Returning player, have my heart set on merc/?

Hiya all

I have been away for the best part of 2 years, My last log in on my old brute was 530 odd days ago

Now I have decided to come back as I have lots of time on my hands over the crimble break yay!! I have my heart set on a MM Merc type Villain. I dont care about Mercs not being the best MM main power etc, I just want mercs because I find them fun and they fit my character costume etc. What I am actually stuck on though is the secondary power set. I know in the old days it was always Bots/FF etc but with all the new additions to the secondary sets now available im stuck in my choice. Not looking to take down the biggest badest boss in the game solo but I am looking for a secondary that will at least let me solo when I have too. I play on union server and it appears to be quite dead in population terms so soloing is almost a must a lot of the time. So Any suggestions? I'm really stuck on choice as they all sound good in the descriptions but that's not always the case. Something with health regen would be nice for the mercs, i know there's a lot of heals but I hate spamming one skill, would rather some sort of passive regen or something.

Any Suggestions are most welcome, please help this old coot (turned 31 on monday!!) decide.

Thanks All.

Dark miasma sounds like it would be a good choice for you.

Breaking the set down, you have the -to hit from darkest night and fearsome stare to reduce the damage your troops take, as well as some defence and resistance from shadow fall.
When the mercs do take some hits, you have an AOE heal to top them back up again.

You also get a lot of control options to help you out - a big cone fear (fearsome stare again), a single target hold (petrifying gaze) and a large AOE slow (tar patch) which also debuffs enemy damage resistance for faster defeats. Also (and I can't believe I forgot about this and had to edit it in) you have Howling Twilight, a big pile of debuffs with a stun and some minor damage attached which has the handy side benefit of being able to resurrect whole teams (it doesn't work on your mercs however).

Last, but certainly not least, you get another pet in Dark Servant, which is another source of to hit debuffs, healing and control (and is awesome).

Oh, and there's Black Hole too, which is eminently skippable, but you might be able to use as a panic button if you are in trouble.

Thank you for your reply Streetcleaner. Love the name btw hehe.

I have used Dark miasma before on another toon a few years ago and even back it was always a very good secondary to have. So far im really liking your choice as it seems to fit nicely in what im looking for. The area heal is probably the most attractive for me. Debuffs on tohit etc are also very nice, I never realised that you also got a pet with DM so even more of a bonus hehe.

I'll see if anyone has anymore suggestions but tbh im almost convinced already

I've heard varitably good things about Mercs/Pain.

Painbringer+Serum+Commando=Lots of red numbers.

The buffs and heals help your boys in grey stay up.

/Traps are win for mercs

TP foe, caltrops, acid mortar, grab stealth for running in the crowd and droppin the poison gas, then your boys melt the mobs. It's not quite the "sit back and watch the show" style like /FF, but it's a constant-thinking about your strategy kind of set. I'm enjoying it on thugs, can totally see it being just as good with the mercs.

A vote for Merc/Pain here, was a lot of fun for me.

I would recommend getting traps, dark miasma, pain domination, force field and thermal radiation, I say thermal cause its like a bubbler/debuffer. you can buff your pets and keep an eye on the weakening of the enemy!