Xandyr

Fixed that for ya. 😎😉

Personally, I would take Soothe over Share Pain. Once you use Share Pain, you won't be able to heal yourself at all. May wanna swap the Shield Breakers in Anguishing Cry for Analyze Weakness....that 2.5% End Recovery bonus puts you over the cap. The ACCY/End Reduction of your pets seems low. I wonder if the To Hit Bonus from Serum and WoP will make up for the Accy. As far as Pain goes, it looks like you're on the right track. Slotting the Panacea proc in Suppress Pain gives it a chance to proc for ALL friendlies in its radius. So, as long as your pets (and teammates) are within the radius, then it'll Proc on them. Throw some Resist IOs (maybe Unbreakable Guard) in WoP, and might as well throw another 1 or 2 pieces of Gaussian's' in there. You've got it perma, along with Hasten, Painbringer, and Anguishing Cry. Good deal...even better that you've got Serum perma. I actually enjoyed Mercs/Pain. I do think that my Necro/Pain is sturdier, but Mercs are in a pretty good spot. Have fun! THAT'S what's important.

As far as a secondary that would kinda fit your background, Rad comes to mind first.

I'm no expert ( @StrikerFox comes to mind for being an MM expert), but here's something I threw together that I think checks off all the powers you wanted. Mastermind (Necromancy - Traps).mbd

You might want to consider taking 1 or 2 attacks just to be able to spawn a spectre. They help draw aggro, plus do damage. Definitely take Soul Extraction. Summons the "soul" of each of your pets. It's great for extra damage/mitigation, plus a great place to put the unique Pet IOs. There are 2 that increase your pets' defenses by 5% each, and 2 that increase their resistances by 10% each. There is a Mastermind IO that increases your pets' AoE defense, and another that increases their Regeneration rate and their Resistances by 15%. Just by getting them, you're increasing their Defense by 10%, their Regeneration rate, and their Resistances by 35%. The Defense ones will really help since you'll have the FFG. Necro is one of the sets that were revamped recently. They're WAY better now than they were Live. The 2 upgrades can now take Resistance IOs and Heal IOs. The IO system can be difficult to understand, and it can also be easy to understand. If you look at, say, Luck of the Gambler (a Defense IO). You'll see that this set has 6 "pieces". One of which is a Defense/Global Recharge IO. If you slot this one piece in a power that takes Defense enhancements, it will increase the Defense of that power, PLUS increase your Global Recharge by 7.5%. Global recharge is great, as it will let all your powers Recharge that much faster. Now, if you slot this piece, AND another enhancement from the same set, say the Defense Luck of the Gambler, it will increase the Defense value of that power. PLUS, since you have 2 enhancements from the LotG set, you will increase your Regeneration rate by 10%. By looking at the set bonuses of different IOs, you can slot enhancements to help increase your Defense, Regeneration, Resistances, Range, End Recovery, etc etc. So...if you want to focus on building for Melee Defense, you can look at all the IOs that give a set bonus that increases Defense/Melee Defense and slot those. Hopefully that makes sense? I'll try to get on later and see about a build.

What are you running with /Pain, and how's it going? Likes? Dislikes?

I've played it with WP and Bio. Both pairings are great. Never did any 4* content with either. Having said that, I've survived about everything thrown at them. Build WP for +HP, +regen then def/resist. It's hard to faceplant with softcapped defense, backed up with good resists...while regenerating 200-300 hp/sec. Bio is....bio. Offers more damage, and the +def/resist Staff offers helps survivability. Dark/Staff sounds fun as well. May have to try that.

Zect is on the forums. I'll just say that he believes there's only one way to build a tank, and it's his way.

Can NEVER go wrong with /Dark!

Don't forget /Pain. I feel like /Pain gets overlooked...but has some amazing powers. Regen aura, heals, +Resistance, -Resistance, -Defense, and Painbringer is awesome. On my Necro/Pain, with how I have it slotted, it gives +800% End Recovery, +1168% Regeneration (about 39 HP/Sec), and a +37.5% Damage buff. It can be made perma, but only on 1 pet or teammate. Combined with Suppress Pain (at least how I have it slotted), you're giving that 1 pet or teammate(as long as they're within a 15' radius of you) around 55 HP/Sec. That will typically leave you to worry about other pets/teammates' Health. Plus, that 1 target will not run out of Endurance during the duration of PB. World of Pain (slotted) gives about +17.5% Resistance to all, a +7.5% To Hit buff, and a +12% Damage bonus (to all within 35'). If you team, hit WoP, then use PB on your hardest attacking teammate...that's +49.5% Damage bonus, plus the end and regen to handle about anything while dishing it out. Or, use it on one of your T2 or the T3 pet. I've had a blast with /Pain partnered with Mercs and Necro. My latest project is combining it with Demons.

I paired Sonic with Ninjas. I figured with their inheritantly high defenses that the Resistance would help them out. Plus, they seem to heal themselves reguarly. It's worked out pretty good.

@zect is apparently the best builder in all the land.

Am I missing something? The build I posted for Bio/BA does not have any Patron powers. If I were to try and take a Patron Power, I'd go Soul Mastery and take Gloom and Darkest Night. I'd probably slot 3 Apocalypse in Gloom (mainly for the set bonuses) and slot DK with 4 pieces of Dark Watcher's Despair ( set bonuses, plus that would get roughly -22.79% To Hit Debuff). A problem with Bios, as I've said before and you did also, is that all 9 powers are great....almost essential. That leaves little to "play around with". I definitely like getting Tough/Weave. Maneuvers is always good (helps hit the Defense soft cap, plus another place for a LotG). Hasten is almost mandatory...then your Travel power. I personally always take CJ/SJ on all my toons ( I had an accident and lost the tip of my left forefinger, so it makes it a little difficult for me if I Hover. CJ is easier for me).

Would it have anything to do with level shifts?

I've not played the revamped BA, so I'm just kinda guessing on it. Tanker (Bio Armor - Battle Axe).mbd