Nyghtmaire

Do you have your incarnates done? T4 Ageless Core should take care of all your endurance problems. Also, what Alpha do you (or will you) have slotted?

Sadly, I’ve never gotten Ice to look like stone. Leviathan works pretty well concept-wise, and Water Spout is pretty spectacular (I use it on my Earth/Sonic controller). That said, Ice is so mechanically strong that it would be worth it to find a way to get the concept to match the primary.

It’s all on the synergy and “clever use of game mechanics.” @Redlynne explained it best in their guide: And @plainguy is soloing max difficulty petless with /traps. In fact (iicr, I’m on my phone so I can’t see), I believe Plainguy has links to everything one would want to know about defense softcap, ToHit, and other key topics in his signature file.

@kelika2, I think you may have gotten the IOs reversed. Overwhelming Force proc makes ALL attacks have a chance for knockdown. Sudden Acceleration proc transforms an already existing KB power to knockdown. Turning every tier 1 pet attack into a knockdown is phenomenal in practice.

@Xandyr Necro/Dark plays a lot like a controller for many people. Not saying it’s the only way to play, but the combo leans toward that playstyle. I agree with building Intuition for your Alpha slot (radial - damage side). And @StrikerFox is right on the money with the KD proc in tier 1 zombies. It’s both hilarious and effective. As for Fluffy, I’m in the “yes” camp. I can’t find my worksheet, but I have a vague memory that for every ~17% -ToHit, a max level AV’s ToHit chance is reduced against the player by about 1%. A solid Necro/Dark build can just about get there, assuming your pets are hitting and your Alpha slot gives a -ToHit bonus. @StrikerFox - never checked if the -damage stacks from Dark Servant with the player’s. I hope so!

Have Ninjas been “improved” at all? I just came back a couple weeks ago. When last I checked, ninjas have: Genin 6% AOE/Ranged/Melee Defense -33.33% Confuse Duration +2.0 Confuse Protection +7.16 mph Run Speed Jounin 13% AOE/Ranged/Melee Defense -33.33% Confuse Duration +4.0 Confuse Protection +7.16 mph Run Speed Oni 6% AOE/Ranged/Melee Defense 52% Fire Resist 26% Smash/Lethal Resist -33.33% Confuse Duration +4.0 Confuse Protection +7.16 mph Run Speed You might need both Aid Other AND Spirit Ward with no native resistance or healing to build from. Excited to hear how your experiment goes!

Ugh I think you’re absolutely correct. I guess I just *really* like /sonic 😂

I’m enjoying my necro/nature immensely, but not nearly as much as my Necro/Sonic (with fire APP). Once you hit level 32 and the pets heal themselves, it’s like cruise control on moderate difficulty (tackling +1/4 at level 43, but bump up to /5 or /6 for Council missions). It’s not the most uber, but my pets are sitting at ~71% resistance minimum. I spot heal with Aid Other and heal myself with Life Drain when the situation calls for it. Bonfire with the -kb proc along with Overwhelming Force in the tier 1 is fantastic mitigation layered with all the pets’ -ToHit and Pet def IOs. Basically, with the Pet uniques, the two knockdown procs and force feedback in bonfire, the core of the build is done. Basic IOS and SO slotting is fine; inventions only makes it more so. But, that also means it doesn’t really come together until level 36 at the earliest (for Bonfire).

Thermal debuffs are pretty awesome and superior on almost all levels to Sonic (imho). Sonic on the other hand - not so good. It brings a lot of -res and little else. Liquify does interesting things, but the cool down is prohibitive.

The minions still bolt from all the Rikti ground effects (mainly the monkeys). Otherwise, they’re much improved on Homecoming. Spam those GoTo macros! With resistance shields for Necro, I’d like to suggest /sonic. With aggressive slotting you can push the Pets’ resistances 80+. They heal themselves post-32. With the KD from bonfire, the overwhelming KD Proc in the zombies , and native -ToHit, it becomes VERY sturdy. Add the medicine pool (or pick up Spirit Ward from Sorcery) for additional safety. With the Diagmagnetic T3 -ToHit power, they will be effectively soft capped as well. That said, Necro is my favorite mastermind primary in almost all circumstances. With @The_Warpact on zombie love!

Spencer Davis Group - Keep on Running (R.I.P. Professor)

@CaptainLupisand @Generator- mea culpa! I misremembered from my fire/rad days. And honestly great news; that frees up some slotting. Thank you for the correction. Learn something every day...!

It’s certainly a power that becomes more effective and valuable with more investment. It screams for accuracy (and global accuracy bonuses on top of slotting) and endurance reduction to the limit. And yes, the lockdown Proc is cool, but that Proc doesn’t go off very much under current Proc rules/chances. I see that as a YMMV option, should you have the slots to spare for the power.

The Replacements - Unsatisfied

The posters above have given some solid, excellent advice. In addition to the above, drop Repair. That power makes hot garbage look enticing. Any other power would be better. Between Radiant Aura and the Repair Boys, your heals are covered. And Repair ONLY works on your pets, and has a looooong recharge for what it does. For a useful substitution, hasten (to increase uptime of AM and Lingering Radiation), Group Fly (snazzy with Bots!), Afterburner (LotG mule), Teleport Other (reposition your pet’s when game mechanics intrude and to help slow teammates; KB reduction mule), or Superspeed (full stealth with the stealth IO).

Necro. Every day and every way. (Confession of severe Necro bias...)

5 votes for Mace mastery (at the time of this posting) as the worst?!?! Um... crack is wack.

Eidetic memory + designer drugs enhancing computational abilities? Mastermind version of a Mentat (Dune/Frank Herbert)? So many possibilities!

Excellent! Moore knock knock jokes!

Bauhaus - Poison Pen (is it time yet for the Halloween music?!?)

Just about any secondary would work with Thugs, at least with a minor bit of “technological” hand waving. Some are stronger than others. Storm? Massive damage. Thinking Sean Connery in the Avengers movie with a portable weather control device. Same sort of explanation with Sonic, thermal, Time, FF, Cold, Radiation, or Nature. Traps or TA? Clear tool base. Dark could be tricky, but explaining the secondary as originating from an ancient cursed totem... it could work. And let’s be real, an “ancient cursed totem” can provide a story for just about any secondary once that narrative door is opened. Hell, Family Consigliere's seem to mix super strength and gravity domination. Basically, any of this depends on the background in which you’re willing to invest. As for the suggestion above that MMS are as expensive as dominators, that hasn’t been my experience. Investment in the unique pet IOs IS very helpful: 10% def to all, 20% AOE (25% at level 50), and 30% resistance (35 at level 50) is a significant benefit. But depending on the secondary and its needs, there is a lot more flexibility with Thugs than some other primaries (mainly due to Gang War and the ability to slot the aforementioned pet unique IOs / all six can get dumped in there if you want). For example, the 2 +def uniques, along with maneuvers from the mastermind will give you defense capped pets on IOs, when you factor in the Enforcers’ maneuvers ability, with FF, Cold, or Time. Assuming you start on standard difficulty, there are certain levels in the 20s at which it becomes fairly easy to increase the challenge: level 22 (worthwhile slotting of crafted IOs), Level 24 (gain 2d tier 2 pet), level 26 (gain tier 3 pet), and 32 (second upgrade power).

IT WAS!! Best team ever, for real. 🎉

Great idea for a theme team! You may want to cross-post this on the Everlasting subforum. All-MMs teams are some of the most fun I’ve had in-game. One in particular, the team leader (a merc/ff) focused on selecting office maps. (If I recall, there was also a demon/cold, ninja/time, thug/kin, demons/dark, and me on my Necro/Sonic) Felt like a team of sped-up locusts rolling through everything. That team was also on Everlasting, and the Teamleader was posting about Masterminds, Inc. (I think ... it was late on a Friday night — and I may have been drinking —- so the name is fuzzy 😂).

Naz Nomad and the Nightmares - She Lied

Velvet Underground - Sister Ray (THIS is farming music!)