r/riskofrain • u/TextualArchitect • May 21 '26
RoR2 Unlocked everything for everyone including DLCs on Monsoon, was compelled to make this
I know I will inevitably have to pick him up again for the Hallowed Concepts skin
140
u/Kphace May 21 '26
melee survivor
looks inside
acrid
49
15
198
u/gojiwookies May 21 '26
Honestly I agree merc can be potential survivor. But also he's one of the most rewarding once you really can get a handle on how his abilities. Shit is FUN :D
189
u/VexialHex May 21 '26
learning that expose lowers your skill cooldowns by 1 second each time you hit an enemy with it is what made me actually enjoy playing merc when i first got the game. He's now one of my favs since you can basically spam your skills if you keep hitting exposed enemies frequently. I can agree tho that he is ROUGH to learn when you're first starting out. Peak merc basically feels like you have zero skill cooldowns
62
u/arbitrary_student May 21 '26
My problem with merc is that even when you're doing everything right you really just... aren't doing very much damage. He feels about as damaging as huntress, but comes with all this extra difficulty for no reason.
I really like his kit but whenever I try using him in the modded difficulties above monsoon I just fall off and can't kill bosses fast enough (unless I get lucky with items). Like standing on a wandering vagrant's head just wailing on it with your full combo over and over and it just doesn't die lol
8
u/DirePantsX May 21 '26
(Funi vagrant instakill tech)
2
u/JKhemical May 22 '26
Unfortunately, the Vagrant Booty Bash alone isn't enough to sell me on the character
3
u/VexialHex May 22 '26
Bleed/proc items and on kill effects really go a long way with merc in my own experience. You can proc things extremely well with his kit so stuff like tri-tip/noxious thorn is extremely useful when getting merc into the later stages. I havent done much modded ror2 so I cant attest too much to those difficulties, but from my experience in eclipse expose procs deal a good chunk of damage (enough to proc bands pretty easily). Attack speed also helps to proc expose more often. He can be very punishing, but feels wayyyy more rewarding than huntress imo due to how often you can just wail on enemies with your skills if you keep hitting expose often enough
1
u/arbitrary_student May 22 '26
For sure, that's fair. Could easily just be a skill issue on my part - I just always feel stuck with him if I don't get lucky and acquire some important items for damage output early on.
Sorta the same way I feel about commando. Basically the numbers in their kits feel undertuned to me so they both feel overly item dependent, compared to other characters who can deal enough damage to push their way through level 1 & 2 without damage items.
-3
u/dfitz360 May 21 '26
Shatterspeen and crit glasses and suddenly bosses fall in seconds
39
u/MaliciousMaggots May 21 '26
I hate to be that guy, but this applies to basically every other survivor as well.
-2
2
u/UntoastedToaster May 22 '26
Especially when you learn the tech where you can combo the dash with the third swing of your M1 attack to get extra expose and damage
1
71
u/piiavc May 21 '26
Thank God you dropped the "never is" line, the fact it just gets reused verbatim with zero changes always irks me in other versions of this template.
29
u/Octavean1856 May 21 '26
Ok this is very funny but he’s very fun istg I haven’t been gaslit into thinking this I am a free thinkin merc blooded petrichorian
166
u/Trxztan May 21 '26
skill issue
33
u/TextualArchitect May 21 '26
Yeah that's what my friends who play him say lol
33
u/Madrefaka May 21 '26
that friend is me lmao
Ive tried every hero and merc is the only one i have fun that its the only one i play now and i unironically loop the run 3-4x before i end. honestly if they release another hero with merc mobility i'd give them a try
6
u/TheReptileGamer May 21 '26
I'm not sure I get your point, merc isn't at alll the most mobile survivor imo... Most other's mobility is more skill-based, but can do about as much. And then there's loader...
12
u/Madrefaka May 21 '26
between the double jump, spin slash right click, shift dash and ult everything is movement skill and the combo makes sense, for others i dont really get that feeling
2
u/JKhemical May 22 '26
Yeah well Loader can just Pylon -> Grapple and suddenly she's on the other side of the map
alt special isn't real
0
u/Madrefaka May 22 '26
yeah well for me thats boring, its basically a shittier version of spiderman, when i play merc i feel like i play an op version of juggernaut in dota
4
u/WisePotato42 May 21 '26
I would agree loader has better mobility in general (expecially since she doesn't need to hover around an enemy), but if you think the other survivors have better mobility, then I don't know what you're talking about.
7
u/arbitrary_student May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Acrid's mobility is cracked, he's tied with loader & seeker IMO. Merc's is second to those three, and tied with characters like Huntress.
idk if that's an objective view on it tho, it's just how I feel about it.
Edit: forgot about seeker
1
u/WisePotato42 May 21 '26
What makes acrid's movement cracked? Is there some tech i don't know about?
2
u/arbitrary_student May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
He has two uses of a leap ability on a very low cooldown. The actual distance it covers is somewhat similar to Huntress with her alt dash (and that's a LOT), but unlike Huntress his can be used vertically, even when you're already airborne.
So he can cover massive distances horizontally or vertically on a 6 second cooldown with two charges (charges = bursts of big movement when you need it). It's nuts, you can just be wherever you want whenever you want.
You can go up huge cliffs with him because he can use his second leap the moment you touch a wall, so you can leap halfway up it and then leap again in the middle of the wall. He's the only character aside from Loader & Seeker who can reach every single newt altar in the game without any items. I think there's at least one that Merc can't reach (desolate forest big tree) - and that's also setting aside that Merc's main dash has a 33% longer cooldown and doesn't have charges (unless you hit an enemy). His special skill dash is pretty short so it's not very comparable.
In melee Merc's moment-to-moment mobility is very good but unless he's proccing expose for cooldown reduction it's arguably still less than Acrid's.
Loader & Seeker can cover more distance at any given moment, but because Loader doesn't come with multiple dash charges her mobility is sorta different, and Seeker's mobility is very uni-directional. They're all equally strong, just different.
3
u/WisePotato42 May 21 '26
Huh, I haven't played them in a while, but it didn't seem as great as you are describing. I couldn't even get up that gap on titanic plains last I remember.
I should try them again anyway.
62
51
u/RemyFromRatatouille May 21 '26
>0 good ranged options
>slicing winds exists
43
u/Ra-q May 21 '26
They said "good" options
21
u/_Knucklehead_Ninja May 21 '26
And? solid damage, consistent to hit, large AoE, procs well, what's not to like?
4
u/Boldee May 21 '26
Terrible hitbox on the projectile though. The sole reason I stopped using it is because I'd see wisps pass through the visuals of the ability as it flies through the air, and just not get hit. The visual makes it look like a wide rectangle, but it's more like a ball. Perhaps it's been fixed since then, but I wouldn't know.
1
u/MakoWithC May 21 '26
it's really weird to get used to, since it's the only ranged ability (I can think of) that jerks your camera around right before the attack comes out like, whenever I aim at something that's outside of immediate range, no matter how I adjust it, it always feels a bit off
9
u/_Knucklehead_Ninja May 21 '26
really? are we talking about the same thing? I feel whenever i use slicing winds it's clean, accurate, predictable, reliable, i have like genuinely no issues with it
2
u/arbitrary_student May 21 '26
It moves you awkwardly if you're airborne when you fire it off, takes some getting used to. It's consistent, but it is really weird.
It's identical to how if you're bandit and you're airborne + stealthed and fire off your revolver, you have to adjust your aim because it drops stealth immediately which bumps you up into the air and makes you miss if you don't compensate for it.
1
u/TheZealand May 21 '26
Self report tbh, Winds is exceptional damage + AOE expose if you have 3 braincells to rub together
11
62
u/LunaLynnTheCellist May 21 '26
insane skill issue just learn to dodge and expose tech and cycle cooldowns and perhaps use slicing winds (one of the craziest abilities in the game) if range is your grievance
i respect your opinion tho (even if i think its bad lol sry)
41
u/TextualArchitect May 21 '26
This is one of the funniest comments I could possibly have received on a slander post and I respect your opinion back
13
14
u/StupidPickleJar May 21 '26
The way I play Merc is I stack both Purity and Shape glass because no matter how you run him, you dead in a single hit so why bother having HP :)
20
u/GeneralEi May 21 '26
Merc is unironically one of the easiest characters as long as you get into the adhd child mindset.
Never stay still, spam every button
2
u/MaliciousMaggots May 21 '26
Exactly my strategy, if you can call it one. Works great even without the more intensive tech and strats
5
5
9
u/Gamerosity May 21 '26
we will not tolerate mercenary slander in this subreddit, give me i frames or give me death, he was the first survivor i beat the game with
6
u/Burning_Toast998 May 21 '26
listen… I am merc’s #1 biggest hater… but saying he NEEDS alien head is major levels of cope. He is designed around hitting exposed enemies, and thrives when you do so. If you’re not properly taking advantage of his attack extensions then you’re not going to do well period.
In other news, I agree with all the other points you made. He’s way too squishy, relies way too heavily on his special, in many cases has too high a skill floor for newcomers, and basically requires a wiki to play efficiently.
4
7
u/OCDincarnate May 21 '26
Invest in attack speed; You want to try and weave an expose between each ability use to solve that CD issue reliably
13
u/Front-Cod9391 May 21 '26
Attack speed can be detrimental as it prevents you from performing the tech where you time your third primary swing with his dash so that the hitbox of the swing persists as you dash through enemies, thus applying expose to all of them.
18
u/Octavean1856 May 21 '26
Funnily enough I avoid attack speed on merc cuz it often fucks up my combo timings
1
u/JKhemical May 22 '26
Yeah sure lemme just get more attack spe-
every chest on the map is tooth necklace/leeching seed
1
u/Additional-Band1715 May 22 '26
Id agrue against that if you're not using slicing winds since your main damage (and expose) wont be coming from primary slashes, but rather your special and utility.
7
3
u/EpsteinEpstainTheory May 21 '26
I found him way more survivable in the first game than the second
6
u/TextualArchitect May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
I actually enjoy him a lot more in ROR/RORR than ROR2
1
u/JKhemical May 22 '26
I dislike RoR2 Merc but RoRR Merc kicks ass. Same thing with Commando as well.
please bring the parry to ror2 please please please please
2
2
2
2
u/tehswordninja May 21 '26
Mercenary isn't fun because you spend a lot of time mastering him only for his damage output to not be very good. Other survivors out damage him with half the effort. I'd love if he got some adjustments some day to make mastering him truly rewarding!
2
u/XDyay_force May 21 '26
i genuinely thought it was impossible to lose with merc what the hell is this
2
u/1cadennedac1 May 21 '26
(I'm assuming you're using the loadout shown in the image)
I think the problem may be your loadout. Give the alt special a try. It really ups your damage and helps to keep you out of danger.
If you don't like that, I'd suggest switching to the default utility, because if you're going to be using the default special, then you may as well lean into the i-frames
2
u/bucket_crust May 21 '26
I have made two videos about why Mercenary is best, and people still don't realize my brilliance. Smh my head. :(
1
1
u/Void_HighLord May 21 '26
Funny enough is the only survivor that I can finish runs consistently, even with bad items
1
1
2
u/beansoncrayons May 21 '26
I frames are infinitely more valuable than health when the game inevitably scales to hitting 1 shot protection instantly
1
2
1
1
1
1
u/TheFrogMoose May 21 '26
His alternate skills are neat but the only one I'd use is the dash and that's it. I also shred things with us basic attacks.
Definitely my favorite character but he does definitely lack range by a lot which is exactly why I usually don't use his alternate skills
1
u/Zealotsam May 21 '26
Merc is the only survivor I've cleared eclipse 8 with lol. Possibly why so many of the other survivors feel clunky to me, I've gotten so used to the moveset.
1
u/PSY-FI64 May 21 '26
Still better than the plant on Eclipse. Perma-damage hits a melee character hard but at least his kit doesn't get hard-countered.
1
u/Vast-Mud7249 May 21 '26
I've been playing with a friend who likes Mercenary (least played Survivor, half as played as Seeker, my least played Survivor, I have less than 3 hours in this fucker I CANNOT STAND HIM) and it feels like I have to be at the top of my game every time just to contend with the multiplayer scaling and having a dead weight on my team (and I've seen him play Engie & MUL-T, he's GOOD. He just likes Merc.)
1
u/Banjovious May 21 '26
When they're slandering your Goat but they're right.
Honestly I uses to play solely Merc but then Void fiend came out and I found a balance of the two... then false son was added and I rarely play either.
1
u/SAkbal May 21 '26
Dragging his primary 3rd hit with his dashes so you expose whole groups is so satisfying. Amazing floor is lava gameplay
1
u/enderboi99 May 21 '26
Wow it's almost like every survivor is at a disadvantage without items to back them up
1
u/Mammoth-Violinist-20 May 21 '26
I don't know why they don't just buff the older survivors just a little. I do love merc so much though. He is fun to play. I do hate his alternative R though, I want my mele. Felt like such bull after all the work did to get it.
1
u/Elcycle May 21 '26
I grinded the monsoon skin for merc and im really bad with him but hes one of the more fun survivors imo
1
u/NegativeScythe May 22 '26
The allmight image made me laugh but Mercenary is my fav character in ror2. I play hitscan characters in other shooters, but in ror, the mobility of mercenary is just too fun.
1
1
1
u/Fictional_Narratives May 22 '26
well the problem is your loudout sucks. uppercut and eviscerate are both garbage. the only good pick you have here is focused assault.
1
u/smcaskill May 23 '26
i played nothing but merc for a long time, told my friends that he was in fact fun, and that they needed to lock in. after not playing him for a while, i can confirm he is ASS
1
u/Sully_D_Ace May 27 '26
So easy! Stack Fuel Cells > Corrupt Fuel Cells, Almost infinite i frames spamming your special. Stack soldier syringe as it adds to how many slashes your special does Grab some alien heads to increase cooldown so you dont need to keep getting fuel cells. Then start adding some damage Focus crystals/Bleed/Crit some teddies to avoid the occasional 1 shots
1
u/extratonefan May 27 '26
Holy I agree with you.
I loved him at first, cause his combat is running around, dashing and being cool, but he is sooo weak (both damage and health-wise). It's probably one of the hardest character to play (doesn't mean he is bad), I'd say it's easier for me to win with commando than with him.
1
u/TheYoshiTerminator May 21 '26
I love merc. Full alt Merc. No invincibility abusing, just a strong mobile survivor instead.
No needing to rely on Eviscerate or Trimping, from my least favorite to my second favorite.
2
u/Shockwire136 May 21 '26
Ah, another alt secondary enjoyer.
1
u/TheYoshiTerminator May 21 '26
Good Damage, acts like a pseudo triple jump, great for keeping up the pressure on aerial enemies and can save you from fall damage, Underrated as hell.
I got downvoted for saying this before, people really think the trimping is required to even play Merc.
1
u/Shockwire136 May 21 '26
Trimping is just too good of a strat that people just think the alt is plain bad, where in reality damage wise they're not so far apart. I don't like whirlwind because of the movement honestly.
1
1
0
-2
0
492
u/MrNigel117 May 21 '26
anyone saying "he plays like a fighting game character" has probably never played an fg.