Masterminds on PUGs, and Other Comedies
The great thing about villains and their players is that no matter what it's very easy
![]() ![]() One of the best things about villain teams is that players often tend to play as a soloist with some (unreliable) support from teammates. Keeps things interesting, speeds up XP gain, and maintains some social interaction. If a character dies often, s/he learns to stick close to someone else, and they quickly become a stronger fighting element. Compared to the all-too-common srs bsns blueside teams, it's a lot of fun. Nobody really wants to follow the tank ![]() |

I do look forward to discovering new tactics with my red/gold/blue side teammates though.
I don't know. It's been my experience that Red and Blue teams wipe in equally preposterous situations. There are plenty of good teams on both sides too.
At the same time I also know I don't currently have ANY Dominator, Controller, Defender, or Corruptor who can leap headfirst into a x8+4 spawn and expect to survive longer than a few seconds without teammate support. In fact it's typical for me to die in about 2 hits from a boss on the hardest difficulties. I mean, maybe I could do Council for twenty seconds if they didn't mezz me. But Longbow? Carnies? Malta? Knives of Artemis? It just wouldn't happen without massive IOing, and even then probably still wouldn't happen. Soloing +4 Carnies on an Ice/Thermal Controller? Yeah... no.
I don't know. It's been my experience that Red and Blue teams wipe in equally preposterous situations. There are plenty of good teams on both sides too.
At the same time I also know I don't currently have ANY Dominator, Controller, Defender, or Corruptor who can leap headfirst into a x8+4 spawn and expect to survive longer than a few seconds without teammate support. In fact it's typical for me to die in about 2 hits from a boss on the hardest difficulties. I mean, maybe I could do Council for twenty seconds if they didn't mezz me. But Longbow? Carnies? Malta? Knives of Artemis? It just wouldn't happen without massive IOing, and even then probably still wouldn't happen. Soloing +4 Carnies on an Ice/Thermal Controller? Yeah... no. |
My only rough spot with blueside MMs so far has been cave missions. It can be a bit of a chore to try to wade through all those pets to get anything done and it's all too easy to find yourself staring at the backside of a giant demon for most of the mission.
Strategically, the math always favors a tightly packed group of opponents subjected to a deluge of AOEs. Whatever it takes to make that happen will be more efficient than a mad scramble. Players can play however they want to, redside or blueside, but that won't change the math. Teams without AOE damage just don't have the option of efficiency, so they can go with the scramble without much loss, if any.
What's probably most important is that the team has a clear idea of how things are going to happen. If Blasters are going to be left to their own aggro because "Brutes aren't Tankers!", then they need to know that. If Dominators are supposed to wait for a herd or corner pull before firing off their AOE hold, then they need to know that. Most will figure it out after the first couple fights, but you might need to send a tell if things are getting out of hand.
I would pay good infamy to watch a group of blueside only players running their first Mayhem Mission.
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Do blue side only players even exist? I could not imagine playing only the half part of a game I love so much.
Originally Posted by Megajoule
We're being invaded. Again. This time, instead of aliens, zombies, or eyeballs with teeth, it's the marching band.
Do blue side only players even exist? I could not imagine playing only the half part of a game I love so much.
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Might I add that the Tanker was going to the Isles to "show them how it's done".
Some redside teams rush the bank intentionally, just to see how many Longbow they can AoE to death in the resultant chaos at the door.
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Then lots of flying bags of XP show up and die horribly

Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
This does make me want to check out some heroside pugs to see "I'm invincible" tanks meet up with stacked disruption fields and a liquefy, among all the other goodies Longbow offers.
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I'm also curious to see how the Heroes are handling the increased debuffs and aoe-mania that is Longbow.
Longbow is just one of the reasons that the LRSF is harder btw.
Noght
Noght 50 Scrapper Broadsword/Invulnerability
Fire Umbra 50 Brute Dark Melee/Fire Aura
Impulse Cry 50 Blaster Sonic/Energy
Internist 50 Mastermind Poison/Thugs
Ice Omega 50 Corrupter Ice/Radiation
Prickly Heat 50 Dominator Plant/Fire
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I have always maintained that Longbow are the baddest bunch of enemies in the game, causing Red-side to be harder as you get your Longbow love starting in Mercy.
I'm also curious to see how the Heroes are handling the increased debuffs and aoe-mania that is Longbow. |
Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
I have always maintained that Longbow are the baddest bunch of enemies in the game, causing Red-side to be harder as you get your Longbow love starting in Mercy.
I'm also curious to see how the Heroes are handling the increased debuffs and aoe-mania that is Longbow. |
Villains had to go up against LB and Arachnos from the get go. If you chose Burke over Kalinda, Arachnos is in your very first mission.
Honestly it's a toss-up for me, which group is harder. My crab spider doesn't really flinch when he sees a pack of 0/8 LB with a bunch of Nullifiers. However, I'm 110% alert when facing my own (Arachnos). I hate Tarantula Mistresses and their massive -def debuff that always always hits me

To be fair, level 1-10 Longbow and Arachnos are more-or-less Hellions with different skins. I mean, the minions are even weaker, lacking the varied melee weapons your average thug packs. Maybe the lieuts are a mite tougher. Arachnos start getting tough in the teens with end-draining Mu and hold resistance, whereas Longbow only really take off at higher levels with Spec-Ops and sonic grenades.
To be fair, level 1-10 Longbow and Arachnos are more-or-less Hellions with different skins. I mean, the minions are even weaker, lacking the varied melee weapons your average thug packs. Maybe the lieuts are a mite tougher. Arachnos start getting tough in the teens with end-draining Mu and hold resistance, whereas Longbow only really take off at higher levels with Spec-Ops and sonic grenades.
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Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
They do indeed. I teamed with friends from my SG in the Isles (they only play the Blue-side ATs) on my Thugs/Poison MM (built as a Tankermind). I told the Tanker repeatedly that I didn't need him to tank so I just went ahead and steam-rolled the rest of the mission by myself as he and the Blaster faceplanted against the Wailers.
Might I add that the Tanker was going to the Isles to "show them how it's done". |
So has anyone here seen a hero die because they followed the Stalker to the mobs?
I've had heroes follow my cloaked bane while I was looking ahead of the group in some door missions. I'm talking about non cloaked heroes, and not the usual stealth + SS guys that usually like to scout like my bane.
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Thank you for the smile.
Ahahahahh! Stop Stop! It hurts so much to laugh like this!
I had a heated discussion with a tank in a Praetorian team about herding. I kept insisting that the days of herding are over, all hail the redside steamroller! The tank kept disagreeing with me, stating that she herds to keep squishies like me alive. I kept trying to tell her that I am not a squishy, I am a DOMINATOR! And proceeded to hit my "I win" button and locked down an entire spawn. ;-P I am just so loving the whole change of perspective. I never played blueside because I was just so sick of the herd, nuke, next, yawn game play. Steamroller chaos is the best thing since canned Enriche! Bring it on! |
However, like you, I get cold feet when a team becomes TOO dependent on the Tank to keep the team alive and moving. Sadly that is the case when a team lacks support, or one or more of players doesn't know how to play their AT. The tank does make things safer, but a good hero AT only team won't have to worry about the alpha and can steamroll just as well as villain AT teams.
I don't suffer from altitis, I enjoy every minute of it.
Thank you Devs & Community people for a great game.
So sad to be ending ):
As a well played MM heroside, I know exactly which role I fill: All of them.
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I mentioned Heel and Goto are your most important tools. The first thing I see in response "I never use those" /floored
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Other than /elec elec/ I don't know anyone foolish enough to dive into +4 carnies.
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Heck, I'll dive into the Snake Temple at full of lv54 Cobra bosses (+4/x8) if you don't go in first.
Golden Girl isn't just a blueside only player, she's a single character player. O.o
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
I love mayhem missions. Running battles against armies of cops; ambushes coming at you from all sides (good practice for GR); widespread property destruction - that's what I call being a supervillain.
Funny thing is I usually hate timed missions in games - it always strikes me as an artificial way of ramping up the difficulty, but I make an exception for mayhems and always try to do the sides. It's even more fun when the Longbow follow you into one of the side missions.
One thing I do wonder, now that all ATs are available on both sides... which playstyle will prove dominant in the long run? Blueside's "Tank must go first and we need a healer", or Redside's "Everyone is DPS. Last one to grab some aggro isn't trying hard enough" ?