Commando Archive

Message Edited by Khog on 04-20-2005 02:35 AM

i mastered commando onlive last year and dropped it cuz of the "FLAMMER RULES" asspect. iloved being commando but didnt feel like i was "playing" commando.

Now with this cu i will be defiantly taking it up again!!
heavy lightning beam rocks!!

burning players look like they are burning!!!

HAIL TO THE COMMANDO IT HAS NEW BREAH OF LIFE!!!
i will love playing this profession again....as soon as i figure out how to help take a base down in the CU(any hints?)

wookie on wanderhome---commando at heart...just on leave from the profession

I picked up Master Commando/Master Pikeman and tried to go toe to toe with a master swordsman. Basically I couldn't do enough damage with Commando weapons to be anywhere close to being effective. Even when my opponent just stood 30 m away. Switching to pike made the fight an even match.

Anyone who doesn't have KD recovery after the curb is going to get creamed.

I like the old rocket launcher animation way better.

My experiences have been a mixed bag. I tested Master Commando/ Master Smuggler/ novice rifle/ novice pistol

The two novice professions were to attain some moderately damaging attacks as smuggler realy has only reckless shot, and that one leaves you open to everything anyone wants to toss at you afterwards. So body shot and head shot filled in the needed gap, with pistols providing a couple of extra low level goodies.

Highs:

Area effect advanced concussion shot- very potent control

Area effect disarming shot- again, this one could be an absolute killer if the commando is supported properly.

Rocket Launcher + disarming shot- disgustingly good. Old school low blow/ panic shot right there.

Lows:

Recognizing that most of my highs could not overcome this nagging feeling that something was very wrong with Commando.

Then it hit me- commando's "special attacks" are their weapons. This is one of the coolest concepts to come out of the CU. It's a stroke of genius, but it also misses the mark. The problem, is that my attack speed is effectively cut in half.

The damage ranges of the weapons are not at issue, at least not to my way of thinking. KD attacks don't hit very hard in any prof, so it stands to reason the commando weapon that grants this ability will have a low damage range. Same with blinding attacks. They just don't hit all that hard, medium damage at best. So the state attack based nature of commando weapons makes increasing the damage these weapons do unbalancing, IMHO.

Back to my impression of the problem at hand- speed. When a BH wants to KD you, and then start beating you down with high damage attacks, it might look like this:

Improved Underhand shot; Torso Shot, Advanced critical strike

This happens with amazing speed with pistols and to a lesser degree, carbs, depending on how the BH is stacked.

The commando, trying to do the same equips a rocket launcher and kd's his opponent. Then, has to wait for his cooldown timer, to SWITCH WEAPONS. The concept is really very cool. The execution is lacking.

Things I think commando really, really needs in order to earn that "5" offense rating.

1. All effects from commando weapons need to be linked in some way to heavy weapons accuracy, so that the effciency with blind, or kd, or flame dot's is not tied to weapons, making the master commando truly a master of applying state effects via weapons. If the commando must pay the price in speed, they should have a virtual garantee of sticking a state at master commando, at least on the primary target.

2. Splash damage needs to be more potent that it currently is. BH's duelist stance hits at least as hard, and that is supposed to be a "tanking ability"

3. Nifty as tying special attacks to weapons is as a concept, the master box needs at least one special attack. Something on par with the best versions of leg shot or head shot at the least. Want commando flavor for it? Do something unique that no one else has, like "indirect fire". Completely ignore LOS while both commando and target are outdoors to hit with any heavy weapon. Again, not unbalanced if it is tied to heavy weapons, and only heavy weapons. That's just one idea, anything would do though. Even if they call it "aimed shot 2", something needs to be there.

4. Commando needs at least one hard hitting heavy weapon with no area of effect (or, alternatively, back to that master level special, "armor piercing attack" which would eliminate all aoe damage, and give a small bonus to damage)

5. Combat medics now have innate poison, disease, ranged heals, pretty much everything they used to need pcks for, same as docs, with the option to use crafted items to provide an enhancement to these abilities in high end situations like elite mobs or pvp. I think commando should be granted the same courtesy with regards to grenades. Place an icon in each explosives box, and in the master level box for the grenade of the type granted, and allow for a lower damge equivalent to be "innate". Spare us the need to use comsumables everytime these are used, and stack sizes, and such become much smaller issues.

[edit- thought of#5 again just after hitting "submit post"]

I'm sure there's a ton more, but I don't want to turn this into a gripe fest, and most of this stuff is likely already in "issues" threads. I feel strongly at the moment, that the profession combination I most wanted to play, commando/smuggler, was much stronger on the smuggler side, than on the commando side, and that is a crying shame. I have better dps with a pistol than with my heavies. If I went heavier into pistol and picked up fan shot, I could hit harder with a dl44 xt, or even bowcasterthan with my flame thrower. That's plain wrong. I really, really want to play with all the commando toys, but if this is an offense rating "5", I sggest being nerfed back to a "4", so we can be weaker like Bounty Hunters (alright that last bit is a touch of sarcasm, but asI say, I'm a smuggler at heart too:smileytongue

I just hope they fix it before the respec period ends. I really don't want to be stuck in a broken profession waiting to be "fixed soon" ever again.

Message Edited by Tyyylowyspetily on 05-04-2005 09:38 AM

I was grinding up to Master Commando befor the CU, I was commando 3-3-4-1 with some creature handler & medic thrown in. I respec'd to Master Commando & Combat Medic 3-1-0-0 (which I hope to master when I figure out how).

Im of the opinion that MC/MCM will be a potent combination. Any thoughts/opinions?

Message Edited by Akimari on 05-06-2005 03:53 PM

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Tyyylowyspetily wrote:

Things I think commando really, really needs in order to earn that "5" offense rating.

1. All effects from commando weapons need to be linked in some way to heavy weapons accuracy, so that the effciency with blind, or kd, or flame dot's is not tied to weapons, making the master commando truly a master of applying state effects via weapons. If the commando must pay the price in speed, they should have a virtual garantee of sticking a state at master commando, at least on the primary target. I agree. If they want to tie these State effects to the weapon then tie them all the way. As an Acid 1 Commnando with an Acid Rifle I should have a smaller chance to actually pull off the Blindbut as a Master I should be much more proficient with my weapon inALL aspects.I think as far as Specials go they could tie them to the Speed Mod we get as we advance as well. A Novice Commando with an Acid Rifle tossing a Head Shot should be slower than a Master doing the same thing. If the Special has a Speed Mod thatsubtractsfrom the Base Weapon Speed making us slowerthen our level based Speed Mods should speed us up. If that's the case I can't see it because my Special cycle as slowly at 4/3/3/4 as they did at 1/1/2/1.

2. Splash damage needs to be more potent that it currently is. BH's duelist stance hits at least as hard, and that is supposed to be a "tanking ability" I have yet to have the Splash damage work. I was on Kashyyyk last night doing a quest that had 4 Trandosian Researchers on me and I was using the Acid Stream Launcher. I consistantly hit the primary target with both damage and Blind (this was about 30% effective) but the other 3 rarely took the State Effect and never took damage. I played around with this for about 30 minutes trying to get then others to take damage from the Splash. Not once.....the combat spam consistantly said I hit the non-primaries for 0 damage.

3. Nifty as tying special attacks to weapons is as a concept, the master box needs at least one special attack. Something on par with the best versions of leg shot or head shot at the least. Want commando flavor for it? Do something unique that no one else has, like "indirect fire". Completely ignore LOS while both commando and target are outdoors to hit with any heavy weapon. Again, not unbalanced if it is tied to heavy weapons, and only heavy weapons. That's just one idea, anything would do though. Even if they call it "aimed shot 2", something needs to be there. I agree. Indirect fire is a good idea and fits in with some 'real world' military applications of Commandos. How about a special that focuses on finding weak points on a target and hitting them for a huge damage bonus. Have it use a long set up like Sniper Shot. Commandos are master Demolitionists (they blow things up reeeaaal good) and we currently have nothing to reflect that.

4. Commando needs at least one hard hitting heavy weapon with no area of effect (or, alternatively, back to that master level special, "armor piercing attack" which would eliminate all aoe damage, and give a small bonus to damage). Howabout an Alternate Fire mode for the Rocket Launcher that has Armor Break instead of KD. Currently the Launcher uses HE or High Explosive rockets but a standard man-portable Rocket Launcher in almost any militart inventory today uses AP or Armor Piercing rockets. If not an alternate fire mode then turn the current RL into a Grenade Launcher using HE grenades and create a RL with the AP rockets using Armor Break.

5. Combat medics now have innate poison, disease, ranged heals, pretty much everything they used to need pcks for, same as docs, with the option to use crafted items to provide an enhancement to these abilities in high end situations like elite mobs or pvp. I think commando should be granted the same courtesy with regards to grenades. Place an icon in each explosives box, and in the master level box for the grenade of the type granted, and allow for a lower damge equivalent to be "innate". Spare us the need to use comsumables everytime these are used, and stack sizes, and such become much smaller issues. Again, great idea. I think having a pile of grenades out there for everyone is a less than great idea. Make them Commando Specials based on the Explosives tree or create better ones that require the Explosive tree to use......how about an EMP grenade, a Demolitions Pack that can be placed instead of thrown.......

[edit- thought of#5 again just after hitting "submit post"]

I'm sure there's a ton more, but I don't want to turn this into a gripe fest, and most of this stuff is likely already in "issues" threads. I feel strongly at the moment, that the profession combination I most wanted to play, commando/smuggler, was much stronger on the smuggler side, than on the commando side, and that is a crying shame. I have better dps with a pistol than with my heavies. If I went heavier into pistol and picked up fan shot, I could hit harder with a dl44 xt, or even bowcasterthan with my flame thrower. That's plain wrong. I really, really want to play with all the commando toys, but if this is an offense rating "5", I sggest being nerfed back to a "4", so we can be weaker like Bounty Hunters (alright that last bit is a touch of sarcasm, but asI say, I'm a smuggler at heart too:smileytongue

I agree with another Post I saw that said we as a Class are fixated with the Flame Thrower and mainly because its all we had that really worked well and consistantly for over a year. As such it became our signature weapon. Its a nice weapon with nice effects but maybe at Master level we should have a weapon from each tree or one that is more representative of the "New Commando".

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Throughout the use of the TC, as well as now on live, swapping templates, I've found the following to be true (at least for myself)

• MCo/MR/0400SL: Very effective combo at distance, great as a nuker in a group, ideal for the solo person who like to sit in /cover all day sniping away at your target. If you like todo front-line toe-to-toe combat, this probably isn't the template for you. While you can use the rifle effectively in close quarters, you most devestating specials are meant to be applied at range and your most useful from cover. Versitle in both PvE and PvP.


• MCo/MCa/0400SL: Very hands on. I was able to get into the thick of things and really feel like I was not only working for the kill (even if at times it was too easy) but that the two primary professions realy meshed well. Because both are geared for their primary damage to be done at mid range (no taking the proton rifle into account here) the specials give you the control and accuracy that in many ways you lack otherwise. Additionally, the defenses stack quite nicely and I found you stay up much longer than with other templates when going up against the more difficult mobs. I'd have to say this template is the ideal mix of tank and damage dealer, it's well balanced, and with the addition of that line of SL you get steady aim and volley fire, not to mention it's bonuses to defense and offence, which when leading a group make you that much more efective. Versitle in both PvE and PvP.


• MCo/MBH/0400SL: This was the hardcore tank. When I did this template I felt like I could walk through walls, and was soloing krayts (though never did get an ancient as one never spawned) with some difficulty, but over all, which a little bit of practice and the application of field tactics, I was taking them down fairly quickly before long. There are a nice mixture of specials, though I did find that 90% of them are virtually identical to the ones for carbineer, only they *feel* less accurate on the BH for some reason. I did feel, however, that by gaining that extra defensive element, you were loosing out a bit on the accuracy and the speed of your attacks. Now I plan on trying this template again today, and if I notice it to be otherwise, I'll say so. Again this is another idea template for the person who likes to be in the thick of it and take everyone else's damage. Versitle in both PvE and PvP.


• MCo/MSL/0004Carb: Excellent group leader, as long as you havea full group of cl80 participants. I found this template to be virtually impossible to solo with. I felt weak, underpowered, and outgunned. If I was suicidal enough to attempt a solo foray, I was incapped within seconds. It has low ranged defenses and mediocre offensive potential. I would only recommend this template if you enjoy hunting with groups all the time, have an established hunting group, and do not plan on engaging in any solo content. Versitle in PvE or PvP when accompanied by a full group, otherwise, run up the white flag.


• MCo/0400R/0400/SL/0034 Carb: This was a slight improvement over MC/MSL, but only just. While you had a nicer mix of specials, and improved defensive capability, I still felt as though I was very weak, and literally hanging on for dear life when engaged in any form of combat. You can solo up to a point with this template, but found it rather innefective when the cons start rising into the mid 70s and once you get to cl80, you might as well paint a target on your back and reserve your slot in the cloner. Somewhat versitle in PvE, rather mediocre in PvP.


• MCo/MSmuggler/0400CM (I think): I personally haven't attempted this template, however friends who have, say it is a devestating combo, and very versitle in pvp and pve.


• MCo/MPistol/0400SL: Much like Carbine and Rifle in as much as you fill a specific role, and are very effective at it. Also, much like it's counterparts, you're more effective with your pistols than you are with your commando weapons, however the mixture of specials should make this an interesting combination when our weapons are more sorted out. I tried this template and I was very impressed with the mixture of specials, I just wasn't happy about the range. For me, I like the range and flexibility of carbines. I can hit at 50m with excellent accuracy, but I can still use both a pistol and rifle effectively if I so choose. I didn't find that to be the case with pistols. It was basically use my pistol, or die trying to use my plasma thrower.

That brings me to the end of my primary testing of Commando templates. Personally I still think there is a lot of work to be done on Commando to make it a viable profession. Give the role a commando fills, it still feels highly underpowered and well, unfinished. I'm not sure if that's down to the lack of specials, and it's purely a psychological thing, or if it is purely that when compared to other professions, it's just considerably lacking in so many areas.For instance, you'd think that a commando, given the combat range they fight in, and presumably the training they'd go through, would have defenses akin to if not better than what the MBH has. Additionally, I would expect more accuracy over a wider range of weapons as you'd be trained to be good with pretty much anything you'd pick up. But sadly, the Storm Commando seems to be the model on which we're built, which in SWG is just total and utter crap, despite the fact that in the Star Wars universe they're the most hardcore troopers going and the mere mention of their name is meant to strike fear. In SWG they're faction farms as they go down so easily. Also, look at the Republic Commando. A team of 4 was meant to be more effective than a platoon of soldiers. Where is that reflected in our template? These are our peers, our history and our legacy, so why don't we benefit from that? Commando has taken up a special place in my heart, and I'm not going to give it up, however, I will do my best to help fight to make it better for us all.

Regards,

Gov