Is EMP viable?

[Rhonin13]

I have a Thugs/EMP MM that I just got to 40. I really enjoy playing him as I wanted a healer that can also do some solo if needed. I was scanning on here to see if there were any build ideas I can work off but everything I see about Thugs says you should take dark or time as a secondary. I haven't seen any mention of a Thugs/EMP build and I'm starting to think I might have seriously messed up.

 

 

Is there anyway for me to work with this guy currently or should I throw in the towel and re-roll with a different secondary?

[PaxArcana]

Everything is viable.

 

It just might not be One Ring mega-powerful.

[Adeon Hawkwood]

So at a basic level Empathy just isn't a great secondary for Masterminds (which is part of the reason the original devs never ported it over). You'll probably have a better time with Pain if you want a healing secondary since that was designed with Masterminds in mind.

 

Now the other side of it there's a pretty clear hierarchy for Support sets and things like Dark and Time are at the top for basically all support ATs while Empathy is generally a low tier set.

 

So essentially Empathy is a low-tier support set that has poor synergy with Masterminds in general. Is it viable? Sure, you can play it and have fun. Is it the best possible option? Hell no.

[Rhonin13]

So essentially Empathy is a low-tier support set that has poor synergy with Masterminds in general. Is it viable? Sure, you can play it and have fun. Is it the best possible option? Hell no.

 

 

 

/sigh  This is kind of what I was starting to realize. "Anything" is playable really, but I'm really putting myself behind the 8-ball here. I guess it's better to just cut my losses at this point.

[Coyote]

Empathy can play well with Masterminds as long as you change the play pattern slightly from most MMs.

 

Use Fortitude on the top 2 tiers, as you can maintain it on 3 targets. Keep the Tier1s by you, and send the Bruiser and Enforcers in to take the aggro. You may have to change Sandolphan's MM binds so that you're controlling the top 2 tiers at the same time, or you can do the work and send them in separately, like sending the Bruiser to attack a boss, while using GoTo for the Enforcers to have them support the Bruiser from a little behind him. Use Adrenaline Boost on the Bruiser to help keep him alive, and you can have a strong defensive focus by funneling the incoming attacks to the henchmen who are protected by Fortitude.

 

It takes more micromanagement of pet movements and aggroing than other sets, but it gets you strong defenses and regeneration on the henchmen who are taking damage. It still won't be top tier because you have no -Resist/-Regen powers, but you knew that would be missing when you started Empathy.

[Hedgefund]

I'm a MM enthusiast and on live I always thought that Emp could be a great secondary.  My thinking was, with high recharge I could Fort everybody and keep AB perma on one. 

 

So I made one to test that out, with Thugs.  It's what I was expecting.  I haven't really scaled things up like I did with my Bots/Cold (my first MM in the new world, which is frankly capable of any and everything) but normal missions are easy enough, even if you dial up diff and team size.  I just haven't tried to fight the Avatar of Hamidon as a lvl 57 AV with the Thugs/Emp.

 

Reading the OP that you want a "healer that solos" I have to say Thugs/Emp fits the bill perfectly.  I'm absolutely no "healer" and can't imagine adopting the playstyle of sitting around watching teammates HP, but for those that do, this is great, while on a team set at least the Bruiser to attack and you can indeed sit back and babysit HP and still contribute DPS (while actively buffing, obvi).

 

The worst part for me is just how busy it is.  To keep fort perma on pets you've got to be super attentive and make sure every 20 seconds (or less) whoever needs the buff next gets it.

 

So no OP, you did not mess up and I would not re-roll.  I hope you stick with it, it pays off.