Mastermind Damage and Survivability v.s. AV's

I'm probably going to comebackto the game for the first time really since issue 7. I'd like to go through the contacts on the villain side and read the flavor text and story arcs. Generally I'd like to really get a feel for the game villain side instead of paper missioning my way into the mid 30's, getting bored and quitting for a while like I've been doing for the last few years.

The Archetype I've chosen to go with is a Mastermind. I'm having trouble deciding between thugs and bots, though. Also I don't know if my chosen secondary is an issue. I started playing around with possible options and the one I'm having the most fun with is Thugs/Thermal. With the shields and heals from /thermal, will thugs have the damage resistance to stand toe to toe with AV's (or generally keep the arsonist from suiciding all the time)? Would it be better to taunt the AV's to me and have the pets in bodyguard mode? Do thugs' deal enough hurt to overcome the massive regen? Will heat exhaustion provide enough -regen to make up for it if they cant, and will recharge slotting be enough to make it perma? Who should I put forge on, the bruiser or the arsonist? (I'm thinking arsonist would be better forged for AoE fights and the bruiser would be better if it was a single target, like most AV fights.) Can I get Forge's recharge low enough to forge a third guy before the first one runs out?

I'm new to the /thermal set and to AV tackling in general. I have 3 masterminds though, 32 necro/dark, 35 bots/dark and a 38 thugs/dark, so at least I have a bit of experience there. I'm hoping the two sets have a lot of synergy and it's not just all in my head.

There's a lot of things I still have yet to experience with the game. Even though I played in coh beta back in 04, I get the feeling I've been playing this game like a newbie all these years >.>

I want to compare this to AV's because the way I see it, if I can take down AV's, I shouldn't have too much trouble with anything else except for strike forces. Is that accurate?

I appretiate all the help. It's going to take a while to get back up to speed with all the changes since i7.

Bump.

AVs feel like they were made to roll ver AVs.

(As a side note refrain from bumping excessively)

Thugs/Thermal? You kidding me? That can easily curb stomp an Archvillain so long as you know what the heck you're doing. Bring break frees, bring taunt, bring anything you can get that will keep YOU alive during the fight. So long as your minature thugs stay out of ol' Paul Bunion's AoEs you'll do fine. Be sure to spam Heat Exhaustion and Melt Armor if you have 'em. Try to keep Forge on the Bruiser. Etc, etc, etc.

You're Thermal, of course you're gonna rip some AVs a new one.

I'd question thugs. To be honest, most masterminds who solo AV's focus on defense, as that allows the somewhat fragile pets to survive. When they have low health, not getting hit at all helps a lot more than being a bit tougher but getting hit all the time. Bots supply defense and healing, which would help with your shields, but the big bot's ray bursts decrease regeneration. This makes the AV lifetime shorter, which will help you take an AV down.

I would invest in pet +defense and pet +resistance IO's as well, if possible. Makes those pets last longer.

Just my two bits.

....And just to note, bodyguarding as a /thermal is rough. You have one self heal. That is all. Your boss pets will be tougher with all your shields, they may be better taking the brunt. (Of course patron and fighting shields would help you be tougher, but it's starting at a bit of a disadvantage compared to sets like traps, forcefields, and dark miasma that have constant ways of decreasing the damage you'd take. )

Now before I get too far into this character (only level 8 atm because of limited playtimes), what would you think I would have an easier time destroying AV's with?

Is /dark able to take on AV's as easily as /traps? Is /FF worth the consideration? Do you think I should switch from thugs/? to bots/?. I know the assualt bot has the
-regen component two of his abilities, but it's only a 30% chance to trigger.

Again I'm still looking for the best combo for AV's here. I know bots/traps is extremely proficient at it, although I've never been much of a /traps fan. I enjoy dark more, and am also more experienced with it. If I were to 3 slot howling twilight for recharge, would the -regen component be able to be perma? How is dark at hitting the soft cap? If -tohit works the same way that +defense does, and I'm not certain on whether or not it does, but if it does then the -to hit from darkest night (2 slotted) should be about enough to soft cap a bots/dark when combined with 1 slotted prot bot's bubble, shadow fall, and maneuvers.

But again, I don't know if they work the same way. I'm thinking I may go bots/dark. Maneuvers from Enforcers doesn't affect the MM himself right? It's been a long time
-_-

You're not too bad off with Thugs/thermal. It's not going to solo AV's as well as, say, Bots/Traps, but it will be able to get the job done. You've got Bodyguard mode to keep you safe, and your AoE heal will be able to keep the thugs healthy, not to mention keeping you safe. Judicious inspiration use, using Provoke to keep the AV's attention on you, using Heat Exhaustion every time it's up, and you'll be all set.

Heat Exhaustion is -regen, -damage (50%), so the AV will be hitting you much lighter than he was, not to mention your Bodyguard mode keeping you at roughly 85% damage resistance (please correct me if that's wrong). But, if the AV drops aggro on you and goes, say, for your Bruiser, then you'll be able to spot-heal with Cauterize. With the shields, your pets will be a little more sturdy for taking any AoE's on top of the damage taken with BG mode.

And no, the Enforcer's leadership auto-toggles don't affect the MM itself, but it does affect the rest of your pets.

For a good opener, I'd suggest Gang War, then Heat Exhaustion, then Melt Armor, Provoke. Keep Provoke on auto so that the AV/Hero keeps aggro on you.


To your other questions, /Dark *can* solo AV's, but not as well as /Traps. Even with the nerfs in recent memory to /Traps, it's still a significant AV-soloing secondary. Bots are fairly sturdy and mostly all ranged, so most people tend to choose them. The Assault Bot does have -Regen in his plasma blasts, but it's not reliable and I wouldn't count on it. Thugs will out-damage nearly everything in single target damage. The only thing they will fall behind on is if you can keep an AV immob'ed in one of the Assault Bot's burn patches.

Don't be discouraged! I've soloed AV's with my Necro/Dark, and it's not even specced for AV soloing. You just need to know how to use the buffs/debuffs/aggro to your benefit. Good luck!

My thugs dark has no problems soloing AVs. It has 49.5% defense for smashing lethal, 39.7% range and 40.4% aoe.

If something gets through that defense and darkest night, I just hit Twilight Grasp for a big heal.