Mercs / Force Field Advice and feedback

zenijos10 · February 15, 2023

I have not played Mercs or Force fields on homecoming. I played both during commercial release, and was underwhelmed. I haven't started leveling yet, so I really don't know anything about play style or any gotchas with the classes. I figure I might want an attack or two just because forcefields in boring otherwise. Does having 3 direct attacks actually make sense with focused fire? Is slotting serum for resist or recovery worth it?

Here is an early draft. Please tell me what you all think:

This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.4.7
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Ionic Snake: Level 50 Technology Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Mercenaries
Secondary Power Set: Force Field
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Soldiers

(A) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(3) Sovereign Right - Damage/Endurance
(3) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(5) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Damage
(5) Edict of the Master - Defense Bonus
(7) Sovereign Right - Resistance Bonus

Level 1: Repulsion Bolt

(A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
(9) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

Level 2: Deflection Shield

(A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance
(11) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Increased Run Speed
(21) Reactive Defenses - Defense
(21) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage

Level 4: Insulation Shield

(A) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Increased Run Speed
(17) Gift of the Ancients - Defense/Endurance
(31) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance
(31) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance/RechargeTime

Level 6: Equip Mercenary

(A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
(7) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
(9) Resist Damage IO

Level 8: Super Jump

(A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 10: Maneuvers

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge
(42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(42) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
(43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense

Level 12: Spec Ops

(A) Call to Arms - Accuracy/Damage
(13) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown
(13) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(15) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Damage
(15) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets
(17) Call to Arms - Defense Bonus Aura for Pets

Level 14: Boxing

(A) Empty

Level 16: Assault

(A) Endurance Reduction IO
(34) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 18: Serum

(A) Gladiator's Armor - Recharge/Resist
(19) Gladiator's Armor - Resistance/Rech/End
(19) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance
(29) Impervium Armor - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
(36) Preemptive Optimization - EndMod/Recharge
(43) Preemptive Optimization - EndMod/Endurance/Recharge

Level 20: Dispersion Bubble

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(31) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(33) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(33) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
(33) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge

Level 22: Commando

(A) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Recharge/Pet +AoE Defense Aura
(23) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up
(23) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(25) Blood Mandate - Accuracy/Damage
(25) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Endurance/Pet +Resist +Regen
(27) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage

Level 24: Tactics

(A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
(45) Endurance Reduction IO
(45) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 26: Tactical Upgrade

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge

Level 28: Repulsion Field

(A) Endurance Reduction IO
(34) Endurance Reduction IO
(40) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown

Level 30: Damping Bubble

(A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 32: M30 Grenade

(A) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge
(34) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)
(39) Bombardment - Chance for Fire Damage
(39) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
(40) Explosive Strike - Chance for Smashing Damage
(42) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown

Level 35: Force Bomb

(A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown
(40) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge

Level 38: Hasten

(A) Recharge Reduction IO
(47) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 41: Scorpion Shield

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(47) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge

Level 44: Power Boost

(A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 47: Tough

(A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance
(48) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance
(50) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime

Level 49: Weave

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(49) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge
(49) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(50) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance

Level 1: Supremacy

Level 1: Brawl

Edited February 15, 2023 by zenijos10

Xandyr · February 15, 2023

I always try to slot an Achilles' Heel: Chance for -Res in Soldiers. They have so many powers that can trigger it, you're almost guaranteed to always have the -20% Resist on your target.

zenijos10 · February 15, 2023

3 hours ago, Xandyr said:

I always try to slot an Achilles' Heel: Chance for -Res in Soldiers. They have so many powers that can trigger it, you're almost guaranteed to always have the -20% Resist on your target.

Great insight! Thank you.

StrikerFox · February 15, 2023

Serum buffs are pretty significant. Did some testing, Soldier's end was around +26%, Spec-Ops at +23% and Commando was at +60%, and none of them had end issues when I ran Serum frequently.

I think pets could be built with less accuracy. Supremacy + Tactics + Serum + pets applying -def debuffs, allows them to hit pretty easily. My soldiers has +60%, Spec-Ops +33% and Commando +33% acc, and they didn't have problems hitting +4 Council. I'll probably retest to analyze pet hit roll numbers sometime soon.

I would replace slots saved from acc/end with damage procs and Achilles'. Also Overwhelming KD in Soldiers. They provide a significant amount of damage for Mercs.

zenijos10 · February 15, 2023

StrikerFox, Thanks! That's really useful.

zenijos10 · February 15, 2023

@StrikerFox

Just double checking, are you saying that you suggest dropping all 3 pets' accuracy to add achilles to all 3?

Some other questions for anyone willing to answer:

1. How end heavy is Forcefield + merc attacks/ serum? I'm currently at a surplus of around 1.2 %/ sec, but it would drop to 1 if swap in Achilles on all 3 pets (not just soldiers).

2. I 6 slotted M30 and 2 slotted force bomb. I wanted them for mitigation, but mostly to deal with boredom. I 6 slotted M30 because I figured I would be more likely to use it to get the focused fire bonus, but with that considered how would you slot these two power with only 6 slots to share between the powers (plus the free 1 slot that comes with each power)

StrikerFox · February 16, 2023

4 hours ago, zenijos10 said:

@StrikerFox

Just double checking, are you saying that you suggest dropping all 3 pets' accuracy to add achilles to all 3?

Some other questions for anyone willing to answer:

1. How end heavy is Forcefield + merc attacks/ serum? I'm currently at a surplus of around 1.2 %/ sec, but it would drop to 1 if swap in Achilles on all 3 pets (not just soldiers).

2. I 6 slotted M30 and 2 slotted force bomb. I wanted them for mitigation, but mostly to deal with boredom. I 6 slotted M30 because I figured I would be more likely to use it to get the focused fire bonus, but with that considered how would you slot these two power with only 6 slots to share between the powers (plus the free 1 slot that comes with each power)

Achilles' is fine just in one tier pet, though two would be ideal. Soldiers would be the best spot, Spec-Ops 2nd, Commando... not that great. I have it in Spec-Ops because Soldiers are overloaded with other IOs.

Did some hit roll testing VS +4 Council. Soldiers have +60% accuracy, Spec-Ops/Commando with +33%. The first 3 groups fought are without Serum. Serum is first used at the 2023-02-15 17:30:56 mark. It looks like it takes about 3 seconds to kick in.

Commando = Ironhide
Spec-Ops = Mirage/Smokescreen
Soldiers = Cliffjumper/Beachcomber
Medic = Red Alert

I just had pet hit rolls set up but it shows enemy tohit rolls too. Also shows Gale, Freezing Rain and Storm Elementals (Tsunami Mami and Tornado Tonya).

It looks like Spec-Ops mez powers have less inherent accuracy. Flash Bang, Tear Gas and Web Grenade chance to hit were often 7% lower than other attacks. Other attacks had 85-95% chance to hit. Maybe 85% to start but as soon as -def debuffs are applied and/or Serum is added pets hit 95% of the time. Now that I think about it, I shouldn't have used Freezing Rain during the testing since that applies -def debuffs too.

I'm pretty satisfied with their accuracy. Could it be better? Yes. But there's no slotting I'm willing to sacrifice to improve it. If you check the attached file, click ctrl + f and search "chance to hit, you rolled a," and look for above pet names for their hit rolls. Click "Find Next" to scroll quickly. I should also say Council is pretty much everyone's punching bag. Accuracy could suffer severely vs other enemy types.

chatlog 2023-02-15.txt

357trall · February 24, 2023

To answer the question about using the 3 mastermind attacks on mercs to get the bonus damage, I would say no. If you want a real damage increase, slot shieldbreaker chance for lethal damage and touch of the lady grey chance for negative energy damage into soldiers and spec ops.

I find using personal attacks to be alot of fun and useful on a mastermind. I tend to stay in bodyguard mode and use them to get mobs to attack me to trigger the pets. Aoe's are the best for this and can do decent damage if proccessed and slotted for accuracy and endurance reduction. They way M30 grenade is slotted in the first post would not be accurate and very costly in endurance.

To me, your defense powers such as tactical upgrade, weave, manuvers, ect, seem over slotted. At 3 slots for luck of the gambler, you would get the most out of them for slotting purposes(def, def/endurance,def/global recharge), unless you really need the 5 slot bonus. As a forcefielder you already get partial mez protection and these days the medic has a good chance of using stimulant on the mastermind, so you could save slots there as mez isn't a much of a issue for you. Tactical upgrade could be pruned back to just a level 50 defense IO if needed.

I'm not seeing panacea chance for hp/endurance or performance shifter chance for endurance in your build, they help alot with endurance problems.

Malinkadink · February 26, 2023

Build up proc from soulbound goes into soldiers not commando, you also definitely want to have achilles heel in soldiers and spec ops, though i put one into commando as well. Here is my merc/time. Because of the heavy defense nature of FF you can probably drop the two 5% def auras for pets and put in procs instead. With clarion + power boost you can get 34% def from the bubbles + 12% from dispersion then tac upgrade and maneuvers will get them to their softcaps. Serum is also overslotted you only want 2 slots for recharge. With time i was able to make serum perma. With the changes to mercs serum had its cooldown reduced enough to make it permanently available with enough recharge and its totally worth it.

Also not sure why you went into fighting pool unless you're planning to tank and want the extra resistance from tough, but if you're getting weave too then you may as well drop the m30 grenade and get cross punch and proc it out as its significantly better and will give you more + recharge. I picked up the m30 grenade and burst as each ability will add a 3.33% damage buff to pets for 30 seconds so you can cast 1 grenade into a group, then spam burst which also takes an Achilles heel for more -res

Spoiler

This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.4.7
https://github.com/LoadedCamel/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

MercTime: Level 50 Natural Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Mercenaries
Secondary Power Set: Time Manipulation
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Soldiers

(A) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
(5) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up
(5) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Negative Damage
(9) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage
(9) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(11) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage/Endurance

Level 1: Temporal Mending

(A) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb
(19) Preventive Medicine - Heal/Endurance
(21) Preventive Medicine - Heal
(21) Preventive Medicine - Endurance/RechargeTime
(27) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime
(29) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance

Level 2: Burst

(A) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
(3) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance
(3) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
(40) Apocalypse - Damage
(42) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative)
(42) Apocalypse - Recharge/Accuracy

Level 4: Time's Juncture

(A) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff
(47) Dark Watcher's Despair - Recharge/Endurance
(47) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Endurance
(48) Dark Watcher's Despair - To Hit Debuff/Recharge/Endurance

Level 6: Equip Mercenary

(A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
(7) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance
(7) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All)
(11) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP
(17) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance
(19) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance

Level 8: Hasten

(A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 10: Temporal Selection

(A) Panacea - Heal/Endurance
(43) Panacea - Endurance/Recharge
(45) Panacea - Heal/Recharge
(45) Panacea - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
(46) Panacea - Heal

Level 12: Spec Ops

(A) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Endurance/Pet +Resist +Regen
(13) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage
(13) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
(15) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Recharge/Pet +AoE Defense Aura
(15) Sovereign Right - Resistance Bonus
(17) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Accuracy/Damage

Level 14: Super Speed

(A) Celerity - +Stealth
(33) Celerity - Endurance

Level 16: Distortion Field

(A) Unbreakable Constraint - Chance for Smashing Damage
(43) Unbreakable Constraint - Hold
(43) Unbreakable Constraint - Hold/Recharge
(46) Unbreakable Constraint - Hold/Recharge/Accuracy
(46) Unbreakable Constraint - Recharge/Accuracy

Level 18: Serum

(A) Recharge Reduction IO
(33) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 20: Assault

(A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 22: Commando

(A) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
(23) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets
(23) Edict of the Master - Defense Bonus
(25) Call to Arms - Defense Bonus Aura for Pets
(25) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
(27) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage

Level 24: Farsight

Hamidon Origin:Cytoskeleton Exposure

Level 26: Tactical Upgrade

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance

Level 28: Slowed Response

(A) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff
(36) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Negative Damage
(42) Shield Breaker - Chance for Lethal Damage

Level 30: Chrono Shift

(A) Panacea - Heal/Endurance
(33) Panacea - Endurance/Recharge
(34) Panacea - Heal/Recharge
(34) Panacea - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
(34) Panacea - Heal

Level 32: M30 Grenade

(A) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge
(40) Explosive Strike - Chance for Smashing Damage
(45) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal)
(48) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown
(48) Bombardment - Chance for Fire Damage
(49) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy)

Level 35: Tactics

(A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up
(37) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance

Level 38: Maneuvers

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(39) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
(39) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage
(39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(40) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance

Level 41: Scorpion Shield

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed

Level 44: Power Boost

(A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 47: Time Crawl

(A) Pacing of the Turtle - Accuracy/Endurance

Level 49: Vengeance

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed

Level 1: Supremacy

Level 1: Brawl

(A) Empty

Level 1: Sprint

(A) Run Speed IO

Level 2: Rest

(A) Healing IO

Level 1: Swift

(A) Run Speed IO

Level 1: Hurdle

(A) Jumping IO

Level 1: Health

(A) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance
(29) Miracle - +Recovery
(31) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery

Level 1: Stamina

(A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
(31) Performance Shifter - EndMod
(31) Endurance Modification IO

Level 14: Speed Phase

Level 50: Musculature Radial Paragon
Level 50: Banished Pantheon Radial Superior Ally
Level 50: Assault Radial Embodiment
Level 50: Ion Core Final Judgement
Level 50: Degenerative Radial Flawless Interface
Level 50: Clarion Radial Epiphany
Level 1: Soldier
Level 22: Commando
Level 1: Medic
Level 12: Spec Ops
------------

Edited February 26, 2023 by Malinkadink

zenijos10 · March 4, 2023

On 2/25/2023 at 9:43 PM, Malinkadink said:

Build up proc from soulbound goes into soldiers not commando, you also definitely want to have achilles heel in soldiers and spec ops, though i put one into commando as well. Here is my merc/time. Because of the heavy defense nature of FF you can probably drop the two 5% def auras for pets and put in procs instead. With clarion + power boost you can get 34% def from the bubbles + 12% from dispersion then tac upgrade and maneuvers will get them to their softcaps. Serum is also overslotted you only want 2 slots for recharge. With time i was able to make serum perma. With the changes to mercs serum had its cooldown reduced enough to make it permanently available with enough recharge and its totally worth it.

Also not sure why you went into fighting pool unless you're planning to tank and want the extra resistance from tough, but if you're getting weave too then you may as well drop the m30 grenade and get cross punch and proc it out as its significantly better and will give you more + recharge. I picked up the m30 grenade and burst as each ability will add a 3.33% damage buff to pets for 30 seconds so you can cast 1 grenade into a group, then spam burst which also takes an Achilles heel for more -res

Thank you for response and sharing your build.

I take fighting pool on most of my characters. I play mostly solo so survival is always one of my top build goals. I chose m30 over cross punch because of the 3.33% damage buff.

I've gotten contradicting advice on Serum. Since the changes have you tried serum both with and without slotting for resistance?

Also, what's the reasoning for soulbound into soliders over commandos? I don't know much about their attack chains.

Malinkadink · March 4, 2023

7 minutes ago, zenijos10 said:

Thank you for response and sharing your build.

I take fighting pool on most of my characters. I play mostly solo so survival is always one of my top build goals. I chose m30 over cross punch because of the 3.33% damage buff.

I've gotten contradicting advice on Serum. Since the changes have you tried serum both with and without slotting for resistance?

Also, what's the reasoning for soulbound into soliders over commandos? I don't know much about their attack chains.

Soldiers just do the most damage overall then spec ops, then commando and with build up slotted into soldiers thats 3 targets that can each proc it to up their damage vs just two or one commando. There's little point in slotting serum for resistance after using it all the mercs have capped resistances for about 5 seconds then it starts to pretty quickly drop off. Slotting resistance into serum would just slightly extend that window where they would remain at cap but its really not worth spending slots on unless your secondary and epic pool doesn't demand a lot of slotting.

Dixa · May 9, 2023

On 2/24/2023 at 1:58 PM, 357trall said:

To answer the question about using the 3 mastermind attacks on mercs to get the bonus damage, I would say no. If you want a real damage increase, slot shieldbreaker chance for lethal damage and touch of the lady grey chance for negative energy damage into soldiers and spec ops.

I find using personal attacks to be alot of fun and useful on a mastermind. I tend to stay in bodyguard mode and use them to get mobs to attack me to trigger the pets. Aoe's are the best for this and can do decent damage if proccessed and slotted for accuracy and endurance reduction. They way M30 grenade is slotted in the first post would not be accurate and very costly in endurance.

To me, your defense powers such as tactical upgrade, weave, manuvers, ect, seem over slotted. At 3 slots for luck of the gambler, you would get the most out of them for slotting purposes(def, def/endurance,def/global recharge), unless you really need the 5 slot bonus. As a forcefielder you already get partial mez protection and these days the medic has a good chance of using stimulant on the mastermind, so you could save slots there as mez isn't a much of a issue for you. Tactical upgrade could be pruned back to just a level 50 defense IO if needed.

I'm not seeing panacea chance for hp/endurance or performance shifter chance for endurance in your build, they help alot with endurance problems.

I would say the opposite. If you are really chasing top damage on your pets then cycling all three attacks is worthwhile due to the fact that it affects the base, unenhanced damage of your henchmen and is then modified by any damage multipliers per a recent dev post.

however as has always been the problem with masterminds, taking the personal attacks can hamstring your build. i have always been a big fan of team teleport on masterminds for moving me and all of my idiots around zones and what not, but i find it hard to build many powerset combos taking all three or even 2 personal attacks with team teleport that doesn't give up something else somewhere like tough and weave, or hover for airborne av's/encounters, or whatever.

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