Slotting Mercs while leveling

[Jawbreaker]

Hey all. I have a lowbie MM/FF and am wondering if I should just be slotting for damage on the way up or is it worth it to slot the soldiers with heals for the medic, or holds/Def Debuff on the Spec Ops. I assume the Commando should get as much damage as possible?

[Six-Six]

levelling up, I usually stick to SOs and some nifty procs. This is because attuned IOs level with you, so when you're at low level, their benefits are also very low. IO sets only begin to surpass SOs around level 35. So until then, I slot henchmen with the +def and +res uniques and maybe some other damaging procs

Soldiers, I have Call to Arms +def L10, Acc SO, Achilles Heel -res L15, Shield Breaker +lethal, Sovereign Right +res L25, Dmg SO, in that order.
Spec Ops, I have Neuronic +Psi dmg, Razzle +immobilize, Cloud Senses +neg, trap of the hunter +lethal, Dark Watcher -recharge, and Analyse Weakness -to hit. 

Commando, I just have Edict +def and Expedient +res, Acc SO and Dmg SO

*I tend to prioritise acc over dmg because no matter how much damage you got, it won't do squat when it doesn't hit.

this is just levelling up. I usually reorganise slotting once I unlock Patron Pool Powers.

FF doesn't have heal, and the only other heal power you can get from that pair is Medicine's Aid Other. It's not as bad as you'd think once you get used to it. The Medic's heal is not as reliable as I'd like as it rarely fires when you need it most. So in the absence of heal, I find it really helpful to bubble up. FF's def is really helpful in keeping your mercs alive. That and Leadership pool. You'll notice I put Analyse Weakness -to hit. For me, -to hit translates to added def/res.

hope that helps your cause.

[Jawbreaker]

46 minutes ago, Six-Six said:

levelling up, I usually stick to SOs and some nifty procs. This is because attuned IOs level with you, so when you're at low level, their benefits are also very low. IO sets only begin to surpass SOs around level 35. So until then, I slot henchmen with the +def and +res uniques and maybe some other damaging procs

Soldiers, I have Call to Arms +def L10, Acc SO, Achilles Heel -res L15, Shield Breaker +lethal, Sovereign Right +res L25, Dmg SO, in that order.
Spec Ops, I have Neuronic +Psi dmg, Razzle +immobilize, Cloud Senses +neg, trap of the hunter +lethal, Dark Watcher -recharge, and Analyse Weakness -to hit. 

Commando, I just have Edict +def and Expedient +res, Acc SO and Dmg SO

*I tend to prioritise acc over dmg because no matter how much damage you got, it won't do squat when it doesn't hit.

this is just levelling up. I usually reorganise slotting once I unlock Patron Pool Powers.

FF doesn't have heal, and the only other heal power you can get from that pair is Medicine's Aid Other. It's not as bad as you'd think once you get used to it. The Medic's heal is not as reliable as I'd like as it rarely fires when you need it most. So in the absence of heal, I find it really helpful to bubble up. FF's def is really helpful in keeping your mercs alive. That and Leadership pool. You'll notice I put Analyse Weakness -to hit. For me, -to hit translates to added def/res.

hope that helps your cause.

Big help, thank you @Six-Six! Now to find which of my toons currently has all my influence lol

[Nyghtmaire]

On 12/21/2022 at 12:18 PM, Six-Six said:

You'll notice I put Analyse Weakness -to hit. For me, -to hit translates to added def/res.

@Six-Six I thought the Analyze Weakness proc was for +hit, not the negative. Was this changed?

 

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Analyze_Weakness:_Chance_for_%2BTo_Hit

 

Otherwise, I agree strongly with prioritizing accuracy slotting pets as well as the efficacy of Aid Other for FF while leveling. Also, have you tried Spirit Ward as an alternative ever?

[Six-Six]

aye. sorry, getting my proc names mixed up again. 

[StrikerFox]

SOs are fine but it's worthwhile if you have the influence/infamy or resources to IO the pets early. Most of the IOs that make Mercs better are available at lower levels.

 

Soldiers:

Achilles' - lvl 7
Shield Breaker - lvl 7
Overwhelming Force - lvl 10
Lady Grey - lvl 18

 

Spec-Ops:

Achilles' - lvl 12
Shield Breaker - lvl 12
Lady Grey - lvl 18

 

Commando:

Explosive Strike - lvl 22

 

Also the pet uniques:

Call to Arms - lvl 7
Edict of the Master - lvl 12
Sovereign Right - lvl 22
Expedient Reinforcements - lvl 27

 

I think the ATOs are slottable at lvl 10, Command of the Mastermind and Mark of Supremacy.

 

Procs have more impact at low levels. Say your MM is lvl 10 fighting a lvl 10 boss with 300hp. 70 pts of proc damage is about 23% of its hp.

 

Now say your MM is lvl 38 fighting a lvl 38 boss with 1,700hp. 70 pts of proc damage is about 4% of it's total hp. Considerably less.
 

[kelika2]

On 12/21/2022 at 11:05 AM, Jawbreaker said:

is it worth it to slot the soldiers with heals for the medic, or holds/Def Debuff on the Spec Ops.

There is no reason to get fancy.

The medics heal is on a long cooldown and their AI is weird as hell to when and who they use it on.  Just slot soldiers for damage.  You will get way more mileage out of Aid Other

Spec Ops CC abilities now have damage and a nice source of AoE.  Yes, even their single target web grenade has damage on it.  Just slot spec ops for damage

You were on the right track with Commando, just slot for dmage.

 

Because of your AT ability, Supremacy, you can get away with slotting 1 acc SO at low-mid levels