Share some tips with a PvE player... (MM)

...wishing to try out some PvP of course.

Now, before I start, I'll say that I have a vague and painful recollection of a Blaster literally two-shotting my Corruptor and my toon not being able to do... well, almost anything to most of the enemies back in Bloody Bay... this was around the time when PvP zones were first introduced, so it was a long time ago. I left, disgusted (Heroes had all them shiny lvl 50s and were beefed up to no end) and decided then and there to keep as far away from PvP as possible...

I didn't really keep to my promise, as I did play a bit with a Stalker (that was some sweet sweet revenge when Heroes were still so sure of themselves that they went out and killed small groups of Villains all by themselves).

Anyway, then I made my lovely MM and didn't pay much attention to PvP, and THEN I took a year long break from CoX.

Now, after coming back to the game and leveling up to 43, I wish to take this toon for a spin... or at least plan on to doing that.

I've got a Robo/Dark MM... no attacks really, but I do have some holds, scares and such... and my bots of course. Anyway, are there any tips anyone could share?

Watch out for fire blasters. Nuke ftw

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...wishing to try out some PvP of course.

Now, before I start, I'll say that I have a vague and painful recollection of a Blaster literally two-shotting my Corruptor and my toon not being able to do... well, almost anything to most of the enemies back in Bloody Bay... this was around the time when PvP zones were first introduced, so it was a long time ago. I left, disgusted (Heroes had all them shiny lvl 50s and were beefed up to no end) and decided then and there to keep as far away from PvP as possible...

I didn't really keep to my promise, as I did play a bit with a Stalker (that was some sweet sweet revenge when Heroes were still so sure of themselves that they went out and killed small groups of Villains all by themselves).

Anyway, then I made my lovely MM and didn't pay much attention to PvP, and THEN I took a year long break from CoX.

Now, after coming back to the game and leveling up to 43, I wish to take this toon for a spin... or at least plan on to doing that.

I've got a Robo/Dark MM... no attacks really, but I do have some holds, scares and such... and my bots of course. Anyway, are there any tips anyone could share?

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Hi

i play a mm and have good results


Tip number one.
Use bodyguard mode and only come out of bg mode when your either clear of the damage area or one on one and you got im held

Tip number 2.
Tar patch is your best friend along with tp foe

tip number 3.
carry lots of bf and orange inspers you will be tped foed and die lots(just have to take those ones on the chin or learn to run just at the right time)

Tip number 4.
It takes time to learn how to pvp and you will face some of the best at it, you have to catch up on the learning curve, you will DIE lots, learn from each fight look at why you lost and what you can do the next time to push the odds in your favour

Tip number 5.
Dont get upset when you get killed by 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 heros you are a mm its about the only way you can die

Hope all this helps
Above all dont give up when you get beat
Youl win some and lose some

So... TP Foe is a must?

IMO with the dark secondary tarpatch you can tp foe them onto tar and then start wailing ,one of the mian drawbacks with a mm imo is a lack of mobilty, tp gets around that a little with tar pacth you got a way to keep them were you want them , its not a must but you would be doing yourself no favours by not having it

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IMO with the dark secondary tarpatch you can tp foe them onto tar and then start wailing ,one of the mian drawbacks with a mm imo is a lack of mobilty, tp gets around that a little with tar pacth you got a way to keep them were you want them , its not a must but you would be doing yourself no favours by not having it

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TP Foe is completely unnecessary for a /Dark MM in PvP - anyone who's worth a damn in PvP will easily escape from a successful 'port, and anyone you can trap with TP Foe you should be able to tag without it. (What you really want to keep people on Tar Patch is Web Envelope/Cocoon from the Black Scorpion set, which is obviously a little limiting if you've already selected another patron.) You have far better uses for your power choices and slots than bothering with TP Foe which is basically nothing more than a nub-trap for a /Dark MM, although there's probably a strong case for a /Traps to take and use it. I've been PvPing with my Bots/Dark since CoV came out, before Bodyguard, and I've never wanted for TP Foe in Zonal or Arena PvP; there are better ways to get around your lack of mobility, which is more an issue in the zones than (most) arena (never take an MM to an Eden fight), mostly involving using the game engine to your advantage.

If I may have some more questions then:

PvP zones, if memory serves, are filled with NPCs willing to shoot up anyone that gets too close... just like any other zone for that matter... and one thing I learned when traversing zones, is that traveling with bots can be a bit of a problem; especially if I don't want to shoot every baddie on the way. Having fly as a travel power is all good and swell when it comes to getting from mission to mission, but I'd really like to know if there's any secret to traveling with bots on PvP zones.

Also, you say TP Foe isn't needed... may I ask then how should I 'catch' enemies that are afar? My first guess is to use a hold and try to take them out then, but it's just a guess...

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I'd really like to know if there's any secret to traveling with bots on PvP zones.

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Taking it slow in Bodyguard mode (the "turtle"), or using "Teleport". Teleport Self works almost as well as Team Teleport, since Bots respawn next to you when you "jump" far away.

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Also, you say TP Foe isn't needed... may I ask then how should I 'catch' enemies that are afar? My first guess is to use a hold and try to take them out then, but it's just a guess...

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As a Bot/Dark, you won't be able to catch anyone who runs away. At least not before level 41 (Patron Web Grenades from the "Mace Mastery" pool).

Using "Fearsome Stare" works temporarily against most solo heroes until they get hit or pop a breakfree, and the Sirens Call Temporary Power webgrenades can be used a few times (without much chance of actually hitting your target) before they wear out. Howling Twilight (Your AoE rez) can also be used as an autohit stun.

If you really want to catch people before level 41, you'll need to roll a Mercs/ or /Traps Mastermind for the Webgrenade/Caltrops/PoisonTrap methods. Ninja/ can work fairly well too against some opponents since they run very quickly and have Caltrops.

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I'd really like to know if there's any secret to traveling with bots on PvP zones.

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Taking it slow in Bodyguard mode (the "turtle"), or using "Teleport". Teleport Self works almost as well as Team Teleport, since Bots respawn next to you when you "jump" far away.

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It doesnt realyl work that well. The bots still drop after the teleport and get separated from the main group. They also aggro NPCS when they scurry back to the MM. All in all movement in pvp zones with a MM is still extremely stupid. Im tilted toward group fly now, Im afraid. I thought Grp TP would cut it but it really doesnt.

If you are taking grp teleport, there is no reason NOT to take tp foe though. Its still a weapon.

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It doesnt realyl work that well. The bots still drop after the teleport and get separated from the main group. They also aggro NPCS when they scurry back to the MM. All in all movement in pvp zones with a MM is still extremely stupid. Im tilted toward group fly now, Im afraid. I thought Grp TP would cut it but it really doesnt.

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I'd not ever touch Group Fly due to all the -fly powers heroside pre-30, and Group TP's very endurance heavy... but I've found TP-Self to be quite workable as a MM. To avoid NPC aggro you just need to slot at least one range into your teleport (to ensure that the Bots respawn each time rather than try to run after you).

Putting all henchmen on Passive (or GOTO/Defensive) before you Teleport also helps if you get sidetracked.

There's really no easy way to deal with runners other than TP Foe or a Web Grenade though.
And getting TP-Foe'd or Confused is still a b**ch.

Confuse on a MM makes all your henchmen on Aggressive and all your Psuedopets such as Caltrops aggro you. My Bot/Traps and Bot/Dark both hate being confused more than they hate being TP-Foe'd.

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It doesnt realyl work that well. The bots still drop after the teleport and get separated from the main group. They also aggro NPCS when they scurry back to the MM. All in all movement in pvp zones with a MM is still extremely stupid. Im tilted toward group fly now, Im afraid. I thought Grp TP would cut it but it really doesnt.

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I'd not ever touch Group Fly due to all the -fly powers heroside pre-30, and Group TP's very endurance heavy... but I've found TP-Self to be quite workable as a MM. To avoid NPC aggro you just need to slot at least one range into your teleport (to ensure that the Bots respawn each time rather than try to run after you).

Putting all henchmen on Passive (or GOTO/Defensive) before you Teleport also helps if you get sidetracked.

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Been there done that. If you order bots to stay, teleport, they autoport to you, they RUN BACK TO THE SPOT THEY WERE IN ORIGINALLY to aggro more NPCs. Great stuff.
Grp tp works marginally better, really.

Only good thing to say about grp TP is that it isnt as end intensive as people think. It does have stupidly short range. Maximally slotted its about same range as unslotted teleport.

They only do that if you leave them on Goto (or Stay, which is the same thing - Goto their current location) and it's very easy to fix: just tap your follow/passive bind momentarily to clear their current orders, then put them back onto whatever mode you want to use.

You can even build a follow/passive bind into your TP-Self Macro, although I currently just 'port and tap "H" (H for "HEEL" - passive/follow) followed by B ("B" for "Bodyguard") whenever my Bots look like misbehaving.

Also, in the last few issues the "Goto" behaviour has been modified. If I put a Bot on Goto and move far away from that Goto location then usually that bot will now simply "follow" me after a respawn rather than attempt to run back to the out-of-range Goto location. I'm not sure whan this was changed exactly... it's been in effect ever since I started my Bot/Traps (last few issues) but wasn't when I was levelling my Bot/Dark (i7 ish).

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PvP zones, if memory serves, are filled with NPCs willing to shoot up anyone that gets too close... just like any other zone for that matter... and one thing I learned when traversing zones, is that traveling with bots can be a bit of a problem; especially if I don't want to shoot every baddie on the way.

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With Shadowfall (and you will have Shadowfall, plus bonus points if you have a stealth IO), mobs in PvP zones are easily avoided as far as movement is concerned. I have a series of macros in my trays that mean I'm only ever a keypress away from All>Passive/All>Defensive, but in honesty it's very rarely that I'll use those for the pure purpose of travelling from point to point even if I'm in WB. The main problem I find I have with mobs is when I'm actually fighting and I invariably tag a boss or two with a few untimely AoEs, whereupon I'll tend to deploy some firepower (say, Tier1 henchies) at the mob whilst focusing the rest on the PvP target, although it depends on the situation; if I need to focus everything at the player at the risk of dropping to the mob then I'll do it 9 times out of 10, though each to their own.

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Having fly as a travel power is all good and swell when it comes to getting from mission to mission, but I'd really like to know if there's any secret to traveling with bots on PvP zones.

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Personally, I use a combination of Fly and SS (with -KB IOs, though before Inventions I managed without) because that works for me - I can generally gauge at what point my pets will autoport to me when I'm SSing around, and use that knowledge to my advantage; Flight allows me to chase out the invariable handful of support toons and blasters that opt not to go SS/SJ. Group Fly is far too slow, an enormous end drain, and horrible for teammates, not to mention the fact that bots travelling behind will eventually drop out of the GF radius and plummet to earth; while there is a workaround, it's incredibly inefficient and not at all suited for PvP. Teleport I just find to be a horrible travel power - it's good for getting away and that's about it, it makes for a really stilted PvP experience; no less so with Group TP. SJ is as good a choice as it is for any PvP toon in terms of manoeuvrability, but I find it does lead to henchies reappearing in mid-air and taking falling damage as a result - not a great situation. What it boils down to is that an MM will never be as mobile as any other toon in PvP, so the trick is really to pick your fights carefully so as to do as little travelling as possible.

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Also, you say TP Foe isn't needed... may I ask then how should I 'catch' enemies that are afar? My first guess is to use a hold and try to take them out then, but it's just a guess...

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Unless the target is flying or TPing around, the last thing I'd use is a hold (as it's a fair bet that a Flier/TPer won't have Acro as well). For squishies, I'd set my pets onto attack target and once the target is in range for their attacks use Howling Twilight then a Tar Patch underneath where they fall - especially amusing on Blasters in PFF. For anything with mez protection, Fearsome Stare usually does the trick. Personally, I'll always throw in Web Envelope/Cocoon if it's available to me. Sad to say, but any kind of skilled player who is determined to escape will nearly always manage to do so from a similarly skilled /Dark MM - providing that they have enough BFs in hand, that is.

very nice though not all MM powersets get shadowfall..

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very nice though not all MM powersets get shadowfall..

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...but the OP is asking for advice with his bots/dark...

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very nice though not all MM powersets get shadowfall..

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...but the OP is asking for advice with his bots/dark...

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^this

I DO have Shadowfall...

Albeit I must say that using Howling Twilight seems weird; it having such a long recharge and all...

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I DO have Shadowfall...

Albeit I must say that using Howling Twilight seems weird; it having such a long recharge and all...

[/ QUOTE ]I have mine slotted with 3 Recharges and 1 EndRdx (and Hasten and a handful of +Recharge set bonuses) for precisely that reason - such is the cost of having an autohit disorient in your arsenal.