Zombie Man

I have gotten the Sky Raider jet pack twice on my character... once when I did the Ballista mission, and again when I helped someone defeat Ballista (people are always looking for help with Ballista). I purposely hung around in Sharks' waiting for a broadcast for help and got one within the hour. I help someone in need, I get a jet pack. Only fair.


If you're a SuperSpeeder, using the jet pack just for short hops over walls and building (and into Aeon City) can make the pack last over 10 levels!

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All Ice Corruptors with double /Rad and one /Kin. I didn't think MMs could do it but the /Dark and the /FF probably kept the AVs from hitting.


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The team on Test that first got to the Phalanx had 5 MMs.

Give both villains and heroes a signature AV/Hero Task/Strike Force and give them both the Hamidon Raid.

Story: Lord Recluse is troubled by the fact that heroes have been increasing in strength from their battles with the Hamidon and even moreso now that he has discovered that Positron has synthesized the enhancing agents of the Hamidon. And so, Recluse is providing transportation to the Hive for all his destined ones so that they too might benefit from fighting the Hamidon and to learn its secrets.

The leads to Black Scorpion also finding a way to synthesize the Hamidon's enhancing agents. And so this becomes a side quest to Statesman's Task Force for heroes against Recluse and his Lieutenants. The heroes which accomplish such a TF also get SHOs.

Eveybody gets to do everything.

Then, sometime in the future, you can have a Pocket D contact give out a combined hero and villian Hamidon Raid as a special event.

With Regard to Hamidon 'Not Rendering':

Hamidon disappears because the game is made so that only a certain number of toons are drawn on your screen at one time. Even before you start to fight Hamidon, you may notice that you start to lose sight of far off Mitos or the other team.

When the holding phase starts and you can still see Hamidon, you probably can't see the taunter on the other side of Hamidon. You'll only 'see' about 80 toons right next to you. Even players, or griefing Giant Monsters can't be seen until they're right next to you.

And so, when the attack phase begins and even more players come in to attack, the Hamidon himself will no longer be seen. Luckily, pets don't rely upon a graphical presentation of toons on their computer to see and target Hamidon... they know he's there and we can target through them. (Although, at very crowded raids of 120 or more players, even my pet lost sight of Hamidon.)

If you lose sight of Hamidon, you can try to move away from the crowd by hovering over him, or going near the taunter (suicidal as that may be) and lo and behold, you can see Hamidon again. In fact, I did that one raid to watch how he dies.. it's spectacular!

However, if everyone moved over to the taunter to see Hamidon, you'd probably lose sight of him again.

So, it's not the server or player graphical effects that make people lose sight of Hamidon... its too many people that does it.

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So - here it is.

Added to the patch notes:

The Hamidon has been increased in difficulty. It is now capable of using one of its attack powers even when Held, Slept, or Stunned.

Evidently Hammy got a laser beam on it's head a long time ago but just now figured out how to use it.

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OK, at first I thought, "they realize this is a mistake and Cuppa's being ironical."

Then, when I see that this actually did make the patch notes, I thought, "Wow, they're taking being ironical very far."

Because, if a critter is Held, Slept, or Stunned, by definition, it can not attack. If it still attacks, then it's not Held, Slept, or Stunned.

This better be an ironical response to a bug, otherwise, it would be THE SINGLE MOST STUPID THING THE DEVS HAVE EVER DONE.

The Prima guide is incomplete and full of errors.

Now you know why it didn't go to print.

Mayhem Missions are full of PPD and Longbow. There are also 4-5 spawns of an extraneous villain. These villain spawns have keys. When you get a key, check your clue menu and the waypoint on the map.

One key, though, does nothing. It is for the breakout of the prisoner in the police station (who then becomes your pet... when not bugged). You don't need that key to go into the police station. You can also die and choose 'hospital' which will take you to the police station. After you break yourself out and defeat the guard, you can spring the pet.

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Just had a mission with an NPC villian assistant - i broke her out and only saw her 2 times during entire mission - she arrived at the bank as i was coming out after defeating the hero and then one other time when i was near the jail just hunting - during the rest of the mission i got 1 time bonus from her and that was it - i dont know what the heck she was doing the rest of the time but they need to fix the AI in a major way or dont even give the NPC, it surved no purpose but giving the 3 min - if its going to have no other use it should atleast add 5 or 6 min to make it worth while as it currently is pretty useless

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Me: Level 44 Necro/Dark MM running a Founders Fall Mayhem mission on Vicious (diff level 3), solo.

End boss: Holo Man, just a boss!

Pets and doors: Pets are now going through doors quickly like they're supposed to.

Jailbreak: Freed Silent Blade (I think that was her name). When I left the police station, she disappeared. (Probably to the cornfield.) Weeks ago, she was pretty good following me all around and being helpful. Then she wouldn't zone out of the burning building. Now, can't even get her out of the Police Station.

Ambushes, part 1: We have the same perma-taunted ambushes as in the old heists. They will only attack the MM and not the pets. Once that is known, it easy to exploit this for risk free xp. Come on devs, you have the right ambush code for the old CoH out-of-mission ambushes, use that.

Ambushes, part 2: So, everytime I entered a building, I was soon followed by a Longbow Ambush. It was so predictable, that it was easy to prepare for it and exploit. Same with setting off the alarm in the jewelry store. I lay down Tar Patch by the door, put the boys there on aggressive, and purposely set off the alarms. And the hilarity ensues.

Ambushes, part 3: When leaving the jewelry store, I had 5 waves of Psy Cops ambushes. That's right... 5 waves. Even though I already had Longbow ambushes for setting of the alarm in the mission. When leaving the burning building, I had 2 waves of Psy Cops.

Ambushes, part 4: When I disturbed a crowd and they fled, about half the times, I would immediately get "Bonus: Resisting Arrest." And then right after that, a Longbow ambush showed up. Well, I thank you for warning me about the ambush, but the time reward should come *after* I defeat the ambush, not before.

Destroying things: We only get bonus time for the first item of a class of objects. Bonus for the first car, none after that, no matter how many other cars are destroyed. Bonus for the first cardboard box, none after that; etc.... Rather odd. I'll still destroy things until I get all my destruction badges, but once that's done, I'm going to just look for a car, a box, a crate, etc... and not bother with destroying lots and lots of things.

Fun with dialogue: From my Lich... "Reinforced Steel Door shall know the meaning of pain." From my system channel chat box, "Barrel has defeated cardboard box." Sounds like an odd game of rock-paper-scissors... barrel-box-busstop.

Tartarus the deity doesn't have a well developed ancient back-story. Like Nyx, who is personification of 'night', Tartarus is the personification of the place lower than Hades. He was the original ruler of the underworld... dark, glooy, and torturous.

Where the spider thing comes from, who knows... perhaps he just picked it up from Weaver when he took over Arachnos. At least it's not the spirit of Arachne in him.

WRT: Broken Mission (the black fall of near death)...

If this is still broke then do this: As others have said, go into it with fly or hover on. If you have TP or Team TP, you can find a way into the mission by poking your head into the mission and getting the camera into the mission. If you find the right place, you can get a reticle inside the mission and TP in. If you go to the end room of the caverns, and stick your head up from one of the rocks (they're hollow!), that's where I got in. Rocks are always weak points in the mission skin (which is why so often players, pets, and NPCs get stuck in them).



WRT: Leviathan Mission....

Someone posted above that the tooth was discolored. Um, no. You were given a crystal so you can 'see' the 'essence' of the Leviathan in the tooth. That's the tooth you have to click. It isn't clear that you have to 'click' the tooth to extract the essence. Even when I did click it, I didn't click it in the right place. It was only when I was flying past it and trying to click it again that it worked.

Taking out the Elite Boss fonts was no problem for my Necro/Dark MM, until the final room. The pets were not only being knocked around by the vortices, but they were attacking the vortices. Had to get a Brute to help me. Patch notes state that minions won't attack the vortices anymore. We need someone to test that out to make sure.



WRT: School of Sharks...

Not immobilizing!! Unless all bosses have resistance to immob, I'm seeing lots of NPCs running around trailing their encircling sharks with them. Some that get knocked around leave their sharks behind. Now, when I had acrobatics, I would sometimes be able to run around with immob animations following me (they should disappear), but I've never seen any NPC run around with Tentacles still on them; and when they were knocked around, the Tentacles went with them.

And this thing with "having to be near the ground" is total BS. When NPCs are being hit with School of Sharks and they fall or jump off a ledge, the animation has no problems following them mid air. If they're flying near the ground and are in the SoS and they get knocked off a ledge, the SoS encircles them while they're suspened in mid air. There is certainly no animation or 'looks' reason for this to be a grounded power. These are spirit sharks, not real sharks, there is not in-game RPG reason for it to be a ground based power. It's not like it's just the top fin and it looks bad if it's not on the ground. It looks great on the ground or in the air.

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Now I dont know if this has been said but the only way to make a MM a more dangerous PvP enemy is, when the MM dies the Minions dont die and get huge Res, Acc and DMG Buffs, makeing players have to deal with the Minions first. Although some might complain about this it really would make PvP moreinteresting then the standard Gangbang that I've experienced with Bodygaurd

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Or, how about giving a rez power to a minion to use on their MM?

Don't post. Very old thread being revived. Bad netiquette. I'm reporting it. Will be locked soon.

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I have found that bodyguard hurts me more then it helps, I won't be using it at all. I'm to fragile as it is being a MM, but then taking part of the dmg my pets take...too much sadly. Plus it only works against single fire powers, AoE shots just multiply the dmg.

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In PvE, I find Bodyguard to be an excellent strategy. But, my secondary is dark, and between the ToHitDebuffs and AoE Heal, I'm able to mitigate and erase damage. I've come to enjoy using Team TP since it clusters all my pets such that a heal of 250 points is multiplied over 8 toons. That's a lot of healing (2,000 hp of healing!). And since Bodyguard spreads damage over the pets, just one group heal erases a whole spawn's worth of alpha strike.

In fact, I was raking the devs over the coals for giving us AoE holds and attacks in the PPP since the MM doesn't want the aggro... but with Bodyguard, I'm happy to take the agro. Now, I'm looking forward to the cone attack.

And in a limited way, Bodyguard does help in PvP. It is a good initial defense. If it's on while traveling (and I've taken Group Fly and Team TP to keep the pets with me when I travel), you're not going to be one- or two-shotted. If you're guarding a position, then it'll take several people to take you down (and if you're in a Pill Box, a whole team). However, Bodyguard is incompatible with attack or chase... you either lose Bodyguard status, or you lose the pets providing Bodyguard, which makes you easy pickings. And if the only thing you can do well in PvP is guard a position... then you're not an effective PvPer.

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They really ought to just build bodygard into supremacy. if your pets have supremacy, then they are automatically in bodyguard mode, whether they are attacking, staying put, sleeping whatever.

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But would still need a 'leash.' A 'you-do-not-leave-supremacy-AoE' button. Otherwise, we'd lose Bodyguard when their AI goes nutty and they take off.

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I have stood there and watched while my pets are in defensive mode as they attack someone who is attacking me.

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So have I. But I've also seen them not attack. Others have seen them not attack. This isn't about your limited experience. Some bugs don't universally show themselves. You are not a help at all.

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My, you are naive. Many of the announced fixes don't actually 'take.' And that was one example of that fact that there had been problems which you don't seem to have ever acknowledge despite having played a MM to 40 on Live while that bug was active. In fact, if you have a level 40 MM, then why do you say...

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Yet, I have never had the problem you have described and neither have many other masterminds I have talked to.
Please flame me some more for pointing out your arguments are not logical and the problems you and a few others are having are not Universal. Keep up the evil devs wont acknowledge they are screwing me and fixes didn't 'take' rants and continue to say I don't know what I am talking about, it really shows your increadable grasp of game mechanics and what testing is for and really helps the devs find out what the actual problem is, if there is one other than your incompetence.

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The fact there are MM players in this very thread that are complaining about AI problems to which the devs have said nothing, or have tried to fix and didn't get right and are still outstanding problems, show that words you type are full of complete and utter ignorance.

When I'm in Bodyguard and I take a hit, and the pets do nothing, there is nothing at fault in me for not controlling my pets. What command should I give them at this point? Follow/Defensive? They're in that state and doing nothing. Attack? Then they're not Bodyguarding.

When I'm in Bodyguard and I take a hit from a flying Blaster and the pets run up the nearest building leaving me unprotected, what is the command I should give them? Follow? They're already on Follow. This is how they 'Follow'... by running up a building away from me. Stay? GoTo [me]? Then they're out of Bodyguard and the next Blaster hit kills me. If I keep spamming Follow/Defensive, then they will stay next to me. But why should I have to spam a command to make them do what I want? And what am I supposed to do about that flying Blaster? Use the seriously gimped Group Fly to go after him? Hah!

It's very simple... you don't know what you're talking about. Stop blaming MMs for not controlling their pets like they should be. Read what other MMs have to say in these forums rather than your supposed 'MM friends.' I'm glad your pets worked 100% perfectly for you and your 'friends.' They aren't for a lot of other players. Got that point yet?

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The referance you posted stated the bug was fixed, meaning there is still a bug and the devs were lying?

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My, you are naive. Many of the announced fixes don't actually 'take.' And that was one example of that fact that there had been problems which you don't seem to have ever acknowledge despite having played a MM to 40 on Live while that bug was active. In fact, if you have a level 40 MM, then why do you say...

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The Masterminds I have talked to that don't have these problems are constantly telling their minions what to do. Basically as or more often as they are using any of their other powers.

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Aren't you a MM yourself? Why do you have to talk to others to find out if there are bugs? You obviously don't read the MM forum or this test forum, e.g.: MM Pets Still Not Fixed. Lots of people posting about their problems, yet, you're going by 'your own experience' and the 'MMs you've talked to.' Is everyone on the forums posting their bugs liars? insane? mental slugs?

You just don't know what you're talking about.

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So what is the response to your bug reports, "We have cocked up the AI on pets please be patient while we find the bug."

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If you knew what you were talking about, and if you read the patch notes, you would see things like...

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• Fixed bug where a Mastermind's pets would sometimes end up under the control of another Mastermind.

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Indicating that pet AI is bugged. So, your premise that us MMs haven't been controlling our pets correctly is idiocy.

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Since Masterminds were introduced there has been the cry, "my minions aren't smart enough." What I think the actual issue is that a lot of people who play masterminds think they just have to tell their minions what to do every so often and they should run around doing exactly what they want them to. If your guys run off chasing someone, you tell them to come back, if they are running of 50 yards down the street and climbing a fire escape to go after someone, you tell them to come back. If you get knocked senseless and can't tell your guys to stay in bodyguard, you pop a break-free and tell them to stay in bodyguard.

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Play one before you tell us that we're simply making things up or are complete idiots in that we don't know how to give commands to our pets. It's the AI that's broken, not the players. No red name has ever responded to our bug reports about disobedient pets with a reply that it's working as intended and we need to control them better.



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In RV I also jumped into one of the big MM tp-foe traps just to see how long I lasted. Had at least 2 gang wars on me plus everying else they had set up. Could have stayed in there forever except their debuffs finally broke through enough to drop Granite.

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Then, obviously, MMs need to be buffed more for PvP... which is what we've been crying about since day one.

My Thug/Dark MM was able to take out an unattended neutral pillbox which was being guarded by four level 54 Boss turrets. However, I was unable to do the same in taking out an unattended hero pillbox which was being guarded by four level 50 Boss turrets. Why are four level 50 turrets doing a significantly larger amount of damage than four level 54 turrets?

BTW... I was the Thug MM dressed as a Longbow with the name "Longbow.".

The disguise saved my life a few times as heroes zoomed past me while I was unprepared for battle.



RV has one thing in which a MM can actually shine... controlling a captured pillbox and repelling invaders. A Pillbox is now my favorite pet.

Thank-you for the update. It's certainly easier, and the best you can do given the circumstance, to say when you know when it won't be Live rather than guess when it will be live.

In the past, the bugginess of an Issue never stopped them from going live with it. And that just doesn't work. Veteran testers can deal and understand the nature of a beta version, the teeming masses of noobs can't. Better to fix it up than release it buggy.

The last patch to Test had a huge amount of fixes, and even with limited play in RV, we see some of those fixes didn't 'take.' That last patch needs testing. There's at least another patch in the works... for the 40-45 content. The 45+ testing really even hasn't begun.

Thank-you for trying to get it right with the Testers who can help make it better rather than throw it out undone and have to deal with huge queues of people waiting for GMs to get things fixed.

Please pass on to the PR department: send a memo to all the fansites in which you gave interviews and press releases and update that I7 will be delayed until June. You don't want them to look bad by advertising incorrect info.

So, very little time to level up to 45.

And even that time left is gobbled up by the special event.

And even that little time left over is gobbled up by Test being down.

And so, there's going to be a special event on the night that X-Men 3 comes out? For fans of the super genre?

Are even the devs running the event going to be there?

Part of the text was cut off:


"These new departments of Paragon's finest have not totally supplanted the street cops who patrol the avenues and walk among the civilians to serve and aid them. Amont the hierarchy of these beat cops on the job are the the Minion Passerbys who wave at new heroes as they're being pounded into the ground by Hellions; the Lieutenant Nellies who run around screaming like little girls with hands in the air; and, the Boss Cowerers that comprise the old SWAT teams who shiver before a Troll threatening to slap them."

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And hey TwilightSinger, you're not the only one who gets the mega-ambushes. Every Mayhem I've done, I've gotten flooded with 10+ enemies at once, and it's often in the actual bank mission, so a Hero is included. I was not running from them, or herding them, nor was I setting off those pawnshop alarms. The ambush last night was 11 strong, unless my counting ability has been stealth-nerfed. And that's just the PPD...there were three Longbow in there as well. That particular shot was taken in a store that did NOT have cameras or red beams.

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You get so many because they want your Items of Power.

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WRT extra key: The key without a waypoint created the clue about the villain in the prison. It came from the mobs (DE in FF) in front of the prison. That mob had a NPC dialogue about that villain being in prison. The other three keys created a waypoint marker and clue and led to the three other side missions.

I've also tried going straight to the prison breakout without picking up a key... and found out you don't need the key.

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WRT the Boss in the prison block: If you immediately do the break out side mission first, you get to kill that boss so that if you are 'arrested' later, you don't have to worry about him. And the villian you break out sometimes is helpful (if not a little buggy right now), especially in rampaging through a parking lot.