Last night I was looking forward to playing many of my 50's in pvp that got buffed, especially my Merc. I've tried not to be too critical about some of the changes to merc until I could really dig my teeth into them.

 

After playing most of my 50's yesterday and comparing the buffs (for PVP specifically) I quite honestly think Mercs got the cruddiest deal of all the 'buffed' classes for this patch.

 

I PVP'd extrensively last night with most of my 50's (saving the jugg for last!) I wanted to spend most of the evening on my Sorc but had to divert to the Merc because I'm so attached to him.

 

============================================================

Root in PVP:

 

I have to agree with the majority on this one, the root is quite simply asinine. I can't count the amount of times I would root a warrior/jedi and just get rooted right back. That was really frustrating. Absolutely just being honest here, but it is completely idiotic to tie a root (without a knockback) to our EXTREMELY immobile, ranged class. Even Sorc's with true slows and roots, have knocbacks tied to them (even though they actually have a mechanic that allows them to create a gap!).

 

That root is just idiotic and proves to me that they can't possibly PVP at a competitive level with their (merc) characters.

 

======================================================

 

Heal in PVP:

 

The heal? I tried to reserve judgment on this but it is also asinine. My initial complaint was the ridiculous notion of tying yet ANOTHER ability to -tracer missile-. The sorcs just got an independent heal.... why can't we?

 

So in PVP I found it nearly useless. As I had feared, my insta-heal is better anyway, and doesn't cause me to lose DPS. It gets to a point where you think during your rotation...

 

" Do I fire a rail shot with Tracer Lock stacks and finish this guy? Or do I 'bank' it because I think 2 Shadows are about to open up on my immobile, buttockular region?"

 

This heal is -nearly- as bad a buff as the Rocket Punch.

 

=============================================================

 

Conclusion:

I never had a chance to flip back to Pyrotech. In Arsenal I was unable hit 500k last night. I think my highest match was a 425000 Huttball where everyone was just death-matching anyway.

 

Most of the night I was hunted by Shadows ('sins) and Scounds (Ops) testing out their new toys.

 

Bioware I'd say out of all the class 'buffs' you gave out, Merc lost again. The REAL SCARY part of this is in public you may say this is part of a 'process' but we know you have other classes to move on to and I wouldn't be surprised if with your (admittedly limited) resources you feel you've washed your hands of the Mercenary issues. You'd be wrong in that belief.

 

And just so anyone reading this knows, I have no vested interest in this class anymore. I have several 50's, and most of them are geared enough to do whatever I want to in game. It just so happens I used to enjoy my Merc the most.

 

That being said the reality is my Shadow improved markedly. Thank you for that. My Operative is thankful for the burst run (although this has a hidden stealth nerf in it), and I thank you for that. My Juggernaut is looking very promising, and my Sorc (most surprisingly of all) is really loving that Stun Bubble, and to a lesser degree the nice little insta heal that doesn't cost me a stack of Tracer Locks.

 

You screwed up on this class yet again BW.

Well while I play a dps sorc I can say I agree with what is said here from my understanding of how the Merc class works. The instant heal stack being tied to tracer missile just furthers Merc dependence on tracer missile which any smart player interrupts in the first place (madness sorcs have a similar problem with their reliance on force lightning)

 

If it makes you feel any better the Sorc heal for dps only heals for about 2.5k (up to 5k crit) out of combat without the trama healing debuff or mara/sniper healing debuff. So its not that great either. Even though I do not play a Merc, I was sincerely hoping that Merc Dps would be more viable for pvp.

 

Still it is a fundamental problem in pvp design to have a casting based class have it's filler creating most of the damage and being the singular method of obtaining valuable procs.

Honestly after last night I felt more inclined to play my Sorc than my Merc. That's 100% honest.

 

And by saying this, no, I do not feel Sorcs are 'awesome' but at this point if I had to choose between the two, I actually found the Sorc more survivable. Not survivable as in 'I can take more damage than you', but more survivable through utility.

 

I did use the sorc heal extensively (had to remind myself sometimes to use it). I played pure Lightning for fun, and the Stun Bubble is actually a pleasant surprise. I didn't think it would make any real, or tangible difference but it did. It -delayed- a lot of Sentinel ambushes. At least this gave me breathing room. It wasn't overpowered, but at least I wasn't so helpless at that point.

 

The merc on the other hand? I logged out at the end of the night feeling fairly defeated by those class 'buffs'. Really if you're being honest, and play ranked PVP (as I do) I don't know how you could feel good about the merc changes in any way, especially since I suspect Bioware probably considers them 'fixed' now.

Edited September 27, 2012 by Krozis

definitely in a worse spot pvpwise post 1.4...made for an unfun noght of pvping

I HATE that everyone always says "Arsenal is sooo bad". I'm sure it is, but let's not forget that it's still 5x better than Pyrotech. Some of us like Pyrotech and it has NEVER been worth a crap in PVP. I shouldn't have to play Arsenal to PVP.

 

FIX ALL OF THE MERCENARY CLASSES, THEY ALL NEED IT!

I HATE that everyone always says "Arsenal is sooo bad". I'm sure it is, but let's not forget that it's still 5x better than Pyrotech. Some of us like Pyrotech and it has NEVER been worth a crap in PVP. I shouldn't have to play Arsenal to PVP.

 

FIX ALL OF THE MERCENARY CLASSES, THEY ALL NEED IT!

 

Pyro Merc is better off then Arsenal in PvP. Arsenal IMHO is completely broken(in PvP). They need a significant overhaul to that tree.

 

That being said Pyro merc still desperately needs some survival skills. Any melee that can snare, root us and do good damage will destroy us(good players). 'Sweltering Heat' nerf to 30% is well below what melee classes have. So our counters become Jet Boost (25 sec), Electrocute (1min), and 'Energy Shield' (2min).

Glad you made this post...it just adds to the one I started. But to listen to others tell it, they love the changes. With the people who love the changes, defending Biowares move here, it's going to be very difficult to get anything fixed. What's sad, is people saying in different ways, "Learn to adapt". I am a pretty darn good Merc, I adapted not even 5 minutes after trying it out. Just because I am good with my Merc and adapted, does not mean I have to like the change. Meh...

my sig says it all.

Bioware I'd say out of all the class 'buffs' you gave out, Merc lost again.

You screwed up on this class yet again BW.

 

Simply this is it... Sadly...

I do have other Chars... But I like my BH MERC.... And I do not want to play other CHARS... I want my MERC to be decent enough for this GAME... Thats should not be very difficult to do BW?

So... less people playing Pyro then?

Merc changes are horrible across the board..Arse/Pyro doesnt matter. Then add in the ability miss fires, ability hits that dont deduct health from targets, and straight up bad ability response that was introduced....Wow I dont even have words for how bad gameplay is right now for Mercs, and anyone else thats just getting ability bugs etc...they somehow managed to wreck gameplay on a wide scale....Some people seem fine though...So not sure whats up...

Pyro Merc is better off then Arsenal in PvP. Arsenal IMHO is completely broken(in PvP). They need a significant overhaul to that tree.

 

That being said Pyro merc still desperately needs some survival skills. Any melee that can snare, root us and do good damage will destroy us(good players). 'Sweltering Heat' nerf to 30% is well below what melee classes have. So our counters become Jet Boost (25 sec), Electrocute (1min), and 'Energy Shield' (2min).

 

I think you got trolled.

 

Proof: No one is ignorant enough to think Arsenal is 5x better than Pyro in PvP.

Is the developers looking in to this or is Arsenal Merc all lost, does anyone know?

I have a lot of fun playing as an Arsenal Merc but it is also equal as frustrating being nerfed to oblivion.

Do the developers read threads lik this?

 

 

It's funny how we've already reached 1.7 yet mercenaries/commandos still are in the same if not worse place they've been since 1.2. The reason I'm Necroing this thread, is to provide constructive feedback on the stagnate culture we have toward class balance.

 

I'm pretty sure from time to time the Developers have read threads like this. But since they're likely unable to give any meaningful feedback, because of the encouraged environment of closed door policy, our classes community have gone down the drain. The mercenaries/commandoes that still play are like abused dogs, still shelling out cash in hope of a quick fix. It's come to a point where I regret ever liking this game.

 

Hence why I vent. I am no longer "constructive" I tried that route for a while and got burnt out. What's the point of throwing out idea after idea, discussing the issues, or even caring about providing feedback if for all we know, it's gone straight to the Toilet. I mean, the thread about buffing Mercenary DPS has more posts, and many more views then any other thread, and we still only have one terrible reply.

 

It's a terrible situation when a community has super low expectations, to the point where a Developer replaying to some guy smashing keys gets a standing ovation. It's funny how that mere action is exceeding our expectations in feedback. Like seriously, what the hell. What is wrong with us? Why do we keep playing this game?

 

For a game that has taken so much of my money and time, it sure sucks to feel more and more miserable about playing the game. It sucks more because even though we were once with so much hope, stupid hope that has no apparent basis, we've been diminished to a mere dribble. Hell, for those that remain it hasn't completely dried up, but that's merely because we're still incredulous that the situation has gone so bad.

 

It's like they boiled us with 1.2, raising the temperature very rapidly. The intelligent people, jumped out of the pot. The hopeless dreamers like me kept playiing. After that, they slowly raised the temperature degree after degree, until we died. We bore with the pain because the changes since then weren't as dramatic. We are the dumb frogs who are cooked so thoroughly, that we're nothing left but a little spittle.

 

I tried to be constructive. I really did. But I'm so burnt out. Lack of feedback, lack of changes, and all evidence pointing to a sense of selfishness and ineptitude. I mean seriously, we've gone through 5 patches without addressing an issue that has been there forever. We've all come to the conclusion that any balance changes will wait until the expansion. I personally think it's a terrible idea, since it shows a sense of complete callous pragmatism, that proves every pessimist out there.

 

There are so many terrible temporary stopgap solutions that could easily be done, but they won't be. Honestly, an emergency temporary patch would show that you actually care about this part of the community. But it won't happen. It can't happen. It can't for the very same reason the Developers aren't allowed to say Jack to the community.

 

It's funny. Bioware failed to deliver a promise. Instead of vowing to do better, they instead promised to never make another promise to us. Sure they accomplish the same thing, but it misses the point. Something that has been done over and over again. We weren't satisfied then, but we're even less satisfied now.

 

I seriously feel like a punching bag. Punched to the point I'm barely conscious.

 

TLDR:

Pathetic

What an amazing post. I agree with you 100%. I know exactly what I am doing if the new changes fail to help us. I am not giving them another cent.

It's funny how we've already reached 1.7 yet mercenaries/commandos still are in the same if not worse place they've been since 1.2. The reason I'm Necroing this thread, is to provide constructive feedback on the stagnate culture we have toward class balance.

 

I'm pretty sure from time to time the Developers have read threads like this. But since they're likely unable to give any meaningful feedback, because of the encouraged environment of closed door policy, our classes community have gone down the drain. The mercenaries/commandoes that still play are like abused dogs, still shelling out cash in hope of a quick fix. It's come to a point where I regret ever liking this game.

 

Hence why I vent. I am no longer "constructive" I tried that route for a while and got burnt out. What's the point of throwing out idea after idea, discussing the issues, or even caring about providing feedback if for all we know, it's gone straight to the Toilet. I mean, the thread about buffing Mercenary DPS has more posts, and many more views then any other thread, and we still only have one terrible reply.

 

It's a terrible situation when a community has super low expectations, to the point where a Developer replaying to some guy smashing keys gets a standing ovation. It's funny how that mere action is exceeding our expectations in feedback. Like seriously, what the hell. What is wrong with us? Why do we keep playing this game?

 

For a game that has taken so much of my money and time, it sure sucks to feel more and more miserable about playing the game. It sucks more because even though we were once with so much hope, stupid hope that has no apparent basis, we've been diminished to a mere dribble. Hell, for those that remain it hasn't completely dried up, but that's merely because we're still incredulous that the situation has gone so bad.

 

It's like they boiled us with 1.2, raising the temperature very rapidly. The intelligent people, jumped out of the pot. The hopeless dreamers like me kept playiing. After that, they slowly raised the temperature degree after degree, until we died. We bore with the pain because the changes since then weren't as dramatic. We are the dumb frogs who are cooked so thoroughly, that we're nothing left but a little spittle.

 

I tried to be constructive. I really did. But I'm so burnt out. Lack of feedback, lack of changes, and all evidence pointing to a sense of selfishness and ineptitude. I mean seriously, we've gone through 5 patches without addressing an issue that has been there forever. We've all come to the conclusion that any balance changes will wait until the expansion. I personally think it's a terrible idea, since it shows a sense of complete callous pragmatism, that proves every pessimist out there.

 

There are so many terrible temporary stopgap solutions that could easily be done, but they won't be. Honestly, an emergency temporary patch would show that you actually care about this part of the community. But it won't happen. It can't happen. It can't for the very same reason the Developers aren't allowed to say Jack to the community.

 

It's funny. Bioware failed to deliver a promise. Instead of vowing to do better, they instead promised to never make another promise to us. Sure they accomplish the same thing, but it misses the point. Something that has been done over and over again. We weren't satisfied then, but we're even less satisfied now.

 

I seriously feel like a punching bag. Punched to the point I'm barely conscious.

 

TLDR:

Pathetic

This post was Well deserved necro well thought out and totally spot on /signed hopeless dreamer RIP korsin'val of the progenitor

Then again have anyone tried the merc on the PTS at all and is it still bad?

Well for PVE i must say the class is quite good (and if u dont think so then u do something VERY wrong)

But i started to pvp again and well meeeh it is more or less fun until u meet team where there is raining lightsabers and cluster****s of smashes with pocket healers:(