City of Villains Guide: Choosing a Patron - Part 2

In part one of this series, we discussed Patron Power Pools in general and identified the four Patrons to choose from. In this article, we'll examine the Patron Black Scorpion and the powers he provides. One thing to remember is that with City of Villains (as well as City of Heroes), there are an immense number of different factors to consider when choosing any powers. This guide will not give you the defacto absolute answer as to which way to go, but hopefully by the end you will have enough information to make an informed choice about each of the Patrons and their respective power pools. So lets dive in and see what the choices are.

The Power Pool that becomes available when you choose to follow Black Scorpion is known as Mace Mastery. As I said previously however, different powers are available for different villain classes. You get access to Patron Powers - just like the Epic Powers in City of Heroes - at level 41, with further powers earned at Levels 44 and 47. So lets go down the list of available powers:

• Level 41 Powers
  • Mace Beam - This far-reaching sniper attack is available at level 41 to Stalkers. The damage type is Energy/Smashing, and it does incur Knockback as well. It is interruptable however, just like all other sniper attacks.
  • Web Envelope - Available to Brutes, Corruptors, Masterminds, Soldiers and Widows, this upgraded web grenade is a very useful area of effect (AOE) attack that immobilizes your foes. It does not incur damage, but it does slow down their attacks. It can even bring down flying foes as well.
  • Scorpion Shield - Corruptors, Masterminds, and Dominators get access to this useful defensive power. This energy shield gives you protection from Smashing, Lethal and Energy attacks, as well as Damage Resistance to Toxic damage.
  • Poisonous Ray - A ranged toxin attack available only to Dominators, this energy blast affects your foe's Defense and Damage Resistance as it hits them with Toxic damage.
  • Mace Blast - A powerful beam of energy, this power is available to Brutes, Stalkers, Soldiers and Widows. Similar to the Mace Beam, it also slams your foes with Energy/Smashing damage as well as Knockback.

For the powers listed below, you must have selected at least one of the powers that were available at Level 41. In other words, each level of the Patron Power Pool builds upon the previous level.

• Level 44 Powers
  • Disrupter Blast - This AOE attack fires a beam of energy that explodes on impact, damaging all foes within the area with Energy/Smashing damage as well as Knockback. Its only available to Brutes, Soldiers, Widows and Dominators however.
  • Web Cocoon - Another web grenade on steroids, this attack completely envelops one foe and keeps them from moving. If they do manage to resist the hold, their attacks and movements are still slowed. This is available to Stalkers, Masterminds (at level 47), and Corruptors.
  • Mace Beam Volley - Available only to Masterminds, this is a wide cone of Energy/Smashing damage that can also cause Knockback

As you make it up to Level 47, first congratulate yourself for sticking with it. Those last few levels can be a bear to work through. Your rewards however for this particular Patron are the following:

• Level 47 Powers
  • Summon Blaster - This nice power available to Brutes, Soldiers and Widows summons an Arachnos Blasterbot to aid you with its moderately powerful energy blasts. The bot will only stay for 4 minutes, and it takes 15 minutes for it to recharge. The bot will also disappear if you go to exit the zone or mission, and you must already have two Mace Mastery powers.
  • Summon Disruptor - This is similar to the previous power, except that it is a Arachnobot Disruptor and is only for Corruptors.
  • Summon Spiderlings - This is just like the others, except that it is for Stalkers and you get 3 spiderlings as helpers. The damage here is Lethal however, rather than Energy.
  • Summon Tarantula - Just like the rest, except that you get a large Toxic Tarantula at your command. And of course the damage is Toxic.

As you can see, having Black Scorpion as your Patron can definitely have its advantages. Whats also nice is how City of Villains keeps the powers in line with the type of villain each Patron is. It definitely helps to keep you in tune with the storyline as a whole, which is cool for those of us who appreciate that type of thing. But before you decide, take a look at part 3 where we examine another Patron choice - Captain Mako and Leviathon Mastery.