Best Merc Build?

[Mad Dog]

So I just started a new game and would like to build a Melee build for the merc. but instead of choosing every perk for Melee I was wondering if there were any perks I could choose for ranged that would help the build while being primarily Melee?

Also If anybody could recommend any gear would be really appreciated.

 

[sumgai]

If you're learning toward melee, get the Warden Shield. Extra hp and evasion.

Samurian Hammer for your primary weapon. Or any high damage weapon that has the Crush flag. Stuns are sexy. Make sure you max out Physique.

Strongly suggest picking Take Cover or Riposte.

 

[Mad Dog]

If you're learning toward melee, get the Warden Shield. Extra hp and evasion.

Samurian Hammer for your primary weapon. Or any high damage weapon that has the Crush flag. Stuns are sexy. Make sure you max out Physique.

Strongly suggest picking Take Cover or Riposte.

Are the other Melee perks fine? And what about armor?

 

[sumgai]

You're not missing much if you pass up on Bloodthirsty, but Armor Piercing is pointless if you're meleeing things. There's not as much synergy on the melee side as there is on the ranged side (Concentrated Fire + Rapid Fire wow!), but Melee Merc is quite a beast.

 

[Evil]

The problem is that every perk in both trees is more keyed to its respective build.

Both mercenary builds are obscene in their ability to deal damage, but are fickle enough that you can't mix and match without impacting on your abilities. Its all out or nothing.

Honestly, the only perk I would say that works in both builds is the Rending Attack (melee applies Sunder, ranged applies Stunning).

 

[ScarletteKnight]

Other melee perks are good, make sure you pick the single target bomb instead of Carpet Bombs. Best armor is Frostbane Plate, but if you don't wanna kill Frosty... Idunno, Chitin Plate? Black Void Armor?

 

[Mad Dog]

So which would be better Riposte or take cover?

 

[Blich]

So which would be better Riposte or take cover?

i prefer take cover, makes a lot of the harder fights way easier, even if it only lasts 3 turns

 

[ScarletteKnight]

So which would be better Riposte or take cover?

Riposte gives evasion when you melee strike, yeah? And Take Cover I think is an active evasion vs ranged attacks? I'm not a Merc, so I can't tell you which is functionally better but I'd just take Riposte.

 

[null_blank]

Riposte is a strange ability for melee Mercs as they have no other way to gain Evade other than equipment. As the game continues development, an evade Melee Merc build may become more viable as more powerful evade gear becomes available. But right now, it's not very good.

 

[Darkwarpalg6]

Do we even know how much evasion Riposte gives? It's easy to put Take Cover and it's description when it says 'avoid nearly all incoming ranged attacks' (although that's still rather vague). But right now all I can imagine is Riposte giving a 5% to Evasion on attack.

 

[ScarletteKnight]

A lot of the tougher boss fights in the game use multi-hit ranged weapons so I would recommend take cover.

That's actually a pretty good point, I retract my statement.

Riposte is a strange ability for melee Mercs as they have no other way to gain Evade other than equipment. As the game continues development, an evade Melee Merc build may become more viable as more powerful evade gear becomes available. But right now, it's not very good.

Evasion is the Smuggler's thing, with raw Defense being the Merc's and Shielding being the Tech's, as far as protection goes.

 

[null_blank]

Evasion is the Smuggler's thing, with raw Defense being the Merc's and Shielding being the Tech's, as far as protection goes.

Adhering strictly to that line of thinking makes Riposte worthless (though it kind of already is).

 

[ScarletteKnight]

Adhering strictly to that line of thinking makes Riposte worthless (though it kind of already is).

I mean, obviously you're not supposed completely lack evasion, defense, or shielding, but seeing a Merc with 30% evasion is a bit weird when they're so tough, or having a Tech in heavy armor instead of something like the Steele Tech Suit.

I do take it to the extreme though; for instance in Dragon Age: Origins my Rogue only put points into Dexterity and Cunning for absolutely massive evasion and crit. She didn't need Strength or Constitution with Daggers and almost 100% dodge chance.

Edit: I don't know how many other did this, but my Mage was a Blood Mage with no extra points in Willpower and massive Constitution; the buffs took a percentage off the mana she didn't use and her insane health pool was both mana and defense.

 

[null_blank]

I mean, obviously you're not supposed completely lack evasion, defense, or shielding, but seeing a Merc with 30% evasion is a bit weird when they're so tough, or having a Tech in heavy armor instead of something like the Steele Tech Suit.

I do take it to the extreme though; for instance in Dragon Age: Origins my Rogue only put points into Dexterity and Cunning for absolutely massive evasion and crit. She didn't need Strength or Constitution with Daggers and almost 100% dodge chance.

Edit: I don't know how many other did this, but my Mage was a Blood Mage with no extra points in Willpower and massive Constitution; the buffs took a percentage off the mana she didn't use and her insane health pool was both mana and defense.

Eh, you're not wrong. I was never a fan of evasion builds and characters like Roz with their lock-on ability make me like evasion even less.

 

[ScarletteKnight]

Eh, you're not wrong. I was never a fan of evasion builds and characters like Roz with their lock-on ability make me like evasion even less.

I mean, a Smuggler's Evasion can reach around 50% currently, and the ability Stealth Field Generator, from what I've seen, is like a better Take Cover, so for Smugs it's pretty good.

 

[Xeivous]

I mean, a Smuggler's Evasion can reach around 50% currently, and the ability Stealth Field Generator, from what I've seen, is like a better Take Cover, so for Smugs it's pretty good.

70% is the maximum as of the last public patch. Assuming max stats; you need Sheeka's catsuit or the frostbane bikini, the jumper shield a hardlight dagger or Tavira's spear, and either the zil champion bow or the royal bow you get from the Qot.

 

[coldmonkey]

I prefer Armor Piercing over Bloodthirsty on both melee and ranged builds. Even if I plan to melee most things, there may be times when ranged is a better option, and then I want my single shot a turn to be a bit more useful. Bloodthirsty never seems to matter once you have Second Wind. Lunge (level 10) makes Armor Piercing and a ranged option mostly obsolete again, but Bloodthirsty is a bit obsolete from the beginning, so it doesn't matter much. It's not a very important choice in the end, but I prefer to cover my bases.