Crysis

Can’t speak to your Beast slotting, not my area of speciality. On my MM’s, I usually try to build for softcapped DEF for S/L or Ranged (never been able to do both personally). But that’s because I tend to Tankermind, taking the alpha while in BG mode. In BG mode, you already will have high resists because of how the damage is spread across you and the henchmen. But once the alpha is out of the way, I switch stance to Aggressive mode or even Attack my Target if down to just a boss or two. Thus, the Softcapped DEF is important for my play style. If you don’t Tankermind (with or without Provoke, I’ve done it both ways) then perhaps it’s slightly less important. But still, you can already achieve very high Resists (or simulate same) via BG mode. You can’t simulate Defense with any of your stances, but between high DEF and high Resists...even without DDR....you have layered mitigation for incoming damage, mezz, etc. Keep in mind with /Storm you have additional mitigation with all the KD you can be delivering, and with high +Recharge a LOT of that is possible. In general, with any MM build that uses Storm, my set bonus and slotting goals are S/L softcapped DEF (even if just high enough you need a single small purple to softcap), then +Recharge (lots of FF +Rech procs make this easy) and THEN damage from henchmen. /Storm offsets any damage slotting you can’t achieve on the henchmen anyways.

Buffing MM’s is, I’ll admit, going to be a challenge. Increase sturdiness/HP’s of henchmen too much and you basically have done same for MM as you’ve enhanced BG mode. Reduce END costs for MM too much, and with a high +Recharge build MM’s secondaries can rival other AT’s just from double/triple stacking stuff. Eliminate level shifts and having an MM on the team effectively can double/triple the team size, and DPS with it. Ultimately I’m not sure how to buff the MM AT without breaking it to the side of OP. Perhaps not all builds but many. I have several Thugs/, Demon/, Bots/ and /Time or /Storm MM’s already that easily solo AV’s or +4/x8 content. You could hand select certain primary or secondary sets for some buffs perhaps but not all.

Agreed, you can go either way, which is why I snuck Rune of Protection in there. Hybrid Melee is another great way to beef up on Resistance but obviously, along with Barrier, only available to Incarnates.

In all seriousness, I’m not sure why Regen was nerfed as hard as it was, as frequently as it was, and then left whimpering in the corner. It’s almost like the Devs at the time had “had enough” of stupid Regen tricks like tanking Hami, perma-MOG builds (those were crazy broken) and such. So it became a series of increasing punitive nerfs to pretty much make the set unattractive to everyone. IO’s restored the playability of the set if you were willing to layer up Defenses on top of the high regeneration/healing via set bonuses and/or switching between Shadow Meld, Rune of Protection, Barrier etc. It’s just never going to be what it once was on a scrapper. I was serious about the Sentinel version. You should try one. Sents have fairly weak offense but a Regen Sentinel is highly durable.

EDIT replied to wrong thread

Play Regen on a Sentinel. It almost makes Regen liveable again.

I always grabbed Grant Invisibility in past and just cast it on the Shield Drone. A bit more +DEF and for the Shield it kept it hidden since it doesn’t attack.

On almost all my MM’s regardless of primary/secondary, I’ve gone Alpha/Musculature Radial, Destiny/Ageless (usually right side) and Hybrid is a toss up between Support or Melee depending on if its a Tankermind build or not.

One reason why “Tankerminding” became a thing, for this QOL reason. Does require either Provoke or running something like This mes Juncture and entering spawn first.....some of those AOE rebuffs generate crazy aggro. But honestly, this is why the numpad macros should be mandatory “drivers permit” for playing a MM. I change henchmen stances all the time, pre/during/post engagement with a spawn. As someone else said above if I want auto pilot I just play a Controller. The nature of a MM is the tactical deployment of henchmen and moving rapidly between Defensive (for BG bonus) and focused fire for Max DPS. On a steamrolling team it may not be all that useful (I am almost always in Aggressive mode with those), but on smaller teams or soloing it’s a very different play style.

Viagra obviously.

I’ve got a lot of Stormies, 4 as MM’s, and while I can agree that Hurricane is a great CC and debuff tool for leveling up and/or solo, by your 40’s it’s not all that useful especially on teams. Thus I almost always respec out of it entirely by the time I get my AOE Immobilize from the Epic/Patron pools. Your opener is almost always going to be FR+LS. With high recharge you’ll easily have those up twice a spawn. Gale should be at least two slotted with the FF +Rech and the SA KB2KD proc. If you aren’t running Tactics perhaps three slotted to throw an ACC in there. FR is at least three slotted, I usually have two Annhilations (ACC/Dam and the -Res proc) and the Lady Gray proc in there. Tornado and LS both get six slots, both getting the FF+Rech proc and Tornado gets another SA KB2KD proc. By spamming Gale and getting out 2/3 Tornado and LS out with a native Recharge of around 130%, you’ll easily be running 210-250% Recharge most missions. Tornado needs the KB2KD proc to gnaw away at the target rather than tossing it around or out of the FR patch or away from the LS damage. You don’t need the KB2KD proc in LS as it’s a very low mag KB and really only impacts critters +2 or less to you. I generally fill the other five slots in LS with Apocalypse at 50 and ThunderStrike or one of the WinterO sets prior to 50. Tornado I generally proc out completely as it’s base damage is less impressive. With your AOE immobilize nothing is leaving your FR+LS killing field and your pets just go to town. Tornadoes just chase runners and or help out. Really no need for Hurricane because stuff isn’t getting thrown around....just flopping and melting. Finally, I suggest you go for S/L Defense soft cap if you can other than Ranged. It helps to get the LS’s right up over the battle.

This is what I'm playing with. I'm not 50 yet, but I have several other /Storm MM's, Controllers and Corruptors. As a rule, I always skip Hurricane and Thunder Clap. I generally skip Snow Storm as well. This build has none of those three. This build is S/L Softcapped to DEF, and with 150% base recharge and very hefty +TOHIT bonuses for taking on +4 reliably. For my play style, I greatly prefer S/L Def to Ranged because my opener is almost always Freezing Rain + Lightning Storm and I like to be up close to the spawn. Steamy Mist keeps my ghoulish gang hidden well until I move first. And with all the FF+Recharge procs in there, I'm already routinely running well over 250% recharge during missions, often higher. I could do better with some HamiO's in a few places of some procs I'm thinking, but I can't really apply those until after 50 anyways. I did manage to work in almost all the Pet DEF/RES uniques I think. And for some reason, MIDS won't let me slot the Scaling Resist proc unique into Steamy Mist but in game it goes in there just fine. So I'm pretty sturdy myself, as are the henchmen. Also you don’t need a KB to KD on Lightning Storm. While it does KnockBack, it’s very low Mag and to anything +2 or higher I’ve never seen it do anything but KD anyways. And once you have Web Envelope as your AOE immobilize stuff isn’t going anywhere. Endurance, like for all Storm players, is a significant issue. But on Homecoming, between the various P2W amplifiers and temps, plus Empowerment buffs from Base, it's manageable until you get Destiny Ageless. And by that time, all your END issues are behind you. You could swap out Burnout for some other one-slot wonder, like Hover/CJ or even O2 boost or Snow Storm if you want. But even with having such high recharge for double Tornado/LS, I like to pop Burnout for triple LS when taking on an AV. Neat party trick but highly situational. If I had to do this all over again (and with a respec I do!), I'd likely take Life Drain a little sooner. Not so much for the +Heal for self but more to work in the procs for other bonuses. I’d likely swap in Theft of Essence +End proc for one of the damage procs also. Damage is very anemic on the power so better utility value for me. Feel free to season to taste. I'm sure there's better ways to slot the Lich, as an example....I was chasing some bonuses. And of course use the Numpad binds for managing the henchmen. They really are a game changer for MM’s. Hero Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 3.0.0.0 https://github.com/Reborn-Team/Hero-Designer Click this DataLink to open the build! MJ's Thriller: Level 50 Natural Mastermind Primary Power Set: Necromancy Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Speed Power Pool: Fighting Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Hero Profile: Level 1: Zombie Horde -- SprCmmoft-Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg(5), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(5) Level 1: Gale -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(7) Level 2: Gloom -- SphIns-ToHitDeb(A), SphIns-Acc/ToHitDeb(7), SphIns-Acc/Rchg(9), SphIns-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg(9), SphIns-%ToHit(11) Level 4: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 6: Enchant Undead -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 8: Super Speed -- BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(A), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(13) Level 10: Steamy Mist -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(15), LucoftheG-Def(15), UnbGrd-Max HP%(17), UnbGrd-ResDam(17), Rct-Def(19) Level 12: Grave Knight -- SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprMarofS-Dmg(19), AchHee-ResDeb%(21), TchofLadG-%Dam(21), SlbAll-Build%(23), ShlBrk-%Dam(23) Level 14: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(25) Level 16: Freezing Rain -- Ann-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(A), Ann-ResDeb%(25), TchofLadG-%Dam(27) Level 18: Soul Extraction -- SprMarofS-EndRdx/+Resist/+Regen(A), SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg(27), SvrRgh-PetResDam(29), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(29), SprCmmoft-Rchg/PetAoEDef(31), EdcoftheM-PetDef(31) Level 20: Kick -- FrcFdb-Rechg%(A) Level 22: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(31), GldArm-End/Res(33) Level 24: Weave -- LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(A), LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(33), LucoftheG-Def(33), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(34), GifoftheA-Def/EndRdx(34), GifoftheA-Def(34) Level 26: Lich -- SprMarofS-Acc/EndRdx(A), SprMarofS-Dmg/EndRdx(36), CldSns-%Dam(36), CaltoArm-Acc/Rchg(36), CaltoArm-Acc/Dmg(37), CaltoArm-+Def(Pets)(37) Level 28: Tactics -- GssSynFr--Build%(A) Level 30: Burnout -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 32: Dark Empowerment -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 35: Tornado -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A), SlbAll-Dmg/Rchg(37), ExpRnf-EndRdx/Dmg/Rchg(39), SprCmmoft-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(39), AchHee-ResDeb%(39), FrcFdb-Rechg%(40) Level 38: Lightning Storm -- Apc-Dmg/Rchg(A), Apc-Dmg/EndRdx(40), Apc-Acc/Rchg(40), Apc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(42), Apc-Dam%(42), FrcFdb-Rechg%(42) Level 41: Web Envelope -- EnfOpr-Acc/Rchg(A), EnfOpr-Acc/EndRdx(43), EnfOpr-Immob/Rng(43), EnfOpr-Acc/Immob/Rchg(43), GrvAnc-Hold%(45) Level 44: Mace Beam Volley -- PstBls-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), PstBls-Dmg/EndRdx(45), PstBls-Dam%(45), ExpStr-Dam%(46), FrcFdb-Rechg%(46), Ann-ResDeb%(46) Level 47: Life Drain -- Prv-Absorb%(A), NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(47), TchoftheN-%Dam(47), GldJvl-Dam%(48), Thn-Acc/Dmg(48), Thn-Dmg/Rchg(48) Level 49: Scorpion Shield -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(49) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Clr-Stlth(A) Level 1: Supremacy Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Flight-I(A) Level 2: Health -- Pnc-Heal/+End(A), Mrc-Rcvry+(11) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod(13) Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon Level 50: Ageless Core Epiphany ------------

Reminds me of an old kids game my grandmother had at her house. You had these circular palm sized flexible lid looking things and you’d place them over these little flat rounded beads (like small river pebbles) and push the bead to the edge with a rocking motion, kind of like ‘burping’ a Tupperware lid. The bead would shoot out from under the lid when it got to the edge of it at a very high speed. Sudden Acceleration if you will. It was like Tiddlywinks, but either a knockoff or an older version. (See picture) But admit the speedometer jumping makes more sense. EDIT: I had to go find the name/version of the game my grandmother had.

Oh boy, that makes TOTAL sense, and I grew up on a farm! I mean, lots of times a bull will just snort to discourage interlopers, but even that didn’t make much sense to me. Had never thought about Home on the Range. Love it!

I have a new Samsung G9 49” ultra wide curved. Massive beast. It’s actually my second one because the first had a few dead pixels, but the second has been flawless. COH runs beautifully on it. In fact, it’s so wide, and I multi-box (well, multi account anyways) often so I’m often running the main session on about the center 2/3 of the screen with the other two accounts running in small windowed sessions on either side. This has the added benefit of letting me use the same keyboard/mouse to quickly move between accounts to do what I need. COH, though very old, does a good job of letting you resize the UI, fonts/icons and such to take advantage of just about any size monitor you want. I have played COH on a widescreen TV for some time as well (during COVID quarantine when I had oodles of time to kill), but I can’t for the life of me get the game pad features to work anywhere near as well as just a simple keyboard/mouse combo. But since it’s not really a FPS and you just primarily Tab and Click everything, it’s not all that important to me to do anything different.

The Amplifiers are great for Proc Monster or frankenslotting builds. I have entire secondary builds tuned entirely around Amplifiers.

I’d somehow never seen this one! Posi as a party beach ball was hilarious!

This. If you are 44.6% Fire DEF vs 45%, it -WILL- make a difference for AFK vs active farming. Same goes for perma-haste vs. just shy of it. When you active farm, you are throwing out so many attacks, that the slightly lower defense and/or recharge numbers on a cheaper build don’t matter much. I have a cheap build I used for active farming for months and I was always running Briggs maps at sub 5 minute clear times, faster with Lore pets but pretty speedy even without. But that farmer couldn’t AFK because fire defense was at 44.2% or something close to it. A respec fixed that and he AFK farms without any issues now. Also, if you PL alts using your farmers, try map 36565. Nothing spawns until you touch an object first. Makes it easy to hide the alt before the mayhem starts. Very good map for AFK farming as well as long as you position yourself properly.

I always came back to this one....

First henchman it hits only for EC I believe yes? (Edit for better clarity....I meant I think you only get that buff for the first henchman and everyone after gets less). Assault anyone can take.

That’s one of those coding oversights that just makes you realize the value of good QA LOL.

Ive got a Bots/everything and the only two that never felt right were Bots/TA and Bots/ElecAff. The issue I had with Elec Affinity is that it makes the Bots quite sturdy but does almost nothing for their damage output. Thus you are just standing there going almost nothing while they pew pew things to death SLOOOOOOOWLY. I prefer some risk vs reward ratio. I want higher damage output and reasonable durability. But I don’t care all that much if I have to resummon because I already build for high recharge. The inbound summon timer reductions will just make this easier.

Likely would never happen but what if applying the Upgrade gave a 1 minute temp level shift to the henchmen, sort of like the Level Shift inspirations?

I tend to slot likewise for same reasons but I still wish this game just had a simple “Allow Knockback?” toggle in the Tailor powers customization screen or something. When solo, I tend to like it. When teaming, not so much. Would be nice to not have to slot in/unslot the KB2KD procs all the time but at least that’s a workaround.

I enjoyed reading your stuff until you resorted to personal attacks.