Planned out a build for my Necromancy/Dark Miasma Mastermind... How'd I do?

[F2P_Felix]

New player here! Just recently got into the game, and have been having TONS of fun with my Mastermind so far. So, I thought I'd put together a build to shoot for in the endgame! ...Course, being new means this build probably has some room for improvement, so I wanted to ask for some advice. What I'm aiming for currently is a generalist solo build with an emphasis on survivability, so as to not constantly accrue EXP debt when my friends are offline. XD

 

The enhancements in particular are something I'd like guidance on, given the intricacies of set bonuses, alongside the effects of the enhancements themselves. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

Character Info

Character: "Styx" A Level 50 Magic Mastermind (Hero)

Primary Power Set: Necromancy

Secondary Power Set: Dark Miasma

Power Pool: Sorcery

Epic Power Pool: Soul Mastery

Selected Powers

Level 1: Dark Blast

• Slot Level 1: Apocalypse: Damage
• Slot Level 3: Apocalypse: Damage/Recharge
• Slot Level 3: Apocalypse: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
• Slot Level 5: Apocalypse: Recharge/Accuracy
• Slot Level 5: Apocalypse: Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 7: Apocalypse: Chance of Damage(Negative)

Level 1: Twilight Grasp

• Slot Level 1: Touch of the Nictus: Chance for Negative Energy Damage
• Slot Level 7: Touch of the Nictus: Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
• Slot Level 9: Touch of the Nictus: Accuracy/Endurance/Healing/Absorb
• Slot Level 9: Touch of the Nictus: Accuracy/Healing/Absorb
• Slot Level 11: Touch of the Nictus: Healing/Absorb/Recharge
• Slot Level 11: Touch of the Nictus: Healing/Absorb

Level 2: Gloom

• Slot Level 2: Devastation: Accuracy/Damage
• Slot Level 13: Devastation: Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 13: Devastation: Damage/Recharge
• Slot Level 15: Devastation: Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
• Slot Level 15: Devastation: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
• Slot Level 21: Devastation: Chance of Hold

Level 4: Mystic Flight

• Slot Level 4: Soaring: FlySpeed

Level 6: Zombie Horde

• Slot Level 6: Blood Mandate: Accuracy/Damage
• Slot Level 23: Blood Mandate: Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 23: Blood Mandate: Accuracy/Endurance
• Slot Level 25: Blood Mandate: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 25: Blood Mandate: Accuracy
• Slot Level 27: Blood Mandate: Damage

Level 8: Life Drain

• Slot Level 8: Preventive Medicine: Heal
• Slot Level 17: Preventive Medicine: Heal/Endurance
• Slot Level 17: Preventive Medicine: Endurance/RechargeTime
• Slot Level 19: Preventive Medicine: Heal/RechargeTime
• Slot Level 19: Preventive Medicine: Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance
• Slot Level 21: Preventive Medicine: Chance for +Absorb

Level 10: Howling Twilight

• Slot Level 10: Stupefy: Accuracy/Recharge

Level 12: Grave Knight

• Slot Level 12: Sovereign Right: Accuracy/Damage
• Slot Level 27: Sovereign Right: Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 29: Sovereign Right: Accuracy/Endurance
• Slot Level 29: Sovereign Right: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 31: Sovereign Right: Accuracy
• Slot Level 31: Sovereign Right: Resistance Bonus

Level 14: Enchant Undead

• Slot Level 14: Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP

Level 16: Shadow Fall

• Slot Level 16: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Endurance
• Slot Level 43: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Recharge
• Slot Level 43: Luck of the Gambler: Endurance/Recharge
• Slot Level 43: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Endurance/Recharge
• Slot Level 45: Luck of the Gambler: Defense
• Slot Level 45: Luck of the Gambler: Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed

Level 18: Soul Extraction

• Slot Level 18: Soulbound Allegiance: Damage
• Slot Level 37: Soulbound Allegiance: Damage/Recharge
• Slot Level 39: Soulbound Allegiance: Damage/Recharge/Accuracy
• Slot Level 39: Soulbound Allegiance: Recharge/Accuracy
• Slot Level 39: Soulbound Allegiance: Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 40: Soulbound Allegiance: Chance for Build Up

Level 20: Fearsome Stare

• Slot Level 20: Glimpse of the Abyss: Accuracy/Recharge

Level 22: Lich

• Slot Level 22: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Damage
• Slot Level 31: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 33: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Accuracy/Damage
• Slot Level 33: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Accuracy/Endurance
• Slot Level 33: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 34: Superior Mark of Supremacy: Endurance/Pet +Resist +Regen

Level 24: Arcane Bolt

• Slot Level 24: Sudden Acceleration: Knockback/Accuracy
• Slot Level 40: Sudden Acceleration: Knockback/Recharge
• Slot Level 40: Sudden Acceleration: Knockback/Damage/Recharge
• Slot Level 42: Sudden Acceleration: Knockback/Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 42: Sudden Acceleration: Knockback/Accuracy/Damage
• Slot Level 42: Sudden Acceleration: Knockback to Knockdown

Level 26: Dark Empowerment

• Slot Level 26: Panacea: Heal

Level 28: Rune of Protection

• Slot Level 28: Gladiator's Armor: TP Protection +3% Def (All)

Level 30: Dark Servant

• Slot Level 30: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance
• Slot Level 34: Numina's Convalesence: Endurance/Recharge
• Slot Level 34: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Recharge
• Slot Level 36: Numina's Convalesence: Heal/Endurance/Recharge
• Slot Level 36: Numina's Convalesence: Heal
• Slot Level 36: Numina's Convalesence: +Regeneration/+Recovery

Level 32: Tar Patch

• Slot Level 32: Ice Mistral's Torment: Chance for Cold Damage

Level 35: Night Fall

• Slot Level 35: Annihilation: Accuracy/Damage
• Slot Level 45: Annihilation: Damage/RechargeTime
• Slot Level 46: Annihilation: Accuracy/Damage/RechargeTime
• Slot Level 46: Annihilation: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
• Slot Level 46: Annihilation: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
• Slot Level 48: Annihilation: Chance for Res Debuff

Level 38: Oppressive Gloom

• Slot Level 38: Stupefy: Chance of Knockback

Level 41: Soul Tentacles

• Slot Level 41: Gravitational Anchor: Chance for Hold
• Slot Level 48: Gravitational Anchor: Immobilize/Endurance
• Slot Level 48: Gravitational Anchor: Recharge/Accuracy
• Slot Level 50: Gravitational Anchor: Immobilize/Recharge/Accuracy
• Slot Level 50: Gravitational Anchor: Immobilize/Recharge
• Slot Level 50: Gravitational Anchor: Immobilize

Level 44: Soul Storm

• Slot Level 44: Superior Entomb: Recharge/Chance for +Absorb

Level 47: Dark Embrace

• Slot Level 47: Gladiator's Armor: Resistance

Level 49: Darkest Night

• Slot Level 49: Dark Watcher's Despair: To Hit Debuff/Endurance

 

Inherent Powers

Sprint:

• Slot Level 1: Quickfoot: RunSpeed

Swift:

• Slot Level 1: Invention: Flight Speed

Health:

• Slot Level 1: Panacea: +Hit Points/Endurance

Stamina:

• Slot Level 1: Efficacy Adaptor: EndMod
• Slot Level 37: Efficacy Adaptor: EndMod/Accuracy
• Slot Level 37: Efficacy Adaptor: EndMod/Endurance

Styx Prototype.mbd

[SeraphimKensai]

Have you tried your character when the the slotting that you chose whether on the production servers or test server? Does it meet your goals? The big thing I see looking at your build is that you reached for a lot of 6 set bonuses, which is fine if that's what you're after, but you can probably get better slot efficiency.

 

How do you control your pets? Are you running in supremacy mode, or typically have your pets on aggressive? Do you use binds/macros to control them?

 

I have a couple necro/dark MM's that I'll run and it's one of the better mastermind pairings imo. I'll try to remember after work to boot up  your build and take a look at it in more detail compared to how I play and and probably provide you with more feedback later.

[F2P_Felix]

53 minutes ago, SeraphimKensai said:

Have you tried your character when the the slotting that you chose whether on the production servers or test server? Does it meet your goals? The big thing I see looking at your build is that you reached for a lot of 6 set bonuses, which is fine if that's what you're after, but you can probably get better slot efficiency.

 

How do you control your pets? Are you running in supremacy mode, or typically have your pets on aggressive? Do you use binds/macros to control them?

 

I have a couple necro/dark MM's that I'll run and it's one of the better mastermind pairings imo. I'll try to remember after work to boot up  your build and take a look at it in more detail compared to how I play and and probably provide you with more feedback later.

Let’s see… addressing these in order…

 

Homecoming is my first introduction to the game, and I’m still currently leveling to 50 on this character, so no, I haven’t really gotten a chance to give this slotting setup a go. I mainly went with full 6 slotting because one, it was simpler to theorycraft, and two, I didn’t exactly know what thresholds I’d need to hit for certain things, like having enough recharge time and recovery to keep a constant stream of attacks going without needing to rest, or how much defense/resistance I’d need stack to get to cap, so I figured erring on the side of full set bonuses would at least be decent for a generalist build. I would VERY much be interested on how I could optimize this though. The only ones I know I want to fully 6-slot are Twilight Grasp and Life Drain to maximize the healing I get from them, but everything else is flexible.

 

As for my pet control style, while I usually open Aggressive, I almost always switch to Defensive immediately upon grabbing aggro for the shared health bar benefits. Also, I do weave in and out of melee depending on the enemy situation, but I generally like to stick closer to my henchman after pulls to avail of Supremacy, and also keep them topped up with Twilight Grasp spam. I only ever use the All Pet commands assigned to my hotbar though, so it’s all hands on deck for whatever game plan I go with.

 

Whenever you get back, I’d LOVE to see how you’ve built yours! Did you try to optimize for more damage output, or more survivability, like I was trying for?

Edited February 6 by F2P_Felix
Typo mistakes

[C U R S E]

So at this point Felix Necro/Dark is a power house even after the changes made to them. It is in my opinion the strongest MM pairing in my opinion and my MM is my favorite. My Necro/Dark is a very very tight build, but it covers all the areas very well. I do have a lot of feedback for your build, I would love to show you my MM in action. Are you on Everlasting at all? If so look me up or send me a tell to @widow and would be more than willing to help you with your build.

[Sahr-Manos]

I'd like to offer my build. It likely can be improved; and I welcome any such critique, but it may serve as I've done all regular content in the game, and many hard modes. I don't feel like I struggle anywhere. I've also consistently gotten a 1:11 pylon time with it, although I believe it could be higher. The build feels strong to me in groups or solo, Incarnate or otherwise. Proc bomb Soul Storm or not to your flavoring.

 

Incarnate choices are Musculature Radial Alpha/Spectral Radial Interface/Ion Radial Judgement/Clarion Core Destiny/Support Core Hybrid. Lore is up to you, Banished Pantheon are both strong performers and somewhat thematic for necro, compared to what's out there.

 

Special note than Sandolphan's binds here on the forum are a game changer for MM, and I feel factor highly into my performance with the archetype.

Sahr-Necro-Dark-Soul-MM.txt

Edited February 7 by Sahr-Manos

[F2P_Felix]

10 hours ago, C U R S E said:

So at this point Felix Necro/Dark is a power house even after the changes made to them. It is in my opinion the strongest MM pairing in my opinion and my MM is my favorite. My Necro/Dark is a very very tight build, but it covers all the areas very well. I do have a lot of feedback for your build, I would love to show you my MM in action. Are you on Everlasting at all? If so look me up or send me a tell to @widow and would be more than willing to help you with your build.

As a matter of fact, I am! I should be able to get on tonight. Felix Starfinder is my global chat handle, so yeah! How’s… 9 PM EST work for you?

Edited February 7 by F2P_Felix

[F2P_Felix]

2 hours ago, Sahr-Manos said:

I'd like to offer my build. It likely can be improved; and I welcome any such critique, but it may serve as I've done all regular content in the game, and many hard modes. I don't feel like I struggle anywhere. I've also consistently gotten a 1:11 pylon time with it, although I believe it could be higher. The build feels strong to me in groups or solo, Incarnate or otherwise. Proc bomb Soul Storm or not to your flavoring.

 

Incarnate choices are Musculature Radial Alpha/Spectral Radial Interface/Ion Radial Judgement/Clarion Core Destiny/Support Core Hybrid. Lore is up to you, Banished Pantheon are both strong performers and somewhat thematic for necro, compared to what's out there.

 

Special note than Sandolphan's binds here on the forum are a game changer for MM, and I feel factor highly into my performance with the archetype.

Sahr-Necro-Dark-Soul-MM.txt 4.94 kB · 0 downloads

Good to hear! I actually did a couple tweaks to my build since posting (which I'll post here), and yours looks pretty similar to the new one I came up with, so I guess that's a good sign! And yeah, I was also planning on going for Banished Pantheon, given the theming and also the ability for them to soften up enemy Res to most of my toolkit.

 

The one thing I'm a bit concerned with my new build is that the hit bonuses might be a bit low. I'm still hitting over 100% on even footing, but I hear some endgame things can be pretty generous with Def stacking and To-Hit debuffs, on top of having to go up against +3, +4 enemies, for which I dunno how to check that in Mids. What hit rates does your build accomplish, and how reliable have those been?

Experiment 2.mbd

[Sahr-Manos]

That is an excellent question regarding sufficient to hit bonuses. I'm sorry to say that I do not know. I've often debated Assault vs Tactics for this build,for instance, but haven't tested yet. When the new DPS tester pylons are enabled I intend to give it another round of tests then.

 

I feel like my pets don't miss much, but with this kind of thing going on feeling is fairly useless.

[C U R S E]

Hey Felix so sorry been so busy lately I am on tonight, if you got time. 

[Force Redux]

Just going to add, welcome to Homecoming, welcome to Masterminds, and also welcome to Necro/Dark, a terrific combo. Maybe my guide (in my signature, also pinned to the top of this forum) would help as well?

[F2P_Felix]

On 2/8/2024 at 9:59 PM, C U R S E said:

Hey Felix so sorry been so busy lately I am on tonight, if you got time. 

No worries, I ended up getting pretty busy myself. After some more tweaking, I have a build I feel pretty happy with, but would still love to compare it with yours and see if it still can be improved!

 

On 2/10/2024 at 2:19 PM, Force Redux said:

Just going to add, welcome to Homecoming, welcome to Masterminds, and also welcome to Necro/Dark, a terrific combo. Maybe my guide (in my signature, also pinned to the top of this forum) would help as well?

And thanks for the tip! I'll go check it out over lunch!

Styx - Mastermind (Necromancy - Dark Miasma).mbd

[StrikerFox]

6 hours ago, F2P_Felix said:

Styx - Mastermind (Necromancy - Dark Miasma).mbd 45.58 kB · 1 download

 

I think your build is really good. More survivable than my Necro/Dark MM. I'm just going to offer some fine tuning/general comments and advice:

Is Tactics 6 slot for the Gaussian's +def set bonus? Would gain more type defense by putting those slots in Maneuvers. Improved Maneuvers will also help pets, team and league.

Shadow Fall adds +res to E/N/P. Three damage types the build is weaker to. Maybe split the slotting between +def and +res.

Twilight Grasp has a tohit check so +acc will help it. 

If willing to use IO Boosters, S/L can still be at +75% with Dark Embrace only 2 slotted. Spare slots could be added to Enchant Undead to help pet resistance or to whatever else you may feel is needed. 

A lot of powers to help Necro pets thrive are omitted. Darkest Knight (-tohit/-dam), Fearsome Stare (-tohit/fear), Howling Twilight (AoE stun/-regen) and Tar Patch powers (-res). But I know a lot of players treat pets as expendable, and feel that resummoning is part of the AT. Which isn't bad, just different build/play styles.

Damage procs. Grave Knights, Lich and Soul Extraction damage is boosted significantly with procs.

Would get more recovery slotting Performance Shifter into Stamina instead of Efficiency Adaptor. The PS proc adds approximately 0.2 end rec that is not displayed on Mids'.

Adding a Numina Heal IO to Health will provide more regeneration than Regenerative Tissue. Numina's +12% set bonus plus higher Health stat provides slightly more +regen.

 

Overall great build. Are you sure you're a new player? You Mids' like a vet.

[F2P_Felix]

2 hours ago, StrikerFox said:

 

I think your build is really good. More survivable than my Necro/Dark MM. I'm just going to offer some fine tuning/general comments and advice:

Is Tactics 6 slot for the Gaussian's +def set bonus? Would gain more type defense by putting those slots in Maneuvers. Improved Maneuvers will also help pets, team and league.

Shadow Fall adds +res to E/N/P. Three damage types the build is weaker to. Maybe split the slotting between +def and +res.

Twilight Grasp has a tohit check so +acc will help it. 

If willing to use IO Boosters, S/L can still be at +75% with Dark Embrace only 2 slotted. Spare slots could be added to Enchant Undead to help pet resistance or to whatever else you may feel is needed. 

A lot of powers to help Necro pets thrive are omitted. Darkest Knight (-tohit/-dam), Fearsome Stare (-tohit/fear), Howling Twilight (AoE stun/-regen) and Tar Patch powers (-res). But I know a lot of players treat pets as expendable, and feel that resummoning is part of the AT. Which isn't bad, just different build/play styles.

Damage procs. Grave Knights, Lich and Soul Extraction damage is boosted significantly with procs.

Would get more recovery slotting Performance Shifter into Stamina instead of Efficiency Adaptor. The PS proc adds approximately 0.2 end rec that is not displayed on Mids'.

Adding a Numina Heal IO to Health will provide more regeneration than Regenerative Tissue. Numina's +12% set bonus plus higher Health stat provides slightly more +regen.

 

Overall great build. Are you sure you're a new player? You Mids' like a vet.

Aw thanks! I am, in fact, a new player, but I did my best to research as much as I could beforehand, and I also had a vet friend give me a couple pointers as well.

 

Tactics is indeed 6-slotted for that set bonus. When I slotted in Maneuvers in a previous iteration, I found myself only getting about a 1-2% increase in efficacy, since the base percentage was so low, so I figured the set bonus from Gaussian would give me about the same benefits, on top of improving my To-Hit chance. 

 

Shadow Fall I have waffled back and forth between Def and Res slotting, so maybe I could try that split… At the time, I settled on full Def bonuses since those were universal, as opposed to select damage types. …That, and the set bonuses once again, since I wanted my recharge down enough that I could keep a constant stream of attacks going. Maybe it’s the FFXIV player in me, but I like being able to always press my buttons XD.

 

Twilight Grasp I went back and forth between the Panacea set I have now, and the Accurate Healing sets, like the one I have on Life Drain. Since Twilight had a higher base accuracy to begin with, I thought I’d go with the current configuration, and both would still hit the “95% to hit +3” threshold if I’m reading the resource I found right, which for Masterminds is 1.58x, if I recall.

 

And I didn’t know that about Dark Embrace! Could probably give that a go as well, though that would also lose me out on the Recovery bonuses, which was actually the main thing I was building for. Always hated when I ran outta juice.
 

Regarding my pets, I do have all the global auras that boost my pets’ Def and Res, and I tend to stick pretty close to them with Defensive AI on, so I figured that’d be enough to keep them alive? Especially when combined with Twilight Grasp spam and the Support Hybrid Incarnate that doubles its bonus for pets. I dunno how to check the exact values for pets though on Mids.

 

Oh yeah! And I DO have a Build Up proc on Soul Extraction, at least. That, and Tactics as well, which from my understanding, also applies to everyone in the aura as well for lots of potential uptime. …Unless you specifically mean the procs that have a chance of inflicting damage. Which sets of those would you recommend, were I to go that route?

And I totally forgot about that proc on Performance Shifter… thanks for the tip!

 

And Numina Heal + Set Bonus gives more Regen?! …Dang. I thought Heal only affected Max Health in that slot. 
 

Thanks for all the feedback! Also, the link to the Accuracy Threshold for Archetypes is right here, if you’re curious. Had that in the background the whole time I made this build. XD

 

 

[StrikerFox]

On 2/13/2024 at 9:50 PM, F2P_Felix said:

And I didn’t know that about Dark Embrace! Could probably give that a go as well, though that would also lose me out on the Recovery bonuses, which was actually the main thing I was building for. Always hated when I ran outta juice.

 

The +2.5% end bonus is alright but recovery would improve more by slotting powers/toggles with end redux. Here's a screenshot of a few powers from your Mids' build. The small change doesn't effect the MM's res but provides the pets with a bit more +res and MM with improved end gain.

 

 

On 2/13/2024 at 9:50 PM, F2P_Felix said:

Regarding my pets, I do have all the global auras that boost my pets’ Def and Res, and I tend to stick pretty close to them with Defensive AI on, so I figured that’d be enough to keep them alive? Especially when combined with Twilight Grasp spam and the Support Hybrid Incarnate that doubles its bonus for pets. I dunno how to check the exact values for pets though on Mids.

 

Dark is really good at keeping Necro pets alive... Unalive. Undead. Unundead. Including Soul Extraction. One of the reasons I like Dark is because of Darkest Night and Fearsome Stare. They're typically the first powers I use. Apply the -tohit, -dam and fear debuffs. Use Soul Extraction and the 6 new pets have instant survivability because the enemies are debuffed already. DK and FS both recharge quickly and up for every fight. Your pets will be good with moderate/high +res and heals, but how much better would they be with moderate/high +res, heals and equivalent softcap def?

 

On 2/13/2024 at 9:50 PM, F2P_Felix said:

Oh yeah! And I DO have a Build Up proc on Soul Extraction, at least. That, and Tactics as well, which from my understanding, also applies to everyone in the aura as well for lots of potential uptime. …Unless you specifically mean the procs that have a chance of inflicting damage. Which sets of those would you recommend, were I to go that route?

 

I don't think Soulbound and Gaussian's BU procs work that way. Soulbound has a chance to proc on each soul extracted pet, individually. Gaussian's can only proc on the MM when slotted in Tactics. It has a better chance to proc when there are more pets/teammates within range. The pets/teammates do not get the BU buff. And yes, I meant procs that inflict damage. Grave Knights do well with Achilles', Shield Breaker and Lady Grey. Lich and Soul Extraction do well with Cloud Senses. Soulbound is actually really good on Grave Knights as well since their damage aura can trigger BU.

 

 

[F2P_Felix]

On 2/15/2024 at 1:32 AM, StrikerFox said:

 

The +2.5% end bonus is alright but recovery would improve more by slotting powers/toggles with end redux. Here's a screenshot of a few powers from your Mids' build. The small change doesn't effect the MM's res but provides the pets with a bit more +res and MM with improved end gain.

 

 

 

Dark is really good at keeping Necro pets alive... Unalive. Undead. Unundead. Including Soul Extraction. One of the reasons I like Dark is because of Darkest Night and Fearsome Stare. They're typically the first powers I use. Apply the -tohit, -dam and fear debuffs. Use Soul Extraction and the 6 new pets have instant survivability because the enemies are debuffed already. DK and FS both recharge quickly and up for every fight. Your pets will be good with moderate/high +res and heals, but how much better would they be with moderate/high +res, heals and equivalent softcap def?

 

 

I don't think Soulbound and Gaussian's BU procs work that way. Soulbound has a chance to proc on each soul extracted pet, individually. Gaussian's can only proc on the MM when slotted in Tactics. It has a better chance to proc when there are more pets/teammates within range. The pets/teammates do not get the BU buff. And yes, I meant procs that inflict damage. Grave Knights do well with Achilles', Shield Breaker and Lady Grey. Lich and Soul Extraction do well with Cloud Senses. Soulbound is actually really good on Grave Knights as well since their damage aura can trigger BU.

 

 

Thanks for the response! So with that and Force Redux’s guide in mind, I spent a while in the tank to make an alternate version of my build!

 

I also managed to hit the softcap of 45% for most of my defenses with this one too, though I do wonder how necessary that’ll be with all the new Debuffs I incorporated into my kit now.

 

…A main concern I do have for this version though is that I took out Night Fall and Soul Tentacles to make room for all of these, so I do lose out and any meaningfully-damaging AoE attacks to use on Mobs. Will I even miss them, or should I swap out the Fighting pool powers instead?

 

Oh yeah, and would it be better to spec for more raw damage on Grave Knight over loading it up with procs? Cause I currently have Build Up loaded in, but the Soulbound Allegiance Damage enhancement is pretty potent as well at 53%, and is constant…

Styx_Alternate_-_Mastermind_Necromancy_-_Dark_Miasma.mbd

Edited February 16 by F2P_Felix

[StrikerFox]

Pets are your AoE damage. Between 6-15 pets hitting different targets. MM damage modifiers are so low that it's not a much of a loss. The only shame is losing the immobilize from Soul Tentacles. Also MM endurance is so tight that it would be difficult to sustain when tossing around epic attacks. I like to frankenslot pets to give them a combination of stats, pet IOs and damage procs. This is currently how I have them slotted. Musculature Alpha to get their damage stat higher.

 

 

Zombies with the KD proc to give them some mitigation. Grave Knights with acc/dam HOs. Lich with an acc/mez HO. Soul Extraction has the Unbreakable Constraint proc but it's not great slotted there. A 5th SCotMM ATO for the toxic/psionic/mez +res would probably be better. GK and Lich doesn't need much end to function so don't worry about slotting them for that.

 

I run with around +35% def so that one Darkest Night will get me to equivalent softcap vs targets affected/within range. I think it will be trial and error, feel out your build. Make changes as problems arise. Scale back if anything seems excessive. It will come down to balancing the build to needs/wants that suits your play style. I think we get a free respec every 10 levels? Also the respec trials. So making changes won't be an issue.

 

 

 

 

[Two5boy]

On 2/17/2024 at 7:28 AM, StrikerFox said:

Pets are your AoE damage. Between 6-15 pets hitting different targets. MM damage modifiers are so low that it's not a much of a loss. The only shame is losing the immobilize from Soul Tentacles. Also MM endurance is so tight that it would be difficult to sustain when tossing around epic attacks. I like to frankenslot pets to give them a combination of stats, pet IOs and damage procs. This is currently how I have them slotted. Musculature Alpha to get their damage stat higher.

 

 

Zombies with the KD proc to give them some mitigation. Grave Knights with acc/dam HOs. Lich with an acc/mez HO. Soul Extraction has the Unbreakable Constraint proc but it's not great slotted there. A 5th SCotMM ATO for the toxic/psionic/mez +res would probably be better. GK and Lich doesn't need much end to function so don't worry about slotting them for that.

 

I run with around +35% def so that one Darkest Night will get me to equivalent softcap vs targets affected/within range. I think it will be trial and error, feel out your build. Make changes as problems arise. Scale back if anything seems excessive. It will come down to balancing the build to needs/wants that suits your play style. I think we get a free respec every 10 levels? Also the respec trials. So making changes won't be an issue.

 

 

 

 

Can I ask which price of mark of supremacy and SCotMM you used?

[StrikerFox]

2 hours ago, Two5boy said:

Can I ask which price of mark of supremacy and SCotMM you used?

 

I slot the ATOs in their order displayed in Mids/in-game. Zombies has the 3rd and 6th SMoS; the Lich has the 1st and 5th SMoS; Soul Extraction has the last 4 SCotMM. I'm not at home but pretty sure it's:

 

Zombies - acc/dam and the +res aura

Lich - dam and acc/dam/end

Soul Ex - missing acc/dam and dam/end. 

[Two5boy]

6 hours ago, StrikerFox said:

 

I slot the ATOs in their order displayed in Mids/in-game. Zombies has the 3rd and 6th SMoS; the Lich has the 1st and 5th SMoS; Soul Extraction has the last 4 SCotMM. I'm not at home but pretty sure it's:

 

Zombies - acc/dam and the +res aura

Lich - dam and acc/dam/end

Soul Ex - missing acc/dam and dam/end. 

Thanks a lot 

[Dessertking]

On 2/18/2024 at 10:24 AM, StrikerFox said:

 

I slot the ATOs in their order displayed in Mids/in-game. Zombies has the 3rd and 6th SMoS; the Lich has the 1st and 5th SMoS; Soul Extraction has the last 4 SCotMM. I'm not at home but pretty sure it's:

 

Zombies - acc/dam and the +res aura

Lich - dam and acc/dam/end

Soul Ex - missing acc/dam and dam/end. 

Just stumbled upon this thread as I am building my necro/dark. You are a ton of help so thank you! Anyway you can post your build? If possible not in mids, but in text written out? Idk why but my laptop will not allow me to download mids. If not it’s ok. 

[StrikerFox]

13 hours ago, Dessertking said:

Just stumbled upon this thread as I am building my necro/dark. You are a ton of help so thank you! Anyway you can post your build? If possible not in mids, but in text written out? Idk why but my laptop will not allow me to download mids. If not it’s ok. 

 

I don't post my builds anymore but here's the slotting I'm using for Necro pets and their upgrades. It makes use of all the pet uniques/Overwhelming Force, most commonly activated damage procs, increased max pet HP, +regen and +dam res. 

 

 

A lot of the IOs are boosted to +5 (acc/dam/end in Zombies, Glad Armor +res and +res/end in Enchant Undead, Panacea heal and Numina's heal in Dark Empowerment). It's meant to be used with Musculature Core Alpha. Lich has a acc/mez HO but an acc/-tohit/-def debuff HO might be better. The MM has Darkest Night, Fearsome Stare, Fluffy and pet attacks has similar -tohit debuffs, and is the reason I went with the mez HO instead.

 

If you post a build, I'll give some general advice if I can see any ways to improve it.

 

 

 

[Dessertking]

7 hours ago, StrikerFox said:

 

I don't post my builds anymore but here's the slotting I'm using for Necro pets and their upgrades. It makes use of all the pet uniques/Overwhelming Force, most commonly activated damage procs, increased max pet HP, +regen and +dam res. 

 

 

A lot of the IOs are boosted to +5 (acc/dam/end in Zombies, Glad Armor +res and +res/end in Enchant Undead, Panacea heal and Numina's heal in Dark Empowerment). It's meant to be used with Musculature Core Alpha. Lich has a acc/mez HO but an acc/-tohit/-def debuff HO might be better. The MM has Darkest Night, Fearsome Stare, Fluffy and pet attacks has similar -tohit debuffs, and is the reason I went with the mez HO instead.

 

If you post a build, I'll give some general advice if I can see any ways to improve it.

 

 

 

Appreciate it! Just for my knowledge why are some level 10 and others 50? Just trying to identify what each one is lol. Acc/dmg vs dmg only for example.
 

Also you chose soul extraction as a mule for the auras no? Why would that be better than let’s say slotting full recharge intensive pet? 

[StrikerFox]

22 minutes ago, Dessertking said:

Appreciate it! Just for my knowledge why are some level 10 and others 50? Just trying to identify what each one is lol. Acc/dmg vs dmg only for example.
 

Also you chose soul extraction as a mule for the auras no? Why would that be better than let’s say slotting full recharge intensive pet? 

 

IOs that are level 10, 20, 25 etc means that they're a damage proc or a unique. They function the same no matter what level they are. The only exception is the Steadfast IO. It provides a +res stat and is why it's slotted at max level.

 

Soul extracted pets do damage, I want them to have some decent stats, acc and dam. Recharge so that SE is up more often. I don't think they need endurance since they only live for 30 seconds but I never actually looked at it closely. I only use SE as a mule for auras if specific set bonuses are needed.

 

Something I do when creating an MM build is slot pets last. Try to get the MM to a point where I'm satisfied in terms of def, dam res, end, status res/pro etc. If I can do that with zero pet IOs, then they can be slotted freely, not needing set bonuses.

[Dessertking]

On 6/26/2024 at 10:32 AM, StrikerFox said:

 

IOs that are level 10, 20, 25 etc means that they're a damage proc or a unique. They function the same no matter what level they are. The only exception is the Steadfast IO. It provides a +res stat and is why it's slotted at max level.

 

Soul extracted pets do damage, I want them to have some decent stats, acc and dam. Recharge so that SE is up more often. I don't think they need endurance since they only live for 30 seconds but I never actually looked at it closely. I only use SE as a mule for auras if specific set bonuses are needed.

 

Something I do when creating an MM build is slot pets last. Try to get the MM to a point where I'm satisfied in terms of def, dam res, end, status res/pro etc. If I can do that with zero pet IOs, then they can be slotted freely, not needing set bonuses.

Appreciate it Striker! I finally got Mids to work. Here is my first draft build appreciate any thoughts! slotting is tough. I was not even able to fit slots for the three powers that grant a specter.

 

[StrikerFox]

Set goals for the build. List them acording to priority and slot/IO with them in mind. I feel the build would benefit from Hasten. Just to get Tar Patch, Soul Extraction, Howling Twilight etc up more often. The build could use an Ancillary/Epic armor, just to help with the MM survivability.

Aggressively slotting the pet upgrades tightens the slotting for other powers. If the build does not work out, devote those slots elsewhere. Like the health IOs in Dark Empowerment is nice but not essential. Dark has a really good AoE heal, Twilight Grasp. Slotting up Stamina is more important to make sure your MM can go the distance.

Also build according to your playstyle. I made most of my MMs to do damage, with pretty minimal/average survivability. Some enemies I'll flop hard or manage by the skin of my teeth. I see other players hammering through an ITF at +4/x8 solo. There's a guy that survived +4/x8 Arachnos with a Mercs/Traps... Or maybe it was a Bots/Traps. Regardless it was impressive. None of my MMs would survive that.