QOL Suggestion for Mastermind Pets (Auto TP mechanic)

[VertigoIguana]

PROBLEM:

It's no secret that Masterminds have a few issues keeping up with the current pace of the game, particularly in "speed runs" and meta hard mode runs where they have to choose between having to dismiss & resummon pets (Taking extra time, missing and usually missing half or more of the fight) OR letting their pets drag half the mobs into the team. 

 

Cant leave them up while you run through, or they'll snap to you and aggro whatever is along the way. 

 

Wait until you get there (if you're running), and the fights nearly done by the time you can contribute on fast teams.   

 

Wait with your pets to get teleported?  Half the time after you get TP'd they'll run off to the wild blue yonder and aggro a bunch of extra mobs.

 

SOLUTION:

Remove and replace the auto-TP to owner pet mechanic.

 

1) Increase the leash distance (potentially to unlimited - or at least as big as possible to cover most mission maps) before pets automatically teleport to their owner.  This is to make stealth easier - by not having the pets reappear suddenly in the middle of whatever mob you are running through.  Potentially may be able/need to force pets to not attack if a certain distance away from owner.

 

2) Give an inherent command (or power) that teleports all MM pets to their owners side (the current auto TP effect, but on command).  Give it a un-changeable 30/45 sec cooldown if you want even to make it a little more balanced. 

Like Mark and Recall, but for your MM pets, (and the MM is the Mark)

 

BENEFITS: 

More control over pets, makes gameplay a little easier, and removes some of the barriers to MM play at the higher levels.

 

POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE?

 

Not much that I can foresee. 

 

Maybe it could be used to pull the pets out of a sticky situation (but commands can already do that).  If it's a concern, adding a MINIMUM distance to the TP effect could fix that as well (Only recalls pets more than XX feet away). 

 

Other uses could be pulling mobs with little risk to the MM owner, send them out and instant recall them back. Minimum distance might also help with making that less practical, but again - it can also already be done with commands anyway - and there are better ways to pull anyways so I'm not sure how much of an issue it could be.

 

If anyone else has thoughts, please leave a comment.

 

Edited Thursday at 01:17 AM by VertigoIguana

[Doc_Scorpion]

I am Doc Scorpion and I approve of this message.

[Mystoc]

I agree MMs need more functionality to keep up with teams but here is another idea I have had this is somewhat similar.

I always thought if you put your MM pets on passive they should inherit your current stealth value this way they could follow you and not aggro mobs,

 

sorta like "Oh hey we aren't attacking and the boss is being stealthy let's do that too."

 

defensive has pet damage split functionally so why shouldn't passive have added fictionally for pet stealth?

 

 

[tidge]

There appears to be quite a lot going on "under the hood" with masterminds and (distance from) their henchmen, including how long before the henchmen will benefit from (whatever) auras come from the MM (including those from enhancement pieces) and when henchmen in bodyguard mode will "share" damage meant for the MM.

 

I often surprised that the henchmen work as well as they do.

[VertigoIguana]

47 minutes ago, tidge said:

There appears to be quite a lot going on "under the hood" with masterminds and (distance from) their henchmen, including how long before the henchmen will benefit from (whatever) auras come from the MM (including those from enhancement pieces) and when henchmen in bodyguard mode will "share" damage meant for the MM.

 

I often surprised that the henchmen work as well as they do.

 

Supremacy (The MM inherent aura) has a 60ft radius, and the unique IO bonus's give you an aura with the effect that has a 40ft radius. 

 

They need to be in Supremacy range (and on Defensive Follow, or Defensive Stay/Goto)for Bodyguard to work.

 

Currently: Once you get about 500ft away from any of your pets, they are automatically resummoned next to you (same as when you transition zones) - which puts them into follow mode by default.

[kelika2]

Using the pet powers while you have pets summoned teleports them to you

[Rudra]

11 minutes ago, kelika2 said:

Using the pet powers while you have pets summoned teleports them to you

No it doesn't. When a Controller or Dominator uses their pet power while they already have surviving pets out, it dismisses those pets and summons new ones at the Controller/Dominator's selected location. When a Mastermind uses their pet powers while already have surviving pets out, it simply puts the power on cooldown. The henchmen are not dismissed and new ones are not summoned unless replacing pets that have been dismissed or defeated. (Edit: The pet powers work differently between Controllers/Dominators and Masterminds because Controllers/Dominators don't upgrade their pets and it would be problematic if the Mastermind dismissed surviving henchmen to replace defeated ones and lost their upgrades.)

 

Edited Thursday at 08:04 AM by Rudra

[tidge]

8 hours ago, VertigoIguana said:

 

Supremacy (The MM inherent aura) has a 60ft radius, and the unique IO bonus's give you an aura with the effect that has a 40ft radius. 

 

They need to be in Supremacy range (and on Defensive Follow, or Defensive Stay/Goto)for Bodyguard to work.

 

Currently: Once you get about 500ft away from any of your pets, they are automatically resummoned next to you (same as when you transition zones) - which puts them into follow mode by default.

 

You misunderstand my first post. The game takes some time (both inherently, and because of server-client) to establish that the henchmen (not pets) are within range to 'qualify' for the sorts of things I mentioned.... even if they are otherwise 'in range'. I mention this because even if certain things about 'leashing' were changed, there would still be subtle annoyances such that I wouldn't notice a change in 'quality of life' for MMs. If you don't notice these things now, you certainly would begin to notice them under a different 'leashing' routine.

 

Follow mode also has some subtle defects. It is not at all uncommon, when traveling distances to get the henchmen 'stuck' (often a hench will simply stand in place, this is not a geometry problem like a CoT tiki torch) and one of teh few ways to get them unstuck is to teleport them (to the MM).

[Rudra]

5 hours ago, tidge said:

henchmen (not pets)

There is nothing wrong with referring the MM henchmen as pets. They are pets. They are henchmen tier pets as opposed to pet tier pets, but they are still pets.

[tidge]

3 minutes ago, Rudra said:

There is nothing wrong with referring the MM henchmen as pets. They are pets. They are henchmen tier pets as opposed to pet tier pets, but they are still pets.

 

I used to feel the same until:

• I saw the umpteenth request to ask for MM level controls on "all pets"
• I saw the umpteenth discussion on "combat levels" (but I can't recall if that discussion was about Incarnate content or not)
• I played enough content to understand the difference between the different types of pets, and how the powers work and how they behave.

On the second point, there are Lore pets, Crabber pets, Controller pets, Epic pets, and "pseudo pets". Of those, the only two that are remotely similar IMO are the Crab (spider) summons and the Epic pets, and even that is a stretch because of the intense amount of effort it takes to be able to resummon an Epic pet when the first summons would expire (of not defeated).. and there is only one of those, so it isn't like a player familiar only with Controllers would know the subtleties of the 3-or-2-at-a-time Spiders, especially if recharge was lagging.

[Rudra]

8 minutes ago, tidge said:

 

I used to feel the same until:

• I saw the umpteenth request to ask for MM level controls on "all pets"
• I saw the umpteenth discussion on "combat levels" (but I can't recall if that discussion was about Incarnate content or not)
• I played enough content to understand the difference between the different types of pets, and how the powers work and how they behave.

On the second point, there are Lore pets, Crabber pets, Controller pets, Epic pets, and "pseudo pets". Of those, the only two that are remotely similar IMO are the Crab (spider) summons and the Epic pets, and even that is a stretch because of the intense amount of effort it takes to be able to resummon an Epic pet when the first summons would expire (of not defeated).. and there is only one of those, so it isn't like a player familiar only with Controllers would know the subtleties of the 3-or-2-at-a-time Spiders, especially if recharge was lagging.

I understand. Really, I do. It annoys me to no end when suggestions conflate henchmen pets and regular pets for the same thing. And when it comes to discussing the differences between them, I wholeheartedly agree that the distinction needs to be made. I just feel that in a discussion specifically about MMs, it isn't a problem if someone simply calls them pets rather than the longer henchmen. Just wanted to say that. So if you, @Glacier Peak, or anyone else wants to keep pointing out the differences? You aren't wrong, I just don't understand the drive in a MM specific conversation.

[tidge]

[Doc_Scorpion]

She is very obviously a Defender.  🙂  🙂