I really want to know what other people’s strategies are for soloing difficult content.

I’m used to playing tanky DPS, like vanguard and guardian, so when going to Oricon with my Merc and taking on some of the Elites there in the main solo story arc, I’m having a lot of trouble. The same was with Makeb when I did the last solo mission there.

 

I usually send in Blizz to tank, then throw as much dps as I can at the elite (I'm familiar with the priority rotation for arsenal). I put some heals on Blizz, but he always dies too soon, then I eventually get pummelled even after using all CD’s.

 

I’m not quite as geared on my merc as I was on my guardian, but the difficullty jump feels extreme.

 

Are Merc’s just really hard to solo with? Or do I just need to gear up and l2p? Mainly in partisian and artefact gear. Some 28 reflex augments.

Edited October 21, 2013 by banehammer

I really want to know what other people’s strategies are for soloing difficult content.

I’m used to playing tanky DPS, like vanguard and guardian, so when going to Oricon with my Merc and taking on some of the Elites there in the main solo story arc, I’m having a lot of trouble. The same was with Makeb when I did the last solo mission there.

 

I usually send in Blizz to tank, then throw as much dps as I can at the elite (I'm familiar with the priority rotation for arsenal). I put some heals on Blizz, but he always dies too soon, then I eventually get pummelled even after using all CD’s.

 

I’m not quite as geared on my merc as I was on my guardian, but the difficullty jump feels extreme.

 

Are Merc’s just really hard to solo with? Or do I just need to gear up and l2p? Mainly in partisian and artefact gear. Some 28 reflex augments.

 

Part of it is gear, you're definitely not hitting very hard in PvE gear and 63/66s. Part of it is that Arsenal is all cast times, and long ones at that. I have a Jugg, Mara, Sin, Sorc, and a Merc and by far the Merc was the toughest. Then, recently after switching to Pyro I was helping a friend through them and had very little trouble at all. Perhaps give Pyro a try and if worse comes to worse, you can always go heals and do it the long way :/

Thanks for the feedback.

Yeh I think I might give pyro another go since it's hitting harder these days.

I did have to go heals in the end to get through. Yeh the long way indeed :/

Id stick with Arsenal. But if Blizz isn't geared with proper tank-type gear, he's just a DPS who holds aggro then dies. If this is the case, I'd give Mako a shot. If your Mako is poorly geared, consider saving for Treek the Ewok. She uses Aim and so you can gear her out more easily than Mako, in the long run. (Also dont count out HK as a very legit DPS companion for non-boss fights, and even boss fights if you dont need a tank or healer.)

 

On my Merc I wipe out Oricon with no problems. I think you just need to get a little more gear to get over the hump. Oricon's difficulty (IMO) is the strength of random adds and how they can overpower you if you are careless. But the bosses are just average in strength once you are geared.

Edited October 22, 2013 by DarthBloodloss

As a arsenal merc I solo Oricon including the 2+ group quest; granted I am well geared. Your main issue is that you are using blizz, swap to mako (heal) and you will see a huge difference. Tank companions are squishy.

 

I prefer treek then mako, I set him to tank initially and swap him to heals if needed during the fight. I also gear treek with full dps gear.

Yea tanks companions are bad if not properly geared. But each fight is different. Trying each companion can yield different results that you may not expect.

 

Last night I took a PvP Operative Alt (in partisan gear) and did the Oricon Story and Dailies. My Treek is in half upgraded gear, half starting gear, no implants or earpiece.

 

I had a very hard time killing a couple specific bosses with Treek healing me. But for my last try, I switched her to Tank stance. She was able to give me more time by tanking and dieing than she was by simply healing me. Of course this will not always be the case, but my point is that you may get unexpected results on each fight so sometimes its worth trying different companions (DPS/Tank/Heals) if you get stuck.

Oricon is most definitely an overt gear-check, I'm sorry to say. Not just for you, but for your preferred companion/s as well.

 

And like it or not, the Merc is a fairly gear-sensitive AC, as much so he can take the pounding whilst waiting to get a cast off!

 

You want to be in at least [Artifact] 66s for it (or 65 PvP/67 PvP preferred if on a PvP server), 69+ recommended. (You will probably still have trouble with the [HEROIC 2+] if you try to solo it, although it can be done if you're willing to accept a death or two and take your time. It is possible to complete that by killing the same named Champions more than once, however.)

 

Blizz: He needs to be geared well, and you really need to be full heal-spec to keep him up, but if you do this, then he is an absolutely adorable little beast! (Tip: Let him taunt/draw aggro first, then put Kolto Shield on him, that move draws a lot of threat, and be ready with your aggro-dump, his main taunt seems...well, a bit "slow," to take effect, IME.)

 

Story/[DAILY] solo-mission bosses: These guys have distinct mechanics, some of which will hurt a lot, most of which are cast/channelled. Learn them, and then interrupt, interrupt, interrupt. (<---that is really the mantra for Oricon, IMHO.)

 

The only real issue I find with Oricon is the stupid-fast re-spawn timers of all those frigging trash-mobs, but then this issue is hardly unique to Oricon, it is a known pain-in-the-arse for all the endgame [DAILY] areas since day 1, but be careful of it just the same. IE, try not to stand and fight where you see dead mobs, as they will re-spawn at most in-opportune times.

I have yet to go to Oricon, but on my Merc, which is my main, I decimated Makeb, having very little trouble whatsoever. If its not your build or your rotation, try upping your gear a bit. Or maybe its your companions gear.

My Arsenal Merc is my main, I run with HK-51 and run through all daily areas (inc Oricon) and soloable 2+/4+ heroics with no problems.

 

Arsenal Merc is not a hard class to play but I noticed a considerable boost in survivability when I upgraded to 69/72 mods.

A couple of thoughts to consider...

 

Liberal use of crowd control: Mercs have some amazing CC. It always surprises me when I see a merc getting owned by a group of elites with nothing CC'd. I even solo a lot of 4 man heroics if the mobs are droids and you can CC two with concussive + slice droids.

 

Do your own tanking: I find tank companions to be very ineffective and squishy. You can take a pretty good beating with cool downs, interrupts, knock backs, self heals, etc.

 

Run with Mako or Gault: I use Mako for soloing group content and bosses, but I use Gault for everything else. The faster you kill, the less of a beating you take.

 

 

 

Sorry if those are a bit self explanatory, honestly that's all I do and I can do pretty much all I want.

"Slice droids?"

 

You mean this?

 

Ummmm....Mercs don't get that, or anything like it.

 

We have Concussion Missile, which is our only long-duration CC/Sleep. Very useful indeed, but still just the one. (Aside from a carefully-timed ElectroDart of course, but that's not one to rely on for obvious reasons.)