Demons/??? Help me choose secondary, please

[Lyrium]

Hey!

 

For my next character, I want to do a Demons MM, but I'm a bit unsure about secondaries. I'm mostly debating between Cold and Thermal, although not 100% set in stone

 

Questions!

Do any of the shields affect the MM? Or only pets (including party members as pets here)?

How busy are those sets? For example, I know that EA is very bussy, but Dark is quite relaxed (talking about Dark, it's also a possbility, the problem is....Dark Miasma is definitely my most player powerset :P)

 

How would you compare Cold & Thermal? My goal is to be able to comfortably solo as high as possible (ideally, +4/x8). AVs are an extra, if they can be soloed, that's great.

 

Thanks!

[TygerDarkstorm]

I don't think any secondary that casts shields lets them also affect the caster. That said, Demons pairs well with pretty much any secondary. /Cold, /Thermal, and /EA are pretty top tier pairings for them. And /EA is only as busy as you choose to make it; it plays similarly to /Kin, and almost feels made for MM's. /Dark is always a solid choice for any MM, so you can't go wrong with Demons/Dark either.

 

Cold and Thermal both operate similarly. Cold adds defense to your demons' innate resistances and comes with a slew of solid debuffs, plus Infrigidate can be procced out nicely. However, after playing one to 50 myself, I felt it didn't really shine until after you can get it to 50 and trick it out with IO's (which I didn't do). Maybe I'm just a shoddy player as well, lol. Cold also works with demons because one of the second tier demons helps heal his fellows.

 

Thermal is not only a classic and thematic pairing with demons, it's potent. Thermal provides a mix of heals, debuffs, and buffs, and, if I'm not mistaken, its debuffs are almost as potent (if not as potent) as cold's. And you get the resist shields that add to the demons' own resists. I feel like this combo offers a more solid and smooth ride to 50 versus Cold, but you can't go wrong with either. I can't speak to soloing AV's or stuff like that since it's not my forte, though I've heard Demons/Cold is solid for doing that.

[Neiska]

Hello @Erhnam,

 

Cold vs Thermal -

 

Cold is a DEF set, with some debuffs and CC options.

Cold Pro's - Very good defense from Ice Shield, Glacial Shield, and Artic Fog. It has a bit of Fire, Cold, and Energy RES. It also has Sleet and Snow Storm for -Speed which stacks.

Cold Con's - No healing to speak of.  No status resistance buffs either.

 

Thermal is a RES set, with heals, buffs, and debuffs.

Thermal Pro's - Very strong RES, from Fire Shield, Plasma Shield, that when combined with Demon buffs pets can reach res caps. When combined with Bodyguard mode, makes you very durable. The set has two heals, Warmth and Cauterize, though Cauterize is single target. The set also has status defense from Thaw. It also has a good ST damage buff from Forge which is excellent for demons. Melt Armor and Heat Exhaustion are very good debuffs.

Thermal Con's - No CC options, no END tools.

 

Honestly both of them can be good. Cold will offer some tools and options, and Thermal will have more "raw" power, but has to deal with every encounter in the same way.

 

Hope this helps!

 

PS - /EA is very good with Demons, and is only as busy as you feel you have to be. Just because a power is available, doesn't mean you have to cast it. On my /EA I often wait until a power is needed. But another secondary I would consider is /Nature. /Nature can be a powerhouse, and I myself am leveling up a Demon/Nature currently. Then there is /Time which is top tier with any pet set.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Neiska
Added a PS

[biostem]

On 5/16/2022 at 2:30 PM, Erhnam said:

Do any of the shields affect the MM? Or only pets (including party members as pets here)?

Dispersion bubble from /FF and Sonic Dispersion from /sonic *do* benefit you, (DEF and RES, respectively).  That being said, give /elec a try;  Farraday Cage, while immobile, does grant a decent amount of RES and status protection, and insulating circuit grants absorb, and can chain back to you, (as is the case with many of /elec's powers).