Feel free to disagree with my guide, the 2 likely reasons are either
1: The fact that my Necro/Dark Mastermind is only level 35, or
2: You have a Robotics/Force Field mastermind and you think that Necro/Dark sucks.
First off, I'd like to say one thing. If you've never made a Mastermind before, I'm going to tell you now that you shouldn't be dissapointed by the fact that in the long run, most of the other Masterminds you'll see will have Robotics and/or Force Field. I'm not saying these sets are bad, as I've never played them, nor any other Mastermind Sets, but I think that the reason that those sets are used so often is that Robots do more damage than the other Primary sets, and because there's Personal Force Field, which a lot of Masterminds love. Anyways, enough about that, here's the actual guide.
Just to annoy you all, I'm going to give a summary of Masterminds so that you all curse my name... Or something.
Masterminds, at high levels, are NOT good for PvP unless you have Personal Force Field. Sorry, they just aren't. I'll tell you now that there is no AT, hero or villain, that will be able to defeat your fully populated, fully buffed army, except another Mastermind. However, don't expect to see a Stalker in Warburg Assasin Strike your minions, unless they've suffered some sort of brain damage, or unless they're in a Stalker team. Even then, they should know that killing you would kill the minions, as everyone else does, which is the sole reason why MMs are bad at PvP at high levels. Don't feel bad, at least we got the best PvE skills. Ever.
Powers
NECROMANCY:
Dark Blast: It may be useful at low levels, but it may keep you from getting something better until level 24. I can't really say whether or not you should take this risk.
Zombie Horde: I shouldn't have to say this: Get this power from level 1.
Gloom: Same as Dark Blast. Do NOT get both, under any circumstances. Don't try to be a Corrupter; let the Lich do that.
Enchant Undead: Regrettably, I didn't pick this power up until level 18ish, and I didn't use it properly (I thought by 'permanent' it meant permanent... I only used it once until level 24. Don't make that mistake; use it every time you zone or if your pets die). Get this power before level 10.
Life Drain: I don't usually see people with this, but I suggest getting it if you don't have Dark Miasma.
Grave Knight: Again, this is a no-brainer. Get this power ASAP. When you hit level 32, watch these guys make those annoying Scrappers cry. I'm sure they don't get 2 duplicates of themselves.
Soul Extraction: There are a few pros and cons to this power. I should start with the cons first so that you're not baised against it after reading this.
Cons:
Slow recharge time
Souls that are extracted do little damage
Souls cannot be buffed with Enchant and Empower (At least, I don't think so. Well, they CAN, but I'm not sure if it has an effect)
Pros:
The more the merrier, eh?
You'll be thanking this power when the Soul helps you lock down Elite Bosses and Archevilains
I'd reccomend this power.
Lich: While it isn't the heaviest damage dealer in the game, and it is often out of range of your Supremecy, this is a great-- No, scratch that, this is a VITAL power. Think of him as the badass Corruptor that follows you around owning anything that comes his way. Don't expect him to die much; he attacks from a distance.
Dark Empowerment: Gimme a V! Gimme an I! Gimme a T! Gimme an A! Gimme an L! Put it all together... VITAL! This power will truly unleash the beasts inside of your minions. If you don't get this power at level 32... Sorry, you're not meant for this AT.
DARK MIASMA
Twilight Grasp: DON'T GET THIS POWER WHATEVER YOU DO[/sarcasm] We all know that you HAVE to get this power. But, you'll be glad that you have to, because this will save your life infinite times. Seriously. Who's laughing now, Force Field!? Muhuhahaha!
Tar Patch: Get it by level 8, and watch your enemies' health bars drop twice as fast.
Darkest Night: Again, regrettably, I didn't get this power until... >.> level 34, from a Respec. Yeah, I'm an idiot. Don't make the same mistake, folks, get this early.
Howling Twilight: This is a lower priority, but I reccomend getting it eventually.
Shadow Fall: No question about it. Get this. Not only does it let you rush to the end of maps and collect the mission bonus, it also gives you an incredibly small DEF bonus but a considerably high Res bonus to Psionics, Energy, etc. Good for those annoying Circle of Thorns missions that everyone hates. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't hate CoT. I dare you.
Fearsome Stare: This is great. Watch those puny enemies of yours cower in fear at absolutely nothing. I love it. Good recharge too.
Petrifying Gaze: If you plan on fighting a lot of Elite Bosses or Archvillains (or higher) in your Villainous career, or if you just like to watch people die helpless, I'd reccomend this.
Black Hole: I don't reccomend it, unless you either like being kicked out of a team or if you're unable to hande a boss AND his minions at one time. And, if you've been following this guide, you should be able to.
Dark Servant: Aha, the one power I want but don't have in both of these sets. Shame. Oh well. I know that this is a great power anyways. 6 minions, and 2 pets (soul and this). 8 guys working for you. Pretty sweet deal, right? Wait'll you see this guy take your job away while you sit around sipping a collata while still getting all the EXP you normally do.
Slots
Dark Blast: 1. You shouldn't even have this power unless you're below level 24.
Zombie Horde: 3 or 4, probably. I just have 3 Damage SOs on mine, prolly not a good idea, except I see no problems with their accuracy, especially with Tactics. Do what you want here, I'm not stopping you.
Gloom: 1, same as Dark Blast (Again?)
Enchant Undead: 3 or 4, put 3 Ends and 0 or 1 Recharge on it.
Life Drain: 6, either 3 Accuraccies and 3 heals, or 2 heals, 2 accs, and 2 recharges. Whichever works better for you. Hell, even make it 4 slots with 2 heals and 2 accs if you like, I never got this power. Again, you shouldn't have this if you have Dark Miasma. It's just silly. God forbid if you're running into groups first. If so... What's wrong with you?
Grave Knight: Same as Zombie Horde
Soul Extraction: 1. You may be tempted to put recharges on it, but I don't reccomend that.
Lich: Same as the other minions.
Dark Empowerment: 3. Here, recharge is more important. But I'd say 2 recharge and 1 End would be the best way to go.
Twilight Grasp: 6. 2 accs, 2 recgarge, and 2 heals will make this godly.
Tar Patch: 1. This power is fine the way it is.
Darkest Night: 3 or 4, not sure. I'd put some ends in there, though.
Howling Twilight: 1, just put in a recharge and you'll be set.
Shadow Fall: 4, do not put Defense buffs in here. 2 res buffs and 2 ends is good, though.
Fearsome Stare: 2, Fear Duration and Accuracy.
Petrifying Gaze: 4, 3 accuracies and 1 Hold Duration..
Black Hole: 1, put intangibility duration in here and get hated by your team that much more.
Dark Servant: ???
POOLS
I reccomend getting the following in this order, from most to least important:
Fly, or any other travel power (This is good if you like rushing to the end of missions, if you have Shadow Fall, which you should by all means)
Assault
Tactics
Recall Friend (If you have TP foe and want TP for your travel power, get group TP instead of this)
Air Superiority (For those rare situations where an enemy is chasing you in the sky)
NOTE: Only get 1 travel power. If you have TP, don't get fly. Sorry for any misunderstandings in that last section.
And, with that, here are a few strategies to get the most out of your Necromancy/Dark Miasma Mastermind.
Your best friends at high level will be Steal or Defeat the Boss and Guards missions. Turn on Shadow Fall and Fly (Or keep TPing yourself). Carefully get to the one room in the map that you have to clear. When you get there, find a safe place to turn off Shadow Fall and Summon your minions. Get your Lich Empowered first, enchant the others, and by then Empower will be recharged, and you can use it on one of your Grave Knights. After that, turn on your toggles, buffs, etc, and send in your minions. Unless you're on Villainous or Malicious, you'll need to stay close to your minions, order them to attack a single target, and heal them all when they get around him with Twilight Grasp. Zombies and Grave Knights are best at close range, but if your Lich is close, he'll only Use Tenebrous Tentacles. Have him move a bit further back for the best results. Save Howling Twilight for the boss. And, when attacking a group, use Darkest Night on the enemy in the back, or at least an enemy not being attacked. With this strategy, you should be able to run Ruthless missions fine.
Thank you all for reading my guide on Necromancy/Dark Miasma Masterminds. This is my first guide, so please give critique to help me improve.
Feel free to disagree with my guide, the 2 likely reasons are either
1: The fact that my Necro/Dark Mastermind is only level 35, or
2: You have a Robotics/Force Field mastermind and you think that Necro/Dark sucks.
First off, I'd like to say one thing. If you've never made a Mastermind before, I'm going to tell you now that you shouldn't be dissapointed by the fact that in the long run, most of the other Masterminds you'll see will have Robotics and/or Force Field. I'm not saying these sets are bad, as I've never played them, nor any other Mastermind Sets, but I think that the reason that those sets are used so often is that Robots do more damage than the other Primary sets, and because there's Personal Force Field, which a lot of Masterminds love. Anyways, enough about that, here's the actual guide.
Just to annoy you all, I'm going to give a summary of Masterminds so that you all curse my name... Or something.
Masterminds, at high levels, are NOT good for PvP unless you have Personal Force Field. Sorry, they just aren't. I'll tell you now that there is no AT, hero or villain, that will be able to defeat your fully populated, fully buffed army, except another Mastermind. However, don't expect to see a Stalker in Warburg Assasin Strike your minions, unless they've suffered some sort of brain damage, or unless they're in a Stalker team. Even then, they should know that killing you would kill the minions, as everyone else does, which is the sole reason why MMs are bad at PvP at high levels. Don't feel bad, at least we got the best PvE skills. Ever.
Powers
NECROMANCY:
Dark Blast: It may be useful at low levels, but it may keep you from getting something better until level 24. I can't really say whether or not you should take this risk.
Zombie Horde: I shouldn't have to say this: Get this power from level 1.
Gloom: Same as Dark Blast. Do NOT get both, under any circumstances. Don't try to be a Corrupter; let the Lich do that.
Enchant Undead: Regrettably, I didn't pick this power up until level 18ish, and I didn't use it properly (I thought by 'permanent' it meant permanent... I only used it once until level 24. Don't make that mistake; use it every time you zone or if your pets die). Get this power before level 10.
Life Drain: I don't usually see people with this, but I suggest getting it if you don't have Dark Miasma.
Grave Knight: Again, this is a no-brainer. Get this power ASAP. When you hit level 32, watch these guys make those annoying Scrappers cry. I'm sure they don't get 2 duplicates of themselves.
Soul Extraction: There are a few pros and cons to this power. I should start with the cons first so that you're not baised against it after reading this.
Cons:
Slow recharge time
Souls that are extracted do little damage
Souls cannot be buffed with Enchant and Empower (At least, I don't think so. Well, they CAN, but I'm not sure if it has an effect)
Pros:
The more the merrier, eh?
You'll be thanking this power when the Soul helps you lock down Elite Bosses and Archevilains
I'd reccomend this power.
Lich: While it isn't the heaviest damage dealer in the game, and it is often out of range of your Supremecy, this is a great-- No, scratch that, this is a VITAL power. Think of him as the badass Corruptor that follows you around owning anything that comes his way. Don't expect him to die much; he attacks from a distance.
Dark Empowerment: Gimme a V! Gimme an I! Gimme a T! Gimme an A! Gimme an L! Put it all together... VITAL! This power will truly unleash the beasts inside of your minions. If you don't get this power at level 32... Sorry, you're not meant for this AT.
DARK MIASMA
Twilight Grasp: DON'T GET THIS POWER WHATEVER YOU DO[/sarcasm] We all know that you HAVE to get this power. But, you'll be glad that you have to, because this will save your life infinite times. Seriously. Who's laughing now, Force Field!? Muhuhahaha!
Tar Patch: Get it by level 8, and watch your enemies' health bars drop twice as fast.
Darkest Night: Again, regrettably, I didn't get this power until... >.> level 34, from a Respec. Yeah, I'm an idiot. Don't make the same mistake, folks, get this early.
Howling Twilight: This is a lower priority, but I reccomend getting it eventually.
Shadow Fall: No question about it. Get this. Not only does it let you rush to the end of maps and collect the mission bonus, it also gives you an incredibly small DEF bonus but a considerably high Res bonus to Psionics, Energy, etc. Good for those annoying Circle of Thorns missions that everyone hates. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't hate CoT. I dare you.
Fearsome Stare: This is great. Watch those puny enemies of yours cower in fear at absolutely nothing. I love it. Good recharge too.
Petrifying Gaze: If you plan on fighting a lot of Elite Bosses or Archvillains (or higher) in your Villainous career, or if you just like to watch people die helpless, I'd reccomend this.
Black Hole: I don't reccomend it, unless you either like being kicked out of a team or if you're unable to hande a boss AND his minions at one time. And, if you've been following this guide, you should be able to.
Dark Servant: Aha, the one power I want but don't have in both of these sets. Shame. Oh well. I know that this is a great power anyways. 6 minions, and 2 pets (soul and this). 8 guys working for you. Pretty sweet deal, right? Wait'll you see this guy take your job away while you sit around sipping a collata while still getting all the EXP you normally do.
Slots
Dark Blast: 1. You shouldn't even have this power unless you're below level 24.
Zombie Horde: 3 or 4, probably. I just have 3 Damage SOs on mine, prolly not a good idea, except I see no problems with their accuracy, especially with Tactics. Do what you want here, I'm not stopping you.
Gloom: 1, same as Dark Blast (Again?)
Enchant Undead: 3 or 4, put 3 Ends and 0 or 1 Recharge on it.
Life Drain: 6, either 3 Accuraccies and 3 heals, or 2 heals, 2 accs, and 2 recharges. Whichever works better for you. Hell, even make it 4 slots with 2 heals and 2 accs if you like, I never got this power. Again, you shouldn't have this if you have Dark Miasma. It's just silly. God forbid if you're running into groups first. If so... What's wrong with you?
Grave Knight: Same as Zombie Horde
Soul Extraction: 1. You may be tempted to put recharges on it, but I don't reccomend that.
Lich: Same as the other minions.
Dark Empowerment: 3. Here, recharge is more important. But I'd say 2 recharge and 1 End would be the best way to go.
Twilight Grasp: 6. 2 accs, 2 recgarge, and 2 heals will make this godly.
Tar Patch: 1. This power is fine the way it is.
Darkest Night: 3 or 4, not sure. I'd put some ends in there, though.
Howling Twilight: 1, just put in a recharge and you'll be set.
Shadow Fall: 4, do not put Defense buffs in here. 2 res buffs and 2 ends is good, though.
Fearsome Stare: 2, Fear Duration and Accuracy.
Petrifying Gaze: 4, 3 accuracies and 1 Hold Duration..
Black Hole: 1, put intangibility duration in here and get hated by your team that much more.
Dark Servant: ???
POOLS
I reccomend getting the following in this order, from most to least important:
Fly, or any other travel power (This is good if you like rushing to the end of missions, if you have Shadow Fall, which you should by all means)
Assault
Tactics
Recall Friend (If you have TP foe and want TP for your travel power, get group TP instead of this)
Air Superiority (For those rare situations where an enemy is chasing you in the sky)
NOTE: Only get 1 travel power. If you have TP, don't get fly. Sorry for any misunderstandings in that last section.
And, with that, here are a few strategies to get the most out of your Necromancy/Dark Miasma Mastermind.
Your best friends at high level will be Steal or Defeat the Boss and Guards missions. Turn on Shadow Fall and Fly (Or keep TPing yourself). Carefully get to the one room in the map that you have to clear. When you get there, find a safe place to turn off Shadow Fall and Summon your minions. Get your Lich Empowered first, enchant the others, and by then Empower will be recharged, and you can use it on one of your Grave Knights. After that, turn on your toggles, buffs, etc, and send in your minions. Unless you're on Villainous or Malicious, you'll need to stay close to your minions, order them to attack a single target, and heal them all when they get around him with Twilight Grasp. Zombies and Grave Knights are best at close range, but if your Lich is close, he'll only Use Tenebrous Tentacles. Have him move a bit further back for the best results. Save Howling Twilight for the boss. And, when attacking a group, use Darkest Night on the enemy in the back, or at least an enemy not being attacked. With this strategy, you should be able to run Ruthless missions fine.
Thank you all for reading my guide on Necromancy/Dark Miasma Masterminds. This is my first guide, so please give critique to help me improve.