Hello all and welcome back. Some of you may remember me from my extremely long thread started a few weeks ago where I tried to answer as many questions as possible about Mercenary. If you don't, here's a brief synopsis of me and my time in beta. I was invited to closed beta back in late June. Between then and now I've leveled BH to 50 multiple times, accumulating nearly 200 levels of experience. My main focus is PvP, especially grouped based in both warzones and open world.

I'd like to do this thread a bit differently than the last one as my time is fairly limited with the game launching, the holidays, and other real life things to tend to. When possible, I'd like other seasoned BH vets to chime in and lend a hand. If someone (I thought someone did) has any of my responses saved from the previous thread please do me the honors of reposting them here. I'll stop by whenever I can to respond to as many questions as possible.

I'll start with posting my hybrid spec that I used for most of my time in beta with some brief commentary. Please note that I have not had a chance to review the live version of the skill trees for any changes so parts of thsi could be incorrect. I'll update as needed.

For the most part I use High Velocity Gas Cylinder (HVGC) with Tracer Missiles, Explosive Dart, Fusion Missile, and Unload in hopes of critting to vent 8 heat. This keeps my heat down to respectable levels. I stack 5 Tracer Missiles to get the Power Barrier buff and heat signatures before mixing it up a bit with Power Shot and Rail Shot. I can heal very well without having to switch cylinders but can easily do so to be a main healer when needed. I tend to stack crit and surge towards end game for big hits and more procs.

I suggest the following path for the first 17 points in Arsenal.

Ironsights x3

Mandalorian Iron Warheads x2

Muzzle Fluting (for Power Shot at first, Tracer later)

Upgraded Arsenal

Stabilizers x3

Tracer Missile

Power Barrier x2

AfterBurners x2

Terminal Velocity x2

I suggest using Combustible Gas Cylinder until level 20 when you get Tracer Missiles which also happens to allow the use of Rail Shot. Switching to HVGC at this point reduces the cost of Rail Shot by 8. You could switch earlier but you'll have less chances to use Rail Shot unless someone you're teamed up with has a low cooldown dot.

Ok, lunch break is over. Time to get back in game. Again, I'll do my best to keep this thread updated but I hope others can lend a helping hand.

UPDATE

Here's my suggested leveling path for the remainder 24 points in Bodyguard. Please note that when you see a skill followed by "OR" it's basically a tossup as to which you feel is more needed. Most times the first choice is what I had done in the past. Also, this gude can be used as a starter guide for those looking to be 31 point Bodyguards. My only exception would be to pick up Ironsights x3 first before starting Bodyguard. After Kolto Missile is bought I would get Mandalorian Iron Warheads x2 next.

Med Tech x2

Hired Muscle x3

Supercharged Gas (especially if you are going full heals)

OR

Empowered Scans x2

Surgical Precision System x2

Kolto Missle

Kolto Residue x2

Improved Vents x2

Critical Efficiency x3

Heat Damping

OR

Power Shield

Kolto Shell

OR

Proactive Medicine x2

Reactive Armor

Hi, I was wondering if u maiby could tell me if powertech or merc is the strongest in world pvp 1v1 at lvl 50, for when im out doing some solo manhunting:D if u cant answer that is merc a strong class 1vs1 at lvl 50 ?

thanks in advance.

Hi, I was wondering if u maiby could tell me if powertech or merc is the strongest in world pvp 1v1 at lvl 50, for when im out doing some solo manhunting:D if u cant answer that is merc a strong class 1vs1 at lvl 50 ?

 

thanks in advance.

Both have their strengths and weaknesses. I'm going to use one of my favorites lines from the previous thread here. The class is only as good as the player behind the keyboard. Overall though, I'd say Mercs aren't really made for 1v1s unless we get the ranged advantage very early on. If you want a strong 1v1 class I suggest Assassin or Operative. If you're looking to blow stuff up, do insane damage and be a team player (when played right), Merc is for you.

As a fellow beta merc and avid PvP'er who used a similar hybrid spec, I'm curious about your choice to take Reactive Armor in Bodyguard tree over Light 'em Up in the Arsenal tree. In my opinion, getting 4 heat signatures up with only 2 rockets is much more valuable than 10% more armor for 9 seconds every once in a while. Can you explain your choice? Is it a L50 only spec choice for flashpoint healing? Would you level with Light 'em Up instead and switch it out only at L50?

Thanks!

I noticed the first couple tiers in Bodyguard and Arsenal have talents which benefit both damage and healing. These talents alone would bring you to level 23.

 

You'd probably quest using a tank or even dps companion, half dps and half healing him, and do flashpoints as both a healer and dps when you only need light healing. Is this a viable strategy? Are you at a severe disadvantage by not going straight up Aresenal? Can you heal flashpoints effectively without any points in Bodyguard?

Thanks for posting my build. I didn't realize there was a separate Merc forums or I would have started my new thread there. In any case, I would not suggest leveling up both trees at once. If you take a gander at my thread you'll see a suggested path for the first 17 points. I'll eventually post the other 24 points around the weekend to give players a chance to acclimate themselves in the game. Of course you could always go the other way and level the Bodyguard portion first but seeing as you get a healer for your first companion and she does mediocre damage, you're better off doing all the DPS. Your second companion comes around level 28 which works out perfectly if you follow my suggested path for my spec.

As a fellow beta merc and avid PvP'er who used a similar hybrid spec, I'm curious about your choice to take Reactive Armor in Bodyguard tree over Light 'em Up in the Arsenal tree. In my opinion, getting 4 heat signatures up with only 2 rockets is much more valuable than 10% more armor for 9 seconds every once in a while. Can you explain your choice? Is it a L50 only spec choice for flashpoint healing? Would you level with Light 'em Up instead and switch it out only at L50?

 

Thanks!

You can certainly get it for leveling purposes then switch later, but honestly mobs died so fast anyway you really wouldn't be saving that much time between fights. At one point in beta I bounced around with a 23/18/0 that included Light 'Em Up but in the end liked the added armor for group utility. Especially after they changed to the healing mechanic with Supercharged Gas. I could use SG>Kolto Missile on at least the tank>Healing scan on 3 seperate players>Rapid Scan on lowest health player. If I got lucky, I could hit 3 players with KM to give the the added damage reduction buff.

Trust me I've been trying to tinker with this build for months already. I've thought out a lot of angles and always kept coming back to this one.

Which class skills do you recommend for a merc dps?

Most of beta I went with armor/scav/underworld. For live I'm trying something new to see how it works. I'm going with Biochem/bio analysis/diplomacy for the stims/adrenals. Cybertech looks good as well with all the usable grenades but some of the higher level mats look a bit intimidating. Plus, both combos are are geared more towards PvP whereas armor was more casual PvE. Especially with some of the changes they made to moddable gear.

this some termoil within my group about where im placed in the order of things. im planning on using your build for live (pending any changes that would need altering) and i maintain that i can act as an off-tank healer, with decent DPS.

would this be an accurate description of what the merc turns out to be?

If someone (I thought someone did) has any of my responses saved from the previous thread please do me the honors of reposting them here. I'll stop by whenever I can to respond to as many questions as possible.

You can find the old thread here. They're screenshots converted to PDF so I apologize for the formatting. The # suffix corresponds to the page number of the thread. I've enabled sharing so you ought to be able to DL any pages you like.

good to see this thread is back Werdan, and thanks again for your effort.

hopefully, this time it gets a sticky!

i haven't played beta or anything.

Is this spec viable for end game pve?

Thanks for doing this thread again. I read your last one in the original forums and found it very helpful.

Scythe- Bounty Hunter- Warriors of the Shadow Server

My question is im going to go merc which from the last thread you had going i tweaked your hybrid tree around and added some to dps, i was going for Main Dps/ Support healer.

But as you were going through flashpoints what were you used for? i want to be used for DPS and not mistaken for a healer, thats why my mind has been going back and forth from merc to IA sniper but after a couple vids and the constant spam of ambush and snipe lost my interest... So if you were to want to be used for DPS would you stick with your hybrid tree still or put more towards dps i think mine was 10/31/0

I know you use a hybrid build but I was wondering if you've ever tried using a full pyrotech build before. I want to dps but the arsenal tree's reliance on tracer missile is kind of a turn off for me. Is using pyrotech fun/effective?

I played a Merc in the beta to 50 and I tried Pyrotech for Merc a few times. It was a viable build for the Warzones. It is a very mobile tree from all the instant attacks and I was able to be on the move constantly in the Warzones which added to my survivablity. I could kite someone or chase them down pretty easily. The burst damage was pretty lackluster compared to Arsenal tho.

this some termoil within my group about where im placed in the order of things. im planning on using your build for live (pending any changes that would need altering) and i maintain that i can act as an off-tank healer, with decent DPS.

 

would this be an accurate description of what the merc turns out to be?

Off tank healer? No. Even though we wear heavy armor we lack skills and gear (shield) needed to take any kind of abuse like that. You can eitehr DPS, heal, or do well with both using my build.

i haven't played beta or anything.

 

Is this spec viable for end game pve?

While it's mostly a PvP build I have no issues with PvE. I've done just about every Flashpoint from level 10-50 without issue filling either the DPS or healer role.

I know you use a hybrid build but I was wondering if you've ever tried using a full pyrotech build before. I want to dps but the arsenal tree's reliance on tracer missile is kind of a turn off for me. Is using pyrotech fun/effective?

I tried a Pyrotech spec in every beta build I've been in and have never been impressed. At the same time, I never really spent as much time with it as Arsenal or Bodyguard. If anyone could make the spec work, I guess I could. I just don't like the heavy reliance on a low percentage proc that only works with pistols. Every time I tried it, my DPS suffered by a good amount in warzones. Also, it's a terrible tree to try and hybridize. You either put very little into the tree or go all the way up.

Werdan, thanks so much for this awesome thread again! You really helped me with my build before the forum got wiped. My only question is why didn't you put this thread in our mercenary sub-forum

Brain fart. I was up late last night and early this morning to see if I could login (which I could). Add to that I'm fighting off a bug. Mea culpa. If a mod could move this thread over that would be much appreciated.

My question is im going to go merc which from the last thread you had going i tweaked your hybrid tree around and added some to dps, i was going for Main Dps/ Support healer.

 

But as you were going through flashpoints what were you used for? i want to be used for DPS and not mistaken for a healer, thats why my mind has been going back and forth from merc to IA sniper but after a couple vids and the constant spam of ambush and snipe lost my interest... So if you were to want to be used for DPS would you stick with your hybrid tree still or put more towards dps i think mine was 10/31/0

I was used as whatever was needed, although many times I did both DPS and heal together. I basically tried to play "my game". As you level you probably won't do much main healing due to how I place my points but a quick respec back and forth doesn't hurt. Just try and remember, there are no pure healers in the game. Let people know how you're specced and you should be OK.

I know if I take more DPS it's going to hurt my healing. 22-24 Bodyguard is the real sweet spot for healing as it leaves you enough room to hybridize. The very lowest I'd go is maybe 18-19 points (to get Critical Efficiency). This would allow me to get Arsenal Skills like Tracer Lock and Riddle. At this point though, I'd lose some survivability and group utility.

Which class skills do you recommend for a merc dps?

i would say that best choice for BH is

Slicing

Underworld Trading.

and you own choice of Cyber Tech or Armor Tech.

i prefere Cybertech for crafting "mounts" ship upgrades etc.

Here is the reason..

1st companion gives +5 Cyber Tech and +15 Slicing.

2nd gives +5 Slicing and +15 Underworld Trading

3rd gives +5 Armor Tech & +15 Slicing

thats a total of

+35 in Slicing.

+15 in Underworld Trading

+5 Cyber Tech

+5 Armor Tech.

(Not Sure About later Companions)

had a total of 6.5 mill Credits in beta at lvl 31 just by spamming Slicing & Spam Crafting of Speed Bikes.