The Robots Mastermind: how to be awesome
Let's face it: you want to be awesome. Everyone does. We don't plunk down $15 a month to be average. We want people to look at us and say, "Wow, that person sure is awesome!" Well, I've played every AT in the game and I can tell you that there's only one surefire way to be awesome: a Robotics Mastermind.
Now, there are other strong ATs out there. Brutes and Scrappers can deal massive damage and be indestructible as well. Peacebringers are versatile and fun. Blasters can obliterate entire spawns, and Warshades... uh... have cool looking powers. But none of these have what a robot MM has... a team of Deadly Robots. Robots that shred huge groups in seconds, eat +2 EBs for breakfast, even take down AVs... and look extremely cool doing so.
Why other Masterminds suck:
OK, I'm exaggerating. Any well made MM can be quite powerful. However, only robots can be an Unstoppable Engine of Destruction, _and_ be awesome at the same time.
Necromancy: I wanted to like Necro. I really did. . I ran a Necro MM in Beta, then tried it again a few months back, and just wasn't thrilled either time.
The undead do have a definite cool factor to them. Grave Knights look badass, and the Lich is sweet looking too. The basic zombies look kinda blah... until they hork pea soup over your foes. Pea soup... OF DOOM!!! However, coolness aside, the Necro set suffers from lackluster performance.
First the good points. The Grave Knights deal huge damage with their Tuning Forks of Doom. The personal attacks all debuff accuracy, good if you are being attacked yourself. Soul Extraction is a great way to turn around a losing battle. Most of the damage is Negative and Toxic, which isn't resisted much.
On the downside.. the AI. To be blunt, it sucks. The zombies will run everywhere except where you want them, aggroing other groups. They will endlessly chase a foe to melee even when a ranged attack is ready. The zombie's attacks do about as much damage as a moist rag. And although the Lich is a good control pet, it does almost no damage. A top level pet should kick butt, not debuff.
Ninjas: another set with a cool vibe to them. I mean... they're _ninjas_. What's cooler than that? (except robots!) However, although I haven't played them, I've heard many tales of poor AI and paper-thin defenses.
Mercs: these guys kick [censored]. Strong damage, all done at range, plus a splash of healing and debuff. The only downside is that the damage is all Lethal, which is resisted often.
However, in a four-color world, they don't cut it. Let's face it, what role does the military have in comics? Cannon fodder. Some Big Baddie arrives, the army arrives and fires their puny weapons for half a page without even denting it. All they do is establish that the Mighty Hero is needed.
(Aside: I realize that comics about "Our Fighting Forces" were a vital part of the Golden Age. However, these were not superhero comics, and they generally sputtered out after WWII.)
Thugs: another [censored]-kicking choice. Strong damage, at range, plus self-buffs. Only real downside is the Lethal damage, and the scattering caused by the bruiser's hand clap. They look cool too: tats, leather, the bruiser cruising in on a hog. Good stuff.
But, once again, what place do thugs have in a four-color world? Cannon fodder. Usually not even good cannon fodder. The hero is chatting up some chick when he sees a stickup, then mops up the thugs with zero effort. Their only purpose is to allow the hero to pass of some witty one-liners. Thugs are a credible threat in some 'gritty' titles- some runs of Batman come to mind- but still, does Batman ever lose?
Conclusion: only robots can kick [censored] and be cool at the same time.
The powers:
Pulse Rifle Blast: this damage from this is tiny. It's like a ranged Brawl. On the other hand, you can customize the look of your Pulse Rifle now, so if you find a look that accentuates your coolness, go for it.
Slotting: eh. Not really worth it. You might do a decent bit of damage if you proc it up, tho.
Battle Drones: this summons robots. Robots are good.
Slotting: 3 damage and 3 accuracy. Yes, 3 accuracy. When you summon 3 drones at level 18, they will be two levels below you. For them to consistently his +3 mobs (which you can do, because you're awesome) you'll need all the +acc you can get.
Pulse Rifle Burst: this does a decent bit of damage, but due to the slow recharge you won't be kickin' [censored] with it. It does have a good chance of knocking down the target, so it can be useful as a defensive power. Plus... coolness.
Slotting: eh.
Equip Robot: makes your robots more awesome. Take this at 6.
Slotting: 1 recharge or endredux.
Photon Grenade: wow! A ranged AoE disorient!
(checking Redtomax)
...a 30% chance of a mag 2 disorient for 6 seconds.
Uh... no.
Protector Bots: this give you more robots, making you more awesome.
Slotting: this is a matter of choice. For an all-out offensive build, go with 3 damage, 2 accuracy, and 1 disorient. To play more defensively, slot in 2 defense, 2 heal, 1 accuracy, and 1 disorient. Feel free to mix and match until you find something you like. I should mention that, when you get Upgrade at 32, the Protectors will run low on endurance due to throwing Seeker Drones and Photon Grenades on top of attacking, healing, and bubbling. This can be fixed by adding an endredux. I found that swapping out a damage for a damage/endredux from a set works well enough.
Repair: this is a maybe. If your secondary has a strong heal, skip this. If not, it's a choice between Repair and the Medicine pool.
Slotting: 3 recharge. Repair has an insanely long recharge. If you can't spare the slots, don't take it.
Assault Bot: you are now godlike.
Slotting: 3 damage, 1-2 accuracy. If you can afford it, add the defense and resistance aura globals.
Upgrade Robot: you are now REALLY godlike.
Slotting: 1-2 recharge, 1-2 endredux.
What secondary should I choose?
I'm gonna catch some flak for saying this, but... choose whatever secondary fits your character concept the best. Although the secondaries are a bit uneven, none are flat-out bad.
Poison: a nice mix of debuffs and holds, plus a heal, buff, and rez. (you can't rez a robot, tho.) Might be difficult to fit in thematically, but I'm sure some of the more creative players can find a way.
Trick Arrow: loads of holds and debuffs, hampered by some minor bugs and No Heal. Again, might be a challenge to fit with your character concept.
Force Field: provides strong protection for you, your pets and your teammates, but no heal or debuffs.
Storm (coming in I12): This could be interesting. Plenty of debuffs, a heal, plus the mighty Lightning Storm. However, unless they change it, you'll have to take the craptastic Gale at level 1.
Traps: my first MM used traps. Traps is hands-down the most uneven MM secondary: some powers are very good, and some are very bad. I'll post a quickie guide to Traps later.
Dark: my current MM uses this, and I like it a lot. It has one clunker of a power, Black Hole, but the rest are all good. I'll post a quickie guide to Dark later too.
Pool powers:
Fitness: masterminds are perhaps the only AT that can easily skip the Fitness pool. (maybe defenders can, I dunno). If you don't have Leadership, and you don't spam Pulse Rifle attacks, you should have no end problems at all. However, Leadership is very worth taking (see below), but it guzzles end, which might make Stamina useful after all.
Leadership: if you can spare the slots and end, go for it. Assault and Tactics are must haves; Maneuvers isn't as big a boost, but still good if you can shoehorn it in. You can't Vengeance off a dead robot, but if you team a lot, it's a good way to turn around a fight that's going bad.
Speed: MMs have very little use for Hasten, although some take it with just one slot to speed the summoning process. I don't recommend Super Speed for a villain. Unlike Paragon City, the Rogue Isles are not friendly to the vertically challenged.
Leaping: my favorite travel pool. Combat Jumping gives you a bit of defense, and Super Jump is fast. Don't bother with Acrobatics; you won't be knocked down much, and when you are, it's barely an inconvenience.
Teleport: having taken a Warshade to 50, I can tell you that Teleportation is a fast and convenient travel power... once you have Stamina. (hint: keybinds are your friend). Recall Friend helps you get teammates together, and grab a stranded bot. I haven't found Teleport Foe useful, although some Traps players swear by it.
Flight: Hover gives you defense and keeps you out of melee range, while Flight is the best way to get around Grandville.
Patron Powers
Mastermind patron powers consist of a smash/lethal shield, an AoE immob, and AoE DoT, and a single target ranged hold. In my opinion, the shield is worth taking, the AoEs are crap, and the hold is good but not worth taking a crap power to get. (although the animation on Ghost Widow's hold is extremely cool). Again, take the set that fits your character concept the best.
You are now awesome!
