This got me thinking.
If the rest of the announced mercs are done and balanced, question is, do we really need more new gameplay styles? Sure, someone might say that 21 mercs don’t divide by 5 groups, leaving 1 merc too many for offensive group. And there’s an entire merc Idea subforum.
We got all general online FPS tropes covered in DB, so is there a need for more?
[quote=“TheStrangerous;32492”]This got me thinking.
If the rest of the announced mercs are done and balanced, question is, do we really need more new gameplay styles? Sure, someone might say that 21 mercs don’t divide by 5 groups, leaving 1 merc too many for offensive group. And there’s an entire merc Idea subforum.
We got all general online FPS tropes covered in DB, so is there a need for more?[/quote]
we got the “general” ones.
we still need the “unique” ones.
I think at this point the only thing we’ll see is sort of combining of mercs, like a Medic and a Fire Support, or Recon and an Assault. But I could argue certain mercs could already be tailored like that so…
Hmmm… come to think of it, Sparks is like a Recon Medic, Phoenix is offensive medic, and so it goes on.
I guess 25 mercs would fit in each category of “SUB MERCS”.
Feel free to fill it with your views, on which mercs belongs where.
Here’s my take, though I wasn’t absolutely sure and it’s incomplete, feel free to change!
[spoiler]http://i.imgur.com/EHKuhI4.png
[/spoiler]
Of course we do.
More mercs = more customization = more fun
I actually wanna see a new merc every 3-4 months after the official release.
There are many, many ideas for different merc ideas in the Merc Suggestions page that I don’t think that we’ll run out of unique ideas.
Case in point: most of my ideas usually are unique compared to what the other mercs offered. Riot shields for pushing instead of defense, an armor based (overheal HP) medic that uses a sniper rifle, and Stratus.
Another thing to add is the fact that the game’s amount of variety, in spite of having 21 mercs to come, is surprisingly low. All fire supports have assault rifles, most recons have snipers, and Fletcher’s literally just an insane combination of grenades and doubled capture rate.
The last one in particular grinds my gears in the wrong way. As long as Fletcher (and by connection Proxy) is in his (their) current state engineers would remain with major power differences between the strong and the weak. Engineers are supposed to have a wide variety of defensive abilities that would complement doubled capture rate.
But in order for Fletcher to be balanced, he needs a medium range form of attack, thus the problem his presence has in the game.
So this game’s real value for me is as a teacher, to show me what went right and also what needed to be improved and why they aren’t going to be improved.
I would very much like some hybrids. I would love a merc between Fragger and Stoker - 130HP. Stoker’s molotov with lower cooldown (20-25s) and lower duration(4-5s). Primaries - one AR, one LMG, Dreiss?
[quote=“sweetColumn;205886”]Engineer Medic subclass.
muh lower sausage can only get so hard.[/quote]
Yeah, the ultimate merc for carrying in pubs 
Take Sawbonez, replace medpacs with the engi tool. I don’t know if that’s balanced or not, just a good place to start.
Recon Engineer is a rare type.
its literally a majestic rare creature since snub recon like vaseline wont do objectives.
“oh come on guise! Push ! whats the matter with this team!”
[quote=“sweetColumn;205932”]Recon Engineer is a rare type.
its literally a majestic rare creature since snub recon like vaseline wont do objectives.
“oh come on guise! Push ! whats the matter with this team!”[/quote]
Pretty sure that’s Proxy, since her mines can surprise you.
The medic sub merc, for each group, doesn’t mean it has to do anything with healing, but play more of a “buffer” that buffs teammates. (Like damage boost, speed boost, etc,)
[quote=“TheStrangerous;205948”][quote=“sweetColumn;205932”]Recon Engineer is a rare type.
its literally a majestic rare creature since snub recon like vaseline wont do objectives.
“oh come on guise! Push ! whats the matter with this team!”[/quote]
Pretty sure that’s Proxy, since her mines can surprise you.
The medic sub merc, for each group, doesn’t mean it has to do anything with healing, but play more of a “buffer” that buffs teammates. (Like damage boost, speed boost, etc,)[/quote]
proxy is more of engineer recon. her main role is still engineer and her mine can be used to spot enemies.
More mercs means perfect inbalance. I could go into depth but this is the concept,
More mercs = variety and counters
Merc A = could be more powerful
Merc B = can hard counter Merc A
Merc C = can hard counter Merc B
Merc A = can hard counter Merc C
And thus the cycle continues but with more mercs thrown into the mix. Explained by Extra Credits, it’s a very weird idea that works well. (You can look it up if you want to)
My 2 cents, more mercs is good and nothing bad usually comes out of it. The only time it’s bad is when there’s not enough to differentiate between each one, like BF4’s guns. There’s soo many that fill the same roles yet are superior in other stats that it makes some redundant. If your game can avoid that it will be very successful.
There’s definitely gonna be more Mercs, but I think we’re all forgetting about the potential Merc variations provided by Augments and loadout cards for the future.
On my twitter, I was sharing some fan-augments and Paul Wedgewood (SD’s ceo) asked me to send him my ideas. Whether he takes it into considering for the game or not, the devs are definitely looking into giving existing Mercs more depth besides weapons (they’ve completely reworked characters in the past before).
And don’t forget Mercs that were canned during production!! The devs HAVE discussed the idea of a mobile Merc called Falcon with the ability to fly, and a multi-revive Medic mentioned by Shoe. It might not seem like much, but the devs aren’t just willing to go a bit crazy with potential Mercs after Turtle and Javelin, but the canceled Mercs would have suited bigger areas (hinting towards vertical or more open maps for the future).
[quote=“Shinywindow;206065”]There’s definitely gonna be more Mercs, but I think we’re all forgetting about the potential Merc variations provided by Augments and loadout cards for the future.
On my twitter, I was sharing some fan-augments and Paul Wedgewood (SD’s ceo) asked me to send him my ideas. Whether he takes it into considering for the game or not, the devs are definitely looking into giving existing Mercs more depth besides weapons (they’ve completely reworked characters in the past before).
And don’t forget Mercs that were canned during production!! The devs HAVE discussed the idea of a mobile Merc called Falcon with the ability to fly, and a multi-revive Medic mentioned by Shoe. It might not seem like much, but the devs aren’t just willing to go a bit crazy with potential Mercs after Turtle and Javelin, but the canceled Mercs would have suited bigger areas (hinting towards vertical or more open maps for the future). [/quote]
can you give me some examples of merc variations because of augments and loadout cards?
Dirty Bomb’s loadout cards have loads of potential to spice the Mercs up.
For example, Aura can be turned into a close range combat Medic with a shotgun and Get Up, but she can also be a semi-recon Medic picking off targets and deployables at long range with a blishlok/bomb squad card.
The augments I discussed on Twitter involved giving the current Mercs variations: Stoker’s flames creating a lane of fire instead of a circle, Bush being able to throw his turret, Phoenix moving faster when charging his heals etc.
[quote=“Shinywindow;206099”]@Herr_Hanz
Dirty Bomb’s loadout cards have loads of potential to spice the Mercs up.
For example, Aura can be turned into a close range combat Medic with a shotgun and Get Up, but she can also be a semi-recon Medic picking off targets and deployables at long range with a blishlok/bomb squad card.
The augments I discussed on Twitter involved giving the current Mercs variations: Stoker’s flames creating a lane of fire instead of a circle, Bush being able to throw his turret, Phoenix moving faster when charging his heals etc.[/quote]
Can we get a merc with your trademark laugh and if activated it spawns melee Auras?
Um… I don’t want Bushwhacker to have his turret be thrown as if it was an offensive tool. Stoker’s flames going in a lane wouldn’t seem sensible, and augments that would modify current mercs’ abilities (besides blast radius or damage) seem, as far as @Shinywindow suggested, to be very bad ideas.
On a second note if we are going to talk about augments, I think Explodydendron should be reworked again. Increased blast radius was Bigger Blast’s niche, and I think people would whine if damage was increased with the augment like before.
I think in order for the augment to be unique the ability should hasten projectile speed and lock on time.
[quote=“JJMAJR;206122”]Um… I don’t want Bushwhacker to have his turret be thrown as if it was an offensive tool. Stoker’s flames going in a lane wouldn’t seem sensible, and augments that would modify current mercs’ abilities (besides blast radius or damage) seem, as far as @Shinywindow suggested, to be very bad ideas.
On a second note if we are going to talk about augments, I think Explodydendron should be reworked again. Increased blast radius was Bigger Blast’s niche, and I think people would whine if damage was increased with the augment like before.
I think in order for the augment to be unique the ability should hasten projectile speed and lock on time.[/quote]
bush turret should shoot faster tho.
everytime an enemy go over the turret sensor the turret are just shooting peas.
like prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttt.
and im like over there already died and my turret keep on shooting the red eye and it hasnt die.
that really bugged me.
and no, the red eye did not die because he shot the turret. he got out with 1% health.
[quote=“JJMAJR;206122”]Um… I don’t want Bushwhacker to have his turret be thrown as if it was an offensive tool. Stoker’s flames going in a lane wouldn’t seem sensible, and augments that would modify current mercs’ abilities (besides blast radius or damage) seem, as far as @Shinywindow suggested, to be very bad ideas.
On a second note if we are going to talk about augments, I think Explodydendron should be reworked again. Increased blast radius was Bigger Blast’s niche, and I think people would whine if damage was increased with the augment like before.
I think in order for the augment to be unique the ability should hasten projectile speed and lock on time.[/quote]
You actually gave @Shinywindow a dislike you MONSTER WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU
I like the idea that augments can take a merc off in tangents (kinda like what mechanic does) but it needs to be kept within particular confines or you end up with a jack of all trades that just becomes the natural favorite of comps/tryhards. Hell, there are some mercs that kinda already are like that. The idea of tradeoffs is conceptually fun, like in TF2 with some of the weapons. If you want something different, you have to give something up, say Sparks’ revive gun can heal people as many have asked for, but you entirely lose the ability to throw medpacks.
