Hello all,

any suggestions on Minimizing/maximizing Mercenary PVP gear guide as of 2.4 patch?

thanks for suggestions...

Power/Surge in ever slot.

Aim augs.

Yea, I have no crit anywhere in my gear and with a full set of the new stuff (minus 3 pieces) my crit is still at 24%.

I have accuracy only in the implants and skill boxes. Everything else is surge.

Set bonus I use 2 piece Hydraulic Override reduction, and 2 piece Jet Boost reduction.

You dont need accuracy in any gear slots. The 3% from the talent is plenty for PvP.

You want the 4pc Eliminator Set bonus. +15% Rail Shot crit chance is way too big of an increase to ignore. There is no situation where taking the Combat Medic 2pc bonus is better than the 4pc Eliminator for a DPS Merc.

Also, for Relic choices: Serendipitous Assault and Devastating Vengeance (power and crit proc relics).

You dont need accuracy in any gear slots. The 3% from the talent is plenty for PvP.

 

You want the 4pc Eliminator Set bonus. +15% Rail Shot crit chance is way too big of an increase to ignore. There is no situation where taking the Combat Medic 2pc bonus is better than the 4pc Eliminator for a DPS Merc.

 

Also, for Relic choices: Serendipitous Assault and Devastating Vengeance (power and crit proc relics).

I end up tanking almost every solo queue and 4v4 queue on my commando in ranked and the 2pc combat medic is a life saver. Damage is never an issue in arena unless you get the stall teams who have multiple healers so 15% crit on HiB isn't worth more than living. I have to hit the ability on CD just to stay alive and 5 seconds is an eternity.

Just a case of differing opinions. My surge is about 74% so I don't see a need to reduce my accuracy and go further into surge DR.

And taking a rail shot bonus over hydraulic overrides is not my style. +15% makes your rail shot crit 1 out of 7 times more than it would have otherwise. So in a fight that lasts a minute and a half, you get one extra crit. Sounds great for PvE. I'd rather have HO (our best defensive tool) be used more frequently. HO is the single ability that makes us not instantly melt when focused. - An extra 3-4k damage every minute and a half, or reduce the CD on your main survival tool.

the 2pc combat medic is a life saver....../......15% crit on HiB isn't worth more than living.

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Late Edit:

I will admit, I bought all my Oberon gear so hastily that I did not even take the time to consider the Crit proc relic. I got the Power and Main Stat ones. However, my interest is now piqued with the Crit Relic. Seems pretty solid at the beginning of a fight if you can crit on your initial Tracer, so your follow-up HSM is huge. But once the fight has been going for a minute, the timing of the proc is not perfectly synched with your rotation, and might miss all your big attacks.

Does anyone know the rough amount the Crit Relic increases your crit by when it procs? Not the value of the crit stat, but the actual percentage gains? Like 5%? or 10%? I'm hoping its low....because if its high I might just have to switch. Thanks

You are playing a DPS class. More crit is more better. 5s off the cooldown of HO is never going to save your life. Its a massive placebo effect.

Meanwhile, 15% more crit chance on RS improves the odds of you hitting your max burst.

Its not up for debate. Do what you want, but 4pc Eliminator *is* better than 2pc Combat Medic for DPS Merc.

5s off HO saves my life in every single WZ. I use HO back-to-back almost all day every day. I am frequently using it the split second it comes off CD, to escape and heal and not die. Dead DPS deal no damage.

An extra 3500 damage every 1:24 (best case scenario) is really nothing at all. Its rarely even going to have a noticeable effect. That's the real placebo effect here. When you do the actual math, the RS crit bonus adds very little damage.

Edit: ok, 3500 is a decent amount if it comes early. I agree with that. Its just that there is a chance that it won't actually change anything. I prefer HO bonus because its a tangible effect that I can directly see and feel and I know I will benefit from, and not just hope I benefit.

You are playing a DPS class. More crit is more better. 5s off the cooldown of HO is never going to save your life. Its a massive placebo effect.

 

Meanwhile, 15% more crit chance on RS improves the odds of you hitting your max burst.

 

 

Its not up for debate. Do what you want, but 4pc Eliminator *is* better than 2pc Combat Medic for DPS Merc.

It's better for DPS but not better for staying alive and winning the arena. This isn't like 8v8 where we can turret like champions, if you want to win you have to stay alive long enough for your teammate to set up a kill then swap burst them to dead. Placebo or not it works and I've won more games because of it then lost because HiB didn't crit.

At the end of the day its a preference and play style choice, we have ours you have yours.

It's better for DPS but not better for staying alive and winning the arena. This isn't like 8v8 where we can turret like champions, if you want to win you have to stay alive long enough for your teammate to set up a kill then swap burst them to dead. Placebo or not it works and I've won more games because of it then lost because HiB didn't crit.

 

At the end of the day its a preference and play style choice, we have ours you have yours.

And yours is gimping yourself. Do what you want.

And yours is gimping yourself. Do what you want.

My win/loss says otherwise and that's all i care about.

My win/loss says otherwise and that's all i care about.

Great. Im sure using HO a whopping 2 extra times max per 5 minute Arena is the reason for that.

Its not about using it "more times". I'm surprised someone would even say that.

It would be like asking for lower CD on Electro Net or Power Surge so we can "use it more times" which is clearly not the point. The point is to lower the CD so you have it when you need it (which is basically all the time).

Its not about using it "more times". I'm surprised someone would even say that.

 

It would be like asking for lower CD on Electro Net or Power Surge so we can "use it more times" which is clearly not the point. The point is to lower the CD so you have it when you need it (which is basically all the time).

Im only going to explain this one more time.

Playing a damage dealing class in PvP is about burst. The only way to take out opponents through healing/tanking is with superior burst damage. If you are gearing properly, you should have ~23% crit chance. A 15% increase for Rail Shot is a ~40% increase in your odds of landing a crit with that ability, which is our 2nd hardest hitting instant cast. You need to do as much as you can to maximize your potential to do as much damage in as short a time as possible. The 15% Rail Shot crit increase gives you a much greater chance to hit your max burst output.

Likewise, taking the 2pc Combat Medic bonus might allow you to live longer, resulting in high overall damage output over the course of the Warzone. However, that means absolutely nothing; as I already said PvP damage dealing is all about burst. If you cant get out good burst, your damage is going to be healed/tanked through and you are going to kill nobody. So living a bit longer to do some more damage might result in a better looking scoreboard, but it does nothing to actually improve your capabilities in your chosen role as a damage dealer.

If you are chasing scoreboard numbers, feel free to take the CM 2pc bonus. If youre playing competitively and actually want to give yourself the best chance to burst targets down through healing/tanking, you want 4pc Eliminator.

Im only going to explain this one more time.

 

 

Playing a damage dealing class in PvP is about burst. The only way to take out opponents through healing/tanking is with superior burst damage. If you are gearing properly, you should have ~23% crit chance. A 15% increase for Rail Shot is a ~40% increase in your odds of landing a crit with that ability, which is our 2nd hardest hitting instant cast. You need to do as much as you can to maximize your potential to do as much damage in as short a time as possible. The 15% Rail Shot crit increase gives you a much greater chance to hit your max burst output.

 

Likewise, taking the 2pc Combat Medic bonus might allow you to live longer, resulting in high overall damage output over the course of the Warzone. However, that means absolutely nothing; as I already said PvP damage dealing is all about burst. If you cant get out good burst, your damage is going to be healed/tanked through and you are going to kill nobody. So living a bit longer to do some more damage might result in a better looking scoreboard, but it does nothing to actually improve your capabilities in your chosen role as a damage dealer.

 

If you are chasing scoreboard numbers, feel free to take the CM 2pc bonus. If youre playing competitively and actually want to give yourself the best chance to burst targets down through healing/tanking, you want 4pc Eliminator.

It isn't about chasing numbers, its about the fact the teams I face in 4v4 will focus me non stop because if they don't its a free win for my team. You can't rail shot if you are eating dirt, competitively HO being available prevents a tank from throwing you 30 meters away where you cant do a single attack to that target you want to burst. If you get to stand still and free cast of course what you say is correct. Theoretical discussions like this are pointless because you have your opinion and we have ours and nothing will change it no matter how many sarcastic replies are made .

Im only going to explain this one more time.

Yes thanks for explaining that burst damage is good in PvP.

But I'll do the math for you, but only once more. +15% is roughly 1 in 7. You are gaining 1 extra crit out of 7 rail shots. Using 7 railshots on cooldown takes 1minute, 24seconds. You are turning a non-crit into a crit once every 1minute, 24seconds. The damage difference from a non-crit to a crit railshot is roughly 3500. You are gaining +3500 damage once every minute and a half.

So going back to your 3 paragraph explanation of "burst is good"....this is minimal burst (good damage, but far too infrequent). That is what we are saying. You don't just blindly take any offense over any defense. You have to weigh the two against each other.

And Merc players already know that the scoreboard is not Merc-friendly. Mercs are burst dealers. We take off half of people's health in the blink of an eye, and then slow down until the attacks refresh. HO has nothing to do with the scoreboard. It has to do with the meta game of not dieing.

Since we were both only going to explain it once, I'll assume no further correspondence is required. Thanks and have a great day!

Lol. Just lol.......

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=671707

Alright, quick question. I just dinged 55 on my Merc after taking a few months off from the game. So I'm noticing just now that you can no longer get ranked earpieces, implants, or relics without first buying the non-ranked version.

That throws a monkey wrench in my normal PvP gearing strategy, so what should I spend my 4500 ranked comms on first? Main hand weapon? I am not planning on healing.

Alright, quick question. I just dinged 55 on my Merc after taking a few months off from the game. So I'm noticing just now that you can no longer get ranked earpieces, implants, or relics without first buying the non-ranked version.

 

That throws a monkey wrench in my normal PvP gearing strategy, so what should I spend my 4500 ranked comms on first? Main hand weapon? I am not planning on healing.

IMO, convert all those RWZ comms back to WZ comms. In total that gives you 7250 comms to spend right away on Conqueror gear, which gives you a very good start to being geared properly for PvP. Its more important to get to 2018 expertise as quickly as possible than to get the Ranked Mainhand.

IMO, convert all those RWZ comms back to WZ comms. In total that gives you 7250 comms to spend right away on Conqueror gear, which gives you a very good start to being geared properly for PvP. Its more important to get to 2018 expertise as quickly as possible than to get the Ranked Mainhand.

Thanks, that makes sense.

+15% makes your rail shot crit 1 out of 7 times more than it would have otherwise. So in a fight that lasts a minute and a half, you get one extra crit.

Not the right way to think about it. You have to consider what your critical strike chance is before the extra 15% on that ability. Assuming it's 24% as stated earlier in the thread, this 15% now gives you 39% chance to crit with one ability. Rounding down to 30%, this means on average you will crit once with RS every 3 activations.

But I'll do the math for you, but only once more. +15% is roughly 1 in 7. You are gaining 1 extra crit out of 7 rail shots. Using 7 railshots on cooldown takes 1minute, 24seconds.

Your math is fine - your conclusion is what appears to be giving cashogy cancer. By your math, you have just gained an extra crit, on average, with RS ever 1.5 minutes. Another way to explain it: the other team has a merc too, with the 2pc HO bonus. He activates HO, your team calls to switch targets, your RS crits, new target dies. By taking the 4pc, 15% bonus to RS, you have just doubled the statistical probability that this happens. Doubled.

Thus, this is why cashogy makes the point he makes. Burst makes coordinated target switches much more deadly. Doubling your chance of landing big burst is a big deal.

Does anyone know the rough amount the Crit Relic increases your crit by when it procs? Not the value of the crit stat, but the actual percentage gains? Like 5%? or 10%? I'm hoping its low....because if its high I might just have to switch. Thanks

It boosts your crit value by 425 (30% chance, but fairly frequent in procs even with the 20s CD in my experience) You'll have to work out what that is % wise based on your actual crit value. It's pretty much a no-brainer to use it if your base crit value is low (i.e. if you're invested in power / surge).

It's worthwhile having alongside the SA relic, especially when they both crit, and you also have a set bonus available and that 1 in 7 rail shot crits

Have some faith in what Cashogy is trying to explain to you

If you have zero crit in your build, the Crit Proc relic gives ~7% increase to overall crit chance.

Ive been using it since 2.4 came out, I would definitely suggest taking it. Its a red icon as well so is easily spotted on the bar, and with how often it procs (~30% uptime) its very easy to coordinate your large burst attacks with it to help them crit more often.