Since everyone is sharing their discontent on Phantom’s current state. I might as well do the same, not only because I feel like Phantom could be a fun merc to play as but also because nowadays this game is one of the few that I actually care about.
From my point of view and also from most of the discussions throughout the forums, I see three main problems with Phantom right now.
1 - The lack of a role - He is listed as recon type merc yet he plays nothing like one.
2 - His not so invisible cloak - When I try to sneak past enemy lines I’ll put on the cloak not because it makes less visible but because it offers a protective armor.
3 - His Katana is missing from some of his load outs - He is the cool guy with the sword. But in game the sword feels just like any other melee weapon.
To fix these problems I would suggest the following:
1 - Give him the Comms Hack ability from Brink. For those who don’t know the ability allows you to interact with a incapacitated enemy and makes it show the enemy’s location (trough walls). This would give him the role of a recon while rewarding you for killing an enemy up close and behind enemy lines without adding any weapon or ability slots.
2 - Remove the armor from his cloak and give him 90% invisibility (50% while being shot at). Like a lot of people in this community I feel like he should play more of a stealthy role than a tanky one. However i don’t think 100% invisibility is the answer, mainly because he can start shooting while being cloaked.
3 - Make his katana an ability. Just like Nader’s G.Launcher and Ryno’s Minigun. And in Phantom’s case every swing with the sword would drain of his ability, limiting his sword spam. Also make it so that the sound produced by the cloak comes from his sword instead. That would help you sneak more easily while also giving you a knife to run faster.