Fletcher: The Forgotten Merc

(subtleMode) #41

Fuze, why is doubletime such a good augment? I never need to reload when sprinting that I’ve noticed.

(Szakalot) #42

fletcher relies on speed in combat, you always want to peek your opponent with a sticky or shotgun blast.
Fletcher is very poor in the open where stickies can be easily dodged, and he gets gunned down while trying to make one work for him. Otherwise, his weapons are inferior to most counterparts, putting you at a disadvantage as well.

Ahnuld has very slow reload though, empire is pretty mediocre reload speed as well.

Out of all the augments in the game, double-time grants you the biggest amount of mobility, and fletcher needs it a lot.

(Fuze) #43

fletcher relies on speed in combat, you always want to peek your opponent with a sticky or shotgun blast.
Fletcher is very poor in the open where stickies can be easily dodged, and he gets gunned down while trying to make one work for him. Otherwise, his weapons are inferior to most counterparts, putting you at a disadvantage as well.

Ahnuld has very slow reload though, empire is pretty mediocre reload speed as well.

Out of all the augments in the game, double-time grants you the biggest amount of mobility, and fletcher needs it a lot.
[/quote]

Szakalot said it perfectly. Fletcher needs the mobility and as I’ve said time and time again, Double Time is a game changer. It will push your potential with Fletcher to a whole new level. Need to super jump across something while reloading? Well, now you can. Need to wall jump around or up things while reloading? Well, now you can. Want to have virtually no down time from being slowed by reloads? You get the idea. To put it simply, a Fletcher with Double Time is an unstoppable train of KA-BOOM!

(Eox) #44

I wouldn’t go that far. Double Time is very nice (and not only on Fletcher), but it’s not like it’s the ultimate choice for him in my opinion. You have two other augments that can be very interesting as well.

  • Unshakeable is, in my opinion, a very nice defensive sidegrade : there’s just so much explosive things that can ruin your day. That simple +20% damage resistance can save your life a lot.
  • Quickdraw works EXTREMELY WELL on Fletcher, and it can explain why it there’s only two loadout cards like that, with some “meh” augments or meh weapons. Being able to switch between your bombs, your weapons and your detonator faster gives you a fearsome advantage in combat. I just went a day with that BL33 loadout, even if the Blishlok is not that good (hopefull it’ll get buffed soon), I feel like I’ll hardly take anything else right now… And I have Empire 9 : it’s all that matters.

I’d say that those three augments are more or less sidegrade. Double Time gives you a strong mobility advantage for hit and run tactics, being a big time saver. Quickdraw give you an advantage in straight combat. Unshakeable gives you a defensive advantage that can make the difference against most dangerous mercs like Fragger or Nader.

(capriRocket) #45

i take the most damage on him when i peek to throw a sticky. if quick eye worked for aiming stickies, that would be the best combat improvement for him, imo.
id take quick draw over double time anyday, as it does actually help in combat vs just give less downtime for reload.

so far a31 still my fav, with tough and the best weapons. double time on it is welcome but not needed.
a23 has better augments but no E9.

(Szakalot) #46

i still have to try the quickdraw option (also for nader)

unshakeable is great; but i dont like blishlok, and i def. would not give up empire9

(Eox) #47

You’ll have to deal with the Blishlok if you want both the Empire 9 and Quick Draw though. :stuck_out_tongue:

(noupperlobeman) #48

I’m closing in on purchasing my first 50k merc, and I think it’
going to be an engineer.

Fletcher’s sticky bombs seem like a decent offensive ability. Are
they strong enough to warrant purchasing him over the other
engineers?

EDIT: I see the bombs are bugged

(noupperlobeman) #49

Also, no one has mentioned his cost.

Fletcher costs 50k credits, while Arty and Proxy
are only 30k.

I think it would be pretty obvious why he’s not played.
New game, cheaper proxy, bugged ability, and less
optimal primary weapon selection.

(Jojack) #50

Flanks are good yeah, but I was talking about more head on attacks, of course any class is good when you aren’t seen.

Yeah I kind of meant that Proxy is fast and Fletcher is not. I mean that she’s the class you pick when you wanna just rush the objective over and over again, gunning everyone as you go past. Fletcher is the guy you choose to lock it down.[/quote]

Proxy only works for head on attacks against new players that aren’t used to her speed, or the speed of the game in general. I love facing those proxies that think sprinting around the battlefield real fast makes them invulnerable. Fletcher is better in head on attacks than Proxy by virtue of his hit points and his ability to force enemies to cover with his bombs. Proxy’s guns are slightly better (hochfir vs empire, Remburg vs Aunuld/Hollunds) but the lack of hit points is such a handicap against players over lvl 5 you can’t get around it.

[quote=“aquaSandal;36566”]Proxy is better.

Her movement is better for capping,

her mines unlike stickie bombs take absolutely no skill so you can just spam them after capping and not have to pay attention to them.

She has access to better weapons.

Overall fletcher is just a worse proxy.[/quote]

The only thing Proxy has going for her over Fletcher is speed (not that big of deal, really) and being able to defend her plants or choke points against careless players without having to baby sit them. To say Fletcher is just a worse version of Proxy is just objectively not close to true. The opposite could be said with a much stronger argument.

If you try to play Fletcher like his bombs are just worse mines…then I would agree with you. But as pointed out numerous times in this thread, the utility of his bombs make them a far more useful and powerful ability than proximity mines. Stickies combined with higher hit points make him a far more dangerous and effective engineer than Proxy in the hands of a somewhat skilled player.

Proxy (and Aura) win, though, when it comes to newb stomping. Which is why you see “Proxy or Aura are OP” threads from a lot of new players, yet they are rarely played by experienced players with better mercs to choose from.

Which brings me back to the original question in the OP. Why isn’t he played more? I’m starting to think it’s because people have not had the inclination or patience to truly learn how to use him effectively yet. In the lifespan of this thread, I have seen a lot more Fletcher players. I really doubt it’s because of the exposure this thread offered. I think people coming from Steam are probably just now getting around to buying/spending some time as him.

(Ghosthree3) #51

Not once did I say or even imply this. I absolutely think Fletcher is better than Proxy.

(Jojack) #52

[quote=“Eox;36899”]I wouldn’t go that far. Double Time is very nice (and not only on Fletcher), but it’s not like it’s the ultimate choice for him in my opinion. You have two other augments that can be very interesting as well.

  • Unshakeable is, in my opinion, a very nice defensive sidegrade : there’s just so much explosive things that can ruin your day. That simple +20% damage resistance can save your life a lot.
  • Quickdraw works EXTREMELY WELL on Fletcher, and it can explain why it there’s only two loadout cards like that, with some “meh” augments or meh weapons. Being able to switch between your bombs, your weapons and your detonator faster gives you a fearsome advantage in combat. I just went a day with that BL33 loadout, even if the Blishlok is not that good (hopefull it’ll get buffed soon), I feel like I’ll hardly take anything else right now… And I have Empire 9 : it’s all that matters.

I’d say that those three augments are more or less sidegrade. Double Time gives you a strong mobility advantage for hit and run tactics, being a big time saver. Quickdraw give you an advantage in straight combat. Unshakeable gives you a defensive advantage that can make the difference against most dangerous mercs like Fragger or Nader. [/quote]

I think I currently agree with these loadout comments. I used to play with the A31 (Aunuld, Empire - Tough, Double Time, Lock On).

But the last couple days I’ve finally gotten around to playing with the one Gold card I have, the BL33 (Blish, Empire - Quick Draw, Tough, Flying Pig).

I used to think Double Time was the best perk for him, but the fact that he has two weapons that can be considered viable Primaries on most load outs, I’m finding that the situations where I need to sprint while reloading more rare. I use the Empire for longer range engagements and the Blish in close range. I almost never have to reload under fire with those two weapons.

However, quick draw is pretty dang sweet with all the weapon switching he does (stickies to guns, primary to secondary, stickies to guns to detonator to guns etc). I think it’s better on Fletcher than Double Time. As long as quick draw works with weapon swapping and not just in ADS situations like I originally thought. I haven’t tested weather it’s effecting weapon swapping, but it feels more fluid with Quick Draw.

I may go back to the A31 once Lock on is replaced with something that works, depending on what it is.

(Jojack) #53

Not once did I say or even imply this. I absolutely think Fletcher is better than Proxy.[/quote]

Sorry, that comment was directed at the guy earlier that said Fletcher is just a worse version of Proxy. I should have put his quote in there to clear that up but was lazy. I’ll go back and do that now.

edit - done.

(Eox) #54

[quote=“Jojack;37669”]
However, quick draw is pretty dang sweet with all the weapon switching he does (stickies to guns, primary to secondary, stickies to guns to detonator to guns etc). I think it’s better on Fletcher than Double Time. As long as quick draw works with weapon swapping and not just in ADS situations like I originally thought. I haven’t tested weather it’s effecting weapon swapping, but it feels more fluid with Quick Draw.

I may go back to the A31 once Lock on is replaced with something that works, depending on what it is.[/quote]

It works with weapon switching, not ADS. No worries. :stuck_out_tongue:

If that A31 gets Lock On replaced with Quick Draw, it’ll be hands down the best loadout available. Very few chance that it happens, but imagine the really sweet switching and rushing you would be able to do !

I think a potentially good replacement for Lock On would be Explodydendron : better radius for Sticky Bombs means better trapping abilities and easier to use Sticky Bombs also… It’s definitely interesting and fits the replacement of Lock On.

(capriRocket) #55

did this real quick to visualize for myself, thought maybe sopmeone wants to see it anyway.
of course if youre a blishlok or fail safe fan you may not agree with me so just ignore it then.

im trying to chance a bl33 iron card atm and see if i can live without a shotgun or somehow finally get to make some use of that damn blishlok, though ive tried like 5 times already haha…

(Fuze) #56

[quote=“capriRocket;37786”]pic

did this real quick to visualize for myself, thought maybe sopmeone wants to see it anyway.
of course if youre a blishlok or fail safe fan you may not agree with me so just ignore it then.

im trying to chance a bl33 iron card atm and see if i can live without a shotgun or somehow finally get to make some use of that damn blishlok, though ive tried like 5 times already haha…[/quote]

Here’s mine.

(Eox) #57

Shoot in bursts, aim for the head. The Blishlok have insane damage per bullet, so headshots are really destructive.

(noupperlobeman) #58

Update:

Just got my Fletcher, and I love him.

(Jojack) #59

Yeah, the Blish is definitely not the best, but it’s not useless either. It’s a nice compliment to the Empire if you don’t like shotguns. You rarely lose a fire fight in CQC to another SMG. It really shines in shotgun range and I think I prefer it to shotguns now. The Empire is adequate for mid range.

(Ardez1) #60

I know at least one person that uses the emp-9 as their primary with fletcher and the real main gun as their ‘secondary’. Definitely an interesting way to roll with Fletcher. ofc those sticky bombs make up for any lack of power coming from the mp he uses.