MM Henchmen Auto-Upgrades: Dead Horse or Shoe Leather?

[tidge]

On the Mastermind (MM)  sub-forum we've been having a discussion about a variety of topics, and one of the more spirited ones has focused on what is considered to be one of our favorite sports: "beating a dead horse", especially with respect to (my words) "allow the summoned MM henchmen to be automatically upgraded upon summoning".

 

Typically, a MM primary goes like this:

 

lvl 1: T1 henchmen summon

lvl 6: first group of henchmen upgrades

lvl 12: T2 henchmen summon

lvl 26: T3 henchman summon

lvl 32: final group of henchmen upgrades

 

Full disclosure:  I appreciate what the level 32 upgrades to henchmen bring, at the point they are available in level progression. I level my Masterminds through regular content. I play a lot of door missions and SF/TFs. I'm extremely comfortable with summoning henchmen and upgrading them. I appreciate the "aura" buffing of henchmen; this has been a great quality-of-life improvement.

 

My issue: I don't understand why as MM can summon henchmen (with lvl 12 and lvl 26 powers) and have to apply a lvl 6 power to give those higher level hench the first set of upgrades... i.e. "why don't the high level henchmen already come with the boosts from the lower level power?"

 

My proposal: Bake the first set of henchmen upgrades into all henchmen, and replace the level 6 power with a recharge-intensive pet that provides a buff (of some sort, e.g. +Acc). The buffs could be limited to just the henchmen, if that helps preserve game balance, or it could be team-wide... I'm open on this point as long as it helps the henchmen.

 

Cons (all relating to game balance, IMO):

• There will be a boost to the performance of the T1 henchmen from levels 1-5. (I assume that all MMs take the lvl 6 power ASAP)
• There will be a (variable) buff to MM Endurance usage since the MM won't need to cast the upgrade (if henchmen aren't dying, this is practically no buff, if henchmen are constantly dying this could be a bigger deal)

 

Pros:

• MMs without recharge intensive pets will get a power to slot with the aura Enhancement pieces, freeing up the henchmen to accept enhancements that actually boost their performance directly
• A "buff" pet can help the henchmen which have trouble hitting/hurting higher-level enemies (because of the level shift), which preserves the concept of the MM having a power which improves the henchmens' performance.
• The game already has resources for "buff pets" that can be recycled (from P2W prestige powers)
• There will be one less "rentry graphic reapplying the power boosts" for henchmen who enter door missions.