Red_Zero

That "sliver of health" is a definate tipping point. It represents one more attack that must be employed to defeat. It also represents added time that must be taken, added risk that must be managed. I think this is more problematical for the classical ranged blaster, who has a more limited selection of ranged attacks to chain and branch. This was especially problematic for my Electric/Energy blaster, who only has 2 ST, 1 AOE, and 1 Snipe to chain through out the majority of his levels. I took Assault to help deal with the "sliver of health" problem, and it worked, but the problem came back after ED, and it was just compounding the problem of already having to use more ranged attacks to defeat foes because of ED.

If there was a way to supplement the number of attacks in a ranged attack chain, so that it could be extended before repeatition, and/or allow the attack chain to branch, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But the only supplemental ranged attacks are not available til Ancillary Power Pools were opened up. So, this leaves the only other methods available is to digress into taking melee attacks, against the classical ranged blaster concept, or increase the attack rate, which was now further limited by ED.

This may not be the case for other Primaries which have more direct attacks in them, but Electric is really hurt by the "Sliver of Health" problem.

It's interesting to actually see that Defiance is, literally, working as intended. Good Job on researching that Arcanaville.

However, the opaqueness at which it operates under is, at best, unhelpful to its cause. And the lagging nature of the Defiance bar just adds to that opaqueness. If it was more transparent it would be interesting to see if that would actually change things in the veiw of the player base.

But, none of that really matters, as my own cheif complaint about Defiance has always been the Hitpoints vs. Damage mechanics nature of it. Its counter-intuitive nature, where a high vulnerablity Archtype is drawn between doing more damage, and really what Blaster doesn't want to do more damage, and self preservation and the avoidance of debt.

In my veiw, Defiance doesn't work, because even though the programming code implemention is sound, the Reward, no matter how big it really is, simply does not balance with the Risk. And the counter-intuitive nature of Defiance, means you fight against your own Inherent Ability, and that's not a good feeling.

I thank you for bringing more transparency to Defiance, Arcanaville. I just still don't like Defiance.

[ QUOTE ]
What would really help would be the ability to edit your guide, regardless of age, instead of just posting replies to it. If that could be made possible for that forum only it would be very cool.

[/ QUOTE ]

True, True.

Inevitablely, changes occur, and the guides need an update. Posting a whole nother guide to update an old guide just adds to the clutter. Then you have multiple versions of the same guides floating around.

[ QUOTE ]
I'll shiny it up for I8, since there are blaster power changes to address. I just hate having to reformat the entire bugged without being able to use EDIT

[/ QUOTE ]

I keep an off-line copy of my guide in a word processor, which I edit, then use a preview post without submitting the post to see how it will look on the forum using copy and paste. Any changes I make I make to the offline copy and then repaste and see what difference it makes. Its the only way I find to tackle such large and important posts without greatly screwing anything up and have it posted for eternity.

In my last guide, I broke it up and posted it into sections and then quickly went back and edited links in the index so people could navigate the guide better due to its long length.

Well, I suppose there are a few things I can do to clean up the latest Mastermind Notes Guide (Its just a lot of work to run through.) Just a few questions though:

1) Is there a target "deadline" or target date to have these revised, refined, cleaned up, thread-condensed, or updated guides to ideally be done by?

2) When posting or submitting these revised, refined, or updated guides, is there something we need to do to denote that these guides are current, some place different we need to post to, or someone we need to send an email to to say "this guide is now current and up to date"?

3) What will happen to old guides, some which are hopelessly out of date, and may be misleading or irrelevant due to changes invoked by patch updates or changes brought into effect by Issue releases?

4) What about some of the older, but still relevent guides and guide threads that are so old that the original writer is a white-name "Anonymous", "The Incomplete and Unofficial Guide to /bind (1.1)", a popular guide thread with over 100,000 views? It has no "owner", and is quite lengthy. Tackling an update to that would be a project, in and of itself.

5) Will any of the old guides be deleted or archived into a seperate section?

[ QUOTE ]
Does I7 still have the same problems with Group Fly and henchmen dropping out/falling behind? I can't decide on what travel power I want to go for. :/

[/ QUOTE ]

Nope, no real change, they still will fall out if you just try to drag them with you over long distances. That's not to say that the power isn't useful. Navigating terrain on mission maps, avoiding ground effect powers, and getting a tatical air advantage are all good uses.

If you want to navigate long distances with Group Flight, it is best to set your character to follow (typically the "f" key) on of your henchmen, then use the petcom_all goto command to move your henchmen ahead of you with you trailing them. Your character is much better at following them then they are you. Its a bit awkward, but with enough practice you'll get the hang of it.

*DANGER*DANGER*DANGER*DANGER*DANGER*DANGER*

QUOTE PYRAMID HAS EXCEEDED FORUM PAGE BOUNDRIES!!!

THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

THREAD SELF-DESTRUCT INITIATED! LOCKDOWN IMMINENT!!

ALL NON-HOSPITALIZED BLASTERS REPORT TO BATTLE STATIONS!!

REPEAT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

*DANGER*DANGER*DANGER*DANGER*DANGER*DANGER*

[ QUOTE ]
Electro-Blasters know the "fool me twice" better than most. The devs were going to look into the intra-AT balance issues of recharge rates and damge levels of Electro-Blasters versus the others. Then they told us they weren't going to adjust them because end drain was going to be so uber in the upcoming addition of PvP to the game. Fat lotta good that did for those of us that weren't interested in the addition of PvP to the game. Not that it mattered. When PvP was getting close to going live, they gelded end drain.

With the reason for not addressing recharge and damage having been removed, these issues should've been addressed, but weren't. Instead, Electro-Blasters were tossed a bone with the random chance of some powers returning a small amount of endurance. And that was that. Well, that is, until ED came along.

Time was, you needed to five- or six-slot Short Circuit with -End SOs before it was little more than a suicide move. Meaning that a power you could get at lvl 6 needed to be put off using into the mid 20s. After that, it was a pretty effective drainer. When ED dropped, that changed. You now had to stack another power, typically Power Sink, with Short Circuit before it was little more than a suicide move. Meaning that a power available at lvl 6 had to be put off into the late 30s.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ya, I wonder why they even insist on trying to give Electric Blasts some kind of Endurance manipulation aspect at this point. Between the changes to the powers and the changes to the Mob recharge rates and endurance numbers, I gotta ask "What's the point?!" It is a total joke. They need to just drop the endurance manipulation aspect to Electric and boost the attack, recharge and damage numbers. At this point, I feel that Electric is paying a too high price for some superfical accessory that doesn't amount to much. Its like paying extra for hi-gloss on a lemon, its extra shiny but still sour.

Since Issue 8 is gonna be more "Hero-centric" and no significant changes or additions are occuring for the Mastermind Archtype, I am just gonna add to the thread anything that needs to be mentioned or clarified or appended. It's just not worth the time it would take to again re-edit and repost the MM Notes guide in a new version at this point. Though be assured that I will be on top of it if significant or major things happen within the Mastermind Archtype in future Issues.

Here are some new pictures for Mercenaries and Ninjas, which apparently did not have the 3rd upgrade in their photos. Those photos were from CoV Beta and I never realized that they weren't fully upgraded at the time and just kept using the same photos. Well, no more! Thanks goes to Ares23 for getting some good Mercenaries pictures. I tried asking one of the moderators if they could replace the old picts with the new picts but they either can't or won't.

Mercenaries-Soldier Picture
Mercenaries-Medic Picture
Mercenaries-Spec Ops Picture
Mercenaries - Commando Picture

Ninjas - Genin Picture
Ninjas - Jounin Picture
Ninjas - Oni Picture

Other notes to be added:
Dark Servant - the Dark Servant apparently has a Brawl attack that needs to be listed.

Protector Bot - the Protector Bot forcefield bubble has a +7.5% defence value. That's per bubble.

Traps - Acid Mortar and Triage Beacon may no longer be affected by Teleport powers

All Henchmen are recieving a slight boost to thier run speeds.

Apparently, if you earn enough victory points or something in Recluse's Victory before the zone resets, you can get a Heavy Temp Summons power. No specifics on it, I've yet to take the time to try it out.

Flushing out the Patron Power Pools, spent some time copying down the numbers for a more complete listing:

Mastermind Soul Mastery - Ghost Widow
Ghost Widow will teach you how to corrupt and utilize souls of the dead to damage and hinder your enemies.

Night Fall
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Damage, Recharge, Endurance, ToHit Debuff, Range

Power Help: Night Fall unleashes a cone-shaped burst of particles from the Netherworld. All targets within the mmodest range of this power take Negative Energy damage and have reduced Accuracy. Damage: Moderate (DoT), Recharge: Slow

Effects: 3.36 Negative Energy damage every 0.3 seconds for 3 seconds; 5% ToHit decrease for 10 seconds.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 100%
Range: 60'
End Cost: 16.38
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 2
Recharge Time: 20
Radius: 60'
Arc: 20 degrees
Max Targets: 10
Attack Types: AoE, Negative Energy

Dark Embrace
Boosts Allowed: Endurance, Recharge, Damage Resistance

Power Help: You tap into the energy of the Netherworld to protect yourself from damage. This Dark Embrace shrouds you and grants resistance to Lethal, Smashing, Negative Energy, and Toxic damage. Recharge: Fast

Effects: 20.62 Smashing and Lethal resistance, 11.25 Toxic and Negative Energy resistance

Type: Toggle
End Cost: 0.1625
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 0.67
Recharge Time: 4


Soul Tentacles
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Damage, Recharge, Endurance, Immobilize, Range

Power Help: You can create a cone-shaped rift to the Netherworld that allows the souls of the damned to slip into our reality. These Soul Tentacles will snare all foes within range, Immoblizing them while they drain thier life. You must be at Level 44 and ahve Night Fall or Dark Embrace before selecting this power. Damage: Moderate (DoT), Recharge: Slow

Effects: 4.12 negative Energy damage; 3.05 Negative energy damage every 1 second for 8 seconds; 100% chance for a 15-second Immobilze of strength 3.57 versus critters only; 100% chance for a 10-second Immoblize of strength 3.57 versus players only.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 100%
Range: 40'
End Cost: 12.74
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 1.67
Recharge Time: 20
Radius: 40'
Arc: 25 degrees
Max Targets: 10
Attack Types: AoE, Negative Energy, Smashing

Soul Storm
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Recharge, Endurance, Range, Hold, Damage

Power Help: Like Ghost Widow, you can summon the souls of your victims to do your bidding. Soul Storm enraptures a single target with Hold while the life-force is drained from its body. You must be at Level 47 and have two other Soul Mastery power before selecting this power. Recharge: Slow

Effects: 3.36 Negative Energy damage every 1 second for 11 seconds; 100% chance for a 10-second Hold of strength 3.57 versus critters only; 100% chance ofor an 8-second Hold of strength 3.57 versus players only.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 100%
Range: 80'
End Cost: 10.66
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 2.17
Recharge Time: 32
Max Targets: 1
Attack Types: Ranged, Negative Energy


Black Scorpion - Mace Mastery
Black Scorpion will give you access to an Arachnos Mace, and teach you how to use it in battle.

Web Envelope
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Recharge, Endurance, Immobilize, Range

Power Help: The Nullifier Mace can lob a modified web grenade. Upon impact, the web grenade expels a strong, sinuous, and very sticky substance that can Immobilize most targets in a wide area. This non-lethal device deals no damage and does not prevent targets from attaking, although thier attack rate is slowed. The web can bring down flying entities and halts jumping. Recharge: Slow

Effects: 100% chance for a 15-second immobilize of strength 3.57 for critters only; 100% chance for a 10-second Immobilize of strength 3.57 for palyers only; 20% Run, Fly, and Jump Speed decrease for 15 seconds; 20% Recharge decrease for 15 seconds.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 105%
Range: 80'
End Cost: 12.74
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 2
Recharge Time: 20
Radius: 15'
Max Targets: 10
Attack Types: AoE


Scorpion Shield
Boosts Allowed: Endurance, Recharge Buff Defense

Power Help: Black Scorpion's technologies are impressive, indeed. this energy shield grants you Defense to Lethal, Smashing, and Energy attacks and improves your damage resistance to Toxic damage. Recharge: Fast

Effects: 11.25 Defense versus Smashing and Lethal attacks, 7.25 versus Energy attacks, 13.25 Toxic resistance

Type: Toggle
End Cost: 0.1625
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 2
Recharge Time: 4


Mace Beam Volley
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Damage, Recharge, Endurance, Range, Knockback

Power Help: Fires a volley of multiple kinetic energy blasts from your Nullifier Mace. These blasts spread out in a wide cone and are powerful enough to knock down some foes. You must be at Level 44 and have Web Envelope or Scorpion Shield before selecting this power. Damage: Moderate, Recharge: Long

Effects: 15.29 Smashing and 15.29 Energy damage; 30% chance for a Knockback.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 105%
Range: 50'
End Cost: 18.98
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 2
Recharge Time: 32
Radius: 50'
Arc: 35 degrees
Max Targets:
Attack Types: AoE, Smashing, Energy

Web Cocoon
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Recharge, Endurance, Range, Hold, Slow

Power Help: The Bane Mace can fire a more powerful version of the common web grenade. The sinewy fibers of this grenade are strong enough to completely Hold one target. Targets able to resist the Hold are still likely to have their attack and Movement speed dramatically slowed. Web Cocoon can also bring down flying targetsa nd prevent foes from jumping. You must be at Level 47 and have 2 other Mace Mastery powers before selecting this power. Recharge: Long

Effects: 100% chance for a 10-second Hold of strength 3.57 versus critters only; 100% chance for an 8-second Hold of strength 3.57 versus players only; 50% Run, Fly, and Jump speed decrease for 15 seconds; 50% Recharge decrease for 15 seconds; disable Fly.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 105%
Range: 60'
End Cost: 10.66
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 2
Recharge Time: 32
Radius: 1
Attack Types: Ranged

Scirocco - Mu Mastery
Scirocco will instruct you on the Way of Mu, ancient techniques that give access to the lightning-based powers of the ancient race.

Static Discharge
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Damage, Recharge, Endurance Reduction, Recovery, Range

Power Help: Static Discharge hurls multiple bolts of Mu electricity in an arc that deals damage and drains Endurance from all affected foes in hte area. Damage: Moderate Recharge: Long

Effects: 29.36 Energy damage ; drains 7% of total Endurance versus critters only; drains 1.25 Endurance versus players only; 100% chance to decrease 100% Endurance recovery for 4 seconds; 10% chance to restor 4.29 Endurance to self.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 100%
Range: 40'
End Cost: 18.98
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 2.07
Recharge Time: 32
Radius: 40'
Arc: 45 degrees
Max Targets: 10
Attack Types: AoE, Energy

Charged Armor
Boosts Allowed: Endurance Reduction, Recharge, Resistance

Power Help: When you toggle on this power, you are surrounded by a charged field that makes you highly resistant to Smashing, Lethal, and Energy damage. Recharge: Fast

Effects: 20.62 Smashing resistance; 20.62 Lethal resistance; 20.62 Energy resistance

Type: Toggle
End Cost: 0.1625
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 0.67
Recharge Time: 4

Electrifying Fences
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Damage, Recharge, Endurance Reduction, Immobilize, Range, Recovery

Power Help: The Electrifying Fences power attempts to Immobilize a group of foes in an area. This power deals some Energy damage over time as it slowly drains some Endurance. you must be at Level 44 and have Static Discharge or Charged Armor before selecting this power. Damage: Moderate (DoT), Recharge: Slow

Effects: 3.05 Energy damage every 1 second for 8 seconds; 100% chance for a 15-second Immoblize of strength 3.57 for critters only; 100% chance for a 10-second Immobilize of strength 3.57 for critters only; drains 4% of total Endurace versus critters only; drains 1 Endurance versus players only; 20% chance to decrease 100% Endurance recovery for 2 seconds.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 100%
Range: 40'
End Cost: 12.74
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 1.17
Recharge Time: 20
Radius: 10'
Max Targets: 10
Attack Types: AoE, Energy


Electric Shackles
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Damage, Recharge, Endurance Reduction, Range, Hold, Recovery

Power Help: Electric Shackles binds a foe's limbs, leaving the target Held and helpless. The target is drained of some Endurance, and some of that Endurance may be transferred back to you. You must be at Level 47 and have two other Mu Mastery powers before selecting this power. Damage Minor, Recharge: Long

Effects: 4.58 Energy Damage; 100% chance for an 8-second Hold of strength 3.56 versus critters only; 100% chance for a 6-second Hold of strength 3.57 versus players only; drains 15% of total Endurance versus critters only; drains 7 Endurance versus players only; 100% chance to decrease 100% Endurace recovery for 8 seconds; 30% chance to restor 4.29 Endurance to self.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 100%
Range: 60'
End Cost: 8.58
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 2.17
Recharge Time: 32
Max Targets: 1
Attack Types: Ranged, Energy


Captain Mako - Leviathan Mastery
Captain Mako will embolden you with the knowledge of the Coralax and their mysterious powers over the seas.
School of Sharks
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Damage, Recharge, Endurance Reduction, Immobilize, Range

Power Help: You can cll forth a school of vicious Shark Spirits that will swim out in a cone formation and encircle your foes, draining their spirit energy. The encircling Shark Spirits will Immobilize most foes while they deal Negative Energy damage over time. Both you and the target must be near the ground for this power to activate. Damage: Moderate (DoT), Recharge: Slow

Effects: 4.12 negative Energy damage; 3.05 Negative Energy damage every 1 second for 8 seconds; 100% chance for a 15-second Immoblize of strength 3.57 for critters only; 100% chance for a 10-second Immobilze of strength 3.57 for players only.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 100%
Range: 50'
End Cost: 12.74
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 2.37
Recharge Time: 20
Radius: 50'
Arc: 30 degrees
Max Targets: 10
Attack Types: AoE, Negative Energy

Bile Spray
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Damage, Recharge, Endurance Reduction, Range

Power Help: Sharks will eat anything, so their stomach acid must be powerful, indeed. You can regurgitate this acid and spew a corrosive spray of bile at a foe. Affected foes in the cone area will take Toxic damage over time. Damage: Moderate (DoT), Recharge: Long

Effects: 21.41 Toxic damage; 30.58 Toxic damage every 1 second for 5 seconds.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 100%
Range: 60'
End Cost: 18.98
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 2.67
Recharge Time: 32
Radius: 60'
Arc: 30 degrees
Max Targets: 10
Attack Types: AoE, Toxic

Shark Skin
Boosts Allowed: Endurace Reduction, Recharge, Resistance

Power Help: The power of the Leviathan Mako has shown you seems to have no end. Shark Skin improves your damage resistance to Lethal, Smashing , and Cold damage. You must be Level 44 and have School of Sharks or Bile Spray before selecting this power. Recharge: Fast

Effects: 20.62 Smashing resistance; 20.62 Lethal resistance; 20.62 Cold resistance.

Type: Toggle
End Cost: 0.1625
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 0.67
Recharge Time: 4

Spirit Shark Jaws
Boosts Allowed: Accuracy, Recharge, Endurance Reduction, Range, Hold, Damage

Power Help: You can summmon a massive Spirit Shark that will attack your foe from below. The shark will grip you foe with its massive jaws and attempt to Hold the target while it mauls it, dealing Lethal damage over time. Flying targets will likely be pulled to the ground. You must be at Level 47 and have 2 other Leviathan Mastery powers before selecting this power. Damage: Moderate (DoT), Recharge: Slow

Effects: 4.12 Lethal damage; 3.05 Lethal damage every 1 second for 8 seconds; 100% chance for a 10-second Hold of strength 3.57 versus critters only; 100% chance for an 8-second Hold of strength 3.57 versus players only; disable Fly.

Type: Click
Accuracy: 100%
Range: 80'
End Cost: 10.66
Interrupt Time: 0
Cast Time: 1.87
Recharge Time: 32
Max Targets: 1
Attack Types: Ranged, Lethal

[ QUOTE ]
::Crosses Fingers:: Maybe after all this time some of the Blaster sets will get some love!

[/ QUOTE ]

-QFT-
-QFE-

*Keeps fingers Crossed*

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, and now you're bantering semantics. There's a pretty big gap between jibbering nonsense to mean something and something as similar as "devices" and "gadgets". That's like not getting that by "Cold Blast" they meant "Ice blast."

[/ QUOTE ]

"Gadgets" could have just as easily refered to the CoV power set /Traps as it could have the CoH power set /Devices. I really don't know why they think they need to call a power set by one name internally and another name externally. Its not exactly something that facilitates communication.

[ QUOTE ]
Gadgets is the internal name of Devices. It's a Legacy issue and it was my mistake when adding the patch note.
.
As for the change itself, there was an exploit involving TFoe and various stationary entities (like Auto Turret.) In fixing this, the player versions of these entities were locked down as well. I do realise this impacts one of the tactics Devices players used to bypass the limitations of the set. I'll be keeping an eye on this to see if the change hampers the gameplay too severely.

[/ QUOTE ]

Teleport Foe is pretty much just an open can of worms. It pretty much defeats the whole purpose of adventure: "I teleport the villain straight to jail! Justice is served! / I teleport the hero straight to my interrogatotron! Bha hahaha!" Ever consider just removing Teleport Foe from the game entirely and replace it with some other power?

It really is a ridiculous power, and not one that you ever see in comic books, except as a plot hook, such as when a group of heroes are teleported up to an alien space ship to be used as pawns in a intergalactic gladiator game.

Huge Size characters
Work Boots + Pants
Clip during running animation significantly. Can see much of the boot's leg poking through the pant leg when running.

Jay is sexy.

The Gestalt SG Base (CoV)

Its been a long time since I posted the picts of the original Gestalt base design and a lot of base changes have happened, not only in the growth of the Gestalt base, but in available base construction and design material and tools. I think you can really see a difference first hand at how bases in general have evolved since conception in Issue 6.

Before:
Base Layout
After:
Base Layout

Before:
Control Room
After:
The Control Room

Before:
Hallway
After:
Hallway

Before:
Entrance 2
Entrance 1
After:
Entrance

Before:
Infirmary 1
Infirmary 2
After:
Infirmary

Before:
Power
After:
The Power Room

Before:
Workshop 1
Workshop 2
After:
The Workshop

Before:
Transport

After:
Teleport / Multi-Use Room
Teleport / Multi-Use Room

Before:
None
After:
Raid Teleporter Room

I thought I would repost this here. It was a satirical post on the high costs of base equipment and low earning rate of prestige at the time and meant as a joke and a insperation to some truely bland looking base photos at the time. Thankfully, the devs have addressed and are still addressing base costs and concerns, and it looks like there is more comming.

Remember, this is only a joke, not a real base.

Now introducing the super low cost, absolutely bargain basement (and we mean a bargain basement) Supergroup Base for any one. Garentteed to cost under 20K, and since you get 20K for just starting a Supergroup and having 1 member, its practically FREE!

Pauper Base Studio Layout
First is the Base Layout. Notice we picked a studio base layout on the free plot. This made the most efficient use of available room while conserving space for later expansion. The studio layout is much cheaper by getting greater use of a single room than adding several rooms which are much more rent intensive.

Pauper Base Reception Entrance
The Reception Area helps greet any visitors and promotes a profesional image of our Supergroup. Some people do point out our lack of coordinated chairs, but when your on a budget getting things second hand is sometimes necissary such as saving furniture from burning buidings, confiscated from criminal organizations, or "reclaimed" from unoccupied hazard zones.

Pauper Base Control
This is our Control Center and it is absolutely first rate. Notice the Personal Computer which is supported by the Auxillary Control systems of serveral Filing Cabinet databases, Photocopier, Bulletin Board Monitor, and even an ACTUAL GLOBE (that holographic globe is just soo 21st century.) The advanced rotary dial phone on the wall can supply our group with special missions or order out for pizza. So far we have had 2 wrong number calls but used them to go on missions anyways. Our Meeting Table can support our entire Supergroup with their pets and henchmen. Truely impressive!

Pauper Base Dual Secure Vault
As you can see here, our base supports a Dual Secure Vault for Items of Power, such as Spare Batteries, Power Bars, Energy Drinks, Ect. We are proud to say that no other Supergroup has been able to take them from us and even the mighty Rularuu has yet to obtain them for himself. However, since Items of Power supply such low bonuses we are yet to see if loosing them would have any significant impact on our Supergroup.

Pauper Base Power
Here you can see our Advanced Power Facility. Twin power taps from the local power utility provide all the power we need, and the backup system we salvaged from an undisclosed source provides us with power incase of an emergency. Two electrical fire extinguishers are near by incase it catches fire which happens on occasion.

Pauper Base Infimary
Here is our Infirmary. We found this X-Ray machine laying out in a feild somewhere while on a mission, It was glowing at the time on and off and since no one else obviouly wanted it and it would be a shame to leave it out in the rain, we took it in. Our Infirmary also sells the insperation that helps you stay out of the Infirmary. We survey 10 people and 4 out of 7 said that the would prefer our medical facilities to that of an alien abduction, with the other 3 people just giving us strange stares, thereby proving that it is a truely first rate facility!

Pauper Base Workshop
This is our advanced workshop. As you can see we have a lot of countertop space to work with and several Auxillary Devices (of which we are still trying to figure out the function of.) Most of our workshop supplies were donated by the Vahzilok Foundation for Impoverished Supergroups (donate your spare vital organs today!)

Pauper Base Teleporter & Facilities
This is our Base Teleporter which helps us zone to other locations, usually the one we just left. Restroom facilites are also located here for convenience.

Pauper Base Decorative Area
What Superbase would be complete without a Decorative area. As you can see here, our potted plant provides a pleasing asthetic to our decor, while the light above keeps it healthy and adds to the illumination characteristics of the base.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Better start a combined Strike/Task Force to rescue CuppaJo and bring her back to CoX.

Will be missing you.

Hmmm... What I am thinking is that the discarded Dam Trial Force map may be turned into the hero equivilant of the Mayhem Mission where you have to save the Faultline Dam.

Though I think they should use that map for the final of the Positron Task Force where the whole plot revovles around 3 groups trying to bust the dam as well. Seem ashame that all the work that went into those maps is unused.

I suspect that this change is due to the admitted serious error in estimated Prestige and progress by Supergroups in their base construction. I wouldn't expect the PvP element of the IoP's to kick back in until Prestige, Supergroups, and Base Construction are brough into some kind of happy medium.

Black Scorpion -> Mace Mastery-> Web Envelope is wrongly listed as a Hold, which it is not. It is an Immobilize.

Bodyguard: There is some debate about how quickly bodyguard mode kicks in. Some say, the instant Henchmen are switched to Defensive Follow and have Supremacy bonus, others say it may have a "grace period" of about 5 seconds. It is hard to tell as there is no active Icon for being protected by Bodyguards and if you gotta switch over fast your proably to pre-occupied to definately tell. Best advice: Anticipate the need before you need it.

Credits and Acknowledgements:
Credit and Acknowledgement should go to Weekend_Avenger, IttiBittiKitty, and system_crashes for their posting thread on Observered Henchmen Behaviour.

*Just some specific info due to the pet and henchmen-like control you can get in some PvP zones. I would like to add more PvP specifics, but unfortunately, got no response on an inquiry post for this and I don't PvP very often myself, which makes me reluctant to post anything that would make me seem like an authority on the topic. So please excuse the partial nature of the following:*


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MASTERMIND NOTES v.3.0 (Issue 7)
P.v.P ADDENDUM
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RECLUSE'S VICTORY
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All commandable "pets" can be commanded by their name or by:

/petcom_pow Special

Specials will not count as henchmen for the purposes of Bodyguard.

Arachnos Heavy Blaster
Arachnos - Elite Boss - Level 54
*starts on Aggressive Follow*
*The Arachnos Heavy Blaster locations can be found on the battle progress map inside the Arachnos base. You may only have one to command at a time, and there can only be 3 total on the map at any given time. Unlike henchmen, there is no range limit on how far you can be from it. It will not respawn and will not accept Recall Friend, though Group Fly and Team Teleport will work to move it around more quickly.*
/petcom_pow Special

Lord Recluse discovered that Black Scorpion had built these enormous walking tanks to attack Mako in another of thier inter-patron squabbles. Lord Recluse seized these monstrous war machines for his own use in Recluse's Victory. Loyalists like you will now be able to wield their destructive capabilities in battle! Their lack of speed is more than compensated for with its impressive firepower, and heavy armor. The Arachnos Heavy Blaster is an awesome asset to any villain who's looking for an edge in battle!
Arachnos Heavy Blaster - Picture

*Has good heavy melee attacks and is probably best used in melee combats, though its slow speed makes that questionable against high mobility targets.*

Heavy Boost - Your damage has been Increased
Armored Exoskeleton - Resistance
Power Jumping - Self Auto, +Jump, + Speed - Arachnobots can jump very high and travel very fast.
Wide Area Web Grenade
Venom Burst?
Disruptor Blast?
Claw?
Claw Pierce?
*when dismissed it is teleported back to its original starting pad*

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PILLBOX
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Force Field (Pillbox)
+Def(All), Res(Toxic), +Regeneration, -Teleport
Pillbox - Object
While you are in the area of the Force Field, you are protected from all attacks for a limited time. Also reduces Toxic damage and increases your Regeneration as well as protecting you from being teleported by foes.
Pillbox - Picture

Quad Howitzer Battery (Pillbox)
*Starts on Aggressive Follow*
Turrets - Boss - Level 50
/petcom_pow Special

Turrets like these are Rumored to be based on designs stolen (or bought) from Crey industries. This one matches the design for a Quad Howitzer Battery. The Crey security catalog entry reads: 'The Quad Howitzer Battery provides top-notch firepower for defending your installation with its four heavy cannons and optional flamethrower.'
Immobile
Quad Howitzer
Flamethrower

High-Explosive Missile Turret
*starts on Aggressive Follow*
Turrets - Boss - Level 50
/petcom_pow Special

Turrets like these are rumored to be based on designs stolen (or bought) from Crey Industries. This one matches the design for a High-Explosive Missle Turret. The Crey security catalog entry reads: 'When you need maximum defense and cost is no concern, the High-Explosive Missile Turret is the premier choice. It's high-powered explosive rockets can ruin the day for nearly any attacker.'
Immobile
High-Explosive Missiles
Flamethrower

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Transmission Detected
Intercepting Transmission......................
Decrypting Contents.......................................... ..........
Decryption Successful
.
FREEDOM CORPS ***CLASSIFIED***
FOR HERO EYES ONLY
PARAGON CITY, USA, DIMENSION 412-ATLAS PARK
DOCUMENT #428523

Freedom Corps Cataphract
Longbow - Elite Boss - Level 54
*The Freedom Corps Cataphract locations can be found on the battle progress map inside the Freedom Corps base. You may only have one to command at a time, and there can only be 3 total on the map at any given time. Unlike henchmen, there is no range limit on how far you can be from it. It will not respawn and will not accept Recall Friend, though Group Fly and Team Teleport will work to move it around more quickly. *
/petcom_pow Special

Utilizing the engineering designs from the Paragon Police Department's Support Automatons, the Freedom Corps has built this armored powerhouse. The Cataphract Class, or the "Heavy" as the troops call them, are slow movers but more than make up for it in awesome fire power and enough armor to withstand multiple attacks from villains. With one of these babies, you will own the streets.
Freedom Corps Cataphract - Picture

*Seems to have AI problems with using its numerous attacks in chains. Tends to use particular attacks only at various ranges. Also does not appear to melee at all*

Heavy Boost - Your Damage has been increased.
Resistance - Resistance
Seeker Drones
Gas Grenade?
M40 Grenade?
Autofire plasma burst?
Tail sting?
Plasma cloud burst?
*when dismissed it rockets off and another one is teleported to it's starting pad*

End of Transmission Contents


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BLOODY BAY
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Shivan Decimator
Pet - Elite Boss - Summoned at your level
Temp Power - 5 Uses
This Decimator seems to pulse with ectoplasmic destruction and hate. Its grotesque form and radiant energy makes your skin crawl.
Shivan Decimator - Picture

*The Shivan Decimator is a temp power you can earn in Bloody Bay by collecting and processing meteor fragments.*

Radioactive Smash: Heavy Energy & Smashing, Disorient, Knockback, Negate Flight, Def debuff
X-Ray Beam: Moderate Energy & Def debuff
Contaminated Strike: Moderate Energy & Smashing, Knockback, Defense debuff
Neutron Bomb: Moderate Energy & Def debuff
Electron Haze: AoE cone moderate Energy, Knockback, & Defense debuff, moderate range
Cosmic Burst: High Energy, Stun & Def debuff
Irradiate: Minor Energy & very high Def debuff
Resistance: Resistance

[ QUOTE ]

I think it would be a fine substitute myself, but people who despise PVP would be most displeased. Still, I'd rather encourage people to give PVP zones a try than tell them they have to give AFK farming a try.....


[/ QUOTE ]

There are plenty of good solutions, so there is no need for a lesser of evil solution.

It is an impossible, unrealistic requirement. 100,000,000 points of damage? The 3rd SG Healing Badge requires the combined effort of a Supergroup to obtain, and it is only 50,000,000. And that is a feat many SG's have been very upset over. To require a SINGLE character to sustain twice that amount, especially ones with few hitpoints, is insane. You might as well have save the time and effort into making the Accolade in the first place.

I thought "HEY! I'm a Mastermind, if all the damage my minions sustain counts toward's that then I got it easy, because they can really soak it at times." But after looking at my Badge Bar for the 4th Damage Badge, I'm maybe 1/5th of the way there at best and I am nearly level 50. It would definately take YEARS of endgame play to obtain this badge and thereby get this Accolade.

It NEEDS to be reduced down to the 1 Million points of Damage Sustained to be realistic for all Archtypes and on par with the difficulty requirements for the Hero equivilant badge.

Yes there is, and I will have to appologize for this one as it is a rather long example, and a reflection of one I use.

[ QUOTE ]
Example:
/macro PULL "local GAMMA! Go draw their fire, we will back you up! $$emote attack$$petcom_name Gamma goto agg$$petsay_name Gamma CHAAARRRGGGEEE!!! $$petsay_name Alpha No Gamma! Don't be a hero! <em no> $$petsay_name Beta I don't think he's coming back after this… <em grief> "

[/ QUOTE ]

The example given here is overly long to be entered from the command line. The reason for this is that I used full names and commands to make it clear and easy to understand rather than abbreviated, compact and harder to read, and I am afraid this made it a bit overly long. There are several ways this can be made more compact:

Use L for Local, this is the same function in an abbreviated form
Use E for Emote. This only works for the Mastermind's emote, and can not be used for the Henchmen.
Abbreviate Henchmen names to the first 2 letters. Al for Alpha, Be for Beta, and Ga for Gamma.
Further we should be able to abbreviate the Goto Agg command to just Go Ag.
Finally, we can gain additional space by first creating the command button, and then entering in the commands by right-clicking on it and using edit by using just the following

/macro PULL ""

This will save you about 16 addition characters as the quotes, macro name, macro command, and the command slash will not have to be present in the actual macro.

So we can abbreviate the command to this:

Example:
/macro PULL "l GAMMA! Go draw their fire, we'll back you up! $$e attack$$petcom_name Ga go agg$$petsay_name Ga CHAAARRRGGGEEE!!! $$petsay_name Al No Gamma! Don't be a hero! <em no> $$petsay_name Be I don't think he's coming back after this… <em grief> "

Which will fit in the command line. You should be able to just copy that text and then click on the command line and press CTRL-V to paste it in and enter. Provided you have an empty space in your Power Tray, the PULL button should appear.

Or you can do this:
/macro PULL ""

Right-click PULL macro button -> Edit -> enter in the following:
l GAMMA! Go draw their fire, we'll back you up! $$e attack$$petcom_name Ga go agg$$petsay_name Ga CHAAARRRGGGEEE!!! $$petsay_name Al No Gamma! Don't be a hero! <em no> $$petsay_name Be I don't think he's coming back after this… <em grief>

This will work provide you have 3 henchmen with names that uniquely start with or contain Al, Be, and Ga.

The above link is misdirected to somewhere in the middle of the guide. The correct link down below should send you to the Table of Contents for the guide:
Mastermind Notes v.3.0 (Issue 7)

[ QUOTE ]
Just a quick side-note, they hyperlink to this guide goes to the 2nd page, not the first...

[/ QUOTE ]

UGH. It was getting very late that evening and I must have copy/pasted the wrong page. Slipped up on that very last part. I'll try and get it fixed.