TygerDarkstorm

Erm, Blasters have Seismic Blast and Manipulation (which is basically an earth blast/secondary).

Thanks! I am a corny, punny dork so I couldn't resist. Her pets are named after different melons too. 😄

That was exactly my temptation to make it, lol. They mentioned choking cloud, and I know how useful those PBAoE holds can be from using entangling aura on my Bots/Nature. I didn't want to run Necro or Ninjas, so I thought the beasts might be a good match with Rad. I caved and made the alt shortly after making that post, lol. Hit level 20 in an MSR, so should start getting a feel for how it plays, especially once I get some IO's in her. Edit: I don't play at super hard diffs, but even with minimal enhancing (we're talking p2w enhancements and a DO or two), I feel like the /Rad toggles are making a pretty significant difference. Especially once you get Fortify Pack and the beasts can crit; an even level LT melts pretty quick. It'll be fun to see what they can do when I get some basic IO's in.

If I can get her leveled up this week, I'll be bringing One in a Melon - Beast/Rad MM Edit: She's already at level 23 and has 3 melon themed costumes, lol. Should be no trouble to get her finished up in time for Saturday.

I agree. I liked it on the dom on test, but I think it feels much better on a controller with the secondaries available (you skipped /sonic which actually pairs super well with Symph). I rather enjoy getting to feel so blasty on the controller; it's a set that wants to be used a lot, which doesn't really suit the dom playstyle.

I don't need more alts, but a Beast/Rad is sounding like fun now, lol.

I consider myself sort of a noobish/average player, but I'd argue that half of playing an MM decently/well is just being aware of when you should and shouldn't use your henchmen. Even with Demons there will be times where you will want to pull them back, potentially throw them on passive, etc. There are also certain times where it's to everyone's benefit if you dismiss your henchmen entirely until it's safe/okay to summon them again. Demons/Storm is awesome, though I'd argue that while mostly fun leveling, it doesn't hit peak fun until after you hit level 50 and start getting incarnates and solving your end issues (because anything Storm will be sucking end). Depending on your tolerance for KB, it's a great idea to get some KB -> KD IO's for Gale, Tornado, and Lightning Storm. I also went Fire Mastery on mine, so I also have one of those IO's in Bonfire. I just personally prefer KD for mitigation, and being able to pretty much permanently keep a spawn flopping on their backs (especially when paired with Freezing Rain) is just oodles of fun. I've also seen around that Gale is great for taking procs; I haven't had a chance to load it with any yet. I unfortunately cannot offer any build advice help; mine is still running on a combo of generic IO's and SO's. Making builds is something that kind of scares me, tbh, lol. Though after playing on Beta and being able to start looking at the sets and slotting characters there, I feel slightly more comfortable about going into Mids to see how I want to build my 50's like my MM. But even on my "ghetto" slotting, I feel like my Demons/Storm shreds mobs, though I don't solo at +4/x8 yet, though she was able to singlehandedly stop an ambush in a PI radio rescue mission the other day--granted, it was only Council, but I felt good about being able to leverage my tools to hold off an ambush on my own. I ended up cutting the heal and hurricane out of my build. The heal kind of helps while leveling, but once the demons can start better taking care of themselves, I found it largely useless and a waste of my time (plus, I'm a bit of an RPer at heart and build for concept, so since she's a villain, she ain't healing no one damn it lol). I also don't have the skills to maneuver hurricane to make it more helpful than harmful and felt I had enough other stuff going on that I wanted that I could sacrifice it to use those slots elsewhere. I agree with Doc though that building is almost kind of a personal thing. I'm sure folks here have amazing builds; doesn't mean that I'd be great at using it or whatever. As you level you figure out what you like and how you like to play and what you want/need for your character. I rarely solo, let alone look to solo at max level, so while I want my Demons/Storm to feel/be powerful, I do like to team with her and will look to build her accordingly. Not to mention, a new patch is getting ready to release that is changing how attack types/defense/resist function, so any build you get now is likely to change in the very near future.

I admittedly not a deep dive, numbers person, but I'm curious how it was determined to be too good? Ice Control largely wants to play in melee if you take and use Arctic Air; as it is currently, Cold Snap's fear is nigh unusable in melee, and is probably the single most repeated criticism of the set's changes in the open beta currently. There's a lot of people in game who don't even know about the new patch coming, let alone stuff in beta (I've chatted with a few), and I can definitely see this difference in cone widths ending up being confusing once the changes go live, especially for players that don't do deep dives into this sort of stuff and for the smattering of new/newly returned players that have been popping up.

Yeah, I didn't test out a controller on Brainstorm, but the changes definitely seem to feel better for Ice Control on a dominator. Shame Ice trollers don't get that more smooth satisfying feeling that dom's do. Though I agree the fear in Cold Snap needs to be a wider cone, I find it incredibly odd that it's a smaller cone than the rest of the secondary effects in the power, especially for a set that is already kind of lacking in control power.

Some of y'all answering are missing the part where they said this will be a teaming MM, lol. Don't think they're worried about solo capabilities. Generally, /Rad is well liked on teams. And likely on a team, mobs will be herded/gathered up. Toggles are generally useless for most trash anyway.

I think for a teaming oriented MM, you should be fine taking /Rad. Others already pointed out why it's not as great for soloing, but you specifically said a teaming MM, lol. I teamed with one before that was Necro/Rad and yeah, they're definitely nice to have around. I think MM's take a bit of a hit to the powers of their debuffs, but most people like having AM on the team, and Fallout is just fun to use if someone dies in melee range (I still need to macro my Fallout on my Plant/Rad troller to say "Thank you for donating your body to science!" as she blows them up).

This was so much fun to read and such a clever idea. Thank you for the laugh!

Your feedback on all the combinations you've been trying is wonderful to read. I too found Symp/Storm to not be all that great/interesting--granted I didn't bother to run it at 50 and incarnated out--but for me, I think it'll be hard to love a storm toon as much as I love my Demons/Storm MM. Symp/Sonic on a controller is just oodles of fun, as I've waxed about in here several times, lol. Pet gets super tanky. We were taking on 2 spawns at a time in some missions (running at +0/x4) and barely breaking a sweat in most cases, and that's with my noobish attempt at slotting and running at level 40. It'll probably be one of the first toons I make when the page goes live, lol. I can't decide whether or not I like my Ill/Traps controller or not, but you may have sold me to trying a Symph/Traps controller lol. Thank you again for all the feedback you've give in.

Some of y'all here have serious issues with reading comprehension and the use of a general you. I never said you specifically threw a tantrum, but others in this thread waxing on about how dare the devs didn't touch MM's this page are.

Thank you. This was written better than I can come up with. Yes, MM's take extra effort, but once you get it figured out, the results are rewarding. Or frustrating. Just depends on what you're looking to get out of your characters.

Lolwhat? My Demons/Storm MM would like to have a word with you. She absolutely shreds things and she's not even fully built yet. MM's are not like any other AT in the game, it's what makes them so fun and interesting. Some sacrifices much be made with the AT when the primary source of their damage comes from controllable, buffable, minions. They're not an AT that is going to be for everyone, but I stand by what I've said all along about them--they are in a pretty decent place here on HC. There are other AT's and aspects that need more help right now (namely Sentinels). And /Traps works just fine if you learn how to play with it; it requires a different type of playstyle, just look at the threads for Ill/Traps controllers. MM's are my favorite AT, and while there are some changes that have been mentioned here that I would like to see, I am okay with the fact that they didn't happen during this page, and throwing temper tantrums about it isn't going to change anything.

Before I got to autobiography, I thought you were going to say band name, lol

I have a tendency on some of my ranged characters to like to back myself into walls/corners; makes me feel like I'm out of the way and gives some interesting camera perspectives. Sometimes I kind of feel like I'm in an FPS, and sometimes I get an interesting view of the inside of my beast characters' heads. 😅

Oh wow, she sounds like such a beautiful person and soul, the kind we need more of in this world. I did not know her, but your story about her put me in tears. /em holdtorch May she rest in peace; I am sure her presence is greatly missed. ❤️

/em holdtorch I'm so sorry for your loss, Daily. I can only imagine how hard it is to lose a parent. May she rest in peace in the great Paragon City of the beyond. ❤️

Symph/Sonic, imo, will be better on a Controller rather than a Dom. Symphony really wants to play at range as much as possible, and /Sonic for doms really wants to be in melee (especially for the toggle pbaoe -res power). My Symph/Sonic controller is definitely one of the funnest trollers I've made and they complement each other nicely if you don't want to go /Storm. Ice/ actually pairs superbly with /Sonic for Doms, at least from my testing with it on beta. Needs some end management for sure, but since Ice/ loves to play in melee, my dom was just melting down mobs while simultaneously confusing them. Tons of fun.

You are now putting words into my mouth that I never said and are slandering me when I did not do the same to you. Much of what I said was not even directed at you, but I clearly said THE OP and others. Like I said, there was clearly a misunderstanding somewhere between us, and at this point, I have no idea what you're trying to say other than deciding that you're going to bash me over something incredibly stupid that I never did. I said there *might* be a language barrier or something happening because we aren't understanding one another. For someone telling me I need to learn how to read and that I can't be bothered with you, you're sure doing a great job of the pot calling the kettle black. Idk what your deal is, but perhaps you need to sit down and stop assuming everyone is "coming at you, bro." Most of my posts weren't even directed at you anyway. Pointing out what T-Spy does doesn't mean much here anyway because much of the HC playerbase and devs don't want to do what they do. Obviously I don't know what they do there since I have no desire to play on T-Spy because as I have said many, many times, I like the way the HC staff handles the game and it's one of the reasons I play here. Cool, you like the way MM's play over there? Then enjoy their take on MM's, you do you boo. Doesn't change the fact that here, MM's are in a pretty solid spot and aren't suffering the way some other sets and AT's are that need more work first. That's all some of us have been saying. Sheesh. Also, look up the use of the general you--when I was using it, that's what I meant, not you specifically.

I'm not sure if there is perhaps a language barrier happening here, but all I have said that for those wishing to provide feedback, to do so in a constructive manner. The OP is having a temper tantrum. I don't *do* anything here; I am one of hundreds of players on the HC servers. I don't have any authority, if that's what you're implying, nor am I trying to. However, that doesn't mean I don't understand what types of communications are going to get a better reaction from the devs and fellow players. Your response makes very little sense to me. Rudra reiterated my point rather nicely, so I will leave it there and not respond any further since it seems we don't really understand each other and that's okay. Final Say: Making suggestions and giving feedback is totally fine, even if it is criticism. What's not okay is name-calling and bashing and having a tantrum because something you wanted didn't get implemented in the current patch on beta. Post in a respectful manner and you're more likely to have your opinion heard. MM's on HC are largely in a good spot and need very little tweaking compared to other things happening in the game. Sure, there's changes I'd like to see, but I acknowledge there's other things that could use more attention. If you have not personally jumped on beta and tested the changes the devs are making, you have very little room to complain, let alone make demands of an unpaid, entirely volunteer dev team.

Yes, that's why I admitted it was a poor choice of words to use. Dissenting opinions are necessary for growth, but it is important that they be given constructively and with respect, or the person/people you're trying to reach will not hear it, let alone take it into consideration. I should have rephrased it so that this was the more important aspect, followed by, if you choose to remain that unhappy about it and not give constructive feedback, then you are welcome to find another server group that fits your needs. That's the beauty of playing this game in its current format--we're not paying any of these dev teams, they cannot hold us hostage, etc. Sometimes, the best way to show your vote/opinion is to withhold your money, or, in this case, leave to another server group because your opinions were disrespected entirely (assuming you were polite in the first place).

Sentinels are another AT that really needs some love, perhaps almost moreso than MM's. I like them, but agree with those who feel they lack an identity and something is off with their inherent. Regarding MM's though, I've never been to T-Spy, but MM's here on HC are in a good spot. They can be competitive, they can be extremely tanky, they can be devastating (my Demons/Storm rips mobs apart), they can shred pylons if that's your thing. Sure, they need some tweaking (some of the penalties they suffer seem outdated), and some sets perform better than others, which is pretty typical of any AT, but overall, I'd argue they play far better than a sentinel; and frankly, this is the game of "play what you want." Unless you manage to make some pretty poor decisions on a team (e.g., don't contribute, don't monitor your henchmen, etc.), you're fine and no one is going to complain. The HC team gave MM's a pretty nice buff by lowering the cast times of summons and buffs and drastically reducing how much end they need--this makes summoning and rebuffing in combat sooooooo much better, as well as making it so that when we do have to do this, we're not practically out of end. Bots is one of the top 3 primaries, though there's some debate whether it's worth giving the assault bot his first upgrade since he knocks things out of his fire patch. This can be worked around by sacrificing a slot to a KB->KD IO and/or picking a secondary like nature that provides hold auras. Bots/Traps is still considered a top AV killer for MM's thanks to the -res the pair can push out. My Bots/Nature MM is fun as well and surprisingly synergistic. Ultimately, not every AT is for every player. 🙂 Some people will never jive with MM's and that's okay. People having criticisms/concerns isn't an issue; it's how they go about addressing it that is. Which has ultimately been my main point regarding the OP. I know saying "just leave" isn't super productive, but at the end of the day, if you're going to bash everyone around you, then clearly this server group doesn't seem to offer what you want and there are others out there that might have it. Being okay with how the HC team handles changes to the game shouldn't make some of us "ass kissers" simply because we understand that making these changes is hard and needs to be thought out (and I'm personally more in favor of smaller, incremental changes than big sweeping ones). There is an open beta for a reason--instead of shouting at the devs and players that we're all stupid or whatever, the best thing you can do is jump on beta and start testing the changes you're most interested in and then providing your feedback. That's what I have been doing. I figure my feedback as a noobish/average player is just as valuable for a different perspective as the min/maxer type folks; and in areas of changes I don't quite understand, I try my best to read the comments from everyone carefully and like the posts that make sense to me. So, after being on beta Mercs might still be the worst MM primary, but the small changes that have been made so far *are* noticeable--imo, the animation change was a great start and is something you can actually see and feel in game, but yes, ultimately the merc patch notes are just bug fixes and they still play pretty much the same as they do on live. But it was worth jumping on and comparing to my live mercs MM to see if perhaps the bug fixes were a bit of a sleeper buff or something--we can't know if it's good or bad if people don't jump in beta and actually try it out. Sorry. TL;DR: I completely understand what you're saying and where you're coming from. It's okay that the OP is upset Mercs/MM's didn't get any significant changes; what's not okay is their attitude/approach to the matter and insulting everyone trying to provide them with discussion and altering viewpoints.