Necro/Marine and Mercs/Marine or should I not?

[Mindrivet]

So, I have two MMs I just rolled out and I am really early in leveling them because I am deciding what to do. I am conflicted between Marine and Kinetics for the secondary though.

I want to know if anyone has taken both of these to late game (either with marine or kinetics) and how it felt? I heard that ranged minions with group fly is kinda the big deal, but at least early game Necro seems to be demolishing by sheer numbers and expendables.

I only ever got a MM to about level 38, so I don't really have much to go on for end game viability in groups and solo.

I do enjoy having immensely durable minions so merc/sonic was something I did before to get resists very high. What would you say for tankiness of the minions, damage output, etc? I have done the other MMs but I prefer the playstyle of necro and mercs.

[Maelwys]

Mercs/Marine is one of the better combos; assuming you can get Serum to a decent level of recharge.
Demons/Marine is technically a bit higher damage output IIRC + would buff your own damage resistances; however they're considerably harder to keep a leash on.
Necro/Marine is alright... but if I rolled one then honestly I'd always be pining for one of those other two primaries.

For Kinetics, honestly I'd shy away from any primary except Bots, Thugs or Ninjas; as your pets will really need a decent chunk of additional +Defense to survive at endgame. And of those three... Bots is my #1 choice.  They stick together better for PBAoEs; have a better range of resistances and mez protection which combines well with Increase Density; and their bubbles boost YOUR defense; not just that of your pets (my Bot/Kin's numbers end up looking like this). 

[Mindrivet]

17 hours ago, Maelwys said:

Mercs/Marine is one of the better combos; assuming you can get Serum to a decent level of recharge.
Demons/Marine is technically a bit higher damage output IIRC + would buff your own damage resistances; however they're considerably harder to keep a leash on.
Necro/Marine is alright... but if I rolled one then honestly I'd always be pining for one of those other two primaries.

For Kinetics, honestly I'd shy away from any primary except Bots, Thugs or Ninjas; as your pets will really need a decent chunk of additional +Defense to survive at endgame. And of those three... Bots is my #1 choice.  They stick together better for PBAoEs; have a better range of resistances and mez protection which combines well with Increase Density; and their bubbles boost YOUR defense; not just that of your pets (my Bot/Kin's numbers end up looking like this). 

I appreciate that. I didn't realize +Def was terribly important for mercs, they have pretty good resist after all. Learning experience.

[Maelwys]

2 hours ago, Mindrivet said:

I appreciate that. I didn't realize +Def was terribly important for mercs, they have pretty good resist after all. Learning experience.

Merc resists are great (assuming an optimal Serum cycle) but getting your henchmens' Defense up (or applying consistent -ToHit debuffs) too will drastically increase their survivability ceiling. They're certainly playable without it... but at higher difficulty levels you'll likely find yourself spamming heals and incarnate buffs and resummoning a lot. Getting hit and mezzed 1 time in ~20 rather than 1 time in ~3 simply puts much less strain on your poor medic.

If you're going for a secondary without +Def/-ToHit then the most you can buff your henchmen by is a smidge over +14% Def to all (2x Aura IOs + Maneuvers) plus the SCoM ATO for another +15% to AoE. Incarnates can add at least another 5% (Barrier Destiny) with more on demand via Support Hybrid and Lores (Talons and Arachnos Radial FTW).
 

Edited December 6 by Maelwys

[brasilgringo]

I have a thematic Necro/Marine MM called Marine Corpse, it's working pretty well. I tend to run in groups or for iTrials, so there are also a lot of group buffs around.  I also chug purples when solo.  Got a 42-second pylon time.  Whitecap on refresh keeps the +rchrg up to make Power of the Depths perma while also providing some target debuffs.

marine corpse v7.mbd

Edited Sunday at 06:55 PM by brasilgringo

[Mindrivet]

10 hours ago, brasilgringo said:

I have a thematic Necro/Marine MM called Marine Corpse, it's working pretty well. I tend to run in groups or for iTrials, so there are also a lot of group buffs around.  I also chug purples when solo.  Got a 42-second pylon time.  Whitecap on refresh keeps the +rchrg up to make Power of the Depths perma while also providing some target debuffs.

marine corpse v7.mbd 50.21 kB · 0 downloads

That is awesome. I am playing the Bloodtide Corsair, similar theme. Marine abilities are blood red.

[Deathstrik3]

15 hours ago, brasilgringo said:

I have a thematic Necro/Marine MM called Marine Corpse, it's working pretty well. I tend to run in groups or for iTrials, so there are also a lot of group buffs around.  I also chug purples when solo.  Got a 42-second pylon time.  Whitecap on refresh keeps the +rchrg up to make Power of the Depths perma while also providing some target debuffs.

marine corpse v7.mbd 50.21 kB · 2 downloads

Interested in trying out a necro/marine MM myself, but I don't currently have the software installed to check out the build. Would you be able to export the text to the forums here please?