Ninja/Ice?

[Polipotent]

I really want to make a MM that is fun and works.  I really like the idea of Ninjas.  Would ice be enough to keep them alive? I am just trying to not fall into a "Demons/Time"or "Bots/Time".  I know people have said those are pretty strong. 

[kelika2]

6% ninja def base

2, 5% def aura IOs, 10% total

17% def to all from ice shields

5% from steamy mist, 7.5% if you get creative with hami enhancements

4% from maneauvers

 

the math is tehre but im too drunk to do it

[Coyote]

44% or so, before Barrier and/or Support. And more if you take an Alpha slot with +Defense (and I probably would, if running /Cold).

[Seigmoraig]

/Ice will give them some good +Def but it doesn't have a heal which will be rough to level up and is a very late bloomer set. /Time isn't the only viable secondary and Bots isn't even in the top of the pack for primary.

 

Demons and Thugs are the best primaries followed by beasts. Bots is nice and defensive with its shields and T2 that can heal but it's not the best offensive set at all. Demons and Thugs have a huge advantage in that they can slot the resist and defence IOs  in Gang War/Hell on Earth which frees up an bunch of slots in addition to the buffs the henchmen cast on themselves really pushes them past the rest.

 

For secondaries, Time is for sure one of the top sets because it has some of the best buffs available in Chrono Shift and Farsight but it isn't the be all and end all of secondaries. Dark, Electrical and Nature are all sets that have great gameplay and offer a lot for a MM right from the beginning.

Dark has a huge heal, great debuffs including -to hit and Shadowfall buffs Def and Res so it can take a bunch of IOs.
Nature has great heals and absorb, a -to hit debuff (-to hit and +Def are functionally the same thing) some +end (henchmen do run out of endurance in prolonged solo encounters) and other good buffs like Overgrowth

Electrical Affinity also has great heals/absorb, a damage buff , +res and offers full status protection although it suffers a bit by having a useless T9 that doesn't affect Henchmen (Amp Up). Still very fun even without a proper T9 though

 

While on the other hand Cold has great +Def shields but after that you get nothing really good until level 35 and 38 when you get Sleet and Heat Loss, which are nice but not having any healing what so ever is going to be really rough to play. Especially if you are pairing it with Ninja, which isn't the strongest since the pets like to jump into melee a lot isn't exactly a shining example of a "MM that works"

Edited July 9, 2020 by Seigmoraig

[Redlynne]

13 hours ago, Polipotent said:

I really like the idea of Ninjas.  Would ice be enough to keep them alive?

In my experience, Cold on its own will not be enough to keep Ninjas operational.

 

I recommend Ninja/Time/Mace ...

[MTeague]

My Ninja/Cold is doing well at lvl 28. 

Admittedly, I'm not trying to +4/x8 anything yet, just +1x3.  But hey, he's lvl 28. Lots of slotting left to go, lots of powers still to get. 

 

I did sugar daddy him with the Pet Aura IO's and ATO's. 

And I mailed him several procs to toss into Infrigidate (hits pretty darn well....)

 

But between inherent defense, two +5% defense Pet Aura IO's, Cold Shields, Arctic Air, and Manuvers, they're at 35% or so defense, and I have a lot more slotting to do.

It works for me.  I also run Snow Storm a fair bit to a) cut down on incoming attacks over the course of a fight, and b) keep runners more under control. 

 

I also have Sorcery / Spirit Ward and Frostwork to help prop some pets up longer.  Do some die?  Sure.  I've rarely had them all die, even soloing +1x3 in late 20's.

I think it's plenty viable, and enjoyable.  It is "Best" / "Most Effective" / META?  probably not. But it's fun.

 

[Nyghtmaire]

Unrelated to the topic, congratulations @MTeagueon your elite status!

 

 

[MTeague]

20 minutes ago, Nyghtmaire said:

Unrelated to the topic, congratulations @MTeagueon your elite status!

 

 

LOL, nice thank you sir.  Now I need to make sure no one ever upvotes me again  🙂