Game Update 4.0 Class Changes: Bounty Hunter + Trooper

[idnewton]

This.

 

And, what does Shield spec get at 10?

 

Well, probably Translocate/Transpose. That is the new ability, after all.

[Kingrami]

May I ask why this is needed?

 

It is needed because now Mercs/commandos and VG/PT have to tactically use HO/HTL. Now that these two abilities either create space between the enemy or close the gap, HO/HTL needs to get increased a lil bit more.

 

For VG/PT this makes those who relied on their increased speed to be used more tactically with their leap, not just one button and go.

 

Mercs/Commandos we finally have something to jet away with, its been called for since launch, so like Pt's/VG we now have to use the HO as part of the rotation not just to start the fight or when we use chaff flare/diversion and kite with HO/HTL

 

These changes are excellent, by far the best updates to BH/Trooper since HO and e-net came out. I am really happy with these changes, BW actually listened to the community with most of these add-ons.

 

NOW let us hope next week we dont see sage/sorc heal to full in 1 button or sin meg insta kill hit in 1 button appear

[Caulderone]

Well, probably Translocate/Transpose. That is the new ability, after all.

 

Rereading the article, you are correct.

 

New question. How is that ability remotely useful when solo? What use is it during the story when it is just you and a companion? Sounds worthless unless grouped.

[Skondy]

Ah, but you see, now I must ask a very important question:

 

What SM level 50 operation?

 

 

They're all going to be 65 now, are they not?

 

The answer is in the very same blog that says all the ops will be scaled to 65:

Story Mode Operations will be playable from Level 50 to Level 65, and will grant a Bolster to ensure everyone in your group is prepared!

So, there will be 9 different SM operations for level 50-60 Powertech tanks without a leap...

[OMGITSJAD]

not sure why are people saying that they need to give jet charge at a lower level...sure you could, but all you will need to do is open up the game on the 20th, level up once in an hour or two, then have access to the ability right back... Edited September 18, 2015 by OMGITSJAD

[Skondy]

not sure why are people saying that they need to give jet charge at a lower level...sure you could, but all you will need to do is open up the game on the 20th, level up once in an hour or two, then have access to the ability right back...

 

Believe it or not, not everyone is level 60 now. And players will create new characters at level 1...

[Reginleifr]

*ranting like hundreds before*

 

jet charge at lvl 61?

such a basic tank-starter suddenly moved back by 51 lvls?

 

juggs and sins still are free to rush in each enemy team they want,

while PTs have to walk into each.

juggs even get their force jump-charge-whatever reset after each fight, their CD

gets lowered for each attack they receive.

and BHs? "hey, let's move it 51 lvl back in lvl-progress. people will love that!"

are you guys on drugs?!

lvl 25, or 30, might justify it, but even then: juggs get to it far earlier, and a much stronger version.

 

making it a baseline skill (which is really nice, though not exactly needed, imo)

doesn't justify it being available that late. ô.O'

 

also, a jet pack is THE iconic BH move/device, next to flame throwers.

 

g'ah, don't know what, or more like, how else to say it.

 

this is just a bloody horrible idea.

so glad, i don't have to lvl another BH anymore. >_>

[ExeErdna]

not sure why are people saying that they need to give jet charge at a lower level...sure you could, but all you will need to do is open up the game on the 20th, level up once in an hour or two, then have access to the ability right back...

 

It's a needed skill for the Tank spec to build threat and something all PT's should have. It's just at 61 it's too late to add such a vital and useful skill to the mix. Overall this ruins the Tank spec in the early game since the new skill seems the have no real solo pve use.

[Apauc]

If Transpose has the ability to generate threat, I could see it being something I would use more than once in a blue moon. As a PvE tank, even then I see no real use for this ability except in rare circumstances I need to be on the other side of the map. Otherwise it just reduces the threat of one other person and puts that person in front of the boss and not the tank.

[Frybert]

• Jet Charge/Storm is now trainable by all Powertechs/Vanguards at level 61.
  

 

Um why?

[sartt]

Whether you prefer bullets, missiles, or just plain fire, Bounty Hunters and Troopers have something for you!

 

Read More

So mercs get a nerf to H.O and a cheap backwards roll on a 20 sec Cooldown? thats all?

[DomiSotto]

If Transpose has the ability to generate threat, I could see it being something I would use more than once in a blue moon. As a PvE tank, even then I see no real use for this ability except in rare circumstances I need to be on the other side of the map. Otherwise it just reduces the threat of one other person and puts that person in front of the boss and not the tank.

 

Seeing it has 1.5 sec cast, I can't really see a PvP tank going for it with a happy abandon either. Unless it's intended to be cast proactively knowing that the Mara is going to leap right in

Edited September 18, 2015 by DomiSotto

[Araberen]

I know that BW will ignore my post, but for all who excited about new mando roll (sorry, my english bad, but i'lldo my best)

 

With 4.0 all classes gain more mobility, but not mercs/mandos and that's why:

 

1) Nerf HO cd, up to 15 sec. Not a big deal you will day? You have new 20 sec "roll" (i wiill call it roll)?

 

2) Okay, let's look in our heroic tier:

Now we have 4!!! choices and only 2 points:

Shock absobers - 30dmg reduction while stun

Forced march - you can cast on the move

Reflexive shield - chance to get absorb shield + cd reduction (i like it because of absorb shield it gives you)

Smoke Screen - you can't be leapt.

 

okay...okay let's count it as 3

 

3) All classes have gap closers now (we don't know about sins, but we all se where it all leads us, they will 100% have something)

 

4) To get "not that good version" of sniper roll you need to use 1 utillity point. Because if you don't - what the point? you will be pulled/leapt/rolled/shadow stepped etc.

 

5) After this point we have: or 30% dmg reduction while stun or mobility. What a nice choice we have as MANDOS - best ranked class

 

On the other hand we can be specced in to additional 15 def chance. Wow....as assult we can have 50 chance using 2 cds...okkay. As arsenal - in any case meh. Again RNG def-ability?

 

I agree that VGs need nerf to HO, but why mercs? Are we so good in ranked? or we have amazing utillities (AP PT has Shock absobers, Reflexive shield as base line)

 

Again BW you had so nice chance to balance our utillities, and you ...how to say...still missing it.

 

Let us have 3/4 main heroic tier utiliities (swapping some to masterfull) and we can talk, but ATM it look like PONY TAIL.

[Flintfire]

Ok, so I think this is a step in the right direction for mercs.

 

However, I feel that Rocket Out should be like a sniper where we can dodge all attacks while leaping.

Also that smoke screen utility is lame. If it granted stun immunity, better defense chance, or all targets around you for 5 meters when you leap have reduced accuracy (think a sniper's Diversion,) it may be worth it but atm we need thrill of the hunt. I also would rather have the ability to take Energy Redoubt and Stabilized Armor because between those two and Thrill of the Hunt we have to choose between durability and mobility and we should be allowed to have both.

 

Make energy redoubt heroic tier.

 

I also like the idea that tracer lock charges give increased critical chance to our heal and rail shot, however I also believe there should be 2 seperate charges. 1 charge (tracer lock) increases rail shot damage and the other (idk, invent a new buff like Supercharged Healing) reduces rapid scan cooldown and increases healing dealt. Because, as usual, we have to choose between offense and defense. You can live longer or get a big hit in before you die. I know juggernauts and sins don't have to choose between damage and defense, why should we?

 

Tracer missile slow seems interesting.

 

And hydraulic increased cooldown. With extra mobility from our new escape it may be fine, but honestly from being a merc I know how valuable that move is to survivability. We don't have a massive speed increase like PTs, so it maybe be up to 35 seconds, but without a utility to decrease it like our melee counterparts it seems like an accident waiting to happen.

 

Also had an idea for a defensive cooldown for mercenaries (think a combination of Evasion from operatives and Force Shroud from Assassins except it is targeted more towards melee attackers):

 

Liftoff Shoots the mercenary into the air and engages the jetpack to let the mercenary hover over the battlefield, lasting for 5 seconds. Movement speed is increased by 50% while flying, makes the mercenary immune to all attacks with a 10m range and under, and dodges all initial incoming attacks for the first second during takeoff. All casted moves can be used while flying including mobile moves like Unload/Blazing Bolts/Progressive Scan with proper utilities. Cannot be leapt to or knocked back but stuns with longer ranges like Sorc electrocute, low slash, sniper flashbang can cc you and end the move early. 90 second cooldown.

 

Masterful Utility to go along with Liftoff:

 

Primed Jetpack: Liftoff ends the cooldown of Jet Boost and Rocket Out.

 

Also let the Smoke Screen Utility affect Liftoff and Jet boost as well.

 

 

Yes, I like our jetpack. Any thoughts fellow pvp mercs?

[ExeErdna]

Seeing it has 1.5 sec cast, I can't really see a PvP tank going for it with a happy abandon either. Unless it's intended to be cast proactively knowing that the Mara is going to leap right in

 

This is another hutt ball ruining skill that it has no use at all anywhere else. Honestly they need to scrap it from how it's working no for something else.

[CommanderKeeva]

I agree with what was said here before, making Jet Charge/Storm available to all Vanguards/PTs is something that should have been done at launch. I can even see the reason for nerfing Hydraulic Overrides/Hold the Line for VGs and PTs with the jump they're getting. However, Commandos/Mercs should get a passive that reduces its CD to its current value, because even with Rocket Out/Propulsion Round factored in, they're one of the least mobile classes in the game.

 

I'm sorry to say this, but Transpose/Translocate is a stupid ability. First, from a lore standpoint, can Vanguards and Powertechs teleport now? ***? How do you explain that? Second, considering that 99% of the time tanks are either in front of the bosses in PVE or in the middle of the action in PvP, why would you ever EVER want to place a presumably wounded person in that situation? It sounds like the ability is designed to give some reprieve to targets being attacked, but really, when you want to be ignored by the boss, do you really want to be RIGHT IN THE FACE of the boss!? Where it cleaves, does PBAoE attacks and drops circles on the melee? I'm sorry, I just don't see the benefit from this ability at all. In order for this to work, the tank would have to first run to a safe place, then use the ability. Can he really afford this roundabout way to essentially drop the aggro of one person? I think not.

 

Also, why don't they get the jump at lvl10? Make Transpose/Translocate a lvl61 ability for the Shield Tech/Specialist disciplines. It's stupid that VG/PT tanks will have to wait essentially until the end of the game to get their gap closers?

 

Furthermore, with all the mobility and gap closers being added to melee classes, will one 20 meter jump backwards really make all that much of a difference? It's a much needed ability, but the extra mobility melee classes are getting is kind of negating the benefit.

 

It might sound too much of a cliché, but I am very much afraid of what these new changes will mean to the PvP metagame. Do you really want to turn PvP into a running, charging, jumping, teleporting, zigzagging blitzkrieg and ramp up the pace of the game to the point, where no one can catch anybody? The difference between melee and ranged classes will be meaningless, if melee will be able to instantly close the gap to their targets multiple times - this turns ranged characters into melee characters with less armor and worse defensive cooldowns. And it won't help those classes that need the most attention in PvP (and especially Arena) viability - namely Mercs and Snipers.

[Lowarro]

This is another hutt ball ruining skill that it has no use at all anywhere else. Honestly they need to scrap it from how it's working no for something else.

 

It's a guardian leap and rescue pull combined. A decent situational ability (also good for trolling leap of a bridge and swap places with a group mate ) not really a good replacement for a low level gap closer/charge

 

Edit: Just noticed the cast, so maybe not as good a troll ability unless it can be cast while moving...

Edited September 18, 2015 by Lowarro

[Icestar]

The bounty hunter version of the jump seems more cool then the trooper version.

[BenitsubasaChiyo]

New Ability: Rocket Out/Propulsion Round! Jet/Fire a specially designed propulsion round to launch yourself backward 20 meters, gaining immunity to controlling effects while jetting/launched. Cannot be used while immobilized or hindered.

 

Hydraulic Overrides/Hold the Line’s cooldown has been increased to 45 seconds (up from 30)

 

Thanks for breaking the class even further, Bioware. I really appreciate that.

 

Looks like I'll have to use my Merc/Mando exclusively for PvE starting from 4.0

 

Also, can I ask you: was this freaking necessary?

Jet Charge/Storm is now trainable by all Powertechs/Vanguards at level 61. Jet Speed/Blitz has been removed from the baseline version of this ability, and has been added as a utility choice instead.

Edited September 18, 2015 by BenitsubasaChiyo

[BrintoSFJ]

Storm at 61?? guys what the big stinking pile of piece of trash is this??? you guys want us to play PT/VG tank at all? the level of incompetence you guys are showing with class changes this dlc is beyond anything i imagined. horrible guys, just horrible.

 

At this point you guys are thinking : "it is ok guys, we have the Star Wars name, so no matter what kind of trash we throw at these morons they will just eat it up and we will be even more rich!!"

Edited September 18, 2015 by BrintoSFJ

[LuxDragon]

I'm just imagining how my VG's will kill people now in ops by moving people into an AOE, like the exploding droids in DF. Or in PvP when they want to live and place someone else in danger.

 

Transpose sounds like a horrible idea for those that exercise their inner troll.

[ExeErdna]

It's a guardian leap and rescue pull combined. A decent situational ability (also good for trolling leap of a bridge and swap places with a group mate ) not really a good replacement for a low level gap closer/charge

 

Edit: Just noticed the cast, so maybe not as good a troll ability unless it can be cast while moving...

 

Cast while moving something FLAMETHROWER should have but yeah of all seriousness it sounding like a pointless skill that's gonna start team killing that IF they live for the 1.5 secs for it to work.

[venomlash]

Let's go over the changes and my opinions.

 

Hold The Line cooldown increase:

I don't like it, but I can kind of understand why they'd stop me from using it so often; If you pay attention to telegraphed knockbacks, you can cheese most of them pretty easily. This is hella OP, most notably with HM Revan (until they made his knockbacks no longer respect the immunity.) That said, let's look at the Devs' reasoning: "[with the new abilities] Bounty Hunters/Troopers will no longer rely so heavily on Hydraulic Overrides/Hold the Line for their mobility needs." The issue I have with that is that the primary utility of HTL is not mobility so much as avoiding being knocked around. You can use HTL to close or create gaps, sure, but the real use is to avoid being yanked into something or having your channel broken by physics. I'd suggest that if they're going to make this change, also give the immunity component of HTL a few extra seconds.

 

 

Storm baseline:

Sure whatever. Some people on the VG/PT forums were begging for Harpoon to be tank-exclusive and for Storm to be baseline and that was a bad idea, but if DPS VGs get to keep the grapple, that's fine. I don't like the removal of Blitz (it's a nice perk but not worth utility points except maybe in PvP), but whatever.

 

Transpose:

BAD AND STUPID. One, this ability is FAR more suited to the Shadow/Assassin tank, stylistically. Two, this is just asking to be abused (run into a hazard, Transpose with someone you want to prank), even more so than Rescue. Three, it's basically just a knockoff of Guardian Leap coupled with a knockoff of Rescue. Come on, you've GOT to have better than this.

Hey, want a freebie? Instead of this, give VG tanks a Deploy Autoturret ability, placing a turret which lasts 15s and targets enemies independently of you (ignoring those under CC), building high amounts of threat for you and preferentially targeting enemies near the edge of its range. This fits with the style of both the Vanguard (special forces cutting-edge tech) and the Powertech (crazy cool black market gear), and also is consistent with their role of being the tank that is best at gathering enemies up (since the turret grabs guys you might miss).

 

Energized Absorbers: yes please, this is a good DtPS reduction

Hazardous Heat: looks good

Cell Burn: sure why not, whatever

 

Neural Delay: mostly useless

Iron Will: darned well better give a better cooldown reduction

Surveyed Terrain: that's a nice one, should be useful in PvP and in high mobility fights in PvE (e.g. Dash'roode)

Blitz: as above, SO not worth utility points except in some PvP situations

 

 

Propulsion Round:

Sounds decent, but I'm worried about the squirreliness of the ability. It's very easy, given how the camera works, to misjudge the angle slightly and go flying into floorcandy. If you caused it to also immobilize nearby enemies when activated I'd be sold, but as it is I'm thoroughly underwhelmed. Also, PLEASE make the animation for this non-stupid. I want to see my Commando shoot a jet engine flame out of his gun, not do a dinky little rocket jump a la TF2.

 

Frontline Medic: fine by me, although 5% is pretty small

Supercharged Barrel: extra crit on HIB? YES PLEASE

 

Boosted Bolts: now this is intriguing. Serrated Bolt ticks every 3s, as does Incendiary Round, and Plasma Cell ticks every 3s but gains an extra tick every time Mag Bolt is used, working out to every two seconds or so. Supercharged Burn and Electro Net kick in from time to time also (ticking once every 10 and 7 seconds respectively, if you average it all out). This comes to about 1.4 stacks per second, meaning that with Charged Bolts used every 6.4 seconds on average (according to the parse on Dulfy), you'll have 4 or 5 stacks for each use ON AVERAGE. Now, this is where things get really interesting, because Assault's DoTspread is just now getting good. You can spread Serrated Bolt and Incendiary Round and (not counting the ticks from Plasma Grenade) each target will produce 2 stacks every 2 GCDs. With 5 or more targets, you can spread your DoTs and literally JUST SPAM HAIL OF BOLTS and it will be fully boosted every time. If you wanted to improve Assault Spec AoE without simplifying the DoTspread and still while keeping the skill ceiling high, congratulations Devs, you did it.

 

Sticky Mods: good for PvP

Supercharged Defense: kinda nice for burn phases when there's a lot of damage going out (e.g. Titan 6), but very much a niche usage

Smoke Screen: vital for PvP to make Propulsion Round that useful, absolutely useless otherwise

[Euphrates_Dul]

Nice, I can picture BH using a backpack thrusters but a Mando is the animation going to be a back flip?

[Reno_Tarshil]

Jet Charge and Storm need to be lower level. 61 for a skill we've had since launch is silly. Make the Teleport 61 instead.