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The post was directed AT the devs who have let Mercs sit and simmer since i6 when CoV was released. Th fact that mercs remains unchanged after 4 years is ridiculous.|
Originally Posted by Eiko-chan
Considering no one has said "Nah, Mercs is fine, it doesn't need anything" in this thread, this post seems a bit out of place.
Most people in the MM community (and several outside it) fully admit that Mercs is lacking and needs some work. One of the nice things about this game is that the devs don't resort to the nerf-stick every time a problem is found. They're more likely to buff than nerf, in fact. |
Sorry, but this thread is not out of place.
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Yes, drop serum ASAP.|
Originally Posted by 3Mile
Mercs/Traps is my first MM I have ever really lvl'd and I am having a blast with it. But [Serum] while it is a great buff is frickin driving me nuts with the crazy long recharge time, 10 minutes unslotted is insane. I currently have 2 - rech reduction IO's slotted bringing it down to 6 mins and change and with hasten up it shaves a little more off. Honestly to me though the payoff doesn't seem to outweigh the cost. Would I be crazy to respec out of it? And if so what would be a good power to replace it with? I currently have all merc powers but burst.
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As for what would be better in it's place? Just about anything. Nobody takes Serum because it is horrible.
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I said nothing about the thread being out of place. I said your post was out of place in this thread. |
Originally Posted by Black_Aftermath
Sorry, but this thread is not out of place.
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Constructive ideas are far more likely to catch a dev's attention than vitriol and sarcasm.
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Typo on my part. I meant post.|
Originally Posted by Eiko-chan
I said nothing about the thread being out of place. I said your post was out of place in this thread.
Constructive ideas are far more likely to catch a dev's attention than vitriol and sarcasm. |
To your other comment. These exact same ideas have been kicked around and suggested for the past three years. Nothing in this thread is a new thought and yet nothing has bees done about the Mercs glaring problems. Instead, the devs released yet another MM set that outshines everything except for Bots, and us Merc/ MM have been left to ponder why we have been neglected. I have not even seen a red name acknowledge the disparity.
Forgive me if my faith in the devs ever fixing these issues have dwindled over the past 4 (almost 5) years that Mercs have sucked.
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CoV hasn't even been out four years.
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Originally Posted by Black_Aftermath
Forgive me if my faith in the devs ever fixing these issues have dwindled over the past 4 (almost 5) years that Mercs have sucked.
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Ouch, time for the guy to do his history homework eh?
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Originally Posted by eiko-chan
cov hasn't even been out four years.
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Typing on my phone can be a pain sometimes. I meant 3 almost 4. I know good and well when the game came out and I'm sorry but arguing the the it is alright the mercs haven't been fixed because it's only been 4 years is just dumb. About as dumb as criticizing meaningless and trivial point like you are doing. |
Originally Posted by Eiko-chan
CoV hasn't even been out four years.
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And for the record, you are contributing even less to this thread then you think I am.
These threads seem to keep coming back over and over, and as little as I play Co* anymore, I still have a place in my heart for Masterminds. However, as badly as Mercenaries need help compared to other MMs, they still outperform other ATs in multiple areas, or as friends have said, "Buffing an MM set for underperforming? That's funny." That said, most of the damage attacks need to be faster animating, the Spec Op's controls need to be faster recharging (About a recharge that's 2.5x the duration(unenhanced) at most), more substantial survivability, and to throw out the Medic altogether and get something that adds damage.
Medic could have a Rez...
As long as it only targeted your Henchmen and Teammates.
Cimerorans have Surgeons, Vahzlok have Mortificators, Crey have...
Give the medic no melee powers and a stay in mm bg mode (follow defensive) effect.
(I say effect as it would avoid the take damage when the mm does of the true bg mode.)
Nuff Said...
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Creator of: Coolio's Tech Beacon Replacements
AE arc 402506, 'The Rise and Demise or Otherwise of Tekna Logik...'.
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Mercs have had some fixes. Stealth has been fixed, as has medic's brawl. The set is not perfect, but it is not like the devs have ignored mercs for 4 years either.
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Originally Posted by Black_Aftermath
Typing on my phone can be a pain sometimes. I meant 3 almost 4. I know good and well when the game came out and I'm sorry but arguing the the it is alright the mercs haven't been fixed because it's only been 4 years is just dumb. About as dumb as criticizing meaningless and trivial point like you are doing.
And for the record, you are contributing even less to this thread then you think I am. |
Dirges
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The Medic got buffed accidentally because the Brawl fix was an universal Henchman change.|
Originally Posted by Dirges
Mercs have had some fixes. Stealth has been fixed, as has medic's brawl. The set is not perfect, but it is not like the devs have ignored mercs for 4 years either.
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The Stealth 'fix', which only removed the speed debuff, didn't help much either. Spec-Ops Stealth is still useless for the Mercs, as the other henchmen are still fully visible. There isn't much you can do with their on-and-off Stealth, even when seperated from the rest.
Yes, I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth. It's a skinny, smelly, spitalic horse, that has no legs.
I rolled a new thugs mm for dxp weekend and thought of this thread when I noticed that the arsonist has SCOURGE!!!! Why Why Why can't the commando have scourge?!
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Wrong on both accounts. The brawl change was no a universal pet change, in fact people have asked for other pets to have brawl removed. Also the stealth change also stopped special ops from continually turning stealth on and off.|
Originally Posted by Ethric
The Medic got buffed accidentally because the Brawl fix was an universal Henchman change.
The Stealth 'fix', which only removed the speed debuff, didn't help much either. Spec-Ops Stealth is still useless for the Mercs, as the other henchmen are still fully visible. There isn't much you can do with their on-and-off Stealth, even when seperated from the rest. Yes, I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth. It's a skinny, smelly, spitalic horse, that has no legs. |
My point also wasn't that mercs have been fixed, it was that they have been improved in the last 4 years.
Dirges
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You are completely right, Mercs have no other problems!|
Originally Posted by Dirges
Mercs have had some fixes. Stealth has been fixed, as has medic's brawl. The set is not perfect, but it is not like the devs have ignored mercs for 4 years either.
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Seriously? You bring this two changes up? I, and many others, run through an entire list of huge flaws that have existed since MM's first showed up in CoX and you remind us of the stealth and brawl changes?
Fantastic. Thank you so much.
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You forgot if you are a traps MM with Detonation - Spec Ops is your best guy to deliver it. He usually doesn't get spotted until he is in the middle of the mob, and even if he gets pwn'd he usually is tough enough to stick it out long enough to set the charge. Best thing is, if you are on defensive your pets pick up the rest of the aggro. It's a nuke with few consequences. I revel in using that power and it wouldn't be nearly as effective w/o the Spec Ops stealth ability plus the specs have great debuffs. I don't thinks it's accurate to label the stealth as useless.
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Originally Posted by Ethric
The Medic got buffed accidentally because the Brawl fix was an universal Henchman change.
The Stealth 'fix', which only removed the speed debuff, didn't help much either. Spec-Ops Stealth is still useless for the Mercs, as the other henchmen are still fully visible. There isn't much you can do with their on-and-off Stealth, even when seperated from the rest. Yes, I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth. It's a skinny, smelly, spitalic horse, that has no legs. |
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My bad. I was thinking of Brawl/Smash recharge time, which is 16 seconds for all henchmen who possess either.|
Originally Posted by Dirges
Wrong on both accounts. The brawl change was no a universal pet change, in fact people have asked for other pets to have brawl removed.
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| Also the stealth change also stopped special ops from continually turning stealth on and off. |
I scoured some patch notes... and indeed, there actually are entries for Mercenaries. I guess I missed those.
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Why don't you read what you quoted, I said mercs still have problems. I also said I was just pointing out mercs have had fixes in the last few years, and not completly ignored like you have said. |
Originally Posted by Black_Aftermath
You are completely right, Mercs have no other problems!
Seriously? You bring this two changes up? I, and many others, run through an entire list of huge flaws that have existed since MM's first showed up in CoX and you remind us of the stealth and brawl changes? Fantastic. Thank you so much. |
I will also point out just because we think something is a problem, it does not mean it is. Mercs work, it is a decent set, it is just poor compared to other MM's. There are other sets that under perform mercs, shouldn't they be fixed first.
Dirges
In the end, Mercs still rock. I can still solo EBs and a few (VERY few) AVs with it. As long as it has it's advantages I am happy with it. Regardless of all the Cons it may have.
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But the thread is about discussing how to improve a set that underpreforms compared to the others at our disposal. Much like Trick Arrow it's annoying, but Mercs are still very playable and fun.|
Originally Posted by BlissKnight
In the end, Mercs still rock. I can still solo EBs and a few (VERY few) AVs with it. As long as it has it's advantages I am happy with it. Regardless of all the Cons it may have.
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On another note: Someone mentioned earlier in the thread about replacing Serum with an "Air Strike" power, to which I replied that it would most likely not happen. I wouldn't actually mind an air strike type power for Mercs.
Serum replacement possibilities: Supply Drop (Fully heals mercs, instantly recharges their powers, restores all endurance, and gives them a 10% damage bonus for 30 seconds), Entrenchment (Sandbags appear around the mercs making them immobile but highly more resistance to damage with a small defense bonus- 5% defense and 20% resistance), or even Reinforcements (Creates a small division of troops much like Gang War, except they'd be like Gunner-class enemies dressed as soldiers, adding in the fact that there would be about three pseudo medics in the mob with a weak medical kit heal).
That's all I've got right now.
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Heheheh, I like that Supply Drop idea except for the fact that instantly recharging the pets powers makes their AI programming all screwy.|
Originally Posted by Bookkeeper_Jay
But the thread is about discussing how to improve a set that underpreforms compared to the others at our disposal. Much like Trick Arrow it's annoying, but Mercs are still very playable and fun.
On another note: Someone mentioned earlier in the thread about replacing Serum with an "Air Strike" power, to which I replied that it would most likely not happen. I wouldn't actually mind an air strike type power for Mercs. Serum replacement possibilities: Supply Drop (Fully heals mercs, instantly recharges their powers, restores all endurance, and gives them a 10% damage bonus for 30 seconds), Entrenchment (Sandbags appear around the mercs making them immobile but highly more resistance to damage with a small defense bonus- 5% defense and 20% resistance), or even Reinforcements (Creates a small division of troops much like Gang War, except they'd be like Gunner-class enemies dressed as soldiers, adding in the fact that there would be about three pseudo medics in the mob with a weak medical kit heal). That's all I've got right now. |
Entrenchment, I think someone mentioned something like that ealier but meh... Im not too hot about that since being Immobilized only applies to pets not the MM and really, I think having sand bags around them increases Defense rather than Resist since they are pretty much taking cover.
Reinforcements should've been in the powerset before serum ever was considered but since it wasnt used and Thugs got Gang War. I dont see Reinforcements replacing Serum anytime soon.
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Originally Posted by BlissKnight
Heheheh, I like that Supply Drop idea except for the fact that instantly recharging the pets powers makes their AI programming all screwy.
Entrenchment, I think someone mentioned something like that ealier but meh... Im not too hot about that since being Immobilized only applies to pets not the MM and really, I think having sand bags around them increases Defense rather than Resist since they are pretty much taking cover. Reinforcements should've been in the powerset before serum ever was considered but since it wasnt used and Thugs got Gang War. I dont see Reinforcements replacing Serum anytime soon. |
As to the Supply Drop I was actually considering the long recharging powers the Commando and Spec Ops have.
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They dont seem long to me. when Im in a team, the Commando almost always uses his Rocket on every mob we face and the Spec Ops will use their SCAR Snipe then the Flash Bangs or Tear Gas at the same time.|
Originally Posted by Bookkeeper_Jay
As to the Supply Drop I was actually considering the long recharging powers the Commando and Spec Ops have.
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When Im solo my Pets will use their Powers every 2 or 3 mobs. The medic will only use his Frag Grenade when his enemies are in his face. Its kind of weird actually...
But it still doesnt change the fact that instantly recharging their powers will screw up the A.I. Regardless of pet type.
Medic:
Make heal PBAoE, remove AoE attack.
Spec OP's:
Give Stealth Strike, reduce recharge on the controll/debuff powers
Commando:
He totally needs Gun Drone if anything it just fits him, most games that have units like this the "leader" gives a bonus of some type. I say +DAM & +Def. Annnnd give him, oh what the hell is that power the Nemisis Lt.'s have....Vengeance? Yeah that's it. Kick ***.
Serum:
I took it 
and dropped my KB Res. IO into it. Make it buff all henchmen with same stats.
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Originally Posted by CoX_Junkie
Medic:
Make heal PBAoE, remove AoE attack. Spec OP's: Give Stealth Strike, reduce recharge on the controll/debuff powers Commando: He totally needs Gun Drone if anything it just fits him, most games that have units like this the "leader" gives a bonus of some type. I say +DAM & +Def. Annnnd give him, oh what the hell is that power the Nemisis Lt.'s have....Vengeance? Yeah that's it. Kick ***. Serum: I took it and dropped my KB Res. IO into it. Make it buff all henchmen with same stats. |
If it were to buff all henchmen with serum that would make Mercs AMAZINGLY resistant to all damage types but psionics, but the drawback would be that all your pets lose their endurance. If it were to effect every pet I think the resistance would need to be lowered.
As for the Commando he's actually already had Gun Drone. In CoV Beta the Commando could summon it, but I'm guessing Gun Drone was removed because it was immobile back then. I do support giving it back to him. Nem Veng? One could only dream.
I do agree the Medic does not need the grenade, rather the Soldiers should get a grenade. PBAoE heal? Nah, reduce the recharge, increase healing strength, and give the medic more support powers. Maybe the Medic could summon a mobile medical station that periodically healed the Mercs or increased their regen rates?
Mercs/Traps is my first MM I have ever really lvl'd and I am having a blast with it. But [Serum] while it is a great buff is frickin driving me nuts with the crazy long recharge time, 10 minutes unslotted is insane. I currently have 2 - rech reduction IO's slotted bringing it down to 6 mins and change and with hasten up it shaves a little more off. Honestly to me though the payoff doesn't seem to outweigh the cost. Would I be crazy to respec out of it? And if so what would be a good power to replace it with? I currently have all merc powers but burst.