Mr. Malice's Malicious Mechanon Mastermind Manual
By
Bobitron,
Posted on: 2006-02-16 10:52 in Player Guides
I hit 20 with Amelie today! I'll have time to try out my new Dispersion Bubble on Tuesday. 
Keep in mind, Dispersion Bubble is one of those powers that doesn't have a flashy animation to let you know things are missing. You'll just notice your mechs last a lot longer. I actually look at the combat screen to make me feel better sometimes.
Hehe, I hear you. I keep my combat screen open all the time.
I just hit 29 yesterday and I am anxiously awaiting the lvl 32 Upgrade power. I have heard that I will see the true power of my Mechs then.
I picked up Amelie again after concentrating on other toons for a while. I had mixed results, but I feel it was more to my lack of recent experience at playing the AT rather than a problem with the character.
Almost to 21, even though I died FOUR TIMES on a team last night. My fault entirely.
I have Force Bolt slotted with 3 Acc and one Recharge. It's an amazing tool while soloing! I can hit and knockdown even and +1 bosses consistently, effectivly taking them out of the fight for a good chunk of it while my mechs blast away. My overall defense is pretty solid at this point. Dispersion Bubble adds up with the individual fields rather well.
Picture here.
Don't feel bad...
I let Mr. Malice sit at 39 thinking when I7 hit everyone would come back and play their 40s and I'd just join in, but it looks like that might be problematic so I dusted him off to get him to 40 real quick.
The grinding engine of destruction I remember got tooled in no time flat. Had to lower my difficulty til I got the feel for him again. He's back to his former glory, though. Hehe.
You definitely don't need more than one acc on the Assault Bot.
One acc effectively caps its accuracy against +3s.
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You definitely don't need more than one acc on the Assault Bot.
One acc effectively caps its accuracy against +3s.
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Really? Thanks! I can use those slots elsewhere.
Yeah. AFAIK, most masterminds I know use one acc on the top-tier and two on the other two-tier pets. Maybe three on the bottom tier, if you really have spare slots.
My Commando does excellently with just one acc three dmg.
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Yeah. AFAIK, most masterminds I know use one acc on the top-tier and two on the other two-tier pets. Maybe three on the bottom tier, if you really have spare slots.
My Commando does excellently with just one acc three dmg.
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Huh? Seriously? I normally play on a high enough difficulty setting that the baddies a +3 or so to my pets, so any accuracy and damage boost I can get I take! I'm currently running three Acc and three Dam in both Drones and Protector. I can't imagine how much they would be missing without those slots.
I'm still a good bit away from my Assault Bot, so I don't really know what I'll do there.
Specifically regarding Force Bolt, you slot it with one Acc and hit consistently (90%+)? I really rely on it when soloing to keep in the fight while my mechs whittle away at the mobs.
I'm merc/traps, so I can't say. I use Tactics, though.
With Tactics, one acc in my commando, and two accs in my specops/soldiers, they pretty much never miss with their attacks.
iakona had a post on mastermind pet base acc a while back. I'll go see if I can find it.
I find your example of evil quite inspiring. I myself have spent a life of persecution by peoples of inferior intellect. I use the Isracorp mkI and mkII mechs, both version 2.0. Also the forcefield technology has proven quite useful in the battles i have faced. I did find that the laser rifle was quite effective at dispatching enemies in battle, contrary to your advice. It is a slightly differed path, but I like having a method of fighting when they have cleaved through my minions. I like to still be able to monologue after I knock them senseless with force and shoot them while they are on the ground.
/ooc good advice... my first character (by chance) happened to be a mech/ff mastermind. Seemed like a cool mix! How are you dropping skills? The grenade is utterly useless... also i wonder how you are moving slots around.
Great guide. The only thing I disagree with is the slotting of the Protector Bots. Slotting them with 2xHeal and 4xDefBuff will help out a ton. Slotting them with Acc and Dmg doesn't help much.
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Great guide. The only thing I disagree with is the slotting of the Protector Bots. Slotting them with 2xHeal and 4xDefBuff will help out a ton. Slotting them with Acc and Dmg doesn't help much.
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I find their heals to be inadequate in frequency and have my own, hence I don't need to rely on theirs. I also find their photon grenading to be more useful (acc). The defbuff I don't worry about because I'm FF and have my shields up if I need them. If I was anything but FF I'd add in defbuffs.
I understand this is a preference item, though, and agree the dmg's don't do a whole hell of a lot.
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Great guide. The only thing I disagree with is the slotting of the Protector Bots. Slotting them with 2xHeal and 4xDefBuff will help out a ton. Slotting them with Acc and Dmg doesn't help much.
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I find their heals to be inadequate in frequency and have my own, hence I don't need to rely on theirs. I also find their photon grenading to be more useful (acc). The defbuff I don't worry about because I'm FF and have my shields up if I need them. If I was anything but FF I'd add in defbuffs.
I understand this is a preference item, though, and agree the dmg's don't do a whole hell of a lot.
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Yeah, since I got my upgrade bot, I'm thinking I may take a DefBuff or two out and replace it with an ACC. That lvl 32 power really changes the bot dynamic.
Necoposting for the win. I use the following slotting. For tier ones, I use 3 acc 3 damage. For tier twos I use 2 acc 3 dam 1 end red. Find them running out of end without the end red. Its all the bubbling of the photon grenades. For my Assbot I go 2 acc 3 dam. I also have tactics with 3 +to hits. I could get buy with 1 acc in the Assbot, but its only one slot and I really hate to miss.
Global is @honcho
On Champion
Living Coal LV 50 Fire/Fire Tank
Nature Boy LV 41 Earth/Kin Cont
Great Wacko LV 34 Robot/FF MM
plus many alts
Very well written. I may dust off my own Bots/FF MM soon...
Arc #6015 - Coming Unglued
"A good n00b-sauce is based on a good n00b-roux." - The Masque
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==Mastermind Tactics: Ruthless is Your Watchword==
There are four keybinds I have found to be invaluable. I do not use the macros provided in the beginning and instead bind what I find useful. Alter the buttons to suit yourself:
[...]
And finally:
/bind t "petcom_all goto agg" - If you can't see around a corner or up a cave, you send in your mechanical slayers ahead of you, but only slightly. This is to be done as a last resort. Clustered flamethrowers will be your downfall, well, not yours, but your robots' downfall if this is handled badly. This bind allows you to target an area and direct your mechanons to advance to that spot and shoot anything moving.[/color]
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Obviously, this unit is in possession of more advanced software than yourself. That software is exemplified by an improved variant of this keybinding:
/bind Lcontrol+Lbutton "petcom_all goto aggressive"
With a simple control-click - a single control-interface action - the same directive is issed to all subordinate units ... rather than requiring a seperate "keyboard" and subsequent "mouse" action.
OOC translation: try this hybrid KB+mouse bind; it greatly speeds up the use of "goto/aggressive" commands.
.... and some parting advice to lesser control-units:
Item one: Detention Field is your friend. Empathic heroes are not. Introduce your friend to the Empathic heroes, I am sure they will get along very nicely - and the Empath's team-mates will certainly find interesting ways to express the joy their compatriot's newfound contentedness will cause them to feel.
OOC Translation: make strategtic use of Detention Field to put Heroic healers into the "penalty box" when engaged in PVP; teams with a Healer aboard often come to rely on those green numbers, and merely causeing their sudden cessation can break their morale, and allow you to seize the initiative.
Item two: There is only one organic mind that a Mastermind should ever respect - Sun Tzu. Read his writings. Learn them. Internalise them. Apply them.
OOC Translation: seriously. Sun Tzu is the True Font of Wisdom, when it comes to tactical and strategic brilliance. ^_^
A little background on the RP-ish text above
Core Dump is a robot himself; an advanced AI system, intended for Police and Prison work; his prime directive, installed during his Field Testing, was "eliminate all crime, at the source where possible".
His AI was .... damaged (cause unspecified), and interpreted "the source of crime" to be humanity itself, and beyond that, all organic life. Thus, he has taken it upon himself to eradicate humanity and all other nonmechanoid beings from the face of the planet; only when the world is controlled by a Machine Utopia, will his "work" finally be complete. ^_^
Not a bad guide. My Robot/FF MM is at 43, and due to now being a main hero, won't get much hiigher anytime soon. But I must say it is quite a good build. There are, like in every build, some bad powers, but if you get the right powers, you will be able to solo and team quite well. Due to CoV lag, I solo on my robot/FF when im bored, and do quite well buffing my robots. My main problem is endurance, but stamina and any blue inspirations I get make me and my team quite a machine. Pun intended.
You made me cry! no wonder my Robot/FF got canned <runs away in shame>
Whining about everything since 2006.
Ammo switching for Dual Pistols was my idea:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=135484
I find your recommendations passable, Core Dump. I have installed them on my firmware where appropriate should other Masterminds choose your methods.
While I have not deigned to visit the Isles recently and have instead sequestered myself in Castle Malice, I have heard of some interesting uses for detention field and have actually considered sullying myself with the air of Recluse's pathetic kingdom once more.
Lastly, Sun Tzu is indeed a worthy place to begin your learning of tactics. Particularly his thoughts on battlefield selection. I would not, however, stop there.
I thank you for your contributions and nod to your obvious equality to any sentient, organic or not.
OOC: Good tips and really cool character concept!
Sounds like Mr. Malice needs some serious mentoring by Dr. Demonica to get you to lvl 50. 
MEGAFORCE/DOOMSDAY and more!
My CoX characters
As of this day, Mr. Malice finds no reason to alter his operating methods. They continue to allow for enhanced survival, satisfactory opportunities to look down one's nose at foes, and the ability to launch villainous monologues on a whim.
Long live Malice!
Very nice work here. I will be using this as a guide to my newest Villian. As always thanks for all the hard work.