General

Evidently most people here know a lot more about the deeper workings of these classes than I do, but I wouldn't hesitate to say that WH is a lot more fun. And that's really the most important factor to me.

Honestly I like Wild Hunters better. Spamming the same combos over and over again (Dual Blade, Mercedes) gets old for me.
Wild Hunters have lots of buffs mostly increasing evasion and avoidablility, and defense. They're still strong mobbers with fast melee attacks, survivability especially in third job, and shooting while moving. Also, they can stun enemies with a lot of their attacks. I really love their many skills and mobility in speed, Jag Jump, and their dash and diagonal dash.
Mercedes is pretty much like Dual Blade when it comes to mobbing; very mobile with knockbacks, dashes, and combos. Good and very mobile bossers.

Wild hunters have that backwards shooting skill now which helps SO MUCH. It's so funny to see it in action as well .

@Elufu: Oh, okay, well thanks for clearing that up.

@Jooce: Physical Resistance is different to PDR. The only way to reduce this is through "ignoring Elemental Resistance", which unfortunately WH is not equipped with like many other classes in Maple. But yeah while their damage is cut severely, they do have a strong base damage which fortunately keeps them at about the same DPS as Mercedes on the bosses of concern.

Early game damage for a Mercedes was a big concern for the class for quite some time. Nexon has finally looked into this and has improved their damage but it's probably still not enough to keep up to standard. I'm already well past those levels.. so I wouldn't know what it's like for newcomers.

In summary: They're very much a like in terms of damage, mobbing would depend on where you are (I would give credit to WH, if in Evo) and they have different play styles. Totally up to TS to consider which is for him.

@Elufu: [So basically all the bosses that matter. ] Though WHs do get something like 30 or 40% def ignore from a 4th job passive, so I s'pose that helps at least a little bit, right?
Regardless, my opinions are simply based on what I've played as a Merc (up to level 70, which is basically nothing in terms of game-play), and what I've played as a WH so far (which does not include late-game bossing or mobbing). So... I don't know.

@Jooce: Actually I think you're right on 1v1 bossing scenarios(depending on which boss you're against). [To be more clear, WH's damage is fatally penalised when against a boss with Physical Resistance. i.e. Hilla, Empress etc]

Mobbing is strongly dependent on the map you're in and the funding you have but in general I'd say Mercedes clear mobs much more efficiently than WHs(based on observations of a WH duo-laning at HoH with me). But their high permanent stance is something to be envious of as a Mercedes.

Mercs have more hits per seconds and are dependent on moving around alot. Their skills are faster but weaker.

WH is just...a hunter on a mount O_O I means thats it...But I LOVEE MY WH TO DEATH

Wild hunters are fun, very fast (Snow White mount gives 190% speed), and pretty strong. I dislike the fact that they're so mount-based (because a lot of the good buffs can only be cast on a mount), but that's mostly due to my forgetfulness. WHs can also attack while moving with some skills, so that's a plus, however their main mobbing move in 4th job, Sonic Roar is not a moving skill. :'(
We get Sharp Eyes, though, which is cool.

Honestly, I think that WHs are stronger than Mercs, but I don't actually know this and it's just part speculation and part bias.

If you ain't rich don play Mercedes

I still can't decide which one I want to main either