Not my video. But great stuff.
Phantom Feedback
Smooth
(Smooth)
#2
Yes, we did have a turn-speed-limit implemented when using powerful melee attacks but had to remove it at the last minute due it causing some nasty networking issues.
We’ll be reworking the code on this and it should be coming back soon 
Ced23Ric
(Ced23Ric)
#3
That’s good to hear.
Surey, we can expect further addressing of Phantom’s currently relentless pubstomping, eh?
The turn speed is just one aspect - the other is the long projection time of the damage area. You can swipe your mouse and cover multiple people with what should be a single hjab as per animation. The wide area covered with full damage makes Phantom quite lethal in groups, and with his strikes removing about a third of your mercs instantly, his effect limits the viability of these. Even Assaults like Nader walk away with 2 hit points, which is a spray of the KEK-10. I am sure your metrics show more on these effects.
Kroad
(Kroad)
#4
[QUOTE=Smooth;533815]Yes, we did have a turn-speed-limit implemented when using powerful melee attacks but had to remove it at the last minute due it causing some nasty networking issues.
We’ll be reworking the code on this and it should be coming back soon :)[/QUOTE]
surely a better solution would be to make it so that if you originally miss, you can’t then hit them?
kAndyREW
(kAndyREW)
#6
[QUOTE=Smooth;533815]Yes, we did have a turn-speed-limit implemented when using powerful melee attacks but had to remove it at the last minute due it causing some nasty networking issues.
We’ll be reworking the code on this and it should be coming back soon :)[/QUOTE]
glad to hear, smooth!
Also, with the current kneejerk reaction on reddit regarding phantom, I think a lot of it is a little exaggerated…
However, I DO think phantom should be given more utility to make him viable in competitive, besides just a killer.
In addition to fixing how fast he can turn, or if he can turn at all when using the katana…Perhaps trade in his hp to 100HP or take away chopper in exchange for an ability like… Sabotage? It increases the time for enemy to complete objectives by X%/decreases the time it takes for allies to complete objective by X%… and you can do it while your allies are working on the objective already. Not stackeable to prevent phantom spamming in comp play.
Or we could have Sabotage convert enemy deployables to become friendly? Just ideas.
jazevec
(jazevec)
#7
Phantom is above average in all aspects.
- above average speed
- above average health
- above average weapons
Most mercs have downsides. What are Phantom’s downsides ? It’s a “recon” merc that feels very tanky. The same “class” as Vasili, but plays more like Fragger.
potty200
(potty200)
#8
Was there any QA going on with this patch. Phantom is massively over powered and it puzzles me how he managed to get the green light.
Raviolay
(Raviolay)
#9
Think about if you paid money for him, then he gets a nerf with no refunds. Should of been tested on a open PTR like everything until nailed down. Until we get a PTR for mercs and maps, I refuse to spend cash I things that will/could vastly change.
FireWorks
(FireWorks)
#10
Ahm… I have only seen clowns since release that were not remotly able to do harm. Pretty much free frags for anybody knowing the concept of stealth in other games. Sure, noobs will be noobs…
Smooth
(Smooth)
#11
Just quoting my reply in the other thread. In internal playtesting he didn’t come across as overpowered, however our internal testing is quite separated from the real-world styles of play.
Longer term, before Dirty Bomb comes out of Beta, we definitely want to get a ‘test realm’ where public players can get hands-on earlier.
[QUOTE=Smooth;533816]Regarding Phantom in general; we spent several weeks playing with him internally everyday (as we do with each new Merc) and tweaked and changed him over that time. Unfortunately our internal playtime is instantly eclipsed within 30mins of releasing any Merc so we’re not going to get things right straight away.
We do have less work-intensive and controversial Mercs we could have released before Phantom, but we decided to get him out as early as possible so we have as much time as we can to get him in to shape. Invisibility is always going to be very hard to balance in any game, and melee especially difficult in a multi-player FPS.
We’re definitely keeping a very close eye on Phantom but we want to wait for things to settle a little before making any drastic changes. It takes a while to learn how to best play against each new Merc (a good example of this is Rhino) and we don’t want to knee-jerk react after a day’s play.
I accept that the current situation isn’t ideal but, given time, we’ll do our best to resolve it :)[/QUOTE]
ispellcorrectly
(ispellcorrectly)
#12
Today, it started! You know, the COD thing, when you use a certain weapon - MP7 MW3 for instance. MP7 noob…
Well, it was real! “Phantom Noob” - OMG! please don’t be that guy who complains about a merc the devs put in the game for a reason!
Nobody is a ‘noob’ for playing with it, it’s part of the game, adapt and figure out how to counter it!
Nail
(Nail)
#13
I love Phantom for so many reasons
1: he’s driving the drama level on Steam forums to an unbelievable extent
2: most people don’t know HB sensor defeats cloak/shield which makes things super funny
3: everyone thinks he’s super OP and therefore they’re buying him as fast as they can, best hype ever (SD maybe get enough to fund actual anti cheat)
4: makes neat noise
spookify
(spookify)
#14
[QUOTE=ispellcorrectly;533878]Today, it started! You know, the COD thing, when you use a certain weapon - MP7 MW3 for instance. MP7 noob…
Well, it was real! “Phantom Noob” - OMG! please don’t be that guy who complains about a merc the devs put in the game for a reason!
Nobody is a ‘noob’ for playing with it, it’s part of the game, adapt and figure out how to counter it![/QUOTE]
I agree!
What I think is very interesting and we are starting to see a pattern is that a lot of mercs have been called OP. Then another merc comes out and they are OP… I actually think this is great. It really tailors to a person play style. PLUS a lot of games are going to be merc vs merc match ups rather then simply skill vs skill. If you are out matched with the merc combination maybe your skill can carry you to that win.
jazevec
(jazevec)
#15
The shield has 6s cooldown. 75 HP every 6 seconds. See a proxy mine ? Shield, jump past it. See a turret ? Shield, it won’t activate, bash it from behind. Open space ? Shield, run through. Fire support ? Shield, and it’s not as likely to kill you. Grenade ? Shield.
Many of these abilities take long time to reload. But Phantom has a very low CD ability that is basically a counterspell. It’s one of the most versatile abilities because so much of this game revolves around damage.
Also you can deactivate the shield at any time. This makes it even more efficient.
He gets recon percs, including those that protect from the few things that counter him: Untrackable (proxy mines), Enigma (Heartbeat Sensor), Bomb Squad (mines).
Protekt1
(Protekt1)
#16
As long as SD sticks to its methodology of balance, and not giving in to knee jerk reactions from the internet mob, I’ll probably be okay with how they balance phantom.
Raviolay
(Raviolay)
#19
[QUOTE=jazevec;533882]The shield has 6s cooldown. 75 HP every 6 seconds. See a proxy mine ? Shield, jump past it. See a turret ? Shield, it won’t activate, bash it from behind. Open space ? Shield, run through. Fire support ? Shield, and it’s not as likely to kill you. Grenade ? Shield.
Many of these abilities take long time to reload. But Phantom has a very low CD ability that is basically a counterspell. It’s one of the most versatile abilities because so much of this game revolves around damage.
Also you can deactivate the shield at any time. This makes it even more efficient.
He gets recon percs, including those that protect from the few things that counter him: Untrackable (proxy mines), Enigma (Heartbeat Sensor), Bomb Squad (mines).[/QUOTE] So effectively its crysis armour and stealth mode rolled into one, with the addedd bonus of being able to shoot while stealthed. With a short CD and a more powerful melee weapon, in a game where the audio is not up to snuff to hear people coming. The only way to counter him is to have a merc with a hard counter to him. This is balance? Nope sorry its not, I would like a list of all these OP mercs some are talking about. I could quite easy explane why they are not. I can’t see any draw back with phantom largely due to the SMG. His ability can negate the SMGS drawback.
Protekt1
(Protekt1)
#20
He is really easy to spot in stealth and once he attacks the shield is dropped anyway.
As far as I can tell, shotguns hit harder than the katana which has shorter range and fire rate. Just backing up is gonna often get you a win in those situations, they’re really vulnerable to headshots. And Rhino takes 3 swings so basically Rhino also hard counters him imo.
If necessary I’d say the cooldown increased to 8s maybe.
I think people gotta remember that this guy is pretty self focused. There isn’t a whole lot of team utility he brings to the table outside of killing. Sure, doing damage is a big focus of the game, but so is supporting your team via health packs, ammo, and simply doing objectives faster. Is his ability good? Sure. That doesn’t make him OP. Stealth by itself isn’t like you’re dropping a volley of explosives via nader or skyhammer across the map. It isn’t like it heals or provides ammo. It has to be good at something and the thing it is good at should matter, otherwise he’d just be a pointless merc.
SD has talked before about accentuating strengths to make mercs appealing, rather than scaling them back just because it might seem too good. We’ll have to see how they react to the data phantom churns out in the coming weeks. I hope they take their time with tweaking him, like they have with others.