Mercenary Ability, Tactical Item, and Set Bonus Feedback

[DomBah]

 

[*]Critical Charge - (4) Gaining a stack of Supercharge increases your critical chance by 10% for 10 seconds. This effect can only occur once every 10 seconds. (6) Doing damage or healing an ally has a 5% chance to build a Supercharge and can only happen once per 3 seconds.

 

The 4 set bonus seems to not working on current pts.

The 6 Set bonus is useless. Every twentieth attack / healing give 1 stack and then capped to once per 3 seconds, wow

 

[*]Power Step - (4) Activating Power Shot, Tracer Missile or Rapid Scan increases the critical chance of your next Power Shot, Tracer Missile or Rapid Scan by 3%. Stacks up to 5 times. - (6) Power Shot, Tracer Missile and Rapid Scan grant a stack of Power Step, stacking up to 5 times. At 5 stacks, your next Power Shot, Tracer Missile or Rapid Scan is more effective and costs no Heat.

 

Nice average set. Nothing special, but not bad too.

 

[*]Surging Power - (4) Power Surge grant Precision Targeting, increases armor penetration by 10% for 6 seconds. This effect cannot occur more than once peryh minute. (6) Power Surge gets an additional charge

 

The 4 set bonus is worthless for the healer, and beside for the dd nearly too. The 6 set bonus makes only sence with the no-cooldown-tactical, and there more or less only with the cast-mezz. Its ok for pvp, but not for pve.

EDIT: The additional charge ist not an additional stack, instead you can use the ability "power surge" two times. You use the word "charge" in both descriptions (these set and "power overrides"-utility), but with different effects, so i was a little confused^^

But the cooldown of each charge, if you wear this set, is even if you choose the "power overides" utility (provides 15 sec cd reduction to 45sec) always 60sec, additional the cd reduction from alacrity is missing too.

 

[*]Technical Medic - (4) Onboard AED becomes instant-cast. (6) Chaff Flare heals all allies around you.

 

This is at current state really the worst set imaginable. The 4 set bonus is really worthless for every spec and the healing form the 6 set bonus is so small for a 45 sec cd (round about 1k @ 250k hp). Hopefully this set will not come in my RNG grind. At current state really an example for making a set, that will make no difference in playstyle like in effectiveness to the no-set-setup.

 

Summary: No real good set, one absolute worthless, one set is ok ( sounds better then it actually is - 2% more output and up to 15% higher critchance on one ability for each spec -which aren't the best abilities is not really desirable) - and the last is mostly for 2 or 3 instant mezz (could be fun in pvp, but iam really not there to troll the opponents).

Merc will lose and get no compensation for the old bonus and the new ones, especially for the healer, arent fit in the roles.

The healer will lose one crit every 30sec, longer duration of supercharge gas and cd reduction on his boggest single heal.

For the dd its looks not so bad, but far from good too.

I expected to see something that would either makes the merc not so vulnerable to interruption or a much faster merc - but there is ist even with the tacticals sadly nothing.

 

[*]Cool Your Jets - Rocket Out vents 20 heat and immobilzes enemies around you for 1 second.

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Yeah, with the new 2 charges interesting, the effect is much to short, even the current 2 sec.

 

[*]Jettison - Jet Boost increases your movement speed by 50% for 3 seconds. For each enemy you hit with Jet Boost the cooldown of Hydraulic Overrides reduced by 3 seconds.

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Nice idea, bad implementation. 30sec cd on jet boost to get 3 sec 50% movement speed, not worth a tactical. You will hit mostly 2-3 enemies, so the cd reduction on HO is to low.

Thta the merc is in need of some speed buffs is true, but this here is "drop in the ocean", will change nothing.

 

[*]Missile Back - Missile Blast knocks its target back and refunds some heat.

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I think its 3m or 4m knockback, can be fun, but for what purpose? New archievment: annoying huttball knockback'er

 

[*]Power Cycle - When you use an ability with Power Surge, that ability is not put on cooldown.

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Again nice idea, but there is only one ability where this is usefull - the mezz.

EDIT: This tactical "bugs" with the power overrides utility, so the second stack of power surge (through power overides) will not provide the no-cooldown effect. If this is intended, it makes this tactical not desirable.

 

Arsenal

[*]Hot Shot - Fusion Missile spreads Heat Signature. Heatseeker Missiles fire additional missiles to nearby targets affected by Heat Signature.

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Its a good idea, without doubt, to give the dd's more aoe, but here i have to make a comparison to the sniper aoe tactical. And i will really not call for a nerf for them, but instead the merc tactical need here a buff.

Its round about 20k splash damage every 15 sec for the merc, after he ruined with fusion missile his heat management.

For the sniper its round about 42k splash damage in ca.15 sec (2 abilities), and here without any negative effect on his rota. So nothing more to say, suggestions should be obviously.

 

[*]Priming Bolts - Dealing damage with Blazing Bolts increases the damage of your next Priming Shot, stacking up to 8 times to 100%.

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Sounds nice, but for pvp in pressured situation, you will hardly get something from this tactical.

In pve nice boost to the burst (is there any need for that?), but for pvp very situational.

 

Suggestion: Instead of the BB ticks, make the increase it to the activation of BB.

 

[*]Burning Shot - Priming Shot causes its target to burn. Blazing Bolts, Heatseeker Missiles, and Tracer Missile all tick its damage..

 

The dot is 6 ticks with each 1k damage. So on many cases if you get the full 4 ticks i assume its round about up to 1k overall dps more. Dont know what the goal with the tactical is - it will make a difference in overall damage output - sure, but for what purpose, except NM operations where the mercs otherwise would fail? This sounds more for a set bonus then a tactical.

But of course, not a bad thing, - but very boring.

 

Bodyguard

[*]Supercharged Burst - Kolto Missile grants a stack of Supercharge Gas for each target it hits. Supercharged Gas heals all nearby allies for the same amount as Kolto Missile's initial heal when activated. Kolto Missile's cooldown is extended by 4 seconds.

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Through the higher cd on kolto bomb useless for pvp. I think its only usefull in group coordinated operations.

Not usefull for most players.

 

[*]Alacrity Scan - Rapid Scan can be cast while moving and heals an additional 10%.

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Really good, the immobilzed healer get with this tactical a really good option to be more mobil, not for burst healing but for medium damage good enough. Fine, but will only helps a little in pvp, because interruptions will happen only half the time for this ability, but for the other ablities like always.

 

[*]Kolto Time - Kolto Shot applies a lingering heal over time effect to its target.

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Yeah, its round about 6k healing over 18 sec (@250k HP). No purpose for the healer to choose that. For dd perhaps, for a healer tactical not worth to choose if Alacity scan is available.

 

Overall only 2 tacticals for arsenal and bodyguard that are indeed good (Alacrity scan and Burning Shot). One can be a good too, if the dependence for the 8 ticks from blazing bolts would not there.

Edited August 17, 2019 by DomBah

[AlrikFassbauer]

I never used that "rocket out" or how it is called. Never. I never saw any sense in using it.

[PhatMcMuffins]

I think the most positive improvements are actually the restructuring of how we take talents.

 

The new tiers allow for Bodyguard to take

Tier 1: Jet Escape, Improved Vents, Gyroscopic Alignment Jets

Tier 2: Power Shield, Energy Rebounder, Power Overrides

Tier 3: Thrill of the Hunt, Trauma Regulators, Supercharged Defense

 

This combo with the moving rapid scan tactical fixes most of the main issues with merc heals in high-end PvP.

The interrupt protection from Power Shield AND Supercharged Defense is huge when you can still have the safety net of Trauma regs to tank damage and recover it while focus healing a teammate.

Thrill of the Hunt with moving Rapid Scan increases mobility astronomically, allowing mercs to re-position more often without sacrificing HPS.

 

When the crit set bonucs starts working, it'll feel even better. I'm very excited. Play Bodyguard on PTS is a night and day difference from Live.

[PrivateerArris]

I never used that "rocket out" or how it is called. Never. I never saw any sense in using it.

 

As PVPer i using it instantly on cooldown every fight dozen times

[ZionHalcyon]

Juggs, PTs and Maros. But compare it to the other RDPS: The strongest AoE Sniper is Marksmanship, the strongest AoE Sorc is lightning. Most PvE Encounters don't have that many Big adds that have to be collected and bombed. The Key to great AoE is the fast damage output (Vengeful Slam, Chain Lightning, Asa AoE Spam, Supressive Fire) Fusion missile is the opposite of that.

 

Kind of my point - most of the AOE that is laid down is Damage-focused, not DOT-Focused.

 

There really isn't a spec that focuses on setting and maintaining DOTs on a large group. The reason I brought up what I did with IO is because it looked like the developers were ALMOST going to go there and allow a different flavor of a spec to be in the game (which would fit with play your way), but it just doesn't reach across the finish line.

 

In fact, the one thing I would say is that, its almost like these tacticals, not just here but in almost all classes, ALMOST vary the gameplay, but they all have something that holds them back, as if BioWare is truly scared to commit to going there.

[ZionHalcyon]

I never used that "rocket out" or how it is called. Never. I never saw any sense in using it.

 

It's a PvP ability. Hence, the lack of a new ability for Mercs is a net loss for PvE'ers….

[Equeliber]

It's a PvP ability. Hence, the lack of a new ability for Mercs is a net loss for PvE'ers….

 

Merc already has more buttons that any other class. I don't count this as a loss, I already stretched my keybinds to the max for my IO merc, I don't want any more buttons.