Bots/Emp Questions

Clave Dark 5 · October 3, 2021

I've started a new Bots/Empathy MM for some easy soloing play. I don't expect to take on AVs all the time or anything, but I also don't want it too gimpy or anything. I figure I can easily roll through radios or arcs not set to high whilst in BodyGuard and heal my bots up as they do their mayhem to anyone who dares raises a hand against me during those times when I can't find anyone to team with.

So the build I'm looking at (from JJDrakken I believe) has me wondering a few things that I could use some answers to before I start making alterations to it:

Since I'm going to have healing out the wazoo as an Emp, is Repair for the bots really necessary? It's been so long since I've run a Bots that I've forgotten who well or not that it helps
I've heard Arcane Bolt makes a good attack for MMs; although not exactly thematic, I'm willing to overlook that in favor of helping my bots out damage-wise. I figure this with Pulse Rifle Burst (only) would be nice?
Should I go to Arcane Bolt, how useful might Enflame from Sorcery as well be? Knowing that pets don't runaround like headless chickens anymore, unless you tell them to.
The build mentioned above goes set-bonus-chasing for slotting out the bots, but the times I've run MMs in HC (a Beasts and a Mercs) I frankenslotted for Pet Resists and what-not, what's a good Bot Slot choice?
Anything else I am obviously blind to that you think I should consider?

pblue · October 3, 2021

1. You don't need Repair when you have other healing powers.

2. Arcane Bolt is OK, but I'd only choose it if I were already thinking about Sorcery for the travel and mez protections powers or theme. Bot's primary attacks may be a little less efficient but they offer a bit of crowd control which is very helpful solo. Arcane Bolt casting also feels very slow which I find a bit annoying.

3. Kind of like #2 but I admit I've haven't used Enflame much.

4. You may struggle trying to fit full sets on Bots. The Pet Def and Res Aura uniques are very important and you will may want the Sudden Accelleration KB->KD on the Assualt Bot. I'm not really the best person to ask about slotting as I tend to build on the cheap (mostly simple IO with a few tactical Uniques), but you can look at the Bot slotting on this thread and see if anything suits your playstyle and budget.

Clave Dark 5 · October 3, 2021

I tend to go cheaply too, so that still does help, thanks for that and the link.

The_Warpact · October 3, 2021

@Clave Dark 5 where's the build pardner?

Since I'm going to have healing out the wazoo as an Emp, is Repair for the bots really necessary? It's been so long since I've run a Bots that I've forgotten who well or not that it helps No, you're not going to need it.
I've heard Arcane Bolt makes a good attack for MMs; although not exactly thematic, I'm willing to overlook that in favor of helping my bots out damage-wise. I figure this with Pulse Rifle Burst (only) would be nice? It would be but whats the theme? Off topic, but, to me having a tech mm shooting magic lasers is....a stretch. I'm really picky that way.
Should I go to Arcane Bolt, how useful might Enflame from Sorcery as well be? Knowing that pets don't runaround like headless chickens anymore, unless you tell them to. I'm still not sold on the Sorcery pool, I understand people use it. But, I've gotten more mileage out of pool attacks. I have seen it in builds but never seen anyone use it. If anything I think it would be better on the Thugs Bruiser.
The build mentioned above goes set-bonus-chasing for slotting out the bots, but the times I've run MMs in HC (a Beasts and a Mercs) I frankenslotted for Pet Resists and what-not, what's a good Bot Slot choice? I would go for the def procs, plus, bot bubbles and fortitude you should be fine for the pets. Are you using strictly as ranged? The KB to KD proc for assbot, maybe a Hami Cytoskeleton exposure in protectors...you said cheap so a regular def IO.
Anything else I am obviously blind to that you think I should consider? Need to see the build to answer that.

_____________________________

Edited October 3, 2021 by The_Warpact
clean up Aisle 2

Clave Dark 5 · October 3, 2021

My theme is she's a robot who builds her robot friends, so Arcane Bolt is something of a stretch, but I worked it in anyway for now; I am open for dropping it though, with a good reason. Speaking of theme, I figure this might be my only chance to fly over the streets of Paragon/screaming citizens of the Rogue Isles with my fleet of justice-dealing/terror bots, so I just had to take Group Fly for once in my life, kind of a now or never thing. I ended up dropping in the non-superior MM IOs, breaking my "cheap" tendencies, but would happily drop those for cheaper alternatives. I just threw this together now before bed and may have missed obvious stuff, but here it is.

This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.5.6
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Maid of Metal: Level 50 Technology Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Robotics
Secondary Power Set: Empathy
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Sorcery
Power Pool: Fighting
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Battle Drones

(A) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage
(5) Sovereign Right - Damage/Endurance
(5) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Endurance
(7) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(7) Sovereign Right - Accuracy
(9) Sovereign Right - Resistance Bonus

Level 1: Healing Aura

(A) Preventive Medicine - Heal
(9) Preventive Medicine - Heal/Endurance
(11) Preventive Medicine - Endurance/RechargeTime
(11) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime
(15) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance
(15) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb

Level 2: Heal Other

(A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge
(19) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance
(21) Doctored Wounds - Heal

Level 4: Hover

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(23) Karma - Knockback Protection
(43) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)

Level 6: Equip Robot

(A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 8: Fly

(A) Flight Speed IO

Level 10: Maneuvers

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
(39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(39) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge
(39) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(40) Luck of the Gambler - Defense

Level 12: Protector Bots

(A) Mark of Supremacy - Damage
(13) Mark of Supremacy - Damage/Endurance
(13) Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage
(17) Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Endurance
(17) Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(19) Mark of Supremacy - Endurance/Pet +Resist +Regen

Level 14: Absorb Pain

(A) Doctored Wounds - Heal
(21) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance
(23) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge

Level 16: Clear Mind

(A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 18: Pulse Rifle Burst

(A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
(34) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(46) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance
(48) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 20: Assault

(A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 22: Fortitude

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(25) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
(25) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge
(27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(48) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed

Level 24: Arcane Bolt

(A) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage
(48) Thunderstrike - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(50) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance
(50) Thunderstrike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge

Level 26: Assault Bot

(A) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Recharge
(29) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage
(31) Expedient Reinforcement - Damage/Endurance
(33) Expedient Reinforcement - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(34) Expedient Reinforcement - Endurance/Damage/Recharge
(34) Expedient Reinforcement - Resist Bonus Aura for Pets

Level 28: Recovery Aura

(A) Preemptive Optimization - Accuracy/Recharge
(29) Preemptive Optimization - EndMod/Endurance
(31) Preemptive Optimization - EndMod/Recharge
(31) Preemptive Optimization - EndMod/Accuracy/Endurance
(33) Preemptive Optimization - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
(33) Preemptive Optimization - EndMod/Endurance/Recharge

Level 30: Tactics

(A) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff
(42) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge
(42) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Recharge/Endurance
(42) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Recharge/Endurance
(43) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - To Hit Buff/Endurance
(43) Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control - Chance for Build Up

Level 32: Upgrade Robot

(A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 35: Regeneration Aura

(A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance
(36) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge
(36) Doctored Wounds - Recharge
(36) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge
(37) Doctored Wounds - Heal
(37) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge

Level 38: Adrenalin Boost

(A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance
(40) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge
(40) Doctored Wounds - Heal

Level 41: Scorpion Shield

(A) Reactive Defenses - Defense
(45) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance
(45) Reactive Defenses - Endurance/RechargeTime
(45) Reactive Defenses - Defense/RechargeTime
(46) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance/RechargeTime
(46) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage

Level 44: Power Boost

(A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 47: Kick

(A) Accuracy IO

Level 49: Tough

(A) Impervious Skin - Status Resistance
(50) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP

Level 1: Brawl

(A) Empty

Level 1: Sprint

(A) Empty

Level 1: Supremacy

Level 2: Rest

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pblue · October 3, 2021

I like Defence on my characters. So having got the Fighting Pool all the way up to Tough, I'd be really, really tempted to get Weave as well. I'd also really want to add two slots to Tough for +3% Def Uniques. Also, if I were to slot Thunderstrike, I'd try hard to push for the full 6 set for the extra +2.5% Ranged Def.

Group Fly sounds like fun on Robots for a solo character. Mostly because you get the jet thruster animation, but also I suspect on some maps it might be a great way to frustrate melee mobs.

I've never played Empathy so I don't know what is good and what you could potentially drop. You Pet sets already have +Endurance, so maybe the ally Endurance recovery powers from Empathy might not be that useful?

The_Warpact · October 3, 2021

@Clave Dark 5 heya I did the build as I made one too, I haven't played bots in awhile because of my deep seated love of /necro and have never tried /emp on any AT. So I took your post as a sign. I tried mostly for s/l for def/res and was chasing rech as you will see, its probably pricey I dunno I have most of the enhancements in my storage base. Would be great on teams and probably solo too.

I didn't do Incarnate stuff as that would fill the holes on some things.

This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.5.6
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Technology Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Robotics
Secondary Power Set: Empathy
Power Pool: Speed
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Battle Drones

(A) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage
(3) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Damage/Endurance
(3) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage
(5) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Endurance/Pet +Resist +Regen
(5) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage
(7) Sovereign Right - Resistance Bonus

Level 1: Healing Aura

(A) Preventive Medicine - Heal
(9) Preventive Medicine - Heal/Endurance
(11) Preventive Medicine - Endurance/RechargeTime
(11) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime
(17) Preventive Medicine - Heal/RechargeTime/Endurance
(33) Preventive Medicine - Chance for +Absorb

Level 2: Heal Other

(A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance
(34) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge
(34) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge
(34) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
(37) Doctored Wounds - Recharge

Level 4: Hasten

(A) Recharge Reduction IO
(7) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 6: Equip Robot

(A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 8: Pulse Rifle Burst

(A) Apocalypse - Damage
(9) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge
(46) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(48) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge
(50) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance

Level 10: Fly

(A) Blessing of the Zephyr - Knockback Reduction (4 points)

Level 12: Protector Bots

(A) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Accuracy/Damage
(13) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Damage/Endurance
(13) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(15) Superior Command of the Mastermind - Recharge/Pet +AoE Defense Aura
(15) Edict of the Master - Defense Bonus
(17) Defense Buff IO

Level 14: Boxing

(A) Empty

Level 16: Clear Mind

(A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 18: Tough

(A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance
(19) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance
(19) Unbreakable Guard - Endurance/RechargeTime
(21) Unbreakable Guard - RechargeTime/Resistance
(21) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance/RechargeTime
(33) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP

Level 20: Fortitude

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
(40) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(40) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge
(43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
(43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed

Level 22: Weave

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(23) Reactive Defenses - Defense
(23) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance
(31) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance/RechargeTime

Level 24: Maneuvers

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(25) Reactive Defenses - Defense
(25) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance
(31) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance/RechargeTime

Level 26: Assault Bot

(A) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Endurance
(27) Superior Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(27) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage
(29) Sovereign Right - Damage/Endurance
(29) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(31) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown

Level 28: Recovery Aura

(A) Power Transfer - EndMod
(43) Power Transfer - Damage/Recharge
(45) Power Transfer - Damage/EndMod
(45) Power Transfer - Damage/Accuracy/Endurance
(45) Power Transfer - Damage/Accuracy/Recharge/Endurance
(46) Power Transfer - Chance to Heal Self

Level 30: Hover

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(33) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage
(46) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)

Level 32: Upgrade Robot

(A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 35: Regeneration Aura

(A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance
(36) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge
(36) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge
(36) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
(37) Doctored Wounds - Recharge

Level 38: Adrenalin Boost

(A) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance
(39) Doctored Wounds - Endurance/Recharge
(39) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Recharge
(39) Doctored Wounds - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
(40) Doctored Wounds - Recharge

Level 41: Scorpion Shield

(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
(42) Reactive Defenses - Defense
(42) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance
(42) Reactive Defenses - Defense/Endurance/RechargeTime

Level 44: Mace Beam Volley

(A) Ragnarok - Damage
(48) Ragnarok - Damage/Recharge
(48) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(50) Ragnarok - Accuracy/Recharge
(50) Ragnarok - Damage/Endurance

Level 47: Group Fly

(A) Endurance Reduction IO

Level 49: Power Boost

(A) Recharge Reduction IO

Level 1: Brawl

(A) Empty

Level 1: Sprint

(A) Empty

Level 1: Supremacy

Level 2: Rest

Meknomancer · October 3, 2021

I love mm's especially bots, i hate empathy but that goes way back when to trying to get through the hollows with a level 12 grav/emp about 15 years ago and i haven't touched the set since. I have played a few /pain toons recently and by ripping off some of the builds in fender section i can see recharge is everything. And you'll be busy so mm personal attacks go out the window-you probably won't have time to fire them off and even if you do.....well i won't go into how bad the damage is. If your going mace your going s/l defence. And if your going mace and skipping power boost your missing out on a massively useful power. I love the big bot he does all your damage-but he also knocks everything out of his burn patch which is a problem so you want a kb/kd in there. You've 6 slotted a lot of sets that won't help you out at all like doctored wounds/luck of the gambler. If the day ever comes that i decide to give emp a try it would probably be with bots on an mm and look something like this (no idea what incarnate-probably spiritual) :

This Villain build was built using Mids Reborn 3.0.5.7
https://github.com/Reborn-Team/MidsReborn

BOTS EMP MACE: Level 49 Technology Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Robotics
Secondary Power Set: Empathy
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Speed
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Villain Profile:
------------
Level 1:   Battle Drones           SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg(A), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(3), CmmoftheM-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(3), SprCmmoft-Rchg/PetAoEDef(5), EdcoftheM-PetDef(5), OvrFrc-Dam/KB(7)
Level 1:   Healing Aura           NmnCnv-Regen/Rcvry+(A), NmnCnv-Heal(7), NmnCnv-EndRdx/Rchg(9), NmnCnv-Heal/Rchg(9), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg(11), NmnCnv-Heal/EndRdx(11)
Level 2:   Heal Other           Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(17), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(19), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(19), Pnc-Heal(21)
Level 4:   Fly               BlsoftheZ-Travel(A), BlsoftheZ-ResKB(39)
Level 6:   Equip Robot           EndRdx-I(A)
Level 8:   Hover               LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), ShlWal-ResDam/Re TP(37), Rct-ResDam%(37), BlsoftheZ-Travel/EndRdx(37), BlsoftheZ-Travel(49)
Level 10:   Resurrect           RechRdx-I(A)
Level 12:   Protector Bots           SprMarofS-EndRdx/+Resist/+Regen(A), SprMarofS-Dmg/EndRdx(13), SprMarofS-Acc/EndRdx(13), SprMarofS-Dmg(15), CaltoArm-+Def(Pets)(15), SvrRgh-PetResDam(17)
Level 14:   Evasive Maneuvers       WntGif-ResSlow(A)
Level 16:   Clear Mind           RechRdx-I(A)
Level 18:   Kick               Empty(A)
Level 20:   Fortitude           LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(21), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(23), RedFrt-EndRdx/Rchg(23), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(25), RedFrt-Def(25)
Level 22:   Tough               StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(A), GldArm-3defTpProc(47), Ags-Psi/Status(48), Ags-ResDam(48), Ags-ResDam/EndRdx(48)
Level 24:   Weave               LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(34), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(34), RedFrt-EndRdx(36), RedFrt-Def(36), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(36)
Level 26:   Assault Bot           SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg(A), SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(27), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(27), SlbAll-Build%(29), SlbAll-Dmg(31), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(31)
Level 28:   Recovery Aura           RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(29)
Level 30:   Maneuvers           LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(31), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(33), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(33), RedFrt-Def(33), RedFrt-EndRdx(34)
Level 32:   Upgrade Robot           EndRdx-I(A)
Level 35:   Regeneration Aura       Prv-Absorb%(A), Prv-Heal/Rchg(39), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(39), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(40), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(40), Prv-Heal(40)
Level 38:   Adrenalin Boost           Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(43), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(45), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(45), Pnc-Heal(46)
Level 41:   Scorpion Shield           LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(42), RedFrt-Def/Rchg(42), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx/Rchg(42), RedFrt-Def(43), RedFrt-EndRdx(43)
Level 44:   Hasten               RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(45)
Level 47:   Power Boost           RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(47)
Level 49:   Assault               EndRdx-I(A)
Level 1:   Battle Drone
Level 1:   Brawl               Empty(A)
Level 1:   Sprint               Empty(A)
Level 1:   Supremacy
Level 2:   Rest               Empty(A)
Level 1:   Swift               Empty(A)
Level 1:   Health               Empty(A), Empty(46)
Level 1:   Hurdle               Empty(A)
Level 1:   Stamina               Empty(A), Empty(46)
Level 12:   Protector Bot
Level 26:   Assault Bot
Level 4:   Afterburner
------------

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Clave Dark 5 · October 4, 2021

These builds look great and gave me a lot to think about, great job and thank you!

Stray thoughts:

The MM strategy page on the wiki reminded me of something I noted back on Live when I had a Mercs MM and didn't know any better about skipping the Primary set attacks: tho the personal attacks on their own aren't all that strong, they can really help chew through foes when combined with those of your pets (plus on a Mercs it was fun to have another machine gun chattering away at the same time, it just was, no YOU shut up!). So Pulse Rifle Burst may only be 50 dmg umenhanced, but it does help out, plus the knockback is a useful soft control when it fires (also see below about Tactics). Then there's that theme-breaking Arcane Bolt, which has a chance to "proc" whenever you use any other power; that recharges it if it's not already and doubles the damage. That clocks in at 45 points of dmg unenhanced, so make it eighty and you can see how that can come in handy and feels hard to pass-up. I mean, I may be a whimpy Emp MM, but I want people to fear me as well as my bots.
I normally advocate taking Resurrect powers, but skipped on my build for space, also partly because it's useless on pets, and because I can buy the temp power from helpful P2W lady too.
Not taking Weave is a bit hard though, yeah, I am having second thoughts there. Maybe I'll drop Pulse Rifle and keep Arcane Bolt so I can pick that up.
"You've 6 slotted a lot of sets that won't help you out at all like doctored wounds/luck of the gambler." I just ported those over from the build I was starting from; given time to look into the possibilities, I am more than happy to re-pick sets or to move slots elsewhere, sure! I am probably shooting for strong Def and Resist here, yeah, so I'd look into better choices in that direction.
Tactics is one of those perhaps overly-slotted powers (except that's a lot of defense); I like taking it for just the Gaussian's Build Up proc, which fires based upon the number of peeps you're running with, including tour pets, so I may just need the single slot there. Mix that proc's Build Up in with the two attacks already mentioned and my personal damage starts to look even better.
"You Pet sets already have +Endurance, so maybe the ally Endurance recovery powers from Empathy might not be that useful?" Oh yeah? You said those come from the pet sets? Big if true! It might not endear me to anyone I team with, but I wouldn't mind dropping some Emp powers to tailor this toon more for my own fun; I'm wondering how often I might really need Clear Mind for example, heck even my Emp controller never used it that much.

pblue · October 4, 2021

40 minutes ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

"You Pet sets already have +Endurance, so maybe the ally Endurance recovery powers from Empathy might not be that useful?" Oh yeah? You said those come from the pet sets? Big if true! It might not endear me to anyone I team with, but I wouldn't mind dropping some Emp powers to tailor this toon more for my own fun; I'm wondering how often I might really need Clear Mind for example, heck even my Emp controller never used it that much.

15 hours ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

What I meant is that I doubt your robot pets will need help with Endurance from your Empathy powers, especially as the IO sets you've used to slot your bots already are boosting the bot's own Endurance. (along with their Damage and Accuracy) as in:

Mark of Supremacy - Damage/Endurance
Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Endurance
Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

These powers may still have a place in teams - I've never played Empathy so I don't know - but in your original post you mention solo play. So if you are looking for something to sacrifice to fit in Weave, that might be an option.

pblue · October 4, 2021

1 hour ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

The MM strategy page on the wiki reminded me of something I noted back on Live when I had a Mercs MM and didn't know any better about skipping the Primary set attacks: tho the personal attacks on their own aren't all that strong, they can really help chew through foes when combined with those of your pets (plus on a Mercs it was fun to have another machine gun chattering away at the same time, it just was, no YOU shut up!).

You don't need to sell me on Merc primary attack. It makes playing Mercs fun, that's all I need to know. One of my most played characters is Mercs/FF. I am not be taking on Giant Monsters but for, as you call it easy solo play, I find it very enjoyable. It's never just about the numbers.

Clave Dark 5 · October 4, 2021

1 hour ago, pblue said:

What I meant is that I doubt your robot pets will need help with Endurance from your Empathy powers, especially as the IO sets you've used to slot your bots already are boosting the bot's own Endurance. (along with their Damage and Accuracy) as in:

Mark of Supremacy - Damage/Endurance
Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Endurance
Mark of Supremacy - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance

Oh hey wait, does that affect your pets' Endurance use, or the casters?

pblue · October 4, 2021

14 minutes ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

Oh hey wait, does that affect your pets' Endurance use, or the casters?

If an IO has "Damage/Endurance" style bonus, that generally goes to the pet not the Mastermind

If an IO has a set bonus (for instance 4 IOs of a set give +2.5% Def) that generally goes to the Mastermind, not the pet (except for things like the Defence/Resitance Auras).

Meknomancer · October 4, 2021

Its nice to have a personal attack power i just don't see how to fit it in on an emp and i already dropped tactics in favour of assault and couldn't get group fly in. I like them on mercs mm's especially the grenade that slots the ff+rech and burst lets you feel like a bit of a blaster or having a couple of attacks from necro like gloom/life drain but i almost always leave them out of bots mm's only occasionally taking photon if i can for a little stun control but its an emp and i don't see stuff you can skip without thinking...why not use a different secondary if your not going to be a support/healing bot. Stuff like clear mind/resurrect would be the first things to go but CM is massively useful especially if you like to team up a lot and run lower level content. If the theme is to sit back and watch the pets goto work while you do what you want get group fly and take /dark or /ff as a secondary and just pew pew stuff from safety. Emp is a really busy set on teams unless theres a great kin there doing everything for you. For soloing /cold /dark /elec /ff /storm /time /traps require minimal oversight of stuff and let you get on with whatever you want and you can fit in more interesting power pools/personal attacks ( although /elec and its 3 click wonders will put you to sleep as you click and repeat over and over and over....but thematically its great with bots). If i were you and you intend to go ahead with bots/emp ignore everything anyone says and just take the powers you want, dump the stuff you don't and build from there. You'll end up with something thats fun and you enjoy playing and thats all that really matters in coh.

Maelwys · October 4, 2021

On 10/3/2021 at 6:53 AM, Clave Dark 5 said:

Since I'm going to have healing out the wazoo as an Emp, is Repair for the bots really necessary? It's been so long since I've run a Bots that I've forgotten who well or not that it helps

I've heard Arcane Bolt makes a good attack for MMs; although not exactly thematic, I'm willing to overlook that in favor of helping my bots out damage-wise. I figure this with Pulse Rifle Burst (only) would be nice?

Should I go to Arcane Bolt, how useful might Enflame from Sorcery as well be? Knowing that pets don't runaround like headless chickens anymore, unless you tell them to.

The build mentioned above goes set-bonus-chasing for slotting out the bots, but the times I've run MMs in HC (a Beasts and a Mercs) I frankenslotted for Pet Resists and what-not, what's a good Bot Slot choice?

Anything else I am obviously blind to that you think I should consider?

1. No, Repair is borderline useless even for sets without a Heal. Drop it and good riddance.

2. Arcane Bolt is "better" (in terms of damage) than your primary attacks; and it doesn't inflict Knockback. So yes, it wins out in most gameplay if you can look past the thematics.

3. Enflame is borderline useless on Ranged Pets. If you were a Thugs/ then it might have a place on your Bruiser. As it is? Skip it.

4. Now we're talking. Perfect slotting is expensive - but if you're taking an Musculature Alpha Slot, then you can drop some +Damage Slotting... and if you're taking one of the others, then you might be able to drop some +Defence etc. slotting. so the exact setup will vary.
Battle Drones don't need much Endurance Reduction or a KB -> KD IO (because the only KB power they get is with the level 6 upgrade power, which you should never be using on them or the Assault Bot after you hit level 32+) so you can use it as a mule for three of your +Def/Resistance uniques.
Protector Bots need a bit of Endurance Reduction, capped Defence and KB->KD, so I usually go with 2x Level 50 Defence IOs, 1x Sudden Acceleration KB -> KD IO, with 3 slots left to cap Damage and raise Accuracy and Endurance Reduction a bit. On Empathy you can probably swap out 1-2 of the Level 50 Defence IOs if desired; since they'll be much easier to defence-softcapped due to Fortitude.
That leaves the Assault Bot. It's probably the one you'll stick a 2-piece Mark of Supremacy in (the unique and another) which leaves four slots to cap Damage, raise Accuracy a bit and fit the remaining +Def/Resistance unique and a KB->KD IO in.
If you want to maximise damage, then stick a "Soulbound Allegience: Chance for Build Up" Proc into the Battle Drones and an "Explosive Strike: Chance for Smashing Damage" into the Assault Bot. You could free up the slots for this by dropping the +Defence uniques altogether if you've crunched the buff numbers and you're confident with keeping your Fortitude cycle up.

5. Note that it's reasonably easy to keep Fortitude up 4-5 times. It caps out at 7-8 times with enough recharge. Roughly half of the time it can be power boosted, so whenever you're soloing, stick your POWER BOOSTED Fortitudes on your Protector Bots since they get single-bubbled, and then regular-buff the Drones and the AssBot since they get double-bubbled.
All of your henchmen are going to benefit from your Heals and Healing Aura and Fortitudes. I'd keep Adrenaline Boost for teammates though - its biggest benefit is the +Recharge buff which is wasted on pets.

Edited October 4, 2021 by Maelwys

The_Warpact · October 4, 2021

29 minutes ago, Maelwys said:

1. No, Repair is borderline useless even for sets without a Heal. Drop it and good riddance.

2. Arcane Bolt is "better" (in terms of damage) than your primary attacks; and it doesn't inflict Knockback. So yes, it wins out in most gameplay if you can look past the thematics.

3. Enflame is borderline useless on Ranged Pets. If you were a Thugs/ then it might have a place on your Bruiser. As it is? Skip it.

4. Now we're talking. Perfect slotting is expensive - but if you're taking an Musculature Alpha Slot, then you can drop some +Damage Slotting... and if you're taking one of the others, then you might be able to drop some +Defence etc. slotting. so the exact setup will vary.
Battle Drones don't need much Endurance Reduction or a KB -> KD IO (because the only KB power they get is with the level 6 upgrade power, which you should never be using on them or the Assault Bot after you hit level 32+) so you can use it as a mule for three of your +Def/Resistance uniques.
Protector Bots need a bit of Endurance Reduction, capped Defence and KB->KD, so I usually go with 2x Level 50 Defence IOs, 1x Sudden Acceleration KB -> KD IO, with 3 slots left to cap Damage and raise Accuracy and Endurance Reduction a bit. On Empathy you can probably swap out 1-2 of the Level 50 Defence IOs if desired; since they'll be much easier to defence-softcapped due to Fortitude.
That leaves the Assault Bot. It's probably the one you'll stick a 2-piece Mark of Supremacy in (the unique and another) which leaves four slots to cap Damage, raise Accuracy a bit and fit the remaining +Def/Resistance unique and a KB->KD IO in.
If you want to mix things up a bit, then you can stick a "Soulbound Allegience: Chance for Build Up" Proc in the Battle Drones and move a unique to the Assault Bot; or just drop the +Defence uniques altogether if you've crunched the buff numbers and you're confident with keeping your Fortitude cycle up.

5. Note that it's reasonably easy to keep Fortitude up 4-5 times. It caps out at 7-8 times with enough recharge. Roughly half of the time it can be power boosted, so whenever you're soloing, stick your POWER BOOSTED Fortitudes on your Protector Bots since they get single-bubbled, and then regular-buff the Drones and the AssBot since they get double-bubbled.
All of your henchmen are going to benefit from your Heals and Healing Aura and Fortitudes. I'd keep Adrenaline Boost for teammates though - its biggest benefit is the +Recharge buff which is wasted on pets.

Nice, filled some holes that I had questions on.

By the way do you know how to view what stats pets have on Mids? Like see what their defense is if they are buffed for example?

Maelwys · October 4, 2021

You can use the Pet Powers button, but stuff like this is not straightforward in Mids (needs a little database tweaking to fix the Protector Bot bubbles, for example) and I usually prefer to use a calculator + a notepad.

That said, if you look in City of Data then it'll give you the raw values of things like Henchmen resistances and buffs - see https://cod.uberguy.net./html/powerset.html?pset=mastermind_summon.robotics&at=mastermind (check the stats/powers of each entity within each of the three henchmen summons plus the Equip Robot / Upgrade Robot abilities!) 👍

Clave Dark 5 · October 5, 2021

@Maelwys Great tips in there thanks.

1) I generally frown on "my build sucks so I'll use Incarnate abilities as a crutch to fix them" build-making because I don't tend yo stick with new alts too fast past level 50. PLus I dunno, it just feels cheap somehow, ha ha. Most of my play with this alt is going to be as they level up.

2) "Battle Drones don't need much Endurance Reduction or a KB -> KD IO (because the only KB power they get is with the level 6 upgrade power, which you should never be using on them or the Assault Bot after you hit level 32+)" Wait, what? Why shouldn't you be using your level 6 upgrade power past 32?

And thanks to everyone else, you're really helping me put my build together and I appreciate it.

Maelwys · October 5, 2021

2 hours ago, Clave Dark 5 said:

1) I generally frown on "my build sucks so I'll use Incarnate abilities as a crutch to fix them" build-making because I don't tend yo stick with new alts too fast past level 50. PLus I dunno, it just feels cheap somehow, ha ha. Most of my play with this alt is going to be as they level up.

2) "Battle Drones don't need much Endurance Reduction or a KB -> KD IO (because the only KB power they get is with the level 6 upgrade power, which you should never be using on them or the Assault Bot after you hit level 32+)" Wait, what? Why shouldn't you be using your level 6 upgrade power past 32?

No worries 🙂

Regarding #1, yeah I can understand that. If you're just in it for the run between 1 and 50, then don't worry too much about getting the IOs perfect.

Basic "good slotting" will be the equivalent of 1-2x Accuracy IOs and 2-3x Damage IOs in each of the Summons. Battle Drones needs a bit more since they're two levels under you (at least until very late game and Incarnate stuff) Assault Bot can cope with less. The Protector Bots main purpose is to Bubble things, so you can go lower on damage slotting in favour of Defence and Endurance reduction. Once you hit level 32, your Asssault Bot gets access to Incendiary Swarm Missiles; and that's when you start really needing the KB->KD IOs in the Assault Bot and Protector Bots.

After that; it's a case of trying to fit your uniques in. The two +5% Defence IOs (from Edict of the Master and Call to Arms) will give the most bang for your buck there - those combined with a non-power-boosted-but-defence-slotted Fortitude will bring all your pets up to ~27.6% Defence to everything. Then Protector Bot Bubbles (even unslotted for Defence) plus Maneuvers will softcap your Drones and Assault Bot and leave your Protector Bots on ~39% Defence. The three +Resistance IOs (+10% from Expedient Reinforcement and Sovereign Right; and either 10% or 15% from Mark of Supremacy) serve more to help them weather damage from "lucky hits" - as long as they aren't one-shot then you should be able to heal them up pretty quickly.

-----

Regarding #2, as mentioned above... level 32 is when your Assault Bot gets access to Incendiary Swarm Missiles. This is where the vast majority of Robot/ damage comes from. You really want this power to fire off as often as possible and keep things inside the burning patches for as long as possible (slows, immobilises, no knockback, etc).
Unfortunately the level 6 upgrade gives the AssBot access to "Flamethrower" which takes a loooooong time to animate and is almost always a drain on your DPS (it can technically hit 10 foes; but it has such a narrow cone that it almost always only hits one creature. Often one that is on a sliver of remaining health!). Time spent by the Assault Bot stuck in the long Flamethrower animation is time spent whenever it can't be firing its Swarm Missiles. This used to make a LOT more impact on a Robot/ MM's DPS back whenever pets were still affected by recharge buffs... but it still has some effect today. So basically post-level-32 you'll never want to use the level 6 upgrade ability on your Assault Bot.

The issue with Battle Drones is a bit less obvious. Their level 6 upgrade gives them access to "Heavy Laser Burst". This can be helpful whenever you're fighting a big single target... but it inflicts knockback (which is bad for keeping things inside of Burn Patches). You could get around this by using a KB->KD IO inside of the Battle Drones... but consider that it can also sometimes interfere with the activation cycle of their level 32 ability "Full Auto Laser", which is where the bulk of the Drones' DPS comes from at higher levels (whenever you're fighting large spawns via either teaming or upping your difficulty settings). So you can go one of two ways here - either use the level 6 upgrade on them plus a KB->KD IO, or don't use that upgrade on them. Since Bots/ are already rather stretched for places to put the +Def/+Resistance unique IOs; it usually makes sense to choose the second of those options and just not use the level 6 upgrade on the Drones post-level-32 unless you're fighting a tough single enemy like an AV/GM.

For the Protector Bot, much like the Drones its level 6 upgrade gives it access to a Single-Target knockback power "Heavy Laser Burst"... but that same upgrade also gives it access to "Repair" which is very handy to have. So it's usually better to just slot a KB->KD IO into the Protector Bots.

Note that you *can* bypass the knockback issue by using a "rooting" AoE Immobilise from your Epic/Patron power pools (the Mu pool's "Electrifying Fences" being the traditional choice here)... but on Homecoming you have lots of KB->KD IOs available so it makes sense to just stick an extra one in your Assault Bot and Protector Bots and call it a day. Plus, as an /Empath you'll want to go Mace Mastery for Power Boost; and last I checked "Web Grenade" didn't negate Knockback.

Personally I usually just summon my Protector Bots, use the level 6 upgrade, then summon the Drones and the AssBot and use the level 32 upgrade --> done, commence mission! 😀

-----

One final thing to note - your Pets will inherit buffs from Incarnate abilities (Alpha Slot and Interface Slot being the main ones). HOWEVER if you "zone" and allow your pets to automatically be resummoned after the zone, then they lose those buffs until you resummon them. (Check your "real numbers" combat attribute value display. You'll notice that things like the +defence added by the Protector Bot bubbles revert to their "non incarnate" values after you zone).

So wherever possible, once you start using Incarnate Slots always dismiss and resummon your pets after zoning! 🤖

Edited October 5, 2021 by Maelwys

Doomguide2005 · October 5, 2021

As a longtime Empathy player on largely defenders, but including corruptors and controllers I've never done it on a MM. I've never really found the AT to be my cup of tea and haven't built or run one since ... forever, probably single digit issues.

I find the thread interesting, however and wonder if running Empathy on a Mastermind might be the ticket for me. Much like an Ill/Emp it seems it would work well. Empathy can be a very busy set demanding a lot of player attention and for that reason I think it would work well with Illusion control and possibly a MM as they both seem like they offer the Empath the time to dedicate to buffing while their pets do their thing with less frequent attention. But that is looking at it from the pov of some who's barely scratched the surface of MM (but has run Illusion to 50 albeit not on an Empath). So take the following with the above as a large caveat.

Absorb Pain--> I generally skip Absorb Pain and see absolutely no reason to take it on a MM

Resurrect --> Same goes for Resurrect though that's more because solo you're just going to resummon and for those times when teamed there's a bunch of ways to rez someone without needing to burn a power choice to do so. If you do take it slot an Endred, it's a costly power.

Healing Aura and Heal Other --> Doctored Wounds or Panacea are the sets I use looking at the recharge bonus for 5 slotted. I'll use Preventative Medicine with 6 in the other. Minimally I'll 3 slot Heal, Heal/Rchg, Heal/Endred/Rchg

Clear Mind --> 1 slot with whatever in it.

Fortitude --> anywhere from 3 to 6 slots with a wide variety of options. I'll generally favor defense, recharge then to hit for enhancement. 3 slots -> 2 Membrane HOs and a LotG def/increased rchg is very efficient and effective but only offers the +7.5% global rchg as a set bonus. It might be more important on a MM to enhance To Hit to help the pets especially at high difficulties owing to level differences. But that's getting into things well outside my experience.

Recovery Aura --> my usual is 3 slots. 1 rchg, 2 endmod/recharge but honestly unless end usage is a major issue 2 slots with recharge boosted +5 is plenty.

Regeneration Aura --> 5 Doctored Wounds or Panacea. I'll try to keep my Auras on the same cool down/recharge so they're in synch. One less thing to track and remember, one's ready so is the other.

Adrenaline Boost --> 5 Doctored Wounds or Panacea.

The_Warpact · October 5, 2021

@Doomguide2005

I'm the opposite end of the spectrum, I don't generally play "heal" sets pain/emp. I focus more on the buff/debuff heavy on the debuff. My wife on the other hand absolutely loves empathy but only plays melee so it must be pretty good to drag her off from punching something.

That being said if you go the macro or keybind route the pets will run themselves and you can concentrate on doing the secondary stuff more efficiently.

Especially on teams, put the pets on BG and just follow along doing your thing. @Clave Dark 5 thread absolutely got me interested in doing one and hence why I'm here, something that I would normally scoff at but, really invested in trying.

Most people I have talked to have said go the /pain route it was built for MMs, I prefer the road less traveled and really I have not seen any /emp MMs around.

Thanks for the info in your experience on Empathy.

Maelwys · October 5, 2021

5 hours ago, Doomguide2005 said:

Much like an Ill/Emp it seems it would work well.

I don't have a Robot/Empathy MM, but I've played an awful lot of Robot MMs (/Traps and /Dark and /Kin and /Thermal and /Time; all extensively at level 50) and I'd a level 50 Ill/Emp Controller back on Live that I ran as a main for a little while.

Robots have not got anywhere near Phantom Army's level of Invincibility by any stretch of the imagination, but they deal a good bit more damage and are a very "easy to play" MM set. They were fairly well behaved even back before HC's pet AI changes; because they're basically purely ranged damage dealers; and they bubble themselves for defence. There's a bit of lag time at the start of missions whilst the Protector Bots get the bubbles set up, but after that it's largely "cruise control" mode.
You *can* micromanage them a bit should you so choose, in order to get the most out of Swarm Missiles. And sometimes having your Assault Bot (the pet with the largest health bar and highest level) run in to take an Alpha Strike can help smooth out incoming damage if you're not using bodyguard mode extensively. But usually you'll have a lot of free time to spend on using your secondary powerset's ablities. Which suits sets like /Empathy and /Kinetics very nicely - but there's few things more boring than a Bot/FF!

The Synergy between Robot/ and /Empathy will definitely be via stacking Fortitude and Protector Bot Bubbles. Clear Mind doesn't hurt either. Softcapped pets with full Mez Protection are rather easy to keep healed up.

Regarding ToHit, henchmen can indeed have it rather rough because of the level difference. If you're fighting things that are +4 to you then your Drones will be -6 to them (20% Base ToHit chance) but eventually you'll end up fighting enemies that are level 54 whenever you're level 51, so the effective level difference becomes +5 for your Drones in regular endgame content (Incarnate content is different, since henchmen gain "automatic Incarnate shifts" to bring them up to the same level as their owner).
Supremacy (which grants +10% ToHit to all pets within 60ft) can close the gap a bit though. Throw in an "unslotted for ToHit" Tactics (it's an odd MM who doesn't take the Leadership Pool) and Fortitude, and you're going to have a very decent chance to hit... but you'll still want to slot the equivalent of 3x SO's worth of accuracy in the Drones, 2x SO's worth in the Protector Bots and 1x SO's worth in the Assault Bot in order to reach that magical "95% Hit Rate" cap. If you slot both Tactics and Fortiude for +ToHit, then you can get by with removing one SO's worth of accuracy from each of those figures; and any global accuracy bonuses will add up too.

I'd say go for it. It's a decent combo and works out reasonably strong the entire way through the leveling progression. It'll be good for TFs, and these days few teammates at endgame will need the extra +Defence from Fortitude anyway, so at least on a MM your buffs aren't wasted. Maybe even forgoe the traditional Musculature Alpha Slot for an Agility Core or Spiritual Radial? Hmm... 🤔 😁

Your Empathy power slotting seems pretty much spot on. The only thing I'd change would be cramming as much recharge into the Regeneration + Recovery Auras as possible, since it's technically doable to get their downtime under 30 seconds (=90s up, 30s down) with enough investment. But for Adrenaline boost, as long as you can get its recharge under 120 seconds you're golden. Personally I quite liked Absorb Pain on my Ill/Emp; but I teamed with a lot of rather scrapperlock-happy headcases back in those days. Currently I agree it's skippable. I'd much rather it granted +Absorb rather than raw healing!

Edit: I don't have a Bot/Empathy build handy, but here's my Ill/Empathy's and Bot/Time's as of the last revision:

Spoiler


ILLUSION/EMPATHY CONTROLLER

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|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

ROBOT/TIME MASTERMIND

| Copy & Paste this data into Mids Reborn : Hero Designer to view the build |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
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|-------------------------------------------------------------------|

Edited October 5, 2021 by Maelwys

Doomguide2005 · October 6, 2021

Greeeaaaat now I've got at least one more character to try out once I've got a functional computer again 😅

Hopefully this turns out like my try at a blaster way back around i4 or so. Kept trying blasters and 'meh' one "failure" after another and then along came Soulfire Lily, a Fire/Energy with a lot of scrapper in her. Which fit perfectly for this Claws/SR player and she became one of my early 50's. Tried a few MM's back in i6, i7 none managed to stick. Maybe this time around and it can join my other scrappers ... the pair of Earth/Storm controllers, the Elec/Fire Blaster, Plant/Cold controller. Oh and the original, a remake of my 1st character a Claws/SR scrapper. Probably the only one of my mains (one main are you kidding) who didn't live in melee was my Cold/Ice defender from Live.

As to Absorb Pain somethings gone seriously sideways where HO+HA+Fort+RegenAura isn't enough to deal with it and if it has gone pear-shaped it just means 2 'dead' characters instead of one. Besides Vengeance is a thing.

Fortitude --> 4 slots: 2 Membranes, 1 Def/LotG, a To Hit/Rchg should push the DR up into the red (can't look at Mids ... ). And that should leave even a 20% up just over 60% before Accuracy mods.

Clave Dark 5 · October 6, 2021

So many great replies here!

After tinkering with my build, I decided I can't justify keeping that Pulse Rifle Burst, I was giving up Assault to keep the Group Fly and running an MM without that's just madness. Still probably going to keep Arcane Bolt though, even if if breaks theme (not something I would normally do). But who knows, maybe after a bit more playing I'll see that's pointless too. Or maybe I'll get tired of Group Fly after a few times and want to respec back to PRB.

Anyway, for now, the plan is to put the Pulse Rifle's slots onto Kick and mule it for little extra +Def bonuses (it's a shame it does so little damage). I have teamed a couple of times now though and been reminded that yeah, Emp does keeps you busy as your foolish teammates keep trying to die around you all the time, so being an Emp MM is just like having more teammates I need to take care of. Absorb Pain has been pretty helpful for that, so I'm for keeping it, at least right now.

I';d have probably had a completed build by now, but, you know, Halloween happened. Give me maybe a week to get tired of ToT. Maybe.

Doomguide2005 · October 6, 2021

15 hours ago, Maelwys said:

Your Empathy power slotting seems pretty much spot on. The only thing I'd change would be cramming as much recharge into the Regeneration + Recovery Auras as possible, since it's technically doable to get their downtime under 30 seconds (=90s up, 30s down) with enough investment. But for Adrenaline boost, as long as you can get its recharge under 120 seconds you're golden. Personally I quite liked Absorb Pain on my Ill/Emp; but I teamed with a lot of rather scrapperlock-happy headcases back in those days. Currently I agree it's skippable. I'd much rather it granted +Absorb rather than raw healing!

Agreed, at least my experience tells me that recharge is the thing to shoot for on an Empath. I see no reason especially on a Bots MM this would be different. It's vital for getting Fortitude out and those Auras on minimal cooldown. In Recovery Aura that's why I use a single generic recharge IO and add in two Endmod/Recharge IOs. Boost them if you really want to shave cooldown to the minimum there's no set bonuses involved where attuning them might be desired. And for RegenAura it should be possible to max the recharge readily enough ... just play with which 5 from the set max this out. Doctored Wounds has one for pure recharge, for example, though Panacea doesn't. Panacea, however, being a PvP set is effectively attuned and you could potentially boost all the recharge in its IO enhancements without negatively impacting its value while exemplaring.

If you're taking Sorcery Rune of Protection can hold both the 3% defense uniques which are probably the best 2 slot investment for defense you can get in this game.

My Empaths universally took Spiritual Core Paragon as their incarnate ability. Leaves me looking at sub-30 second Recharge on those Auras. The only note there is life forced me out of the game post i22 and again here on HC so experience with later incarnate abilities such as Hybrid as well as running my Empaths in later iTrials is basically non-existent. What little experience I managed was on my, as I call her, my Main of mains Claws/SR scrapper. It would be interesting to see what the actual difference between Spiritual and Agility was in cd times vs boost to defense (including Fortitude). Never got around to checking near as I can recall.

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