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Thugs did get buffed, with Resistance being added to both T1 and T2 pets. Edit: Also, having Gang War recharge faster may add effective up time when you're in tough fights where the Posse members (Posse is not a term for an individual) may be dying fast.

It might require using a state flag like Dimension Shift, so that only the MM could affect them. Which would make it more work to implement. Edit: Obviously just giving them a "MoG for minions" short duration mitigation buff when summoned is an easier to implement alternative.

Perhaps just make newly summoned pets invulnerable for a brief period (3s?). Sort of like a self-rez. It's very frustrating to summon them, then be unable to target them right away to upgrade/buff, and have them die before the upgrade animation even finishes.

I think a side-grade is what they're going for right now. With the idea that it will put MMs in a place where they can then evaluate and buff in a patch after Page 3 release. I also believe they are being conservative because nerfs, even small ones, are highly unpopular. My guess is that they are trying to avoid having to nerf MMs and believe that if they just bumped T1/T2 to even level (which they did before on Beta) then a set of those unpopular nerfs would be inevitable. Personally, from the limited testing I've done so far I think to get this to side-grade level I want some of those lost HP back. Because there are places where the new level shifts are NOT changing enemy hit chances (e.g. Bodyguard mode, Incarnate content, autohit effects). I also think they should consider ways to make resummoning pets in the middle of a fight more viable. Right now when I have a pet die in a serious fight the new replacement is often dead before I can even upgrade them due to the lack of buffs/upgrades. Lastly, I believe the significantly lesser value MMs get from Inspirations deserves at least a cursory look.

In short... it's to make them scale up better for harder content. The Purple Patch level difference adjustments aren't linear, so in the +3 to +6 foe level range the level boosts to the T1/T2 henchmen up ends being more of a buff than the base ability nerf.

I did the same test with my L50 all T4 Necro/Rad. He went from 41s on Live to 49s on Brainstorm, which equates to a 15% reduction in DPS. (This was using any intrinsic power including all Incarnates but no inspirations, no temps, no CoP buffs, no Accolade powers or the like.) My break even point for DPS in testing him versus RWZ dummies was +3.

Due to Beasts being largely melee it can be hard to keep them in a pack; they are very quick to chase runners and flee patches. Because of this I think Fortify Pack should have its radius increased to match Supremacy; 60' instead of 30'. It would be nice if the buff was front-loaded a bit more as well. So that using it with low stacks isn't quite as wasteful.

There is an indentation error. It should read something like this... Fixed power description for the following powers: Dark Armor > Obscure Sustenance Dark Armor > Soul Transfer Dark Armor > Cloak of Fear Dark Armor > Shadow Dweller Psionic Armor > Precognition

Whether the heals are resistable or not is separate from the Heal Res cap. The reason I think the latter should be changed is simply to be consistent. PBs and WSs are listed as "Tank" playstyle ATs. They clearly include armor powers in their sets. If the change is for all "armored" ATs as the notes state then I think PBs and WSs should be included. As a side note I saw one Kheld self-heal that can be resisted (both on Live and on Open Beta)... Stygian Circle.

It is odd. Kheldians probably should have their Heal Res cap lowered so others can heal them if they're tanking (both ATs are listed in the "Tank" playstyle category during character creation). [Edit:] The Patch Notes say... Armor Sets > Self heals (all) Self heal click powers no longer are irresistible I don't think it should be left to interpretation as to whether Kheldians are affected by this or not. Given that parenthetical "all" after "Self heals". Why not just make it clear what was changed and what wasn't?

2-3 seconds is what I'm seeing too. As stated I don't even see the 5s of Build 5, let alone the 10s of Build 6. I think something must be working differently than it is expected to. Even on Live the power doesn't match what I would expect from its CoD power details. There it should be able to last 10s... or be off for that long as well. And it doesn't do that. It works pretty much the same Live, Build 5 and Build 6 as far as I can tell. This may be an artifact of Combat Attributes lagging, but I doubt it. It's supposed to be a bit more reliable.

Well... the Patch Notes say it may last up to 10 seconds. The power Detailed Info says you get the KB protection "if grounded in the last 10 seconds". That is definitely not happening. If that was true a little hop would never cancel it. It's hard to say what the reality is, since testing it in a way other than watching Combat Attributes is nearly impossible. But as far as I can tell it never lasts as much as 5 seconds (which is what the previous Notes had it at), let alone 10. [Edit:] Tested on a Tanker, Sentinel and Stalker and saw the same behavior as on the Brute (I didn't have a Scrapper handy).

With Build 6 the KB protection seems slightly better. There doesn't seem to be much difference (if any - it could just be random small sample variance) on this Brute from Build 5 to Build 6. I will often still lose KB prot even on an 18" hop up the curb onto the grass by Det. McLord in PI. Maybe 1/3 to 1/2 the time. Using Super Speed and running down the stairs outside radio mission doors in N PI also causes KB prot to drop most of the time. It most definitely does not last anywhere near 10 seconds when lost. At least not according to the Combat Attributes display. [Edit:] I should add that I don't think the behavior is terrible. It's just not what the Patch Notes lead me to expect.

The Patch Note states "up to 5 seconds". Though in testing on a Brute I never saw it last more than about 3 seconds. It also seems to take up to 2 seconds to reapply when you drop back down to the ground. I'd say the tick rate and duration need reconsideration.

This was basically the same as I saw in testing. The increased inclination to stay at range has helped with survival, but lowered its DPS since Bite does nearly 40% more DPS than its other attacks. Then even when it does decide to run in and Bite it doesn't use Bite every chance it gets. So Fly Trap is a poor DPS pet with lousy CC, below average survivability and average mobility (at best). Its only real plus compared to other pets is the -Def. I'm not sure if that's really enough.