MM in groups?

Hey i just started an mm and its pretty cool, but i was wondering if at higher levels i would be good in groups. Like if people would even bother inviting me, because i dont want to solo at endgame

Also, which primary/secondary would be best for groups, but still be able to solo

My criteria for a good MM in groups that I have found:

1. Max AE
2. Smallest models in primary
3. Good control setup, passive is best with bodyguard second

To get there I would suggest thugs. They have great AE attacks, at 32 the arsonist has an amazing burn patch and the enforcers have a very long and pretty wide cone x 2 and they never get in the way. Primaries to avoid: demons and bots, irritating as hell to get around in a group, although bots has burn patch as well.

You can also use ninja, at 32 the oni has fire rain.

For secondary I would go for that which gives the best AE effect. TA, Dark, pain and traps comes to mind.

I like playing masterminds. I don't have any more trouble than anyone else getting groups, but I will say, even playing a mastermind, I don't like to have more than 3 masterminds on the team. Certain sewer and tunnel maps get too clogged.

Most mastermind pairings that are good solo are pretty good on teams, too. I think any well-played mastermind primary is welcome. The favored secondaries are /dark, /thermal, and /pain for the group heals. I wouldn't say the other secondaries are bad, just not as popular with teams.

wow thank you that clears things up alot, i keep them on bodyguard usually, and passive if the group would want me too. But what do you mean by smallest models?(Noob here)

Yeah masterminds with big pets on a small (tunnels) mish are a real pain. Well, not real, but it's annoying.

Masterminds are inherently great solo or on teams. We have pets, and team buff powers which work equally well on the pets or teams. It's an inherent force multiplyer even if you have only half a brain.

As for which combo, any will do. Ninja tend to be squirrely, and Trick Arrow is really slow to start. I'd avoid both. I like both Robots and Demons, but I can see how maybe you might want to avoid them the very first time (second time, go for it).

Thugs are good, Mercs are ok and would be fine to start with, Zombies are fine. For secondaries, Dark, Pain and Thermal are probably the easiest to get the hang of. Any of those will just about instantly make your team and you pets stronger.

Take one or two of your personal attacks too just so you don't get too bored, but don't go hog-wild with the personal powers either.

Pets and the better secondary powers (in CoH, secondaries are very strong and should be treated like primaries) are what you need.

Teaming as a MM can be a pain depending on the team. The pbase is more knowledgeable these days, so you might not experience what I mean. Your pets are your mitigation, your team is your mitigation. On strong teams focus your secondary on supporting your team first your pets second. If you find your teaming lacking in strength, focus on your pets first your team second. With enough practice you'll be able to do both w/o really thinking.

The reason I state what I did was on strong teams, they can steamroll missions faster than your pets. On weaker teams, your pets can keep you standing and help clear mobs. This will enable you to get your team standing again, using your pets as a distraction really.

As far as best combo for solo/team, play whats fun, I have 5 level 50 MMs. They all play completely differently, so it depends on your combo. All MMs should be able to solo w/o any trouble, the only growing pain is level 18-24. This is because of the way enemies scale, you'll have 3 tier 1 pets at -2 and one tier 2 pet at level. This hurts some combos more then others, not sure what you decided on.

Just ask if you have any questions on certain combos you find interesting.

Last time I teamed on my ds/pain hero side I just used the demon prince for the ice holds. Noone complained.

I've found that /traps can be AMAZING in teams -- if the team is able to get their head around the idea that the weak little mastermind with "low" hit points is running in and toe-bombing.

Seeker drones, poison gas trap... As someone commented, "seeker drones turn alphas into lolphas".

Do not be afraid to dismiss your pets and resummon.. During some TF or SF it might be needed to run to a different spot on the map.. I cannot tell you how many times a MM forgets to dismiss his pets and drags tons of aggro over to the meeting spot.. Sometimes pulling the AV accidentally..

Personally I would do anything Traps. With Traps you can be at defense cap and spam Trip mine without even having the pets out.. Further your FFG will help everyone out defense wise. Plus all the other tricks Traps has. No other secondary can really offer that.

Traps will really make you feel like a super super villain or hero if you go that route.. More so, Traps anything is great, regardless of AT.. If you can pick up Traps then you are SOLID.. I would rather do less DPS but be alive then a bit more DPS and taking a concrete nap.

Robots can be a pain because of size but there DPS is less resisted compared to Thugs Smash and Lethal damage. But that is just me nitpicking.

I reiterate make your first MM experience a great one.. Pick up any pets but make your secondary Traps. You will be able to solo +1 +8 WITHOUT PETS and no crazy IOs needed. Basic cheap stuff.

Also due to the way Pet AI is ATM and has been for a long time, I personally believe it is much easier to control the mobs instead of the pets. So I would suggest using the Tankermind concept and use Provoke. I found my MM life much easier once I could get defense cap and Provoke the mobs to me instead of sending the pets in. Sadly that does not happen until level 41 or so. Until then you basically just have to do the standard resummon when they die, not much you can do. As I leveled I would either start the attack myself so the pets would run into fights less or I would send the pets in on a troublesome NPC ( think LB Neutralizer or Gunslinger, careful with Gunslinger TP though ).

Dark is nice as well, A healing type is also a boon as some might even ask you not for your pets but just simply because they need a healer, but you cannot do what you can with Traps..

I Tanked the Katie Hannon TF with my Mercs/Dark. We realized after we got all 8 people that we had 3 Blaster, 2 Scrappers, Defender, Dom and me so since I was a tankermind build anyway what the heck ( I respec to provoke at 10 ). With the earth dom, dark debuffs, provoke and bodyguard it was actually quite easy ( no deaths ).

P.S. oh ya I have one better! My medic actually killed Mary on x 4 with a punch to the head! Flex…..

P.P.S diidn't get any Cabal progress as Rogue though stupid bug. Had to go full hero to get Geas

You'll find masterminds play far better in groups if you have some quick binds set up to control them. The biggest things that wil cause your team to dislike your pets:

Pets in the way (especially in small doorways)
Pets that over-aggro (Usually when pursuing/in aggressive mode)

I have shift+left click on the mouse bound to "goto" so it's easy to shuffle the guys out of people's ways, or tell the guys where to stand before letting loose AoE's. I use WASD to move, so I have "alt+w" bound as 'attack target,' (moves pets forward) "alt+s" is 'stay,' "alt+d" defensive, "alt+a" passive, then "alt+q" as agressive. Aggressive mode is rarely good on teams, or solo, so I steer clear of it usualy.

there are some good tips ..some advanced... in here.

Boiled down.. Pet Control....determines if the MM is worth it in party. I can not count how many times in GR I wanted to choke some of them.

I pay close attention to pet control..I have one primary weapon move that is it...So my total focus is pet control/secondary power pool use.

I can say from experience that pet control is key. Example Robotics/Dark MM I have;
I dont get in front of my groups.... ever... I let them pass through choke points first if I have a choice.

If you notice your pets are blocking your team, GOTO is your friend to reposition them.

In combat I let the team engage...once the brute gets situated...I then Assist on him and focus fire...when the mobs die ...or close to it "Passive mode " is clicked.

Basically Focus fire, click Passive in between...this way you control your pets more and they focus there fire. Also at the same time you ensure you get in the habit of keeping them on passive.

Thus keeping your pets in check = lowers chances of one of your tard drones running off and pulling another group before your team can recoup.

I juggle my pets with Goto, All attack, and Passive. Those are my three main buttons on my mouse controls for my pets. If im not healing, I am managing pets. Either way im multi tasking =)