First Villain? What do i pick?

I've been on heroes for a couple years now. Decided to finally run a Villain.. Not sure what to start with. Was thinking a Brute, or a MasterMind. Any Suggestions on what to play for a first Villain?

I should think telling us more about what you like to play/do in-game should help get some more useful responses. After all, what I like to do could be exceedingly different than what you like (for example, I can't understand people who only play a single AT).

Masterminds are completely different from anything heroside, and that would be cool for an experienced player new to vills.

If you do, i HIGHLY recommend using a bind system for pet control. Once learned, it really smooths out the play experience. I prefer the numpad binds Sandolphan put together; you can find them here: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=117256

As for what primary/secondary, thugs or bots/traps or dark are all reliably tested and rate high on the butt-kickery meter.

Only thing about MMs right now is their melee/ranged AI has been wonky for a bit; i haven't been spending time with my MMs, but i hear that they always want to run into melee.


Brutes are like scraps; anything/anything will work. I like the early game on a brute much better than on a scrap, because the fury bar is automatic damage enhancement. Good late-game potential too, as all sets benefit from the higher base HP of a brute (compared to scraps), and some sets can take advantage of the MUCH higher HP cap (an IO'ed, accoladed, dull-pain'ed Inv brute can push 3k hp, for example).

hope this helps; have fun being eeeeevil!

Judging by your dbz avatar I can tell you like to watch stuff blow up and get destroyed. With that in mind, I'd say go for a Brute or Dominator.

Each redside AT has a "plan" they want to stick to. This has a significant impact on how they play.

Brute: Keep on fighting. Brutes take a little while to get going, so they want to stop as little as possible. On scrappers, it's called scrapperlock. On brutes, it's called "playing properly". All the same, you're not invulnerable. If it's going to get you killed, stop and rest. Fury only takes a few seconds to rebuild.

Corruptor: Eliminate the weak. Scourge means you want to be hitting people while they're on 50% or less HP. On teams, try and tab around for the low-health targets and pick them off. Frankly, though, Corrs are the most similar to blueside ATs - they're a lot like a Defender, but with higher damage mods and lower buff/debuff. Still, sufficiently stacked -HP is the biggest debuff of them all.

Dominator: Keep everything under control. Dominators, like blasters, have no native survivability boosts. Unlike blasters, though, they get proactive mitigation through controls. Unlike Fury, Domination is more of an added extra - it rewards tyou for doing what you have to to survive. Remember that defeat is the ultimate form of control.

Mastermind: My minions will handle it. Masterminds have very high endurance costs, but a good set-up needs you to do little more than pick a target and send the troops at them. It takes a lot of practise to get the hang of managing six pets at once, but the rewards for pulling it off can be truly spectacular.

Stalker: He dies now. Stalkers are great for single-target burst, but lacking in a lot of other ways. You need to plan out your fights a little in advance, pick out the biggest threat and eliminate them. Most stalkers are single-target focused, but also have a number of tools to quickly bring it down to a one-on-one fight. A Stalker was the only archetype with which I was able to solo Protean for the Singular Vision badge, although it did come down to running around the lifts waiting for Placate to recharge.

So, really, it's a preference thing. Quick and dirty conversion:

Blaster -> Dominator, possibly Stalker
Controller -> MM, maybe Dominator
Defender -> Corruptor, maybe MM
Scrapper -> Brute, possibly Stalker
Tanker -> Brute

I'd recommend Stalkers or Masterminds for being the most distinct from any of the hero ATs in how they play.

A Brute is probably the simplest thing you could try. Melee ATs in this game are generally a bit more forgiving due to their higher HP, mez protection and mitigation powers (shields).

However, you may not need to play something "simple". In that case, you need some sense of what the ATs do to try and compare against what you like to play on hero side.

• Brute: Plays something like a Scrapper with Tanker powersets. Tougher than a Scrapper, and can tank, but not as tough as a Tanker without (a lot of) buffs from teammates. Not quite as damaging blow-per-blow as a Scrapper, but still extremely effective. Edit: Fury tends you towards a "go, go, go!" mindset with this AT.
• Corruptor: Extremely similar to a Defender, but with blasts as the primary. More damage per blast than a Defender, especially on a team, but generally not as strong at buffing, debuffing or mezzing. Still, plenty good at buffing and debuffing.
• Stalker: Kind of like a melee blaster. Lower HP than Scrappers, but with some tricks they don't have, like near-perfect stealth and a backstab of doom. I recommend this AT if you enjoy the "imma kill you before you kill me even though I'm kinda fragile" that is popular with some Blaster players.
• Dominator: Try to imagine a Controller with "blapper" powers - some hard-hitting blasts and melee attacks. The Domination mechanic is pretty interesting, and a Dominator with domination up lays out more mez magnitude per time than a Controller does with the same control set. Dominators put out some pretty good damage.
• Mastermind: No real analog with heroes. Your pets are your primary means of interacting with enemies, though some secondaries mean you'll be active at debuffing foes. A MM has some of the weakest personal stats of all ATs in the game, but their pets and the interactions with their pets make them some of the safest, easiest things to play that you can imagine. (Note: easiest to play does not imply easiest to learn to play!)

Make one of each redside AT. (if you have enough slots open). It's a good way to figure out which type you will like. Just as on blueside, you will know soon enough if the build is for you, or if you should junk the toon. That's one great part of this game, plenty of room for more and more alts. (and more and more!)

Every thing on Villains just seems like a weaker version of heroes. lol not as strong as a blaster. Not as tuff as a tank. Know what i mean. I was thinking maybe a brute.

Well, everything on redside plays differently to blueside...

You really need to try them all to be able to decide.

What was your favorite AT blueside?

You best bet is to try an MM without the pets, or a Stalker without Hide/AS.
How's that for "weaker"?
Mua Ha Ha Ha!

The following suggestions are my personal opinion and do not reflect the point that je saist is always right...

Fire/Dark corruptor: This villain is super effective out of the box. By level 6 you have a fire blast, a fire AoE, a fire rain, a self-heal, and a tarpatch. I dare any blaster to put that package together.

Bots/Traps mastermind: Bots have lethal resist, and make most of the low level red-side groups. Traps start out a bit slow, but when you get your acid mortar and forcefield generator, it's off to the races.

Electric Control/Electric blast Dominator: My new favorite son, the super sapper with a bag of effective controls. The electric melee attacks make it especially good. It's easy to solo, too.

I'm saying Mastermind as well. Totally different from other classes and can be really fun.

The hero and villian ATs are VERY different. For the most part I find it works like this...

Corruptor = Blaster without Melee and control options, but with buffing, debuffing and healing options. Can also be seen as the redside defender.

Mastermind = Defender with less buff/debuff/healing values are able to bring their own team with them.

Dominator = Controller without buffs/debuffs/heals, making up for it with an awesome Domination ability and high powered ranged and melee damage abilities.

Brute = Tank with less defenses but more attack and the ability to generate even more attack with Fury. Can also be seen as a redside scrapper.

Stalker = Scrapper with less survivablity, but stealth abilities with leads to massive burst damage.