Pets on defensive plus follow mode for advanced options.
The more pets you have the stronger the division of damage will be when you are hit with an attack.
Basically each pet can be seen as worth 10% resistance damage, except the resistance is their health splitting the intiated damage.
So if you lose 1 pet it's like losing 10% resistance.
In short, as long as your pets are on Defensive, and you give them any command but Attack, (Follow, Stay, etc. are fine) any damage you take is spread out to them. So you can take huge amounts of damage without dying, as long as your henchmen can take the damage.
Many Masterminds use this feature in a strategy called "Tankerminding", in which they draw all of the aggro for the team. Their pets remain in Defensive mode and fire only to back up the Tankermind. This results in you doing less damage, (sometimes none at all, if you're being attacked but your foes keep missing) but is a great defensive benefit for the team. (Possibly as much as having a Brute to draw aggro, maybe as much as a Stone Brute in Granite form)
Bodyguard was introduced a looooooong time ago, but the devs never got around to providing any official in-game information about its existence. Of the three draggable commands (Heel, Follow, Attack), none of them provide the means of activating BG mode (as Bookkeeper says, it consists of putting your pet into a Defensive stance along with the Follow command). You don't even get an icon indicating Bodyguard is in effect. Even your auto-powers get an icon, for Pete's sake.
You basically have to hear about it through the grapevine. Then you drag the Follow command onto your hotbar, right-click to edit it, and then change "aggressive" to "defensive".
Pretty lame that after years there aren't more tools for easier pet management. You really do need a Go To button as much as a Heel, Follow, or Attack. Very off-putting to folks who don't frequent the forums.
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Basically each pet can be seen as worth 10% resistance damage, except the resistance is their health splitting the intiated damage.
So if you lose 1 pet it's like losing 10% resistance.
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I thought the way it worked was that each bodyguarding pet takes 1 "share" of the damage, while the MM takes 2 shares. So, if the MM gets hit for 100 points of damage while he has his four minions in BG mode, the damage get spslit into 5 sahres; the MM takes 2/5 of the damage and each minon takes 1/5.
Is this incorrect?
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In short, as long as your pets are on Defensive, and you give them any command but Attack, (Follow, Stay, etc. are fine) any damage you take is spread out to them. So you can take huge amounts of damage without dying, as long as your henchmen can take the damage.
Many Masterminds use this feature in a strategy called "Tankerminding", in which they draw all of the aggro for the team. Their pets remain in Defensive mode and fire only to back up the Tankermind. This results in you doing less damage, (sometimes none at all, if you're being attacked but your foes keep missing) but is a great defensive benefit for the team. (Possibly as much as having a Brute to draw aggro, maybe as much as a Stone Brute in Granite form)
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Patently wrong. I tested this. Only Defensive+Follow is bodyguard mode. I was taking full damage if my pets were following orders to attack.
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
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In short, as long as your pets are on Defensive, and you give them any command but Attack, (Follow, Stay, etc. are fine) any damage you take is spread out to them. So you can take huge amounts of damage without dying, as long as your henchmen can take the damage.
Many Masterminds use this feature in a strategy called "Tankerminding", in which they draw all of the aggro for the team. Their pets remain in Defensive mode and fire only to back up the Tankermind. This results in you doing less damage, (sometimes none at all, if you're being attacked but your foes keep missing) but is a great defensive benefit for the team. (Possibly as much as having a Brute to draw aggro, maybe as much as a Stone Brute in Granite form)
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Patently wrong. I tested this. Only Defensive+Follow is bodyguard mode. I was taking full damage if my pets were following orders to attack.
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Seems to me like Jade_Dragon specifically said BG mode excluded the Attack command. What he did say that I'm curious about is that the pets could be given orders like Go To, which would be great for bank missions where the reinforcements come straight for you, sometimes appearing out of thin air.
Question about this....does bodyguard mode ever suppress? I was in a bank mission yesterday and got held/stunned; it seemed like when I was I was taking the brunt of the damage, even though I thought I was in Def/Follow mode. My minions still seemed relatively healthy. Or was it just that my share of the burst damage was that large?
Suggestions:
Super Packs Done Right
Influence Sink: IO Level Mod/Recrafting
Random Merit Rolls: Scale cost by Toon Level
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Question about this....does bodyguard mode ever suppress? I was in a bank mission yesterday and got held/stunned; it seemed like when I was I was taking the brunt of the damage, even though I thought I was in Def/Follow mode. My minions still seemed relatively healthy. Or was it just that my share of the burst damage was that large?
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If a pet is in defensive follow, it's in body guard. No that doesn't suppress. However if it's in attack, goto, or stay mode it's no longer a bodyguard.
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
Each minion gets one share of the damage, and you get two of them. Remember, they must be within range of suppremacy for this to work. I forget if line of sight messes with it.
Bodyguard mode splits damage up among all eligible pets and the Mastermind. Each pet gets one share of damage and the Mastermind gets two... so even one pet provides 33% effective resistance while all six combined provide 75%.
As to what exactly constitutes an eligible pet, all of the following must apply for a given pet to be counted toward Bodyguard:
<ul type="square">[*]Defensive stance[*]any order other than Attack[*]within Supremacy range (60 feet)[*]In line of sight[/list]If all of those conditions apply, the pet is Bodyguarding you. Bodyguard does not suppress when you are stunned, held, etc... but if your pets run out of Supremacy range or around a corner then you do lose Bodyguard. Even something as simple as a pillar between you and a pet can break line of sight and remove that pet's contribution... the easy way to check is to enable pet buff icons. If a pet is on Defensive Follow, Defensive Goto, or Defensive Stay and has the Supremacy buff icon then it's protecting you.
A couple of tips...
First, you don't always need all your pets in Bodyguard. Assigning two or three to Defensive Follow and making macros that order the others to attack your target lets you reduce incoming damage by half or more while still focusing your heavy hitters' fire.
Second, if you are worried about AoEs and have ranged pets you can use Defensive Stay or Goto to position them away from yourself, but still within 60 feet, and then taunt the enemy. Those pesky AoEs will be hitting you and not the pets, and Bodyguard will keep you alive. Very handy against some EBs and those annoying CoT Succubi.
Finally, edit the pre-existing pet macros or make your own. You can drag command icons from the pet window onto your power bar to make macros that have the same icon as the pet commands... just edit them to do what you want after you drag them. I suggest removing stance from the macros altogether... make them just "Stay", "Attack", "Follow" or "Goto". Then leave the pets on Defensive mode full time unles you want to run past enemies (go to Passive) or cut loose in a Mayhem mission (Aggressive). That way you always have Bodyguard unless you specifically order an attack, and if do order them to attack hitting any other command instantly makes them bodyguard you again. You can use the pet window buttons or additional macros or binds to change stance, and when you do the same Attack, Goto, etc... macros still work with the new stance.
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
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Question about this....does bodyguard mode ever suppress? I was in a bank mission yesterday and got held/stunned; it seemed like when I was I was taking the brunt of the damage, even though I thought I was in Def/Follow mode. My minions still seemed relatively healthy. Or was it just that my share of the burst damage was that large?
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If a pet is in defensive follow, it's in body guard. No that doesn't suppress. However if it's in attack, goto, or stay mode it's no longer a bodyguard.
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Think this is wrong, pretty sure BG mode is activee as long as pets are in defrnsive and within range. The GOTO that comes free with MM is GOTO AGGRESSIVE.. simply make your own GOTO DEFENSIVE, do not send them to far and they will still split your damage.
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Bodyguard mode splits damage up among all eligible pets and the Mastermind. Each pet gets one share of damage and the Mastermind gets two... so even one pet provides 33% effective resistance while all six combined provide 75%.
As to what exactly constitutes an eligible pet, all of the following must apply for a given pet to be counted toward Bodyguard:
<ul type="square">[*]Defensive stance[*]any order other than Attack[*]within Supremacy range (60 feet)[*]In line of sight[/list]If all of those conditions apply, the pet is Bodyguarding you. Bodyguard does not suppress when you are stunned, held, etc... but if your pets run out of Supremacy range or around a corner then you do lose Bodyguard. Even something as simple as a pillar between you and a pet can break line of sight and remove that pet's contribution... the easy way to check is to enable pet buff icons. If a pet is on Defensive Follow, Defensive Goto, or Defensive Stay and has the Supremacy buff icon then it's protecting you.
A couple of tips...
First, you don't always need all your pets in Bodyguard. Assigning two or three to Defensive Follow and making macros that order the others to attack your target lets you reduce incoming damage by half or more while still focusing your heavy hitters' fire.
Second, if you are worried about AoEs and have ranged pets you can use Defensive Stay or Goto to position them away from yourself, but still within 60 feet, and then taunt the enemy. Those pesky AoEs will be hitting you and not the pets, and Bodyguard will keep you alive. Very handy against some EBs and those annoying CoT Succubi.
Finally, edit the pre-existing pet macros or make your own. You can drag command icons from the pet window onto your power bar to make macros that have the same icon as the pet commands... just edit them to do what you want after you drag them. I suggest removing stance from the macros altogether... make them just "Stay", "Attack", "Follow" or "Goto". Then leave the pets on Defensive mode full time unles you want to run past enemies (go to Passive) or cut loose in a Mayhem mission (Aggressive). That way you always have Bodyguard unless you specifically order an attack, and if do order them to attack hitting any other command instantly makes them bodyguard you again. You can use the pet window buttons or additional macros or binds to change stance, and when you do the same Attack, Goto, etc... macros still work with the new stance.
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heh, I type too slow :P
But knew other post was wrong 
Hmm. Interesting. Maybe that's why my dang MM always dies. I just always click attack when i get in range to fight.
This game can be waaaay over the top if you don't have ALL the right info on your builds. lol
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Hmm. Interesting. Maybe that's why my dang MM always dies. I just always click attack when i get in range to fight.
This game can be waaaay over the top if you don't have ALL the right info on your builds. lol
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Yeah, that is true.
Set you pets on Def Fol, then lead the attack yourself. You'll pull aggro, get 70% resistance, and then your pets will respond. As long as they are responding and not being ordered, they'll still count as "Def Fol" and you'll get bodyguard mode through the whole fight.
Once you figure this out, you get really tough really fast.
Line of Sight does cancel however so watch this. Even tiny transparent low walls like banisters, railing and chain link fences will block line of sight so keep an eye on your pet's icons to see if any have lost supremacy. If they're lost supremacy they've lost bodyguard mode.
I use hover to stay just above my pets. Helps stay in bodyguard mode a lot.
You can also see bodyguard mode in the combat window. It'll tell you when your pets block damage for you.
Play around with this, watching the combat spam window, with lower level foes (outside, street hunting) until you get the hang of it. Then the methods become easier to do when you are fighting higher level foes and you can't afford to watch the battle spam as much.
Oh, one other thing... remember that Defensive pets return fire if another pet is attacked. This includes nonstandard "pets" like Seeker Drones. A great way to safely open a fight if you are /Traps is to summon Seekers right on top of the enemy from out of aggro range... the enemy will attack the Seekers, wasting their alpha strike. This will set off the Seekers and debuff the enemy damage, while also triggering your Defensive pets to open fire since the Seeker Drones count as pets. It's a fun way to handle 8-man spawns when you don't have a Brute who wants to jump in first... by the time the enemy's attacks recharge the team is pounding them and half the minions are probably dead.
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
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I thought the way it worked was that each bodyguarding pet takes 1 "share" of the damage, while the MM takes 2 shares. So, if the MM gets hit for 100 points of damage while he has his four minions in BG mode, the damage get spslit into 5 sahres; the MM takes 2/5 of the damage and each minon takes 1/5.
Is this incorrect?
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Right facts, slightly wrong math. There would be 6 shares: 4 for the henchmen and 2 for the MM himself. The MM would take 2/6 damage, and each pet would take 1/6.
2/6 = 1/3 = 33.3%
Taking 33.3% damage means you have 67.7% damage resistance. You resist two-thirds of the damage (which your pets absorb).
Just saying, for those who are unclear on how the "shares" thing actually works.
Ahhhh....line of sight. That would make sense. The location where I was getting beat on was at an intersection between a couple of bank rooms and a hallway. My minions were running around a bit, and I think it's likely that at some point some of them were around the corner/in other rooms - very close by, but out of line of sight. Good to know, thanks. I will be more careful to try not to run into problems because of geometry. 
I typically stay in bodyguard mode, but do venture out of it for things like mayhem missions (for blowing up objects, not for escaping the bank). And I do try to position myself opposite my minions for AoE concerns. When I pick up powers like Serum (yeah, I know...frowned upon power) I'm going to play with keeping my Spec Ops and Soldiers in defensive, but my Commando on the attack.
I probably do need to look at binds more. I've edited a few buttons, but nothing too involved.
Suggestions:
Super Packs Done Right
Influence Sink: IO Level Mod/Recrafting
Random Merit Rolls: Scale cost by Toon Level
I really like the numpad binds. There should be a link in the guides section... they let you select a pet group with 0-3 (0 = all pets), a stance with 4-6, and an order (Attack, Follow, Goto) with 7-9. I don't use them as my main form of control since they do require taking a hand off the mouse or the movement keys, but they're great for when I need to issue an order I don't use often enough to make a macro for (like Aggressive Follow).
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
Bodyguard works with: Follow, Go To, and Stay.
Those three commands, when they are in defensive mode, will protect you from incoming damage.
There is a specific bind/macro for bodyguard mode. It is a deffensive follow, but it is different thanthe normal defensive follow. When you take dmage, the damage is split between you and your pets. The normal defensive follow does not do this. I seem to remember a guide someplace that actualy had all the commands and bind/macro's, but I cant remember atm. Later on, I will look around for it and post it in here.
I hate all this terrorist business. I used to love the days when you could look at an unattended bag on a train or bus and think to yourself.... I'm going to take that.
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Question about this....does bodyguard mode ever suppress? I was in a bank mission yesterday and got held/stunned; it seemed like when I was I was taking the brunt of the damage, even though I thought I was in Def/Follow mode. My minions still seemed relatively healthy. Or was it just that my share of the burst damage was that large?
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If a pet is in defensive follow, it's in body guard. No that doesn't suppress. However if it's in attack, goto, or stay mode it's no longer a bodyguard.
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This is wrong.
Defensive/Follow
Defensive/GoTo
and Defensive/Stay
all trigger BG mode.
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Question about this....does bodyguard mode ever suppress? I was in a bank mission yesterday and got held/stunned; it seemed like when I was I was taking the brunt of the damage, even though I thought I was in Def/Follow mode. My minions still seemed relatively healthy. Or was it just that my share of the burst damage was that large?
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If a pet is in defensive follow, it's in body guard. No that doesn't suppress. However if it's in attack, goto, or stay mode it's no longer a bodyguard.
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Think this is wrong, pretty sure BG mode is activee as long as pets are in defrnsive and within range. The GOTO that comes free with MM is GOTO AGGRESSIVE.. simply make your own GOTO DEFENSIVE, do not send them to far and they will still split your damage.
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They would have had to change it to be other then just defensive follow. Here, I'll log into Poison Bloom and test once again
The test will be done in four parts. I'll use a custom tab with damage taken being shown, and erase it after each test. The top item will be the test number. I'll try getting the same enemy type hitting me first each time. This will be on challenge level 1 at level 50
Step One: take damage with pets in passive mode for a control number.
Result: 68.02 damage
Step Two: take damage with pet in defensive goto
Result: 25.09 damage
Step Three: take damage in defensive stay
Results: Haven't done this one yet, the mission threw an EB at me, not a good way to test these things...
Step Four: take damage in defensive follow
Result: 16.73 damage
Ok, I'm big enough to admit being wrong. It use to be just defensive follow, and I'm not sure when they changed it. I try keeping up on the patch notes, and never saw anything about it.
"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern." Lord Acton
Madam Enigma's History
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There is a specific bind/macro for bodyguard mode. It is a deffensive follow, but it is different thanthe normal defensive follow.
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This of course is just plain wrong.
Madam Enigma, thanks for testing. We were all mostly sure that it was any of the Defensive modes, but it's good to make certain, especially because these things *can* change. I should check the test server, actually, just to make sure I15 isn't going to mess with this. (Or anyone could, it's open.)
I keep seeing this term and was curious what it was.