Merctech.

or Powercenary

I have both a lvl 50 Powertech and lvl 28 Merc, it basically boils down to what kind of playstyle do you want; up close and personal, or ranged?

Powertech is up close and personal, most of your attacks are instant with a 10m range. This is important as for PVP you want to be within 10m but outside of the 4m range of melee classes.

This class is more tactical in use and can be a tank or DPS.

Mercenary is almost all ranged >30m. You or more or less a mobile artillery platform. Most of your abilities are 1.5 sec cast times, so you are not as mobile as the Powertech and want to avoid enemies getting in close. This class is more strategic in use, can be a healer or DPS.

Both classes specced for DPS, damage output is very similar. Both easily can hit 200k dmg in a warzone.

Bottom line, what's your playstyle?

I have both a lvl 50 Powertech and lvl 28 Merc, it basically boils down to what kind of playstyle do you want; up close and personal, or ranged?

 

Powertech is up close and personal, most of your attacks are instant with a 10m range. This is important as for PVP you want to be within 10m but outside of the 4m range of melee classes.

This class is more tactical in use and can be a tank or DPS.

 

Mercenary is almost all ranged >30m. You or more or less a mobile artillery platform. Most of your abilities are 1.5 sec cast times, so you are not as mobile as the Powertech and want to avoid enemies getting in close. This class is more strategic in use, can be a healer or DPS.

 

Both classes specced for DPS, damage output is very similar. Both easily can hit 200k dmg in a warzone.

 

Bottom line, what's your playstyle?

Pretty accurate. One small note, however: if you Pyrotech as a Mercenary, you are completely mobile and able to do all your damage on the run. It's definitely the highlight of the spec.

Pretty accurate. One small note, however: if you Pyrotech as a Mercenary, you are completely mobile and able to do all your damage on the run. It's definitely the highlight of the spec.

All? Pretty sure pyro mercs still use power shot and unload.

Powertechs lack dps badly, unless they get into 10m range and have no heat level up due to an earlier fight.

Powertech dps in battlegrounds is laughable, while mercenaries are often in top 3 dps-wise.

The Powertech CAN be a highly resistant tank, but that's about it. Their good dps is limited to close combat and death from above.

i dont think the above poster saw the screenshot of the 800k damage the powertech did

its all about pyrotech on power tech, it has it all, heavy ranged burst ranged dots and close range kiting with 2 stuns and a grapple

i always out dps the mercs because all they have is tracer missile, no reliable spamable dots and no real burst aside from lucky heatseeker crits

Powertechs lack dps badly, unless they get into 10m range and have no heat level up due to an earlier fight.

 

Powertech dps in battlegrounds is laughable, while mercenaries are often in top 3 dps-wise.

 

The Powertech CAN be a highly resistant tank, but that's about it. Their good dps is limited to close combat and death from above.

Utterly false.

Bad Powertechs with bad heat management play badly, that's not a fault of the class.

Good Powertechs can either be high DPS or medium DPS with improved survivability and mobility as well as just tanks.

Powertechs lack dps badly, unless they get into 10m range and have no heat level up due to an earlier fight.

 

Powertech dps in battlegrounds is laughable, while mercenaries are often in top 3 dps-wise.

 

The Powertech CAN be a highly resistant tank, but that's about it. Their good dps is limited to close combat and death from above.

Hahah 3/10. Biggest load of utter rubish EU. Powertechs dish out some of the best damage in the game and do just as much if not a tiny bit less than mercs. Pt dps in battleground is laughable? (Their probably st specced in which case their not going to do loads of damage because their protecting their team) MY ARS. im lv 38 and come in the Top 2 damage wise basically everygame. Pt's can be a highly resistant tank and thats it? Again, im guessing youve only rolled a merc in which case you can't talk and are probably one of those people crying over the fact they went merc. Please, only post true and accurate things, i have a merc and a pt they are both great they are both fun. depends on your play style. Thanks

I don't get the hype about PT tanking and PvP. You have no oh-crap CD like other tank classes, all you have is absorbs (shielding) and more absorbs (shielding) which: are completely ignored (chance to shield dmg etc) by tech / force attacks. They provide minor defensive bonuses compared to JK / SW or Shadow / Sin variants. There were some threads on PT subforums about this - and with good reason.

All you get extra is the grapple thing and a charge + melee interrupt.

A good Powertech (which I am) is more about support... guard, taunts - single and aoe and jet charge while a Merc is more about Dmg.

Just depends on you're play-style. As a Powertech the most dps I've put out has been around 160k however in a situation like that we won the warzone.

Just depends on your approach.

I'd go powertech over merc currently, because pt brings much more needed utility and mobility which will be of increasing importance the deeper you get into pvp.

If you look at the dps specs for both classes, you'll probably want to use either an armament merc or a pyrotech pt, the other specs are more or less rubbish. Advanced prototype for pts is worse dps then pyro across the board and does not really bring much else; Pyro on a merc can perform close to powertech, but does not synergize as well as pt so there really is no point to the spec on a merc.

As another perk, if you decide to change your spec a bit and go pve, powertechs are regarded as the best tanks in the game currently (and can still dps extremely well if you sacrifice some tankability and go hybrid), while mercs are more mediocre in their healing tree. That being said, both specs are perfectly viable in each of their respective roles, advanced prototypes and pyrotech are more redundant then actually bad by themselves.

I don't get the hype about PT tanking and PvP. You have no oh-crap CD like other tank classes, all you have is absorbs (shielding) and more absorbs (shielding) which: are completely ignored (chance to shield dmg etc) by tech / force attacks. They provide minor defensive bonuses compared to JK / SW or Shadow / Sin variants. There were some threads on PT subforums about this - and with good reason.

 

All you get extra is the grapple thing and a charge + melee interrupt.

Powertechs make the best tanks due to their hybrid spec between Tank and Prototype. They have the best tankiness because they have the highest straight damage reduction, mines at 54%, a similarly geared shadows is 42% tops.

PVP wise, powertech >> merc because merc doesn't have so many tools to stay alive under melee attack (powertech can tank AND dps), so few and useless CC in many situation. If you have a group that keep you alive, merc can be devastating (arsenal one)

In PVP we have 3 maybe 4 heals. WZ med pack, power surge + heal. got a 1.5 casting heal and that can be lowered with tracer stacks plus a small dot, using all that and shield with the WZ thingy (red one) we can stay up ok when needed.

Pretty accurate. One small note, however: if you Pyrotech as a Mercenary, you are completely mobile and able to do all your damage on the run. It's definitely the highlight of the spec.

Another small note about the Pyrotech class. While it is very mobile and very damaging it is also VERY fast heat generation and when the majority of the skills for pyros produce heat and you cant hold anymore heat then you are screwed.

Powertechs make the best tanks due to their hybrid spec between Tank and Prototype. They have the best tankiness because they have the highest straight damage reduction, mines at 54%, a similarly geared shadows is 42% tops.

Assassin is a better hybrid, they do more damage, their dcd is much better, they have more mobility, better cc's, and can cloak(guard nodes better).

Juggernaut has better cc's, better mobility, and can darn near perma slow opponents. They also have better dcd's and because of their area snares, can really improve aoe dps on groups.

Sorry, but powertech is the worst pvp tank. They have no where near the dps or usefulness of the above.

Another small note about the Pyrotech class. While it is very mobile and very damaging it is also VERY fast heat generation and when the majority of the skills for pyros produce heat and you cant hold anymore heat then you are screwed.

You don't think Pyro can do long fights then?

Interesting.

Power Tech for heals, Mercenary for Tanking.

What is wrong with people like this?

WRONG!

Merc's are beast at PVE but not as good at PVP

Massos, LV 50 merc.