Thugs/Storm Guide

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬****************Neo’s Guide to Thugs/Storm Summoning***************


Greetings!! Welcome to Neo’s Guide to Thugs/Storm Summoning! Hopefully this guide will help some aspiring Thugs/Stormers out there understand some of the powers, and maybe even help those undecided about the set to start one.

Let me introduce myself. My Global is @Neo. I am a 57 month Veteran of CoH/CoV. I have taken an Illusion/Storm controller all the way to level 50, and I also have a level 31 AR/Storm corruptor. My Thugs/Storm Mastermind has been level 50 for quite some time now. Now I don’t know about you, but normally when I get a toon to level 50, I put it on the shelf and start working on another. However, this is not the case with Galeforce Gangbanger, my Thugs/Storm. This toon is so fun, destructive,and powerful that I continue to play him on a regular basis. Since there weren’t hardly any guides on this combination, I thought I would type one out.

What this guide is NOT:
This is not the be all/end all of any Thugs/Storm guide. Also, this is NOT a “well,you better take these powers or you will suck” guide. This is not a PvP (though the set can be successful) and this is not a IO build. All values are represented while at Level 50 and using Level 50 Regular Invention Enhancements. The set DOES become more powerful and damaging with Invention Sets and Procs, but they are not completely necessary.



So, you thought and thought and thought. You want a set that kills and kills fast. You want to be able to deal a lot of damage,right? So you strongly considered Bots. Well, good choice. Bots deal a lot of damage. They are pretty much tied with the damage output that Thugs has. Surprised? Well, you shouldn’t be. A couple of your pets will Debuff Defense, making it easier for all of your pets to hit. Pretty nice,huh? You also have a Brute…yep…the Bruiser is a Brute that will continually deal more and more damage the more he attacks and gets attacked. Now THAT is cool. Bots and Thugs are the kings of damage. That is their specialty. So you decided to go ahead and roll a Thugs MM? Awesome! By far, Thugs has a coolness factor that makes other MMs, and other Archetypes, drool. Yeah…here’s a napkin for ya. Dab off your chin. And your shirt. And your keyboard. That’s right…

If you wanna deal a lot of damage, and look cool while doing so, then go Thugs. Your second tier pets,Enforcers, will have on sunglasses and trenchcoats, and will whip out Uzis. Your third Tier pet, Bruiser, is covered with tattoos,wears sunglasses and a do-rag, and has chains on his chest. Not to be outdone, your first tier pets,Thugs, will bust caps in everyone’s a$$ like it’s nobody’s bizness, and one of them will toss out Molotov Cocktails. You want cool? You want Issac Hayes cool? Coolness that Shaft hopes to obtain? Then welcome to Thugs.



Thugs has a great variety of Single Target and Area of Effect attacks. Eventually you will have 6 pets. You will have 3 Thugs, 2 Enforcers, and 1 Bruiser. You also have access to another “pet” in Gang War. Though not a true pet, you can not command the Gang War. They are good for a little bit of extra damage, and , most importantly, getting aggro of of you, your team, and your other pets.
Thugs is also a Ranged Set. The only pet you want in Melee is your Bruiser. All of your other pets you want them to hang out in the back with you. This way, they get the Mastermind inherent bonus from you, meaning they are more accurate and deal more damage. The Bruiser, with his higher resistances and health points, can stand to be in melee,deals more damage in melee, plus it helps build his Fury,thus dealing even more damage.

Thugs pairs extremely well with /Storm. Storm brings to the table a Single Target Heal,which is great to keep your Bruiser(and any pet) healed. It also offers a decent To Hit Debuff and crowd control, an excellent Defense and Resistance Debuff, thus helping your Thugs deal even more damage. It has a very nice slow, and 2 very nice damaging powers. Remember, you wanted to be the King of Karnage, the Master of Disaster, the President of Pain, the…the… ah heck, you wanna beat the snot outta people as fast as you can. Then let me introduce the beast known as THUGS/STORM.

**********************************THUGS*********** ***************************


Street-wise and extremely loyal to the right leader,Thugs make the perfect Henchmen for a manipulative Mastermind.The Rogue Isle is the perfect breeding ground for Thugs,and ‘street-cred’ can go a long way. Thugs are no stranger to urban warfare,and they are quite proficent with various weapons. Most Thugs aren’t particularly resistant to any damage type, but their Lieutenants good leadership skills to harden all your henchmen.


***Pistols
Available: Level 1
• Ranged,Minor Damage(Lethal)
• End Cost: 6.5
• Recharge: 3 seconds
• Range: 80’
• Cast: 1.2 seconds
• Accuracy: 82.5%
• Allowed Enahncements: Accuracy,Damage,End Reduction,Range,Recharge Reduction
• Allowed Invention Sets: Ranged Damage
• Damage at level 50: 59.6 (Lethal)

*Quickly fires a round from one of your heavy automatic pistols. Damage is average,but the fire rate is very fast. Damage:minor, recharge: very fast

¬_One of the 2 starting powers available for the Thugs Mastermind. Have you ever wanted to have a toon with a handgun? An uzi? A Magnum handgun? Don’t deny it…you have and you know it! This is one reason why some people roll a Thugs MM….to have handguns. It’s even cooler that you can customize your weapon. Anyway, as the power description states, it does low damage, and is Lethal damage…one of the 2 most resisted damage types in CoX. It would be ok just for a “filler” attack,but quickly becomes obsolete as you get your henchmen,and some powers from your secondary. Personally,I did not take this power.


***Call Thugs
• Available: Level 1
• Summon Punks
• End Cost: 19.5
• Recharge: 60 seconds
• Range: 60’
• Cast: 1.67 seconds
• Summon: Thug
• Allowed Enhancements: Accuracy,Endurance Reduction, Damage, Knockback
• Allowed Invention Sets: Pets, Knockback

*Calls forth one to three Thugs(depending on your level) to do your bidding. The third Thug you gain will be an Arsonist. Thugs use Dual Pistols and can be taught additional pistol attacks. You may only have 3 Thugs under your control at any time.If you attempt to call more Thugs, you can only replace the ones you have lost in battle.If you already have 3, the power will fail.Recharge: very long

___So,here’s your first pet…a Punk.You whistle and out of nowhere he comes running to get your back. The Punks are better if they stay back and use ranged attacks. Most of the time,they will.Every once in a while they will move into melee and use their weaker attacks. They have low Health Points,and virtually no defense or resistance,so that means don’t get too attached to them. Through some other powers we will see later, you can actually get these guys,and yourself,pretty good defense and resistance. Also, one of your /Storm powers,02 Boost, will come in handy.
___ I took this power without even thinking about.At level 1, you will have 1 punk. Once you hit level 6, you will have 2 punks. Since they are lower level than you, Accuracy will be needed to ensure they hit your target.The Arsonist will show up ready to burn everything at level 18.Ahhh…the Arsonist. You will love,and hate, the Arsonist. You will hate him because if you are nor careful,he will wander up to that Boss and try to punch his lights out. You will love,and I do mean love him when he stays back and throws Molotov Cocktails…and Scourges.
___ What? What’cha talkin’ bout Willis?Scourge? You mean that wonderful ability that Corruptors have that gives them a chance to do DOUBLE DAMAGE once the enemy has fallen below 50% health?!?! Yep. That’s what I am talking about Willis. More on this later…let’s look at the powers that your Punks have.

• Base Health Points: 578.28
• Brawl: 21.02 smashing damage
• Activation time for Brawl: .67 seconds
• Recharge time for Brawl: 16 seconds
• End cost for Brawl: 4.37 seconds
• Accuracy for Brawl: 1.0 x
• Range: 7’


*Pistol
• Damage: 19.46 Lethal
• Activation time: 2.33 seconds
• Recharge time: 2 seconds
• End cost: 5.2
• Accuracy: 1.10 x
• Range: 70’

The Arsonist is the only one,according to in game stats, that has any resistance. He has 26.14% resistance to Fire,and has the same Brawl attack as your other Punks;see above for Brawl’s information.All of your Punks can Super Leap.

The Arsonist’s attack is:
Molotov Cocktail
• Damage: 31.14 Fire damage (16 ticks of 1.95 fire damage over 7.75 seconds)
• Activation time: 1.37 seconds
• Recharge time: 6 seconds
• End cost: 10.4
• Accuracy: 1 x
• Range: 70’
• AoE: 5’ radius



***Dual Wield
• Available: level 4
• Ranged,Moderate Damage(Lethal);Foe Knockback
• End cost: 8.58
• Recharge: 6 seconds
• Range: 80’
• Cast: 1.2 seconds
• Knockback: 1.06
• Accuracy: 82.5%
• Damage: 78.7 (Lethal)
• Allowed Enhancements: Accuracy,Damage,End Reduction,Knockback,Recharge Reduction,Range
• Allowed IO Sets: Ranged Damage, Knockback

*Fires both pistols at onceat a time at a target.Firing both pistols at onceis slower than a single shot,but deals more damage and the target may get knocked down by the force of the impact.Damage: Moderate; Recharge:Fast

___Just as the description says, you pull out your two little friends and fire away at the same time. It is a very nice looking animation, plus the “cool” factor of having 2 guns out is on up there. Many people take this power just so they can show off to their Corruptor friends,or other Mastermind friends. The knockback can fairly be relied upon,as long as the target doesn’t have any resistance to knockback. I personally respecced out of this (and yeah,I was one of the ones that took it just to show off). My personal belief is that I really didn’t need it,especially later on when more powers are available.

***Equip Thugs
• Available: Level 6
• Ranged, Equip Thugs Henchmen
• End cost: 45.5
• Recharge: 6 seconds
• Range: 50’
• Cast: 1.3 seconds
• Radius: 30’
• Allowed Enhancements: End Reduction, Range, Recharge Reduction
• Allowed IO Sets: None
*Equip your Thug Henchmen with better ammo,weapons,and training.This power permanently bestows new weapons and abilitites to all of your Thug Henchmen.The powers gained are unique and dependent upon the type of Thug Henchmen.This power only works on your Thug Henchmen,and you can only equip your Thug Henchmen once with this power. Recharge: Fast

___Ah…the fun is starting to begin! First off, with the release of Issue 13,once you have your pets summoned,as long as they are all within a 30’ radius, you only have to activate this power one time…and ALL of your Thugs will get this upgrade. Before Issue 13, a mastermind had to go through and activate this power for every single Thug. This saves sooooooooo much time and frustration. Thanks Devs!

___Anyway, back to Equip Thugs. I took this power,obviously. My opinion is that a Mastermind should have all of his pets and all of the upgrades for hi/her pets.After activating this power, you reach into your shirt/jacket/etc and whip out a new clip of ammo and toss it to the Thug. You will notice that the Thugs’ costome will change slightly. This helps you to see if your Thug has Equip on him. So, the power desription said better ammo and training,and you are probably wondering what that is,right? Well, let’s look at Equip Thugs and what it does for all of your Henchmen.

Grants Pistol to Thug
• Damage: 19.46 Lethal Damage
• Activation time: 1.2 seconds
• Recharge: 3.0 seconds
• End Cost: 5.2
• Accuracy: 1.1 x
• Range: 70’ Single Target


Grant Dual Wield to Thug
• Damage: 25.69 Lethal Damage(2 ticks of 12.85 over .3 seconds)
• Activation Time: 1.2 seconds
• Recharge: 6 seconds
• End Cost: 6.86
• Accuracy: 1.1 x
• Range: 70’ Single Target
• 25% chance for Magnitude 1 knockback on target


Grant Spit Fire to Arsonist
• Damage: 34.16 Fire Damage(3 ticks of 11.396 over 2.1 seconds,after a 1 second delay
• Activation Time: 2.83 seconds
• Recharge: 16 seconds
• End Cost: 15.18
• Accuracy: 1.2 x
• Range: 40’ Cone(40’ Radius;30 degree arc) 10 targets max


Grant Uzi Burst to Enforcer
• Damage: 24.77 Lethal (3 ticks of 8.26 over .70 seconds
• Activation Time: 1.53 seconds
• Recharge: 4 seconds
• End Cost: 5.2
• Accuracy: 1.1 x
• Range: 80’,Single Target
• -5% Defense to target for 5 seconds


Grant Heavy Uzi Burst to Enforcer
• Damage: 40.99 Lethal(6 ticks of 6.83 over 1.6 seconds
• Activation Time: 2.1 seconds
• Recharge: 8 seconds
• End Cost: 8.53
• Accuracy: 1.1 x
• Range: 80’,Single Target


Grant Uzi Cone Blast to Enforcer
• Damage: 40.99 Lethal(6 ticks of 6.83 over 1.6 seconds)
• Activation Time: 3.03
• Recharge: 10 seconds
• End Cost: 10.4
• Accuracy: 1.1 x
• Range: 60’ Cone (60’ Radius, 20 degree arc); 10 targets max
• -5% Defense to target for 7 seconds


Grant Tactics to Enforcer
• Range: 30 ‘ Radius (of each Enforcer)
• + 2.5% To Hit


Grant Haymaker to Bruiser
• Damage: 59.29 Smashing
• Activation Time: 1.5 seconds
• Recharge: 8 seconds
• End Cost: 8.53
• Accuracy: 1 x
• Range: 7’,Single Target
• 60% chance for Magnitude .67 Knockdown to target


Grant Handclap to Bruiser
• Activation Time: 1.23 seconds
• Recharge: 30 seconds
• End Cost: 13
• Accuracy: .80 x
• Range: 15’ Radius,10 targets max
• Magnitude 2 stun for 14.9 seconds
• 50% chance of Magnitude 2 stun for 14.9 seconds
• 50% chance of Magnitude 1 stun for 14.9 seconds
• Magnitude 5.19 Kncockback


___Whew…that’s a lot from one power! With Equip Thugs, you make all of your Pets do more damage. This is what a Thugs/Storm MM is all about…Damage.With a side of Damage. And a dash of Debuff. And a sprinkle of Damage. Perhaps the coolest thing about this is what it does to your Enforcers. Once you get Enforcers,and get both of the pets, Equip Thugs will give BOTH of them Tactics. If one were to slot 3 To Hit Buffs into Enforcers,then it is possible to have +56% To Hit Bonus….from EACH Enforcer. Remember, you will eventually have 2 Enforcers,so by slotting like this, you are getting a +112% To Hit Bonus for all of your pets…as long as they are within 30’ of both Enforcers.
¬¬___Another note…this stacks with any other Thugs Masterminds. Yep,you got. If you are on a team of 4 Thugs MMs, and each of those MMs have used Equip Thugs on their Enforcers, then EVERY Thug,Arsonist,Enforcer and Bruiser will be getting a MINIMUM +20% To Hit Buff….and if each of them had 3 To Hit Buff Enhancements in their Enforcers, that would be a +448% To Hit Buff!!! Insane!
___However,before you go into shock,most Thugs MMs do not slot To Hit Buffs into their Enforcers. They go for mainly Franken-slotting(mixing different IO Sets to achieve the greatest Accuracy,Damage,etc) or possibly even putting a couple of the “Proc” enhancements into Enforcers. Achilles’ Heel:Chance for –Resistance and Lady Grey:Chance for Negative Energy Damage are very useful,as they allow more damage.
___Needless to say,unless you are going for a “petless” MM, take Equip Thugs. The “normal” slotting for this is 1 Endurance Reduction. Don’t forget that if any of your pets die,you will need to reapply Euip Thugs to them.



***Empty Clips
• Available: Level 8
• Ranged (Cone); Moderate Damge(Lethal);Knockback
• End Cost: 19
• Recharge: 8 seconds
• Range: 40’(40’ Cone;30 degree arc); 10 targets max
• Cast Time: 1.83 seconds
• Accuracy: 82.5%
• Knockback: 10% chance of Magnitude 1.06 Knockback
• Damage at Level 50: 47.1 Damage(Lethal;3 ticks of 15.7 over .7 seconds)
*You empty the clips of both your pistols in arc of suppression fire.This attack can blast multiple foes in the affected cone area,and has a small chance of knocking some foes down.Damage:Moderate; Recharge: Moderate

___Here’s your chance at being Scarface. You whip out your gun and fire until you are out of bullets.You empty your clips and pop several caps in someone’s you know what.Decent sized cone,and a very small chance of knockback.This is a fun power. The first time you see it/use it, you laugh like a maniac. You will think you are Al Capone. You will get a funny tingly feeling. On a side note, some MMs take this power just to slot some certain Purple/Ultra Rare Enhancements into. Once again, I dropped this power.


***Call Enforcer
• Available: Level 12
• Summon Enforcer
• End Cost: 19.5
• Recharge: 90 seconds
• Range: 60’
• Cast Time: 1.67
• Allowed Enhancements: Accuracy,Damage,Defense Buff,Defense DeBuff,End Reduction,To Hit Buff
• Allowed Invention Sets: Pet Damage, Defense Debuff, To Hit Buff
*Calls forth 1 to 2 Thug Enforcers(depending on your level)to do your bidding.Thug Enforcer carry a sub-machine gun,and possess good Leadership Skills.Their weapon of choice is an Uzi,and can be equipped to carry 2 at once.You may only have 2 Thug Enforcers under your control at any given time.If you attempt to call more Enforcers,you can only replace the ones you have lost in battle.If you already have two, the power will fail.Recharge: Very Long


___Oh yeah…Enforcers baby! These guys are the Leuitenants. They “possess good Leadership Skills”…they get Tactics AND Maneuvers! Not only do they do good damage,debuff the enemies’ Defense,they also help out your other pets by buffing their To Hit chance AND their Defense!Sweet!These guys will come up from the sewer when you summon them. On a side note…once you have Equipped and Upgraded the Enforcers, they look the part. With ease. Wearing a trenchcoat and sunglasses,while carrying their Uzis, they look totally bada$$ and ready to take care of business.Let’s take a look at their inherent abilities.

• Base Health Points: 771.35
• Resistance: 26.14% Resistance to Lethal Damage
• Super Leap
• Maneuvers: +8.47% to all Defense

And their inherent attacks are:

Brawl
• Damage: 25.70 (Smashing)
• Activation time: .67 seconds
• Recharge time: 16 seconds
• End Cost: 4.37
• Accuracy: 1 x
• Range: 7’


Burst
• Damage: 21.77 (Lethal) 3 ticks of 7.26 over .7 seconds
• -10% Defense to target for 5 seconds
• Activation Time: 2.2 seconds
• Recharge time: 3 seconds
• End Cost: 4.37 seconds
• Accuracy: 1.0 x
• Range: 80’; Single Target


Heavy Burst
• Damage: 34.53(Lethal) 6 ticks of 5.76 over 1.6 seconds
• -5% Defense to target for 5 seconds
• Accuracy: 1.05 x
• Activation Time: 2.67 seconds
• Recharge Time: 6 seconds
• End Cost: 6.86
• Range: 80’;Single Target


___Whoa…do you see that? Look back up at those descriptions.Don’t worry…I’ll wait for ya. /twiddle thumbs. /whistling. Oh hey there…welcome back! So,what did you learn? The Enforcers lower the enemies’ Defense! And it stacks! Holy cow! So if both Enforcers use,and hit with, Burst,the enemies’ Defense is lowered by a total of 20%. for 5 seconds.If they both use,and hit with,Heavy Burst, the enemies’ Defense is lowered by 10% for 5 seconds. Granted, they will probably never use Burst at the exact same time,then immediately use Heavy Burst,but either way they should be able to constantly keep the enemies’ Defense lowered.
___To make life a little bit easier,I personally slotted an Achilles’ Heel:Chance for –Resistance DeBuff and Touch of Lady Grey:Chance for Negative Energy Damage enhancements in my Enforcers. Each time they attack, these Procs will check for the –Resistance and the Negative Energy Damage. Pretty nice.Indeed. As far as slotting goes;again,like I said before,it’s totally up to you. Maybe you want maximum Defense DeBuff for your pets.Then slot for Defense Debuff. Or maybe you want to have an insane chance To Hit…then slot for To Hit Buff. Or maybe,just maybe, you want maximum damage. Then slot for it! The choices are unlimited.
___I personally like to have the 2 procs I mentioned earlier, and then I like Blood Mandate: Accuracy/Damage, Damage, Accuracy/Damage/Endurance Reduction, and Damage/Endurance Reduction. This gives me a little Recovery Bonus (1.5% Recovery),a small Defense bonus(1.88% Defense to Fire and Cold) a .94%Defense bonus to AoE,and a small Resistance to Stun(1.65%). As far as my Enforcers go, this gives them 45.80% Accuracy, 97.20% Damage,and 45.80% Endurance Reduction.
___ Note that any enhancement,such as Blood Madate:Accuracy/Damage/Endurance Reduction, affects the pets themselves. So when the Enforcer uses a power,it takes less of the Enforcers’ endurance to do so.If you slotted something that had Recharge Reduction, then the pets’ powers would recharge faster. Cool,huh? In a longer battle,or if you are on a roll and steamrolling through everything, your pets can,and will,run out of endurance. I found that having these couple of Inventions(Damage/Endurance Reduction,Accuracy/Damage/Endurance Reduction) still gives me a good Accuracy percentage,excellent damage, and keeps my pets’ Endurance Bar in check.If your pets run out of end,they will not be able to attack,just like you.
___You may say that an Accuracy of 45.80% isn’t “good”,but keep in mind that the Enforcers will increase the To Hit Chance by 10%,and if you take Tactics (slotted with 3 level 50 To Hit Buff Inventions),then that’s another 11.9%. To Hit buffs are added together before being multiplied by Accuracy. So, 11.9%(tactics) + 10%(enforcers)= 21.9% To Hit Buff. Factor in the bonus the Enforcers have(45.80%) and we have a To Hit value of 67.7% for the Heavy Burst attack by the Enforcers(21.9% + 45.80% = 67.7%) Heavy Burst has an Accuracy of 1.05. So the actual accuracy of Heavy Burst is 71.085% (67.7 x 1.05= 71.085%).So,you number crunchers out there, you say that that’s still not good enough for you?
___Remember that Enforcers also Debuff Defense,AND,wait for it….wait for it…we get Freezing Rain,which also Debuffs Defense.Freezing Rain slotted with 3 level 50 Defense Debuff Inventions yields a -49.8% Defense Debuff.Since you can get Freezing Rain permanent, it is safe to say that the enemies’ Defense will always be debuffed by at least 50%. If you Debuff Defense, you are effectively increasing you chance to hit. So,uhm,ya. I don’t see a problem with that. I don’t have any problems laying the smack down on my enemies. Remember, Thugs/Storm is all about synergy and damage. And we have it all in Spades bay bay.

___So anyway,slotting is up to you.Experiment if you want to. If you like my suggestion,feel free to use it. I hope you like it. If you like your own idea,then by all means please go with that! Different players have different views and thoughts. Like I said earlier, you can have 2 Thugs/Storm MMs and due to how they are slotted, each could play totally different from one another.Let’s move on,shall we?

***Gang War
• Available: Level 18
• Summon Posse
• End Cost: 13
• Recharge: 600 seconds (yeah…that’s 10 minutes)
• Range: 60’
• Cast Time: 1.67 seconds
• Summon Thug Posse
• Allowed Enhancements: Accuracy,Damage,Endurance Reduction,Recharge Reduction
• Allowed Invention Set Enhancements: Pet Damage, Recharge Intensive Pets
*Calls a Gang of 10 or so Thug Posse to come to your aid for a brief while.Posse are not your true Henchmen.They can not be given direct commands,nor will they appear in your pet window.You must select an enemy target to attack first before calling these Thugs.Posse are many,but they are very weak,and are only equipped with the most basic weapons.Although they will follow you,they are not as loyal as your Henchmen,and will only stick around for a few minutes before taking off. Recharge:Long


___When you whistle for Gang War, several (10 is the average) Thugs come out of the woodwork ready to dish out a good ‘ol fashioned beating…gangbang style. The Thugs DO have the most basic of weapons;ranging from rocks to pipes to baseball bats.Anything they could have have grabbed before running out of their house to save you. Once you target an enemy,you activate this power and the Posse will usually go straight after that enemy. They have low Health Points(578.28) and do minor to moderate damage;ranging from 13.21 Smashing Damage to as much as 49.04 Smashing Damage).
___Keep in mind that these guys will be in close melee range,and often times will be one-shotted.The extra damage is nice,but that’s not the reason to take this power;no sir ree! There are a couple of reasons you want this power. First off,it provides a nice little distraction and absorbs the alpha strike for you.The Posse gives your enemy about 10 other things to concentrate on,thus helping mitigate some damage to you and your real Henchmen.
___Secondly,for you rich people out there,it provides a great power in which to slot a few certain Invention Sets. There are 2 +Defense Aura and 2 +Resistance Aura Enhancements that would fit quite nicely into Gang War. If you had Sovereign Right:Resistance Bonus,Expedient Reinforcement:Resist Bonus Aura for Pets,Edict of the Masterefense Bonus, and Call to Arms: Defense Bonus Aura for Pets, that would add an additional 20% Resistance to all and 10% Defense to all for all of your pets.THAT’s impressive.
___That’s also expensive…VERY expensive to do. Either way, recharge reduction would be a good thing in Gang War to help out with that atrocious 10 minute recharge timer. I have this power and probably use it once every mission. I normally wait until I am about to take on a tough Boss,or an Elite Boss or an AV.Using this as your opener is pretty smart and relatively safe. The posse will the Alpha Stirke,and do some damage for you.Plus,like I said,it is effectively damage mitigation as your enemy now will fight 10 or so more guys.



***Call Bruiser
• Available: Level 26
• Summon Bruiser
• End Cost: 19.5
• Recharge Time: 120 seconds
• Range: 60’
• Cast time: 1.67 seconds
• Summon Thug Boss
• Allowed Enhancements: Accuracy,Damage,Endurance Reduction,Hold,Knockback,Disorient
• Allowed Invention Sets: Pet DamageKnockback

*Calls one massive Bruiser.He is strong,tough,and has a mean temper.As a Brute,he will generate Fury and deal more damage the longer the combat lasts.His Super Strength powers means he favors hand to hand combat.He has resistance to Fire and Cold Damage.You may only have 1 Bruiser under your control at any given time.If you attempt to summon another Bruiser,the power will fail. Recharge: Very Long

___Call Bruiser probably has the coolest summon animation of any pets. You whistle and then all of a sudden here comes this big mean tough looking Brute riding a Harley and he powerslides in.He steps off the Harley and just lets the bike drop.He’s big.He’s mean.And man,is he uuugggggllllyyyyy.After you get him equipped and upgraded,he only wants to do one thing:bust some heads open.He has chains around his chest,tattoos all over,sunglasses and a do rag.Did I mention that he is a Brute?
___What does this mean? Oh,I’m glad you asked Dear Watson! He has good resistance,and the more he attacks(and gets attacked) the more damage he does. He builds up his Fury(just like a regular Brute) and slowly becomes more powerful;each attack doing more damage than the last.
___Remember I said he was big?And mean?Well,he’s also stupid. All those steroids must’ve affected his brain or something. Brutes perform their best when in Melee Range, and this guy will stand back and toss a few boulders before running into a mob.Most of the time,you will find yourself having to Command him to GoTo and attack.This way,he uses his more damaging powers and gets more aggro. His beginning stats are:

• Base Health Points: 963.81
• Resistance: 26.14% Resistance to Smashing/Lethal; 6.54% Resistance to Fire/Cold/Toxic
• Magnitude 4 Terrorize protection
• 50% Resistance to Terrorize
• -400% Placate on self
• 50% Confuse Resiatance
• Magnitude 2 confusion protection


Jab
• Damage: 24.58 Smashing(single target)
• Activation 1.67 seconds
• Recharge Reduction: 2 seconds
• End Cost: 3.54 1 x
• Range: 7 ‘ (single target)
• 10% chance of Magnitude 2 stun for 11.17 seconds


Punch
• Damage: 36.15 Smashing(single target)
• Activation t 1.2 seconds
• Recharge Reduction: 4 seconds
• End Cost: 502
• Accuracy: 1 x
• Range” 7’ (single target)
• 30% chance for Magnitude.67 for Knockback


___So as I was saying, this guy is ready to beat some people to a pulp. Management of him is pretty crucial in order to stay as effective and damaging as you can be. Keep him in Melee so he does more damage and attacks faster; thus building up his Fury and doing more damage.

___I recommend 6 slotting Call Thugs, Call Enforcers, and Call Bruiser. You can mix and match to give you what’s best for your playstyle.



***Upgrade Equipment
• Available: Level 32
• Ranged,Upgrade Henchmen
• End Cost: 45.5
• Recharge: 10 seconds
• Range: 30’
• Cast Time: 1.67 seconds
• Radius: 30’
• Allowed Enhancements: Endurance Reduction, Range, Recharge Reduction
• Allowed Invention Sets: None

*Permanently Upgrade the most advanced Ammo, Weapons, and Training to all of your Thug Henchmen. The Upgraded Thug will gain new powers, weapons and abilities. The powers gained are unique and dependent upon the type of Thug Henchmen that is Upgraded. This power only works on your Thug Henchmen and you can only Upgrade the equipment of your Thug Henchmen once with this power. Recharge: Medium

___Ahhh…your final upgrade. With this great upgrade comes great responsibility…or something like that. Is there really a need to say “you need this power?” If you want to be able to lay some serious smack down on someone, then take this power. Look at what it grants to each of your Henchmen:

Empty Clips for Thugs
• Damage: 23.36(Lethal) 3 ticks of 7.79 over .7 seconds
• Activation Time: 1.83 seconds
• Recharge Time: 10 seconds
• Endurance Cost: 15.18
• Accuracy: 1.1 x
• Range: 50’ cone;30 degree arc(10 targets max)
• 10% chance of Magnitude 1 Knockback


Pistols for Thugs
• Damage: 19.46(Lethal)
• Activation Time: 1.2 seconds
• Recharge Time: 3 seconds
• Accuracy: 1.1 x
• Range: 70’ Single Target


Fire Bomb for Arsonist
• Damage: 107.37(Fire) 51 ticks of 1.5 over 10seconds and 11 ticks of 1.17 over 5.25 seconds. Causes Magnitude 50 Fear for 10.75 seconds
• Activation Time: 1.37 seconds
• Recharge Time: 16 seconds
• Endurance Cost: 7.8
• Accuracy: 1 x
• Range: 79’ AoE with a 15’ radius


Uzi Burst For Enforcers
• Damage: 24.77(Lethal) 3 ticks of 8.26 over .7 seconds
• -5% Defense to target for 5 seconds
• Activation Time: 1.53 seconds
• Recharge Time: 4
• End Cost: 5.2
• Accuracy: 1.1 x
• Range: 80’(Single Target)


Uzi Heavy Burst for Enforcers
• Damage: 40.99(Lethal) 6 ticks of 6.83 over 1.6 seconds)
• -5% Defense to Target for 5 seconds
• Activation Time: 2.1
• Recharge Time: 8 seconds
• End Cost: 8.53
• Accuracy: 1.1 x
• Range: 80’(Single Target)


Dual Uzis for Enforcers
• Damage: 68.92(Lethal) 17 ticks of 4.05 over 5 seconds
• -5% Defense to Target for 5 seconds
• Activation Time: 3.03 seconds
• Recharge Time: 20 seconds
• End Cost: 15.18
• Accuracy: 1.1 x
• Range: 50’ cone with a 35 degree arc(10 targets max)


Blast Clip to Enforcer
• Damage: 22.52(Lethal)
• Activation Time: 2.5 seconds
• Recharge Time: 20 seconds
• End Cost: 15.18
• Accuracy: 1.05 x
• Range: 70’ AoE/15’ radius(16 targets max)


Assault to Enforcers
• +5 Strength to all damage
• 30’ Radius


Knockout Blow for Bruiser
• Damage: 128.69(Smashing)
• Activation Time: 2.23 seconds
• Recharge Time: 25 seconds
• End Cost: 18.5
• Accuracy: 1.2 x
• Range: 13.2’(Single Target)
• Magnitude 3 hold for 18.63 seconds
• Magnitude 7.79 knockup

Hurl for Bruiser
• Damage: 59.29(Smashing)
• Activation Time: 3.83 seconds
• Recharge Time: 8
• End Cost: 9.36
• Accuracy: 1 x
• Range: 80’
• 50% chance of Magnitude 7.79 knockback
• Magnitude 1 fly protection for 15 seconds

Foot Stomp for Bruiser
• Damage: 59.59(Smashing)
• Activation Time: 2.1 seconds
• Recharge Time: 20
• End Cost: 18.51
• Accuracy: 1 x
• Range: 15’ AoE(10 targets max)
• 80% chance for Magnitude .67 knockback

*****************Conclusion/Thoughts on the Thugs Powerset********************

___Well, what do you think? You practically have a low level Fire Corruptor, a couple of Defenders, and a Brute with you at all times. Each of the Thugs, Enforcers, and the Bruiser has a good solid mix of Single Target attacks and AoE attacks. You have an Arsonist that can Scourge(Scourging while using Fire Bomb is nice), Enforcers that raise all of the pets’ To Hit, Defense, and Damage with their own Leadership skills, and a Bruiser that continues to get stronger the longer a battle goes on. I have seen the Bruiser use Knockout Blow and hit for almost 700 points of damage(using no inspirations and only the tools available to a Thugs/Storm MM).

___With Invention Sets, it is ridiculous what kind of power a Thugs/Storm MM can amass. Thugs is considered to be one of the 2 best damaging MM primaries(Bots is the other). The “coolness” factor of whistling and all these guys come out hitting their fist into their other hand is a sight to see.

___At one point in GG’s leveling process; I will admit, I almost got bored. Even with the difficulty maxed out, I was steamrolling through missions. Against AVs/GMs is where Thugs/Storm Masterminds really shine. My wife was teaming with a Villain Group friend and got owned by the AV 3 times. She asked me to bring GG, and even though the fight lasted a while, we were able to contain and then beat the AV senseless. The best compliment was when our friend said “Holy $@#% !! I’m going to have to make one of those!”

Did I mention that they were level 50,along with the AV, and I was still level 48?

___Hopefully this outline/guide to Thugs has been somewhat helpful. Please feel free to comment/make suggestions/ etc.

***Good Luck and happy gangbangin’!

********************************STORM SUMMONING****************************


Storm Summoning is fairly new to CoV, though it has been in CoH from the beginning. Many people despise Stormers. There is a learning curve to playing /Storm. Remember, a lot of our powers deal knockback, and the one thing that Brutes hate more than being hungry is being on a team that deals a lot of knockback. Learn how your powers work,and when to use them.Do not let this get you down or make you think about taking another set. Storm synergizes well with Thugs. With the exception of the Bruiser, you will be keeping your other pets hanging out in the back with you. Storm pairs perfectly with a Ranged Pet Set. I mean, every power in Storm is useful. Take a look. You have:
1)Knockback (Damage Mitigation)
2) Ally Heal
3) An excellent Slow
4) +Defense,+Resistance for you and your pets,and your team(Steamy Mist)
5) An awesome Defense Debuff( Freezing Rain)
6) Good –To Hit(Hurricane)
7) A Point Blank Area of Effect Disorient(Thunder Clap)
8) EXCELLENT DAMAGE (Tornado and Lightning Storm)

Wha? Tornado? That’s what you’re thinking right? :Well,Tornado sucks cause all it does it throw everything around”. Yeas, it does that. But just keep on reading. Paired with Thugs, you will be the envy of several other Masterminds. Once they see 3 Thugs,2 Enforcers,1 Bruiser, Gang War, Freezing Rain, and Lightning Storm in action and sees how mobs just…just…disappear. Ya, they will envy you. So, let’s take a look at the huge bag of tricks that /Storm has.


***GALE
• Ranged(cone),minor damage(smashing),foe knockback
• Available: Level 1
• Damage: 3.06 Smashing
• End Cost: 9.75
• Recharge: 8 seconds
• Cast Time: 2.17s
• Range: 50’/ 80 degree arc,16 targets max
• Accuracy: .90 x
• Knockback: Magnitude 8.31
• Allowed Enhancements: Accuracy, Damage,End Reduction, Knockback, Range, Recharge
• Allowed IO Sets: Ranged AoE, Knockback

* You can call forth a tremendous gust of Gale force winds that knock down foes and deal some smashing damage in a wide cone area. Damage: Minor Recharge: Moderate

You gotta take it. For the first few levels, you will find that this helps mitigate incoming damage. Remember, if a bad guy is falling down, that means he’s not attacking you! It loses it value once you start getting more powers. I actually have this removed from my tray as I never use it anymore. Others love it and will use it all the way to level 50. Whatever floats your boat.



***02 Boost
• Ally Heal,+Resistance(Disorient,Sleep,End Drain), +Perception
• Available: Level 2
• End: 16.3
• Recharge: 4
• Cast: 2.27
• Range: 80’
• Magnitude -5.19 to Stun and Sleep for 60 seconds
• +64.9% to Perception for 60 seconds
• +51.9% resistance to Endurance Drain for 60 seconds
• 103.8% resistance to sleep for 60 seconds
• Heal: 141.4 (3 level 50 Regular Inventions= 275.6)
• Allowed Enhancements: Heal,End Reduction, Range, Recharge
• Allowed Invention Sets: Healing


* Saturates the air around a targeted ally with rich oxygen,healing their wounds, The 02 Boost can protect a targeted ally from Sleep,Stun,and Endurance Drain effects as well as increase perception. You can not use this power on yourself. Recharge: Fast


This power will save your pets, and teammates, sooooo many times. A ranged targeted ally heal, you KNOW that when you use this power, you WILL heal the person. No accuracy check needed. That’s pretty nice. Slotted with 3 level 50 Heal Regular Inventions, you will heal for 275.6 Health Points. Not too shabby. You would almost be a fool to skip this power. As you stand back and let your Pets do the talking with their fists and guns, you can keep them healed so they can continue the fight.


***Snowstorm
• Available: Level 4
• Toggle: Ranged(AoE), Foe –Speed,-Recharge,-Fly
• End Cost: .65/seconds
• Recharge: 10 seconds
• Range: 80’/Radius 25’ around targeted Foe
• Activate: .5 seconds
• -50% Recharge,Run Speed, and Fly Speed
• Allowed Enhancements: End Reduction, Recharge, Slow
• Allowed Invention Sets: Slow

*While active, the chill from this Snowstorm can dramatically slow the attack and movement speed of the target and all nearby foes. The torrent winds of the snowstorm are enough to bring down flying foes. Recharge: Slow

So you wanna slow someone down? Throw Snowstorm on them. This is an “anchored” power. You target one bad guy, apply Snowstorm, and then he and anyone within a 25’ radius of him will suffer the effects of Snowstorm. It is a Toggle, meaning it will stay on until either the target is dead, or you run out of endurance. Slows are a great way to mitigate damage. The mobs will be attacking you 50% less, meaning you pretty much cut their damage in half. One note: this is a perfect spot to put the Impeded Swiftness:Chance of Damage(Smashing) in.




***Steamy Mist
• Available: Level 10
• Toggle:PBAoE,Team Stealth , +Defense(ALL), + Resistance(Fire,Cold,Energy,Confuse)
• Defense Buff: 3.75% (3 level 50 Regular Inventions= 5.94% )
• Resistance Bonus: 15% (3 level 50 Regular Inventions= 23.8% )
• End Cost: .65/second
• Cast: 1.87 seconds
• Radius: 40’
• Allowed Enhancements: Defense, Resistance, End Reduction, Recharge
• Allowed Invention Sets: Defense, Resistance


*Your mastery of the elements allows you to hide yourself and all nearby allies within a Steamy Mist. Steamy Mist makes you and your allies harder to see and increases your Defense Bonus to all attacks,while reducing Fire, Cold, and Energy Damge,as well as your foes’ ability to confuse you.You can not use any other concealment type power while using Steamy Mist. Recharge: Slow


Now we get some extra Defense and Resistance, which are ALWAYS welcome. You will probably turn this on and never turn it off. Remember, all but your Bruiser will be next to you. The Bruiser can take a beating, but the Thugs and Enforcers,not so much. Most people agree that slotting for Resistance returns greater benefits than slotting for Defense. I personally agree. Unless you are wanting to use Defense Invention Sets, slot with Resistance Sets.


***Freezing Rain
• Ranged(Loaction AoE), Minor DoT(Cold), Foe –Speed/Recharge/Defense/Resistance
• Available: Level 16
• End Cost: 22.8
• Recharge: 60 seconds
• Cast: 2.03
• Accuracy: 2 x
• Range: 60’/ 20; radius
• -30% Resistance
• - 30% Defense ( 3 level 50 Regular Inventions= -49.8% Defense Debuff)
• 75.07 Cold Damage( 226 ticks of .33 Cold Damage over 45 seconds)
• -50% run/jump speed for 75 seconds -40% Recharge for 75 seconds
• 5% chance of .1 Magnitude Knockback for 45 seconds
• Allowed Enhancements: Accuracy, Damge, Defense Debuff, End Reduction, Range, Recharge, Slow
• Allowed Invention Sets: Ranged AoE, Slow, Defense Debuff, Accurate Defense Debuff


* Summons Freezing Rain at a targeted location. Freezing Rain deals minimal Cold Damage to anything that passes through the storm. It also slows the affected foes and severely reduces their Defense and Resistance to Damage. Many foes may even slip and fall trying to escape the storm. Damage: Minor(DoT) Recharge: Long


___ NOW we’re talking. We’re not just talking….we’re talking smack. This is one of the reasons people take /Storm. It slows the enemies, and lowers their Defense and Resistance!!! Hello? Did you hear that? You will effectively do 30% MORE DAMAGE and be 30% MORE ACCURATE(assuming the enemy does not resist defense/resistance debuffs). This is sooooo nice. Remember back in the Thugs part when we got an Arsonist? And do you remember that 2 of his attacks are location DoT (Molotov Cocktail and Fire Bomb.) To take the full amount of these powers’ damage, the enemy has to stay in the fire. With Snowstorm and Freezing Rain, it makes it easy to keep them in these “patches” longer. Between Snowstorm and Freezing Rain, you can floor an enemy’s speed and kill their recharge. And Don’t forget, lower their Defense and Resistance by 30% !!!Are you excited? Well, you should be. Shame on you if you’re not.

___ I personally like to slot Touch of Lady Grey in this power. The Achilles’ Heel: Chance for –Resistance Proc works great in this power; along with Touch of Lady Grey: Chance of Negative Energy Damage. Think about that for a second. When both Procs fire, it turns a beautiful power into an absolutely friggin’ gorgeous power. Definitely, this power deserves 6 slots ASAP.




***Hurricane

• Available: Level 20
• Toggle: PBAoE, Foe –Range, -To Hit, Repel, Knockback
• End Cost: .81/second
• Recharge: 10 seconds
• Cast: 2.03 seconds
• Radius: 25’
• To Hit Debuff: -22.5% ( with 3 level 50 Regular Inventions = -35.7% )
• Range: -60’
• Magnitude 1 repel
• 5% chance of Magnitude 6.65 Knockback
• Allowed Enhancements: End Reduction, Knockback, Recharge, To Hit Debuff
• Allowed Invention Sets: Knockback, To Hit Debuff

* You can summon a hurricane. The wind and rain from this massivestorm reduce the range and chance to hit of nearby foes. The massive winds of this storm continuously force foes away from you. Recharge: Slow


___ Ever heard of “Herdicaning”? Well, here ya go. You cause a hurricane to envelop you(like Tsoo Sorcerers). Any foes that come near you, or that you go near, will be pushed away. They will also suffer from a – To Hit Debuff, meaning they will have a harder time hitting you. Many people will use this power “herd”. Turn it on, and start running through mobs. They will be aggroed to you. They will then chase you,and you can turn back around, and push them all into a corner. They are pretty much helpless as they are continuously repelled and knocked back from the Hurricane and being slammed into a corner/wall/object. It takes practice to do this, and patience.

___ If you attempt to Herdicane, I suggest practicing on lower level guys at first. See how they react, especially how they are positioned when you come into contact with them. If they are on your left a little, you will repel them that way. Once they are all pushed up into a corner, you can command your Thugs to lay the smack down on them.

___ I personally use this power mainly for its To Hit Debuff, or to protect a teammate. Occasionally, I will rush a mob and pin them into a corner. It’s a nice power to have, and the To Hit Debuff will help out.

Hand Clap no longer causes knockback, but knockdown.

Might wanna repost this in the Guides section.

***Thunder Clap

• Available: Level 28
• PBAoE Disorient
• End Cost: 13
• Recharge: 45 seconds
• Activate: 2.37 seconds
• Accuracy: .80 x
• Range: 25’ Radius (16 targets max)
• Magnitude 2 Stun for 14.9 seconds
• Allowed Enhancements: Accuracy, End Reduction, Recharge, Disorient Duration
• Allowed Invention Sets: Stun

*You call forth a tremendous Thunder Clap that will disorient most foes in a large area around you. Recharge: Slow


___ Oh? A soft control? Hmm…pretty cool. This will disorient minions, but needs more applications to stun Lieutenants and up. Note that it’s Point Blank AoE, meaning it is centered around you. For maximum effect, you have to be up in the middle of the mob.

___ I personally skipped this attack. Why? Well, I was defeating enemies quickly enough that I didn’t think I needed it. I do have this on my Illusion/Storm controller and like it. However on my Thugs/Storm MM, I really don’t need it. Would be nice to have, but not needed.




***Tornado
• Available: Level 35
• Summon Tornado; PBAoE Minor Damage(Smashing), Foe Knockback, Fear, Disorient
• Damage: 407.1(Smashing) over 30 seconds (3 level 50 Regular Damage Inventions increases this to 810.4 Smashing Damage over 30 seconds)
• - 15% Defense
• End Cost: 26
• Recharge: 60 seconds
• Range: 60’/ 7’ Radius
• Cast: 1.17 seconds
• Duration: 30 seconds
• 6.23 Magnitude Knockup; 12.46 magnitude Knockback; 10 Magnitude Fear; 2 Mag. Stun
• Allowed Enhancements: Damage, Defense Debuff, End Reduction, Range, Recharge, Disorient
• Allowed Invention Sets: Pet, Stun, Defense Debuff, Knockback, Recharge Intensive Pets, Accurate Defense Debuff

* Conjures up a funnel cloud at a targeted location, The Tornado will chase down your foes, tossing them into the air and hurling them great distances. The victims are left disoriented and with reduced Defense. The Tornado is a menacing sight, and can even instill panic among your foes. Recharge: Long


My first thought: Since when is 407.1 or 810.4 minor damage?!?!?!

My second thought: This is gonna suck coz it throws everything around!

Third Thought: AVs/GMs resist knockup/knockback. O………

___ Yeah, this is a VERY damaging power. It deals all of its damage over the course of 30 seconds. In all honesty, I have 3 uses for this power, and you should too.

#1) When fighting AVs/GMs and all that remains is the AV/GM. Throw out Tornadoes left and right when all that remains is the AV/GM. They are highly resistant/immune to knockup/knockback. Thus the Tornado will deal its full damage to them. Nice!

#2) If all Hades breaks loose, I’ll throw a Tornado out to cause some Mayhem while I regroup, or while my team and I regroup. Sure, it’ll move all over the place sporadically and throw everyone around, but when I,or my team, needs to get the heck outs Dodge, this provides the distraction we need.

#3) While doing Mayhem missions, I like to summon a Tornado out in the streets and let it chew up cars, mailboxes, bus stops, parking meters, crates, etc. Why? Ehh…it’s fun. =)



***Lightning Storm
• Available: Level 38
• Create Storm;Ranged, High Damage(Energy), Foe –Endurance
• Damage: 40(Energy) (3 level 50 Regular Inventions= 79.7)
• Activate: 2.03 seconds
• Recharge: 90 seconds
• End Cost: 39
• Accuracy: 2 x
• Magnitude 1 Knockback
• -7.2 Endurance on Target
• Magnitude 50 Fear for 5 seconds
• 30% chance for – 90% Recovery Rate for 4 seconds
• Allowed Enhancements: Accuracy, Damage, Endurance Modification, End Reduction, Knockback, Range, Recharge
• Allowed Invention Sets: Ranged, Endurance Modification, Knockback

* You can create a massive Lightning Storm that will strike any for that approaches you. Lightning from this storm can cause knockback and damage all nearby foes, and can even instill panic. Lightning bolts will continue to fall as long as the storm remains. Recharge: Long


___ Finally! Your Level 38 power! And what a doozie it is. Although it’s listed as damage being 40(Base), this thing rocks. First of all, any buffs that you have on you before you summon the Lightning Storm, will transfer to the storm itself. You took 3 red inspirations? Your Lightning Storm has them. Hasten is running? Your Lighting Storm will attack twice as fast. Pretty awesome, huh?

___ The Storm will appear over your head wherever you summon it. I like to try and jump over the mob and cast it while I am over them and up high. To me, it seems like the knockback isn’t as bad. The Lightning Storm will fire SEVERAL times doing its 30 second duration. Trust me, just take this power.



Tactics

¬¬__ So how exactly does a Thug/Storm MM play? What should you do? I always prefer to team with ALL of my characters. It spawns more enemies and, well, it’s usually more fun and easier when you are teaming.

¬¬__ I personally highly suggest taking the Leadership Power Pool; namely Assault, Maneuvers, and Tactics. Assault compliments everything and stacks with the Enforcers, Tactics stacks with the Debuffs from your Enforcers and Freezing Rain and with the Enforcers, and Maneuvers will stack with Steamy Mist and the Enforcers. It also compliments the To Hit Debuff from Hurricane. Remember, your Leadership will apply to your Pets, and your Enforcers have Leadership also.

___ Thugs/Storm can be somewhat Endurance heavy. The Fitness Pool will do you some justice. If you are going to slot Invention Sets, you might want to increase your Endurance Recovery Rate. Between using 02 Boost to heal, running Assault, Tactics, Maneuvers, Steamy Mist, Hurricane, using Snowstorm, and summoning Lightning Storms/Tornadoes and Freezing Rain, your blue bar will dip very low.

___ Another consideration is that your pets will benefit from Endurance Reduction and Recharge. Any enhancements slotted into your pets will apply to them as well. During a long AV battle, your end will crash, and so will your Pets’. I recommend putting some Inventions in your pets (Blood Mandate: Damage, Damage/End Reduction, Accuracy/Damage/Endurance Reduction as examples). Not only will you get the Invention Set bonuses, your pets will attack more accurately, attack faster, and use less endurance.

___Hasten isn’t really necessary in Thugs/Storm. However, it would help out with the recharge of Gang War and Lightning Storm. Some people swear by Hasten and never even think twice about it.

___The travel power is totally up to you. Most people go with Super Jump and Combat Jumping. Combat Jumping will add another small increase to your Defense,and it doesn’t cost much at all to run during battle. I went with Flight (Flying seems natural for a Stormer). I can use Hover for a small increase to my Defense to stack with Maneuvers, Steamy Mist, and with the To Hit Debuff from Hurricane.

___ Keep all of your pets except for the Bruiser near you. Send the Bruiser into the Mob, have all your pets start attacking, Freezing Rain, maybe throw a Snowstorm on the boss/AV, watch your health and your pets’ health, throw out a Lightning Storm, then move on to the next mob. There will be times that you won’t have the time to summon a Lightning Storm because everything’s already dead. Thugs/Storm is great against AVs/GMs with these tactics and Tornado.

___If I missed anything, I apologize. Let me know if there’s any questions or if I can help you out. GG is on Protector,so just give me a shout!


Happy Gangbangin’!

With this set, Fitness is a must. Make sure to take Health and Stamina. Storm like endurance. It likes it a lot.

Leadership is always a wise investment. What's not to like about having more Defense,a higher To Hit,and/or doing more damage?

Hasten would work well for this powerset. Anything that can bring Freezing Rain,Lightning Storm,Gang War,and Tornado up faster would be beneficial. Remember though that the faster your powers are coming back, the more you are using them,which also means the more endurance it takes. If you decide to IO a Thugs/Storm out, one of the first bonuses you should shoot for is more Endurance and Ensdurance Recovery.

As stated earlier, travel powers are totally up to the user. I personally like Flight in CoV.


Fighting
The only synergy that I see would be stacking a little more Defense with Weave. Defense is always nice, but I feel that Thugs/Storm is a fairly tight set, so I would skip Fighting if it were up to me.


Presence
Ahh...Provoke,intimidate,invoke panic. Presence will help if you plan on being a "tankermind". You can find more on "tankermind" builds if you search. Personally, I didn't take it.

Concealment
Getting Grant Invisibility would give your pets just a little bit more Defense,and if you team a lot,it might be useful. Some people take it just to be able to slot a couple of IOs.

Medicine
IMO, medicine would be a waste. Sure...healing is great,but you already have O2 Boost for you heal. Maybe having the self heal would be worth the price of admission.

IOs

IOs have the potential to completely change a toon. The variations are unlimited. However, I strongly reccommend that if you IO your toon out, go for more Endurance Recovery,+ Endurance,and then start on Recharge.

Also, remember what was stated earlier about certain "Procs" in certain powers.

Make sure you have Mids' Builder. It is extremely helpful when planning out a build.

And just in case you want a little more in depth knowledge of /Storm, search for Tal_N. He has a guide on Illusion/Storm that is so detailed it makes mine look like it was done by a 5 year old.

One last note, you can also find useful binds on the MM boards as well.

Happy gangbangin'!

Just got a Thugs/Storm to 18. Loving every minute of it. Thanks for a great guide.

I really like your guide. I have just been wondering how Bots would do in place of the thugs. Seems you would get a bit more defense and not have to micro manage the bruser as much. and if Grouping most of the time and farming it seems it would work fairly well
The only thing that has kept me from playing a storm was that i worried about getting groups but from the sound of it!!! The first time i saw Thunder Storm was in the tutorial where you see villains and heroes fighting behind the fence. I was in love!

could someone post a build for this.. new to coh, easier to see the build and take the correct powers at their levels