Jump to content

Game update 2.0 effectiveness


Lieflen

Recommended Posts

Electro-Net looks interesting and adds some good utility to our class, esp. for ramps in Huttball and hallways in VS. I'm not sure I like the DoT, b/c I'm leery about what would happen if I drop a net on a group of warriors and get Reflected. Am I going to eat 4x DoT damage?

 

Hydraulic Overrides is a step in the right direction for mobility.

 

Missile Salvo is kinda meh. Might increase MBs usefulness as a finisher somewhat.

 

It'll be interesting to see what Kolto Missile does once all specs can train it. Plus, I wonder what Bodyguards get as their Tier 3 active now.

 

The change that really interests me is what the alacrity changes will bring to this class. It'll be interesting to see what the theorycrafters come up with re: the min/ max ratios on crit/ surge/ power/ alacrity.

Edited by Phrase
Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I don't know the exact damage reductions to missile salvo, I feel like this is a step in the right direction.

 

I have a couple ideas as to what it means:

 

1. Each blast does about 90% of what a regular blast does, and generate no heat. We've got an increase to mobility, and no longer sit still and get our asses handed to us.

 

2. 2 :1 salvo:blast damage ratio, no heat generated. Still an increase to our mobility.

 

A decrease in heat generation from jet boost? Check, that'll help by keeping our resources managable when we're sitting back and nuking.

 

Our complaint has always been we couldn't escape from a fight. Electro net, missile salvo, and a reduced cost is what we needed. Plus, with kolto missile, we've become a class that requires smart play, and not three keys.

 

I for one, am excited for these changes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm curious to see how Missile Salvo works, as the way I read it is it doesn't generate heat *while* you're casting the missiles, but when you're done with the third one, THEN the heat hits.

 

That's how I read it, hence it's usefulness as a finisher.

 

If it's 3 free MBs every 6 seconds; that's another story (and insanely OP unless the damage reduction is significant).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am very excited for merc, The Electro net does look interesting can't wait to try it out, but that combined with Hydraulic Overrides just might give the Merc what it needs to be competitive. Edited by Xethis
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anyone tried using Electro Net on a mobile boss yet? I'm curious to see if they get the stacking damage debuff from it the way players would (since it's obviously not going to slow or hinder a boss at all).

 

If so, this would be a way to actually increase Commando/Merc DPS on fights like the Dread Council and Kephess the Undying where the bosses move around a lot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anyone tried using Electro Net on a mobile boss yet? I'm curious to see if they get the stacking damage debuff from it the way players would (since it's obviously not going to slow or hinder a boss at all).

 

Really doubt Electro Net will affect boss mobs. They generally have immunity to movement impairing effects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So having copied some of my toons to PTS here are some initial thoughts on the Merc situation....

 

Mortar/Missile Salvo is worthless. The description of this ability is a bit off. It says that you *can* fire 3 salvos, but what it really means is that for Mercs the old Missile Blast skill is entirely replaced with Missile Salvo. The PT's keep the same old Missile Blast skill. Missile Salvo cost the same amount of heat as the old Missile Blast, except the heat cost is assessed when you either shoot your 3rd Missile Salvo OR use another ability after your first or second Missile Salvo OR you pause for about a second after firing your first or second Missile Salvo. When the heat cost is assessed, Missile Salvo goes on a 6 sec CD (Missile Blast has no CD). So what does Missile Salvo get you? Basically you get to fire it 3 times for the heat cost of a single Missile Blast. The problem here is that Missile Salvo does less damage than the old Missile Blast. How much less? Less than Rapid Shots. Yes, you heard that correctly. Less than Rapid Shots. So rather than generating heat to use Missile Salvo 3 times (and getting a CGC proc after the third), you could have used Rapid Shots 3 times, almost assuredly gotten a CGC after the first or second attack and saved heat. And done more damage. Doh. At least since no one used Missile Blast previously, this isn't a loss per se. More like a missed opportunity. But you should be used to that as Mercs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem here is that Missile Salvo does less damage than the old Missile Blast. How much less? Less than Rapid Shots.

LOL

 

TBH when I read the patch notes for both the Mercenary and the Operative, in my opinion both of them reads like what those classes would need right now (other than the Missile Salvo damage numbers, which if they are as reported above, I would assume it's a bug or something).

 

The problem is that all other classes become significantly stronger as well, so it seems as though these two classes will still be far behind.

 

It felt like a joke, like BioWare is in on the "Solution: Nerf Operatives" meme.

 

Hopefully it just looks bad early on, maybe there will be more useful stuff in the skill trees or something... :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the other hand Kolto Bomb is the bomb! 30m range, 16 energy cost and 6 sec CD(!). It heals up to 4 allies within an 8 meter range for an amount equal to about 1.5x Rapid Shots. That's pretty good. It's also instant cast. You are going to use this a lot - no matter what Merc tree you are in.

 

Power Shot - they changed this quite a bit. The cast time is now 1.5 seconds (no need to talent it to get that). Rather it's back to the old way, where you need to talent it to get the heat cost down to 16. LOL. The old Arsenal skill, Charged Barrier is moved from Tier 3 down to Tier 2, so it is accessible to Merc Pyros. As a reminder that gives a 1% damage resistance for 15 sec for each use of Power Shot (up to 5). Similarly Stabilizers moves from Arsenal Tier 2 to Tier 1, again making it easier for Merc Pyros to access. As a reminder that reduces pushback to Power Shot. Some of the new Merc Pyro skills now also include Power Shot in their bonus category (bonus damage vs. targets on fire for example). Is it enough to make Power Shot useable now? I don't think so, but I'm sure some of you will try it out. There's just no way I want to stay stationary for that long.

 

Jet Boost - A lot of disappointment here. The data mined implication that Jet Boost would trigger a CGC proc on affected enemies didn't make it into the game. They probably realized that would force them to allow CGC to exist on multiple enemies. Instead they have a Tier 7 skill (2 points) that increases the damage done by Jet Boost by 30% (a negligible change in absolute terms). It also reduces the CD on Jet Boost by 1 sec each time you take damage (max once per 1.5 sec). In practical terms this isn't going to be a big help. After you are attacked, you'll use Jet Boost and then even with the CD reductions, you probably won't see it again until around 20 seconds into the fight. Needless to say, against a good melee, the Merc isn't going to last 20 seconds.

 

Degauss - this is a nice change. Degauss (removal of movement impairing effects) is now tied to Chaff Flare. This is a Tier 6 skill in the Pyro tree, so it won't be available for Arsenal or Bodyguards.

 

Electro Shield - a Tier 3 skill in the Pyro tree, it damages attacking enemies (just like Cloak of Pain). Definitely worth taking for Merc Pyros, but this is low enough in the Pyro tree, that one can contemplate a Merc healer trying to grab it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah it's good that there are more buffs in the talent trees, however when looking at the buffs in the talent trees for the other classes I am familiar with, I still feel like Mercenaries and Operatives seem like the ones which will come out as the weakest classes... although Operatives does have some nice stuff in their talent trees.

 

Looking forward to trying these changes out for myself once it goes live (don't have enough disk space to install PTS...).

 

Talent tree calculator with PTS talents:

http://pts.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/

Edited by Rassuro
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the other hand Kolto Bomb is the bomb! 30m range, 16 energy cost and 6 sec CD(!). It heals up to 4 allies within an 8 meter range for an amount equal to about 1.5x Rapid Shots. That's pretty good. It's also instant cast. You are going to use this a lot - no matter what Merc tree you are in.

 

Power Shot - they changed this quite a bit. The cast time is now 1.5 seconds (no need to talent it to get that). Rather it's back to the old way, where you need to talent it to get the heat cost down to 16. LOL. The old Arsenal skill, Charged Barrier is moved from Tier 3 down to Tier 2, so it is accessible to Merc Pyros. As a reminder that gives a 1% damage resistance for 15 sec for each use of Power Shot (up to 5). Similarly Stabilizers moves from Arsenal Tier 2 to Tier 1, again making it easier for Merc Pyros to access. As a reminder that reduces pushback to Power Shot. Some of the new Merc Pyro skills now also include Power Shot in their bonus category (bonus damage vs. targets on fire for example). Is it enough to make Power Shot useable now? I don't think so, but I'm sure some of you will try it out. There's just no way I want to stay stationary for that long.

 

Jet Boost - A lot of disappointment here. The data mined implication that Jet Boost would trigger a CGC proc on affected enemies didn't make it into the game. They probably realized that would force them to allow CGC to exist on multiple enemies. Instead they have a Tier 7 skill (2 points) that increases the damage done by Jet Boost by 30% (a negligible change in absolute terms). It also reduces the CD on Jet Boost by 1 sec each time you take damage (max once per 1.5 sec). In practical terms this isn't going to be a big help. After you are attacked, you'll use Jet Boost and then even with the CD reductions, you probably won't see it again until around 20 seconds into the fight. Needless to say, against a good melee, the Merc isn't going to last 20 seconds.

 

Degauss - this is a nice change. Degauss (removal of movement impairing effects) is now tied to Chaff Flare. This is a Tier 6 skill in the Pyro tree, so it won't be available for Arsenal or Bodyguards.

 

Electro Shield - a Tier 3 skill in the Pyro tree, it damages attacking enemies (just like Cloak of Pain). Definitely worth taking for Merc Pyros, but this is low enough in the Pyro tree, that one can contemplate a Merc healer trying to grab it.

 

overall, i'd definitely say it is a positive for mercs. Pyro gets some nice tools, and the heal looks great.

 

but, that doesn't address MY concerns for Merc, sadly.

 

power shot gets a decent burst...but, not at all useful in PvP because it still requires you to cast.

 

oh well :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nvm my comment about Electro-net since it's single target, but it does still add some nice 1v1 utility and a good hard counter to stealth classes.

 

100% cgc proc is nice for missile salvo, esp. since it's tech and can't be dodged.

 

Also a big fan of the reactive shield.

 

Hydraulic overrides and degauss combo provides a decent boost to mobility.

Edited by Phrase
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our healing is a hell of a lot easier. My Kolto Missile was critting for 3.5k, with an additional ~1.5k over 2/3 seconds (I couldn't find anything in the patch notes about Kolto Missile getting a buff), while my other heals had a max crit of ~7.2k which is awesome.

 

Jet Boost can now also heal you and your allies when talented which is useful, especially when your pulling a lot of aggro. Kolto Shell also has an extra 3 charges (when talented) which means having to check on the tank less often.

 

Overall, very pleased with what they've done to the Bodyguard tree.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why would we want more effective healing?

 

We're the Bounty Hunter class. We don't go out trying to save lives, we go out trying to bring people down for money!

 

As an added point, why not give Mercs the ability to shoot themselves in the head/chest/body part to heal themselves? I can shoot my allies to heal them, but shooting myself to heal myself all of a sudden becomes impossible?

Edited by SithKoriandr
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our healing is a hell of a lot easier. My Kolto Missile was critting for 3.5k, with an additional ~1.5k over 2/3 seconds (I couldn't find anything in the patch notes about Kolto Missile getting a buff), while my other heals had a max crit of ~7.2k which is awesome.

 

Just be aware that because of the massive bug with Bolster, it is hard right now to come to any conclusion with respect to the absolute value that any talent/skill is hitting/healing for. For instance some people can Smash for 40k a pop right now. At this point it is best to look at how much a skill does relative to your other skills.

 

Why would we want more effective healing? We're the Bounty Hunter class. We don't go out trying to save lives, we go out trying to bring people down for money!

 

That is not where this subclass appears to be headed. The anemic damage output of the class relative to other classes has not been addressed. If anything it appears to have gotten larger vs. what will likely be the most popular melee dps - Carnage.

 

But when you look at that AoE heal, it's effectiveness and 6 sec CD would indicate that you need to use that every 4th GCD. In other words you are going to replace 25% of your attack moves with a heal move. That is going to strongly push you towards less damage output and more healing output. IMO, this is the only possibility left for Merc dps to be effective. This also gives more evidence to why Power Shot will not be used. The merc dps rotation was already full in 1.6 w/o using Power Shot. You stuff in a skill that is going to use 25% of your time and there is even less time/opportunity to use Power Shot.

 

I see a 6% damage increase to tracer, rail shot, and heat seeker missiles. I'm really lost as to why Merc's seem unhappy...

 

At the top player levels, Merc dps output was about 25% below that of PT pyro. Minor buffs in the skill trees aren't going to overcome that.

Edited by Macroeconomics
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...