted for 4 seconds - dealing direct damage ends the affect prematurely.

-The damage absorption is practically useless, giving us something to take us off the playing field for a short time while we can run away or heal ourselves is one of the biggest thing's we're missing as a class comparatively.

4c) Jet Boost and Concussion charge should add a snare for 4 seconds, ending prematurely after 2 if direct damage is received.

-The other ranged classes have snares attached to their knockbacks I don't know how many times I knock someone back and they just charge or force speed right back to me... stupid.

4d) Stockstrike and Rocket Punch need to get their knock back, back.

-A snare attached to a melee ability to an enemy within melee range, stuuuuupid.

4e) Buff the instant heal - for DPS classes only - to heal something ridiculous like the Sorc/Sage self heal

-Give the Emergency Scan instant heal a buff for DPS Specs that gives us an unnatural preservation heal.

 

Having said that I think that 4 should be rolled up into

 

Afterburner/Concussive Force: Stockstrike knocks the target back 4 meters. In addition, Concussion Charge's knockback effect is stronger and pushes enemies 4 meters further away and immobilizes the target for 4 seconds. Direct Damage caused after 2 seconds ends the effect.

Chaff Flare and Diversion - You are unable to be targeted for 4 seconds - dealing direct damage ends the affect prematurely.

 

Wow, that was really long. Short Version

1. Priming Shot / Vortex Bolt can't miss, if they can miss, then the buff for instant Grav Round / Tracer missile should still apply.
   
2. Hold the Line and Hydraulic Overrides should grant immunity to 4 second stuns for 2 seconds.
   
3. Remove the cool down from the 1.5 second heal.
   
4. Afterburner/Concussive Force: Stockstrike knocks the target back 4 meters. In addition, Concussion Charge's knockback effect is stronger and pushes enemies 4 meters further away and immobilizes the target for 4 seconds. Direct Damage caused after 2 seconds ends the effect.
   
5. Chaff Flare and Diversion - You are unable to be targeted for 4 seconds - dealing direct damage ends the affect prematurely.
   

[Kaos_KidSWTOR]

I think to make Mercs viable in PvP again, we need one thing.

 

Kolto Shell.

 

Now, call me crazy, but. If all Mercs had Kolto Shell, our survivability would skyrocket. But, there's a catch. as a DPS you can't cast more than 1 Kolto Shell. Healers would get the ability to cast more than one.

[fujeotwo]

Just redesign PvP so that stunlocks are gone and real CC comes back for peeling.

[Kaos_KidSWTOR]

Just redesign PvP so that stunlocks are gone and real CC comes back for peeling.

 

That would be an ideal world, and we don't live in an ideal world...

[leegrisham]

I think to make Mercs viable in PvP again, we need one thing.

 

Kolto Shell.

 

Now, call me crazy, but. If all Mercs had Kolto Shell, our survivability would skyrocket. But, there's a catch. as a DPS you can't cast more than 1 Kolto Shell. Healers would get the ability to cast more than one.

 

That's a good idea, but I'm afraid mercs need more than one thing. Maybe that along with some other helpful cool downs!

[EneaBlack]

I started playing Commando DPS in pvp a few weeks ago. I started using the bolster trick using 162 black hole coms to get 2018 expertise and over the course of 3-4 weeks have built a full Exhumed set. When I first started I attributed my woes to my lack of gear, experience, augments ect. However now that I've played for a few weeks and am getting a good feel for the merc/commando (I legacy my gear and play both now) and some of the inherent problems with the class that are laid out in multiple threads here. I have pretty good success most of the time, specifically I'm talking about unranked 8 man teams, however 4 man games and ranked solo the merc needs much love to get on par with the other ranged DPS classes. If you're being really honest the merc/commando doesn't fair well (comparatively) in either and is very situational at best to where it can perform - usually that situation is where it can stand back and free cast, however kiting and moving is the name of the game. I am going to put my list and the reasons down.

 

1) Priming Shot / Vortex Bolt can't miss, if they can miss, then the buff for instant Grav Round / Tracer missile should still apply.

- Having a very important part of your rotation and keeping the class mobile miss and cost your proc hurts alot. The solution I suppose is stacking accuracy but since no other class, that I know of, is penelized for accuracy. If the ability misses that's fine too, but at the very least give us the proc guaranteed.

 

2) Hold the Line and Hydraulic Overrides should grant immunity to 4 second stuns for 2 seconds.

- Not being able to escape when your using your escape talent is bad. Adding at least a short window to attempt an escape would help improve the flee-ability. If I remember correctly sorcs are able to skill into immunity for force speed, which lasts 2 secons (200% movement), giving us 2 seconds to escape from a 4 second stun will be nice.

 

3) Remove the cool down from the 1.5 second heal.

-Why have this at all? Roaming groups of off healing mercs/commandos causing big problems?

 

4) Here are my ideas for changes to increase merc longevity.

-I'M NOT SUGGESTING ALL OF THESES BE TAKEN BUT A COMBINATION TO ADDRESS MERC/COMMANDO ISSUES-

4a) Kolto Overload and Adrenaline Rush should heal you past 40% like the tanking version.

-Stopping heals at 40% when no other class has such a restrictive regen ability.

4b) Chaff Flare and Diversion - remove the stacks of damage absorb - should make you unable to be targeted for 4 seconds - dealing direct damage ends the affect prematurely.

-The damage absorption is practically useless, giving us something to take us off the playing field for a short time while we can run away or heal ourselves is one of the biggest thing's we're missing as a class comparatively.

4c) Jet Boost and Concussion charge should add a snare for 4 seconds, ending prematurely after 2 if direct damage is received.

-The other ranged classes have snares attached to their knockbacks I don't know how many times I knock someone back and they just charge or force speed right back to me... stupid.

4d) Stockstrike and Rocket Punch need to get their knock back, back.

-A snare attached to a melee ability to an enemy within melee range, stuuuuupid.

4e) Buff the instant heal - for DPS classes only - to heal something ridiculous like the Sorc/Sage self heal

-Give the Emergency Scan instant heal a buff for DPS Specs that gives us an unnatural preservation heal.

 

Having said that I think that 4 should be rolled up into

 

Afterburner/Concussive Force: Stockstrike knocks the target back 4 meters. In addition, Concussion Charge's knockback effect is stronger and pushes enemies 4 meters further away and immobilizes the target for 4 seconds. Direct Damage caused after 2 seconds ends the effect.

Chaff Flare and Diversion - You are unable to be targeted for 4 seconds - dealing direct damage ends the affect prematurely.

 

Wow, that was really long. Short Version

1. Priming Shot / Vortex Bolt can't miss, if they can miss, then the buff for instant Grav Round / Tracer missile should still apply.
   
2. Hold the Line and Hydraulic Overrides should grant immunity to 4 second stuns for 2 seconds.
   
3. Remove the cool down from the 1.5 second heal.
   
4. Afterburner/Concussive Force: Stockstrike knocks the target back 4 meters. In addition, Concussion Charge's knockback effect is stronger and pushes enemies 4 meters further away and immobilizes the target for 4 seconds. Direct Damage caused after 2 seconds ends the effect.
   
5. Chaff Flare and Diversion - You are unable to be targeted for 4 seconds - dealing direct damage ends the affect prematurely.
   

 

Best ideas so far from one who really play this class..

I have to say that we need all the change you mention for be at least on the line of others class:

 

But i will make some change like:

 

->>Jet Boost all the change you have write down plus + give you immunity to root and 50% speed increase for 4 sec.

->>]Chaff Flare your idea is not bad at all but i will prefer to keep the difference from arsenal to IO.. so i will make like this:

IO:Chaff Flare give you 4 sec of 100% defense from ranged and melee dmg and immunity all cc

Arsenal:Chaff Flare give you 4 sec of immunity from all tech and elemental dmg and immunity all cc

>>For both i will add an utility that will give extra 2 sec of duration for chaff flare

->>Rocket Punch knockback 12m the target and immobilize him for 4 sec

[RealLyrix]

I started playing Commando DPS in pvp a few weeks ago. I started using the bolster trick using 162 black hole coms to get 2018 expertise and over the course of 3-4 weeks have built a full Exhumed set.

 

Does this work for a level 55 too? I am now using the level 55 172 armoring etc.. Will i not get the full bolster then? Then i understand why i get rekt :-/

[akisgood]

What about a new set bonus on the PvP gear that gives you 99% damage reduction for 4 seconds when you activate kolto overload