Battlemind AT Suggestion

[mistformsquirrel]

So, first off I want to note that I recognize creating a brand new AT is... tough.  Like, even with all the animations and powers taken from other existing sets, it's a big undertaking.  So I know this isn't something that's even remotely likely to happen.  (I would love it to, which is why I'm making the suggestion, but, I recognize the difficulty, so I don't expect it!)

 

That said...

 

How cool would it be to have a variant on Mastermind with Scrapper and Sentinel* primaries or Dominator secondaries, as primaries, and MM primaries as secondaries, and with the MM attack powers from the primaries replaced by some modest Defender/Corruptor set powers?

 

This is just a super rough example, but I think it gives a good idea what I'm thinking here

 

Katana/Mercs

 

Katana - As Scrapper, but with Calling the Wolf replaced with Placate.

Mercs - Replace Burst, Slug and M30 with Triage Beacon, Shield Generator and Acid Mortar

 

Inherent - Avenge the Fallen -

 

Whenever a MM pet under control of the player, or another player on the team, dies - gain health, endurance, defense, accuracy and damage, proportion based on the level of the deceased.

 

Ex:  Minion - Half a small Insp.  Lt. - Small Insp, Boss - Medium Insp - Player - Large Insp

 

The idea here being two-fold -

 

1) You generally lead from the front, and while you have some ability to defend yourself and your team... your best defense is going to be making the enemy dead first.

 

2) Because of your limited defensive options, your pets are going to die and need to be re summoned fairly regularly - Avenge the Fallen compensates for this by making inevitable losses advantageous.

 

Basically, you're individually weaker than most heroes or villains, but you have back up and your team work lets you overcome obstacles.  A Mastermind will have stronger pets and support options, but you've actually got some teeth on your own if it comes down to it.

 

The reason for suggestions such a diverse array of offensive powersets is simply thematic - Assault sets provide a nice variety of options for range of engagement, the pure ranged sets let you play a little more cautiously, and the melee sets, more aggressively - with damage tuned to the set in question.

 

Ultimately the goal is to be an aggressive, engaged team leader, as opposed to the more detached and defensive play style of the Mastermind.

 

It's just an idea.

 

 

*I specificy Sentinel rather than Blaster because I think the slight modifications made to the Sentinel version of the sets would generally play better with this kind of set up.  That said with this being a new AT it may be that there are powers for every set that would need to be swapped out.  Maybe all these sets could become Assault-esque sets, with maybe Katana coming with throwing star powers, Broadsword with Bow powers, AR and Beam Rifle having some of the gun-butt/bayonet attacks from Arachnos Soldiers, stuff like that.

[Chance Jackson]

Assault set Primaries with Modified Henchmen Sets Secondaries could be interesting.

[Solvernia]

So what you want to be is a Blaster/Scrapper that does less damage and has pets that keel over in the slightest breeze because they're not getting any buffs/heals and you have no debuffs/CC to keep the enemy from doing so.

 

 

Honestly, I think the AT you're looking for is Soldier of Arachnos.

[mistformsquirrel]

Well, Arachnos Soldier is part of what inspired the idea, but no ultimately it doesn't fit the bill.

 

Arachnos Soldier doesn't have the thematic diversity I'd want.  I want the pet crew, but instead of being a pocket defender for them I want to lead the charge.  It genuinely doesn't matter to me if it's particularly powerful, I just think it'd be fun.  As long as I can run +0/+0 with regular Bosses, I'm good.  I'm sure there's ways to do it to make it a bit better than that, this is just a suggested way to illustrate the goal.

 

I don't really expect it to happen though, given that it would be a lot of work.

[Solvernia]

Arachnos Soldier doesn't have the thematic diversity I'd want.  I want the pet crew, but instead of being a pocket defender for them I want to lead the charge.  It genuinely doesn't matter to me if it's particularly powerful, I just think it'd be fun.  As long as I can run +0/+0 with regular Bosses, I'm good.  I'm sure there's ways to do it to make it a bit better than that, this is just a suggested way to illustrate the goal.

 

If you play a Mastermind without buffs/debuffs, your pets are going to die constantly and you're going to spend all of your time and end re-summoning and upgrading them instead of actually using your blasts.

 

If you want to be a Mastermind that has attacks, then take the several attacks that Masterminds already have. They might not be particularly powerful, but they're fun.

[mistformsquirrel]

You're putting too much emphasis on the pets and assuming keeping them fully alive and upgraded is in some way the actual point of this.  It is not.

 

They exist in this case as a damage augment and meat shield to yourself, not as your primary function, which is why they are the secondary set.  They are your backup, rather than you being their backup as with a Mastermind.  The inherent is literally designed to make you more powerful as your pets die, which they are expected to do.

[Solvernia]

You're putting too much emphasis on the pets and assuming keeping them fully alive and upgraded is in some way the actual point of this.  It is not.

 

They exist in this case as a damage augment and meat shield to yourself, not as your primary function, which is why they are the secondary set.  They are your backup, rather than you being their backup as with a Mastermind.  The inherent is literally designed to make you more powerful as your pets die, which they are expected to do.

 

Right, but you'll still be spending most of your time summoning/buffing them, and pets can't meatshield you if they're dead. This feels like it'd be a very slow-paced and unfun AT to play unless the secondary MM sets are reworked into fire-and-forget recharge intensive pets ala VEATs. In which case, VEATs lose 50% of the reason that people play them (the other half being the crab backpack.)

 

This really is a lose-lose situation.

 

If you REALLY want to make a unique AT, I recommend reworking the pets into toggles. One is automatically summoned every X seconds, up to a cap of 3/2/1 per pet tier. This would save you the headache of having to constantly break your attack chain to re-summon and re-equip. Of course, they'll have to be adjusted to do less damage than Mastermind pets, so you can't just sit there AFK while your pets magically come back and clear a map.