Word from BW on Commandos and Mercenaries and their situation in PvP right now.

[SoulBender]

Source: STAR WARS: The Old Republic - BW, do you ever plan on addressing DPS Mercs/Commandos PvP-wise? - Page 4

Hi everyone! I talked to Austin Peckenpaugh (Senior Designer) about Commandos and Mercenaries and their situation in PvP right now, and he had this to say:

I think it's fair to say that Mercenaries and Commandos have escape issues. Admittedly, they can be very hard to catch when used correctly to hug corners, but a lot of that "escapability" falls aside when attacked by multiple melee enemies, at which point they just aren't quite tough enough to sustain without further escapes. We have plans for the future that should give Mercenaries and Commandos better escapes in PvP.

Allison Berryman | Senior Community Coordinator

[shep24]

Nerfing the hell out of merc dps created this useless PvP class on the first place...

[cfhnyy]

I get molested on every toon in pvp once i get stunned once. Resolve is still broken as far as i can see. I guess that these are particularly bad?

[Jetsu]

Just looking at the ranged damage classes' ability to deal with melee enemies:
Gunslinger/Sniper: Can't be charged or pulled when crouched. Have a ranged root effect, knockback, ranged group incapacitate, and melee stun.

Sage/Sorcerer: Instant cast healing potential (bubble and self heal), knockback, speed boost, and single target slow.

Commando/Mercenary: Knockback, single target root, small HoT self heal (on a 3 minute cooldown), and 25% damage reduction shield.

I've had some decent success with mine, but if I become the focus of more than one melee it does feel pretty hopeless. Once you've rooted one and knocked them all back once you're just resigned to trying to shield and HoT through the beat-down until your cooldowns come back.