Phantom - As viewed by the community

[Kevin1]

I know its a first person shooter game, but the only thing I saw in that game was your average mercernery shooting at other players with a useless skill that had no real use other than tanking bullets of course, but still if it is going to be a shield aside from cloak might as well go all the way right?

[gg2ez]

I know its a first person shooter game, but the only thing I saw in that game was your average mercernery shooting at other players with a useless skill that had no real use other than tanking bullets of course, but still if it is going to be a shield other than cloak might as well go all the way rigght?

@Amerika comment again? It’s like 1:30am in Australia and I’m really exhausted. Editing all my Merc Suggestions and need focus. Please explain to @Kevin AGAIN how you used your cloak.

[Kevin1]

I just put it up before going around corners that enemies usually pop out from to tank some shots.

Yeah, Phantom is really fine where he is. He Has a shield that tanks probably a couple shots before being expended and a cloak which any experienced player can see through is just fine.

I’ll agree with you guys Phantom’s skill is fine where it is.

P.S. Maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t seen any other Phantom players in games for quite awhile.

[Amerika]

I know its a first person shooter game, but the only thing I saw in that game was your average mercernery shooting at other players with a useless skill that had no real use other than tanking bullets of course, but still if it is going to be a shield aside from cloak might as well go all the way right?

How do you play Phantom? Can you define what good Phantom gameplay is for me?

You do know that Phantom is not a melee merc right? His Katana isn’t unique to him (or won’t be), is only on a few of his cards, the Katana is not an ability but his Refractive Armor is. And notice the name. Refractive armor. It’s not a cloak (even though the term has been used interchangeably). He wasn’t introduced as a melee merc, he was never advertised as such, he wasn’t shown being one. He also has access to some of the best guns in the game.

People do choose to melee with him pretty often just like people try to run around with Aura and a Cricket bat and beat people down. But you won’t be winning games or doing much for your team doing it.

As for Refractive Armor being useless, well, as you can see in the video it was anything but useless. Just because I wasn’t using it to tank bullets into people as I tried to melee them in an FPS game doesn’t mean it’s useless. Being intelligent with it’s uses is part of what makes playing Phantom fun.

You can’t just tank into people if you want to do well. You have to use the refractive armor to get to places unnoticed, know when people can hear you or see you, know when to just stop and wait (slowing down armor drain, no sound and almost no visibility…especially in darker areas) and know that shooting people in the back is way better than meleeing them. Not only is it faster and more likely to succeed, but you are also more likely to catch people off guard. Entirely because you aren’t making the loud yell noises that happens with melee tipping off other players who can easily hear that over their own gunfire. If you laser their heads down you can kill 1-2 people quickly in the back and either keep fighting or simply run. And you will probably have your refractive armor back up again when you do it.

I play an intelligent and aim reliant version of Phantom that is in-line with what the developers wanted. I think he still needs work to be viable in competition (spotting ability, emp etc…the things the devs said he would never have sadly) but for pubs he’s extremely good at what he does. At least if you don’t try to be predominantly melee only.

[Kevin1]

I don’t get where you got the idea that I said Phantom should be melee only, but I’m going to stop posting now. Bye.

[Amerika]

I don’t get where you got the idea that I said Phantom should be melee only, but I’m going to stop posting now. Bye.

I didn’t. I asked you multiple times to define what a good Phantom is and asked you specifically how you play.

And your criticism of the ability useage in my video is in-line with players who want to melee only. That’s why I went into an indepth explanation of my gameplay, my useage and how it compares to that of the typical melee-centric Phantom player.

[Rosenkreuz]

[quote=“Kevin;90060”]I know its a first person shooter game, but the only thing I saw in that game was your average mercernery shooting at other players with a useless skill that had no real use other than tanking bullets of course, but still if it is going to be a shield aside from cloak might as well go all the way right?

You do know that Phantom is not a melee merc right? His Katana isn’t unique to him (or won’t be), [/quote]

Closed Beta Phantom says hi. And yes, the Katana is exclusive (unique) to him. No other mercenary will ever have HIS Katana. He was even more powerful back then with only a Katana and a sidearm (since Katana was his primary weapon back then) and he got nerfed into uselessness because that it was incredibly hard for Splash Damage to balance.

[Amerika]

[quote=“Amerika;90071”][quote=“Kevin;90060”]I know its a first person shooter game, but the only thing I saw in that game was your average mercernery shooting at other players with a useless skill that had no real use other than tanking bullets of course, but still if it is going to be a shield aside from cloak might as well go all the way right?

You do know that Phantom is not a melee merc right? His Katana isn’t unique to him (or won’t be), [/quote]

Closed Beta Phantom says hi. And yes, the Katana is exclusive (unique) to him. No other mercenary will ever have HIS Katana. He was even more powerful back then with only a Katana and a sidearm (since Katana was his primary weapon back then) and he got nerfed into uselessness because that it was incredibly hard for Splash Damage to balance.[/quote]

Closed beta was under an NDA because tons of characters were different and were going to be changed. SD doesn’t seem to want to enforce that NDA so we all get to talk about it. Fragger and Thunder didn’t even exist and they were combined into another character, many mercs used completely different guns and quite a few had abilities changed around. Also, Phantom changed multiple times back in the closed beta as well so you can’t cherry pick one version.

The Katana is not unique. The developers clarified instantly on the day of release and multiple times sense that other characters in the future will have access to the Katana much like they will have access to the Kukri. They will be the new cricket bat pretty much.

And yes, he was changed back in the closed beta because he didn’t work. It’s jarring to have a melee-centric merc in a fast first person shooter. The balance would pretty much always make him incredibly overpowered or underpowered. And in either of those states he would most likely still be considered cheap by a lot of players. That’s why he was changed to the version we have today.

[Rosenkreuz]

[quote=“Rosenkreuz;90079”][quote=“Amerika;90071”][quote=“Kevin;90060”]I know its a first person shooter game, but the only thing I saw in that game was your average mercernery shooting at other players with a useless skill that had no real use other than tanking bullets of course, but still if it is going to be a shield aside from cloak might as well go all the way right?

You do know that Phantom is not a melee merc right? His Katana isn’t unique to him (or won’t be), [/quote]

Closed Beta Phantom says hi. And yes, the Katana is exclusive (unique) to him. No other mercenary will ever have HIS Katana. He was even more powerful back then with only a Katana and a sidearm (since Katana was his primary weapon back then) and he got nerfed into uselessness because that it was incredibly hard for Splash Damage to balance.[/quote]

Closed beta was under an NDA because tons of characters were different and were going to be changed. SD doesn’t seem to want to enforce that NDA so we all get to talk about it. Fragger and Thunder didn’t even exist and they were combined into another character, many mercs used completely different guns and quite a few had abilities changed around. Also, Phantom changed multiple times back in the closed beta as well so you can’t cherry pick one version.

The Katana is not unique. The developers clarified instantly on the day of release and multiple times sense that other characters in the future will have access to the Katana much like they will have access to the Kukri. They will be the new cricket bat pretty much.

And yes, he was changed back in the closed beta because he didn’t work. It’s jarring to have a melee-centric merc in a fast first person shooter. The balance would pretty much always make him incredibly overpowered or underpowered. And in either of those states he would most likely still be considered cheap by a lot of players. That’s why he was changed to the version we have today.[/quote]

That would be pretty stupid to have one of Phantom’s unique features be shared with others. Aside from Refractive Armor, anyone can shoot. He’s not the only one to have access to those SMGs, so RA and Katana are pretty much the only things about him that are different than other mercs. Then again, I don’t agree with a lot of decisions Splash Damage makes, so perhaps that’s just wishful thinking that they keep the Katana exclusive.

In any case, you wanted to know what a good Phantom player is supposed to play like?

Aside from having the reflexes and aim that’s required in a fast-paced shooter like this and the basic and advanced understanding of game mechanics from movement to how their and other merc abilities work, a good Phantom needs to know when to strike and what tools to use when striking, as well as the positioning required to make that play effective.

The only other question is: Is a good Phantom worth having on the team as opposed to a good [insert offensive merc here].

[Amerika]

[quote=“Amerika;90089”][quote=“Rosenkreuz;90079”][quote=“Amerika;90071”][quote=“Kevin;90060”]I know its a first person shooter game, but the only thing I saw in that game was your average mercernery shooting at other players with a useless skill that had no real use other than tanking bullets of course, but still if it is going to be a shield aside from cloak might as well go all the way right?

You do know that Phantom is not a melee merc right? His Katana isn’t unique to him (or won’t be), [/quote]

Closed Beta Phantom says hi. And yes, the Katana is exclusive (unique) to him. No other mercenary will ever have HIS Katana. He was even more powerful back then with only a Katana and a sidearm (since Katana was his primary weapon back then) and he got nerfed into uselessness because that it was incredibly hard for Splash Damage to balance.[/quote]

Closed beta was under an NDA because tons of characters were different and were going to be changed. SD doesn’t seem to want to enforce that NDA so we all get to talk about it. Fragger and Thunder didn’t even exist and they were combined into another character, many mercs used completely different guns and quite a few had abilities changed around. Also, Phantom changed multiple times back in the closed beta as well so you can’t cherry pick one version.

The Katana is not unique. The developers clarified instantly on the day of release and multiple times sense that other characters in the future will have access to the Katana much like they will have access to the Kukri. They will be the new cricket bat pretty much.

And yes, he was changed back in the closed beta because he didn’t work. It’s jarring to have a melee-centric merc in a fast first person shooter. The balance would pretty much always make him incredibly overpowered or underpowered. And in either of those states he would most likely still be considered cheap by a lot of players. That’s why he was changed to the version we have today.[/quote]

That would be pretty stupid to have one of Phantom’s unique features be shared with others. Aside from Refractive Armor, anyone can shoot. He’s not the only one to have access to those SMGs, so RA and Katana are pretty much the only things about him that are different than other mercs. Then again, I don’t agree with a lot of decisions Splash Damage makes, so perhaps that’s just wishful thinking that they keep the Katana exclusive.

In any case, you wanted to know what a good Phantom player is supposed to play like?

Aside from having the reflexes and aim that’s required in a fast-paced shooter like this and the basic and advanced understanding of game mechanics from movement to how their and other merc abilities work, a good Phantom needs to know when to strike and what tools to use when striking, as well as the positioning required to make that play effective.

The only other question is: Is a good Phantom worth having on the team as opposed to a good [insert offensive merc here].[/quote]

All melee weapons are not unique and will be used by other mercs in the future. If it was unique to Phantom it would have been made a special ability and not just a melee weapon. And only 3 of his 9 cards even has a Katana. This has been pretty well known information from day 1.

You didn’t really define how a good Phantom plays. You gave a generic statement that works for every merc in the game. I’d like something more specific if it happens to be different from how I have displayed and explained his useage.

[Rosenkreuz]

[quote=“Rosenkreuz;90096”][quote=“Amerika;90089”][quote=“Rosenkreuz;90079”][quote=“Amerika;90071”][quote=“Kevin;90060”]I know its a first person shooter game, but the only thing I saw in that game was your average mercernery shooting at other players with a useless skill that had no real use other than tanking bullets of course, but still if it is going to be a shield aside from cloak might as well go all the way right?

You do know that Phantom is not a melee merc right? His Katana isn’t unique to him (or won’t be), [/quote]

Closed Beta Phantom says hi. And yes, the Katana is exclusive (unique) to him. No other mercenary will ever have HIS Katana. He was even more powerful back then with only a Katana and a sidearm (since Katana was his primary weapon back then) and he got nerfed into uselessness because that it was incredibly hard for Splash Damage to balance.[/quote]

Closed beta was under an NDA because tons of characters were different and were going to be changed. SD doesn’t seem to want to enforce that NDA so we all get to talk about it. Fragger and Thunder didn’t even exist and they were combined into another character, many mercs used completely different guns and quite a few had abilities changed around. Also, Phantom changed multiple times back in the closed beta as well so you can’t cherry pick one version.

The Katana is not unique. The developers clarified instantly on the day of release and multiple times sense that other characters in the future will have access to the Katana much like they will have access to the Kukri. They will be the new cricket bat pretty much.

And yes, he was changed back in the closed beta because he didn’t work. It’s jarring to have a melee-centric merc in a fast first person shooter. The balance would pretty much always make him incredibly overpowered or underpowered. And in either of those states he would most likely still be considered cheap by a lot of players. That’s why he was changed to the version we have today.[/quote]

That would be pretty stupid to have one of Phantom’s unique features be shared with others. Aside from Refractive Armor, anyone can shoot. He’s not the only one to have access to those SMGs, so RA and Katana are pretty much the only things about him that are different than other mercs. Then again, I don’t agree with a lot of decisions Splash Damage makes, so perhaps that’s just wishful thinking that they keep the Katana exclusive.

In any case, you wanted to know what a good Phantom player is supposed to play like?

Aside from having the reflexes and aim that’s required in a fast-paced shooter like this and the basic and advanced understanding of game mechanics from movement to how their and other merc abilities work, a good Phantom needs to know when to strike and what tools to use when striking, as well as the positioning required to make that play effective.

The only other question is: Is a good Phantom worth having on the team as opposed to a good [insert offensive merc here].[/quote]

All melee weapons are not unique and will be used by other mercs in the future. If it was unique to Phantom it would have been made a special ability and not just a melee weapon. And only 3 of his 9 cards even has a Katana. This has been pretty well known information from day 1.

You didn’t really define how a good Phantom plays. You gave a generic statement that works for every merc in the game. I’d like something more specific if it happens to be different from how I have displayed and explained his useage.[/quote]

Can’t really give any more than that. It’s a shooter. It’s not like Phantom is going to shoot any differently than the other mercs, so in that regard he’s not going to play so differently from the other merc.

Video proof already shows how good Phantoms play, yours included. That generic statement was also followed to the letter.

[Amerika]

That really doesn’t add much or say anything and it ignores the discussion of his toolset and how it’s used. I’ve explained and shown my way and we all know melee-centric Phantom’s exist and typically how they play. You wanted to put in your two cents as to what made good Phantom play but then refuse to discuss Phantom. It just makes for weird posts to me and I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.

Hence the questions for you and @Kevin as I am interested in how you play the character and your perspective on what is perceived as good. I might not agree with your views, I might agree 100% with them or I might only partially agree. That’s the fun part…getting to see things from another perspective because maybe I missed something or maybe others did. Overall discussions help everyone.

[Sir_Slam]

My question is why use Phantom over anyone else in a Comp match. Whenever I see one on my team, my stomach drops. I know instantly that this player has an 80% of being absolutely useless.

What does phantom do that’s different than other characters in a way thats relevant.

He’s designed to kill, we know that. But compared to other mercs that can do that?

Fragger? Can wipe an entire room with one grenade. Enough said. Also has access to the k-121, which is just nasty in the wrong hands.

Nader? Crazy area denial, and can be used to destroy generators slowly but surely. In a pinch can even drop some damage on an EV. Don’t even mention getting DH’d with that launcher.

Rhino? Combined with an Aura station, you aren’t killing him without a cooperative effort. Hope you didn’t want that bomb plant.

Vasilli? HB sensor, machine pistols and the MOA. Gets insta kills without displacing himself away from his team.

Phantom himself? … He flanks well? Can soak up some damage?

In pubs you can take advantage of people who aren’t paying attention, don’t care or don’t know. In a comp match against players that are trying, that just isn’t the case. Any amount of kills a phantom can get in a 5v5 can be exceeded by any of the above mercs with arguably less time, effort and self exposure, and many bring additional options on top of that.

When you’ve only got so many spots open, you have to deeply consider whos getting in. Phantom just doesn’t make that cut (hue) right now. Two medics, one engie, and most of the time fragger leaves only one spot open.

Now all of thats fine if all you want him for is to play pubs. shrug You can make him work there, and the whole “ima an American ninja” thing is fun for some people.

[jazevec1]

That wasnt even a good example of Phantom gameplay, but more of your average merc shooting at other people pewpew*pew and shitty players in the other team. You shooting at them didn’t even make them bat an eye 3:45 and your cloak wasn’t even used most of the game and when you did there was nobody there. Not a good example at all.

I’ve been telling this Amerika for a while. He plays all mercs this way, medics, engineers etc.

---

It’s foolish to treat Phantom as a lone wolf. In addition to capitalizing on chaos and noise to be harder to notice, Phantom has an unique ability to remain behind enemy lines for periods of time without firing a shot. My favorite example is Chapel as Offense. Once EV reaches crossroads, it frequently stays there for a while, bathing in artillery and airstrikes. I like to take Phantom, go to the back alley (not cloaked), then enable cloak to cross the road from defense spawn. Then I sneak along the pillars of the Chapel and climb to MG. Once there, I… wait, invisible. I could man the MG and maybe kill one, two or three. But it’s far better to do that once your teammates engage them from the other side. When bullets start flying, taking out just a single medic can cripple them.

Of course it doesn’t work so well if the MG is occupied.

In similar vein, when I played ET:QW I wouldn’t just go on a random stabbing spree when disguised. I would circle the objective and wait until another GDF plants C4 at Strogg objective. Engineers rush to disarm it, and I behind them. Backstab and gib them as they’re disarming - BAM, your team wins the map.

[Yoshimoto]

well i guess you could say phantom is quite a menace to the community…

i feel very sorry for phantom, he seems to be in a lot of… Phantom pain…

please kill me these puns make my entire existance painfull

[watsyurdeal]

[quote=“Kevin;90051”]That wasnt even a good example of Phantom gameplay, but more of your average merc shooting at other people pewpew*pew and shitty players in the other team. You shooting at them didn’t even make them bat an eye 3:45 and your cloak wasn’t even used most of the game and when you did there was nobody there. Not a good example at all.

I’ve been telling this Amerika for a while. He plays all mercs this way, medics, engineers etc.

---

It’s foolish to treat Phantom as a lone wolf. In addition to capitalizing on chaos and noise to be harder to notice, Phantom has an unique ability to remain behind enemy lines for periods of time without firing a shot. My favorite example is Chapel as Offense. Once EV reaches crossroads, it frequently stays there for a while, bathing in artillery and airstrikes. I like to take Phantom, go to the back alley (not cloaked), then enable cloak to cross the road from defense spawn. Then I sneak along the pillars of the Chapel and climb to MG. Once there, I… wait, invisible. I could man the MG and maybe kill one, two or three. But it’s far better to do that once your teammates engage them from the other side. When bullets start flying, taking out just a single medic can cripple them.

Of course it doesn’t work so well if the MG is occupied.

In similar vein, when I played ET:QW I wouldn’t just go on a random stabbing spree when disguised. I would circle the objective and wait until another GDF plants C4 at Strogg objective. Engineers rush to disarm it, and I behind them. Backstab and gib them as they’re disarming - BAM, your team wins the map.[/quote]

So then, we are all in agreement then? That Phantom’s problem is his ability really doesn’t help much in the stealth department, and he doesn’t need the armor cause he’s not a tank, and with all that considered, he’s no different than any other SMG and 110 hp merc, except the others have abilities that are actually very good. While Phantom is just not up to snuff.

[Telzen]

[quote=“jazevec;97235”][quote=“Kevin;90051”]That wasnt even a good example of Phantom gameplay, but more of your average merc shooting at other people pewpew*pew and shitty players in the other team. You shooting at them didn’t even make them bat an eye 3:45 and your cloak wasn’t even used most of the game and when you did there was nobody there. Not a good example at all.

I’ve been telling this Amerika for a while. He plays all mercs this way, medics, engineers etc.

---

It’s foolish to treat Phantom as a lone wolf. In addition to capitalizing on chaos and noise to be harder to notice, Phantom has an unique ability to remain behind enemy lines for periods of time without firing a shot. My favorite example is Chapel as Offense. Once EV reaches crossroads, it frequently stays there for a while, bathing in artillery and airstrikes. I like to take Phantom, go to the back alley (not cloaked), then enable cloak to cross the road from defense spawn. Then I sneak along the pillars of the Chapel and climb to MG. Once there, I… wait, invisible. I could man the MG and maybe kill one, two or three. But it’s far better to do that once your teammates engage them from the other side. When bullets start flying, taking out just a single medic can cripple them.

Of course it doesn’t work so well if the MG is occupied.

In similar vein, when I played ET:QW I wouldn’t just go on a random stabbing spree when disguised. I would circle the objective and wait until another GDF plants C4 at Strogg objective. Engineers rush to disarm it, and I behind them. Backstab and gib them as they’re disarming - BAM, your team wins the map.[/quote]

So then, we are all in agreement then? That Phantom’s problem is his ability really doesn’t help much in the stealth department, and he doesn’t need the armor cause he’s not a tank, and with all that considered, he’s no different than any other SMG and 110 hp merc, except the others have abilities that are actually very good. While Phantom is just not up to snuff.[/quote]

Nope

[watsyurdeal]

[quote=“Telzen;99266”]

Nope[/quote]

Then you’re in utter denial

[sentimentalDime]

[quote=“Watsyurdeal;99278”][quote=“Telzen;99266”]

Nope[/quote]

Then you’re in utter denial[/quote]
@Watsyurdeal
Or he doesn’t share your opinion.

[Grave_Knight]

Isn’t it a little weird that every Undercover loadout has the S&W and the sword? How cool would it be if we could have a loadout that has the BL94’s perks (Undercover, Drilled, Untrackable) with the C62’s or C51’s weapons (though I wouldn’t mind having the S&W).