Wall of text makes my eyes bleed.
My personal choice is less think - more fun, take the Patron that fits your concept better.
Well, although I'm only half sure about the patron, I think I've got the slotting down. In all three of my pets I'm gonna put two Sovereign Rights (Acc/Dam and Acc/Dam/End) and two Blood Mandates (Acc/Dam and Acc/Dam/End again). That maxes out accuracy and damage to a good level (91% after ED) while giving endurance a leg-up, leaving me with two whole slots to play whit. Hooray!
In the Drones I've put the Force Feedback +Recharge and the pet resistance PBAoE IO. (Oh yeah, does that IO have a PBAoE from the pet or from the player?) Prot bots have two common heal IOs, even though set IOs would probably make better use of the slots. The assault bot has the chance for recharge and the chance for smashing damage.
I could post my build, but I'll get yelled at for maximising endurance so much while still getting stamina. I just like the ability to do at least a partial resummon/reupgrade/rebubble with my toggles on. Teammates might actually want me to keep buffing them while I hurry away on my bots.
Necrobond - 50 BS/Inv Scrapper made in I1
Rickar - 50 Bots/FF Mastermind
Anti-Muon - 42 Warshade
Ivory Sicarius - 45 Crab Spider
Aber ja, nat�rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.
If I have read the IO's correctly, the Defensive and Resistance aura is from the player, granting the pets the defense and resist bonus if they are within its radius.
Okay, from a 50 Bots/FF/Mace...
- Moar defense is good. Henchmen actually respond to attempts to attack, not just actual hits so the shield from Mace Mastery is sublime
- I tend to slot Prot Bots for +Defense these days rather than Heal as I get more mileage out of it
- If you don't care about the look/theme of powers then go for Scirocco as the Mu Mastery set is the only immobs with -KB, any others will still allow them to be knocked out of burn patches, etc.
- IO Sets I've not really delved into, all I did was slot a couple of sets of Blood Mandate for the Ranged/AoE Defense set bonuses and Freebird for the +Stealth
- The Pet Auras are from you, not the pets they're slotted in. Same radius as Supremacy AFAIK
[ QUOTE ]
- I tend to slot Prot Bots for +Defense these days rather than Heal as I get more mileage out of it
- The Pet Auras are from you, not the pets they're slotted in. Same radius as Supremacy AFAIK
[/ QUOTE ]
Dear me, all this time I was doing pet damage in all my bots, thanks for opening my eyes 
One more question. Do Protector Bots take Heal or Defense set IOs? Mids list them as accepting Damage, Knockback, and -ToHit sets, while they can accept Heal, Disorient, and Defense common IOs. I think that slotting a few commodity Heal or Defense set IOs in my two free slots will get better mileage out of them.
Well. I've put it off long enough. Here's my build. Prepare for cringing.
Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.30
http://www.honourableunited.org.uk/mhd.php
Rickar: Level 50 Technology Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Robotics
Secondary Power Set: Force Field
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Medicine
Ancillary Pool: Soul Mastery
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Battle Drones -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg:50(A), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(3), SvgnRt-Acc/Dmg:50(3), SvgnRt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(5), SvgnRt-PetResDam:50(5), FrcFbk-Rechg%:50(7)
Level 1: Force Bolt -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 2: Deflection Shield -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(7), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(9), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(11), RedFtn-Def:50(40)
Level 4: Insulation Shield -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(9), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(11), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(34), RedFtn-Def:50(40)
Level 6: Equip Robot -- RechRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(39)
Level 8: Hover -- Flight-I:50(A)
Level 10: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 12: Protector Bots -- SvgnRt-Acc/Dmg:50(A), SvgnRt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(13), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg:50(13), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(15), DefBuff-I:50(15), DefBuff-I:50(17)
Level 14: Fly -- Flight-I:50(A), Flight-I:50(17)
Level 16: Personal Force Field -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/Rchg:50(19), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(34), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(37), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:53(46)
Level 18: Repair -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(19), RechRdx-I:50(33)
Level 20: Dispersion Bubble -- RedFtn-Def/EndRdx:50(A), RedFtn-Def/Rchg:50(21), RedFtn-EndRdx/Rchg:50(21), RedFtn-Def/EndRdx/Rchg:50(23), RedFtn-Def:50(23), RedFtn-EndRdx:50(37)
Level 22: Health -- Heal-I:35(A)
Level 24: Stamina -- P'Shift-End%:50(A), P'Shift-EndMod:50(25), EndMod-I:50(25)
Level 26: Assault Bot -- ExStrk-Dam%:20(A), FrcFbk-Rechg%:50(27), SvgnRt-Acc/Dmg:50(27), SvgnRt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(29), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg:50(29), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(31)
Level 28: Group Fly -- Frbd-EndRdx:50(A), Frbd-Fly:50(31), Frbd-Stlth:50(31), Srng-EndRdx:50(33), Srng-Fly:50(39)
Level 30: Assault -- EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(40)
Level 32: Upgrade Robot -- RechRdx-I:50(A), RechRdx-I:50(33), RechRdx-I:50(34), EndRdx-I:50(36), EndRdx-I:50(37)
Level 35: Tactics -- AdjTgt-ToHit:50(A), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx:50(36), AdjTgt-ToHit/Rchg:50(36), AdjTgt-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg:50(43), Rec'dRet-Pcptn:20(45)
Level 38: Force Bubble -- EndRdx-I:50(A), EndRdx-I:50(39)
Level 41: Dark Embrace -- TtmC'tng-ResDam/EndRdx:50(A), TtmC'tng-ResDam/Rchg:50(42), TtmC'tng-EndRdx/Rchg:50(42), Aegis-Psi/Status:50(42), TtmC'tng-ResDam:50(43), TtmC'tng-EndRdx:50(43)
Level 44: Aid Other -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx:50(A), Dct'dW-EndRdx/Rchg:50(45), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg:50(45), Dct'dW-Heal:50(46), Dct'dW-Rchg:50(46)
Level 47: Soul Tentacles -- TotHntr-Acc/Rchg:50(A), TotHntr-Acc/EndRdx:50(48), TotHntr-Immob/Rng:50(48), TotHntr-Acc/Immob/Rchg:50(48)
Level 49: Soul Storm -- EoCur-EndRdx/Hold:50(A), EoCur-Hold/Rng:50(50), EoCur-Acc/Hold:50(50), EoCur-Acc/Rchg:50(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Acc-I:50(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Supremacy
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>| Copy & Paste this data chunk into Mids' Hero Designer to view the build |
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Necrobond - 50 BS/Inv Scrapper made in I1
Rickar - 50 Bots/FF Mastermind
Anti-Muon - 42 Warshade
Ivory Sicarius - 45 Crab Spider
Aber ja, nat�rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.
I have a few questions about Masterminds. They're damn hard to plan out for the higher levels. The options for pet IOs are bewildering, set IO bonuses seem a bit pointless as I'm a no-attack-power Commandermind, and there is very little advice about Patron sets - given that they're permanent, it's a pretty big decision.
I've got a Bots/FF mastermind rapidly approaching 40, so the best thing to do would be to decide on a patron before anything else. Mostly they seem similar to the point of homogeneity, aside from Mace giving a Defense shield while other sets give a Resist. I'm torn here. The extra defense would raise my total to around 40%, which is borderline tank territory. Not bad with the pseudo-75% resist from bodyguard.
But that said, if I tried to switch to Bodyguard while using such high Defense, there's a good chance it will be a few attacks before I actually get hit and my pets respond. Wouldn't it be better to have a Resist of equal effectiveness (that being about double in percentage) and a greater chance of Bodyguard working? It would also be better against foes with high ToHit, which would bypass all my Defense completely - a Resist would give me something to fall back on.
Not that I intend on getting into a fight at all, but there are times when it's inevitable. Then again, I keep getting drawn to the idea of 40% S/L Defense...
Aside from the patron shield, all the sets have a damage cone, an immob cone, and a hold. I'm interested only in immobs and holds, something I don't have at all. Being able to keep a mob together sounds like a great way to help all the AoE my bots deal out, especially with Force Bubble pushing them into a corner, and the Hold is always useful. On showiness alone I'm drawn to Soul mastery, and I don't quite get what advantages or disadvantages the Patron immobs have over each other.
Concept doesn't really matter, as these are pools taught by a signature villain - they aren't meant to fit in.
A few examples for pet IO slotting would be nice too. There are many options, and more Unique IOs with very nice bonuses than I'd like, forcing me to pick which bots I want to have build up or such. And I can't shake the feeling that I'm not maximizing my damage and accuracy like I can with common IOs.
The chance for recharge knockback set IO also seems to be broken in that it procs for every mob hit, and should that get fixed it might be nowhere near as desirable as it is now.
So, yeah, a lot of horrid decisions to make at once, and I'm tired from university work. Little help, folks?
Edited because wall of text makes MY eyes hurt.
Necrobond - 50 BS/Inv Scrapper made in I1
Rickar - 50 Bots/FF Mastermind
Anti-Muon - 42 Warshade
Ivory Sicarius - 45 Crab Spider
Aber ja, nat�rlich Hans nass ist, er steht unter einem Wasserfall.