Spooky Feedback: Phantom Update v47388 - 07/07/2015

(spookify) #1

Its Been a while since I have given a patch feedback so here it is.

Lets start with the new merc Phantom!

I played one round with his default card with no perks and the Blishlok. I was actually not really a fan of Phantom the first round I played with him, mostly because I dislike the Blishlok. The second Ranked MM I bought (w/Credits’s) The awesome Bronze Phantom are with the KEK-10 and Longer Ability, Melee and MG. This card with these perks makes Phantom a killer. “Almost” a Fragger type carry style merc but not quite.

I have yet to face a Phantom but I heard he is a pain in the ars. So I might come on later and edit my post with frustration from playing against him.

Armor - Work crazy good! Takes bullets and blasts no problem!

Phantoms - Katana in the right situations and with the 20% Melee perk he can one hit light merc classes. I like the feel of the thrust secondary melee attack. The point of attack seems perfect and is actually a little forgiving. I actually stopped using the Katana for the most part. I used it mostly for clean ups and clusters of confused pub mercs. The Weapon switch was a little to slow for my liking so I would rage with the KEK-10. The KEK-10 does run out of ammo fairly quickly so the Katana is a great secondary even more so then the pistol. The Key is to keep moving or actually not move at all.

-Sped up several lobby and warm-up times
***Much Needed and Awesome

Hope This Makes It Into The Next Patch:
-Added player rankings to the scoreboard at the end of a Ranked game
***This only shows a picture of the image rank and if you mouse over it, it does NOT show the text. Please show the text of the rank so people arent guessing what the little picture means.

-Adjusted view kick so the kick speed also scales up with the amount of incoming damage received
***Will need to do some more testing but on paper this sounds awesome

-Reduced the invulnerability window incapped players have after dying to 366ms (from 800ms) – This exists so gibbing a player is a separate distinct action, rather than just continuing to fire while a body is collapsing to the ground
-Revive invulnerability now begins once the player has stood up and can move – This allows players a final chance to ‘gib’ the revived player just before they get-up
-Players now spend 0.7s getting up after a revive (from 1s)
***Reviving, Killing and Gibbing all seem much more fluid. Will need more play to test but first result are nice and smooth.

Conclusion:
Phantom is no Fragger (Killer/Spammer/Multi Killer) however in the right hands he can add a valuable merc in Objective play. Weather it be sneaking behind and playing dyno, sneaking behind spawn and spawn killing or just flat out annoying the other team with constant back-rage and crossfire he is a nice merc to add and fun to play!!!

(jazevec) #2

The initial pub reactions were often that it’s overpowered. But its Bushwacker speed, with +10 health. Does that sound overpowered ? 420 speed (10 speed faster) mercs like Nader, Fletcher have 10 less health.

So it boils down to ability. It’s hard to say. Phantoms who just use it and charge tend to die by pistol.

(Kroad) #3

[QUOTE=spookify;533704]
Armor - Work crazy good! Takes bullets and blasts no problem! [/QUOTE]
also means he has 195 hp, 5 hp less than rhino, yet he has the speed of bush, and can regen 75 hp every 6 seconds.

[QUOTE=spookify;533704]
Phantoms - Katana in the right situations and with the 20% Melee perk he can one hit light merc classes. I like the feel of the thrust secondary melee attack. The point of attack seems perfect and is actually a little forgiving. [/QUOTE]
It’s way too forgiving honestly, can hit enemy after swing is over and still hit them (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BpUMCnFgv8 see 1:15 kill on nader on stairs)

[QUOTE=spookify;533704]

-Adjusted view kick so the kick speed also scales up with the amount of incoming damage received
***Will need to do some more testing but on paper this sounds awesome[/quote]
I agree that this is the way aimpunch should work since higher rof = more aimpunch, but it feels awful to be hs by a k121/m4, I hate the idea of aimpunch altogether (makes no sense that shooting at someone first = they can’t shoot back accurately, shooting someone first is already enough of an advantage) and so dislike anything increasing it.

[QUOTE=spookify;533704]
Conclusion:
Phantom is no Fragger (Killer/Spammer/Multi Killer) however in the right hands he can add a valuable merc in Objective play. Weather it be sneaking behind and playing dyno, sneaking behind spawn and spawn killing or just flat out annoying the other team with constant back-rage and crossfire he is a nice merc to add and fun to play!!![/QUOTE]
Phantom is most definitely a killer merc, his primary has higher dps than m4 and is more consistant/easier due to higher rof, he has almost as much hp as rhino while also being able to move fast and turn invisible, and his katana can 1hk plenty of mercs, he will most definitely outfrag skyhammers and come close to fraggers, I don’t know why they thought it was a good idea to make his invisibility add 75hp.

and yeah, that cooldown on shield is way too long, at least if they plan on keeping the extra hp it gives

(Protekt1) #4

Phantom is killer/recon focused. You don’t have the automated info relay of a heartbeat sensor but you can easily use the stealth to scout a bit of info for your team.

Not quite a fragger, not quite a nader, not objective specialist, more like a vasilli but close ranged and without a sniper obviously.

My highlights have been rushing aura positions and wrecking havoc while that healing station does nothing to keep the aura alive. Gibbing multiple mercs in a single left click swing. Using him to get solid positioning is great. He isn’t gonna win 1v2 fights like a fragger can with a well placed nade or high accuracy, but he has a chance to fall back using stealth to absorb a few shots.

I haven’t had trouble spotting phantom’s in motion. It is quite easy. The armor makes him viable in those moments though. So I think the new armor mechanic is a really good addition.

(jazevec) #5

Honestly, it’s too early for valuable feedback. Let’s playtest this merc for 2 weeks or so.

Don’t forget invisibility stops Bushwacker turrets and proximity mines from activating! So Phantom is definitely an above average merc for raw combat and assault, not just some boy scout. The only thing that’s recon-focused is his perks on loadouts.

Funny how when Sparks was introduced it took a while to see a Sparks player. But now with Phantom, my first death in this build was against a phantom (no, not katana). It’s common to see 2+ phantoms on a team or about 5 per server.

(spookify) #6

I look at the extra HP/Shield as almost defensive… As soon as he shoots its gone. The first shot with the KEK-10 will normally win you that battle pretty easy but its hard or takes skill to get 2 or 3 people in a row. 1v1 Assassin killing is his strong suit.

It will be interesting to see how high level comp use him…

Soon people will have a real problem with picking which mercs to use. 1 Attacking Merc and 1 Defending Merc plus 1 alt… More mercs are coming so the problem will only grow. BUT this will add depth to the game. And if you have the right merc in the right situation it could win you the game.

(jazevec) #7

My beef with Phantom is that it doesn’t feel like a recon class. It feels like a straightforward “in your face” class. You’d think a Recon class would take some finesse to use. A common suggestion following this line of thought is that phantom cloak should perhaps boost movement speed, not shield from damage.

Phantom games seem to be more chaotic and turn the game into deathmatch. It’s a great class to **** around. Go after enemies far from frontline. Turn the frontline into cluster****.

Can phantom become invisible while manning a MG ? That would be evil. Even if he can’t. just stand right next to it invisible.

(Glottis-3D) #8

-more sound on cloack activation
-less cloack duration OR less speed
-less max melee dmg (-5 or -10)
-less HP (-5)

(spookify) #9

[QUOTE=Glottis-3D;533780]-more sound on cloack activation
-less cloack duration OR less speed
-less max melee dmg (-5 or -10)
-less HP (-5)[/QUOTE]

I will counter your tweaks with my own Glottis. :smiley:

Remain the Same:
Cloak Duration
Speed
Melee Damage
Same HP

Change:
Cloak Animation/Transparentness while at Full Sprint.
Cloak Flicker While getting Hit Transparentness (Thinking Wave Effect)
Slightly Larger Hit Boxes

  • Revisit Cloak Damage Taken? (Just a Thought) (Let the Dev’s Take Care of This)
    Some Type of Noise or Sound Generation from Phantom Running?

***Phantom is a Killer. He is basically a Fragger. The mental aspect of getting killed in this format rather then nade spam is what is leaving people perplexed about Phantom.

I played against a “OK” Phantom last night on a much better team then mine. I could not carry 4 level 5’s vs 5 Gold Ranked Level 10+'s…
He dude was a clean up master. If you know the enemy team has one then you are always on the look out. And I could beat him (Barely) as a fragger with the BR-16… The only times he got me was when I down two of his teammates and my main gun was low on ammo. So he basically just cleaned up. He also killed me twice on the MG. I had more kills then my entire team combined so it really hard to tell just how good he is. I have yet to see two balanced team go at one another while using a Phantom + Fragger Combination, especially on attackers. Possible even defense also to pick off medics…

To End I got a small party que to go into a euro server last night and of course there was a haxer! He prevented me from cloaking!!!

(Glottis-3D) #10

there are several ways to nerf Phantom.
my suggestions are to keep his mechanics (which are fun)
but nerf his limits and damage capabilities.

so ppl who love this merc will still get their fun. but they will not abuse the OP-ness of phantom.

if he is visible, or not tanky then it is completely another merc.