how do you slot /build Robots/FF? by confused

[fikster0]

OK I am not a Dummy I swear!! (sister disagrees but I dont count her). I have built a brute lvl 50 but somehow a MM seems to be beyond me.

Plan: 

Theme: shy somewhat cowardly techie builds robot companions to fight crime

tactics: shot baddies with ray gun then hide behind robot friends named after famous robots  in sci fi . buff with forcefield and leadership

so far so good (except for annoying tunnels) however now approaching 30 and have to start enhancing with sets. did research and overwhelmed with frankenslotting /some procs working others not /which enhancements affect pets powers and which dont/ using power pools other then leadership. actually saw that someone used group fly which seems cool but isnt it end heavy or slot heavy (to reduce end)? I am so confused. to narrow responses please explain:

1.why frankenslotting better then mostly full sets

2. which procs work in pet powers?

3. which power pools work best in addition to leadership?

 

finally what to name last robot:

 

Assault: Computo

Henchmen: Robby, Astro boy, the Gunslinger

Protector bots: Marvin, ?

 

what famous robot in sci fi would you name a protector bot after?

 

Thanks in advance!! 

 

[tidge]

On Robotics, I pretty much only Frankenslot the Henchmen. 

 

1) Henchmen need most of the global pieces (FF might mitigate the need for one of them)

2) The MM ATO work well in three sets of 2 and one set of 4

3) MMs benefit more from set bonuses than having attacks with some extra %damage (MMs must slot attacks for Endurance Reduction, otherwise they burn out)

 

Not every agrees with my takes of course. 

 

IMO The only procs (see above for my comment on globals) worth slotting in the robotic henchmen are the Soulbound Allegiance %BuildUp and Explosive Strike %smashing in the T1. Some folks prefer the %Buildup in the T3, but I find having it in the T1 better distributes the damage done by the henchmen....intellectually I know the T1 need more ToHit than the T3 because of level shifts. The T2 can take a LotG Def/+Recharge but you shouldn't need to put that on a T2 with FF... you probably will want pieces containing Endurance Reduction in the T2 and T3.

 

Flight is a good pool for Robots. Don't waste time with Presence or Medicine. I usually take Fighting, Concealment, and Mace because I need powers to mule global pieces.

[TooManyButtons]

Robot/FF is incredibly hard to do wrong since it's both robust and relatively simple. Decent damage, inherent healing and very few spots for proc shenanigans.

 

Powerboosted shields with the pbaoe bubble will get your pets ~35% defense, which combined with your T2's shield will put your bots over the softcap. You could skip the 2 +def enhancements or take them if you don't want to spec into mace mastery.

The only thing that you really need lots of recharge for is your Maintenance Drone, but if you're not getting hit in the first place even that is of dubious use. 3 * 2 Mark of Supremacy for the recharge or 2 * 3 for the accuracy since you seems to want to do attacks yourself.

Tactics is definitely needed. Be sure to pick that one up, if nothing else. What is +3 to you is +5 to your T1 drones.

Fighting to get Weave. Maybe Leaping to get Combat Jump if you can spare the slots. Pretty much everything else depends on taste.

 

Last name should be Asimov.

[fikster0]

Thank you both gentlemen for your responses. Tidge I had think you are the one i saw suggesting group fly in another post doesnt that eat end? and Too I figured i have to attack since in body guard mode to start combat. finally what about teleport with target teleport to get target in group smackdown with my bots? does that work or too slow and unnessasary? 

 

finally Too asiminov is great name but writer not the robot though his hidden robot in his series of loosely connected books would be great!!! thanks I hadnt thought of that.

[Holoman]

This build isn’t by me but has a 56s pylon time. Major credit to Auroxis for sharing this build.

 

Edit: This build kills it in single target. 56s is nothing to be scoffed at when it comes to pylons. At least for robotics mains.

Mastermind (Robotics - Force Field) v2.mbd

Edited Thursday at 07:18 PM by Holoman

[tidge]

On 8/20/2025 at 2:27 PM, fikster0 said:

Thank you both gentlemen for your responses. Tidge I had think you are the one i saw suggesting group fly in another post doesnt that eat end? 

 

I only use Group Fly to get around maps, and in some in-mission circumstances or against specific enemies, so I don't really sweat Endurance. The big advantage of Group Fly is seeing rockets on the feet of the henchmen! I usually build for global Recovery, MaxEnd and Endurance reduction bonuses FWIW.

 

Group Fly can introduce issues with henchmen pathing (some get stuck sometimes, some just stop wherever they are) and ragdolling (if a henchmen or pet can't complete animation from something like a knockdown they can 'float' in mid-air, stuck in the ragdoll animation... so it isn't free of issues, but paying attention to the pet window usually reveals these things.

 

There are some vocal players who act as if Group Fly is a PVP attack, but setting aside other players... my experience is that once you get used to where Group Fly makes a difference, the number of situations is IMO relatively small so it isn't a power that benefits from being toggled on constantly anyway. When teamed, I probably use Group Fly less than 2% as often as other teammates use something like Fold Space.

[fikster0]

Thanks holoman i will take a look. Tidge so  the group fly is mostly to avoid resummoning your henchmen during long travels? it isn't to avoid melee attacks?

[tidge]

47 minutes ago, fikster0 said:

Tidge so  the group fly is mostly to avoid resummoning your henchmen during long travels? it isn't to avoid melee attacks?

 

When flying across zone, the henchmen generally stay close. They lag of course. 

 

I softcap defenses (and robots have pretty good resistances) anyway, and robots are 99% ranged attackers, so they don't need to fly... I use my MM attacks (and Traps) to keep aggro. The in-combat uses of Group Fly are pretty limited (assuming there is ground to stand on) for me: generally it is when a critter places a patch that I want to get the henchmen away from.

 

There are some instanced maps that have enough vertical space that I'll use Group Fly and fight, but they are uncommon. 

 

I can disclose: I originally had taken the Teleport pool (4/5 powers), but I ended up switching to Flight pool (4/5 powers). For my MM, the Flight pool was a better fit... but I only got there after a lot of testing. Respecs are cheap!