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I have a very specific reason to slot the Cacophony %damage proc, and since it tangetially relates to the Market I'll mention it here: I prefer to slot (PB)AoE Confuse powers with both available %damage procs, because getting any damage on a mob gets you on the list for a potential drop. I am well aware of some folks preference to avoid %damage on the PBAoE in an effort to avoid aggro, but: I'm always going to be swinging at enemies without caring about their particular confused state, and I want to have inflicted as much damage as possible. An enemy defeated by 100% damage from a confused (former) ally is depriving me of potential market madness! My assumption about Common IOs on the market is that at least 90% of them were crafted for badge purposes.

The PVP sets will work in PVE, but they have additional set bonuses in PVP zones. The Global effects of a PVP enhancement will work everywhere. PVP recipe drops are rarer than most other recipe drops. Henchmen need to either have the Defensive stance (Blue) or the Passive stance (Green) to take part of the damage dealt to you. When they are "aggressive" (red) they won't take damage for you. Henchmen in the Defensive stance will eventually attack the mobs attacking you, but it takes a short period of time.

Thunderstrike is an Uncommon recipe, so I don't think your example is proving that it was worth consuming Rare Salvage to craft Rare recipes.

Sounds... Fancy.

I have never joined an AE farm to get XP, but here are my thoughts: Lvl 50 Orange (rare) recipes have relatively little value compared to Common recipes. There are very few Rare recipes that are worth crafting, as opposed to crafting Uncommon recipes and converting. Presumably the request is being made about PVP recipes, see next bullet. The request for PVP/Purple recipe drops I could almost understand, but I don't have much sympathy. My observed odds of these pieces dropping (for lvl 50+ characters) are approximately 1 per hour (either PVP or Purple) of near-constant x8 content. It feels like PVP recipe drops are slightly more frequent than Purple recipe drops, but that could just be personal observation bias. Increasing the level of enemy mobs above 50 does not increase the chance of drops. I have gotten Purple drops on characters below level 50, but this has only happened on characters where I could turn up the number of enemies prior to level 50 and I was running (solo) a lot of arc missions relatively close to each other (basically, Portal Corp missions from Unai Kemen or Maria Jenkins)... and running such content usually ends up with a level 50 character PDQ, so there aren't many hours of this activity below level 50. So.... since AE missions aren't going to get more spawns, I can sort of understand why a farmer would "beg" for any PVP or Purple drops, because the "one lucky drop" might go to a different player. The reasons that I'm not so sympathetic are: "Purple drops are not guaranteed" Any level 50 player can run non-AE content for merits and/or a (better personal) chance a "lucky" drop I expect that typical AFK farmer builds are unlikely to be doing that much in an AE farm mission anyway, so just how much reward is expected for so little effort? If the farm build is fully kitted with enhancements, why even ask for a PVP/Purple recipe drop as payment? It's not as if there is supposed to be an arbitrary limit on the amount of "paying it forward" there is by letting people door-sit for XP and/or Influence. If a newly leveling toon gets a good drop, let 'em keep it.

Yep: even if the MaxTargets doesn't increase, lengthening the cones seems to improve performance. I've debated swapping out a high-level, under-utilized pool attack (which is essential a mule for a set bonus) to add the Tentacles to the build but I can't bring myself to do it. "Come to me you beautiful sources of XP / Inf / Drops!" My playstyle on PUGs (for good or ill) is to cast the long-range Umbral Torrent against the NEXT group of enemies to draw them towards the team. Typically a PUG Tank/Brute has got the local aggro, so no matter what attacks I cast I won't get the nearby aggro myself. I don't know how much aggro the PUGs really want, but if the team isn't falling I usually feel like we can handle it.

I suggest this character "roleplay" himself to get an apartment in Brickstown, and then he can fight the "street level" prisoners breaking out from the Zig (almost) anytime he feels like it.

I won't dip back into the debate about the value of Confuse powers and how to optimly slot them, but the limited value of Confuse pieces on the market should be pretty obvious: Relatively few ATs get Confuse powers, so not many character builds can even use such enhancements I suppose it is possible to take more than two confuse powers on certain builds, but I stop after a ST and a (PB)AoE. Epic Pool power confuses (like World of Confusion) are trash no matter the slotting The set bonuses from Confuse pieces aren't that great, and generally the most useful bonuses require 5- (or 6-) slotting I'm surprised that there were any for sale!

I think we digressed into AoE immobilizes (not the topic of this thread), but this goes back to one of my complaints about ST immobilizes: if a player is expected to invest slots and specific enhancements in a T1 power to make the power useful, this is a problem with the power. T1 powers are available (and mandatory, for secondaries) at character launch, and presumably should provide utility over a very wide variety of content (based on level). The comparison to T1 Blaster powers are a little disingenuous IMO, especially if enhancement slotting is considered. The Blaster T1/T2 primary powers retain some utility over the entire level range of game content simply because those attacks can be cast while mezzed.

It looks like you are trying to leverage set bonuses from Numina's Convalesence, but I (personally) don't think they are really that great and they aren't leveraging the use of slots in Drain Psyche in a particularly optimal way (except for the recharge time). Here is the my slotting of Drain Psyche in my Fire/Psi Dominator to get some extra +End, %Absorb (when damaged), and adds Accuracy (including a set bonus!) as well as %damage: Level 20: Drain Psyche (A) Theft of Essence - Chance for +Endurance: Level 30 (31) Preventive Medicine - Heal: Level 50 (33) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb: Level 50 (33) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Healing: Level 50 (33) Touch of the Nictus - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50 (34) Touch of the Nictus - Chance for Negative Energy Damage: Level 50 None of the pieces should be particularly expensive, and IIRC the Touch of the Nictus pieces can be boosted to 50+5, should you desire. It also appears that for Fire Imps you went for the (defensive) set bonuses from the Call to Arms set, but keep in mind that that set is a level 10-30 set and that Fire Imps is a T9 power, so there may be some loss of Accuracy /Damage by using enhancements that cap at level 30. I also don't think it is worth slotting Defense/Resistance auras in Fire Imps. The Imps won't necessarily be that close to you against larger spawn sizes. They will help trigger the %BuildUp in your Tactics slotting if they are close, so mileage varies on this point. My slotting for Fire Imps is: Level 32: Fire Imps (A) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50 (40) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (40) Expedient Reinforcement - Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (42) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50 (42) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up: Level 50 This does include a Very Rare Soulbound Allegiance piece, but since the Imps don't have many attacks you could easily drop that slot. I do see it frequently triggering on my Imps. For reference, here is my own slotting of Bonfire: Level 26: Bonfire (A) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge: Level 50 (37) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown: Level 50 (39) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal): Level 50 (39) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy): Level 50 (39) Explosive Strike - Chance for Smashing Damage: Level 20 The Bombardment %damage piece could be added if desired. I primarily use Bonfire for the +Recharge boost and the Knockdown, so to keep the %proc chances high I don't slot Recharge bonuses (IIRC, with no slotted Recharge these %procs are at the 90% ceiling) EDIT: I agree that you should probably try to add a fourth slot to Char and then 4-slot it with the Basilisk's Gaze set for more Global Recharge.

My opinion is that chasing Single-Target DPS from any Mastermind attack is a losing game. For Robots especially: this strikes me as a bad use of attacks/endurance/power choices/slots. I feel that more debuffs or a (soft) controls against hard single targets will go further. I feel that if it is raw damage you are looking for, then the Photon Grenade can be slotted with three %damage procs, a %-Res proc and a Overwhelming Force KB->KD before considering the Stun component. The longer recharge time and AoE effect of the Photon Grenade should give each %proc a roughly 50% chance of firing on each target (assuming no slotted +Recharge). The %damage procs are the best way to add more damage to the Mastermind attacks IMO. [EDIT: IMO, the greater number of %damage procs (and greater likelihood of hitting at least one enemy with a chance to %proc) for the AoE Photon Grenade is more valuable than the Single Target Pulse Rifle's two possible %damage procs.... because of the Mastermind's poor damage scale. YMMV] If Mace Mastery is in the equation, Mace Beam Volley (targeted AoE arc attack) can use similar slotting options (3 %damage, %-Res) as Photon Grenade (but it can take Knockback enhancements, including Sudden Acceleration KB->KD and Force Feedback +Recharge instead of Stuns). Because of the attributes of Mace Beam Volley, I estimate that you could slot something like 30% recharge in Mace Beam Volley and still have a roughly 90% proc chance on each target. This is a somewhat slower attack, but I feel that with %procs for added damage it wouldn't be a bad tradeoff for a Mastermind who wants to do damage herself. My own (Robotics) build does not leverage that sort of franken-slotting, because I prefer the set bonuses I can get from those powers (primarily Endurance-related bonuses, but the recharge form sets hurts %proc chances) I use the AoE attacks as a combination of soft controls/debuffs I attack non-engaged enemies to draw aggro towards me and drag enemies to the henchmen

/echo I have a VEAT build that dipped into the Fighting pool for MOAR, but I found that I was sacrificing powers/slots that would end fights faster. That build also had serious trouble controlling aggro, so ultimately I felt that it was essentially a variety of the least effective and least interesting Tank I had ever made. I suppose it is possible to try to build a very sturdy, completely team-focused VEAT with the intent of (primarily) standing around while buffing allies, but I feel like that would work against the strengths and potential of the Soldier VEAT. I also suspect that such a build would likely encourage a player to go the Crabbermind route, and my response would be: if your Crab isn't also attacking the performance from the pets will be disappointing.

Pro-tip: Fast Snipes benefit (+Damage boost) from (up to +22%) +ToHit, but Slow Snipes do not. I'm not sure what AT Build you are working with, but if you want MOAR DAMAGE from a Snipe, consider adding a Kismet +Accuracy (really +ToHit) IO to an always on Defense power, Build Up options and/or the Leadership pool. As others have written: The Homecoming Snipes are part of my regular attack chain on most characters. As for Venomous Gas: My Mind/Poison Controller could not leverage this power (while solo, and most PUGs didn't really need it.). I tried it while leveling up, but a significant amount of the time, this character was dealing damage/control from ranged cones: Terrify, and (Primal Forces) Energy Torrent. That specific build also focuses on Holds and Confuses, so the PBAoE debuff simply wasn't helping it with most content. It also doesn't have particularly good defenses, so standing among enemies to debuff them (and excluding targets from the arcs of cones) just wasn't helping with missions. I do believe that a /Poison Controller could be made such that the PBAoE from Venomous Gas would be more valuable for more content, it's just that for my particular concept/build I found it very lacking.

Holy Threadcromancy! Since this thread was started, I've played a Dark Blaster to 50+, and I have no issues with the primary. To be fair, the concept had me skip T1 (Dark Blast), T6 (Tenebrous Tentacles) and T7 (Abyssal Gaze), and I had to adjust to the Damage-over-Time of Gloom, but it still feels like a pretty powerful Blaster to me. For the record, the slotting I am running on Umbral Torrent is Level 2: Umbral Torrent (A) HamiO:Centriole Exposure (37) HamiO:Nucleolus Exposure (46) Cloud Senses - Chance for Negative Energy Damage: Level 30 (48) Positron's Blast - Chance of Damage(Energy): Level 50 (48) Javelin Volley - Chance of Damage(Lethal): Level 50 (46) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown: Level 50

As a Tanker since day one of Live: The only thing I miss about NOT having an aggro cap is eventually being able to herd all the Rikti monkeys to Portal Court.

Can I suggest a completely different path that could lead to similar results? While I like the (extremely) limited role that Pacify (Presence pool) can play for an (extremely) limited number of circumstances, I would completely support reworking the Presence pool to replace Pacify with a (small, toggle) Taunt Aura. Just spitballing, but rework the Presence pool (also make it so that there aren't TWO choices that require TWO previous choices) T1: Provoke (keep as is) T1: Intimidate (keep as is, except allow it as a first choice in the pool) T2: Taunt Aura (new Toggle, takes Taunt sets) T2: Invoke Panic (make it so this could be a second choice, otherwise keep as is) T3: Unrelenting (keep as is) I want to add that the Presence pool's Provoke fills a different niche than Taunt or Confront... I'm aware that the OP specifically didn't want to take the Presence pool, but getting a Taunt Aura (by any means) would be something of a big deal.

Obviously this question in geared towards primaries, where there is a choice. My answer is I never take a T1 Single-Target Immobilize, if I can help it - see point below about secondaries being forced to take them. My dislikes: At low levels, the Immobilize offers very little practical benefit when facing enemies. Many enemies will still be able to attack, meanwhile you have the other enemies in the group who are not immobilized. Single-Target Immobilizes require slots/investment to be reliable (because you must actually HIT) and/or try to leverage them into having an expanded role. IMO, the Immobilize enhancement sets are among the least useful in the game... despite the fact that they have a Very Rare set, while powers using Fear do not. Almost every AT with a ST immobilize has a better place to invest slots. Seriously: why does Immobilize get enhancement sets love (and bonus from sets) while Fear did not? The only utility I have gotten from ST immobilizes that isn't a complete corner case (depending on a specific enemy) is that if I hit an enemy, and they don't resist immobilize, they won't run all over the map. How would I change them? Swap the T1 and T2 so that the folks with secondaries aren't forced to take them (see below). Having a skippable power at T2 is completely acceptable to me, given how the primary and pool powers become available between levels 2-12. If swapping the T1/T2 is out of the question, the T1s need to be given some other effect that makes them meaningful at all levels of the game, such as: A slight, unboostable -Def(All) component. Low level characters should be able to hit immobilized more reliably (assuming they can actually hit with the ST T1 to begin with). I know they get beginner's luck, but this would at least keep some utility at higher levels. A pseudo-pet component with a slight, unboostable AoE speed Debuff. I don't really like this idea, as it is motivated more for flavor (ya runs by the web, ya slow down) but such a mechanic would give me a reason to try to spam ST T1 immobilizes against different enemy targets and it might make a low level Controller feel as if they were actually controlling an encounter as opposed to controlling a single mob. Please let's not lose sight of that for 'control' secondaries (ehem, Mastermind Traps), for several sets have no choice but to take a ST immobilize.

Re: Detonator. I played with it a bit during the start of Homecoming (while leveling my Robotics/Traps). I have (bad) memories: It is one more thing to micromanage "Choosing a henchmen that is taking damage" doesn't necessarily imply that it the henchmen taking damageis a good choice to Detonate If it doesn't buy you time to (a) survive and (b) rebuild your force, you are down both DPS and Survivability The recharge (plus the forced respawn of pets) makes this a poor damage choice in terms of time, effort, endurance. Just my opinion: A Mastermind can always find a different power pick that offers more utility than Detonator. I will write this: The henchmen AI rework of Homecoming should have improved one (nearly trivial) aspect of Detonator. One of the issues with the earlier AI is that henchmen with primarily ranged attacks (such as Robots) used to run into melee to Brawl if they had no other attack ready... so it was slightly harder to keep track of (potentially) why a single hench might be taking more damage then the rest. In my experience, RNG would only be part of the issue of why a single henchmen would take damage. More often I can attribute such a circumstance to the position of the henchmen (or Mastermind, especially if only a single hench is in Bodyguard range when an alpha-strike comes in). The improved AI ought to be helping a little bit on this front, but not enough for me to change my opinion,

My build can still have multiple Acid Mortars; it is my opinion that I just don't need more recharge. I will occasionally run up to another group to drop an Acid Mortar while the Bots clear up a first group, but generally I move too fast to leverage more than two Acid Mortars at a time. My comment about stacking was meant to apply to %-Res procs. General Advice follows: If I'm curious about the effect a certain set bonus or enhancement piece is having on my build, I will unslot certain pieces and play for a while. Unless I was micromanaging my attack chains and toggles, I'm not the sort of player who would figure out what the right level of recharge and endurance costs would 'work' for me. On my Bots/Traps Mastermind, I found that more Recharge is ultimately not helping my build clear maps any faster. I suspect that if more players would do this with certain +Regeneration and/or +Recovery pieces, we'd see the bottom fall out on the market for such things. I have found them useful while leveling, but once a character has enough slots there are almost always better choices from set bonuses.

I have a radically different approach for my Bots/Traps. It should not be as expensive as the build above, unless factoring in HOs (which can be swapped for uncommon pieces). As I have written, my strategy relies on Keep the enemies in one area Debuff enemies I should note that the enemies can only have one specific source of debuff on them at a time, but that multiple applications of the same debuff will extend the duration of the debuff. I am sacrificing Absolute recharge (although I have more than enough to cycle), because of the heavy Endurance cost to MM powers Damage from the MM himself. %Damage procs are a great benefit to the MM AT, but it is the pets/henchmen that do the heavy lifting. Villain Plan by Hero Villain Designer 2.23 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Bots/Traps retool: Level 50 Technology Mastermind Primary Power Set: Robotics Secondary Power Set: Traps Power Pool: Flight Power Pool: Concealment Power Pool: Fighting Power Pool: Leadership Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Battle Drones (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown: Level 50 (3) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up: Level 50 (3) Sovereign Right - Accuracy: Level 50 (5) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (5) Sovereign Right - Resistance Bonus: Level 50 (7) Edict of the Master - Defense Bonus: Level 40 Level 1: Web Grenade (A) HamiO:Endoplasm Exposure Level 2: Caltrops (A) Annihilation - Damage/RechargeTime: Level 50 (7) Annihilation - Chance for Res Debuff: Level 50 (9) Impeded Swiftness - Damage/Slow: Level 30 (9) Impeded Swiftness - Range/Slow: Level 30 (11) Impeded Swiftness - Endurance/Recharge/Slow: Level 30 (11) Impeded Swiftness - Chance of Damage(Smashing): Level 30 Level 4: Fly (A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points): Level 50 Level 6: Equip Robot (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50 Level 8: Grant Invisibility (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50 Level 10: Triage Beacon (A) Preventive Medicine - Heal: Level 50 (17) Preventive Medicine - Heal/Endurance: Level 50 (19) Preventive Medicine - Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50 (19) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime: Level 50 (21) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance: Level 50 (21) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb: Level 50 Level 12: Protector Bots (A) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage: Level 50 (13) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (13) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Endurance: Level 50 (15) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Endurance/Pet +Resist +Regen: Level 50 (15) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets: Level 50 (17) Call to Arms - Defense Bonus Aura for Pets: Level 30 Level 14: Acid Mortar (A) Annihilation - Chance for Res Debuff: Level 50 (34) Achilles' Heel - Chance for Res Debuff: Level 20 (34) Undermined Defenses - Defense Debuff: Level 50 (36) Undermined Defenses - Defense Debuff/Recharge: Level 50 (36) Undermined Defenses - Recharge/Endurance: Level 50 (36) Undermined Defenses - Recharge: Level 50 Level 16: Force Field Generator (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50 (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense: Level 50 (46) Defense Buff IO: Level 50 Level 18: Kick (A) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge: Level 50 Level 20: Tough (A) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%: Level 30 (37) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance: Level 50 (37) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP: Level 50 (37) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance: Level 50 (40) Gladiator's Armor - TP Protection +3% Def (All): Level 50 Level 22: Poison Trap (A) Gladiator's Net - Accuracy/Hold: Level 50 (23) Gladiator's Net - Chance of Damage(Lethal): Level 50 (23) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Accuracy/Recharge: Level 50 (25) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Endurance/Hold: Level 50 (25) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Accuracy/Hold/Recharge: Level 50 (34) Ghost Widow's Embrace - Chance of Damage(Psionic): Level 50 Level 24: Maneuvers (A) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All): Level 50 (42) Shield Wall - Defense/Endurance: Level 50 (48) Shield Wall - Defense: Level 50 Level 26: Assault Bot (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown: Level 50 (27) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (27) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (29) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge: Level 50 (29) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Damage/Endurance/Recharge: Level 50 (33) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Recharge/Pet +AoE Defense Aura: Level 50 Level 28: Weave (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50 Level 30: Photon Grenade (A) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (31) Annihilation - Damage/RechargeTime: Level 50 (31) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (31) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50 (33) Annihilation - Chance for Res Debuff: Level 50 (33) Overwhelming Force - Damage/Chance for Knockdown/Knockback to Knockdown: Level 50 Level 32: Upgrade Robot (A) Endurance Reduction IO: Level 50 Level 35: Scorpion Shield (A) Reactive Defenses - Defense: Level 50 (42) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance: Level 50 (42) Reactive Defenses - Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50 (43) Reactive Defenses - Defense/RechargeTime: Level 50 (43) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50 (43) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage: Level 50 Level 38: Pulse Rifle Burst (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown: Level 50 (39) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (39) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Accuracy: Level 50 (39) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (40) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback/Damage/Recharge: Level 50 (40) Force Feedback - Chance for +Recharge: Level 50 Level 41: Mace Beam Volley (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown: Level 50 (48) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage: Level 50 (48) Annihilation - Damage/RechargeTime: Level 50 (50) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance: Level 50 (50) Annihilation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime: Level 50 (50) Annihilation - Chance for Res Debuff: Level 50 Level 44: Tactics (A) HamiO:Cytoskeleton Exposure Level 47: Invisibility (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50 Level 49: Hover (A) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed: Level 50 Level 1: Brawl (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Dash (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Slide (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Quick (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Rush (A) Empty Level 1: Prestige Power Surge (A) Empty Level 1: Sprint (A) Unbounded Leap - +Stealth: Level 50 Level 1: Supremacy Level 2: Rest

/seconded. Dominators will have much lower defenses. My Fire/Psi/Mind has Defenses in the 20% with perma Link Minds. IMO: The main difference between Dominators and Fortunata is that the Fortunata (either path) have a lot of good choices (including Power Pools) that build on each other, but with Dominators you are going to be at the mercy of your Primary/Secondary choices, and rely on the variety in the Epic/Patron pools to cover you. My Spines/Bio Stalker feels a little but like my (melee mayhem) Fortunata, minus the team support. On a finished build, the typed defenses are (generally) better than the positional defenses. /Bio offers some fun (IMO) PBAoE, but if you want true 'controls' you would need to leverage power pools. Obviously Stalkers are more geared to (single target) DPS but Spines/Bio moves pretty quickly with fast-moving PUGs.

I have a Street Justice Scrapper with /WP and the later made a Stalker with StJ/SR. Ignoring the offensive differences: They have different defensive profiles, but at level 50, they don't play radically different for me. YMMV, as I haven't played either of them through a ton of what I'd call 'tougher' content like x8 Shadow Shard, full league Incarnates, fully boosted ITF, etc. SR is all about positional defenses, whereas WP will have better type defenses. My WP has better resistances across the board. SR gets its AoE Defense very late. I remember the /SR as achieveing quantum leaps in Defense values (while leveling) that I don't remember with the /WP Scrapper. Part of this is due to WP being able to slot Global +Def/+Res pieces immediately as level allows, but /SR has to specifically dip into the Fighting pool IIRC (Weave is unnecessary, as mentioned). SR can drop a Kismet +ToHit in an auto power, but WP only has toggles for it. WP can leverage it's Auto powers (Fast Healing, Quick Recovery) for certain %procs that SR has to dedicate slots in Health and Stamina to accommodate. Both secondaries can get perma-Hasten, if that is important to you. SR does it easier (because of the Defensive powers, natch)

I agree that the Force Feedback %+Recharge would be essentially wasted in a Henchmen. My Thugs/Thermal MM does have that piece in the (Epic) Heat Mastery Bonfire... but as of now (pre-level 50, pre-massive set +Recharge) the recharge time on Bonfire is too long to make a significant impact, even with a 90% proc rate. Since it is an Epic level power for MMs, it is not going to be as reliable in level-scaled (i.e. low-level TF/SF) content. If the Global +Recharge is 'on the bubble', you can use a SG base crafting station to Increase Attack Speed at one hour intervals. I suggest that you such a crafting table in you base, and then either have a Vault or a storage rack near the crafting station to store the specific raw materials you want to use for that bonus.

You've hit on what I feel is the design area on my build that has the most room for compromise/sacrifice. Thank you.

The point about exemplaring below level 32 is certainly true, but because of the +ToHit from Invincibility, the primary use of the Kismet +ToHit is for the additional damage boost on Moonbeam, for the (common) circumstance of dashing from a recently defeated (in Melee) enemy towards a distant one... or hitting a runner. I'm less worried about the addition ToHit from Kismet for most exemplared content because of the +Accuracy from set bonuses (plus Build Up at low levels, even tho' Guassian's is a 20+ set). I certainly have been on PUGs that ran low level arcs at +N (for values of N>2), but those have been relatively rare. I should note: ToHit boosts do not boost damage on the Slow Snipes. The Kismet piece is one that I'd consider dropping, but I added it because I think it does serve a specific role (Moonbeam, plus boosted enemy content) and it is pretty much at the right place in the build (lvl 35) for those purposes. It is fun being one of few characters on a TF who can hit a Paragon Protector (not necessarily reliably, but not nigh impossible) after it has triggered Moment of Glory 🙂