lol... remember to control the pet population by having your pets spade or neu.... oh oops.
I think the problem comes from too much soloing as a MM and not enough teams. Usually, soloing I can keep my pets on defend/follow or aggresive/follow.
However in teaming, passive/follow is the best option.
1. If they are in Defend/follow, something may see them and they start to attack... this is something that you dont want, because it may lead unwanted aggro on an unaware team.
2. Aggressive/follow is about the worse stance for them to be in while on a team.
As for the doorway thing... Its pretty easy to solve... I always have my pets in passive/stay before going through a doorway. You can also enter the room as the last member of the team. Or you could just have all the pets go thru the door first with the GOTO command. Which would only be good if you know whats in the next room.
My 50s: Zenshin (stkr), TrueBluePhoenix (dom), Zen'th (blstr), Foul-Play (blstr), Zojitzu (scrpr), ZyoXinZhou (scrpr), Protonic Avenger (def)
Living on Virtue, Vacationing on Justice, Visiting Pinnacle, Getting started on Victory & Infinity
A much needed guide.
On a Necro/Dark (though I'm sure this would help any melee-oriented minion) I find Grant Invisibilty a very useful tool. It allows my forces to charge without attracting the attention of foes at range. I follow in and Shadowfall compounds the issue. This definitely helps me with my agro management.
While speaking about Grant Invis, I'd mention that one can opt to leave heavier pets (Ghost, Lich and Knights) visible. They draw considerably more agro and therefore your invisible zombies last longer.
Group Port helps when your minions clog a corridor. I've written a brief guide on the use and etiquette of Group Port.
I use the following procedure.
1 Keep my minions on Bodyguard as I move, with Shadowfall on.
2. Target the nearest enemy and use a GOTO macro to make 'em close in.
3. Attack the target.
4. Change to a new target -immediately- after the current target falls and hit the attack command.
5. Immediately return the pets to bodyguard when the last target falls.
Timing is obviously all-important.
A Mastermind is the most unique archetype in CoV as it has no direct correlation and has a very different playstyle to all the archetypes as well. This makes it the one of the most popular archetypes in CoV.
Why do Masterminds need a guide to etiquette?
Masterminds are not always well liked in the world of CoV. They tend to have more of a negative connotation than any other archetype in CoV. Lets start with the bad stuff. Masterminds pets tend to clog up doorways, aggravate unwanted mobs, blocking other players movement, and just are so damn unpredictable. Dont get me wrong there are some masterminds who look like WWII generals when they play, but lets face it, most MMs look like theyre herding kittens.
Making sure your pets arent in the way.
Probably the number one complaint against masterminds is that their pets are always in the way. Whether theyre blocking doors or pathways, in the way between other players or even boxing other players into a corner or wall. There are a couple of things you can do to help prevent this.
First of all you will probably want to make some binds for yourself. They make it easier to maintain control over your pets. There are several great guides on creating binds especially for masterminds in the forum, itll make your life and your teammates life easier.
Make sure to move your pets away from doorways (unless your purposely blocking the door way). Its really easy for a stray pet to block off an escape route for a teammate. Use the goto command to keep your pets away from doorways and thin tunnels. Otherwise be prepared to be cursed by a retreating teammate who blames you for their death.
When playing tunnel maps or even sewer maps try to find the most open area to summon your pets. If no such place exists just summon your top pet(s) and wait till an area exists before summoning the rest. They almost always give you a large room to battle in on the tunnel maps, you dont always have to have every single pet out at the same time.
Dont let your pets start fights your not ready for.
The second biggest complaint is pets causing unwanted agro. Whether they attack a group next to the one your battling or simply start attacking the next group before your ready. They have different attitudes for a reason, as soon as the battle is over there is no reason to keep your pets on aggressive, this can only lead to danger. Set them to Defensive after the battle is over and especially if your traveling between mobs.
Pets also have a tendency to follow their prey, regardless of what danger it poses to you and your group. Try to keep on eye in your pets and dont let them wander off(this is much harder for the melee pets). Use the goto or stay command, or even follow me to keep your pets near you.
Your pets are expendable.
Dont be afraid to lose a pet, theyre designed to be expendable. Yes we all know it takes forever to resummon them and upgrade them, but they are still expendable As annoying as it is to respwan them, its more annoying for another player to work through that debt. Many MMs refuse to sacrifice their pets for the common good. Part of being a MasterMind is being whats called a meatshield. Your henchmen are designed to suck up a portion of the damage being thrown around, melee or ranged. If your keeping your pets away from the line of fire your not really doing all of your job. There are no true healers in CoV, there are no real tanks either. In most cases youre the most effective form of damage mitigation there is.
If your worried about an alpha strike, throw a pet out there to eat the brunt. A good general is willing to send their troops out to their deaths and you should be able to as well. No matter how super your pets are, and how upgraded they are most players will still do a considerable larger amount of damage then your pet will. Pets make great roadblocks for enemies (although depending on the difficulty of the enemy that may just end up being speed bumps) theyre great for covering an escape, blocking a doorway, and even saving a teammate who bit off more than they can chew.
Just remember to control your pets.
This was my first attempt at a guide, so let me know if there are any suggestions or subjects I missed. Hope you guys enjoy it.