When playing Sawbonez it’s frustrating that your self heal capability is the slowest of the medics - he is the only medic that receives a penalty from large med packs (even if the med pack is from another Sawbonez). I would suggest reduce the healing rate penalty so Sawbonez can better compete with the fd ops/(large) soldiers.
I think perk balancing requires more attention than weapon balancing. Some perks seem pathetic; for example pineapple juggler - what’s the data like on a load out with that perk and that perk actually having been used?
If Arty requires some buffing I would suggest not having his laser and strike point indicator being visible to the enemy. Another possibility would be to improve/increase some areas where you can actually call in the artillery - having to aim it at roof only to see half of it go to waste feels very cumbersome.
I see Phantom as a strong merc when played in the right way in the right situation. Getting into a flanking position is the easiest with Phantom and I think the biggest problem is that people tend to opt for the melee kill instead of shooting. Perhaps the biggest mistake with Phantom was giving him the katana and making him appear as a melee merc.
Red Eye feels strong and like Phantom (and the covert op mercs in general) does require knowledge on positioning and engagement - perhaps his IR goggles could last the full duration as smoke though and the grandeur’s recoil could use a reduction to maximum recoil as it gets pretty wild.
The Stark rifle is in a good position now - I used to find it far too clunky but the recent change feels good. The BR-16 on the other hand went from my favourite weapon to average. Time between bursts feels like an eternity now but I understand why there was a need to slow down the ROF (increased time between bursts) for it. I do think the time between bursts could come down just a little bit though.
I think base ammo reserve (extra half clip) needs to be increased on SMGs (I often miss light weapons rank 1 when using SMGs).
Heavy pistols need to actually deal heavy damage - a 6/7 chamber just doesn’t have the overall killing power of the light pistols. Either increase the damage or drastically increase stability on heavy pistols. Perhaps heavy pistols could also deal more damage to downed players (like 2 shots and their gibbed).
Games feel dominated by fd op mercs - I blame the superiority of ARs over SMGs rather than any hp advantage. I don’t think ARs should be nerfed but I think SMGs still need a more to better compete with them.
