New to MM - Thugs/Kinetics, is this a viable pairing?

[Epistasis]

Dear Masterminds:

 

Let me start by saying that 90% of my playtime both in the 'beforetimes' and since returning to CoH has been on Controllers, and most of that as Grav/Kinetics.  Because I'm new to Masterminding, I wanted to start with a secondary that I knew like the back of my hand, so I could provide good care and feeding to my thugs :).  I usually take the entire kinetics tree except for Repel, because I like buffing *that* much ;).

 

My question is: is this a viable build, since my first 'punk' uses a pistol also? (just got 'equip thugs' and love the transformation).  This is a bit of a themed character and I don't want anything too 'showy' for the secondary, if I were to change.

 

Recommendations? 

 

Thanks much,

Epistasis/Counsel 4the Offense

[Maelwys]

It is *difficult*, but not impossible, to make a Thugs/Kin shine.

 

Between your own Maneuvers, the Enforcers' Maneuvers and the +Def Aura Pet IOs you should be just about able to softcap your pets defence. And Speed Boost (+Recovery and Travel Speed. Henchmen don't benefit from Recharge buffs) plus Increase Density (Smashing/Energy resistance) are nice buffs to have - the Bruiser in particular will end up hitting some very nice numbers given their own inherent resistances plus another 35% from the Aura IOs.

 

But lining up a perfect Fulcrum Shift is going to take more work on Thugs/ given the Bruiser's tendency to Melee and the others to stay Ranged. Likewise, Transference/Transfusion positioning may be tricky. Get a good set of keybinds and be prepared to use "Defensive Goto" a lot.

[Epistasis]

Thanks so much for the prompt reply! I'll see how much work the positioning on the fly ends up being and let you know!

 

Sincerely,

Epistasis/Counsel 4the Offense

[biostem]

On 4/1/2024 at 1:06 PM, Epistasis said:

Dear Masterminds:

 

Let me start by saying that 90% of my playtime both in the 'beforetimes' and since returning to CoH has been on Controllers, and most of that as Grav/Kinetics.  Because I'm new to Masterminding, I wanted to start with a secondary that I knew like the back of my hand, so I could provide good care and feeding to my thugs :).  I usually take the entire kinetics tree except for Repel, because I like buffing *that* much ;).

 

My question is: is this a viable build, since my first 'punk' uses a pistol also? (just got 'equip thugs' and love the transformation).  This is a bit of a themed character and I don't want anything too 'showy' for the secondary, if I were to change.

 

Recommendations? 

 

Thanks much,

Epistasis/Counsel 4the Offense

So I'll start by saying that I love the kinetics set.  That being said, while your pets will benefit from the increased end and movement speed, they will not gain the recharge speed buff from speedboost.  Additionally, kinetics doesn't offer a lot of mitigation, so enemies will still deal a lot of damage to your pets.  You can look at the secondary as something other players will greatly enjoy and benefit from, but for soloing, I'd probably go with something else.  As @Maelwys mentioned, you may want to stack additional mitigation to increase your pets' survivability.  Finally, since many of the powers are centered on enemies, you'll want to make generous use of a forced movement bind, (goto-passive), to make sure your pets benefit from the heal, transference, and fulcrum shift...