Senior Designer, Austin Peckenpaugh, shares details about the class changes to the Bounty Hunter and Trooper now live in Game Update 2.0. Discuss them here!

Thank you for these excellent changes to Mercenaries for PvP! It's like a whole new class. Heatseeker Missiles are hitting for almost 10k and once again we are a class to be feared

So you take away Hydraulic Overrides as a unique ability for AP players and give it to the whole class. Compensation? A mirrored talent in the Arsenal tree that increases it's length by four seconds.

 

Then you make Prototype Cylinders a laughable talent point waste by making a 1% damage increase to elemental/internal damage. Seriously, 1%? You're kidding me.

 

But let's not stop there! Let's cut the damage of CGC in half and claim that it's "balanced" by a higher proc rate...guess I should use rapid shots more!

 

And Thermal Detonator...hey, let's make it hit as hard as Explosive Dart and totally kill the PVP players. But don't worry, you have Volatile Ignitor now, so spam that Flame Sweep and put you worthless CGC dot on everyone!

 

All the while, the only response we get from you guys is a brief statement saying "Don't worry guys, AP didn't get nerfed".

 

Bravo class design team. Bravo.

Alacrity's usefulness to gunnery commandos is still limited because it has no effect on cell charger. Is that by design?

I liked the mercenary changes. Good job

Too bad CM Commandos still have a massive gap compared to Sages. You should have given stronger heals back after you robbed us in 1.2 .

Sorry, as a powertech these changes have left me rather disappointed.

 

As a tank in PvE or in PvP I feel others bring far more to the table with their various utilities and defensive cooldowns and when you are competing with them for a slot in the group, those differences matter.

 

For PvP as DPS, the only item I felt I brought to the table was burst damage and that has been hurt severely with the changes made. Other classes, take for example Sniper/Gunslinger, are far more capable in doing damage, can still burst, have various utility and escape skills and don't even need to close in to do it as a Powertech would.

 

This is not a call to nerf another class but to increase our utility and help us find a niche again. Right now, I feel baseless and would recommend various other classes over my own.

Edited April 18, 2013 by Smuggler_Caylin

Really wish our theory crafters were a bit more active to help prove or disprove a lot of the discontent going around with the powertech/vanguard DPS. But it definitely doesn't feel like we are as powerful coming from the pryo perspective. That first patch that went live on the pts, it felt like we were in a really good place. I even tested it out against two other equally geared and about equally skilled players/classes and we were not in a jump out in front but were evenly competing for number one on the meters. Then people found out how to exploit the hybrid spec to get an extra 500 DPs... and you came in with the Nerf bat trying to stop that but ended up hitting pryo and I think even AP a bit in the process.

 

Myself and I think everyone I saw posting did not mind the Nerf coming down against that unexpected hybrid... but the way it was nerfed affected pyro the most.

 

I love giving chaff flare and hydrolic overloads to everyone (the above poster has a point though, that you did take one of the unique things away from AP without giving them anything significant in return) and I love that our AOE is certainly more powerful and sustained as opposed to before... even if our dot isn't as strong as it was. But please reconsider how you have affected our class with thermal detonator and the CGC Nerf. And let's face it... TD is completely worthless for PVE and PVP... at least it was getting some use before.

Will you be celebrating every day for this crap you now.

How quixotic are you guys.

Since I'm curious to tomorrow How will you talk nicely the Inquisitor. Is determined awesome

epicfail

Assault Plastique nerf: Hits for half as hard, but sets the target on fire with a dot. I am ok with this. Less burst, but I can live with it especially if I put a sticky grenade and AP on a target back to back.

 

High Intensity Bolt nerf: Less armor penetration. I am ok with this. My HIB hits for less but still hits hard. When we start min/maxing, the HIB will be hitting for very hard again.

 

Plasma Cell nerf. Damage is half of what it used to be. This, I am NOT fine with. The minimal dmg plasma cell is putting out is useless. This is really the bread and butter of the Vanguard/Pyrotech class. We need the damage of Plasma Cell to be back to what it was. I understand that you increased the proc rate so we can dot up multiple people, HOWEVER, we excel in bursting down single target players. This is what we are good at and what we are good for - single target burst. I am not going to run around shooting 6 different targets and proccing my plasma cell that hits for 800 dmg. I would like to see the proc rate of this lowered again and the damage increased.

 

I think a simple change in plasma cell will make PTs/Vanguards viable again.

Edited April 18, 2013 by revcrisis

Commando is still a bad RDPS class for the hardcore rated community. Snipers can do everything we do, but better.

I'd say Shield and Gunnery have been success stories for PvP (and PvE I reckon) for 2.0. Combat Medic had some welcome changes, particularly in PvE. I suspect there will still be a gap between Combat Medics and Seers/Sawbones in PvP, especially at higher levels of play. The reduction to their survivability (less healing done, healing received, and damage reduction) seems to contradict this developer update. It sounds like Assault was the loser of this patch, but I do not play one so I will leave it at that. Tactics seems to still be a limited DPS that doesn't pose a significant threat, but there are very few so its hard to tell if they've been changed at all.

And the proof they don't know how to play their own game continues to roll in.

Increase the radius of Death From Above. The Merc hasn't been the same since you nerfed it. Seriously, give the Merc some love here.

Please, buff mercs a little bit more!

At least buff mercs healers...

"Please keep in mind that we are always looking at class balance so let us know how you like the changes we have made. "

 

I guess that's why the constant complaint that you've gutted powertech/vanguard DPS has gone ignored, right?

 

Not to mention the travesty of AP. It was already below average, but now you've just knocked it down another few notches... When are we going to see AP/pyro brought back up to par? Yeah, it needed a nerf, but it didn't need to be dragged down an alley, mugged, and left for dead.

 

"For 2.0, we wanted to make sure Shield Tech’s active abilities were very attractive. Both Oil Slick and Heat Blast have been overhauled to be more universally awesome. We also wanted to boost up Shield Tech’s utility and group support by way of giving them some area denial and area slows."

 

That's all well and good for PVP, but at this point we're the least useful tank in PVE.

 

25% damage reduction? Juggs can go to 40%.

Heavy armor? Juggs have that too.

Pull? Sins have that.

AOE that lowers damage dealt? Sins have that.

Leap? Juggs have that.

Hydraulic Overrides? Sure, I guess that's neat...except for Juggs getting a speed boost when guarded targets are attacked. And except for Sins having Force Speed.

 

What do powertech/vanguard tanks have that's the equivalent of Force Shroud, Saber Reflect?

 

When you have 2 spots and one of each tank, what reason is there to pick the Powertech over the Assassin/Juggernaut? We can't leap to friendlies to lower the damage they take. We can't put a big glowy circle on the ground that increases healer output. We can't dump cooldowns to make ourselves nigh-invincible. So what's the attraction?

Edited April 18, 2013 by Phorenzyk

Well done BioWare, you have literaly destroyed this class. And not to mention you havent even mentioned why you made choices you made in Tactics, Assault trees, like you did in blogs abount agent/smuggler, knight/warrior.

 

A smaller nerf would do fine, but not this, 50% off plasma cell, plastique is crap now, burst is gone etc.

 

Look at smash, that is something that should be nerfed, but I suppose, you are not capable of doing that.

Edited April 18, 2013 by ReclaimerDonar

Bioware hates troopers and mercs because they don't have shiny boomsticks. I primarily play Commando DPS in PvP and the burst and utility of a sniper is unparalleled.

 

Sniper

-Flashbang: Instant AOE stun (Awesome for pretty much every wz and the commando one is a 2 second cast)

-Hunker Down (Uninterruptable and Unstunnable)(Hold the line is nowhere close to this)

-Scamper (can roll where ever they want) see this vid for more details

 

PLUS the sniper has every ability the Commando has

-AOE pushback

-one hard cc (dirty kick/cryo)

-Sniper Burst DMG is pretty much the same.

 

The Only Differentiation is

-Electro Net: a mediocre slow that prevents certain abilities for nine seconds. If this was an AOE it may be more viable, but it isn't.

 

Now knowing that the sniper brings the same burst DPS AND 3 additional abilities to the playing field, why in the world would you ever bring a commando DPS in rated PvP?

i like the changes i love gunnery inn pvp now. and healing is and feels a litle weak compered to sage. i got both . but i can live with it love kolto pads!

Plasma Cell: Now deals less damage but has a higher chance to be triggered.

 

Really, disappointed that there was no explanation for this nerf. Couple of comments:

 

1) The damage appears to be halved. What is the justification for that?

 

2) The additional chance to trigger is irrelevant because the tree that uses Plasma Cell has ways to trigger the DoT on demand.

 

Nerfs happen, that's a given in MMOs. But taking the time to explain your reasoning helps soften the blow.

I am confused as to why electro-net has a 30m range and electro dart is only 10m. I mean the net is firing probes out which net around target...the electro dart is just a tiny lil dart that stuns how the heck is it that the range on the lil dart is shorter than the net? It just doesn't make sense. I wish BW would switch our darts back to 30m range melee can still close on us easily. Also please lower CD on electro net.

Did bioware change the animation to the Rapid Shots Healing? bc now instead of rapid healing shots its one healing shot per blaster on one click of the ability

They really tried to spin the nerf on assault plastique as a buff didn't they? It's as if you were trying to sell balding as a bonus feature for getting old "new feature loss of hair, no longer do you have to comb it!"

Assault spec vanguards have been completely gutted.

 

I know there wasn't any change to it, but Incendiary Round is as it has always been - garbage. High cost, low damage. In PVP people either die so fast that it's a waste of ammo, or get healed, which makes it inconsequential. It's not even worth using for the sake of HiB, since Plasma Cell is free whether we're at 10m or 30m. I'd like to see this completely redesigned. Maybe make it passively or actively augment HiB like a 30s CD that makes your next (2?) HiB do an additional X (moderate) amount of (instant, not DoT) fire damage.

 

 

You know what, the more I think about that, the more I like the idea. Anyway.

 

Plasma Cell nerf just hurt. The proc rate was already very reliable to begin with (almost always initiated a fight with Hammer Shot to snap a HiB off from 30m), and Ionized Ignition and High Friction Bolts makes any sort of proc rate increase totally imperceivable. We never had a problem procing it before, there was no trade off here, just a flat nerf.

 

AP now barely hits any harder single target than its AOE counterpart, its new DoT component ticks too slow and too low to be of any consequence.

 

The armor penetration nerf to HiB... Eh, I can see it by itself, but not with the rest.

 

The buff to Ion Pulse in "Assault Trooper" was nice, but with the Plasma Cell nerf, an Ion Pulse (with Ionized Ignition) still hits cumulatively (at 55) about what it did at 50 pre-2.0.

 

I don't know if you guys were trying to make us more reliant on DoTs or what, but right now trying to maintain dots will just run you out of ammo without accomplishing anything. Especially if you go on that fool's errand of trying to spread them around to multiple people.

 

 

 

Yes, we are still capable of doing large quantities (read: quantity) of damage on the boards, but with the HP increase and the healing super-buff, we're not actually killing anyone anymore, assuming relatively equal skill and gear.

 

 

We either need the nerfs reversed or a complete redesign to be worth bringing to rated matches. We currently have jack for defense, low mobility, no utility that another class can't do better, no burst and less than mediocre sustained damage.

this part made me LOL:

 

Mortar Salvo: This is a new passive ability gained at level 10 upon becoming a Commando. When Commandos fire Explosive Round, two rounds are fired for a combined increase in damage. This increase in damage is not enough to make Explosive Round alter anyone’s rotation, but it will now serve as a much more effective on-the-run utility skill. Also, double knockdown against weak and standard enemies is neat.

 

1. Explosive Round is in nobodies rotation

2. its heat cost is too damn high

3. the damage "buff" is more like a side-grade at best

 

 

reduce the heat cost of Explosive round already FFS. does austin peckenpaugh not realize that it has a 25 ammo/heat cost? bring it down to 16 (same as Sticky Grenade) and then it might actually be an "effective on-the-run utility skill"