And the mask comes off.

[AlienOne]

Shut the front door. You pulled three purpled out builds with only two bill?

Well, the "main" human-only build was completely purpled out. The other two only had a select few purples in them. But, I also mentioned that I had a great network of friends who helped me out. We all passed around things to each other. If I picked up a purple drop that was more suited to, say, a controller, I'd give it to my controller-playing friend who would then eventually hook me up with a purple that might complete a set I was going for on my Warshade. That's how I was able to save some money. Also, I had a habit of doing a LOT of task forces (those who did TFs on Freedom might remember me, because I ran them all the time), and I'd use the merits won from those TFs to buy LotGs, which I would then sell on the market. What I'd get from those sales would go towards finishing up my builds.

[HEATSTROKE]

Players that did not build with high-end enhancements may not realize that there was a wide range of prices for different purple IOs at different times.  For example many control purples at different times could be had for 5 million-ish.  A lot of inf, but not billions-and-billions a lot.  And they got even cheaper after the merit system came out.  Towards the end, you could have made many purple-set builds for hundreds of millions, rather than billions of inf.

Thank you.. I dont think many people realized this..

And a A lot of people like myself didnt place purples in every single power that could take a purple..

[HEATSTROKE]

Thugs/devices was probably the most broken mastermind combo I messed around with.

Put both of the defense aura enhancements on the enforcers, got the accuracy/defense alpha, with force field and scorpion shield, neither I, or my minions could be touched, and that goes double for when I had poison gas, caltraps with the knockdown proc, and trip mines/acid motars.


Hell, Gangwar>Burnout>Gangwar was some fun times.

It was nuts.

I have a Thugs Device.. I wouldnt consider it broken.. but it was very good..

Bots/Devices would probably be very good as well..

my Bots/FF was a straight Tankermind with the Provoke powers..

[MWRuger]

One of the things I plan to do when the game comes back is to really get into masterminds more. I had a few but they never clicked for me, but it sounds like I might have had the wrong approach to playing. I suspect my handling of minions was pretty ham handed and ought to have a more subtle and thoughtful approach.

[rezulin]

With my Bot/FF MM I buffed the heck outta them, sent them into harms way using the goto command with them on aggressive, waited a few seconds, then joined them.  Lots of times I would use the teacup emote while the battle raged around me.  For a long time I didn't have the END to attack with all my toggles on, so it was just easier to not attack and burn up all my endurance.  HK-72 was my first toon to hit 50, even though I had been playing CoH for years before CoV came out.

Fuegocito

[JanessaVR]

Thugs/devices was probably the most broken mastermind combo I messed around with.

Put both of the defense aura enhancements on the enforcers, got the accuracy/defense alpha, with force field and scorpion shield, neither I, or my minions could be touched, and that goes double for when I had poison gas, caltraps with the knockdown proc, and trip mines/acid motars.

Hell, Gangwar>Burnout>Gangwar was some fun times.

It was nuts.

Question - I've been looking at this in Mids, and the first Defense Aura I can find is in the Superior Command of the Mastermind set, but I'm not seeing the other.  The closest I can see is a 5% Defense bonus in Edict of the Master, but that does not appear to be an Aura power.  Where's the second one?

[Codewalker]

There's 3, actually.

Command of the Mastermind
Edict of the Master
Call to Arms (recharge intensive pet, so you can only use it if you have something like Gang War or Hell on Earth)

All three buff the defense of pets within a 40' radius of the character, so a bit less than Supremacy range. They're all technically set bonuses that you get for slotting that one specific enhancement.

[JanessaVR]

Thanks, Codewalker!  As per rezulin above, Robots are more my thing than Thugs, so I decided to play with a Robotics/FF build.  All this talk of "ultra-high Defense builds" has gotten me inspired to try designing some in Mids.  And between Devices and Force Field, it looks like FF is the better choice for a Secondary, if a high Defense rating is what I'm looking for.

[LaughingAlex]

I found myself rather fond of bots myself, but I used time manipulation rather than force fields, as long as I kept my minions tight I could keep their defense ratings high and have extreme to-hit ratings on all of them(including the minions).

[Twisted Toon]

I used Bots/traps...and Teleport Foe...and the donut emote. I never had to worry about Endurance, unless I happened to pull the entire x8 mob because some minion was more alert than normal.

[pinballdave]

Some sets seemed natural: Zombies/Dark, Bots/Traps, but late in the playing I alted and enjoy a lot of less than obvious pairings.

Zombies/Thermal, Zombies/Storm (this one could roll like a juggernaut once you tamed playing hurricane)
Demons/Thermal, Demons/Sonic (put the hellfire lieutenant on aggressive with the sonic tutu)
Bots/Natures Affinity - I didn't have time to flesh out all the synergies, but this was a VERY strong pairing.
Thugs/Poison - Put the Poison debuff PBAoE on the Bruiser and turn them loose. Micromanage the bruiser to keep catching the aggro, no time to chuck rocks.

The best part was the multi mastermind groupings on Exalted with the all mastermind SG. Thermal, Sonic, and Forcefield buffs all the time? Minions ROCK

[darkgob]

I used Bots/traps...and Teleport Foe...and the donut emote. I never had to worry about Endurance, unless I happened to pull the entire x8 mob because some minion was more alert than normal.

NERF /EM EATDONUT

Bots/Natures Affinity - I didn't have time to flesh out all the synergies, but this was a VERY strong pairing.

I wanted to roll a Bots/NA Mastermind named Binary Tree.

[Ankhammon]

basically Naff was an extraordinary set all by itself. It only had one real flaw (IMO) and that was the rech time on the tier 9. and you could get that pretty close to perma.

Everything goes well with Nature.

[Arcana]

Some sets seemed natural: Zombies/Dark, Bots/Traps, but late in the playing I alted and enjoy a lot of less than obvious pairings.

Zombies/Thermal, Zombies/Storm (this one could roll like a juggernaut once you tamed playing hurricane)
Demons/Thermal, Demons/Sonic (put the hellfire lieutenant on aggressive with the sonic tutu)
Bots/Natures Affinity - I didn't have time to flesh out all the synergies, but this was a VERY strong pairing.
Thugs/Poison - Put the Poison debuff PBAoE on the Bruiser and turn them loose. Micromanage the bruiser to keep catching the aggro, no time to chuck rocks.

The best part was the multi mastermind groupings on Exalted with the all mastermind SG. Thermal, Sonic, and Forcefield buffs all the time? Minions ROCK

While there were very few actually bad power combinations (YMMV) anywhere, I don't think any Mastermind combos were even particularly challenging.  Which is to say, there weren't very many materially significant anti-synergies among the mastermind primaries and secondaries.  But Necro/Storm maybe is the worst case scenario for anti-synergy among masterminds.  Hypothetically speaking it could be a very strong combo indoors with an experienced player, but in open space you're dealing with a secondary full of repel and knock pairing up with the primary with least amount of effective pet range and some of the dumbest apparent pet AI.

The Mastermind combo I never got the chance to level up was going to be Bots/TA.  I didn't see too many of them, but I did play Bots and TA separately, and I think that would have been a very nasty ranged monster.

[Drauger9]

That is why i do not look at the mechanics of the game and just tromp along like a happy idiot. That probably wont work for every one though and CO did Power armor and Guns -very- well at least to me (who could never manage to make a good PA Character in CoX but who will be trying to if/when it comes back....if i can get some of the cool mecha parts. Err sorry ranting !).

I always play for fun, in any game I play. Until I get to level cap, then I get serious. LOL!

When I played COH, I never made a build in Mid's until I reached 50. That way I can learn my play style with each and every alt (that I didn't PL) and make a build that suited that play style. If I PLed an alt, it usually was because it was going to be used for farming or when I dabbled in pvp (like my ninja/poison MM )

Some sets seemed natural: Zombies/Dark, Bots/Traps, but late in the playing I alted and enjoy a lot of less than obvious pairings.

This may sound odd but I was falling in love with Demon/Storm and Bots/Sonic there near the end. Demon/storm more for the fact that I thought they looked good together. lol. I didn't get Bots/Sonic to level cap but it was pretty sturdy at level 34ish before I left after the announcement.


*Edited to add* I know someone mentioned an All MM SG in Exalted, when we get COH back anyone interested in doing an all MM SG again? I'd love to, myself.

[Whatelse73]

One of the things I plan to do when the game comes back is to really get into masterminds more. I had a few but they never clicked for me, but it sounds like I might have had the wrong approach to playing. I suspect my handling of minions was pretty ham handed and ought to have a more subtle and thoughtful approach.

There are plenty of playstyles that will suit a MM, you just have to find the powersets that will cause you to enjoy that mix.  I did pretty much every mix of powers just to see how things worked for myself.  I didn't necessarily make it to lvl 32 with each type, but it is fun to try.  (Yes, I'm an altoholic and I go to meetings, so there.)

My first MM was a dark / undead creation.  Then robots.  But eventually I made at least one of each type of minions, then when they newer powersets came out, I made new ones with those too.  Another great thing about CoX, the fact they empowered us "altoholics" to be altoholics.

I found quite a bit of reading about "techniques" for playing MMs and in some cases I used those to great effect.  Others I didn't bother with because they didn't fit my play style. 

I really really loved being a Master Mind, regardless of powersets.  Then, when good and evil came out, I brought MMs over to the hero side and the first thing I did was fly to the top of the Atlas statue for that badge and to get a screenshot with all my minions standing atop it.  (My Thugs/Pain I believe)

[Harpospoke]

I frankenslotted everything.

I had mixtures of various IO's, procs and bonuses to get what I wanted. In most cases full sets were not the best case. Often I would have 3 of one type and 3 of another to get the bonus I wanted.

`
Same here.   I would even sometimes have 2 of 3 different sets at times for the combination of bonuses and enhancing every aspect of a power.  Kinda nice to get near the ED cap with DAM, ACC, END, and REC.   

I had a friend who wanted every power fully slotted with purples and I could never get him to understand how useful other sets and slotting strategies were.   He had fun though, so I suppose it worked out for both of us.   Ahhh the good old days.

Also, I had a habit of doing a LOT of task forces (those who did TFs on Freedom might remember me, because I ran them all the time), and I'd use the merits won from those TFs to buy LotGs, which I would then sell on the market. What I'd get from those sales would go towards finishing up my builds.

I probably teamed with you a lot.   

I did the same thing with LotGs.  Nice way to make money I thought.

*Edited to add* I know someone mentioned an All MM SG in Exalted, when we get COH back anyone interested in doing an all MM SG again? I'd love to, myself.

I would love to try that as well.

[HEATSTROKE]

Here is my Thugs/Traps MM at shutdown.I enjoyed him. I had an Issue 23 build ready that was slightly better.


Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.96
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Natural Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Thugs
Secondary Power Set: Traps
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Call Thugs -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(3), BldM'dt-Dmg(3), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(5), BldM'dt-Acc(7), EdctM'r-PetDef(7)
Level 1: Web Grenade -- Acc-I(A)
Level 2: Dual Wield -- Acc-I(A), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(9), Dmg-I(50)
Level 4: Triage Beacon -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-Rchg(5), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(11), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(11), Dct'dW-Heal(21)
Level 6: Equip Thugs -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 8: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(45), RechRdx-I(45)
Level 10: Acid Mortar -- AnWeak-Acc/DefDeb(A), AnWeak-Acc/Rchg(15), UndDef-DefDeb/Rchg(17), UndDef-Rchg(27), Achilles-DefDeb/Rchg(27), Achilles-ResDeb%(29)
Level 12: Call Enforcer -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(13), BldM'dt-Dmg(13), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(15), BldM'dt-Acc(23), SvgnRt-PetResDam(31)
Level 14: Super Speed -- Clrty-Stlth(A)
Level 16: Force Field Generator -- DefBuff-I(A), DefBuff-I(17), DefBuff-I(23)
Level 18: Empty Clips -- Acc-I(A), EndRdx-I(19), HO:Centri(19), HO:Centri(39), HO:Centri(43)
Level 20: Poison Trap -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(21), Lock-%Hold(25)
Level 22: Combat Jumping -- Krma-ResKB(A)
Level 24: Gang War -- HO:Nucle(A), HO:Nucle(25), HO:Nucle(29), RechRdx-I(34), C'Arms-+Def(Pets)(34), ExRmnt-+Res(Pets)(43)
Level 26: Call Bruiser -- BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg(A), BldM'dt-Dmg/EndRdx(31), BldM'dt-Dmg(31), BldM'dt-Acc(33), BldM'dt-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(33), S'bndAl-Build%(33)
Level 28: Aid Other -- Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(A), Dct'dW-Heal(37), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(40), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(40), Dct'dW-Rchg(45)
Level 30: Aid Self -- Dct'dW-Heal(A), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx(34), Dct'dW-Heal/Rchg(43), Dct'dW-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(46), Dct'dW-Rchg(50)
Level 32: Upgrade Equipment -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 35: Trip Mine -- Oblit-Dmg(A), Oblit-Acc/Rchg(36), Oblit-Dmg/Rchg(36), Oblit-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), Sciroc-Acc/Rchg(37), Sciroc-Dmg/Rchg(37)
Level 38: Seeker Drones -- Stpfy-Acc/Rchg(A), Stpfy-EndRdx/Stun(39), Stpfy-Acc/EndRdx(39), Stpfy-Stun/Rng(40), Stpfy-Acc/Stun/Rchg(48)
Level 41: Scorpion Shield -- EndRdx-I(A), DefBuff-I(42), DefBuff-I(42), DefBuff-I(42)
Level 44: Caltrops -- Slow-I(A), P'ngTtl--Rchg%(48), Ragnrk-Knock%(48), Posi-Dam%(50)
Level 47: Assault -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 49: Tactics -- EndRdx-I(A)
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Heal-I(A)
Level 1: Supremacy
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I(A)
Level 2: Health -- Heal-I(A)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(46), EndMod-I(46)
Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A)
Level 50: Musculature Total Core Revamp
------------
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 6.5% DamageBuff(Smashing)
• 6.5% DamageBuff(Lethal)
• 6.5% DamageBuff(Fire)
• 6.5% DamageBuff(Cold)
• 6.5% DamageBuff(Energy)
• 6.5% DamageBuff(Negative)
• 6.5% DamageBuff(Toxic)
• 6.5% DamageBuff(Psionic)
• 10% Defense
• 11.25% Defense(Fire)
• 11.25% Defense(Cold)
• 14.06% Defense(AoE)
• 3% Enhancement(Stunned)
• 9% Enhancement(Accuracy)
• 21.25% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 12% Enhancement(Heal)
• 15.06 HP (1.88%) HitPoints
• Knockback (Mag -4)
• Knockup (Mag -4)
• MezResist(Stunned) 7.15%
• MezResist(Terrorized) 6.6%
• 7% (0.12 End/sec) Recovery
• 20% (0.67 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 20% Resistance(Smashing)
• 20% Resistance(Lethal)
• 23.78% Resistance(Fire)
• 23.78% Resistance(Cold)
• 20% Resistance(Energy)
• 20% Resistance(Negative)
• 20% Resistance(Toxic)
• 20% Resistance(Psionic)

[Azrael]

Hmm.  I just recently decided to pick up CO again and give it a spin after a long absence.

What?  Are you crazy?

On a separate matter entirely.  I'd like to praise Ironwolf for his restraint and his patience.  He handles himself with dignity and grace.  (More so than 'some' on these boards...)

In addition, it was him who got the balling rolling with the current talks (perhaps because he can think outside the box from other another culture's point of view...)

For me, I owe him a debt of gratitude.  I hope the talks pay off and we're playing CoX relatively 'soon.'

Patience is a virtue.  But good to see we're being defiantly patient...

Azrael.

[pinballdave]

What?  Are you crazy?

On a separate matter entirely.  I'd like to praise Ironwolf for his restraint and his patience.  He handles himself with dignity and grace.  (More so than 'some' on these boards...)

In addition, it was him who got the balling rolling with the current talks (perhaps because he can think outside the box from other another culture's point of view...)

For me, I owe him a debt of gratitude.  I hope the talks pay off and we're playing CoX relatively 'soon.'

Patience is a virtue.  But good to see we're being defiantly patient...

Azrael.

And virtue is a server so... I can taste the fun already!!