Chill_Out

Demons/Dark or Robots/Time. Both are beyond hax.

Essentially, any combination of Demons, Robots, or Thugs with your choice of Time or Dark. Traps also.

If you solo AVs/GMs, you want either Dark, Traps or Robots in the mix for -Regen.

Very welcome, and Welcome to Paragon City!

Here's a data chunk:

http://www.cohplanner.com/mids/downl...99F90778A8CA3F

And a build:

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.956
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Demon Summoning
Secondary Power Set: Force Field
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Summon Demonlings -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(3), Dmg-I(3), Dmg-I(7), EndRdx-I(9)
Level 1: Force Bolt -- Acc-I(A), KBDist-I(42), RechRdx-I(42), EndRdx-I(43)
Level 2: Deflection Shield -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(9), DefBuff-I(15)
Level 4: Aid Other -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(11), EndRdx-I(11), RechRdx-I(13), IntRdx-I(13)
Level 6: Enchant Demon -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 8: Hover -- DefBuff-I(A), Flight-I(50)
Level 10: Insulation Shield -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(15), DefBuff-I(17)
Level 12: Summon Demons -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(17), Dmg-I(19), Dmg-I(19), EndRdx-I(21), ResDam-I(21)
Level 14: Aid Self -- Heal-I(A), Heal-I(23), RechRdx-I(23), EndRdx-I(43), IntRdx-I(43)
Level 16: Personal Force Field -- RechRdx-I(A)
Level 18: Hell on Earth -- SCotMastermind-Rchg/PetAoEDef(A), EdctM'r-PetDef(25), C'Arms-+Def(Pets)(25), ExRmnt-+Res(Pets)(27), SvgnRt-PetResDam(27)
Level 20: Dispersion Bubble -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(29), DefBuff-I(29), EndRdx-I(31), EndRdx-I(31)
Level 22: Maneuvers -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(31), DefBuff-I(33), EndRdx-I(33), EndRdx-I(50)
Level 24: Corruption -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(33), Dmg-I(34), Dmg-I(34), EndRdx-I(34), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 26: Summon Demon Prince -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(36), Dmg-I(36), Dmg-I(36), EndRdx-I(37), EndRdx-I(37)
Level 28: Fly -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 30: Tactics -- ToHit-I(A), ToHit-I(37), EndRdx-I(39), EndRdx-I(39)
Level 32: Abyssal Empowerment -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 35: Scorpion Shield -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(39), DefBuff-I(40), EndRdx-I(40), EndRdx-I(40)
Level 38: Force Bubble -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(42)
Level 41: Power Boost -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(48)
Level 44: Crack Whip -- Acc-I(A), Acc-I(45), Dmg-I(45), Dmg-I(45), EndRdx-I(46), RechRdx-I(46)
Level 47: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A), EndRdx-I(48)
Level 49: Afterburner -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(50)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Supremacy
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 4: Swift -- Flight-I(A)
Level 4: Health -- Mrcl-Rcvry+(A), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+(5)
Level 4: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 4: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(5), EndMod-I(7), P'Shift-End%(48)
------------

Its not a pricey build. You can get the Numina's and Miracle IO uniques in Health from simply running some tips. I consider them valuable and it summs up most of my END woes for my FFers. As an MM, don't spam your attacks, you don't need to, but use them often enough to keep the -Res on hard targets. On the rif raf, don't bother unless you want to stay active for the fun of it (which I do).

I put in Dispersion Bubble, which you were lacking - its 11% defense for you AND your demons, and offers some pretty decent status protection as well vs. holds, stuns and immobs. Its a cornerstone power.

I got rid of Repulsion Field. Trust me. if you want area denial, you have Force Bubble.

I personally advise using Hell on Earth as a set mule for all the MM pet uniques - which total to +10 Defense vs. all, ANOTHER +15 Defense vs. AoE (that puts your pets at incarnate cap vs. aoes, very nice), and +20% resists.

If the new ATO sets which are pending are released, I'd put the next ATO IO here as well (currently it is ANOTHER +10% resist and +regen for pets). HoE's little imps are not up often enough and are rather frail that you are IMO, better off slotting your pets well, and turning HoE into a set mule to make the regular pets even tougher.

Most of the Pet IOs are not terribly expensive (2-8 million if you are patient), and you can always use Merits or Tips to purchase them, too. They are well worth it.

You can always toss a -Knockback IO into Hover when you wish, but since you don't need to tankermind with this build, its not a big priority, just a 'nice to have'.

The Demons eat Endurance, so I slotted them well. If you ever IO them one day, be warned that -END in pet damage IOs doesn't affect the Prince's slow-based attacks, so you may need to franken slot him with some slow IOs that have -END to get him under control. There are some good posts in this forum on that if you dig down.

I like to use Afterburner, not only for quick travel, but to alternate with Pers. Force Field to boost my defenses, since PFF is on a long timer. I do that frequently on certain Trials (warehouse in Lambda) or when coming under fire and I want to Aid Self. Both are available to you, and essentially do the same thing (boost you toward the def. cap and over).

Fly was overslotted. I believe you hit the fly speed cap on merely Swift+base Fly (until you use Afterburner, of course). Hover is already pretty fast for indoor content.

Just my way of doing things. Food for thought.

Hope you enjoy your mastermind, you'll have very tough pets, you will also not be squishy yourself, and you bring solid damage, some decent -resist and some controls, to the table.

I also see way too much END reduction on toggles, travel, etc. Even using your attacks, you shouldn't have much END problems with FF.

Yes, my 53 bots/FF is incarnated, but I didn't go for Cardiac or Ageless or other end-reducing incarnate powers, because I didn't need it.

I also see you didn't take dispersion bubble, its a mandatory power and one of the good ones from FF.

Also, you have Repulsion Field (Worthless END-beast), and I advise against taking it. Force Bubble is similar enough, and doesn't kill your END bar by half.

If I can, I'll post a quick build.

Very quickly, on regular SOs, I'd recommend going with the Mace patron power pool - it gives you some extra defense, has a very nice AoE immobilize (and a single target hold if you want it) - and most importantly, power build up so you can crank your shield buffs up to ~25% defense. Add in Maneuvers and Dispersion Bubble and your demons sit about 40% defense to all. Very sweet.

Heat Epic Pool is okay, but doesn't lend much. Mace will make your damage-dealing demons that much tougher.

Self duplication, like multiple man. A comic staple.

One of mine as well, welcome to the Dark + Sonic club Wonderfully versatile, great solo, awesome in teams.

+1

While I wouldn't sneer at a FF upgrade, see my tagline

I would take Cold for my bots. Oh, so very delicious.

Maybe porting over Cold would also prompt them to give FF the 'Gravity Control' treatment, and update it for the modern game, as well.

/hope springs eternal

From what I can tell from feedback and my own experience:

Staff - decent single target, very good area of effect damage

Street Justice - better single target, not as robust aoe damage (vs. staff).

Staff also offers +Defense, and I'd say is slightly more defensive, where StJ is more offensive.

Both are good, neither is better. Both go well with Ninjutsu (I have a 44 StJ/Nin and I'm leveling a 23 Staff/Nin, as well). If you care, you will have some redraw with staff, but its fairly negligible.

I've been playing masterminds since the launch of com. If I just ran regular.instances and solo missions id be okay, but its terribly frustrating to run trials and task forces on top of the already existing pet behaviors. So much so that I have shelved my main mm characters. Even more frustrating is the lack of rrresponse by the devs to pet feedback since iss ue 19.

Not sure if I'm misunderstanding your question, but Evade has an AoE taunt aura (mag 4, 1.0 second duration) that can be enhanced (at least in Mids) with generic IO taunt enhancers, like Willpower's.

Without considering secondaries (which is hard, as they can really synergize well with the right primary), here's my take:

Tied for 1st - Robots (+def for pets AND mastermind, awesome AoE, -regen, solid resists and status protection, pet heals, pets *tend* to stay at range, which is marginally helpful)

Tied for 1st - Demons (+resist for pets AND mastermind, pet heals, -resist debuffs, very robust Prince, nice mix of AoE and ST damage, work equally at well at range or melee, so pet AI compliments well, nice mix of damage types, very strong base resists, some controls as well)

2nd place - Thugs - the damage, even though mostly lethal, is excellent. Pets self buff nicely. Bruiser can be useful in melee with the right buffs.

3rd place - Necro - good ST damage, very nice controls, lots of debuffs. They melt under Longbow (lethal/fire), and they work best if they get the jump on their enemies first so they can debuff. GKnights sword attacks hit hard. Low resists and no native defense hurt them though. I do like that they are immune to slows, though.

4th place - Beasts - good mix of resists and defense, but attacks are infrequently chained, and the cone aoes are limited effectiveness at close quarters. Lethal damage hurts end-game, though some of the cold damage is welcome.

5th place - Mercs - lethal damage, narrow cones, slow recharges, a worthless buff in serum and mediocre protection puts them in the realm of mediocrity.

6th place - Ninjas. Taken on their own (without secondary), they are fodder for the grist mill. Woeful defense, broken Oni damage chain, heavy on lethal damage, useless stealth crits and a not-as-awesome-as-it-sounds Smoke Bomb. They need help.

Now, if someone cares, my best recommended Primary/Secondary combos are:

Bots/Time (if you like to stay busy and have lots of control and tools)
Bots/FF (for being able to focus on the battle and your own attacks and tough, tough pets)
Demons/FF (for again focusing on your whip attacks and toughest pets)
Ninja/Time (your high octane damage dealers can now survive, hurray!)
Necro/Dark (the stalker of MMs, you can ambush like a ****, but unplanned shenanigans can hurt).
Thugs/Pain (painbringer on Bruiser who tanks instead of you tankerminding, rest of minions can focus the damage while you keep everyone topped off)

I have stopped playing my masterminds as of this last AI bug. It is just not enjoyable on trials or TFs to have to deal with the pets. Which is a shame, since MMs are my favorite AT.

Unless it was changed, most of demon prince's powers do not benefit from endurance reduction from blood mandate, only endredux from slow sets (as his attacks have slows), and hammi-Os, IOs and regular enhancers (ie, SOs).

Ps, I put all five pet ios in hell on earth, myself.

I run with:
3 nucleolus exposures in each pet power. Gets act and dam up near cap.
1 bm dam/end and imo. Swift. % smashing dam in prince. Also 50 endred io.
2 ribosome exp in demons and 1 golgi.
1 bm act/dam/end, 1 endred io in demonlings.

This addresses end issues for all poweres pets use, keeps acc/dam high and boosts peripheral traits.

For Sonic I'd only go with Bots or Demons.

For FF, I'd go with sets that offer attacks you enjoy (like Demons or Beast), because you have time to actually do other stuff. Any set that offers base Def for pets is nice cause it stacks (Demons get high resists, which is also good)

FF+AoE ATO IO+Rebirth means never having to say goodbye to any pets.