Lost Deep

I wish I had found this topic a long time ago! While a lot of these powersets would likely need mechanic tweaking before implementation, I do like to see an array of what's possible using stuff already in the game. I think my favorite is Utility Grenade, followed shortly by throwing blades. Though, I think more earth sets are most likely to get into the game.

I don't buy this, if only because it's been stated the dev team balanced around SOs, not IOs. According to the guide to issues, IOs weren't even a thing yet when Masterminds were first made. I guess some changes since then might have been in line with this, save that it has been stated many times that the original team was balancing around SOs.

I love these proposed changes and do hope they're considered seriously. Not all may actually work in actuality, but I do think each one should be individually examined for viability. My favorite is the proposed stance mechanic. It should work even if the other changes aren't implemented, and it gives Masterminds some much needed flexibility in combat (and less downtime between combats). Even if Tankermind is still the endgame best option, having some playstyle flexibility while leveling or soloing would make Masterminds more enjoyable.

Funnily enough, I also have a /poison snake-girl mastermind with the same issue. Odd coincidence.

After playing some with a Necromancy MM, I think the way that noises stack in this game needs to be looked at. Every time I enter a new area, all the upgrade noises play: wwhhhhOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHhh. It's quite deafening. This is likely the same thing with other powers with loud noises that can play at the same time, and it might be a relatively simple fix inside the game's audio mixing?

I should perhaps note that there may be some powers where 'minimum' FX is not the same as no FX. Maybe it just means a slight generic glow instead of a fire aura, depending on the ability. At the same time, and kind of on the opposite angle, it might be nice to be able to tell what debuffs are active on enemies at a glance. Okay, they have the red shields on them... are those my red shields? Someone else's red shields? A lot of powers have an SFX that persists for a few seconds, but the actual debuff effect lasts for much longer. Whether this would call for a power animation change or a UI change depends on what's possible and efficient.

The main thing I can think of, and this isn't quite power customization, is a way to deactivate visibility or turn down the business of some power effects. Some people cannot team up with Force Field heroes because all the field wavy effects give them a headache. Similarly with stacked auras, glowy abilities, etc. It's difficult to say what exactly to do about this? Some change in the graphics settings to turn down the brightness or simplify the patterns of certain things? I'm not sure, but it should be thought about. Apart from that, force field effects in general tend to be invasive. It is important to make the area of the bubble visible for AoE abilities, but the wavy effect tends to be distracting or even disorienting in large enough amounts. With that in mind, I'd like to see two things: bubbles that are smooth or have a more subtle, static pattern (hexes, maybe) and an FX for individual effects that is not the bubble. Other than that, while lower priority I'd like to see some additional flexibility for pets. Master Mind customization, of course, but also for things like Control pets, the defense drone from traps, etc. This is obviously a larger undertaking, but broadening the models available would be neat.

I've seen punch from fighting proc scourge, oddly enough. It's weirdly well distributed.

When soloing, I prefer the chem rounds for the general damage reduction, or cryo against control or support enemies to keep them from using their powers as much. Incendiary rounds I don't use much, as when soloing the extra utility goes a long way. In any case, experiment and see what you like.

I haven't examined Time in particular, but it's reputation is top-notch. Traps is in general the single best solo support set, but also the hardest one to use. Other than that, keep in mind that AoE heals and team buffs are actually useful to a solo Mastermind, unlike solo defenders or corrupters. On the other hand, keep in mind that Pets can't be rezzed, so rezzes won't be helpful to you. For bots specifically, debuffs are good. Bots are pretty tanky by raw, so making the enemy more prone to damage can be a big improvement. ...or you can go Force Field, become immortal, and destroy the world with infinite patience.

Repair is skipable if you have other healing sources (like from EA), but on other builds it becomes more prudent. It takes a long time to recharge, but it's a 100% heal for the targeted minion and it can save a minion's bacon if used at the right time. I can certainly see Aid Other from the medicine pool being better if you invest enough to get field medic, but without the investment the interruption chance is problematic. If you want another heal for your minions, Repair definitely works, especially on the T2 or T3 minions with more health. I'd give it a 3 out of 5; it's not essential, but it does what it says it does and isn't a bad choice.

My take on it is that if you're in the fighting set anyway, take tough/weave. I won't espouse them for every archetype out there, but if you're in the fighting pool you either A. want the extra melee options and some melee power, in which case you'll be closer to the combat than planned so take tough/weave, or B. you specifically want Tough/Weave for the durability and getting a melee attack is a bonus. The only situation I can think of where you want extra melee power but don't need extra durability is Sentinel. I actually have a fighting set mastermind, and it's startlingly effective. Sure, I can't really throw down with melee-focused bosses, but those three melee attacks add up in short order. If you're trying to fake an assault leader like I am, tough and weave are incredibly useful and contribute a LOT to survivability. I hope that more origin pools come out soon so I can use their ranged attacks, too.

I think the biggest thing that needs discussion is War Mace and Axe, and Broad Sword and Katana(/ninja blade). They're very old sets and you can really feel it, there's complete overlap between these pairs. I'm not going to claim that they need big re-works, instead they need a little bit of a tweak each to better differentiate them. Apart from that, the typical underperformers in each powerset (Poison is what I have a personal stake in, but I fully acknowledge that other sets might need attention more), but I also think that some of the awkward early 'combo' sets could be looked at: Dual blades is the big one, but in my experience neither Street Justice nor Beam Rifle actually flows in effect as nicely as it should on paper. Street Justice has a total of three combo builders before level 26, meaning that if any one of them misses you can't get that nice full-power combo finisher, and in my experience Sweeping Cross in particular is... lackluster. This can make leveling awkward. Beam rifle has excellent single-target damage, but part of the point is to flow between targets using disintegration spread, which feels almost nonexistant at lower levels. Mind, I don't have a lot of experience at higher levels so both these sets might become super-consistent later on, but for the beginning of their progression they feel odd.

While leveling, I noticed that my Patrol exp didn't even seem to deplete. I checked a few times and the number never changed, even if I went up a full level. I've confirmed this across multiple characters, both Excelsior and Torchbearer, and a friend also checked on it. I'm not sure if I'm benefiting from it at all, or if it's just a display error.