Gruppa

Option 1.

I'm so ADD as a gamer I don't just have alt characters I see MMOs as alts. So I rarely get more than one or two characters to max level in any game much less blinged out with the best gear (IOs here) or with badges/titles and stuff.

I have to say though, with CoH, you can really turn a single character into a major project both in terms of min/max and creative content even before one begins thinking about OCD busywork like accolades and badges. It's fairly unique that way unless the other hero MMO does the same thing. I wouldn't know. I only need one supers MMO and CoH/CoV fills the need famously.

Standard missions are no substitute for the sewer teams. Sewers are a great way to just power level a new build up to the point you can get a basic feel for whether this is something you really want to play or not. Regardless of build, experience is pouring in quickly, and you're on a team which adds to the total amount of experience collected. And some builds do better solo while others do need teams to get by, in a reasonable fashion, at starting levels.

I have to wonder, though, if the reason VEAT and HEAT characters aren't popular has less to do with the level requirement and more to do with the lack of customization options, red side, or goofy shapeshift forms, blue side. Those are the reasons I've never bothered with either. I'd rather just create my own character in appearance and power selection from scratch to fit a concept.

I must be doing it wrong because my Merc/Traps MM seems to kick tremendous *** everywhere he goes. I get at least half the kills in teams. I'm hardly ever in danger of getting hurt. I can solo or team easily but while there's there's enough tactical flexibility I don't get bored to tears (see: Robot/FF MM), I don't even have to micromanage much at all unless I want to.

My build tends to focus more on my MM as a damage dealer and an active participant in things. He wades into a fight with Air Superiority, Sands of Mu and the heavy rifle attack. Things bounce. Most of my mercs stick close and don't wander off so they benefit from Superiority (though, yes, I do get wandering medic syndrome sometimes but if he dies I just summon him back, big woop), medic heals, bubble defense, and my own Aid Other.

Taken as a group we're tough as nails.

But, you ask, what about crowd control via Spec Ops and those pesky timers? Just as with everything else. Don't sweat it too much. They're a bonus. I tend to look on them mainly as ways to disrupt an alpha or an ambush, not a way to micromanage an entire encounter with anal retentive, Controller-like, precision. While things are stumbling around or getting tangled up in Spec Ops web grenades I'm setting up my traps on the fly.

The hell with prep time. I don't need no stinkin' prep time aside from what my Spec Ops boys buy for me. I just run into the thick of things and start setting up the fieldworks.

One guy mentioned Spec Ops sniper shots and I think that bears repeating. If you don't want to just rush in on some group tell one of your Spec Ops guys to shoot. Between their stealth and the range on those rifles there's a decent chance you'll get a clean pull. If there's a particular Lt. or Boss that is a particular threat, just "Go To" your stealthed Spec Ops operators next to him and then tell him to "Attack My Target". Odds are the target'll get a riflebutt in the face or some other equally inconvenient disability.

If it's a boss that's perceptive you might want to lob a smoke grenade (temporary power) over there to help your guys out.

Is the Commando stupid? Sure. But hell with it. Don't sweat the details. Just let him do his thing. He's basically your tank (to the extent you're not) and most of the AoE damage he does serves to pull aggro onto him as much or more than it's intended to do serious damage.

Just keep healing him when he's low, assuming you did take Aid Other, and he'll keep doing his job. Heck, throw some damage inspirations his way too.

So between Commando's tanking, Spec Ops somewhat random crowd control and taking a more active combatant approach to pool and primary powers for your MM, Mercs can be very effective in a variety of situations with quite a bit of flexibility.

Is it the best Mastermind Primary? That answer will always depend on what you're trying to do. If the answer is "everything, all of the time" I'd say it's damn close.

I've been sitting on a good name but lacking just the right character to take advantage of it. A DS/Poison would be perfect. Tweak the power color set a bit and it might as well be balefire as poison the MM is dishing out. Debuffing on top of debuffing sounds like a good idea on paper.

So that's where I'm headed I think. We'll see.

I'm no expert on Stalkers but I've got one I enjoy. My mindset in a team is that I'm the equalizer. I watch what the leader's doing then make my own tactical decisions to support the team. Maybe a Lt's a big threat, he goes down first. Maybe it's the boss. He's gone. But I rarely back off to re-Hide unless things are so crazy, special effects and chaos everywhere, that I can't make a good decision. Then I'll hover up over the battle, wait for Hide to kick in, and dive down to make a surgical strike.

So it's really a mix for me. Initial tactical strike. Then pseudo-scrapper mode on anything nearby. Or if the situation is unclear I'll back, not off, but up and assess the battle before making another tactical strike.

But I always try to keep an eye on what the team's doing. Which mobs are anchors for abilities, which ones the Brute's having fun with, who might be in trouble, if there are runners, where nearby spawns are, etc.

I don't talk about it. I just do it. I level the playing field.

Edit: I haven't played a Blaster seriously yet and they may do the same kind of thing. To me it feels like inverse tanking. Instead of trying to get everything attacking me in a big mass, I'm looking for specific targets that are causing specific problems and neutralizing them. It's much more of a team oriented mindset than when I play a Scrapper or Brute.

Here's my dirty DA Tanker trick for dealing with those guys (or any melee types that can hurt me) when soloing: Oppressive Gloom. Seriously. It may be a pain chasing stragglers around but it's better than getting hit and it costs no endurance at all. Once the numbers are thinned and the Lt's and bosses are liquidated turn OG back off and tidy up.

Same trick turns Arachnos into pussycats.

I found I needed to take some personal attacks for concept reasons as well as staving off "Passive Secondary" doldrums. My MM, Gruppa, is Mercs/Traps. And I just need to be in there mixing it up beside my guys or I feel like a weenie not Sgt. Rock.

However, taking all the personal attacks is way overkill. I just took the strongest ranged attack, Air Superiority and Sands of Mu. Taken together, I can finish off damaged targets pretty fast and keep them bouncing while I'm at it.

Along with Heal Other, having personal attacks is a way to keep my guys intact and myself entertained while my traps recharge. I haven't taken Haste yet but I may not. Generally speaking we dish out enough hurt that things die in a timely enough fashion and my traps are recharged in time for the next encounter.

In fact, I have two builds. My main "Assault" build that's heavy on traps and the usual MM/Traps tactics (I let my Spec Ops deal with mob alphas while I leisurely set up my fieldworks). And a "Mobile Infantry" build that is more focused on flexibility and speed and light on static traps.

It's interesting. SWG's also down to two major populated servers. One was designated the Unofficial RP server and the other as the Unofficial PvP server at launch by different groups of players. And you see the same kind of dynamic where each continues to attract different types of folks (or folks who switch between servers depending on what they want to do).

The undifferentiated servers end up gasping for air as their players leave the game or transfer to one of the more specialized, and increasingly populated, servers.

I've tried a couple different MM builds and I'm a pet guy myself. (I prefer to think of them as NPCs but then I'm a roleplay geek). The most fun for me was Mercs. There's just something about having a squad of soldiers running around with assault rifles, smgs and heavy weapons that makes me grin. Maybe I spent too much time with G.I. Joes as a kid or read too many Nick Fury: Agent of Shield/Howling Commandos comics.

I went with Traps as a secondary but I'm not really enjoying the static nature too much. High mobility is more my speed and it helps with villain PUGs where the name of the game is "Follow that Brute!". He ain't slowing down so that I can set up a kill zone.

Still, Traps does have some mobile devices including a force field generator that protects from some nasty status effects while offering a fair defense boost. Then there are drones that will spot the badguys and keep them off balance, messing with their alpha strike, until you get your attack underway.

I'll probably respec and throw more points into my main power set and pool powers while getting rid of static Traps powers. Part of the fun of being G. I. Joe or Nick Fury is shooting your gun and launching grenades! The heck with strategy guides.

My MM on Virtue is Gruppa. My main character is Cornelius Harm.

48 here. I was roleplaying online on BBSes before there was much of an internet. Before that, tabletop RPGs where people rolled dice. I was around for white box D&D, Star Wars and Pong. Little did I know where all of that geek culture would end up. There are more WoW players than agricultural farmers in the US alone. Sci fi and fantasy movies are the hugest grossing films.

Man, did things get cool or what?

My experience is very limited with tanks, even though my main is one, so take it with a grain of salt. I'm a recent returnee who's just getting back up to speed.

I've done what others have already suggested and developed two builds. One is for teams where simply taunting and being a damage sponge is essential. One, which I call the fun one, is for soloing or small group tanking and trades in taunt, and reshuffles other powers, to focus on DPS and flexibility.

Why a tank? Concept. I wanted to create a mystic's bodyguard. Gauntlet and the generally improved survivability of a Tank fit the bill. How is it that I don't just have one build if Taunt can easily be fit into any build? Why two? Well, my Tank is Dark Armor/Dual Blade. Between the DB's combos, not all of which are essentially but I count on three as bread and butter, DA's essential auras/heal and then necessary pool and patron (Energy Mastery) powers...that's a very, very, tight build.

On a team I usually have support so endurance consumption isn't an issue. I don't need some of my endurance building abilities and can trade them for more team-friendly powers like Taunt and staples like the Tough and Weave. When soloing I need all the tools I can muster to compensate for the build's inherent weaknesses (endurance hog and accuracy issues). It pays off but it comes at a price.

I won't pretend the build is uber but it is fun and that's why I'm here. I can tank fairly respectably on my team build when I have to or off-tank and AoE DPS like a (stylish) madman on the fun build when I can.

It comes down to concept.

Nice video Dechs. And an excellent choice of soundtrack (especially "Just Like You" - haven't heard that since I was a kid!).

That's a very useful way of structuring tactical thinking. I primarily play a MM but, and this can be true of any character, the build is atypical so it doesn't neatly fit assumptions. The role I generally fill is sweeper and sometimes frontliner. Since my guy is built for offense with few secondaries I find myself taking out very tough targets (pinning them down with Air Superiority, focusing fire from my lads, and alternating with primary attacks) as quickly as anyone but a juiced up Brute. Picked up "Tank Buster" tonight as a matter of fact. If I get hit I get hurt but with a good team it's usually not that often or that serious.

With Brutes around or very effective Corruptors, I'll take more of a supporting fire role. Picking off strays and bodyguarding my fellow squishies.

You should check your sources better.

The Library of Economy and Liberty is an arm of The Liberty Fund. The Liberty Fund is a foundation put together by Pierre Goodrich, Jr to promote and propagate libertarian ideals. Not a bad thing, mind you, but hardly an unbiased source.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism

Now here we see a more complex view of socialism that includes the origins and views of Goodrich's factors but also the richer complexities of the philosophy. Both benevolent and malevolent.

They say about the Nazis.

[ QUOTE ]
The German Nazis ("National Socialists") used the word "socialist" in their official name, but most scholars argue that this was done purely for propaganda purposes and that they tended to adopt either a pro-worker or pro-business line depending on the given audience. The Nazis did demand some nationalization of big industries and land reform before their rise to power. However, once in power, they allowed (friendly) capitalists to thrive while liquidating socialists everywhere (including from within their own party in the Night of the Long Knives). Socialists reject the racialist theories and totalitarianism of the Nazis, while Nazis rejected the internationalism, egalitarianism and social class-oriented perspective of the socialists. (See: Nazism and Socialism).

[/ QUOTE ]

And there you have it.

Here are some good resources for roleplaying with these themes:

GURPS World War II: Weird War II
Cuts to the chase. All the superheroistic ruminations you could want and more about the occult and supernatural, secret superscience, grand conspiracies and implications for modern era campaigns.

GURPS WWII, Iron Cross
For all those German supersoldiers that were in the war. This is what it was like written from a perspective useful for roleplayers. Also see "Dog Faces" for the U.S. perspective, "All The Kings Men" for the British, "Grim Legions" for the Italians, and "Surrender Monkeys" for the French. I kid, I kid. "Return to Honor" for the French. You'll be surprised just how tough they were. Also "Hand of Steel" for a brief look at commandos.

The Oxford Companion to World War II
Covers everything from politics to economics to science to individual battles and campaigns in organized as a small encyclopedia). This is just good general information and a great primer so you can quickly, authoritatively, fact check grandiose historical claims made on internet forums. A good rule of thumb is that people who use the word revisionist are the revisionists. It's a red flag holds up well historically and in contemporary politics.

The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II
Not so useful here but listed for completeness sake.

MacDonald's Great Battles of World War II
Ditto. Both this and the Encyclopedia offer wonderfully helpful visuals along with casual historian friendly text and context.

But the real ugly underbelly of what Nazism was about and why much of society gleefully participated, and just who (the working class, small business or big industry) was most helpful to Hitler is covered in great detail the authoritative study, "12-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany" by Richard Grunberger.

This is more for those seriously interested in the subject than casual roleplayers but, things being the way they are, it'd likely open eyes in quite a big way. When I studied this in college I went from thinking about Nazis as cartoon villains to a serious lesson and earnest warning about the nature of power and propaganda. Remember, the Germans voted the Nazis into power.

Luddites are teh funnay! <Paraphrased>

One friar was ranting about the evils of technology with his followers sitting at his feet, "What has science brought us?! Pollution! Alienation! Industrialization! The Crusades!"

I actually stopped midstride to digest what I'd just heard...paused...

"Err, scratch that last one," noted the friar.

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There's an even better one, over by the wood mill near Boris The Russian's peir. I just can't remember it perfectly right now but I had to page friends and tell them about it. But these Luddites are beating on the wall of the huge building and one of them says something like, "Enough with direct action campaigns, let's break through and smash everything!" but funnier. Maybe someone else will remember more clearly.