Slithershot Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 So.... with the new patch, are Mercs viable? I mean. They probably need some sort of buffs still but... the entire crew not running into melee to punch things rather than shoot them is a huge buff to them no? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjknight Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 I didn't test it much, but logged onto my old Mercs/Nature. He's only lvl 30'sh. But yes, the change was noticeable. The Mercs stay in my healing patch, and the Medic doesn't run off and suicide himself. It felt very different playing them. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintD Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 Fuck yes! Brand new Mercenaries mastermind tomorrow then! The idiot formerly known as Lord Khorak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redlynne Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Let's put it this way ... you can "direct traffic" and they'll "follow orders" and stay put where you put them. 1 Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauntlet_Prime Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Tested my 25 merc MM out and he was sublime. Mercs just hang back and shred with their guns for ages (I don't have a T3 yet though but I assume it is good too). It is kinda funny if your graphics are set right they will get a hilarious amount of shell casings under the pack as they unleash all that lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redlynne Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 50 minutes ago, Gauntlet_Prime said: It is kinda funny if your graphics are set right they will get a hilarious amount of shell casings under the pack as they unleash all that lead. "Ankle deep in spent brass is the only way to LIVE kid." 3 Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjknight Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Gauntlet_Prime said: Tested my 25 merc MM out and he was sublime. Mercs just hang back and shred with their guns for ages (I don't have a T3 yet though but I assume it is good too). It is kinda funny if your graphics are set right they will get a hilarious amount of shell casings under the pack as they unleash all that lead. Isn't it amazing how one simple change, completely changes things? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brutal Justice Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 My commando still likes to get pretty close to the action. Probably due to his short range cones. Guardian survivor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clave Dark 5 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 Mercs was always viable. Now they're just moreso. ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ Clave's Sure-Fire Secrets to Enjoying City Of Heroes Ignore those farming chores, skip your market homework, play any power sets that you want, and ignore anyone who says otherwise. This game isn't hard work, it's easy! Go have fun! ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintD Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 21 hours ago, Clave Dark 5 said: Mercs was always viable. Now they're just moreso. Everything is viable. The difficulty in CoX is as elastic as you want it to be and tier lists will always be in order of which sets can best grind through maximized +4 settings. No-one argues over viable. They argue over certain sets playing like a half dead dog compared to others. 1 The idiot formerly known as Lord Khorak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clave Dark 5 Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 2 hours ago, SaintD said: a half dead dog They also engage in a lot of hyperbole while doing so. :) ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ Clave's Sure-Fire Secrets to Enjoying City Of Heroes Ignore those farming chores, skip your market homework, play any power sets that you want, and ignore anyone who says otherwise. This game isn't hard work, it's easy! Go have fun! ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 40 minutes ago, Clave Dark 5 said: They also engage in a lot of hyperbole while doing so. 🙂 Gotta agree. My first 50 redside was a soloing Merc/Traps. Soloed every AV I met, and I think only Positron was a problem. Granted, the set didn't perform as well as some others... but it still did pretty well. Achilles Heel in the Tier 1 and 2s went a long way towards making up for the lower damage against single hard targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjknight Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Coyote said: Gotta agree. My first 50 redside was a soloing Merc/Traps. Soloed every AV I met, and I think only Positron was a problem. Granted, the set didn't perform as well as some others... but it still did pretty well. Achilles Heel in the Tier 1 and 2s went a long way towards making up for the lower damage against single hard targets. Yes, I do agree Mercs are very much underrated and probably unfairly so. I had a Mercs/Dark on live and it did pretty damned well, especially with Achilles Heel and Lady Grey Proc. Placing Explosive Strike into the Commando is also a good idea. This was the advice I followed in the old days on how to slot procs into Mercs. From : https://dechskaison.blogspot.com/2012/01/gd-mastermind.html (Really good advice that still applies) Quote All that said, how do you turn Mercs into the awesome that I mentioned at the beginning? Procs, my dear boy. Procs are the first step. Achilles' Heel -resistance proc and Touch of Lady Grey Negative Energy Damage proc should end up in the first two henchman ranks for sure. Damn near every Soldier and Spec Ops attack will trigger these. Your enemies should always have a -20% resistance debuff and be lighting up with negative energy damage frequently. The Commando should get the Explosive Strike proc, as well as the Build Up proc if you can afford it. The next step is finding a way to keep your enemies in a tight group for the area attacks to do their thing, so turn to things like Hurricane or the Mu Patron immobilize power. Mercs/Dark went well for me due to all the crowd control and -tohit the set has. However, that's not to say there aren't issues. Mercs do primarily smashing and lethal damage. The Medic being suicidal was a pain, and Mercs in general don't have any strong melee power. So any of them running off to 'brawl' didn't help much. The AI change is very welcome and helps out this underrated set quite a bit IMHO. (Now, I'm wondering why I didn't roll a Mercs/Dark!!! on Homecoming!) Edited January 28, 2020 by tjknight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redlynne Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 1 hour ago, tjknight said: (Now, I'm wondering why I didn't roll a Mercs/Dark!!! on Homecoming!) ... you still can ... /em knowing look 1 Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinergyX Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 (edited) 13 hours ago, tjknight said: Yes, I do agree Mercs are very much underrated and probably unfairly so. I had a Mercs/Dark on live and it did pretty damned well, especially with Achilles Heel and Lady Grey Proc. Placing Explosive Strike into the Commando is also a good idea. This was the advice I followed in the old days on how to slot procs into Mercs. Tbh, a set shouldnt rely on IO's, specialy not damage proc based, to 'get along' with other sets. Yes, IO's should make life easier, or better, but for Mercs it doesnt change the basics, they are mediocre at best. Even if you skip their damage output (specialy T2 compared to graveknights or supportive like enforcer/liones), their animations are among the longest out there, on every single attack. True that all abilities down the line are normalised on rotation (wich not fully is true since they never accounted redraw, wich they love to do). The fix on AI is very nice to have, even suicidal mani.. i mean medic, stays around pretty decent, it helps their awful wondering around, but it wont change the base of Mercs compared to the others. Maybe one day mercs get a minor overhaul, more instant shooting, decent T2 (cant compete damagewise with ninja/nerco, cant buff wise with beast/demon/thugs, let alone cc/heal/buff of bots), or just give me a bunch of longbow pets 😛 Edited January 28, 2020 by SinergyX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauntlet_Prime Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 8 hours ago, SinergyX said: <snip> or just give me a bunch of longbow pets 😛 I always wanted PPD with the hardsuit badass as the T3, special T1 would be an equalizer and two regular agents. I could easily make a whole cool set out of that and it would feel like more techy mercs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrikerFox Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 I'm kind of surprised nobody seems to remember the Medic was fixed during live. Maybe i19 or i20. He stopped using Brawl as long as he had at least one upgrade. Here's a video I made/posted 7+ years ago, fighting a pylon with the Medic staying perfectly in place... Even allowing his fellow Mercs to get pummeled without trying run to heal them. Trash Medic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KtGeMht2-Y Also a video I made/posted in July 2019, again vs a pylon, standing in the back. Just shooting and launching grenades. His name is Red Alert. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=895n7XZtiak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinergyX Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 The medic never had issues staying in place on a single target, like AV or pylons, it went wrong when you had a group of mobs and you let them do their own stuff, the moment something was closer then half of his normal range attacks, he went for a brawl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightofArtorias Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 How do I build merc / trap? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redlynne Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 One Merc at a time ...? 1 Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wintercat Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 21 hours ago, NightofArtorias said: How do I build merc / trap? Dig a deep hole and put some hookers and a case of beer down there. Once the mercs are in, they neither can nor want to get out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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