Making a Ninja MM and a Merc MM: The Race to 32 Challenge
By
Berzerker_NA,
Posted on: 2011-08-22 24:59 in Masterminds
Just looking at both Pain and Thermal ( I have a 50 DS Pain ) I would go with Thermal for the buffs since its one cast now. I think they clearly offer more then the regen bubble that Pain does. With Pain I have over 600 regen but my pets don't. If my pets also where also effected by my set bonuses then it would be great, but sadly its not.
1. Why Soft Cap is Important : http://dechskaison.blogspot.com/2011...important.html
2. Limits: http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Limits
3. Attack Mechanics: http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Attack_Mechanics
4. Rule of Five: http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Rule_o...e_Law_of_Fives
For what its worth, I recently rolled up a ninja/therm for no real reason. He shredded through the first 20 levels very quickly, but I noticed him becoming much squishier as he moved into the mid 20s. Its decent enough fun though and once the jounin start laying into a boss their KD effects prove more useful on the defensive front then I thought. Gotta be on your toes though, cause when they go down they do it fast.
Theres worse builds for sure, but I think it would struggle at the higher end. If you're just going to 32 though, should be just fine.
Here you come with a stupid name like Fixer - brutalkillz_
i have 0 experience with mercs but i do have a ninja/pain at lvl 50 at that was an "interesting" experience and dont get me wrong you can make it work for you, but given the opportunity id go with thermal instead, pain domination can heal the hell out of your ninjas but it does get chaotic at times, thermal can give them slightly more durability, i tend to find that as they are mainly melee they will run off round corners to chase down and if u cant heal them...i know you said your only taking to level 32 but theres always that temptation to take it further...if anything for ninjas you could always wait until time manipulation becomes available it has an alright heal and the buffs would go well with ninjas....
I'll chime in on the other end as my level 50 is a Mercs/Traps.
I'd personally say that one of the great advantages with Mercs is the range you can have...especially if you're adept at splitting your forces while keeping protection. Your Spec Ops have sniper shots that truly come in handy and coupled with the invisibility factor (after your tactical upgrade) I find them to be quite useful as the primary strike arm of the troop.
Now full disclosure - your soldiers can get wiped in a hurry if you're not careful & I prepare for this with my traps set, but with what I've read above I'd go with Thermal (the regen bonus is what sold me).
Just my two cents.
I hope it's not too late to change your mind. Ninja/Pain doesn't work that well. You will need to heal A LOT and constantly.
If you want a good Ninja experience, I would suggest Ninja/FF.
In a race to 32, I would say Ninja wins. Merc, while having the advantage at long range (some pets still run in), their damage output is a lot lower than Ninjas.
What's left is to normalize all Assassin Strikes and improve Stalker's old sets (Claw, MA and EM)! You don't need to bring back the missing PbAoE attack. You just need to make the existing ones better! For example, make Slice a WIDER and LONGER cone.
Ninja's do more ST damage, Mercs have more AOE and are ranged.
Therm or Pain doesn't matter, their both equal.
Go ahead and cap your pet's resists, they will still die, guaranteed.
Quote:
Most encouraging statement of the thread?|
Originally Posted by MoarZombahz
Ninja's do more ST damage, Mercs have more AOE and are ranged.
Therm or Pain doesn't matter, their both equal. Go ahead and cap your pet's resists, they will still die, guaranteed. |
Thanks for all your help guys! I actually went back to my Necro/Dark MM at 50, but I might make a Ninja/FF. I did get my Merc/Pain to 17, but he just feels too slow.
I'm enjoying my Ninja/Pain (currently 46), but I do admit that I think Thermal would be better. As for Time, I didn't feel like it worked well with Ninjas from my (limited) experience in beta
Quote:
That's not true. From my experience of lvl 50 Merc/Poison, 50 Merc/Storm and 50 Ninja/FF, I can tell you Ninja has more aoe damage. than Merc. |
Originally Posted by MoarZombahz
Ninja's do more ST damage, Mercs have more AOE and are ranged.
|
Ninja, surprisingly, has good aoe damage. Oni has Rain of Fire to start the fight (he has Breath of Fire but it's too inconsistent), both Jounins have caltrops and Genins have Exploding Star.
Majority of Merc's aoe damage comes from Commando and only one is a target aoe knockback in M3 Grenade. The rest are all cones. Trying to line up your pets to get the most of cone damage is tough. In the end, I am pretty sure Ninja does more consistent aoe damage than Merc.
Oh, and also Ninja controls better than Merc. Oni has 8s recharge Hold, 4s immb and two Jounins have knock downs, knock ups and one very narrow confuse cone, and Genins have one annoying strong knockback in Crane kick.
The only thing Merc has is range. That's it. Everything else is inferior.
What's left is to normalize all Assassin Strikes and improve Stalker's old sets (Claw, MA and EM)! You don't need to bring back the missing PbAoE attack. You just need to make the existing ones better! For example, make Slice a WIDER and LONGER cone.
yes so sad mercs had to be the red headed step child of the mastermind set. would have loved to have a "thugs" equivalent but the devs and all theyre glory decided hey this is the set we will **** on with everything bad we can possibly come up with. inferior damage, inferior abilities, inferior special power(SERUM) 
yet they have such nice looking pets
Yes, I find that vanity drives me to play mercs anyway, in spite of their failings, but I must admit they're less powerful than most competitors.
I'd say if you're going to play them, play to their strengths, no their weaknesses. Serum can be totally bada$$ if you slot it up, putting your commando at the full 90% softcap for AV battles, but the rest of the time the 16 minute recharge is going to make it practically useless.
Originally, I was going to ask the pros and cons of a ninja mm and a merc mm. As the most underrated MM sets, I decided I would give them a go. Demon hasn't grown on me very well and my 2nd (of 2) 50's is a Necro/Dark MM. I'm thinking I want a set where I have solid support of my pets, so it is between thermal and pain domination.
I'm thinking I'll go one with each set to start. I don't have all that much time, but I have enough to get both of them to 32, I think. So it's between Ninja/Pain, Ninja/Therm, Merc/Pain, or Merc/Therm. Unless I have a spontaneous reaction in character creator, or something.
To sum it up, I'm looking for tips, experiences, and advice for both these primary and secondary sets.