Offda_Handel

The +Res and +Def auras will make a noticeable difference, especially if you get the recharge intensive ones as well.

Fluffy will also increase survivability considerably. Slot him heavily for +ToHitDebuff and I would recommend Recall Friend, if you can fit it into your build, so that you can position him exactly where you want him. In the same vein, get Fearsome Stare, slot it for +ToHitDebuff and +RechRed with a little +Acc, and use it often. Use Petrifying Gaze to disable hard targets. Your radius for Twilight Grasp is small, so get good at maneuvering to get your demons in it's range. A good opening sequence is FS -> TP -> DN (PG on the anchor to keep him put). Howling Twilight is also a great opener.

Put a couple +Res IO's in Summon Demons, but DO NOT place any Heal IO's in it. This will cause your Ember Demon to heal for more, but less frequently. Conventional wisdom dictates that you want his heal to go off as often as possible.

Like every other set, it gets better with the tier 3 henchman and the final upgrade at 32.

I'm noticing this too. For some reason, it appears to happen more frequently on open maps, although, I haven't done a cave map mish in a while. The AE mish I did last night made me want to strangle a dev.

I was going to suggest Ninjas and maybe /Thermal or perhaps /Pain. /Traps will do well too.

A good thing about Demons is that you can also slot the auras from the recharge intensive sets (Call to Arms and Expedient Reinforcement) into Hell on Earth. That will give your pets another 10% +Res and 5% +Def.

For Demons, throw the proc into the prince. Spread the others around your henchmen if you want the set bonuses.

Science and Mutation are closely related. The difference is, mutants are born with their powers instead of getting them from some external stimuli. Per CoH, the Mutant origin reads: "You were born with abilities which set you apart from the rest of humankind. Your powers manifested at birth, puberty, or possibly adulthood."

In many situations, Natural and Tech could be a toss up depending on the toon's bio.

You'll get many core powers and should be able to get a decent feel for a combo by 20, but there are certain "game changing" powers, especially in the secondaries, that you won't have access to by that point. Also, you don't get your 2nd tier 2 pet until 24 and your tier 3 until 26, which can make a drastic difference. If you aren't in any rush and have the time to try out a few combos, go for it.

If you're going by the descriptions provide for us in the game, which I find to be appropriate, the Science origin states, "You received your powers either through purposeful scientific inquiry or some accident gone awry." The definition of the Tech origin is, "You derive your powers from technological devices, from suits of high-tech body armor to powerful energy weapons." Obviously, some powers and animations lend themselves better to a specific origin, but with creative thinking and costume design, you can usually work around anything to make it plausible.

Power armor just screams tech.

There are lots of heroes and villians that don't have science origins: Statesman and Recluse drank from a magic fountain, Manticore isn't superpowered at all (natural and tech due to his bow), and Sister Psyche is a mutant. And that's just a few of the Freedom Phalanx. I've never done any research, but I'm thinking science may be ranked in the middle of the order of signature hero/villain origins with magic and mutant above it and tech and natural below. I could be way off, but, off the top of my head, magic and mutant seem much more prevalent.

If you want challenges, you've certainly picked the 2 secondaries that can provide it. I cast a vote for Ninja/Poison or Merc/Poison.

I never summon until on the ship. The pylons go down so fast the damage your pets would contribute is miniscule by comparison. Just buff/debuff/heal during the pylon stage until you get to the ship.

Yes, World of Pain does come much later. The tradeoff is that it provides more comprehensive resists and also affects the caster. And it's not as hard to make perma as you might think. With just Hasten and a few RechRed IO's, it's very close to perma. Add a few Doctored Wounds sets to the heals and/or Red Fortunes to Maneuvers or an epic shield, and it's easily perma'd. Painbringer, however, is a real pain to perma, but, even if it's not perma, you can get it down to the point where you don't have to slot EndRed's in the prince (hopefully that's the henchie it's being used on).

Probably not worth it. The prince only has 1 hold.

World of Pain also applies to you, the MM, and adds resists to Toxic and Psionic. It also provides more resist to cold than the Thermal shields. That said, if you don't mind shielding every 4 minutes, you'll get better resists to Smashing, Lethal, Fire, Energy, and Negative Energy with Thermal.

The real gem in Pain is Anguishing Cry. Easy to have up for every group, it's superior in every way to Melt Armor save one: it's a PBAoE instead of a Targeted AoE, which means you have to be in the thick of it to use it.

When I rolled my DS, I ended up going with Thermal. For me, it came down to Forge vs. Painbringer and I'd rather have Forge on my tier 3 and both tier 2 henchmen than Painbringer on just one. I have to say, though, it was a very close call and if you decide to go with Pain, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Let's all file bug reports everytime we log onto one of our MM's. If the squeaky wheel gets the grease, maybe it's time we collectively start squeaking.