StrikerFox

I agree a Thugs/Poison MM would be a good Joker homage. I had a female Joker costume during live but couldn't really show it off. Recreated.

Stupid me. Activated Dispersion Bubble with Personal FF active.

You're absolutely right, just tested and it does! Why do pets not get the Dispersion Bubble buff?

Does Power Boost work with FF? Most or all of FF's bubbles have some kind of +res effect. Deflection has +toxic res, Insulation has +end drain res, Dispersion has some +mez res etc. @Crysis pointed out in an old thread that PB doesn't work with Cold because of that. I tested PB + Cold shields and confirmed that PB didn't help.

Jack of all trades doesn't mean they're perfect. We all know the drawbacks of slow pets, horrible AI and level shifts. We all know MMs won't be tanking a Hamidon. We all know MMs won't heal as well as a Defender. We all know a MM won't mez as well as a Controller. But we know a MM can heal better than a Scrapper. A MM can out damage a Sentinel. A MM can tank better than a Corruptor. I can't really comment on the TD tests. I haven't seen video, primary/secondary, the builds, the playstyle from each player. Pets are slow and their AI is wonky. T1 pets probably get decimated. There are a lot of factors on why they perform poorly in TD testing. I skimmed the TD thread and only found the one MM run. The pets had trouble dropping down each level of the map. Others commented that the TD is bad for pet testing as their AI is atrocious. There's probably an AE mission that would be a better all round test for ATs. MMs being a higher maintenance AT is part of the baggage.

Post i27.5, Merc pets defeated a pylon in 106s for 490 dps without the secondary. Serum wasn't used either (74s/645 dps with Serum and Tar Patch). Pre-i27.5, Ninjas defeated a pylon in 119 for 450 dps without use of the secondary or Smoke Flash (84s/584 dps with Tar patch and Smoke Flash). They would likely do better now with added crit chance. Imo, secondaries shouldn't be included when trying to figure out what individual primaries are capable of. A secondary should be included when testing an overall build. Like I said MM's are a jack of all trades; master of none. They technically have AoE damage. It's not the best but it's not that bad. Pets constantly attacking multiple targets VS Dragon's Tail with a small radius or Shield Charge with a 25s cooldown for example. They all have pros and cons.

MMs have some crazy pylon times that's been posted over the past 3 years. Their ST damage is pretty amazing. As for AoE, I think all pets have at least one cone (Except Beasts?). Most small, either short range and/or arc. Their AoE comes more from having multiple pets. 6+ pets hitting separate targets at the same time is AoE for one MM. I see MMs as being a "jack of all trades, but a master of none" archetype. They can tank, deal good damage and provide support.

It gets easier with IOs. Almost all the pet uniques are slottable at lower levels. Edict at level 12, CtA at 7, Sovereign at 22, Expedient at 27. MoS and CotMM are level 10? Only Soulbound is 50. Overwhelming is also really useful and I think we can slot that at 10. If you can get your hands on them early, it will make the ride a lot smoother.

Not really. My build for example, Acid Mortar recharges in 24s with Musculature slotted. With Agility slotted, it recharges in 22s. Double and triple Mortars would overlap 2-4 seconds longer with Agility slotted. A 2-4 seconds longer Mortar overlap VS a permanent +35% damage bonus. While teamed, enemies would likely be defeated before the 3rd (Often even the 2nd) Mortar is needed. While solo, I would want the consistent +damage over 2-4s longer overlap because that 2-4s will likely equate to 1 or 2 attacks for each pet.

It looks like the damage boost is only on the target the MM is hitting. I'm surprised at that but looking at the pet buffs, there's no symbol indicating a +3.33% damage buff after using the MM attacks. The Ninja's get a buff symbol for each crit bonus from MM attacks. I went to RWZ, had the 2 Soldiers attack a Gunslinger boss while I used an MM attack on lieuts/minions. Their damage did not increase. But as soon as I hit the Gunslinger himself, their attack went up +3.33%. From 13.39 damage per tick to 13.84. It seems more like a -3.33% res debuff benefiting Merc pets only. Slotted damage procs did not increase. I only used Soldiers (No Medic), no upgrades so they only used Quick Burst. No Achilles' Heel, removed the Souldbound BU proc and Reactive Interface just so the Soldier damage numbers are always consistent VS the same target. Set to follow my pets so that they were always in Supremacy range. Don't have M30 Grenade so that is untested but it might apply the +3.33% to all targets within it's 15' radius. Something to consider if only running with one MM attack. According to the description, all Merc pets get the buff regardless of which Merc MM applies it. That's kind of neat.

I did test Necro by adding two +3 heal/end HOs into their upgrade. The Lich and Grave Knights had no end redux slotted on them. The 2 HOs were enough to sustain their end, never dropped below 80% while attacking for 15+ minutes straight on a Rikti practice dummy. Not sure if Protector Bots would produce the same result. The tier 1 Zombies needed around +26% end redux slotted on them for their endurance to last. The two HOs alone wasn't enough.

Numina's, Miracle, Regenerative Tissue and Panacea uniques have a chance to proc on the Protector Bots when they heal. Though they will not proc on the MM if slotted in Upgrade Robot.

I'm trying to make a good build for Demons/Thermal but every single one just has massive holes in it. Build I'm using really isn't solo friendly and does excellent when it has 0 aggro. Haha! My MM couldn't solo his way out of a brown paper bag. The papercuts would bring her down. This build is a tankermind style. Def/follow and Provoke. OG to stun a few. Try to outheal the incoming damage. One small purple inspira to softcap melee. If cycling Forge among pets frequently, maybe swap the slotting with Tactics. There are some IOs boosted to +5. Hasten, Maneuvers, Dark Embrace and some of the pet's. | Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build | |-------------------------------------------------------------------| |MxDz;1756;761;1522;HEX;| |78DA7594594F135114C7FFD3998A85165ACA4E0B2DCA5AADD428EA9B017CD136218| |2B8DB4CA0C0C4D2369426FA3534D1A8714B14F52BB844F4C125D1B87D027D121525| |01A23ED5D33973D3EB24DC64DADF3DE7DCB3DD33933837EC7EFB26BE1F8A7728ADE| |7F3C9849E9F4FCDCD1A994967429F362654D0AAA0275CD624470BB3B3D94C743845| |BFD6C6C84CCB168385A9A9E8D80CEDF474F2B03E69E8F34636839A916C361D8DA7F| |4C9D45C7EC6C8559AFBD15C2A35E93331A1678C5C216D5ABB85718E9C070EE48C89| |A89C43B690B6B23DDF44F9F5D273C55BCA5681B58A4E6095FE632E38504D9B98463| |0AE99A0E1B36AC190C3844D38CEAA879E9297FFDC7C552D932586CDF826E03B4325| |7E08586678E491BDA0A82A58678D17BF196AF147C01AC3633AA44A87341501D6D42| |128A08DA101ED02420CD7A8014E944FD3260C5373953415925F67054ED07FB78626| |9C14708AA105A7059C618821C9F084D273C935B9444D01515340D4D4266ABA4EB1A| |BE47E56896B69C3A0C3B25D6649084B1C298475CE3C849DECC64763E8915BE38157| |310F85B1CA26611C1250C7AA2DA867E8A0D335D269A50611582616DCA03C7D728F7| |CF842E905353259E33CB7E2856AC14B01AF18BAF09AE129F5C82F47F2A35131DD74| |A189E12645AA9707B51E639AE5E508433716D8B61B4785E41843AF18E6458AD4284| |542236E739EB72840B33C08CD62109ED19956E98CA395AED9721B1160D93E27DBA0| |94A616C43BF6DF87F7023E08F8C8B00D9F18FCD4F176F9DADB714798DC15B0C0B01| |DF704DC17F0806191BADA218F5C078F9C0B3B78E44AB026E02FDFC18A1BE8943BD3| |8981D2874C450B65D523D5E4E8E1FA5D34E4331C3186B30CB5641B91BD44B8332E3| |490262A6BA262CEEA48D32F77BE9F35F462689057B1F4D0427C0379C2262F8E68D2| |C7AD64A8B0E172A5FCD52B3BF8659353510715F3E572639C737223CC0DFBB9818F1| |59B9CAC2F38CC42AB7191BB548D4B0EEBB3769961579F2DF3DD76C1805D505E7B48| |5525ABF6DA05FBFA4A6F8F2488FB29AC62F7F60F6B38FE9C| |-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Doesn't FFG just provide some status resistance to hold, immob and stun? Status protection is more important than resistance. Resistance will just reduce the duration of the mez effect; protection can negate the mez effect all together unless enough is stacked to overcome the player/pet's protection stats. As for the Alpha slot, saving a slot from Hasten doesn't amount to much. Dropping a trap here and there, a few seconds sooner is seldom needed. Extra damage is always welcome. It's useful in pretty much every scenario in the game. Musculature or Intuition will always yield the best overall results on an MM... Unless running a petless one.

I'm guessing next patch. Heavy emphasis on "guessing." At work right now, will see what builds I got when at home. My personal Demon/Thermal build isn't optimal. I really only team with it and it's not solo friendly.

Those resist percentages I listed are the pet's inherent res + Thermal Shields + Ember Demon Shields + Sovereign/Expedient/SMoS IOs. Having cap resistances to various damage types is phenomenal. 90% res is equivalent to softcap def. Say you have 1000 HP and an even con enemy is hitting you for 100 damage per hit. He would have to hit you 10 times for you to die. 50% chance to hit/miss makes it an average of 20 attacks to defeat you. +45% def would mean you're being hit 5% of the time so on average, he would attack 200 times before you fall. +90% res would mean damage is cut down to 10%. So instead of 100 pts of dam/hit, you're taking 10 pts. For the enemy to defeat you, he would need to hit you 100 times. Include the inherent 50% to hit/miss, it averages to 200 attacks to kill you. The same as softcap def. Slotting Edict, CtA, SCotMM and Maneuvers can boost +res pets paired with +res secondaries ahead in terms of pet survivability VS specific damage types. S/L being the most common which Demon pets should be capped at. I would probably build for MM survival on Demons/Thermal. Recharge to get HoE, Heat and Melt up as often as possible. Demons, Thugs and Beasts are probably next on the docket for an upgrade. Don't fall in love with your build too much as a new patch could change alot.

Screenshots for the Necro changes from the i27.5 patch notes below. Demons/Thermal is a great pairing. Pets can get +90% capped resistances to S/L/F/T. Around +60% to C/E/N and +35% to P. Close/equivalent to Tank/Brute level res. Hopefully the Thermal/Ember heals are enough to supplement their lower HP pool. In most cases, Demons/Thermal should be more survivable than softcap defense pets.

No benefit, only the +res portion of Steadfast will help pets. It's going to be slotted that way because I want the +res in the high yellow/low red diminishing return on the pets. Also wanted the KB protection. Slot the upgrade and Tough according to the set bonuses you're chasing and/or whichever can get better end reduction. Tough will cost more end over time so whichever +res slotting has better end redux would be preferable in that.

Something is wrong with the Mids' build. When opened, resistances are in the negatives, regen is capped and recovery is through the roof. Pet defense should be at around +47.5% with the Protector Bot and FFG shields active. I think you can do without the SCotMM +AoE def since all pets will be softcap. With FFG and Protector Bot's shields active, your MM defense will be at about: S/L +71% F/C +49% E +62% N/T/P +48% I think you can skip Scorpion Shield. You will still be at around +48% def to all damage types without it. Adding Charged Armor, Dark Embrace, Temp Invulnerability etc would help survive better in most cases. Or maybe Bonfire if knocking down targets is appealing to you. I haven't tested it yet but all Bot pets has new KD powers added. It might be worth slotting Explosive Strike in all pet tiers. Slowly limping my way to 50, I'll try it out after IO'd. As for incarnates: Alpha - Musculature Core/Radial. Just for the extra damage it will provide pets. Radial if a little end bump is needed, and the -def debuff will help Mortar. There's also Intuition Radial which will improve damage, holds, def debuff and slow movement. Judgement - Your own preference. Interface - Degenerative Radial to lower target's max HP which in turn, lowers their regen. I would have recommended Reactive Radial before but since the -regen debuff was removed from pets, Degen is likely the better choice now. Lore - Your own preference. I like Core over Radial, more damage over misc buffs. I usually pick Lore pets according to my MM theme. Cimeroran with /Time, Phantoms with Necro, Storm Elementals with /Storm, Warworks with Bots, Rularuu with Demons, Tsoo with Ninjas etc. Destiny - I would say Clarion. Mez protection is pretty huge for pets. Rebirth Radial if you don't trust your pets/Drone/Triage to do the job. Hybrid - Support Core overall is best for pets. Assault Radial is good when it works but often dismiss/resummoning pets is needed to make it reliable. For Assault to work on pets, it needs to be activated before pets are summoned. Each time entering/exiting a zone/mission, Assault's effects resets and often does not work unless reactivating Assault, dismissing and resummoning pets. It's pretty annoying.

The new incarnates alone I can do without. If they came with new itrials and that Battalion storyline, I'd be all for it.

That was tested already. The MM gets the +HP, the pets do not.

What are all the rules of a RWZ Challenge again? I vaguely remember it from live. I recall needing to fight 3 groups of lvl 54 Rikti in RWZ. There was probably more to it. I gave it a shot with my NB/Regen Stalker and posted a video. I gotta respec those Performance Shifter procs back into the build. Also glad to see you're still in the game, ClawsandEffect. I remember you from live. You're the one that convinced me, through your various posts, to actually build for +regen on a Regen. Everyone else was sort of recharge, recharge, recharge and ignore +regen.

A Watcher/pacifist style character. When teammates ask if you're going to help fight, reply, "I'm only here to observe and save." All the pets can be taken but must remain in passive mode. Bots are preferred for the T2 shields, heals and Maintenance Drone. Protector Bots won't heal/bubble while passive so that needs to be done between enemy groups. MM picks must consist of passive, non-attack, 0 damage powers. Oppressive Gloom or Hibernate. Phase Shift is a good one. Pacify, Misdirection, Stealth, Medicine PP etc. As for the secondary, FF would fit the concept. Repulsion Field needs to be heavily slotted for KB. Or Dark Miasma, Black Hole frequently. When teammates yell at you, response should be in along the lines of, "Stop, you're hurting them." Feel free to Fold Space enemies away from your teammates to help keep the peace. The MM needs to wear glasses. Nobody would hit a guy with glasses. Battlecry should be something like, "Use words, not weapons!"

Do you start all encounters with Shield Charge? Not sure if it's possible, but try binding Active Defense to it. SC is a 2 part activation, click power and click location. I think AD might trigger in between. Depending on your build, SC probably has a 25s recharge; AD around 65s recharge. There should be significantly less cooldown sound effects. But I really don't know, just a thought. Edit: Actually it might cancel SC all together.