-
Posts
943 -
Joined
Under the Hood: Pet SlottingTime for a new series of articles, this time on slotting powers. Today I'll be discussing how to slot Pet powers. Now the game internally treats LOTS of effects like pets, but I'll be sticking to the traditional pets that follow you around and attack your enemies. This includes Controller and Dominator pets (Animate Stone, Fire Imps, Singularity, Jack Frost, Phantom Army, Phantasm, and Fly Trap), Mastermind Henchmen (lots), special Henchmen (Gang War and Soul Extraction), Villain Patron Pets (Arachnos and Coralax), Peacebringer Photon Seekers, Warshade Dark Extraction, and Arachnos Soldier pets (Spiderlings and Disruptors). I'll go over the basics of what you want to slot, add some extra tricks about what you can slot, and I'll put it all together with a few examples. One of the biggest differences between pets is how often you summon them. Most Controller and Dominator pets are persistent pets, so they'll stay around forever. You only need to re-summon them when you go to another zone. For them, you generally don't need to slot them for Recharge, though you can in case you're particularly rough on them. Slotting for Recharge will not improve the recharge on the powers that your pet uses. Mastermind Henchmen are in the middle. You'd often like to slot them for Recharge, but you can't directly. They don't allow Recharge Reduction Enhancements, and the normal Pet IO sets don't include Recharge. For the rest of the pets, you usually want a lot of Recharge Reduction. They're balanced by being strong but having a long Recharge compared to their duration, so they are more effective if you have them around more often. Phantom Army falls into this class because it has a short duration. Next is Accuracy. Controller and Dominator pets are summoned at the level of the caster except for Fire Imps which are one level below. Mastermind Henchmen are even level, -1, or -2 depending on whether you summon 1, 2, or 3 of them. If you regularly fight higher level mobs, you'll need to take that into account. Pets have a 75% base chance ToHit, just like characters. Slot even level pets like you would your own attacks, and add a bit more Accuracy if you have -1 or -2 pets. Most pets exist to do damage, so you usually want to slot them around the ED damage soft cap of 95%. But there are many other effects that you may want to balance with damage. Singularity uses lots of Control powers, so it may be worthwhile to slot it for those. The middle tier Mastermind Henchmen usually have powers worth slotting for other effects, like heals, buffs, or debuffs. The last general concern is Endurance. Slotting for END Reduction will reduce both the cost to summon a pet and the cost of the powers that the pet uses. Only Masterminds tend to worry about the END cost to summon pets, as they summon and upgrade all of their pets at the start of a mission. Pets usually don't run out of END just by using their powers, but I hear Protector Bots from Robotics Masterminds are an exception. That's the basics of what you want to slot. Now let's look at what you can slot. Obviously there are TOs, DO, SOs, and common IOs. You can certainly start with those, but eventually you'll want to work up to Pet IO sets because they provide higher total Enhancement bonuses. These include various combinations of Accuracy, Damage, and Endurance. There are also unique IOs in these sets to grant pets Taunt and Placate Resistance (fairly useless), Defense (5% within 20 feet), and Damage Resistance (10% within 20 feet). The set IO bonuses on the regular Pet sets are underwhelming, so you're better off picking IOs based on their Enhancement values. | There are two new Recharge Intensive Pet IO sets that contain combinations of Accuracy, Damage, Recharge, and a little END Reduction, with their own Defense and Resistance IOs. Most of the set IO bonuses for these are underwhelming as well, except the 6.25% Recharge Reduction they both provide for having 4 IOs in a set. Finally there is the purple Pet set that looks like the Recharge Intensive ones, though it has a Chance for Build Up proc. You can slot all of these wherever you want except that the recharge Intensive IOs can't go in regular Mastermind Henchman powers. Note that the purple Build Up proc only affects the pet it is slotted into, but all of the other unique Enhancements count as set bonuses for you that affect all of your pets. As set bonuses, the unique IOs should still work when you exemp if the IOs are low level as well. You can slot other set IOs in pets as well, though mainly the regular Mastermind Henchmen. They often accept Knockback or various Debuff sets. What about the procs in those sets, like Force Feedback: Chance for +Recharge, or Achilles Heal: Chance for Res Debuff? From what I understand, those IOs work for the pet they are slotted in, but they can have some strange effects. I heard that Phantasms slotted with the Force Feedback proc love to go into melee range. If anyone ever tests Force Feedback: Chance for +Recharge or damage procs on various pets, I'd love to hear the results. For the wealthy high level char, Hamidon Origin Enhancements are worth considering. Nucleolus (Acc/Dam) Enhancements improve Accuracy and Damage by a decent amount for a single slot. You can improve all of the Mezz effects of Pets by using Endoplasm (Acc/Mezz) or Peroxisome (Dam/Mezz) HOs. Membranes (Defense and ToHit Buff/Rech) can be used on Thug Enforcers and Protector Bots to improve their Recharge. Lysomes (Acc/ToHit & Defense Debuff) are fairly cheap and easy to get, and useful on Necromancy or similar pets with ToHit debuffs. Now let's see what we can do... A Thugs/Traps Mastermind can slot their Enforcer with 2 Defense IOs at level 50, and the Maneuvers from two Enforcers will give all of the Thugs 25% Defense. Add a Force Field Generator for another 15% Defense. Top it off with one of the unique Defense IOs and the Thugs will have soft capped Defense of 45%. As long as they all stay close together, those Thugs are VERY hard to hurt. The same strategy likely works with Ninjas, Force Fields, and even Dark Miasma with ToHit debuffs. A Singularity with a Nucleolus, Endoplasm, and two Peroxisome HOs has a solid Accuracy bonus, plus ED capped Damage and Mezz Enhancements. Three Nucleolus HOs give ED capped Accuracy and Damage in just 3 slots to any pet, leaving 3 slots for anything else you want to squeeze in. Slot both unique Resistance IOs from the regular and Recharge Intensive IO sets to pets with high Resistance (Singularity or Animate Stone), and those pets will be even harder to kill. What have I missed? Probably a lot. Dark Servant from the Dark Miasma set seems like a regular pet, except that you can't slot it with any pet IO sets or even damage. Gun Drone from Blaster Devices only accepts Ranged IO sets, but otherwise it acts like a pet. If you know of any other interesting pet slotting tactics, let me know! |
The People On... | SM: So is the government in the wrong? PE: The government should calm down and not be so paranoid. They're worried that if they don't have someone on file they have no control over them. If a hero blows up a building because there's a bomb in it, they need to know who to blame. If that person is a "vigilante" then they can blame them and label them a villain, all the while claiming Longbow or some licensed hero saved the civilians. If the government could police crime, they wouldn't need heroes. They should be thanking them, not slapping rules on them. SM: I'm kind of surprised you think this way as an Arachnos soldier. PE: Look, I'm practically in an army. I chose this. The only reason we're registered in the Isles is because we go to jail. No one cares about our loved ones or family unless they have a vendetta. We want to be known so we can get credit. Just because I live in this environment doesn't mean I don't have opinions about my enemies. SM: I see. That's a very interesting point of view there. PE: I calls'em as I sees'em. SM: Thank you for speaking with me. PE: Whatever. I hate to admit it, but I think our Arachnos friend here is right. The government shouldn't put restrictions on the people who save them for free out of the kindness of their hearts. Unless the person does something genuinely bad or unwholesome, they shouldn't be punished for it. His comment about more government involvement in the first place also brings up a good point. Why does the government want them to register other than having someone to blame and punish? What is the point? I'll keep digging to get the scoop! A Villain ChristmasHey all, Hostile V here. Sorry for dodging the last few issues; I've been learning from ancient monks to hone my focus and ideas. And I sincerely hope to post more in the New Year. Until then, please enjoy this little holiday poem. Christmas in Etoile There's rubble's lying in the street, The people look dog-tired and beat, But it's a special time of year, A time for fun and joy, not fear. Now everyone from Snake to Tsoo, Crey, Family, Spiders, Rikti too, Can't help feeling different in these days. (Alas, it just ain't here to stay) Just think: this time of year is fleeting, You've a bigger mission that needs completing, By honoring all of those you love, Or hate, or loathe (All of the above?) So get a tree from the DE, Tape holiday films from the TV, Sling Arachnoid webbing 'round the tree, Plug in new lights from Dr. Æ. Hang up the masks and capes and cowls, Tuck away the sneers and scowls, Relax with family, minions, friends, And enjoy it 'til the season ends. Let's celebrate and deck the halls, Find a hero, make him bawl, Loot everything from house to mall, It's Christmas in Etoile. ![]() |
Get Involved!Events and You!At this point, we've talked about community groups and global chat channels. Hopefully, by now, you're aware that the forums are a wonderful resource to turn to when you're looking for ways to get involved! Also, you should have at least a few friends, whether they're people you chat with on a regular basis or people you team with every night or members of your super group or villain group. Well, that's all you need! This time we're talking about events! That's right, events! You know the Player Events section on the forums? Well, this is what it's for! An event can be anything, anything at all! If you want to give out prizes (and have the wherewithal to do so!) you might want to do a costume contest or PvP tournament or a trivia contest; if you don't want to give out prizes, what about hosting a themed Task Force or a dance party to show off your super group's awesome base? To host an event by yourself, first you need to decide what kind of event you want to do. Do you want to run one specific event or multiple events? You could combine events, like costume contests, relay races, and trivia contests, and have a party in Atlas or Pocket D, or you could decide to do an All-Scrapper Sister Psyche Task Force or an All-Blaster Positron Task Force or a Cartoon Character-themed Imperious Task Force and make the Task Force itself the whole event! You'll want to be as familiar as possible with the event or events you choose, and if you do choose multiple events, you may want to ask your friends for some help. The possibilities for in game events are nearly limitless. Once you decide what kind of event you want to do, you'll need to figure out if you need prizes or not, and where you'll get the prizes from. If you're in a super group or villain group, you can approach your group leader with your event idea and ask if it can be sponsored by the group. This is a great way to get a few extra hands to help, and to get assistance with prizes. When choosing a date and time for your event, there are a few things to keep in mind. You want to plan the event with enough time in advance to get the word out to people, and you also want to choose a day and time when people will be in game and looking for something to do. Weekends are better than weekdays, most of the time, and after 7 is usually the most active time. You also want to make sure no other big events are going on on your server on the date and time you want-not only can other events draw attention away from yours, you don't want to be rude and try to steal someone else's spotlight. Unless it's an event where people will be getting experience points, never run an event on double experience weekend! | Once you know exactly what you'll be doing-what kind of event you want, what prizes will be distributed, and a date and time-you can post it in the Player Events section of the forums! Make sure you post the server and location of the event so that people can find you, and if you're doing a Task Force, it's a good idea to ask people to sign up in advance with their global name, toon name, level, archetype, etc. Post in the thread and let everyone know when the team is full or keep an updated list of people on the team in the thread, and make sure to sign on a few alternate players in case someone doesn't make it. Post the event in the Events section and in your server section for maximum exposure, and keep people updated on any changes by posting them in the same thread! Read the stickied thread on posting events in the Events section-it is extremely informative and invaluable to people who are just starting out as hosts/hostesses. For more free publicity (yes that's right, free publicity!) try contacting CoH/CoV fan sites or online radio stations. Sometimes they'll post your event on their site or allow you to record a brief commercial about it to play on the air. The more people who know about your event, the better the chances that you'll get a great turnout! When the day comes for your event, you'll want to log on and be in position early-really early. It's never good for a host or hostess to be late to their own party! If the event is in a zone, you may want to announce it on broadcast several times prior to the event's start, and keep people updated on what is going on-for example, twenty minutes before a costume contest, broadcast something like "Costume Contest under Atlas in 20 minutes! The theme is Silver Age Costumes! First Prize is 3 million influence!" You may want to repeat the broadcast at 10 minutes to start and 5 minutes to start, as well as use the broadcast channel to announce the winners so that there can be no doubt. If your event is a Task Force, be ready at the contact to start inviting people who have signed up to your team, and make sure everyone is clear on the length of time the Task Force requires. You may also want to make sure (if it's not an All-Specific-Archetype Task Force) that you don't get four tanks and three blasters and a scrapper. Sometimes people will switch to alts if you ask nicely and if they understand the need. Remember to be friendly and polite to the players who come to your events, and be prepared to answer questions about any rules you may have and about the prizes. The best way to learn how to host an event is to do it! Trust me, with patience and a willingness to learn, any player can host wonderful, fun events! Just make sure to remember the advice people give you, to respect the people who come to your events, and to give yourself plenty of time to prepare and get the word out, and don't forget to ask your friends for help if you need it! This is one of the absolute easiest ways there will ever be to get involved-so do it! Go on, get involved! |