Curse

Carinae · May 18, 2008, 11:20 PM // 23:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by N1ghtstalker

with dark bond they'll die fast if you take damage btw

Uh, no. Ideally, minions are taking 100% of the damage and the party is taking no damage. Given that, Dark Bond just shifts the damage back where you want it.

Dark Bond is the best defensive skill a MM can run. Period.

Is it required? Nope. But it's not likely to make your bar weaker either. Given that an MM is likely running with very low hp, an anti-spike skill is very, very handy, especially in HM. I'm not a fan of ToD as an emergency skill. It reduces your meatshield army, and it's a one-shot skill. Dark Bond shifts FARRRR more damage away from you than ToD can recover.

toastgodsupreme · May 18, 2008, 11:51 PM // 23:51

As an MM, you maintain your army by spawning more, not by keeping up the ones you already have. They're a disposable meatshield + damage source.

[Jagged Bones] is great for two reasons.
1. You don't need to target a minion. It'll cast on the nearest one without the enchant (wish death nova was this way).
2. In areas with few corpses, it allows you to keep up a constant supply of minons for the most part.

But don't think of your minions as something you have to maintain, but rather, something you can throw into battle to draw attention off your team. That's their job really. Protect your team and do some damage.

Chthon · May 19, 2008, 01:48 AM // 01:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loli Krasivaya

I've found that vampiric horrors are more or less useless, especially if you have a good self-heal, because the return is meh and the recharge is killer.

1. The at just 5e more than a plain bone horror heal/energy is quite possibly the most efficient heal in the game. Random, but incredibly efficient.

2. Like Moloch said, the recharge is about right for maintaining a good fiend/horror balance. (Unlike shambling horrors.)

3. I wouldn't say that they are absolutely necessary for OoU, but they are definitely the best choice to go with it. And, as OoU is definitely the best elite available for a MM,...

Quote:

I also dislike bone fiends because the entire purpose of the mm (at least in later stages of the game) is defense and indirect damage (through hero's jagged bones and death nova).

You confuse a minion master with a minion bomber. A minion master does direct damage through the minions, often buffed with OoU (and EBSoHonor, and Barbs/MoP from a curse necro). That is far, far more damage than a minion bomber can produce. But it takes a live human player -- and a pretty decent one -- to do it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Meth

Agreed on vampiric, but since the OP is complaining about not being able to keep minions up shambling would be an excellent addition.

Perhaps, but it's the easy way out. Using subpar minions to compensate for lack of player skill doesn't encourage the player to get any better, and it gimps the build too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by N1ghtstalker

with dark bond they'll die fast if you take damage btw

Hadn't thought of that. It's a good point. If OP has positioning problems (which seems likely if s/he feels the need to bring dark bond + taste of death), then dark bond is probably burning through minions.

toastgodsupreme · May 19, 2008, 09:20 PM // 21:20

And one other thing...

[dwayna's sorrow] is the one skill that makes a human MM so much more viable than a hero. Your team will LOVE you if you use it properly. The monks especially since they'll be like "wtf, how is everyone getting healed?"

Heros don't use it at all (I've heard, not tested).

English Warrior · May 19, 2008, 09:23 PM // 21:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by toastgodsupreme

Heros don't use it at all (I've heard, not tested).

That was updated in the latest Hero AI update they now use it correctly as a MM (WOO)

Moloch Vein · May 19, 2008, 11:02 PM // 23:02

On a side note, I guess it's better to be an MM tired of his minions dying than an MM tired of dying.

Improvavel · May 20, 2008, 02:33 AM // 02:33

I agree with what moloch said even without reading it all. And I like vamp minions.

My 2 cents - add [ebon battle standard of honor]. Your fiends will love it.

But, playing minion masters -meh. Curse guys are so much fun :P