Well, like you and unlike many MM's, I also take one or two of the primary attacks. I find that sometimes, it is very much needed, especially if you don't have provoke. As for Field Mastery, I was looking at this as well and thought of a couple things. First, you are working with /Traps which is a very busy set, unlike say /Dark. With traps, your always thinking of the best placement and with personal attacks, your also doing that as well. So now we have an Epic that, while I have experience with the Defender version, doesn't seem to synergize well with /Traps due to it's KB. So let's say you have bots/traps. Bots does kb, your personal attacks do kb and any attacks you take in Field Mastery also does Kb, even slightly more. Taking all that into account, you have to consider how well does this would work with a secondary that is very positional.
Not only that, but if you team often, MM's get flack enough without the KB factor but adding to that, you may find it difficult. But overall, I think the best thing you can do is try out one or two of them on an alternate build or, there is yet another option. Go buy and make the Plasmatic Taser temporary power. It's virtually the same as Energy Torrent and you can see how well it would work without having to change your present build at all. If you are wanting more of an ST, then you can always go with Power blast as a last resort attack for an AV or EB.
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Endurance cost and recharge.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Power Blast, the single-target attack from the set, does about as much damage as Energy Torrent, the cone. What reason could I possibly have to want to take that?
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Additionally - and I know people are just going to tell me to not bother - but suppose I already have all of my Mastermind attacks taken and slotted. How feasible is it to grab attacks from an Epic on top of them?
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Where to now?
Check out all my guides and fiction pieces on my blog.
The MFing Warshade | The Last Rule of Tanking | The Got Dam Mastermind
Everything Dark Armor | The Softcap
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Has anyone tried using Thunder Strike or Knockout Blow from epics? Are they good?
As for the OP, I usually stay away from knock back for MMs because pets' AI is really stupid when a target is knocked back. I haven't tried Force but if you feel you need one more attack for more damage, go ahead. I agree with you that sometimes it is better to do damage on your own than waiting for your pets to finish off. My mastermind always take one or two attacks.
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.
Knockback affects some pets differently. IMO robots don't care one whit whether something is knockback. The other pet that seems to be fine with modest kb is the zombies. Necro/Storm is a very good synergy; I wouldn't suspect that Thunderstrike would bother them much. Necros aggression rate seems a bit slower on the uptake and their aggro/perception range appear less than the other pets, which fits in with kb sets.
Triumphant Defenders Forever
Psylenz FF/Psi, ArticQuark Storm/Rad, Symon BarSisyphus Bots/psn, Max VanSydow Thugs/Dk, Cyclone Symon Bots/stm, Blue Loki Ice/Cd, Widow 46526
HelinCarnate:OMG it is so terrible. I have the option to take 3 more powers but no additional slots. Boo F'ing hoo.
I used to not like attacks on my MM because she is a buffer (FF) but with the changes to the buffing mechanics, attacks are imo impossible to pass up for one's sanity while playing
@Viper Kinji
Currently working on:
Turtle Snapper - SD/MA/Ice Tanker
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I took KO Blow for thematic reasons on my thug/poison. It hits reasonably hard, and the extra hold can come in handy, but the recharge is awfully long. It also has shorter range than the SS version, which can be annoying if you're used to it.
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Originally Posted by Jibikao
Has anyone tried using Thunder Strike or Knockout Blow from epics? Are they good?
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On my demon/pain MM I took all the whip attacks and tentacles/soul storm from the PPP... and I couldn't be happier >.>
I like feeling more proactive offensively. That said... any secondary effects of your offensive powers can be what makes the decision for you. In my case... the whip attacks debuff the foes so my demons do more damage... and the cc effects of the PPP attacks provide some utility I don't have inherently.
In the case of a bots/trapps MM however I dont see any game changing secondary effects between the primary attacks and the field mastery attacks and you could go either way. I'd prob skip the rifle attacks and just take all the field mastery attacks (if I felt the need to take attacks at all) simply due to the redraw of the rifle.
Jem - Ill/Rad Controller Lv 50+3 Nic - Mind/Psi Dominator Lv 50+3 Lady Liberation - Invuln/SS Tanker Lv 50+1 Invicitx - Demon/Pain Mastermind Lv 50+1 Celeste - Emp/Arch Defender Lv 50+1 Nightsilver - DB/WP Scrapper Lv 34 Dusk Howl - StJ/Regen Brute Lv 32 Kyriani - Time/Energy Defender Lv 41Psifire - FF/Psi Defender Lv 50
Star Lighter - LB/LA Peacebringer Lv 30
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I used to have Thunder Strike, it's nice when too many mobs get around you and you need a moment to breath. Usually knocks back all the mobs.
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Originally Posted by Jibikao
Has anyone tried using Thunder Strike or Knockout Blow from epics? Are they good?
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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 my Traps Mastermind, I've decided to go with Field Mastery for no particular reason (partly for Foce of Nature), but something about it concerns me. Power Blast, the single-target attack from the set, does about as much damage as Energy Torrent, the cone. What reason could I possibly have to want to take that?
Additionally - and I know people are just going to tell me to not bother - but suppose I already have all of my Mastermind attacks taken and slotted. How feasible is it to grab attacks from an Epic on top of them?