I've gotten my Mercs/Poison to level 20... and haven't really experienced any problems. Of course, that really isn't all that good of a sample of one, I can't even slot SOs yet.
My only issue seems to be the apparent squishiness of the pets... or perhaps that is a lack in the secondary to keep them alive. We shall see how it pans out once I get into the 30s.
My brother likes his Mercs/Poison. He says that you really have to slot up Neurotoxic Breath and Paralytic Poison, as well as go for one of the holds in the Patron sets, to hold the big bads out of melee range.
Personally, I'd make a Mercs/Dark, Mercs/Storm, or Mercs/Pain.
Too many alts to list.
I have a lvl 46 merc/poison. Lets just say "poison...I am disappoint...."
I know this is a pretty late reply, but my first MM/first villain/first 50 villain is Mercs/Poison, and it worked well for me. 
Mercs work best from range. I don't know if I'd say they're the absolute best compared to other MM sets, but they seem to be decently well rounded. The Medic in among the Soldiers does have a tendency to be a bit crazy... running off to kill something instead of healing. But any healing he does do is good, plus you can use Alkaloid on someone he's missed. Spec Ops have a really good blitz of mez with their Flashbangs. And the Commando's the best damage. Mercs' big wildcard power is Serum, which is pretty much a tier 9 power for one of your pets. It really does make them into a killing machine for a while (complete with a health and end crash when it drops.)
I think Poison's an under-appreciated set. It's a very nice debuff set, with a couple team utility powers. Alkaloid, Antidote, and Elixir of Life help with teammates, and pretty much everything else makes the enemies weaker. Poison Trap's pretty skippable... but in my experience, Poison shines the most in tough AV fights.
Envenom and Weaken are great to use against an AV, but the best bit of synergy between the sets happens when you take the Commando, give him Serum, cast Noxious Gas on him, and tell him to go fight the AV in melee. Serum is good enough to let him be able to survive easily, and Noxious Gas is an awesomely good debuff. I can't really speak for solo, but with a good team the AV will turn to tissue paper after you do this.
Proud member of Everyday Heroes (Infinity Heroes), Dream Stalkers (Infinity Villains), Devil Never Cry (Freedom Heroes), Enclave of EVIL (Pinnacle Villains), Phobia (Infinity Villains), Les Enfant Terribles (Freedom Villains), Gravy Train (Virtue Heroes), and more!
Full, detailed character list
Rule num. 1: you and your pets are more expendable than a Blapper
Rule num. 2: Fight intelligently, using tricks and strategy rather than straight forward debuffing. Trust me, this is important as Mercs/Poison is super fragile
Rule num. 3: Bring patience. A LOT of patience
Quote:
The combo solos well IMO; I'd recommend taking on smaller but tougher spawns (the above AV strategy works just fine on Elite Bosses too). Run in bodyguard ("tankermind") mode, concentrating on debuffing and taunting, doing your best to use positioning to keep your minions out of AoE fire.|
Originally Posted by Patteroast
I know this is a pretty late reply, but my first MM/first villain/first 50 villain is Mercs/Poison, and it worked well for me.
Mercs work best from range. I don't know if I'd say they're the absolute best compared to other MM sets, but they seem to be decently well rounded. The Medic in among the Soldiers does have a tendency to be a bit crazy... running off to kill something instead of healing. But any healing he does do is good, plus you can use Alkaloid on someone he's missed. Spec Ops have a really good blitz of mez with their Flashbangs. And the Commando's the best damage. Mercs' big wildcard power is Serum, which is pretty much a tier 9 power for one of your pets. It really does make them into a killing machine for a while (complete with a health and end crash when it drops.) I think Poison's an under-appreciated set. It's a very nice debuff set, with a couple team utility powers. Alkaloid, Antidote, and Elixir of Life help with teammates, and pretty much everything else makes the enemies weaker. Poison Trap's pretty skippable... but in my experience, Poison shines the most in tough AV fights. Envenom and Weaken are great to use against an AV, but the best bit of synergy between the sets happens when you take the Commando, give him Serum, cast Noxious Gas on him, and tell him to go fight the AV in melee. Serum is good enough to let him be able to survive easily, and Noxious Gas is an awesomely good debuff. I can't really speak for solo, but with a good team the AV will turn to tissue paper after you do this. |
Build in an old thread on the topic posted here:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...um#post2151784
Suggestions:
Super Packs Done Right
Influence Sink: IO Level Mod/Recrafting
Random Merit Rolls: Scale cost by Toon Level
Was thinking of giving this a roll, but I wanted to get some advice first. Other than the lacking synergy between NG and ranged pets, are there any other real problems with this setup?