I posted this in another topic and thought it'd be useful if I posted it here as well for comparison purposes. For some added reference, here is my view of the Primaries.
Ninjas (level 50-Like the back of my hand)
Damage Type: Smashing, Lethal, and Fire (Tier order)
Possible Secondary Effects: Stun(Thunder Kick), Slows(Caltrops), Immobilizes(Ring of Fire), Holds(Char), Sleep(Blinding Powder), Confusion(Blinding Powder), To-hit De-buff(Blinding Powder), Defense De-buff(Ninja Blade), Knockback(Crane kick, Golden Dragonfly, and Soaring Dragon)
Unique Abilities: Critical Hit Capabilites
My Playstyle: Genin and Jounin are sent into melee and the Oni supports from the rear with his great mezzes.
Tier 1-Genin: Squshy Martial Arts. They like their shurikens a lot. If they start using their melee attacks, they have a solid attack chain.
Tier 2-Jounin: My favorite pet in the game. Not only do they have critical hits when they are hidden or placate, they have Nijitsu utilities which make them superb melee battle masters.
Tier 3-Oni: The backbone of the group. Once given the third upgrade, he turns into a dominator supreme with his Immob->Hold->Immob chain. He can keep bosses locked down easily if slotted for control. He does great damage with his Fire Breath and Rain of Fire as well. Dmg/Mez HOs are his friend.
Unique 18-Smoke Flash: 10 seconds of confirmed critical damage. Can't be much better than that.
Personal Attacks- Archery: Pitiful damage. Only get em if you want them if you're a /Force Fields. Otherwise, you'll get bored being a walking bubble for your pets.
Mercenaries (Level 33-Pretty good experience)
Damage Type: Lethal, Smashing(Very Little), Fire(Very Little)
Possible Secondary Effects: Immoblize(Web Grenade), Hold(SCAR Tear Gas), Stun(SCAR Flashbang, Rifle Butt), Defense Debuff(Numerous Rifle Attacks), To-hit Debuff(SCAR Flashbang), Knockback (AR's specialty).
Unique Abilities: Medic provides Healing, Mez Protection, and the Soldiers and commando can land Lucky Bullets from Full Auto for extra damage.
My Playstyle: Using Passive Goto bind for my Commando, I position him in locations to maximize cone effectiveness. Resummon Commando before big mobs to open up with an LRM Rocket. Medic is excluded from all commands so he is rarely not in Defensive/Follow. Other than that its run and gun.
Tier 1-Soldiers/Medic: Standard guns-a-blazing rifle weilders. The Medic sometimes has a Rambo complex. If slotted with some healing, heals a little less than Poison's Alkaloid.
Tier 2-Spec Ops: Attempting-to-be-controlling blasters. They have mezzes out the wazoo, but take a while to recharge them. They get a nice snipe later on.
Tier 3: Commando: AR/Munitions blaster. Cones and AoEs with a lot of Knockback. LRM Rocket and Full Auto are very fun.
Unique 18-Serum: A Force of Nature clone for pets with some added features and lasts thirty seconds less. Many people see it as not being worth it. It is a very situational power.
Personal Attacks: Somewhat worth it. The damage can be ok and Burst has a nice -def component with it. M30 has knockback, so be careful.
Thugs (Level 45-I know them very well)
Damage Type: Lethal, Smashing, and (you guessed it) Fire.
Possible Secondary Effects: Knockback (A LOT OF ATTACKS), Defense Debuff (Several Attacks), Hold (Knock-out Blow), Stun (Super Strength's featurette), did I mention Knockback?
Unique Abilities: Arsonist scourges with Fire Breath, Enforcers provide Leadership, and the Bruiser builds fury
My Playstyle: Send the Bruiser in melee and all hell breaks loose. (NOTE: Some people do not give the bruiser his second upgrade to avoid Handclap.)
Tier 1-Punks/Arsonist: Single Target, Cone, and AoE. Bread and Butter attacks. The Arsonist's Petrol Bomb is killer.
Tier 2-Enforcers: Very good blasting pets. Wide cones as well as a cool looking AoE Throw Clip attack. Their Leadership is different from player's. Higher defensive values for Manuvers and lower to-hit and Attack from Tactics and Assault.
Tier 3-Bruiser: AI that makes people's heads scream. Once he throws a rock, he just can't stop. I personally like his handclap at times, but it does tend to mess up cone attacks.
Unique 18-Gang War: Summons 10 punks outta nowhere. They are essentially upgraded hellions. They are aggro magnets and can get you killed if you're not careful but their damage is well worth the chaos.
Personal Attacks: I like them. They are still low damage but you basically attack just like the Punks do, but deal slightly more damage.
Robotics (Highest was 22, got sick of /traps. I know em like the front of my hand... Hey thats new...)
Damage: Energy, Smashing, and Fire.
Possible Secondary Effects: Stun (Photon Grenade, Seeker Drones, and the Assault Bot's Brawl), Knockback (Several Attacks), To-Hit Debuff (Seeker Drones), -Regen (Dual Plasma Cannon)
Unique Abilities: Protector Bots provide Healing and Force Fields.
My Playstyle: "Hey look, people" *Fires many lazers and missles for a few seconds* "Hey look, more people" *continues*
Tier 1-Battle Drones: Until the second upgrade, these guys aren't very good at all. Standard single target lazer blasts. But the Second upgrade, they don't stop firing their full Auto Lazer.
Tier 2-Protector Bots: They live up to their name. They bubble and heal as well as stun.
Tier 3-Assault Bot: Fluffy is very strong. His missile attacks decimate mobs. the only problem is that he really likes his flamethrower. I mean, he REALLY likes his flamethrower. HE LOVES HIS FLAMETHROWER AS MUCH AS THE BRUISER LOVES THROWING ROCKS.
Uniqe 18-Repair: Fully heals a robot minion and gives him a little endurance, not that robots have any kind of end problem. Aid Other > Repair.
Personal Attacks: Energy damage is always good. Watch out for the second attack's knockback if you don't like it. The Photon Grenade has a chance for a mag 2 stun. Try stacking it with the protector bot's Photon Grenade.
Necromancy (Word of Mouth. never played em, probably never will)
Damage: Smashing, Lethal, Negative Energy, and Toxic
Possible Secondary Effects: Fear(Fearsome Stare), Immoblize(Tenebrous Tenticles), Hold(Petrifying Gaze), Defense Debuff(Broadsword Attacks), To-Hit Debuffs(All Dark Attacks), Knockback (Torrent, Headsplitter, and Disembowel)
Unique Abilities: All pets get Life Drain with the second upgrade. Zombies have very good Slow Resistance.
My Playstyle: I don't have one so I wouldn't know. I'd probably do something like I do with Ninjas.
Tier 1-Zombies: They barf and barf and barf again. Take a shotgun to their face, they act like any zombie would from the movies.
Tier 2-Grave Knights: Broad Sword weilders from beyond the grave. They hit very hard for being undead sacks of flesh.
Tier 3-Lich: "A lich? TURN UNDEAD!- Order of the Stick" A very mezzy pet with some nice -tohit debuffs. His Immobilizes and Holds last as long as the Oni's do but their recharges are longer. His Fearsome stare is very powerful though.
Unique 18-Soul Extraction: Take your even deader undead after he falls and extract its soul for a 7th pet. It has some very nice attacks as well as debuffs. The stronger the minion extracted from, the more powerful the extracted soul is. Use Tier 3 for best results.
Personal Attacks: They have to-hit debuffs tied to them and the 3rd attack is Life Drain. It only heals 15% though, but its better than nothing.
Thank you for the info , i really want to build a MM now 
Method for Making a Mastermind Set
Summary
In a nutshell, this essay (if you can call it that) is a method of what to consider when making your own imaginary Mastermind power set to submit to the suggestion box or post for others to look at. I'm not saying that if you do these things, a power set will be made. That's just silly. What I am suggesting is that people might consider a power set more worthwhile if it has already had a lot of the idea thought out for them, to see what you really mean. When you say "I think so-and-so minions would be awesome!" the reader asks, "Why? There's no reason why to make this set or to suggest where to begin." If you instead say, "So-and-so minions would be amazing! Here is the the basic build idea I had for it (Complete powerlist). The reasons why this build is worthwhile is because (General power description along with details of minion abilities and how they are all balanced)," that is worth someone's time. So here is my Method for Making a Mastermind Set.
Disclaimer: These are all opinions and educated guesses based on observations of the Mastermind Power Sets and the Henchmen AI.
People like imagining about their perfect power sets. Some dream of their blasters using the power of the sea to wash their foes away, some imagine their character growing to the size of Atlas and stomping their foes like ants, some even imagine having a character on a couch eating chips and salsa while mounted on a flying couch running over enemies--- maybe. I, personally, enjoy entertaining the idea of different Mastermind power sets. To me, it is taking what is already readily available in the game and modifying it to make an army of summons that were easy to make and at the same time outrageously fun. It also seems more likely that a Mastermind power set idea might be implemented faster than another primary because one can just transform what is already there. If you, the reader, want to consider Mastermind power sets seriously then continue reading. Trust me, its a long one.
I. What Makes a Mastermind?
The Mastermind is one of the most interesting power sets in City of Villains. It is probably the most versatile set out there with many an entourage of possibilities. For those of you less familiar with the archetype, it is simply the following:
1) The Mastermind is a low damage, low defense archetype in which the player summons more powerful subjects to do his or her bidding.
2) You are there to support your minions either by buffing/healing or de-buffing whatever they are fighting
3) The minions are there to protect their leader. The leader doesnt (and shouldnt) have to do much actual fighting (Basically meaning Primary Melee powers for the Masterminds themselves are no noes.)
Minions are not limited to a specific archetype and can range anywhere from brawlers to snipers, from magic users to technological marvels, from damage dealers to controlling types. Yes, the term minion is very wide in our villainous game.
II. Identifying Your Mastermind Power Set
Think of the creative process as an upside-down pyramid. At the top is the broad term which is the first step to making almost anything. For us, it will be to IDENTIFY what the power set is going to be. A general theme if you will, of what the power set is going to be comprised of. You cant make a mastermind set that has cavemen, robots, and a super chicken as its summons. It just doesnt make sense. Try following a general theme. For example, a recent post was made about a Pirate or a Medieval Mastermind, whichever one you wanted to apply it to. Focusing on Medieval, (because I think its cooler and Ninjas > Pirates by far) try to think of a set that utilizes themes from that time period. Since Masterminds are villainous, try to make it more evil sounding. Dark Ages Mastermind sounds slightly more sinister because darkness has a more of an evil feel to it. So the theme I will select for creative examples is a Black Knights Mastermind. (Good think this isnt a formal essay, that would count off =P)
Many people who suggest power sets often make the same common mistake. The most important key to making any power set great is BALANCE. Balance means that something is equaled out. It has reached homeostasis. It is at equilibrium. That it possesses just the right mixture of pros and cons to give it viable strengths and weaknesses. So what should you consider to balance? In a sense, you are your own team, and every good team has a strategy behind their purposes. Logically, the next step is to decide what their focuses are. Looking at the different Mastermind Primaries, they boil down to a two different classes, Primarily Ranged types and Primarily Melee types.
Ranged types and Melee types goal is the same, to defeat the enemy, but they have different ways going about accomplishing it. Primarily Ranged types focus on killing their enemies from a distance obviously, but it also has the purpose of keeping the group you are attacking away from you. Sure it takes a second for the enemy to get to you, but your enemy has time to run up to your minions and start mutilating the attackers. Ranged minions do not have many defenses or resistances. If a horde of Freakshow begins overrunning your firing lines, they have very few melee attacks to defend themselves with so the minions will quickly perish. So to make sure they are safe, they keep the enemy detained and away from them. Robots accomplish this through mass knock-back controlling. If the enemies cant keep on their feet, they will die before they have a chance to get back up. Soldiers use controlling shots to keep their foes stunned, slept, held, and immobilized to keep the enemy from approaching. Thugs have their bruiser to occupy the enemys to tank the foes while your other minions blast away. Since they are ranged, they typically have more Area of Effect and Cone damage so they can deal with all their enemies at once. It is more effective than picking off each enemy one by one as they advance. Consider this Firing at a distance, keeping foes contained and away, and to include more AoE and Cone attacks in your minions power selection than melee minions would have.
Primarily melee types focus on getting in their enemys face and beating the absolute crap out of them. It is less sophisticated than ranged attacks because there is less control in an all out slugfest than a firing line. Of the offered melee sets, each one so far has come with a controlling type of minion that can function at a longer range. For what has been observed. The melee minions have the ability to run into the fray while the specialized ranged minion offers controls to help maintain the battle from the rear. This, of course, isnt the only option, but so far it has been a good idea to have something that can fire from outside the fray that can greatly lessen the burden on the fighters. Out of our two current Melee types, we have Zombies and Ninjas. They both have that controlling figure but the two operate on completely different tactics. While Zombies focus on more less resisted types of damage with a little control, Ninjas deal more commonly resisted damage but have a lot more control, but Zombies are also more resilient than Ninjas and can take damage while Ninjas have to dodge to survive. An easy example of this is if a Jounin throws his caltrops into a group of enemies, they are slowed an example of control. If a Jounin throws caltrops under a Grave Knight, the Grave Knight resists the slow and walks right over it only taking damage from it, but being almost utterly unaffected by it an example of resistance. Keep in mind that melee pets are going to be in the fray a lot more and will be focusing mainly on one person at a time. Points to remember are focused attacks, controlling factors or all out massive damage, and a Ranged support minion type to keep your foes under control.
III. Creating Your Mastermind Power Set
When making your first start getting into the actual minion summons, there are some fundamental principles you should keep in mind when making them and assigning powers and abilities.
1) Do NOT overpower minions!
-It is the most common mistake Ive seen in power suggestions. Remember the next idea to keep yourself in line
2) Make sure the minions mesh together well!
- If you have the cavemen charging into battle with his club while the robots are trying to stay back and heal as the super chicken is casting fears on a single enemy, its not going to work! Its like driving a car on the wrong side of the road; youre eventually going to hit something! Instead, make sure the minions complete each other by somewhat supporting each other.
3) Make sure each pet has at least one ranged and one melee attack
-If youre fighting a flying sky raider and all your pets have are melee attacks, youre in a pickle. Each minion type should have at least one of each attack so they can combat in melee or at a distance. There used to be a time where Soldiers couldnt brawl and we discovered that was a bad thing.
4) Remember that Pets Have Passive Resistances! (for the most part)
-Aside from thugs, most minions have a certain amount of resistance or defense initially. Dont forget this unless you plan to have an army that cant take a punch.
Considering what has been discussed, a Black Knights themed mastermind will most likely be melee oriented. Swords are drawn, maces and axes at the ready, and you possibly have support through archers or mages from behind the lines. Keep in mind that this is going to be evil mastermind. Chivalry is definitely an idea that is to be put aside. This set will be based on the idea of a corrupt group of outlawed black knights. They are Cruel, sinister, greedy, and everyones rights are determined by their might. Before we decide on the Masterminds powers, it is easier to first consider the minion types. After all, the power set is modeled around what is being summoned, not what the masterminds primary weapon is. Medieval weaponry is the underlying element here. This is where it gets challenging. Think of the possibilities of minion types! Anything from unruly warriors, to sneaky archers, to dark warlords, to evil sorcerers, to black knights, to an extremely ticked off peasant, the list goes on and on. A slew of weapons are at their disposal too. They have all types of swords, axes, maces, bows, pitchforks, and even rusty spoons to pick from! Decisions, decisions first lets start by organizing some of your favorite combinations. I picked the following for my version of a Black Knights Mastermind, but there are many other possibilities:
Tier 1: Summon Warriors (Picture)
Tier 2: Call Woodsmen (Picture)
Tier 3: Summon Dark Warlord (Picture)
The upgrading powers are:
Tier 1: Mentor
Tier 2: Knightly Vow (Based on when Kings declared a person to be at the rank of a Knight)
When considering powers to give your minions, make sure you limit their powers accordingly. If you look at the first tier of all the minion types, rarely do they have more than four attacks. Ninjas Genin are the only exception, they get a melee and a ranged attack each level. The first tier is understandably limited because there are three of them so any massive damage being dealt by these minions alone would be absurd and the build would be tossed out like garbage. For our Dark Aged set, The Warriors have many possibilities. I favored their primary weapon to be a longsword. You could also consider each first tier minion having a different weapon like one has a sword, the second one has mace, and the last one gets an axe, but I like swords for these guys. They also, like all melee fighters, need at least one ranged attack. I decided on the crossbow. If you compare the Genin to the Zombies, at first glance it seems that Ninjas have an upper hand in ranged attacks. The zombies ranged attack is a cone though, thus making them better for groups. They are just limited to one target so consider that when selecting ranged attacks. Another thing to remember is their inherit resistances or defenses. Are your minions clad with armor? Have they undergone rigorous mental strengthening? Are the flexible acrobats, dodging anything that is tossed at them? Or are they basically new and have no resistances at all. For the Dark Aged Mastermind, they will be clad in iron breastplates giving them resistance to lethal and smashing. At first they only have leather armor but as they are upgraded they don more and more armor. Here is the Example Build for the Warriors.
Summon Warriors: Summons one to three Warriors to do your bidding. These unruly fighters have learned only basic sword techniques. Their light armor protects them against lethal and smashing damage and is easy to move around in. They can be upgraded with better weapons and armor and taught better swordplay.
AutoRes: Lethal (20) Smashing (20) +DEF (Mel/Rng +7)
Initial Abilities: Slash (Moderate, fast)
Mentor Abilities: Hack (Moderate-High, Moderate, Hand Crossbow (Minor, fast)
Knightly Vow Abilities: Slice (Cone) (Moderate, Moderate)
So the first tier summons is done. What about the second? The second tier is a big jump from the first set of minions. The second tier has a significantly wider array of powers than their lower tier counterparts. Along with their attacks, some can have mild buffing, de-buffing, or controlling powers. For instance, Spec-Ops on the Mercenary Masterminds have a slew of controlling powers at their disposal. They have web grenades, flash bangs, and tear gas that keep their enemy at bay. Protector bots from Robotics have repair and force fields to defend their friends along with seeker drones and plasma grenades that stun enemies that are getting too close. Jounin have a slew of sword attacks and controlling powers like caltrops and blinding powder that give them an advantage in fights. It is difficult to clearly define the second tier because they are so varied and versatile to their own Power set. Sometimes theyre the main damage dealers, sometimes they are the support. It really just depends. For the Black Knights mastermind, something that hasnt been introduced is a support second tier for melee pets. These guys are designed to support the first and the third tier from a safe distance away by firing arrow volleys into the fray. Balancing a second tier support damage dealer is hard considering there is nothing really to base its balancing off. Im still a little shaky on these guys, but here is an example build for the Woodsmen.
Call Woodsmen: Calls one to two Woodsmen from the depths of the forests to come to your aid. After years or training, They are master marksmen and are known to move swiftly and silently. They can be upgraded to have even better arrows volleys and to blend into their surroundings.
AutoRes (Placate, Taunt) +SPD +DEF (Mel/Rng/AoE, 15)
Initial Abilities: Snap Shot (Minor, Very Fast), Aimed Shot (Moderate, Fast), Dagger (Moderate, Moderate)
Mentor Abilities: Fistful of Arrows (Moderate, Moderate), Entangle Arrow (Moderate Recharge)
Knightly Vow Abilities: Ranged Shot (Very High, Long), Stealth (Auto)
We finally get to the big, the bad, the awesome, third tier summon. The third tier pet is a minion that doesnt need to have a lot held back. It still needs to be balanced of course, but it has far more options. Once you get him, he completes your army. Also, it adds the missing part of the mix to balance the power set out to make it mesh as a whole. Is he basically a gigantic cannon on the front lines firing God knows what at the enemy? Maybe he is massive tanks that can take the damage and dish it back out. Or perhaps he is a mesmerizing controller in the back supporting your troops in the fray. Just remember, when youre thinking of the third tier, he is supposed to be the best he can be without going overboard. For instance, looking at the Mercenary Masterminds again, when fully upgraded, their Commando has the three most powerful Assault Rifle attacks in the game: Full Auto, Flamethrower, and LRM Missile. He sacrifices all possible controls for damage. In this imaginary Black Knights Mastermind set, the third tier is going to be the Dark Warlord. With all the current hype from Issue 11, I decided this guy was going to be a mean, seasoned knight who wields dual blades. Since Im not too familiar with the set, I am not sure exactly how to balance this pet out properly. Also, when considering dual blades combo attacks, the AI would be hard to program to use them correctly. With that in mind, here is my idea for the Dark Warlords build.
Dark Warlord: Summons a powerful, fearsome Dark Warlord. He is a veteran warrior who has seen the field of battle many times before. His experience makes him resistant to fear and confusion. He bears empowered dark armor that makes him very resilient to Lethal and smashing damage as well energy resistance.
AutoRes: (Confuse, Fear) Smashing (28) Lethal (28) Energy (14) Neg Eng. (14) Poison (7)
Initial Abilities: Nimble Slash (Minor, Very Fast) , Ablating Strike (Moderate, Moderate), Heavy Crossbow (Moderate, Long)
Mentor Abilities: Typhoons Edge (Moderate, Long), Vengeful Slice (High, Moderate), Intimidate (Long Recharge) (Weaken)
Knightly Vow Abilities: Power slice (Moderate, Fast) One Thousand cuts (Superior, Long), Cloak of Fear (Semi-Auto) (Sweep)
Now, the minions are done. Now comes the easier part. Since the summons and the upgrades take up five power slots, that leaves four remaining. In the past, these last remaining powers have consisted of three attacks and a power that matches the set. The first three are simple. To match your power set, take one of the ranged weapons that is used and give it to the mastermind. For Black Knights, I did consider using crossbows, but it is easier to use the bow considering so much work has been done already for Archery and one of the mastermind secondary powers is Trick Arrow. The powers will be the following:
Level 1 - Snap Shot (Minor, Fast)
Level 4 - Aimed Shot (High, Moderate)
Level 8 - Fistful of Arrows (Moderate, Moderate)
Now we deal with the hardest of the four. The power available at level eighteen is a very unique power for every set. Ninjas have Smoke Flash, granting critical blows to any minion for ten seconds. Mercenaries have Serum which considerably boosts accuracy, damage, endurance recovery, and damage resistance for sixty seconds with the drawback of being fatigued at the end. Necromancy Soul Extraction summons a ghost from one of your fallen minions to fight for you temporarily. Robotics has Repair which fully heals a robot and replenishes some of their endurance. Thugs have Gang War which summons a large posse of punks to fight for a while. What is your mastermind set going to be unique with? For Black Knights, I decided on a Battle Cry power. It works somewhat like Serum.
Battle Cry: You inspire an uncontrollable rage inside one of your knights for a short time. The selected minion is thrown into a wild frenzy and his Damage, Running Speed, Recharge Speed, and Health is boosted are greatly increased while his accuracy and defense are slightly decreased. The knight is also resistant to all types of slows and controlling effects including Disorient, Sleep, Hold, Immobilize, and Knockback. After he recovers from his rage, the warrior is left exhausted, drained of all endurance and cannot recover endurance or regenerate for a while.
Effects: +Damage -Accuracy -Defense +Speed +Recharge +Health
IV. Proofreading and Revising Your Power Set
Now we have all the powers done. We have a good idea of what our power set will look like as well as what the minions are and what they can and cant do. Now, it is time for a quick analysis of the power set. Check for key factors:
1) Is the set balanced? Make sure they are neither overpowered nor underpowered.
2) Do the pets function well as a team? They need to be able to support each other.
3) Can the AI support their abilities easily? If they have a power, they need to use it correctly.
4) Do their powers make sense to have? Be able to explain why they have their powers
The power set appears good on paper, but words are nothing until they are put to the test. The Black Knights power set, when fully upgraded, focuses on primarily damage with mostly lethal attacks. The set also has mild control from immobilizes and fears to support those in the fray.
The first tier Warriors seem balanced, they dont have the best attacks but their final upgrade giving them a melee cone attack is a good point about them. Another one of their selling points is their mix of both defense and resistance. Neither is an incredibly high buff so it is within reason as well as lacking. They are weak against all other types of damage and susceptible to all status effects. They also have a Draw Crossbow for their ranged attack. It is a quick attack but has low damage. These guys are at an extreme disadvantage when facing flying foes but the archers can cover that part as well as ground several foes if needed.
Second tier Woodsmen also seemed balanced. They function more as ranged support for the rest of the group. Their entangle arrows help keep enemies away from them as well as making them hold still for our melee pets. They have also been given stealth later to help them get to a safe position easily. If they are found within melee combat, they have a dagger to defend themselves with in melee. It might be good to consider a possible stealth strike from a Ranged Shot when hidden. The Woodsman seems a little weaker compared to other sets second tier pets, but think of it as a scale of damage. The build is geared for melee but it has ranged pets that have the potential to overpower the set if they are too good. We sacrificed more powerful arrow volleys like Blazing Arrow, Explosive Arrow, and Ice Arrow to balance out the overall damage and control output. Think of it in terms of a the Ninjas power set. They have a powerful Oni who excels at dominating with his controls and ranged damage while the ninjas in melee do mostly single target attacks. Since the other minions in this set can do more Cone and AoE damage, a form of control that could be fitting would be adding more damage to them. Fistful of arrows when coupled with the warriors Slice and the Dark Warlords AoE attacks, it is a valid tactic to add more damage to kill swiftly rather than add more control and slowly kill through suppression.
The Dark Warlord might be a bit overpowered. The overall set was lacking in a controlling aspect so I gave him dark armor and fear powers. His ability to intimidate is from his experience in battle. He knows how to get inside the enemys mind. His Cloak of Fear is from his overwhelming power but is an extremely watered down variation of the Cloak of Fear. It is hard to resist someone with a strong presence like his. Even though he is based of the brute, but fury would make him too powerful. He also can perform two of the four combos. I wonder if the AI could support the combo ability. Dual Blades are good without their combos but it would be better if he could do both combos he has been given. Like the first tier, he has a ranged attack deficiency. His crossbow is more powerful than the first tier but takes longer to load and use.
It is important to look at all the subtleties of each set and compare them to each other to see if your build fits in as not only a different build, but also a different style of play than the others. From what Ive observed, there are very clear differences between each set. They prioritize differently, they function differently, all these minor details add up in the end and amount to very different playing styles.
Foci:
Mercenaries: Ranged Lethal Damage Variations - Mass Controls - Small heals
Robotics: Mass Energy and Fire Damage - Knockback Control - Great Self Sufficiency
Ninjas: Swift, powerful single target Damage - Powerful Single Controls - Nothing
Necromancy: Heavy Lethal Melee Damage and Toxic Damage - Weaker mass controls - Self Heals
Thugs: Heavy Lethal Cones and AoEs - Barely any control - Personal buffs and Tanker pet
Black Knights: Moderate Cone Lethal Damage, Ranged damage support - weak controls - Nothing
When this power set is optimized at level 32, it is a unique set that is geared towards melee cone and PBAoE damage along with ranged support that adds to that damage in an attempt to kill swifter rather than keep the enemy in place. They sacrifice their possible control for their variety of lethal attacks to try to kill the mob before they can get away. A plausible tactic on paper, but the real test would be to imagine if it would really function like in game. Since these are fictitious, we can only speculate.
So, after the entire process, our example build is complete! Lets see how it basically looks.
Black Knights: Release the ancient order of the Black Knights from their dark forests of the old world. This dedicated order has pledge their allegiance to serve your dark designs. They wield powerful medieval weaponry and techniques that can be improved over time.
Level 1) Snap Shot: A quick attack that fires an arrow at your foe after only minimal aiming. Fast, but little damage. (Minor, fast)
Level 1) Summon Warriors: Summons one to three Warriors to do your bidding. These unruly fighters have learned only basic sword techniques. Their light armor protects them against lethal and smashing damage and is easy to move around in. They can be upgraded with better weapons and armor and taught better swordplay (Very Long Recharge)
Level 4) Aimed Shot: Though it takes longer to execute, your Aimed Shot deals greater damage than Snap Shot. (High, Moderate)
Level 6) Mentor: Trains henchman blah blah blah. (Medium Recharge)
Level 8) Fistful of Arrows: You fire a fistful of arrows at foes in a cone in front of your. Good at close range. (Moderate, Moderate)
Level 12) Call Woodsmen: Calls one to two Woodsmen from the depths of the forests to come to your aid. After years or training, They are master marksmen and are known to move swiftly and silently. They can be upgraded to have even better arrows volleys and to blend into their surroundings. (Very Long Recharge)
Level 18) Battle Cry: You inspire an uncontrollable rage inside one of your knights for a short time. The selected minion is thrown into a wild frenzy and his Damage, Running Speed, Recharge Speed, and Health is boosted are greatly increased while his accuracy and defense are slightly decreased. The knight is also resistant to all types of slows and controlling effects including Disorient, Sleep, Hold, Immobilize, and Knockback. After he recovers from his rage, the warrior is left exhausted, drained of all endurance and cannot recover endurance or regenerate for a while. (Very Long Recharge)
Level 26) Summon Dark Warlord: Summons a powerful, fearsome Dark Warlord. He is a veteran warrior who has seen the field of battle many times before. His experience makes him resistant to fear and confusion. He bears empowered dark armor that makes him very resilient to Lethal and smashing damage as well energy resistance. (Very Long Recharge)
Level 32) Knightly Vow: Upgrades weaponry and techniques. (Very Slow)
It is always fine to suggest new ideas for the Developers to ponder possible new power sets. You can suggest a general theme for a set like pirates, mages, elementists, clones, or medieval masterminds, but usually the reader will skim over the idea and maybe agree that it is a good set, and then throw the short, vague concept in their suggested names for power sets pile and never think of it again until it is brought up by someone else. Instead, by providing a detailed overview of the build and what you think should consist of, you can establish the concept power set as something balanced, unique, and worthwhile rather than just a carbon copy of a pre-existing set with a different costume.
Valuable Sources: Use these when creating and balancing your own sets.
Red Tomax's Guide to City of Heroes
Paragon Wiki
Red Zero's Mastermind Notes v.3.0