Nanolathe

You just told me that the knockback resistance was a problem, in addition to the on ground requirement. So what exactly needs to be removed and what needs to be added to this before you're satisfied?

So? Why does Electric armour have to have the exact SAME protection and resistances to Knockback as [inset set here], with an Auto-On power that costs you nothing?

Right, can anyone actually agree on what's "flavour" and what's "a hole that's not fair". Can you please explain where that line is so that the conversation can have any basis in anything other than opinion. I think the flavour of Electric armour is just fine. The "holes" are barely noticeable, and are easily patched with IOs that aren't under any form of scrutiny at time of writing, and are cheap as dirt. You can patch these holes with next to zero effort. You can already ignore the "flavour" of the set. You can solve your own QoL issues with two cheap IOs, or a modification of your play style. Done. You have a unique Auto-On KB protection power that no other set has outside of VEATs, but it requires a small amount of effort on your part to make it function, rather than the Endurance requirements of other sets. If you're going to remove the "ground only" part of the power then I vote you also lose the "endurance free" part of it too.

By how much per Archetype? On what effects? If you're okay with 0° Cones vs ST Ranged, vs ST Melee, and can figure out the different modifiers needed for such powers then why would AoEs be omitted? What's the maximum damage value that would be reasonable for each Archetype? What's the greatest number of secondary effects that could be added to each power type? for each Archetype? If you're allowed to change the Damage type then what's the difference in value between those damage types? How much more potent is a Hold, than a Stun? How does the total point buy value of the power affect its casting costs in both recharge and endurance? Can you choose to not use all your points? What happens if the point buy system needs the numbers tweaked and your power is recalculated to be over the maximum points cost? If it's a ranged power, how does that factor into the calculation? Is it more or less damage? How long is the range? Can you make "Snipe" powers? Can you make effects like Trip Mine? Your original post mentions that these signature powers would be powerful; so what are the ramifications of giving traditionally non-melee focused ATs a powerful Melee attack outside of already available pool powers? What are the ramifications for giving traditionally non-ranged focused ATs a powerful ranged attack outside of already available pool powers? What's the power value of an auto-hit power vs one with an accuracy modifier of say 1.5, 1.05, or 0.75, or whatever other values you give the choice of it being? Can an Auto-Hit power have secondary effects? if so, which ones and how many? How much damage can an Auto-Hit power do? Can a power do no damage? If so, does that mean it has to have secondary effects? if so, how does the damage number effect the strength of those secondary effects for both Magnitude if we're talking sleeps, holds, immobilises, etc, vs the percentage debuffs like -tohit, -defence, -resistance? If you roll out a "simple" version of this to begin with as you alluded to in your OP, then how would new changes be implemented? Would everyone be free to change their power at each patch drop, since any patch could conceivably change the way this system works, or the way it interacts with tweaked content within the wider game? Can you ever nerf this system and not have hoards of angry players, or even just one player, become disenfranchised with the system... or the wider game, because you took away something that THEY made? I could go on, but I'll stop. I think you get my point. These are the questions (and so many more besides) that need concrete, numerical values, solid judgement calls or boolean true/false statements, and you'd need to show your working on how you arrived at those numbers and calls. Otherwise I'd be just taking the answers on faith, which is not one of my very limited set of virtues.

Not to rain on anyone's parade but, a system to make signature powers would be impossible to make if you consider the mechanical aspect of a-la-carte design. Trying to keep this balanced to the point where there aren't almost immediate "best picks" is functionally impossible. Just picking an animation, optional weapon, potentially a single rider effect (or multiple!), choosing the FX, allowing slotting of even basic IOs, let alone set bonuses and procs... A build your own power would become either one of two things: A mechanically restricted, flavour first design that is limited in its overall power and mechanical flexibility in general play - a slightly underpowered, slightly overcosted power that is of great use to roleplayers, but not able to perform outside of it's primary function of flavour. This design puts in a lot of provisions to limit the capability of the player to "break" the system by mostly just removing specific combinations of mechanical effects, and almost certainly doesn't allow slotting set IOs and Procs. It would focus on allowing the purest player expression visually. The best mechanical outcome in this scenario for a mechanically minded player is a very pretty looking mule. A mechanically rich and expansive, function first design that is billed as giving the player limitless options - A vast array of possibilities that have nominally been balanced to allow the maximum in mechanical flexibility. For the aesthetically minded roleplayer this power would have to be sacrificing certain FX and animations because they don't "play well" with the system, and locking in certain effects with specific visual and audio samples to prevent visual/audio clutter, and potential misinterpretation of what the power is actually doing. Mechanics is the primary focus here. However in such a system specific combo selections will generally be more efficient that others. Trying to cater to every possible combo, the generalists will always beat the specialists in the long run. You may end up with a vast, multi-layered system that allows you to build whatever power you could want (mechanically), but in the end there will always be meta gaming of the system, and a few "best picks" are a 100% certainty. Let us briefly mention that this, second option would be an absolute nightmare to try and quantify the value of a specific effect, paired with any other attribute the power possesses, on a case-by-case basis, with the possibility of interacting with multiple secondary power effects and attributes, such as range/melee, damage type, AoE max targets, etc. As an illustration of what I mean I'd like to ask the questions: How much more powerful is a ranged single target stun, vs a Max 8 target PBAoE hold, numerically? Whats the value difference between a TAoE, a PBAoE, an LAoE and a Cone, numerically? What's the value difference between any possible power buildable by a Brute, and the same power made by a Defender, numerically? and so on... The chances of flipping the coin and landing on "edge", where the two outcomes are in harmony and actually allow the player to be expressive and, at the same time back it up with mechanical depth and legitimate power, without it being a broken mess, both at the same time is vanishingly slim. So the only realistic way to develop this signature power is one that adheres to flavour first design to the strictest possible degree. Each AT would have a handful of pre-made powers to add to their selection, and be able to select any animation that fits within reason (AoEs still need to look like AoEs and Melee attacks still need to look like melee attacks, and so on), any FX that are applicable and any sound or audio that isn't overly obnoxious. Again, with some limitations to not allow "troll" powers that are just an audio/visual nightmare. Kind of like Patron Power Pools, Ancillary Power Pools and the entire Incarnate system... ...only for one power.

It will likely be fixed when the Devs get around to proliferating the Katana "no redraw" change. See Page 5 release notes for more details; under "Katana Animations"

You can give it KB resistance. I'm not opposed to buffing the parts of powers that are lacking, what I'm saying is don't take away key, distinguishing features of a set. Having less to no resistance to Knockback isn't really the point of Grounded; it's point is that you are grounded.

Owch, that passed over my head. I just always thought of Granite as all the +Res and respectable +Def. I literally missed the Mag10 / Mag20 to most common mez effects. It's odd that two powers in the set are pushing the Mez protection, but I suppose that's just another reason that Stone is unique. No complaints, just didn't occur to me that combined you can hit ~Mag35 against Holds, Stun, Sleep and Immobilise... Though, you almost immobilise yourself by toggling them both on. You are legitimately only slightly faster than a giant land snail. But that's part of the charm of the set, to me at least. Removing the inability to jump would be a nice QoL feature, as long as it still makes the character feel HEAVY and still only gain the protection when actually on the ground. But I'll admit it's embarrassing to be defeated by the slight difference in height between pavement and tarmac.

Stone Armour really dislikes you using anything other than Teleport for 2 of its powers (Rooted, it's Mez protection and Granite Armour, which isn't is also mez protection, and is a major reason to play the set in the first place due to the survivability). So no, Electric Armour is not the only one. It's not a unique requirement. As for my opinion, can we please not water down the theme for one-size-fits-all powersets? If there's no difference in playing one set from any other, then I don't see much point in there even being different powersets. Please don't take away the flavour of a set for pure functionality.

Yes the salvage is an infinitely seeded resource, but those seed prices aren't nearly as cheap as most salvage is routinely sold for. For clarity last I checked the infinite supply seed prices are: 10,000 for common, 100,000 for uncommon and 1,000,000 for rare. If we're all cool with the price for salvage heading upwards in price towards those maximums, which is going to the consequence of reducing supply, then by all means carry on. But don't pretend like the Devs have seeded everything at their current ~250, ~1,500 or ~500,000 selling prices and that there's nothing that would happen as a consequence of opt-out common drops.

@Redlynne, I don't quite follow where you got that I object to buffing MM personal attacks at all. I was always in favour of buffing them from the very first post I made in the thread. Now, I'm not much of a numbers person, so I'm not going to put hard numbers down for how much each primary set needs improvement, changes or more substantial re-works. I can make suggestions based on theme and some general "effects" that might be thematic, but the nitty-gritty of the exact percentages for power effects, damage changes and so forth, I will leave to better minds. And I am aware that any changes would result in a potential shift in the meta surrounding MM power picks. The tightrope-walk of making them competitive, rather than mandatory, or even "probably the best choice" is a matter of tweaking the numbers, not an issue with the concept (at least that's my opinion). Initially I was of the view that just buffing the MM personal attacks was the way to go, but I have since learnt that doing so wouldn't affect late game as much as I would hope due to how the Purple Patch affects your Henchmen's abilities in both survivability and damage. However, I am still strongly of the opinion that just buffing the T1 pets to +1 level doesn't go far enough in fixing the underlying problem that I personally (and others have also stated, including you) have with playing a MM, minute to minute. It's kind of dull unless you spice it up with attacks. For reference, the most fun I've had on a MM was taking the entire fighting pool, and Bile Spray + KO blow from Leviathan, and making a ghetto attack chain out of those powers. He's not very good at mixing it up in melee, sure, but it sure beats the alternative of sitting about waiting for my debuffs to come off cooldown so I can put on a second application. I like the MM personal attacks, and giving me a reason to take them would be great! But, I understand that some players would see that as removing the "core" of what the MM is to them. In fact some of them have told me so on the Discord. So I'll temper my expectations and ask only that the powers be made acceptable, rather than needing them to be exceptional... which is another stance I'm not taking, either. Again, I dislike the one-way-to-play mentality. I want the option of playing a MM with attacks that isn't gimping my overall efficacy, and I want the option that not taking the powers would also not harm the overall efficacy of the Archetype. I want it both ways. ... Or I want a new Archetype that does specifically cater to my need to smash face, while also having fawning minions at my beck and call. But that would be a topic for another thread entirely. 😉

Controlling pets as wave upon wave of disposable minions, controlling pets as dependable allies you keep alive as long as possible, controlling pets as if you're a buff bot with your own personal AI team, controlling pets as though they're just a different kind of "shield" power. All of these Masterminds would be controlling pets. All of them would play as very different Masterminds. Maybe not every concept would be possible within the current restraints of 9 primary powers, but I'd at least like to have the option of playing more than just 1 of these styles by picking powers and enhancement slotting choices.

I want personal attack powers to be a completely viable part of players' builds that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those that focus on non-attacking builds. It's just at the moment they can't, bar a very few possible exceptions. I want the choice of whether the character I'm playing needs all the personal attacks, or choose to skip them all. I apologise if that wasn't clear from my previous posts. I do not want to just swap one paradigm for another. That'd be just pushing my own agenda, rather than actually trying to solve a problem. I want to choose personal attack powers on a MM and not feel like I'm massively sacrificing my ability to play well in post50 content. Likewise I'd also like the AT to be balanced enough so that my choice not to pick any of the personal attack powers isn't hampering my ability to play to a different strength within the Archetype. Two different styles of Mastermind that function at similar levels of overall capability, but that will certainly differ in moment to moment gameplay and player interaction with their pets, the targets, their secondary, the team, etc. The way in which the powers are picked and then given enhancement slots, or left as one-slot-wonders is what makes picking powers and developing a build interesting, and by extension, the Archetype interesting. I'm wanting the different feels of both the aloof, stand-back, pinpoint and exploit aspect of the AT, as a contrast to the one that wants to get stuck in and dish out good round of punches along side the boys (or bots, or corpses, or unholy hellspawn, as the case may be). As I see it, there's the potential for at least two different and distinct kinds of Masterminds possible within the system, it's just that one is currently criminally under served. As I've said many times before, I like the MM personal attacks and I want them to be good, but I don't want the underdog to suddenly overshadow what I see as a perfectly viable way to alternately play the class, despite the fact that they've had the run of the playground up to this point. So yes, I want it both ways. I'd prefer that each player's Mastermind can be one of two kinds of Mastermind, and that your power picks and slotting dictate which side you end up favouring, rather than one side being the clear favourite, or as is the current reality, the only "real" way to play. The command of Henchmen is the only constant between the two; but using them as a bodyguard and a distraction, or making them your cat's paw are two different ways the AT could be played. I'd like to see both.

The issue that I can see, and have had personal experience with, is that some players will be reticent to take personal attack powers for thematic reasons, and of course, from being a shake up to the status quo, especially if you make the personal attack powers more essential for playing a MM at post50 content. So a hybrid approach would seem to be the best, between giving extra utility to the current mandatory 3 pets + 2 upgrades that is geared towards helping with post50, and making the remaining 4 powers better so that they can at least compete with the alternatives outside the set (pool powers and ancillary/patron powers). This split method would help the journey to 50 become a more engaging experience for those that desire it, without it outclassing the MMs secondary powerset, and not force the players that don't want them to feel like they are obligated to take personal attacks to tackle the extreme late game I suppose the thing to do is to go through each primary and think about what it lacks in the late game and see if the Upgrade powers can be altered to be something that helps, as a power that must targeted on one of your pets. And/Or to consider what the personal attacks could provide in lieu of, or in addition to that, but have to function as an early game "bonus" that can scale to the late game, but be pretty much non essential for those people who don't want personal attacks? There seems to be two distinct problems that exist, the pre50 doldrums and the post50 wall. Come at it from both angles?

I think it comes down to theme, as well as the "less bang for you buck" MMs are bound to. Pool Powers are underpowered in the first place, so that's not helpful, but also they're limited to mostly punches and kicks, or at least they have been until Sorcery and Experimentation. While those are interesting pools, the attacks don't often fit the theme I'm going for with a character. And in my opinion, the APPs and PPPs just unlock too late in the game for them to make a meaningful contribution to the overall levelling experience. Better range of character concepts catered for, and slightly better secondary effects for the more offensive choices, but still lacklustre damage output for cost. Knockout Blow is fun though, despite all that!

To arrive at what would be the "same" damage. How painfully convoluted. Good old CoH.

Interesting. That means the damage scales on ol' Paragon Wiki are woefully out of date. Or there's something else going on under the hood that I'm not aware of... but it's probably the former. Good to know. Kudos for the legwork @Redlynne

Conceived as a compensating force against the "free" damage they get from their pets, no doubt.

@Captain Powerhouse has, or had, plans for Knockback. I assume it'll soothe some people's rampant hatred of the mechanic, while those that really love the mechanic to still enjoy the powerful feeling it gives. CP seems firmly of the opinion that Knockback needs to be in the game for the power fantasy feelings. Personally, I love seeing a mob fly across the room and ragdoll all over a pile of crates. I would never turn it off, or bother slotting what I see as a "nerf" to the KB effect. If the Tanker gets mad, they get mad. I try to not push mobs off the 6' sphere around them... but if it happens, it happens. <em shrug> Edit: No hard details on exactly what CP has in mind though.

Which will lower the damage as a consequence, as damage is a calculated number based on a power's endurance cost and recharge time (and probably other factors), multiplied by the AT's damage scale, rather than something input directly. Apparently this damage-as-derived-number is a real pain to work around. Or at least that's what I've always been under the impression of being the case having lurked on the old forums, and here. Masterminds have the lowest* damage scale for Melee and Ranged damage at 0.550 a piece. Same as Controllers, except a Mastermind's 3 personal attacks don't benefit from all that fancy control. *that is actually called for calculation. Technically Scrappers, Tankers and Brutes have a lower AT damage scale for ranged attacks. But as melee ATs, these are never called into calculation. Ranged attacks that the melee AT's have access to, use the ATs melee damage scale, bizarrely. 🙃

Taking that point and running with it; what if you had a power that is Mark for Death that causes your Jounin to move to, and attack the target, performing a specific power, say, some variant of assassin's strike. The Jounin don't have voluntary access to use this attack unless you specifically command them to do so. What if Mercs had Supressive Fire that causes all your mercs to fire a variant of full auto, that does less damage than a regular burst, but has a high chance of applying a mag1 immobilise (that stacks with each Merc you have). This could be an early power that scales based on the number of Mercs at your command. What if you could tell your Zombies to perform a suicidal attack on an opponent at the click of a button? Run up and puke-slplode on a target. No idea if any of that is possible... forcing the AI to use a specific power at the player's behest... but it's a thought I was mulling over. Edit: ... Wait... don't Ninja's have a player controlled commandable power they don't have access to normally? Smoke Flash? Is that a hook we could be using?! Or is that just an animation override with an applied buff? Is that still interesting enough as a framework to use for more?

@Twintania, There's no real reason that they all have to be debuffs, I was just using Robotics as an example. I'd advocate for theme trumping any sort of standardised one-fits-all implementation. Necro having more access to soft control and even hard control powers, Beast having more fortification style powers that use pack mentality, thugs getting melee attacks, mercenaries getting auras... The list goes on and on if you're just willing to think outside the box that the MM has languished in since its inception. If you strip out the two upgrade tax powers then the sky really is the limit. You'd have 5 powers to do with as you please, and really make each theme speak to a different kind of mastermind. If they're done right, then even skipping a pet tier should be a conceivable build option beyond just a jokey challenge. In other power sets there are some very high-priority picks... maybe 4 or 5, and then a lot more room to have a few more, or a few less picks depending on how you want to specialise, or even delaying a power until a level much later than when it unlocks due to a synergy that you can exploit later, but it being more of a burden in the early game. There's not many of those, but I can think of a few. I've come to the realisation that, not only are the upgrade powers a "tax" on playing a Mastermind, but in an odd way, so are the three tiers of pets... in a way. Who here would say a MM build would ever benefit from not taking one of your henchmen powers in favour of nearly anything else, and only rolling with two pet tiers? Would anyone ever delay a henchmen power pick for later than the level it unlocks? Or similarly, the upgrade powers? Outside of extremely odd and almost certainly self-imposed reasons, I can't think of anything I'd say is a legitimate reason to. And that's kinda sad. Deamon's have Whip Crack... but that's about all I can think of for a real honest choice within a MM's build

@Galaxy Brain, sure thing; To be brief, The upgrade powers are a tax to keep your minions "competitive" into the mid (upgrade 1) and late game (upgrade 2). There is no other powerset in the game that essentially requires you to take powers from your primary to keep other powers from your primary relevant. There's very little gameplay impact in using them other than making your set-up time fractionally longer, and massively cripple your endurance bar for a little bit... until you eat the blue pills and you move on with your day. I can only see it being a balancing factor for mid-combat resummoning. That's it though. A punishment mechanic for losing your henchmen, and a tax for having the gall to pick Mastermind as your Archetype. As a tangent; It was absolutely paramount that you keep your pets alive in the old days, when you had to upgrade each minion, both times - ONE minion at a time, but that was patched out. I forget when (might have been Issue 20.5 alongside group buff QoLs). The exact rationale as to why? Probably meant as a similar QoL change, but it means that you don't get the ebb and flow of combat to downtime anymore. I'm betting everyone complained about being left behind / having to wait for the MM to resummon and re-equip their pets. At that time the upgrade powers were a balancing mechanic, something to slow down a very powerful AT. They were still a punishment mechanic, but also something to teach the player to pace themselves better... but I digress. If they have to be a tax, then just make them an "auto" power that your minions get immediately upon summoning. Or for my preferred option, make them a long-recharge, short-term buff power that temporarily increases your minion's damage, defence, resistance, or whatever, while rolling in the expanded move pool that each upgrade would give into the levelling process, just like unlocking the 2nd and 3rd minion henchmen, or the second Lieutenant henchmen. This would give your minions a boost when you need it, and would preserve the cool animations! They needn't be overwhelmingly powerful, but rather a "nice to have" option for those Masterminds that don't have access to buffs in their secondary. You could even make each upgrade buff fairly unique to the primary set in question. Think more Hell on Earth or Fortify Pack kinds of buffs! Can we get MORE of those? Saying that the pets are what the Archetype is, and should be the bulk of the design, is like saying that melee is what a Scrapper is and that melee should be the bulk of the design. Yes, it's fundamentally true, but you're painting with too broad a stroke. The Mastermind's primary powerset is to summon minions and enhance those minions. Their secondary powerset is support for those minions, and the team... but actually it's mostly needed to make the minions function beyond their normal ability, either with defences, or debuffs. It's a very synergistic pairing. The personal attack powers stick out like a sore thumb. They're not just bad powers for dealing damage, their cost in endurance, their total lack of more than basic utility... if any... did y'all know that the dual pistols don't even give -DEF for your attacks as is usually standard for guns? and your bow doesn't get ANY secondary effects? It boggles my brain. The personal attacks don't synergise with your pets. They don't really synergise with over half the secondary powersets, especially those that focus on buffing allies (not yourself). For some reason it was deemed necessary to give the Mastermind a really awful personal damage scale, and then slap them in the face with not one, not two, but three personal attack powers! They don't contribute. The only personal attacks people take are for thematic reasons, or as some sort of "challenge mode". They are functionally a joke within the community at this point. They're arguably the worst powers in the game, and every Mastermind has to just avert their eyes and walk briskly along when presented with these absolutely laughable excuses for Primary powers. Your original proposition is advocating for buffing the Masterminds already pretty solid pet focus to a point to which the personal attacks are even more vestigial. They've been relegated to ugly red-haired stepchild status for so long that I honestly think that people have forgotten that they could be made into something interesting, synergistic, thematic and... y'know... good. Lets roll with your Robotics example of adding the disintegrating mechanic from Beam Rifle - that is a potentially interesting thought line to develop. Not for making it deal more damage though... there's only so many times I can see these forums say "just make the MMs attacks do more damage" before I tune out. Why not have it be something a little less direct, and solve some of your issues with minion tohit at the same time? How about; Dismantling Shot - Lvl1: Your mastery of technology allows you to pinpoint and exploit an enemies weak spot. Hitting with this attack does only a small amount of damage, but massively decreases the target's defence for a short time, and also slightly reduces their damage potential as they reel from being shown to be so exposed. In addition, the negative effect compounds with multiple applications giving the target reduced defence debuff resistance, opening them up for even further punishment. Minor DMG, Minor End, Very Fast Recharge, High Secondary effect potency High-Energy Blast - lvl3: Your rifle can produce a blast of energy so great that it can knock an opponent off their feet! Most enemies will be knocked down/back from the blast, but the truely dangerous part of the attack is the way it strips the target of some of their armour, reducing their damage resistance. While the attack does little upfront damage, it creates a weakness your robotic minions are only too eager to exploit. Minor DMG, Minor End, Fast Recharge, High Secondary effect potency Photonic Burst Grenade - lvl8: You fire a capsule from your rifle that implodes upon impact and releases an astonishing amount of light and electromagnetic interference. Enemies caught in the blast take little damage from this, but are likely to be utterly blinded by it. The accuracy of their attacks is heavily penalised for a short time, and some enemies are so disrupted by this that they become stunned. Additionally the EM pulse is strong enough to cause heavy damage to any robotic enemies that might be caught in the blast. Luckily your own genius has made sure that your own robotic minions remain unaffected! Minor DMG, Moderate End, Moderate Recharge, High Secondary effect potency The way I'm seeing these "attacks" is far more in line with a Corruptors / Controllers level of debuffing potential. The additional damage to robots is just a flavourful garnish on my part. I wouldn't be upset to see it replaced with a greater emphasis on the -tohit. Obviously I'm not putting any hard numbers to these effects, as that's not what I'm overly concerned with. What I'd like to see is the "personal attack" powers getting re-imagined into debuffing and light control style powers that scale well into the late game, keep your henchmen relevant even against tougher enemies and provide greater synergy with both your pets, and your efficacy on teams, acting as more of a "coordinator" that targets enemies, which then become much easier to defeat as a result.

So, here's the problem I have with Masterminds; they're a support Archetype (nominally) that for some reason is expected to punch well above their weight class when it comes to both survivability and damage. The AT, as you say, transitions away from the pet-wrangler and into a primarily tanker style of class that off-blasts (indirectly), off-controls, off-debuffs/buffs. Their primary powersets are a cruel joke that has almost zero wiggle room for choice and essentially zero interesting in-set interactions. 3 mandatory pet powers, 2 mandatory upgrade powers, 1 "thematic" power that is often worse than pool power alternatives, and 3 underpowered, overcosted personal attacks that nigh-on everyone skips in favour of ... literally anything else, entirely because they do nothing to support the primary method of play that Masterminds have settled into. I understand where you're coming from with respect to buffing up the class' primary in the late-game, but the primary is a sort of... broken mess to begin with. Bizarrely it has too many mandatory powers and too many skippable powers all at the same time. How do you fix the Archetype? Well, in my opinion you're going about it backwards. You've made the Pets even more mandatory (if that's even possible), without making the other powers a viable supporting voice in the choir. Make the personal "attacks" more support focused, debuffing your foes. Have them bring the opponent to their knees while your minions actually do the dirty work. For some of the sets that wouldn't make sense for debuffs, then rework them into non-attacks that are an extension of your ability to command a group of allies, and have them as buffing powers that work well on your team... not just upgrades to your henchmen. My 2 inf on the matter. Really love the idea @Galaxy Brain & @Monos King to make the Mastermind more relevant in the lategame. This is something the AT sorely needs, having fist hand experience of a Robotics/Cold MM well into post 50 content, I often feel that the only real contribution I am making to the team is Benumb. Some of the individual ideas I really like, the Robotic's repair/buff drones in particular; that is a step in the right direction. But I don't agree to most of the changes put forward on design principle. I wouldn't fix a problem by accentuating the disparity between what's well done, and what's half-baked. Identifying the problem Masterminds have in the late game is part one, but saying why they're underperforming almost certainly has more to do with half their primary powersets being skippable trash, rather than the pets not quite being up to snuff. You're putting even more of the heavy-lifting on the responsibility of the pets, to get the job done. Sounds like putting way too many eggs in one basket to me. In short: The primary powerset shouldn't have 4 or 5 powers that are not just skippable... but actively dead weight. The changes you proposed to the various individual sets ether ignore this aspect, or would not go nearly far enough to make the powers a desired part of most peoples MM builds.

I'm willing to bet money that the HC Devs are just not willing to allow that level of unprofessionalism. That, and the fact that I'm also pretty sure it's not as simple as just a quick "attacks.on.hoverboard=true" change to the code that would allow it. Same with Walk, Magic Carpet, etc. Out of curiosity, does anyone know if this sort of thing has been enabled on the more ... ahhh ... lets call them 'experimental' servers.