Trying to find a use for Mercy (Janus does it better)

I've been experimenting with Mercy in sandbox mode, trying to find some practical application for it, and am coming up short. Like Janus, the DoT means it is terrible against shields and requires 3 passes to kill a T2 Pgen. Also like Janus, it's great at destroying groups of T1, T2, and Engies.

Unlike Janus however, a single Flak can kill the entire squad of Mercy before they hit. A Janus will survive at least 2 passes over a Flak, dealing a lot of damage each time. Coupled with not being reusable, I'm just not seeing any use for the unit. The change to DoT means it can't even be used as a T4 deterrent anymore. So what's the point of Mercy these days?

You counter t1/t2 spam with it (and clumps of engies)

Unless there is a single Flak. Mercy is the only unit that can't get 1 attack vs. Flak. In its' current state, I'd think you're better off taking a UEF engie from your teammate and using that for your air.

Why wouldn’t the UEF have the better aoe air tool when that’s literally their whole t2 air stage while it’s option #3 for aeon

If the Mercy is now sub-par by design for balance, that's another matter entirely. I thought perhaps there was some edge case for using it I was not aware of.

It isn’t shit by design, but comparing it in some equivalency to janus is silly, might as well as have uef be flabbergasted stingers cant one shot flak like specters while comparing how a mercy interacts with flak compared to janus

@immortal-d said in Trying to find a use for Mercy (Janus does it better):

If the Mercy is now sub-par by design for balance, that's another matter entirely. I thought perhaps there was some edge case for using it I was not aware of.

One edge case is that the mercy can be quite strong against moving shields because of the large damage radius in combination with damage over time. When shields move around they may let the damage source slip underneath the shield and the shield generator would be destroyed almost immediately

faf elite always win

The Mercy is not supposed to be an offensive unit, but a utility unit

I would love to see mercies have a specific use again, so they don't look like a failed Janus clone. What if they do something similar to the absolver, and do large damage to shields?

I can see usecases not just on firebases, but also against those units that have shields themselves, like the harbs, obsidians, and titans, (where strong shield DOT could be really interesting). This gives you a cool utility unit that remains relevant up to and including the T3 stage.

@jip That's more luck than anything, but I appreciate the thought. Sorry, but Mercy in its' current state is not worthwhile.

I liked their original pinpoint use better. It forced proper AA to defend. it was a gamble to use.

@defiant So did I, as it really hammers in the fact you need to bring AA, but the AA didn't always shoot them down properly. Can't have such a strong unit without a functional counter.

The Mercy is going to be as much of a pain as the Fire Beetle to balance. 1-time use units need to be cost effective, but not TOO cost effective. The Mercy in its current state is... Okay. If you rush T2 air, they can be absolute terrors for a little while, but lose favor pretty quick. Great for clouds of T1 stuff. I'm not sure how this could be better without it being too good.

@tankenabard More damage on shields, so it is firmly put into the role of a tactical tool rather than a must-used snipe unit.

If mercies had 2 damage circles, a wide one that does damage over time + a small one that does damage for a longer time, that would make them more useful

They could be used to snipe buildings like T3 mexes using the small circle. They could be used to force an ACU to move (to leave an upgrade). They might even be strong against shields (if you can get the small circle damage against a shield bubble, it would eventually collapse). If it damaged reclaim over time it would be a way to deny reclaim

But units/armies could easily move around that small spot. "Just don't stand there"

Give mercies the sacrifice ability.

So here's a thought. Perhaps we must accept that a single-use unit can never be balanced across skill ranges. Scrap that design concept entirely and change Mercy into a traditional bomber which compliments the Swift Wind. The Fire Beetle would need a similar update.

@immortal-d

Perhaps we must accept that a single-use unit can never be balanced across skill ranges.

I'm not willing to grant that assumption out of hand, and remain strongly against any move such as this that reduces faction diversity.

@indexlibrorum I'm all for maintaining faction uniqueness. That said, when was the last time you saw Mercy or Fire Beetle used in a serious capacity? Something has to give.