IO sets and Masterminds

[khy]

So I'm just kind of curious, when I got my MMs to 50 back during live I did so before the IO system was really in full swing. These days I've been having problems sticking to one character, so I haven't yet gotten a MM past 40. Still looking for that perfect build that fits me, you know?

 

That said, some of the various sets are a bit confusing to me - mainly in that Pine's doesn't really go into details about the effects of set IOs. So I figured I would ask here!

 

1) Soulbound Allegiance : The 6th IO in the set is a Chance for Build Up. Is that a chance for each of your pets to get it, or for the MM to get build-up? The latter would be rather useless for my particular playstyle.  If it's for the pets, do they all get it at once or is it a chance for individual pets to get it?

 

2) Command of the Mastermind ATO : The 6th IO in the set is a Pet +AoE Defense aura. How much defense does it grant? Is the aura granted around the MM, or around the pets it's slotted in? If it's slotted in Tier 2 pets does this mean each pet gets the aura and if so does it stack?

 

3) Is there a general recommendation about always putting a specific set in a specific pet tier? Like, does one particular set produce better bonuses when granted to the tier 3 pet versus others? In terms of raw numbers, Level 50 Soulbound Allegiance Accuracy/Damage is the same 26.5/26.5% bonus as Sovereign Right's Accuracy/damage, but I don't know if any of the set effect apply specifically to the pet they're slotted in or not.

 

4) Which pets would work best with non-set IOs? I imagine that Protector Bots would work well with +Defense IOs considering they grant such huge defense bonuses to bots, but I'm not sure if there's others I should keep an eye out for. Healing on Merc Soldiers maybe? Def/Tohit on Thug Enforcers? How much should I focus on secondary effects versus accuracy/damage?

 

I have a LOT of MMs as they're my favorite class, and while most of them probably won't end up reaching 50 the more I know the happier I am.

[Dixa]

Get pines and play.

 

The chance to build up only affects the pets they are in. The best spot is the tier 1 pets as they will proc it a crap ton and the proc has tohit.

 

The ato aura is 15% aoe defense.

 

What to put where is different based on primary. Getting lines and playing is how you optimize for your needs. Generally you will place all 12 ato plus the other 4 auras and fill the leftover with kB to kd and damage procs.

[Some Random User]

Is there a general recommendation about always putting a specific set in a specific pet tier? Like, does one particular set produce better bonuses when granted to the tier 3 pet versus others?

Several weeks now I've been asking this on the help channel and of teammates. Everybody just cops out and asks me to download Pine's. I've used Pine's for over a month and I still have the same questions, so obviously Pine's isn't helpful to everyone.

 

We need a cheat sheet guide that answers these sorts of questions for every Archetype and the guide needs to be stickied to the top of each Archetype forum.

[Dixa]

Is there a general recommendation about always putting a specific set in a specific pet tier? Like, does one particular set produce better bonuses when granted to the tier 3 pet versus others?

Several weeks now I've been asking this on the help channel and of teammates. Everybody just cops out and asks me to download Pine's. I've used Pine's for over a month and I still have the same questions, so obviously Pine's isn't helpful to everyone.

 

We need a cheat sheet guide that answers these sorts of questions for every Archetype and the guide needs to be stickied to the top of each Archetype forum.

 

it's not a cop out and there is no cheat sheet. whether you use all 12 or not, where you put them vastly varies based on primary, secondary and your goals.

 

if the question of 'what is best and where' is important to you then you should download and use that hero builder.

 

in thugs and demons i slot them the same - 4 of one in the boss pet, 4 of the 2nd set in the lieutenant pet and the last two of each in the tier 1's. i universally always put soulbound allegiance build up proc in t1's and i always put overwhelming force chance to kd in tier 1's. that fleshes them out. i then put a damage proc or two into the lt and boss or i use another piece of soulbound allegiance to  help with end reduction or accuracy or if i really want to push above the post ED damage cap. I can do this because i park the other 4 io auras in hell on earth. thugs, demons, necros are unique in that they have a 4th pet power that makes for easy io aura parking.

 

nobody told me to do this. i figured it out playing in pines. building and rebuilding. everyone has different goals. maybe you want to play kin? i dont like kin on mm so my goals are different from yours. maybe you like trick arrow? maybe you're a masochist. whatever. it's all personal choice.

[kelly Rocket]

The problem is that there IS no one answer to what's best to slot where. There's what I would do, and what that guy would do, and what you would prefer, and none of them are the same, and they all work in their own ways. And there's no way for me to guess what will work best for you.

 

Best any of us could do is ask you what your goals are. What do you want to achieve with your build. If you can't answer that in detail then the answer is simply "Go play the game some more, figure out what you want."

[Nyghtmaire]

The problem is that there IS no one answer to what's best to slot where. There's what I would do, and what that guy would do, and what you would prefer, and none of them are the same, and they all work in their own ways. And there's no way for me to guess what will work best for you.

 

Best any of us could do is ask you what your goals are. What do you want to achieve with your build. If you can't answer that in detail then the answer is simply "Go play the game some more, figure out what you want."

 

This, all the way.

[Yipp]

The problem is that there IS no one answer to what's best to slot where. There's what I would do, and what that guy would do, and what you would prefer, and none of them are the same, and they all work in their own ways. And there's no way for me to guess what will work best for you.

 

Best any of us could do is ask you what your goals are. What do you want to achieve with your build. If you can't answer that in detail then the answer is simply "Go play the game some more, figure out what you want."

 

 

While this is obviously true. There has to be basic understanding as to what is required and what is not.

 

Examples:

 

1. Accuracy.  MM's have Supremacy & tactics (usually) if that is the case how much additional accuracy should be slotted?

 

I have been told none, 26.5% and a minimum of 50%.  One of these answers has to be closer to accurate (Pun intended) then the others.

 

2. KB to KD is required only on Assault & Drone.

 

3. A Defensive IO is routinely placed on Protector Bots, why to boost what?

 

4. Chance for Build Up should be placed on Drone (because there are more of them), on Assault bot because its the heavy hitter.

 

5. Endurance Reduction how much is suggested as a minimum and why?

 

Does anyone have a basic understanding of these issues/questions?

[Dixa]

Tactics does not provide accuracy it provides tohit.

 

Defense slotting in the tier 2 bot or thug depends on secondary. Time, traps and ff done need to slot defense into the pet

 

2 acc three damage is generally accepted slotting for powers. Any accuracy at or above 50% is fine and easily reached

[Some Random User]

While this is obviously true. There has to be basic understanding as to what is required and what is not.

+1

[Some Random User]

Tactics does not provide accuracy it provides tohit.

This is a good time to explain the difference.

[Clave Dark 5]

Is there a general recommendation about always putting a specific set in a specific pet tier? Like, does one particular set produce better bonuses when granted to the tier 3 pet versus others?

Several weeks now I've been asking this on the help channel and of teammates. Everybody just cops out and asks me to download Pine's. I've used Pine's for over a month and I still have the same questions, so obviously Pine's isn't helpful to everyone.

 

We need a cheat sheet guide that answers these sorts of questions for every Archetype and the guide needs to be stickied to the top of each Archetype forum.

While the point that different people have different goals and therefore should build different, I fully support the need to stickied guides here.  I've been working on a new toon recently and had to scan through all four pages opf posts to find people talking about the build I took, whereas if they were more or less in one place, I'd have saved a lot of time.  Which goals and which builds can follow after some sort of guide to one has been posted.

 

Or maybe a wiki?

[Coyote]

3) Is there a general recommendation about always putting a specific set in a specific pet tier? Like, does one particular set produce better bonuses when granted to the tier 3 pet versus others?

 

The power is granted to the MM by the IO, so the tier of the pet power does not affect its effect.

 

You may need to put the unique IOs in different tiers for each set, for several reasons:

1) Some tiers, for some sets, may have useful enhancement options that are only useful on that tier, so you may want to save slots for those enhancements... Tier 2 for Thugs may have a use for Defense enhancements, but not Tiers 1 or 3. Demons may have a use for Resist enhancement in their Tier 2s. Etc.

2) Some sets may have -Defense (Mercs) so don't need as many slots to slot up for Accuracy.

3) Some secondaries may put out -Defense, so again you don't need as many slots for Accuracy.

4) Some MM builds may build for Ranged Defense and use Provoke, so you may want to use full IO sets in some Tiers in order to get Defense bonuses, forcing you to put multiple Resist or Defense IOs crowded into a single Tier.

5) Some MM builds (/FF) may have high enough defenses that you feel you don't need all of the Resist/Defense IOs in the pets.. while Kinetics focuses on offensive buffing, and probably wants all of the defensive IOs to help it keep the pets alive.

 

These are only some of the reasons why you can't get a general answer on "where to put the IOs". It differs not only by primary, and not even by primary/secondary, but also by the build design... how strongly is it focused on MM defense or Recharge, how much defense do you feel is fine for the henchmen, etc. I could almost see someone building a character with all of the IOs as a high-D characters for tough missions, and having a 2nd build with all offense slotting for the times when you are in a steamrolling team.

[Straenge]

As for the AOE Defense, it really depends on your primary. In Demons for instance, I put it in Hell on Earth. In Thugs, Gang War. It works based on the Caster (yourself). Keep in mind it isn't a chance of.. it's a full AOE defense cast.

[Jokaste]

Tactics does not provide accuracy it provides tohit.

This is a good time to explain the difference.

 

From my understanding, Accuracy is multiplicative whereas To-Hit is additive. So if an attack has a 75% Accuracy, then a 20% Accuracy boost will raise it to (75x1.20) 90% and a 20% To-Hit boost will raise it to (75+20) 95%.

 

3. A Defensive IO is routinely placed on Protector Bots, why to boost what?

 

Protector Bots will cast Force Field shields on the other robots and MM. (And possibly other players but I'm not sure, it's been a while.) The Def IO enhances that. Endurance reduction is also good for them since it affects the Henchman casts and they spend a lot of time buffing and healing, which suck up end. All this means that Protector Bots spend very little time doing damage and when they do, they don't do that much anyways, so Def/End (and maybe heal depending on how you feel about it) are typically better on them than Acc or Dam.

 

While a lot of people are reinforcing the idea that you should just use Pines, Pine's isn't all that great for a few things, especially MM pets and explaining unique IO enhancements. MM pet powers literally just say "summon pet" and don't tell you anything about what that pet does or it's damage or hp. For that, I like to check in game. If you look at the info for any pet power or upgrade power then it will tell you what abilities that pet has/upgrade grants and even let you examine the abilities to see damage, accuracy, end cost, recharge and other values.

[kelly Rocket]

The problem is that there IS no one answer to what's best to slot where. There's what I would do, and what that guy would do, and what you would prefer, and none of them are the same, and they all work in their own ways. And there's no way for me to guess what will work best for you.

 

Best any of us could do is ask you what your goals are. What do you want to achieve with your build. If you can't answer that in detail then the answer is simply "Go play the game some more, figure out what you want."

 

 

While this is obviously true. There has to be basic understanding as to what is required and what is not.

 

Examples:

 

1. Accuracy.  MM's have Supremacy & tactics (usually) if that is the case how much additional accuracy should be slotted?

 

I have been told none, 26.5% and a minimum of 50%.  One of these answers has to be closer to accurate (Pun intended) then the others.

 

2. KB to KD is required only on Assault & Drone.

 

3. A Defensive IO is routinely placed on Protector Bots, why to boost what?

 

4. Chance for Build Up should be placed on Drone (because there are more of them), on Assault bot because its the heavy hitter.

 

5. Endurance Reduction how much is suggested as a minimum and why?

 

Does anyone have a basic understanding of these issues/questions?

 

Most of these are matters of pure opinion. My answer is: Go play the game. See if it feels like your pets are missing a lot, or dying a lot, or whatever, before we can even begin to discuss what you need.

[kelly Rocket]

While the point that different people have different goals and therefore should build different, I fully support the need to stickied guides here.  I've been working on a new toon recently and had to scan through all four pages opf posts to find people talking about the build I took, whereas if they were more or less in one place, I'd have saved a lot of time.  Which goals and which builds can follow after some sort of guide to one has been posted.

 

Or maybe a wiki?

 

Not a fan of guides. I feel like if you don't just jump in and figure things out for yourself you'll never really get a grip on the game and will be reliant on other people's opinions forever.