Mastermind

Overview

The Mastermind may well be the most complex archetype in City of Villains. Much of your power comes from the various Henchmen (or "pets") you can summon to your side, such as the living dead, a band of ninja, several mechanized monstrosities, a team of mercenaries, or even some punks off the street. Since you must simultaneously control your character and the minions you command, the Mastermind is a daunting archetype. Of course, it's also one of the more powerful archetypes in the game; no one but a Mastermind can function as a one-man group!

As a Mastermind, you'll play very differently from other villains, primarily due to your ability to summon henchmen. In City of Villains, there are five types of henchmen: Zombies, Ninja, Robots, Soldiers, and Thugs. Each type has its own strengths and weaknesses, but the deciding factor in combat is how these pets are controlled by you, their master. You need to be aware of your surroundings at all times, since the well-being of your henchmen is vital to your own—a Mastermind without henchmen is easy prey.

The Mastermind's power sets are:

Primary: Summon
Secondary: Buff/Debuff

The Mastermind has Low Hit Points and Medium Damage.

Power Sets

Primary Power Sets

A Mastermind's primary power sets are designed specifically for summoning. All of the Mastermind sets have a common structure. All mastermind Primary gain access to their first type of pet at level 1, another type of pet at level 12, and another, third type of pet at level 26. They also gain an Upgrade Ability to each pet at level 6, and another Upgrade at level 32.

Unlike many other power sets, the Summon Powers available to these powersets distinctly change as the Mastermind gains levels. Specifically, once a Mastermind hits level 6 their first Pet Summon power, instead of summoning one pet of an equal level to his level, instead summons two minions at the Mastermind's level-1. Then, at level 18 the power changes further, summoning a third pet, and all three pets are at the Mastermind's level-2. The second-tier pet also undergoes changes like this - a second appears at level 24, and both are at -1 to the Mastermind instead of at +0.

The Mastermind Primary sets are:

• Mercenaries
• Necromancy
• Ninjas
• Robotics
• Thugs

Secondary Power Sets

A Mastermind's secondary power sets are designed for buffing. They are:

• Dark Miasma
• Force Field
• Poison
• Traps
• Trick Arrow

Patron Power Pools

• Leviathan Mastery
• Mace Mastery
• Mu Mastery
• Soul Mastery

Strategies

Henchmen Control

Quite possibly the most powerful controls for your pets were first published on the Official Forums by Sandolphan. Link to Guide. Check out The Paragon Wiki article on Mastermind Numpad Pet Controls, which includes minor improvements on the original controls.

Another excellent form of henchmen control comes from Monorail in the form of City Binder (link is to a Sourceforge.net project). Monorail also keeps updating his thread on the Official Forums in the Player Guides section (link to thread), as well as in the City Game Tracker forums in this thread.

Both controls use bind files (text files to bind actions to certain keys) that allow you to quickly change which henchemen you wish to control.

Bodyguard

Issue 7 brings with it a a new defensive feature for Masterminds, Bodyguard. The above henchmen controls are vital in order to properly use this feature, as waiting for foes with AoE and Cone attacks can be hazardous to your health. (Beware Longbow Flamethrowers).

The following was copied directly from the Patch Notes when Issue 7 went live on 6/6/06.

• Mastermind Bodyguards: You can set any Mastermind pet to Bodyguard by selecting the Defensive Stance and the Follow Orders. Your pets must be within Supremacy range for this function to work.
• Bodyguard Damage Mitigation: When set to Bodyguard mode, the Mastermind and his pets share damage from any attack that the Mastermind takes damage from. Each pet takes one 'share' of the damage, and the Mastermind himself takes two 'shares'. This is in addition to any damage that the pets themselves might incur from Area attacks.
  • Example: If a Mastermind has 3 pets set to Def/Fol, and he gets hit with a 100 point attack, each pet will take 20 points of the damage, and he himself will take 40 points.
  • Example 2: If a Mastermind has 3 pets set to Def/Fol, and he gets hit with an Area Effect attack for 10 points of damage, then each pet will take 2 points of damage, and he himself will take 4 points. Pets that were also in the Area of Effect will take an additional 10 points each, as normal.

Agro Management

Since NPCs--with the exception of those ambushing the character--will treat a Mastermind's henchmen as individual entities, henchmen can be used to direct agro from a group of enemies with no considerable risk to the player or team. This is espcially helpful in solo play, where larger groups can easily overpower the low hit points and damage resistence of the archetype. Keeping agro held on the henchmen and picking off individual targets will yield a much lower threat to the Mastermind and enable him to take risks that would be considered foolish to be taken by other archetypes.

In addition to the various directions from which damage can originate toward an enemy, henchmen are completely expendable. If one is defeated, it can be respawned. While the benefits of Supremecy will not be available unless at close range, a Mastermind can defeat mobs of enemies from dozens of feet away. This tactic ensures that the Mastermind never draws any agro whatsoever.

Damage Balance

All Mastermind primary power sets provide three ranged attacks and three types of henchmen. Using either one exclusively will yield a generally inadequate amount of damage output. However, when a Mastermind works with his henchmen to deal damage to foes, the combination of attacks can be brutal. Since equipped henchmen have multiple attacks which recharge quickly, there is a consistent onslaught of damage pouring in from multiple sources. And with the Mastermind's personal ranged attacks--which deal significantly greater damage than the henchmen's attacks--an enemy can find itself with low hit points after just a single round of attacks.

The Mastermind can be a difficult archetype to use effectively due to a large number of considerations introduced by the henchmen, but when used well can solo in some situations that other archetypes will find taxing at best. For example, soloing Archvillains on Villainous, which will con as Elite Bosses, is typically only moderate risk for a Mastermind where it is dangerous for most other archetypes.

Secondary Purpose

The concept of the henchman is often intimidating for newer players and a mindset develops where the henchmen are the only effectiveness that a Mastermind possesses. The truth is quite the opposite, as the Mastermind's secondary power sets are geared towards buffing allies and debuffing enemies. While the strategy exists that remaining close to the henchmen for the Supremacy buff is desireable, a Mastermind shouldn't be afraid to stray from his henchmen in order to aid allies or hinder enemies. With the exception of PvP, a Mastermind is typically free to wander around the battlefield while the NPCs attack the henchmen and teammates.

Taking the above into consideration, a Mastermind can function effectively as if a Defender. Some Masterminds are desireable to have on a team both for agro control and defensive purposes; and Alkaloid from the Poison power set is a reliable ally heal, which is often an in-demand feature for teams.

External Links

• Archetypes documentation on official City of Villains site
• Official City of Heroes Manual as a PDF file