Mastermind Wishlist

So, my love of MMs has been rekindled by Homecoming.  But there's still a few things I feel could be vastly improved.  I don't know if these are something tat can be coded in or not, but ...

 

Travel Powers

My biggest returned pet peeve (haha, pun) is that in order to travel from A to B any faster than Sprint, I need to /dismiss all my pets (or else, drag the pain-train right up my own tailpipe as the pets aggro everything along the way).  I wish my pets got the same travel power I picked, and turning mine on turned theirs on too.

 

More pet types

I want more.  More.  MORE...!

 

How about Psychic Mastery - summon psychic/psionic beings, essentially nightmares?

 

Why not Coralax Mastery ...?

 

How about a bunch of super-powered sidekicks - basically, NPC heroes or villains, with varied powers, as pets?

 

Oh, here's another: Ghosts ...!  :D  Maybe specifically Pirate Ghosts ...!!  Yarr!!

 

More secondaries

I want some CONTROL-themed secondaries, not just buff/debuff stuff.  Let's proliferate some of the Controller and Dominator primaries over as MM secondaries.

Coming up with MM set ideas is just too easy. I have to restrain myself to prevent this post from being pages long  ;D

 

Also, it's not explicitly a control set, but there's quite a bit of control in /dark. You can grab Bonfire from the Fire EPP (and add a KB->KD enhancement) for even more control.

I mostly just wish we could customize our existing sets. Such as replace wolves with cougars and the dire wolf with a tiger....or vary the look of the demons or soldiers. Etc.

 

It would also be nice if we could separate out the attacks from the pets, so you could have guns or the whip for the beasts, for instance. But the structure for that functionality just doesn't exist I suspect.

I mostly just wish we could customize our existing sets. Such as replace wolves with cougars and the dire wolf with a tiger....or vary the look of the demons or soldiers. Etc.

 

It would also be nice if we could separate out the attacks from the pets, so you could have guns or the whip for the beasts, for instance. But the structure for that functionality just doesn't exist I suspect.

 

This is what's at the top of my MM wishlist. I'd like my Thugs to be mobsters sometimes, or have some alternative uniforms for my Mercs.

 

Hell, maybe even let us have (some) NPC factions as skin options for certain pets eventually, like letting us use Banished Pantheon Zombies or Clockwork robots.

 

But really, I just want to be able to reskin MM pets.

I'd love that too, but from what I recall, they would actually have to create a plethora of otehrwise-identical powersets.  The pet appearances are hardwired in to the powers in question.

 

Which sucks balls, because it'd be awesome to have MY Thugs MM be controlling a bunch of Hellions, while YOURS commands Trollkin, and HERS commands a pack of Skulls.  :)  Which could give us not only different looks, but actually slightly different abilities for the various minions.

I'd love that too, but from what I recall, they would actually have to create a plethora of otehrwise-identical powersets.  The pet appearances are hardwired in to the powers in question.

 

Which sucks balls, because it'd be awesome to have MY Thugs MM be controlling a bunch of Hellions, while YOURS commands Trollkin, and HERS commands a pack of Skulls.  :)  Which could give us not only different looks, but actually slightly different abilities for the various minions.

 

I'm fine with identical abilities, even if it pushes the edge of verisimilitude. I just wish we had different looks.

 

I know there would have to be a lot of difficult, maybe impossible changes that would have to be made to the code for it, but it's a wishlist, not a list of things that are likely.

I'd love that too, but from what I recall, they would actually have to create a plethora of otehrwise-identical powersets.  The pet appearances are hardwired in to the powers in question.

 

Which sucks balls, because it'd be awesome to have MY Thugs MM be controlling a bunch of Hellions, while YOURS commands Trollkin, and HERS commands a pack of Skulls.  :)  Which could give us not only different looks, but actually slightly different abilities for the various minions.

 

You know... maybe, then, it's not entirely impossible.

 

If the minions are hard-wired into the powers... why not allow Masterminds to "revoke" and swap out their minion summoning abilities, depending on powerset?

 

So, instead of the default "Call Thugs," you have several different re-skins of the ability that are callbacks to some of the game's street gangs (Call Hellions, Call Skulls, Call Trolls, Call Outcasts). And the different powers would work like Sprint: you can only have one version of Sprint active at a time, similarly you can only have one version of each tier of Mastermind summoning power active at a time.

I'd love that too, but from what I recall, they would actually have to create a plethora of otehrwise-identical powersets.  The pet appearances are hardwired in to the powers in question.

 

Which sucks balls, because it'd be awesome to have MY Thugs MM be controlling a bunch of Hellions, while YOURS commands Trollkin, and HERS commands a pack of Skulls.  :)  Which could give us not only different looks, but actually slightly different abilities for the various minions.

 

You know... maybe, then, it's not entirely impossible.

 

If the minions are hard-wired into the powers... why not allow Masterminds to "revoke" and swap out their minion summoning abilities, depending on powerset?

 

So, instead of the default "Call Thugs," you have several different re-skins of the ability that are callbacks to some of the game's street gangs (Call Hellions, Call Skulls, Call Trolls, Call Outcasts). And the different powers would work like Sprint: you can only have one version of Sprint active at a time, similarly you can only have one version of each tier of Mastermind summoning power active at a time.

 

Oh! Like how /SR Sentinels can choose Master Brawler vs Practiced Brawler?

 

That would be probably be a handful, since you'd have to make an additional three powers for EACH set of customization options. At a certain point, rewriting the powers might actually be a better use of time. Plus, there's the issue of each option taking up space in the power selection screen, which will worsen as more options are added.

Elemental sets for MM would be easiest to implement for new MM sets.

Like lightning, snowmen, stone golems, and living flames. Just re-use the current models and attacks of things like igneous and the power transfer lightnings guys.

I personally would love lightning. End drain hitting someone other than me...

Big hell yes to more sets for MM. Please get creative and add 4 or 5 new ones. Even if they are just copy/pastes of current sets I don't care. It's the fantasy of it that counts the most.

I suggested in the chat (on Indomitable) a few weeks back for a sort of King Arthur mythos knights set. First three henchmen would be 3 squires, two melee, one with a bow (or maybe all three could be ranged since the knights will be up front, up for debate for balancing and such). The second pets would be two knights with swords and shields, and the third pet would be a Wizard à la Merlin. I think for the MM's three attacks, provided Sorcery could be made a regular/damage set, would be three from that. As for the specialty power (Gang war, etc.), maybe you could summon a dragon for a short period of time.

 

Since we need a secondary that is themed/works well with this, I'd say the support version of a finished Sorcery support set.

Giving the squires a mace and a bow would possibly allow them to use the same combat logic as the Battle Drones, and mirrors the typical backup weapon that archers would carry..

My Mastermind wish: Make group flight actually work.

It would be nice to have the bots fly along with me instead of running like little madmen stuck in peaceful so they don't aggro All the Things.

 

Enforcer MM

 

Basically a PS that changes from Arachnos soldiers when you are villain and Longbow when you are hero. Since the release day of CoV I dream of having an Army of Arachnos/Longbow.

 

I'd also like to have a ghost army :)

I'd also like to have a ghost army :)

 

Pirate Ghosts ... I remember suggesting/requesting that, all the way back in Issue 6 ...!! :)

 

Pirate Ghosts ... I remember suggesting/requesting that, all the way back in Issue 6 ...!! :)

And we know they have the models -- I just did an arc full of 'em.

 

That's why I kept suggesting it back when: the animation parts were already done.

 

...

 

Which means, it could be done now, just as "easily" (well, not that designing a new powerset is easy, but at least it doesn't require new animations and such ...)

Just my .02

 

The AI used for the pets was at one point "nerfed" I think after i23 (or maybe 22)  All I know is that the minions, pre-i23/22 (bots in this case) would be content to shoot their lasers and maybe one of them would go in for some melee goodness and promptly get himself into a whole heap of trouble. After the AI "nerf" it seems they ALL want some of that action and have a death wish.  Is there anything that could be done to revert this?

 

Also, if not, could we possibly get the little buggers some more HP?

I'd like to see a boost the the personal attacks. The demon whip is decent, as it has the always useful resistance debuff, and the beast one builds pack mechanics, but otherwise they're pretty bad to the point where you're advised to skip them. I don't think a primary set should have 3 powers that are heavily skippable.

 

I would like to see them get a 20% damage boost/end cut for each one you take, similar to how the fighting pool works. I dont think 40% more damage for taking all 3 would break the bank, and would go a long way to making them a meaningful choice and the mastermind feel more active.

 

Similarly, it would be good to add a mechanic for mercs, bots, thugs and ninjas similar to pack mentality. Bots, thugs and ninjas have weak to no secondary effects on their blasts, while mercs is considered the worst all around and could definitely use a bigger boost. Demons already have a great secondary effect on the whip, as does necromancy, so they probably dont need the same treatment. 

Honestly I'd like to see some pet skins to add variety, like different zombies or different uniforms and weapons for mercs (Storm Troopers!). I'd also like to see some "weapon" options that change the weapon MMs use as part of their primary powers. Archery mixed with Ninjas have never really been my thing, not when I could have shurikens or dark magics or something. The previous idea wouldn't need any changes to the powers save from new weapons and animations. On the other hand being able to pick some form of melee option like the Martial art powers would be great. Could always leave my pets on guard to make myself survivable enough for melee.

Just my .02

 

The AI used for the pets was at one point "nerfed" I think after i23 (or maybe 22)  All I know is that the minions, pre-i23/22 (bots in this case) would be content to shoot their lasers and maybe one of them would go in for some melee goodness and promptly get himself into a whole heap of trouble. After the AI "nerf" it seems they ALL want some of that action and have a death wish.  Is there anything that could be done to revert this?

 

Also, if not, could we possibly get the little buggers some more HP?

In addition to the existing controls -- Although it would probably take some heavy redo-ing of the aI -- Ranged vs Melee commands.  Where rather than just leaving them with one attack it would weight the AI's preference one way or the other. 

 

I expect zombies to go around pimp-slapping things. It makes me a bit crazy when a robot runs in to do it.

 

And a shorter "wander" radius for the "goto" and "stay" commands.

I have ideas for basic MM primaries that would mostly use existing assets; whether existing enemies and pets or stuff easily rigged in the costume creator; and have simple but clear themes.

 

Fire Elementals: Through various means you are able to call forth living embodiments of flame to serve you. Fire Elementals do substantial damage at any range but are weak to cold and are somewhat lacking in resilience. Special ability: Incineration; if a target is already taking damage over time from fire attacks, they will take additional damage from other fire attacks.

 

T1: Flares (as per fire blast)

T2: Summon Fire Imp (modification of the fire control pet: starts with scorch and flares. First enhancement adds cremate, second adds fireball)

T3: Fire Blast (as per fire blast's version of the power)

T4: Feed flames (Basic enhancement)

T5: Fireball

T6: Summon Fire Elemental (Bigger flaming imp: starts with firesword and blazing aura. Equip adds warmth and incinerate. Enhance adds consume and burn)

T7: Accelerant (like a reskinned oil slick that keeps the ignition but trades the control for decreased fire resistance; sets up enemies for hurty damage)

T8: Summon Pyro Archomental (really big flaming imp. Starts with fire sword circle and fireball. Equip adds fiery cage, fire sword, and melt armor. Enhance adds rise of the phoenix and greater fire sword.)

T9: Prime Heat (higher level enhancement)

 

Ice Elementals: Through various means you can call forth the powers of winter to serve you and destroy your foes. Ice elementals are exceedingly resilient and slow down their foes substantially but are vulnerable to fire damage and somewhat slow. Special ability: Brittle cold, struck by multiple elementals (including the mastermind) gain a "brittle" proc that can allow 1.5x critical hits to be dealt to them with each proc of "brittle" increasing the chance of this by 5%.

 

T1: Ice Bolt (as per Ice Blast)

T2: Frostlings (Basically the winter horde enemy. Equip adds Ice Armor. Enhance adds Block of Ice.)

T3: Ice Blast (as per well...Ice Blast)

T4: Empower Cold (Equip power)

T5: Freeze Ray

T6: Summon Jack Frosts (Starts with Freezing Touch and Ice Sword. Equip adds Glacial Shield and Breath of Frost. Enhance adds Wet Ice and Ice Patch

T7: Stay Frosty (Targeted AoE with hold and minor DoT over time; every held enemy defeated while held has a chance to spawn a frostling)

T8: Summon Hellfrost: (Starts with Ice Sword and Greater Ice Sword. Equip adds Energy Absorbtion, Wet Ice, and frostwork. Enhance adds Freezing Aura and Hibernate.) 

T9: Permafrosting (Enhance power)

 

Electric Summoning: Creatures of the rawest electric power are yours to command, wreaking havoc with their energy attacks and endurance draining. Electric Summoning's pets are fast and have strong resistances, but lack defence and struggle with energy resistant enemies and are lacking in range attacks. Special: Energy leech, a portion of endurance drained by pet and mastermind attacks is redistributed back to the mastermind and all their pets.

 

T1: Charged Bolts (as per electric blast)

T2: Summon Gremlins (Start with charged brawl and electric armor. Equip adds conductive shield. Enhance adds Jacob's ladder)

T3: Lightning Bolt (As per electric blast)

T4: Volt transformation (Equip power)

T5: Ball Lightning

T6: Voltaic fiend (Bigger gremlins with energy wing SFXes. Start with Havoc Punch, Charged Brawl and electric armor. Equip adds conductive shield and lightning field. Enhance adds thunder strike and chain induction.)

T7: Kremzeek! (PBAoE, drains a lot of end from enemies; has a chance to spawn a Voltaic Sentinel with every certain amount of End Drain.)

T8: Surge Destructor (Really big gremlin with energy wing SFXes. Starts with Charged Brawl, Havoc Punch, and electric armor. Equip adds conductive shield, lightning field, and jacob's ladder. Enhance adds thunder strike, power surge, and lightning rod.)

T9: Up the Amp (Enhance power)

 

Radioactive Command: Through one mean or another, those creatures mutated or with special connections to the power of the atom are yours to command to destroy your foes with intense, lethal radiation. Your mutants are resilient if slow, and their ability to weaken enemies afflicted by their radiation is not to be underestimated.  Special ability: Radiation sickness, as enemies take more and more damage from the radioactive shivans and their mastermind, they gain stacks of radiation sickness which lowers their damage.

 

T1: Neutrino Bolt (As per radiation blast)

T2: Summon Mutate (Starts with Contaminated Strike and Neutrino Bolt. Equip adds radiation infection. Enhance adds enervating field.)

T3: X-Ray beam (as per radiation blast) 

T4: Radioactive Mutation (Equip power)

T5: Electron haze (as per radiation blast)

T6: Summon Mutate Crusher (Starts with Contaminated Strike and Radioactive Smash. Equip adds radiation therapy and beta decay. Enhance adds Proton Sweep and Radiation Siphon.)

T7: Mutate Fallen (cast on a defeated enemy to gain another mutant pet depending on their rank as the mutagenic energies turns them into one of your own)

T8: Summon Mutate Obliterator (Starts with Electron Haze and Neutron Bomb. Equip adds Accelerate metabolism, cosmic burst, and fallout. Enhance adds Atom Smasher and EM Pulse.) 

T9: Radioactive Augmentation (Enhance power)

 

Circle of Knights: You are a master of an order of knightly warriors whose resilience is virtually unmatched and whose great power in melee is held back only by most of their damage being smashing or lethal. Knights are also able to use taunt and confront powers to control the flow of battle. Special Ability: On my Honour: Knights will protect their liege with their lives; giving stacking defensive bonuses to the mastermind when in supremacy radius. 

 

T1: Crossbow bolt (basic crossbow attack)

T2: Call man at arms (Calls a shield defense scrapper. The first uses broadsword, the second battle axe, and the third war mace. They start with Hack/Beheader/Bash deflection/battle agility, and confront. Equip adds phalanx fighting and Slash/Chop/Pulverize. Enhance adds grants cover and Slice/Gash/Jawbreaker.)

T3: Empowered Quarrel (stronger crossbow attack, takes longer to fire)

T4: Raiments of battle (equip power)

T5: Repeating crossbow (Cone AoE). 

T6: Call Knight. (Calls a Staff Fighting/WP Brute using the polearm skin. Starts with Mercurial Blow, Precise Strike, and the first two WP powers. Equip adds taunt, guarded spin, and indomitable will. Enhance adds Eye of the storm, rise to the challenge, and quick recovery.)

T7: Clarion Call. (Heals all knights somewhat and gives them a general and modest buff to all stats for the duration as you press them to fight with all their strength.)

T8: Call Paladin. (Calls an Invuln/Titan Weapons Tanker. Starts with the basic invuln resists, defensive sweep, titan sweep, crushing blow, and taunt. Equip adds temp invulnerability, unyielding, and follow through. Enhance adds invincibility, tough hide, rend armor, and whirlwind smash.)

T9: Knight's Vow (Enhance power)

 

Steampunk Automatons: You make use of clanking hissing machines that while perhaps more outdated looking than more "conventional" technology, are impressively resilient with strong defense and resists but are rather slow. Special ability: Recycling. Any time a Steam automaton is defeated, the others will heal for a portion of their fallen comrade's total hitpoints and gain a small buff to damage, to hit, and defense as they make use of their parts.

 

T1: Steam Rifle (Like the Nemesis Rifle)

T2: Automatons (Calls up Nemesis Jaegers with some recolouration for ease of identification's sake. Starts with Jaeger Gun and Jaeger Mace. Equip adds Jaeger Saw. Upgrade adds Jaeger Cannon. Third Jaeger uses gas grenades instead of Jaeger Gun.)

T3: Storm rifle (Like the Nemesis weapon.)

T4: Tinkering (Equip power)

T5: Gatling Gun (Dakkadakkadakka!)

T6: Mechanical Man (Calls up a somewhat reskinned/touched up Clockwork Prince, perhaps reusing the pre-GR clockwork models? Starts with Lance Rifle, Storm Rifle, and Bayonet. Equip adds Gatling Gun and Flamethrower. Enhance adds Vengeance and Acid Mortar)

T7: Implacable Brass (Temporary buff to pets that makes them immune to most status effects and seriously amps their regeneration rate for about thirty seconds.)

T8: Brass Hulk (Calls up recoloured/skinned Nemesis Warhulk. Starts with flamethrower, storm cannon, and shred. Equip adds Gas Grenade, Nemesis Gas, and Gatling gun. Enhance adds footstomp, staff bolt, and invincibility.) 

T9: Reclocking (Enhance power)

 

Earth Elemental Summoning: You call upon the powers of the Earth itself to do battle for you in the form of mighty elementals who are slow but almost indestructible and can shrug off most attacks thrown their way. Special ability: Rubble, for each enemy defeated by the mastermind or their pets, they gain a stack of "rubble" which temporarily adds 5% resistance to most forms of damage and may stack up to five times.

 

T1: Stone Spears (As per Earth assault)

T2: Summon Rock-Men. (Summons rock monsters with some high resists and defense with stone mallet and stone fist as their attacks. Equip adds stone spears. Enhance adds stone prison.)

T3: Hurl boulder (another basic ranged attack)

T4: Fossilize Earth (equip power)

T5: Fissure (As per Earth assault)

T6: Summon Earth Elementals (Starts with Hurl boulder and heavy mallet. Equip adds mud pots and seismic smash. Enhance adds stalagmites and fault)

T7: Rock your world (Causes an earthquake that also periodically summons Rubble Underlings for every enemy in range in pulses.)

T8: Summon Terran Archomental (Starts with Taunt, earth's embrace, earthquake and seismic smash. Equip adds tremor, fissure, and volcanic gasses. Enhance adds footstomp, knock out blow.)

T9: Lords of Stone (Enhance power)

 

Psionic Acolytes: You are the master of a cabal of psions who have cultivated their powers carefully to destroy their foes by turning their strengths against them. Few foes can resist your power even if you are somewhat on the fragile side.  If a target is hit while still afflicted by a status effect from either the MM or the pets, that attack will do additional psionic damage over time and potentially proc confusion or add another magnitude to the status effect (if it is a nondamaging CC ability.)

 

T1: Levitate (As per mind control)

T2: Psionic Initiates (Start with Levitate and Subdue. Equip adds dominate. Enhance adds confuse. Initiate costumes are made to resemble the Initiates in Red Alert 2: Yuri's revenge)

T3: Dominate (As per mind control)

T4: Knowledge is Power (Equip power)

T5: Psychic Scream (as per psionic assault)

T6: Psionic Adepts (Start with Psi-Blade, Hide, and Psi-Blade Sweep. Equip adds boggle and world of confusion. Enhance adds greater psi-blade and psychic scream) 

T7: Mind Control (Can "reverse betray" non-objective vital enemies into becoming pets if they are already held and not AV rank or higher.)

T8: Psionic Master (Starts with Deceive, Flash, Phantom Army. Equip adds spectral terror, terrify, total domination. Enhance adds Phase shift, synaptic overload.) 

T9: Enlightenment (Enhance power)

 

Mystic Circle: You are the master of a circle of mages who possess a large variety of capabilities that will make them useful in most situations to make you a jack of all trades. However you may fall behind more specialised masterminds and mages are quite fragile as a rule. The more mystics (including the master mind) are attacking the same target; the higher of a damage boost they gain as their spells' energies are pooled together.

 

T1: Staff Bolt (Basically Arcane Bolt.)

T2: Mystic Apprentices (First mage uses energy attacks and starts with light bolt and power bolt. Equip adds power push and enhance adds power burst. Second mage uses stone prison and fossilise. Equip adds stone cages and enhance adds quicksand. Third mage uses arcane bolt and time crawl. Equip adds temporal mending and enhance adds temporal selection.)

T3: Staff Lightning (Mu lightning basically)

T4: Arcane Lore (equip power)

T5: Staff Orb (targeted AoE.)

T6: Wizards (First mage uses Gloom and Twilight Grasp. Equip adds Tar Patch and Dark Pit. Enhance adds Tenebrous Tentacles and Darkest Night. Second mage uses O2 boost and Water burst. Equip adds Whirlpool and Snowstorm. Enhance adds Freezing Rain and Dehydrate)

T7: Spell of Warding (PBAoE buff that heals allies within and gives them damage absorbtion to help with the squishiness of your wizards)

T8: Archmage (Uses Flashfire, Impale, and Resurrect. Equip adds Bonfire, Thorntrops and Clear Mind. Enhance adds Fire Imps and Fortitude)

T9: Mystic Mastery

 

Experimental Horrors: Your creations are the stuff of nightmares and are shambling masses of nightmarish flesh and other substances given obscene life. Experimental horrors heal quickly and are largely self sufficient and carry potent debuffs and fear, but as most of their damage is toxic they may struggle against mechanical foes and their range is generally limited.  Special ability: Experimental Horrors are hideous and disturbing creatures and have a chance to proc fear with each successful hit.

 

T1: Venom Bolt (As per Tarantulas)

T2: Monstrosity (Starts with hardened carapace, skewer, and envenom. Equip adds environmental modification and thorny darts. Enhance adds evolving armor and spine burst.)

T3: Venom burst (as per tarantulas)

T4: Mutagenic empowerment (Equip power)

T5: Impale (As per thorny assault)

T6: Grotesque (Starts with Neurotoxic Breath, hardened carapace, hide, and Assassin's Lunge. Equip adds assassin's impaler, environmental modification, and elixir of life. Enhance adds evolving armour, weaken, and impale.)

T7: Mass adaptation (gives all your pets adaptation and lets you decide which one to use)

T8: Abomination (Classified as a brute. Starts with Hardened carapace, environmental modification, impale, quills. Equip adds evolving armour, ripper, ablative carapace, and DNA siphon. Enhance adds throw spines, genetic contamination). 

T9: Evolution (enhance power) 

 

 

Hard Light: You are able to call forth energy beings made out of "solid energy" that have strong defenses and can knock aside and disorient their foes with their attacks. They also provide strong defensive boost to allies. Special Ability: Power Amp. Every time an enemy is hit by the mastermind or their pets there is a chance that they will be marked for power amp. If defeated while power amp is up, the mastermind and their pets may gain a small amount of endurance (2 points) and increased damage (5%) and defense (1.5% all but psi typed) per stack of power amp that was on the enemy before they were defeated. 

 

T1: Power Bolt (as per energy blast)

T2: Energy Being (Starts with Energy Bolt and Bone Smasher. Equip gives kinetic/power field. Enhance gives deflection shield.)

T3: Power blast (as per energy blast)

T4: Intensify illumination (Equip)

T5: Power Burst (As per energy blast)

T6: Luminous Ally (Starts with power burst, sniper blast. Equip gives build up and boost range. Enhance gives explosive blast, and insulation field)

T7: Force Surge (PBAoE defense and damage buff)

T8: Greater Energy Form (Starts with Bone smasher, Whirling Hands, and Power Torrent. Equip gives kinetic/power field, total focus, and repulsion bomb. Enhance gives energy drain and nova.)

T9: Energy Augment (Enhance power)

 

Angel Summoning: You summon celestial beings to the material plane to do battle with your foes; their golden and pleasing forms descending from the heavens to smite your foes.  .

 

T1: Radiant Beam (Minor energy, minor psionic DoT. -Def)

T2: Summon Guardian Angels (1st is a Radiant angel, using a glowing sword and shield: first attack is hack that also does energy damage, second is slice that has half of its damage turned into energy. Equip adds slash with energy damage. Enhance adds parry with energy damage.  2nd is a Frigid angel, starting with frozen fists and ice sword. Equip adds hoarfrost. Enhance adds frost. 3rd is a Diviner Angel, starting with mental strike and psi-blade. Equip adds boggle. Enhance adds Psi-blade sweep.)

T3: Lance Beam (High energy damage, Psionic DoT, -Def, Knock Up)

T4: Vestments of the Host. (Equip)

T5: Lance Strike (Cone, Energy Damage, Psionic DoT, -Def, Knockup)

T6: Summon Angels (1st is a Frost Angel, Starting with Ice Sword and Ice Shield. Equip adds Greater Ice Sword and Glacial Shield. Enhance adds Freezing Touch and Arctic Fog. 2nd is a Flame Angel starting with Fire Cages and Incinerate, Equip adds Hot Feet and Combustion, Enhance adds Cinders and Blaze.) 

T7: Redemption (takes a defeated enemy and resurrects them as an ally). 

T8: Summon Archangel. (Summons a Radiant Archangel with dual blades that do Energy/Psionic damage. Starts with Nimble Slash, Ablating Strike, and Blinding Feint. Equip adds Typhoon's Edge, vengeful slice, and sweeping strike. Equip adds one thousand cuts, regeneration aura, and recovery aura.)

T9: Armaments of Heaven (Enhance) 

 

Alien Warriors: Through unknown means, you have come to count a number of extraterrestrials with advanced technologies as your allies. Alien Warriors are resilient and deal superior energy and psionic damage but are quite endurance hungry and may have trouble in long fights.  Special: Xeno-control, your alien warriors are able to subvert the systems of enemies and sabotage their functions, giving a chance for a proc of "malfunction" that will cause enemies to inflict self damage upon themselves when attacking after being hit with attacks by the mastermind of pets.

 

T1: Alien Plasma blast (Basically the rikti rifle power)

T2: Alien Troopers (Starts with Alien Plasma Blast and alien sword. Equip adds radiation emission. Enhance adds protection fields for +def to all.)

T3: Rapid Pulse Blast (rapid rikti plasma pistol shots from the alien rifle, does more damage over time)

T4: Xenological Arsenal (Equip)

T5: Bio-Force Cannon (It's basically the BFG 9000's blast, targeted AoE.)

T6: Alien Shock Troops (Starts with rapid pulse blast and greater alien sword. Equip adds psychic scream and Dominate. Enhance adds Mind Link and Accelerate Metabolism.)

T7: Telefragging (Teleports in a Turret that uses beam rifle attacks on everything in sight until it expires.)

T8: Alien Overlord (Starts with Bio-Force Cannon, Greater Alien Sword and Confuse. Equip adds Fusion Pulse, Fusion Explosion, and Psionic Tornado. Enhance adds Alien sword sweep, and protection field.)

T9: Alien devices (Enhance)

 

 

 

 

Just my .02

 

The AI used for the pets was at one point "nerfed" I think after i23 (or maybe 22)  All I know is that the minions, pre-i23/22 (bots in this case) would be content to shoot their lasers and maybe one of them would go in for some melee goodness and promptly get himself into a whole heap of trouble. After the AI "nerf" it seems they ALL want some of that action and have a death wish.  Is there anything that could be done to revert this?

 

Also, if not, could we possibly get the little buggers some more HP?

In addition to the existing controls -- Although it would probably take some heavy redo-ing of the aI -- Ranged vs Melee commands.  Where rather than just leaving them with one attack it would weight the AI's preference one way or the other. 

 

I expect zombies to go around pimp-slapping things. It makes me a bit crazy when a robot runs in to do it.

 

And a shorter "wander" radius for the "goto" and "stay" commands.

I think that being able to set them in a stance to only use range vs use range and melee (or only melee) would be great. The more tactical control given to MM the better their gameplay will be.

And a few more primary set ideas while I'm here.

 

Nether/Umbral Summoning (What's that you say? Necromancy is already dark themed? Worry not! This is themed after shadows and dark control/miasma's pets and the black swan shadows; not the living dead!): You call upon the sinister shadowy power of the Netherrealm or from the invisible domain of darkmatter and dark energy or even perhaps the umbral energies of the cosmos to lay your foes low with shadowy powers. Special: Essence feeding, the mastermind and their pets gain a 10% regeneration and recovery buff for each defeated enemy they are within 30 feet of. 

 

T1: Ebon Eye (as per Warshade primary)

T2: Minor Shades (Using either the dark control shade or black swan minor shadow model. Starts with Star Punch and Shadow Bolt. Equip adds Orbiting Death. Enhance adds shadow blast.)

T3: Shadow Blast (as per Warshade primary)

T4: Dark benediction (Equip power)

T5: Dark Detonation (As per Warshade primary)

T6: Shades (Using either the black swan shadow or dark miasma dark servant models. Starts with Gravimetric Snare and Twilight Grasp. Equip adds Shadow Fall and Dark Detonation. Enhance adds Fearsome Stare and Soulstorm.)

T7: Void Pit (Summons a pseudo-pet that will pulse a PBAoE confuse effect that causes minor-moderate negative damage over time while also applying the possess SFX every 10 or so seconds in a 10 foot radius for 30 seconds.)

T8: Shadow Monster (Using the Master Shadow, Umbral Beast or perhaps another model. Starts with Black Dwarf Strike and Smite. Equip adds Essence Drain, Gravity Well, and Sunless Mire. Enhance adds Dark Consumption and Soul Drain.)

T9: Umbral Ascension (Enhance power)

 

Shrieker Command: You are the commander of a number of beings capable of unleashing powerful sonic attacks that will quickly liquidate the ability of your enemies to resist further damage, letting your cacophony tear apart even durable enemies.

 

T1: Shriek (As per Sonic Attack)

T2: Shriek Bat (Starts with Shriek and Sonic Siphon. Equip adds Sonic Barrier/Haven. Enhance adds Scream.)

T3: Scream (As per Sonic Attack)

T4: Sonic Amplifier (Equip power)

T5: Howl (As per Sonic Attack)

T6: Screaming Meanie (Starts with Howl and Shockwave. Equip adds Sonic Cage and Disruption Field. Enhance adds Amplify and Sonic Grenade.)

T7: Sound-Room (AoE patch that gives pets within a chance to critical hit)

T8: Moaning Myrtle (Starts with Screech and Dreadful wail. Equip adds Sonic Dispersion, Sonic Repulsion, and Clarity. Enhance adds Dreadful Wail and Liquify.) 

T9: Bass Drop (Enhance power)

 

Water Elemental Summoning: You call upon the force of the waves themselves to crush your foes and drown them beneath the fury of the ocean itself. Water Elementals have generally good resilience and are deadly at all ranges, as well as having substantial area of effect. However, Water Elementals can struggle somewhat with singular strong opponents.  Special ability: Tidal Power.

 

T1: Aqua Bolt (As Water Blast)

T2: Minor Water Elemental (Starts with Aqua Bolt and an attack that uses Jab's animation that also does some cold damage called "watery smash." Equip adds Hydro Blast. Enhance adds Water Burst.

T3: Hydro Blast (As per Water Blast)

T4: Water Purification (Equip power)

T5: Water Burst (As per Water Blast)

T6: Water Elementals. (Starts with Whirlpool and Dehydrate. Equip adds Tidal Forces and a reworked Bile Spray that does cold/smashing instead of toxic damage called "water jet". Enhance adds a cone melee attack that uses Psi-blade sweep's animation called "Aquatic sweep" and another that uses Crack Whip's with somewhat longer range but less damage called "hydro-lash"; both doing cold/lethal damage.)

T7: Maelstrom (AoE Pseudopet that randomly casts a cold/lethal variant of school of sharks to attack anything nearby while doing cold/smashing DoT to anything within a certain radius of it.)

T8: Water Archomental. (Starts with Water Jet and Steam Spray. Equip adds Water Spout, Spirit Shark Jaws (doing cold/lethal instead), and Tsunami (reskinned power torrent with greater cold/smashing damage and a wide cone). Enhance adds Geyser and Hydro-punch (re-sound effected Knock Out Blow)

T9: Supremacy of Water (Enhance power)

 

Air Elemental Summoning: The Winds and Storms are yours to command as you unleash the full fury of the atmosphere upon your enemies all. Air elementals are fast and have high defense as well as strong control capabilities, but are somewhat lacking in damage and should their defense be bypassed; are alarmingly fragile. Special ability: Pressure building.

 

T1: Updraft (As per wind control, numbers probably adjusted to do more damage))

T2: Minor Air Spirit (Starts with Updraft and Air Superiority. Upgrade adds Downdraft. Enhance adds O2 boost.)

T3: Downdraft (As per wind control, numbers probably adjusted to do more damage.)

T4: Rising Wind (Equip power)

T5: Desert Wind (As per Scirocco)

T6: Air Elemental (Starts with Thundergust, and Microburst. Equip adds Desert Wind and Hurricane. Enhance adds Air Superiority and Flurry)

T7: Dust Devils (As per Scirocco)

T8: Air Archomental (Starts with Updraft, Downdraft, and Thunder gust. Equip adds Vacuum and Keening Winds. Enhance adds Tornado and Dust Devils.)

T9: The Wind unleashed (Enhance power)

 

Heavy Troopers: Your connections, resources, and power let you call upon an elite squad of heavily armoured and extremely durable power armoured soldiers who pack weapons most ordinary men could never carry. Special: Uplink (For every pet within supremacy radius, the chance of proccing a mind-link every 30 seconds rises by 5% from a base of 5%.)

 

T1: Heavy Barrel Snapshot (As per Heavy Barrel power)

T2: Heavy Trooper (Starts with Warworks Plasma Burst and Plasma Punch. Equip adds plasma grenade. Enhance adds triage beacon.)

T3: Heavy Barrel HE Round (As per Resistance Heavy barrel power)

T4: Heavy munitions (Equip)

T5: Heavy Barrel SABOT round (as per Heavy Barrel power)

T6: Missile Troops (Starts with EMP rockets and missile barrage. Equip adds missile volley and nerve gas rockets. Enhance adds siphon speed and speed boost.)

T7: Orb Reinforcements (brings down three temporary battle orb pets)

T8: Heavy Assault Suit (Starts with Air Bomb and Energy Barrage. Equip adds plasma grenade, plasma blast, and seeker drones. Enhance adds total focus and tear gas.)

T9: Augmented Arsenal. 

 

Golem Crafting: Through careful practise and efforts you have created a number of golems with which to accompany you into battle. Golems are primarily melee ranged and are among the slowest of pets but are resilient to nearly all forms of damage; especially psionic damage. Special ability: Immunity, Golems have the same degree of status resistance as a character under the effects of active defense, and when in supremacy radius of the MM; pass this onto the Mastermind as well.

 

T1: Luminous Bolt (As per carnival of war)

T2: Lesser Golem (Starts with Luminous Fists and Luminous Strike. Equip adds Luminous Whirl (carnival of light flavoured whirling hands). Enhance adds Luminous barrier.)

T3: Incadescant Burst (As per carnival of war)

T4: Golem arsenal (Equip power)

T5: Spear of Light (As per Carnival of Light)

T6: Golems (Starts with Luminous barrage and Solar Flare. Equip adds Luminous Stun and Luminous Whirl. Enhance adds Luminous Strike and Brilliance.)

T7: Animate Object (Calls up a random selection of animated swords, staffs, maces, axes, or titan weapons to fight for you temporarily.) 

T8: Greater Golem (Starts with Hack and Slice. Equip adds Luminous Barrier, Whirling Sword, and Radiance. Enhance adds Coruscating Thrash and Energy Transfer.)

T9: Golem Mastercrafting (Enhance power)

 

Pirates: Ahoy matey, ye be tha captain of a fine crew that plunders the seven seas in search of booty. Arrr, yer pirates be a collection of scurvy dogs with tremendous versatility ta scour the lands fer yer gains. But ye need ta be careful; yer crew don't be tha toughest lot so make sure ta keep good care of them.  Special Ability: Yarr, ye crew be gifted with tha power of Booty where they be gettin' a chance ta placate an enemy with yer shiny treasure; with a base o' zero percent, but gainin' two and a half percent per enemy defeated within tha last sixty seconds.  Arr!

 

T1: Blunderbuss (Basically buckshot)

T2: Scurvy Dog (The first pirate you get uses a pistol and a gun with Scirocco like animations; using hack and a pistol shot that does mechanically similar damage to single shot. Equip lets them use slice, enhance lets them throw a burning grenade. The second pirate uses a deck gun that comes with a large storm rifle like shot that causes KD and heavy single target damage, and they can use a bayonet, equip gives them a wider cone "spread shot" blast while the rusty projectiles launched by the cannon cause toxic damage over time, enhance fires a piercing shot like heavy barrel SABOT rounds. The third pirate is a Sea witch who can use Aqua Bolt and Heal Other. Equip gives them Water Burst. Enhance gives them School of Sharks.)

T3: Grape shot (Cone ranged attack, deals some toxic DoT after impact due to poisoned/rusted munitions)

T4: Fruit of Plunder (Equip)

T5: Pepperbox (Fires multiple bursts in rapid succession as you stuff the blunderbuss with more ammo. Reduces defense and resistance as well as doing hefty lethal damage).

T6: Shiphands (First one is a Powder Monkey with dual pistols that always fire flaming ammunition, starting with pistols and dual wield. Equip adds empty clips and bullet rain. Enhance adds suppressive fire and executioner's shot. Second one is a swash buckler with dual blades, starting with nimble slice and power slice,  then gaining ablating strike and typhoon's edge with equip, and then finally blinding feint and vengeful slice.) 

T7: Release the Kraken! (Basically a reskin of carrion creeper vines as you let loose a sea monster's tentacles on your foes)

T8: First Mate (Starts with Freezing Rain and O2 boost, Equip adds hurricane, jolting chain, and chain fences. Enhance adds Lightning Storm and Water Spout)

T9: Piece of Eight (Enhance power)

 

Mafioso: You're considered a Don of formidable repute who commands made men, is owed the fealty of many capos, and has their fingers in the city's pies. And like a proper modern mafioso, your consumption of special side effectless superadine has given you powers over gravity to show wise guys the dangers of messing with you. Special Ability: The Goods: Due to the usage of "clean" supes, your made men have heightened regeneration and recovery and are less reliant on healing; and using your powers gives them a modest boost to regeneration and recovery.

 

T1: Crush

T2: Made-Men (First is a buckshot with Slug and Boxing. Equip adds Buckshot. Enhance adds 12 gauge. Second is a tommy gunner with burst and kick, then heavy burst from equip, and then full auto from enhance. Third Made-man is "muscle" and instead has Initial Blow, Heavy Strike; gets sweeping cross from equip, and gets rib cracker from enhance.)

T3: Lift (As per Gravity Control)

T4: These apples (Equip)

T5: Gravity distortion (As per gravity control.)

T6: Capos (First is a "Muscle" Capo with Jab and Punch, Equip gives Haymaker and Handclap, Enhance gives Knockout blow and Hurl. Second is a hitman with sniper rifle and aim, equip gives them build up and tactics, enhance gives them flashbang and bean bag.)

T7: Supes Cut (PBAoE recovery, regeneration, and resistance buff.)

T8: Consigliere (Starts with Gravity Distortion and Crush. Equip gives them Propel, Crushing Field, and Distortion Field Enhance gives them Temporal Selection and Farsight)

T9: Offers you can't refuse (Enhance power)

 

 

You know what I'd really like? A couple new pet commands.

 

Firstly this:

 

/petcom_leash <n>

/petcom_leash_all <n>

 

This command would restrict the selected pet, or all your pets if using leash_all to an n foot radius of you. So if you want to prevent your pets from ever leaving Supremacy range, you could use "/petcom_leash_all 60", or if you wanted them to never go further than the radius of your heal, you could use "/petcom_leash_all 20"

 

Second, and this one would likely be harder to implement as it would have to modify the actual AI rather than creating a physical tether, would be this:

 

/petcom_engagement_range <n>

/petcom_engagement_range_all <n>

 

This one would prevent the pets from ever trying to attack anything that isn't within n feet of the Mastermind. It would mostly be useful for things like Ninja/Time or Beast/Time, where you intend to be in the thick of it yourself, and you don't want the pets to stray to fighting other spawns, or leave your Supremacy/Aura radius. It would let you operate in bodyguard mode and designate which targets are potentially valid just through your positioning.