reurning vet needing mm advice

ok im coming back from a near ....oo i wanna say year or two break. i have a 50 tanker and was really loving the idea of the mm class. brilliant concept, but im stuck at the sets screen, i was gunna go bots and .....something something.. -_- so for someone who has only maybe gotten a mm to lvl 3 or so. and has no idea what he is doing. what set would be noob friendly? thank you for any help

I'd say .. Bots/Storm. The 'bots are pretty good about NOT rushing in and just being gooood lil mobile laser platforms, and storm is a GREAT chaos/debuff machine. Storm also keeps you busy, so you won't get bored. I LOVE Pain but I HAVE fallen asleep playing it.

Bots/FF is the thematic match for the Primary since the Dispersion Bubble stacks with the Protector Bots' bubbles, and you can bubble your bots as well. This is the combination which is typically used for the "Tankermind", since you can easily cap Defense on your Bots, and I think yourself as well. You lack offensive punch, but most Tankerminds aren't worried about damage anyway. The knockback also meshes well with the knockback from your Bots.

Bots/Traps is also a good thematic combination because of the Force Field Generator, and the tech/robotic aspect of the other traps. You lack the individual bubbles, but make up for it with Acid Mortar, which will help you do more damage (I slot it to recharge as fast as possible, since it's not mobile) and Detonator, which is just awesome. This isn't really a great combo for Tankerminding, though, more supporting from the rear as your Bots fight. Still, most traps can be laid without being interrupted, so you don't have to be stealthy about it if you don't want to.

I understand Bots/Dark is a good combo as well. I've played them separately, but not together, but I would guess the -Acc stacked with the bubbles makes for good defense. Plus, there is the ability to heal yourself, as well as the Dark Servant. This is probably a good Tankermind combo, although it lacks the status protection of the Dispersion Bubble/Force Field. I've found that being held isn't usually a problem, though, as it means my henchmen aren't. Or if one of them is held, I'm not.

Bots/Storm is probably good, as previously suggested, because of the knockback compatibility, like FF. The chaos and disruption caused to the foes is very helpful solo, but I would think it's not the best thing for holding aggro. (Although it may be able to draw it) If you're willing to go that route for crowd control, though, and your teammates don't mind, it can be effective, and your damage is probably pretty good too.

The rest I don't think I would bother with. Trick Arrow doesn't seem thematically compatible, I would call it more low tech, and Pain Domination I can't really tell you about as I have never tried it. Poison and Thermal are okay, but I don't think they play to the Bots' strengths. Poison is too single target oriented, and Thermal's shields are Resistance, not Defense, so they won't stack. (Although Def and Res combined can be quite effective)

If you don't know what I mean by "Tankermind", let me know, but I'm assuming you've been reading this forum. If you're coming from a Tanker you may want to use that strategy, but you might also want to explore playing more like a Defender/Controller and letting your henchmen play the meatshield. Just try both and see which you like.

I'll also add that at the really high levels, especially with IOs, the difference between sets tends to average out. While Bots is much better for Tankerminding than Thugs overall, at the high levels their offense and defense become much closer to equal. Likewise, the differences between Traps and FF balances out. (Particularly if you use IOs to bring your damage up)

But all of this is probably irrelevant to the thread topic. I'd go with what fits concept, if you have one.

Thanks for all the information guys. I might just play around with the types of Mastermind Combos. I might go for bots/ff. the only thing I do not like about that spec I kind of wish they had bots and assault rifle type spec. Just that way it'd be like having the pet and also being able to use the gun like a blaster. I have to try out a few different masterminds.

Well I've read on a few guides that if you go bot/ff that you shouldn't take the attacks under the bot and only get the stuff that is good for the minions. If I do that, I don't have any direct attacks except the ff attack, (the name escapes me right now). I like the concept of the bot/ff but if I don't have a direct attack, then I don't know if it'll be good for me. I'll have to look into the pistol recipe because it does sound interesting. If I do go bot/ff would it be worth it to invest in the attacks under the bot tree?

I would definately say that it is NOT worth taking the attacks in any of the primaries, they cause very little damage and take a lot of endurance compared to the attacks of other AT's.

Bots/FF is the combo where they would be most use, since after bubbling the bots you have very little to do, but even there they are useless outside of the first few levels.

If I was you I would just concentrate on the bubble powers, the pets, the upgrades, medicine pool and repair (To heal the pets), leadership pool, travel power, and the Mu epic pool for Electric Fences. The taunts from the presence pool are good if you plan on tankerminding.

On my bots/traps after the bubbles the only 3 powers I use are the 2 taunts and Electric Fences.

However I do have one comment to make about bots/ff in general, and that is that it is strong but boring to play. You literally have no useful contribution to make (Aside from passively standing with the big bubble and leadership pool) after you have bubbled your pets, you bubble every 4 minutes then stand about waiting to bubble again.

Jade Dragon said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aggelakis PrincessDarkstar: "RAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH SOMEONE IS *WRONG* ON THE INTERNET!"

If you want to go in with guns blazing then try thugs rather than bots. Not quite as easy a ride - no healer bot and both the arsonist and bruiser have suicidal tendencies, but fun and you do get dual wield pistols and your own gang. Dark, traps and storm are all good secondaries with the set, depending on your play style. Dark is probably the best newbie choice

theres so many choices i just know now im gunna have like 5 different mm's lol the thugs i do like tho for the dual pistols, thank you for suggesting those. any more suggestions would still be great tho

ok need to ask, how would a bots/pain dom mastermind play out?

I would remind again in a robot build, you could take the photon grenades to stack stuns with the protector bots grenades and seeker drones. You could get a nice stun set, and something to do between bubbling on a bots/FF.

That is so true Jade Dragon. Many experts on the Mastermind boards are probably vets with powers like sands of mu or a staff/wand to draw aggro with other means of provoking attack in bodyguard mode. Myself, I can't imagine leveling up a mastermind without these veteran powers. The new folks would do well to take a mastermind primary attack at least until they get the second tier 2 henchman, for show, for damage or secondary effects, But most of all, to have fun with YOUR mastermind.

I think Bots/Forcefields is the easiest to pick up as a beginner mastermind. It does have low maintenance, but it's simple and safe.

Bots/Dark, though I'm partial to Thugs/Dark. They're both unstoppable killing machines once you get 'em slotted up and built right.