Papaschtroumpf

Yeah the short recharge is to balance the spread mechanics "failing". What's the minimum slotting for defibrillate to be useful outside of bring a Rez? My build is super tight on enhancement slots but I have several flexible power slots. For example l'm considering stealth with a single LoTG +rechg. Would anyone advocate Defibrillate with the default slot instead?(I do 80% of my playing on teams) I have shock 5-slotted and Discharge 6 slotted for the bonuses. So I could also move slots from shock to Defibrillate as use it in combination with Discharge for sapping? I find that discharge by itself is no enough at sapping.

Couldn't do Antimatter at +4x8, his debuffs were too strong. I was able to get to him and take Neuron but it took too much effort. My guess is right now I sit a +1x4, but no incarnates and the sets aren't complete yet. I can't decide if provoke to keep damage off the bots is working or not. in a pitch fever battle I am currently running out of endurance, but again some powers are not well slotted for -End yet

Yep, did Tina 's Antimater arc tonight (left the last mission for tomorrow), no AVs. At +1 a lot of fights took forever even though I was perfectly safe (I think Marauder killed one of my bots and Antimatter another one) even though I don;t have all defense set bonuses slotted yet Most fights look like Empowering Circuit -> Insulating Circuit, step in, drop Faraday Cage, Photon Grenade, Web Envelope, Discharge, now Need Energizing Circuit to get End back then monitor the bots, refill absorb or heal, yawn a few times, use the gun since I haven't respec'd out of it, use Nemesis Staff and miss 1/2 the time, rinse, repeat. A little disappointed about web and Photon radius. I haven't convinced myself web is worth it yet. I think I'll try soloing at +4 and then switch to the build with provoke on my way to see if it truly helps the bots survive more

I often find it hard to determine when to reapply the buffs, the absorb and the mini-buildup. They come back up so quick (I have a lot of recharge) but hard to spot if the need reapplied yet The speed boost gets reapplied any time it's up. The heal I apply when i see health bars moved although I'm not good enough to target the right player quick enough, which is where lots of static stacks help. I found that applying different colors to the effects helps too: green for heal, blue for speed recharge/end and yellow for the to-hit/damage buff. The yellow sparks around my bots show the buff is still up, but I don't see a visual clue for the absorb, and somehow I have a hard time spotting the right icons on the teammate or bits status.

I got to 40 yesterday and I agree that I am not super impressed with Amp Up so far either. I decided to give Mace a try, deviating from my initial plan, so I can give the web and power boost a try. I often solo the Tina McIntire arc (with EBs, only a few characters have been able to deal with AVs solo in the 40s). This will be a good test of the robot damage test. I will eventually make a Demons MM but for now this is the combo I'm trying to work with. I'll probably take Thermal for thematic reasons. I love /Time, but just came off a few /Time characters so I am not ready to take it again (while I like to work the numbers on my builds, I play the game to experience different ATs and powersets, so eventually I have to take power sets that are not the best). Somehow I missed the whole EA discussion thread here in the MM forum, I only followed the general discussion in the set.

Nice thanks! Funny enough I have a character that is pretty close to the 2nd one. The 3rd one is something I can work with and tweak, thanks! Shocktacular, thanks for the offer, I get idea so I can probably come up with something on my own, and I'm planning an earth controller that it would fit (even the whole moleman thing.

Here is a build trying to achieve the above. I took no attacks at all since I agree they are mostly useless for their damage component.. Just keep busy with EA and provoke to keep aggro off minions. . I have about softcapped Ranged and AoE defense, decent S/L resits and Melee defense and good recharge to boot. I'm hoping Hover keeps me out of melee range? I've never used Provoke so not sure how to slot it. I looks like it costs no endurance? but not acc/taunt enhancements either. I wanted the Web Enveloper to keep foes in the burn patch and keep them off me with the -Fly and I would like to try Power Boost. that means taking Scorpion shield but since I'm going for positional defense, S/L is a little superfluous, but if I they do get in melee I it allows me to softcap my S/L and helps with Toxic resistance. so it wouldn't be an always on thing. I'm out of pool choices or I would have grabbed stealth if I don'f like powerboost. Fly and Afterburner (with LoTG) could be another choice, so many choices especially if you;re willing to give up the LoTG from the shield Combat Jump could easily be used instead Hover, in fact if hover doesn'twork to stay off melee, I would grab it. But I might get a KB reduction somewhere for when Faraday Cage is not active (Hover sort of mitigates KB/KD with a quick flip animation). Villain Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.7 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Natural Mastermind Primary Power Set: Robotics Secondary Power Set: zn_Electrical Affinity Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Presence Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Battle Drones -- BldMnd-Acc/Dmg(A), BldMnd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(3), BldMnd-Dmg/EndRdx(3), BldMnd-Acc/EndRdx(5), BldMnd-Dmg(5), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(7) Level 1: Shock -- PreOptmz-Acc/Rech(A), PreOptmz-EndMod/Acc/End(9), PreOptmz-EndMod/End(45), PreOptmz-EndMod/Rech(45), PreOptmz-EndMod/Acc/Rech(46), PreOptmz-EndMod/End/Rech(46) Level 2: Rejuvenating Circuit -- Mrc-Heal/EndRdx(A), Mrc-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(7), Mrc-EndRdx/Rchg(9), Mrc-Rcvry+(43) Level 4: Hover -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(19), Rct-ResDam%(23) Level 6: Equip Robot -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 8: Boxing -- Empty(A) Level 10: Energizing Circuit -- PreOptmz-Acc/Rech(A), PreOptmz-EndMod/End/Rech(11), PreOptmz-EndMod/Acc/Rech(25), PreOptmz-EndMod/End(48), PreOptmz-EndMod/Rech(48), PreOptmz-EndMod/Acc/End(48) Level 12: Protector Bots -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), SvrRgh-PetResDam(13), CaltoArm-+Def(Pets)(13), SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), SprMarofS-Dmg/EndRdx(15), BldMnd-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(17) Level 14: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(17), LucoftheG-Def(19) Level 16: Faraday Cage -- GldArm-3defTpProc(A), Ags-Psi/Status(31), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(33), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(33), Ags-EndRdx/Rchg(33), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(34) Level 18: Tactics -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(34) Level 20: Empowering Circuit -- GssSynFr--ToHit(A), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg(21), GssSynFr--Rchg/EndRdx(21), GssSynFr--ToHit/Rchg/EndRdx(37), GssSynFr--ToHit/EndRdx(37), GssSynFr--Build%(37) Level 22: Tough -- StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(23), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg(25), Ags-ResDam/Rchg(36), UnbGrd-Max HP%(50) Level 24: Weave -- RedFrt-Def(A), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(31), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(34), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36), RedFrt-EndRdx(36), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(40) Level 26: Assault Bot -- SprMarofS-EndRdx/+Resist/+Regen(A), SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg(27), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(27), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), SprCmmoft-Rchg/PetAoEDef(29), SprCmmoft-Dmg/EndRdx(31) Level 28: Discharge -- PreOptmz-Acc/Rech(A), PreOptmz-EndMod/End(39), PreOptmz-EndMod/Rech(39), PreOptmz-EndMod/Acc/End(39), PreOptmz-EndMod/Acc/Rech(40), PreOptmz-EndMod/End/Rech(40) Level 30: Provoke -- Taunt-I(A), Taunt-I(45) Level 32: Upgrade Robot -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 35: Insulating Circuit -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(42), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(42), Prv-Heal/Rchg(42), Prv-Absorb%(43), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(43) Level 38: Amp Up -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 41: Web Envelope -- EnfOpr-Acc/Immob/Rchg(A), EnfOpr-Acc/Immob(46), EnfOpr-EndRdx/Immob(50), EnfOpr-Acc/EndRdx(50) Level 44: Scorpion Shield -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 47: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 49: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) 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 -- Run-I(A) Level 1: Supremacy Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Flight-I(A) Level 2: Health -- NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A) Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A) Level 2: Stamina -- PrfShf-End%(A), PrfShf-EndMod/Rchg(11) Level 1: Battle Drone Level 12: Protector Bot Level 26: Assault Bot ------------

So for my idea of getting most defense/resist/damage/regen/etc... for pets I think I want to work in: Experience Reinforcement Resist Bonus Aura (10%) Call to Arms Defense Bonus for Pets (5%) Sovereign Rights Resistance Bonus (10%) Edict of the Master Defense Bonus (5%) Superior MArk of Supremacy +resit+regen (15%) Superior Command of The MasterMind AoE defense (15%) Soulbound Allegiance Chance for Buildup Faraday Cage (base 11.25% or about 16+% depending on slotting) Protector Bot, assuming it bubbles other bots (10% base, 12.5% with one defense IO, 11.6% with an LoTG) Maneuvers (only 2.63% base defense or bit over 4% slotted) Assault (11.25% can't be enhanced) Tactics (base 7.5% so 10+ enhanced) So total defense around 25.5% (40% Aoe) and resist at 41%. Not horrible but not great either. If I can my get better survivability for myself, should I try and get aggro to divert it from the bots? Is that what "tankerminds" are?

It's one of those IOs I've always thought of as "PvP only". My understanding of perception is that it counteract stealth (useful against stalkers in PvP), it also counteracts Blinded (like a yellow inspiration). I might be useful if it applies to minions/bots too when fighting Arachnos, we I can't tell if it does. Would it also somehow increase the aggro range of bots because they see enemies from further away? I find thatI have a good fell for my own max range, so when the bots are on follow+agressive they are not engaging because even though I am in range, they seem not to be. I have to explicitly tell them to attack my target or move a few feet forward.

Some good ideas there, at least you make the most of Vial. I was trying to focus on Ranged and AoE defense instead of typed defense. but I like the idea of capped S&L resist. Is there a way to get Mid's to show me the bots defense/res numbers? For example how much is the res bonus from Expedient Reinforcements? EDIT: Nevermind, I figured it out, it shows at the bottom of the pop-up where set info is shown. I'm guessing though that unless the bonus says "pet" it doesn't apply to pets even if it's a pet set? for example does the "defense bonus" from Edict of the Master apply to me, me+pets, just pets? E$DIT AGAIN: I guess if I stop expecting Mid's to provide all the ansders, according to https://cityofheroes.fandom.com/wiki/Edict_of_the_Master:_Defense_Bonus: Grants you a 20' radius aura which increases your henchmen's defense by 5%.

Woot awesome. I agree in most cases you can dismiss and respawn but I have been in TFs were there isn't an out of the way spot, so you port in and start fighting. Harder to do as a MM.

Oh, so they do get buffed by vengeance. Neat! I think stealth (the individual power) doesn't stack with a stealth IO (e.g. in sprint). You need SS or steamy mist or... to provide the "2nd half" but don't know about the group flavor.

OK, here is a variation without Experimentation (too much effort to get to Vial which is the only power I care about) and without Fighting, but taking Leardership so it benefits minions. Personal suitability is lessened (a lot less S/L resistance) whcih I would mitigate with another patron pool, but I read a guide saying the immob is great with robots, and I think Power Boost should benefit my EA powers, although I heard some things are being changed for PB? The stealth is pool is a way to slot LoTGs, I haven;t used it forever, I think you can;t use it with a stealth IO in sprint right? so if I want to be truly invisible I could take SS and let it stack, at the expense of the final LoTG. I'm open to idea for what to grab in those lasts power slots, I just don't have enhancement slots left for them

I also stand corrected I was comparing the the T3 gun attack vs Dart, not the T1. Dart is higher base damage than the T1. yeah I have the Achilles proc in my build in Vial.

Dome powers like Grant Invisibility or Vengenace apply to teammates. does that include minions? Could I stealth a mission by granting invisibility to minions and having them follow me on passive? (or even defensive) Do my minions benefit from the Vengeance buff (I'm assuming I can;t use Vengeance on a dead minion though, that would be too easy)

This being my first mastermind I have a hard time thinking ion terms of the AT. For examples the defense numbers I posted apply to me, but not to the minions right? IO bonuses apply to me, not the minions? It's good for me to have a bunch of defense, if I'm dead, then so are the bots, but I think I need to worry more about the bots themselves. For example taking Maneuvers early, probably Tactics too, and worrying less about powers that benefit just me?

Thanks for the guide. I'm new to MMs and having a hard time picking poools for my build. This has good info even though I don't test know what a burn patch is for my bots (guessing it's the last upgrade I don't have yet). I was under the impression that all immobs in the game turned KB into KD? Sure seems to be true of fire cages for example.

If per "per animation second" means what I think it means, it's not the value I use to gauge an attack unless I'm building an continuous attack chain. It's not like you sit there spamming dart, so "per activation/use" seems more relevant for my purpose. I think my MRUB didn't show damage values for Experimentation, I'll have to check next time I'm in game. Looking at the in-game info from the enhancement screen, the per use/activation of the rifle has a higher base value (I want to say 49 vs 26 but I don't remember for sure). It's the other way for vial vs stun grenade, vial has a higher damage in addition to its -def. The stun grenade is not really useful for it's damage but it's damage mitigation. Vial also has base recharge of 60s I believe and 20 endurance cost. So I think it would be best if well slotted for rechg/end/-def (and acc too ?) If you take it. I'm also not huge fan of DoT, they keep shooting at me while they die. But I do agree that better base value it not, I do little damage on my own. I can use Shock to pull, so the Pulse Rifle is not great either. I will likely look at an alternate build that uses neither the rifle (except the grenade?) not Experimentation. Probably use a Villain pool? Since +toHit and -def are more or less directly comparable, I'm thinking Tactics may be a cheaper way to counteract foe defenses and doesn't require clicking. Vial does have a better base -def than Tactics though. I'm sticking to Experimentation for now, I may grow to like it, and it suits the IO set bonuses I need. I wish the travel power was more interesting. You can't really use the TP for quick escape unless you already have the run enabled, otherwise you need to pick the run power first. But it's heavy on endurance. So many choices!

not sure what TS is? On the other hand I'm not in love with Experimentation so far. Dart is pretty wimpy and Vial has a huge endurance cost, and the run is meh when you have ninja run. it's an expensive way to get -def in the build

That s is correct. Since I drop Faraday Cage at the start of every fight I always have a bunch of stacks of static and I end up hitting most of the team and my robots. Static stacks fade over time, not when you use a specific power, so it' pretty easy to keep them up. FC has a pretty good recharge rate so it is available every spawn or so. I am not in love with Experimentation yet, but I have been holding off purchasing temporary IOs until I hit 27 where most of my IOs will slot (hit 26 lat night), we'll see how it goes. The run power doesn't seem faster than Ninja Run and doesn't have good of a jumping capability. the TP has no hover after TP so you can't chain it like you do with he regular TP. Still a quick way to get away in case of emergency, if you have line of sight

Good, thread, I used the guidescroll binds but I find I do terrible on a keyboard, so instead I made macro with pictures from other powers (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uHUi6BWFTYj4wbfGBs3LjZL88Fym6B-8EwDr18YZcY8/edit#gid=0) so I can click the macro. The second slot in tray 4 (red arrow) below is "petcom_all Follow Aggressive" for example. The 3 arrows are "follow" command, with aggressive/defensive/passive. the 5 slot is the "goto" command, and the 8th slot puts my Protector bots only in Bodyguard mode. The skull is "dismiss" (which interestingly also dismisses the targeting drone Prestige power) I'm only at lvl20, so still figuring it out, but it's been working well for me. I will likely replace the macros in tray 5 to automatically spawn near me and automatically target bots for upgrades per the earlier macros in this thread. Interestingly enough, I can't find the name of the MM icons in the document I linked.

I don't know how to link to another post, but I thought took you guys' advice from this thread and applied to my Bots/EA build in this MM forum.

I wonder if I need the KB protection? Faraday Cage provides Mag 10, but of course if it's not up... By the way, as annoying as it is to respawn Faraday cage, it's like getting clarion at low level, instant mez protection for the team! Well worth the hassle What do people take for incarnates on MMs? I haven't looked at my options yet. I assume the alpha or Interface choice applies to me, not the minions? Spiritual looks attractive with rchg and heal Barrier seems good to protect the bots, and Clarion whcih I take on most of my squishies is not needed here. Do the indestructible buffer lore pets buf my bots? Sounds like I should go with Lore that debuf enemies instead? I just realized that Diamagnetic applies to damaging attacks, so not to shock and Discharge. too bad that would have been additional AV killing potential. Maybe Preemeptive to add to my sapper abilities?

At lvl20, this is one of the easiest toons on Endurance I've had in a long time. Will it get bad? I recently saw a bots/FF build that had Stamina 4 slotted and Health 6 slotted or something like that depending on need I could change hte 2nd slot in Stamina wihn another Performance Shitfer Endmod instead of the heal proc, but I figured the heal proc would someone mitigate the lack of a proper heal (you'r "gambling about the heal jumping back to you, although I think if you hit a bot next to you, you are very likely to get healed too) It doesn't look like any of the EA End Drain powers feed it back to you. too bad. How about Haste? I have so many builds with perma-Hasten or close to it, but maybe it's less needed on an MM? Some of those bots have a long recharge time! I do get some recharge from the sets and when Energizing Circuit jumps back to me Second version of the build, added the Fighting pool but hung on to Experimentation. Again ignore power/slot placement level, I haven't worked though it yet Ranged and AoE are softcapped, Melee def is getting good. S/L resist much improved I'm not sure the Kismet in combat jump is worth it, it only affects me and not the bots right? Still the -dmg/enddrain powers need to hit. Vial now also has def debuff and rez debuf. Maybe move it to Vial for extra recharge otherwise. This build has Discharge well slotted too compared to the previous one. too bad it doesn't do damage. this also has a nice mobility boost, too bad it's going to leave my bots in the dust behind me again. (by the way Swift and Hurdle get their respective IOs of course, just forgot in Mid's) At least I feel like I'm making good use of the new power sets and enhancements 🙂

OK, so starting to play with some build ideas, as always, building a build "on paper" when you haven't even used all the powers yet is dangerous, but I wanted a place to start and I like using attuned IUOs as a I level, since I take my time to level. (well, in this case I'm already lvl20 without even trying) So I'm trying to get close to softtcap Ranged and AoE defense since I mostly play this character at range. Not too many ways to keep the baddies at range though, knocking them back with the pulse rifle is not really practical, so I want to keep an eye on melee, I just suspect I can;t softcap all 3 positional. As annoying as respawning Faraday cage is, it's a great protect bubble, so you can get some decent resits layered behind that defense. Someone suggested in another post that I look into Experimentation. to get -Defense and AoE toxic damage, it also helps with the lack of travel power. So here is a first pass with Experimentation. I had to use the experimental version of Mid's since I'm using two new power sets and new IOs. I'm not sure if it's 100% correct and I'm missing some info like how much damage corrosive vial really does. Ignore when the powers are taken and the order of the slots, this is all about playing with the numbers for now I'm working on a version without Experimentation but using ht tried-and-true Fighting pool to get addiotonal defense and S/L resistance