Arbegla

For a level 50 character, you could get really really close to leveling up (full bars) then turn off XP. You'll still get patrol XP, but you wont visually be able to see it. You also won't get anymore Vet levels, but I'm not sure that is a concern of yours.

If bodyguard mode worked in any stances, MMs would be the ultimate Tank Mages. Bodyguard mode triggers when an attack is rolled against the MM, but that attack doesn't have to be successful. Meaning a fully softcapped MM can stand in melee combat, get swung at, and their pets will react, all while enjoying Bodyguard Mode benefits already. If you're standing away from the enemy AND away from your pets, you're doing something wrong, so getting one shot shouldn't be that much of an issue. Yes, high level content makes it dangerous for MMs to be in melee range, but with proper slotting, MMs have the highest effective hitpoints in the game, and should leverage that as best as they can by abusing Bodyguard Mode.

I'm surprised you're experiencing more running away, do you not use Web Grenade or other Immobilize effects? AVs (and even some GMs) have a vulnerability to immobilize built in, to allow for containment on Controllers, but it also allows MMs (and other classes really) to lock them down and keep them from running away. I've had an opposite experience with my Bot/traps since the changes, as things just melt so fast now that I don't have to lock things down as much. A quick volley of Web Grenade -> Electric Fences -> Web Grenade on a boss/EB/AV and by the time I get the rest of my debuffs down, its near death just from AoE and Single target attacks from the robots.

Instead of arguing for or against a reduction in time for the upgrades to affect the mobs, I think we should push to have the resistance split out, so you get half resistance on summoning the pets, and the other half (being enhance-able) when you upgrade them. This should give the pets some more durability, without changing too much in the ways of the pets working. With the fact that the upgrades are AOEs now, the setup time for a MM is MUCH shorter than it used to be, though I do definitely see and notice a different in survivability when not having the resistance equip on the bots. With the reduction in the flamethrower recharge time, I dont want to skip the equip power on the assault bot anymore, as its much faster and deals a decent amount of damage now.

Degen is the best for /traps IMO, because of the sheer number of DoTs you have. the -maxhp does more overall Damage then the -resistance you get from reactive. Especially once you factor in the pets, Degen is just the hands down the best option.

I focused on Maximizing Recharge on my bot/traps build. I run between 200-300% global recharge on top of ED capped recharge in most of my powers (Agility Alpha, and the +rech proc in my Arcane Bolt) I also run over 54% defense to most things (which is right around the Incarnate Softcap, before my Support Hybrid pushes me over) This allows me to double stack Triage Beacon, Triple Stack Acid Mortar, double stack Poison Trap (which the +absorb proc, which turns it into a mini protection power as well) and keeps Seeker Drones up every single spawn. Maintenance drone is up every ~25 seconds as well, so my bots don't die nearly as often as they used to before the patch. Going full Procs is nice, but do keep in the mind that the rumor mill has been saying Procs are going to be adjusted sometime soon(tm) so you might not want to stack all of them in one power, as we just don't know what is going to happen with them.

This is my robotics slotting now. I did try out the Pulse Rifle Burst on life, but unfortunately, Arcane Bolt just out performs it so much that its not even funny. I'm a /traps, so the loss of -regen doesn't affect me at all, and the maintenance drone just let me remove Spirit Ward and swap it right in, slots and all. I did take one other slot out of Charged Armor, just to get the two piece bonus from Unbreakable Guard in Equip, and now my Assault bot rocks 76% resistance to lethal/psi/cold (Remember Kids, Pets have a 90% resistance cap, like TANKERS!) Battle Drones 6 slots -> 2 Superior Mark of Supremacy, Straight Damage, 2 Call to Arms, the Dam/End, and the Defense Bonus aura for Pets and the Acc/Dam/End Sovereign RIght Resistance Bonus, Edict of the Master Defense Bonus Equip Bot 2 slots -> Unbreakable Guard Straight Resistance and the +7.5% max HP Protector Bots 6 slots -> 4 Superior Mark of Supremacy (Everything NOT in battle drones, so the Dam/End, Acc/Dam, Acc/End and the End/+resist/+regen Aura, Expedient Reinforcement Resist Aura, and 1 LoTG def/+rech Maintenance Drone 6 slots -> Full Preventive Medicine set Assault Bot 6 slots -> 4 Superior Command of the Mastermind, the Acc/Dam, Dam/End, Acc/Dam/End/Rech, and the Rech/+AOE def aura, 2 Soulbound Allegiance, the Dam/End, and the BU proc, Upgrade Robot -> level 53 Heal/End Hami-Origin With the additional damage that the Robots do, the current slotting keeps them all good on End even when really low level. I was able to solo the MSR last night on Torchbearer with this character, downing all the Pylons, and actually planting a bomb, so I'm definitely a happy camper.

Alright, so I ported my Bot/Traps/Mu over to test, respec'ed it to adjust some slotting and grabbed Maintenance Drone, slotted up Equip Bot to boost pet resistance, and got Pulse Rifle Burst instead of Arcane Bolt. I also swapped around 2 enhancements in the pet powers themselves, as I did notice some endurance issues in the Assault Bot and Battle Drones. Managed to keep the same set bonuses, just slightly different enhancement slotting. First test was normal missions running at +1/x8. Set didn't feel much different, except I didn't have to wait for Battle Drones and Assault bots to finish animating before moving onto the next group. Overall, clear times were faster, and the bots seemed more responsive to commands (probably because they weren't stuck in Animation Hell) Second test was a +4/x8 Solo ITF. I've only ran a +0/x1 Solo ITF on live, but its not much different really. I noticed that with the buffed resistance, the Assault Bot wasn't getting 1 shot, even against +4 mobs. I checked the numbers, and they now have a pretty large Resistance value (70+ in lethal/cold/psi) where they don't have that on live. It seems like the resistance values got scaled different, because Battle Drones actually have slightly less Resistance now, but all in all it seems ok. Maintenance Drone was amazing, as it was a full heal on the Battle Drones, and while occasionally the Protector Bots and the Drone would heal the same thing, it wasn't often enough to matter. Romans died fast, and the build performed very well. Third test was a solo Mother Ship Raid. This is meant to be a stress test, as you're trying to beat the clock on the respawn times on the pylons. This is where I really noticed the endurance being an issue and why I swapped out those two enhancements I mentioned earlier. On Live, I can solo basically down to 4 pylons, but I can't get them down completely, as the respawn time is too fast. On test, however, I was about to get it down to 1 to 2 pylons before the next respawned. I did have some player error and bad luck with the Drop Ship killing my pets, but overall the DPS increase MORE than makes up for the reduction in -regen in the Assault Bot. Yes, bot/traps already has amazing -regen in the form of Poison Trap, and I did use my Pulse Rifle Burst often (I put a +rech proc in it) but All in all, this is a massive boost to the powerset with minimal changes to my overall build.

Founders Fall Safeguard Mission. I left the Police Station (the side mission you get from there) and immediately fell under the map. Just happened for the second time, so its probably very repeatable.

I did +4/x8 as a test to see if it would even be possible to try the hardest of hard modes. I'm excited that I was able to complete it, and I have ideas on how to do it again. But right now, after a 44 hour drag, I'm gonna take a break from pushing on that. I'll update this thread once I try the other difficulties.

As Promised, here is some screenshots and my character build. Arbegla_entomb_proc-Mastermind_Robotics.mxd

Interestingly enough, both Assault Rifle, and Mercs got a buff recently, with the Auto Fire animation changes. Granted, it wasn't enough for Mercs to actually change any, and Assault Rifle also got a flamethrower animation decrease, so i think assault rifle is in a good spot right now. Gotta love that franken-gun

The short answer, is it depends. It depends on your secondary, it depends on how many procs you can slot in the pet attacks, and it depends on what you're fighting. But, overall, I think Thugs/, Robots/, and Demons/ have the highest DPS potential, but for different reasons. Thugs/ -> Mostly Lethal/Smash damage, BUT almost all of their attacks have -def, which means you can slot damage procs AND -res procs in them. They also have fire patches with the Arsonist, and lots of cones, so their AoE is really good. Robots/ -> Mostly energy damage, which surprisingly isn't as resisted as you would think. The Assault bot also has Fire Patches and -regen, which is a direct DPS increase as the mobs are healing up the damage you're doing. Demons/ -> Mostly exotic damage (Fire/Cold) and spread out over the different pets. Very few mobs have high resistance to ALL of the damage types ALL at once, so your pets are going to deal a fair amount of damage pretty much all of the time.. They also have -res in their attacks built in, and lots of AoEs. Some of the more 'force multiplier' secondaries are /traps, /rad, /dark, and /thermal. I basically just looked at secondaries that have -res and -regen debuffs that can be set up to be perma pretty easily. Your mileage may vary.

I was here at the beginning, and argued a bit. But now, we're arguing over definitions of words. So here we are.

I don't quite have all of the new names for the Hard Mode memorized yet, so I'm going off of * levels. (0* being default, 1* being lowest hard mode, going up to 4*) Now that I know I can do 0* at +4/x8, I'm going to try a run at 1* with base difficulty settings for the badges. I actually took Becky hostage in my run, and was going to go for Best Friends Forever, but she got eaten alive on the first mob in the last mission. I figure running at 1* will give her a chance to survive. I did attempt to take on the 5th column AVs in my +4/x8 run, but there were just too many mobs to try to control for me to make any real progress, especially with the timed nature of those rifts. I should have much better chances at 1*, with default difficulty. Once I have that under my belt, I'm going to work my way up. My eventual goal is 4* solo as of right now, but we'll see how Ripplesurge is and if he becomes my wall. I think the 'default' difficulty for the ASF is +0/x4, because it has a minimum of 4 people, but I could be wrong. I'm going to set my default difficulty at +0/x1 when I attempt the 1* and higher runs. I do know that 3* sets you at +2/x8, and 4* sets you at +4/x8, which is why I ran the +4/x8 just to see if I could even beat a +4 AV on a MM. Not just can I beat them, but with my defense, and debuffs, I was able to floor their tohit, and not take very much damage when they did connect. I also have the +maxhp Rebirth at T4, which helps make, and keep the pets pretty durable, as it just about doubles their maxhp for the first 30 seconds or so.

All of the builds, all of the time!

the /mu Electrifying Fences AoE immobilize applies a -KB effect on mobs, even if the immobilize doesn't stick. Granted, its a Patron Power Pool, so you have to run the Villain arc to unlock it, and the earliest its available is level 44, BUT but you do it it, its a game changer. Turns the Assault bots rockets into MASSIVE damage, and the fire patches into something a Fire Armor Brute can only dream of.

My biggest dislike is the VERY low maxhp that both the MM and the MM pets have. While you can get softcap defense, and near capped resistance with some secondaries, the low max hp means the pets are going to get 1 shot regardless of how much effort you put into trying to save them. It makes healing sets way less valuable at higher tier content (like +4, or the Hard Mode stuff)

Hey guys, I'll post screenshots later, cuz I'm at work now, but I finished my solo attempt at a +4/x8 ASF last night. Little over 44 hours (I took breaks in between..) and only 30 deaths! I did a +4/x8 run to see how I could handle the higher level AVs/mobs for a later attempt at a solo 4* (max Hard Mode) ASF, as that forces you to run at +4/x8 regardless. I plan on running through the Hard Mode settings at base difficulties later, so I can start building up the tactics to push through it. The hardest parts were Ripplesurge (He actually bugged out a few times, so I just ended up swarming him with temp powers/pets) and the Princess Zoe/Rodney fight during the last mission. I had the most deaths there. Face tanking two +4 AVs and all of the -resistance that the Gold Brickers push out was rough, but I did managed to down them both once I got rid of all of the adds. I also gained around 10 vet levels throughout the whole thing, so that was really cool too. Here's to trying out 1* (lowest Hard Mode) setting over the weekend and seeing how I do there. This is on my Bots/traps/mu Mastermind, Full T4s, and completely IO'ed out. I can post the build later if anyone is curious.

While I can understand not wanting to use binds for the MM, one thing I do like, is setting my 'thumb' button on my mouse to the '3 attack, 3 defense' command that was talked about here. I tend to use that button a lot on any AT but for different reasons, usually its the swap targets quickly, or teleport, but as it gets use out of any AT I play, having a pre-determined bind for MMs doesn't seem too bad. Macros are also really nice, because you can do some neat things with them, including having your pets do emotes, or say things during combat. It does add another layer of customization to the AT and gives it a much different feel then anyone else.

I have a Combat, and a Pet Combat 'chat tab', but I'm sure sure how to run them through the parser to get the pretty output you have. Is there a third party thingy to help parse stuff out?

This is exactly my point. The instant teleport powers still have a cast time, and a target time. Even with the fastest macros you have have, you're still limited by animation time. Is it really faster to teleport instantly to a group, or run up to them? Either way you need to animate an attack to get their attention, and with teleport, you'll still only affect the mobs you happen to land next to.

You said TeleTaunt, and my first thought was Teletubbies, and now I'm scared. Teletubbies with taunt just seems like nightmare fuel.

I'm still failing to understand the actual issue at hand, as Ranged ATs also have to move towards mobs, and experience travel suppression as well. Would they feel weaker or less effective if Melee ATs could all instantly teleport to the mobs and they couldn't? What about Dominators and Blasters, who have higher DPA attacks in their melee powers then their ranged ones?

I'm going to number these again, because I want to respond specifically to the points you're bringing up. 1) Its not random at all, its actually about 3 seconds of not attacking iirc. I know this, because I used to PvP and travel suppression is a major feature you have to overcome to be a good PvPer, as it affects everyone, and a slow target is a dead target. Also, as @Luminara pointed out, you can easily get over 50mph combat speed, which is actually quite fast, especially in some of the smaller maps. Think the small caves, or the CoT maps. Anything above 50mph and you're going to literally be bouncing off the walls. Combat suppression is easily overcome by skillful use of attacks, 'jousting' or other movement tricks that PvPers and veteran players of City of Heroes have developed, outside of picking specific power pools and powersets. 2) As many people have pointed out, you literally can not play this game without taking some power pools. I've listed 3 of them that give you boosts to combat speed, and you've listed a 4th. That is a large number of power pools available to give you boosted combat speed, which you are required to take somewhere in your build already, due to the limited number of primary and secondary powers available to you. 3) Taunt is not useless. Many people have pointed that out. Confront, however is mostly useless, especially when you consider Taunt Auras in the secondary powers that are available to every armor set. But Taunt itself, which Brutes and Tankers have, is not useless at all. There are many uses for it, especially when handling multiple groups at once. Provoke, another power pool available, is also not useless, though it does hit less targets, and is less effective then Taunt. Would your proposal also convert Provoke into a gap closer? 4) I'm also finding it hard to understand exactly what you're asking for, as Taunt already pulls mobs to you due to the -range modifier. Which while you agree is a thing it does, because movement speed is involved, its too slow to accurately do what you want? Do you want Taunt/Confront to work like Wormhole/Fold Space? So the mobs are instantly teleported to you? Do you want Taunt/Confront to teleport you instantly to the mobs, like Shield Charge/Savage Leap/Lightning Rod? Why would this be better/faster then what is already available via power pools like Combat Teleport, Fold Space, Speed of Sound, and Spring attack? What problem are you actually trying to solve, using real world examples in THIS game, not comparing this to other games, which I've asked specific examples for, and you haven't provided. Certain powerset combinations already have those powers built into them as mentioned above and there are power pools that lets you decide how best to approach the mobs. Under your proposal, would Savage Melee, Elec Melee, and Shield charge have 2 'gap closer' powers? What about those who are already picking the power pools available? Do they just get a potential 3rd gap closer? Why are you taking away build diversity and uniqueness between the different melee sets to accommodate something that seems to only be a problem you are experiencing, as everyone else seems to either not care about travel suppression, or found ways around it that exist in the game now.