KarmaKollapse_NA

[ QUOTE ]
Just before they wipe the debt you will be able to go crazy on your characters. Go have dance partys inside hamidon, fall from the roof onto lusca, throw a rock or snowball at Lord Recluse/Statesman. Anything you want, cos in the morning, it won't matter

[/ QUOTE ]

Its a world without hangovers!!!!!!!

[ QUOTE ]
There's actually an Issue 8 update to this guide here which includes the I8 changes to teleport and poison trap - just FYI.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hehe, thanks Brev

And good luck with Ice/Traps, I kinda fancied making one of those for the multiple holds (it has what, four?), but I have so many alts already and four of them are already */Traps

I'm working on a further update but kinda waiting to see if there's gonna be anything interesting with the proposed AI changse to Seeker Drones.

[ QUOTE ]
Hmm, I would have thought that the presence taunting powers might make for a good way to pull a mob through a line of traps while they try to get at you after setting up a nice "Gauntlet" of Traps between you and the Mob. And the Fear side could be used once anything left gets to you.

[/ QUOTE ]

You could use provoke to do that... but seeker drones are a much safer way of doing this. Intimidate/Invoke Panic is not nearly as effective as Poison Trap.

Some good points on Triage - worth mentioning in the next version methinks I am a lot more sold on Triage Beacon on my MM than I am my Corruptor, for certain - it is a lot easier to get your gang of thugs to sit in a Triage Beacon zone than it is to get other players, even the squishies. It's okay saying drop the beacon by the brute, but unless you're in a big fight, chances are the brute is going to move on.

Though the big fights are probably where an increase to the gradual healing rate counts the most. Last LRSF I was in I had enough AMs on me that I could get two of them out at a time... which is obviously a boon when fighting 8 AVs

Still not sold on Caltrops though. Yes you can use it to slow down incoming melee attackers... but most melee attackers are slow resistant (e.g. Wolves), and those that aren't are likely to still shoot at you anyways. There is some damage mitigation to be had from it to be sure (It seems to work nicely against Tank Smashers, for example), but key to a /Traps build? I really don't think so.

Hopefully should be finding some time to work on the next version of this guide (since LH has been requesting 'updates' to guides), so if there is anything else other than synergies that could be added, let me know. I think I'm going to keep this Corruptor-focused, since getting to L32 has killed my interest in my MM a bit.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm really surprised you're writing a /traps guide and haven't figured out how to use caltrops yet. It's one of the staple powers of the set and has uses ranging from offense to defense and crowd control. The number one method for a trapper to clump up mobs is to throw 'trops at a corner, AoE the spawn, and jump behind the corner. Instant clump of mobs for perfect AoE devastation and trap utilization. The fear in caltrops is about the only totally unresisted crowd control in the game; as such it's perfect for desperate situations, like when the brute is taking too much damage and is about to drop. Of course, as a fire primary you have RoF for that...

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess, but I still don't rate the power very much... crowd control is the best use of it but even then I find it limited. I think I've been scarred by too many caltrops-users throwing their caltrops right on top of all my trip mines and poison traps so no mob will ever pass on them.

Of course, you are correct, Rain of Fire would be what I would use to scare off mobs

[ QUOTE ]
You forgot to mention another huge advantage of hover: it provides a sort of KB resistance without having to get acrobatics.

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh, not sure on that one, I've been knockedback many a time whilst hovered!

[ QUOTE ]
6 slots in Seeker seems kinda excessive to me. I agree it's an under rated power but I make it work with 2 recharge and an accuracy (especially if what you say about a 5% acc debuff is true; that's quite frankly not worth enhancing.)

[/ QUOTE ]

Well 10% really, since you're merging the debuff values of both together... since finding the figures slotting Seeker Drones with acc debuff has become a lesser priority. I still try and find some for them, though.

[ QUOTE ]
I would recommend anyone slot 2 acc in every power that checks accuracy (or at least 1 acc in all pets, which usually have an acc bonus)...but then that depends on the level you fight I guess, and how much you throw out acid mortar.

[/ QUOTE ]

*shrugs* I find Acid Mortar hits enough times that it doesn't need an accuracy. As for Seekers, getting some Lysosomes instead of either acc debuffs or accuracies is the best plan

[ QUOTE ]
I don't bother using trip mine offensively (dropping it in spawns), because usually the aoe attacks in your primary will outdamage the Trip in less time, and they won't scatter the spawn. But then I'm AR so I have about the most AoE tools available of all the primaries. Though with a fire primary I could see Seekers - poison trap - caltrops - Rain of fire - fireball - firebreath would be a pretty devastating

[/ QUOTE ]

My preference is Trip Mine over the Rain of Fire strategy - I think that playstyle suits other secondaries more (mainly /Cold and /Dark). I do have Web Envelope for doing the Rain of Fire attack but it has a terrible activation time.

[ QUOTE ]
I agree with the Mace Mastery Patron Pool. It provides the obvious Defense synergy in the Shield, and the aoe immob is nice for keeping mobs in the traps. I took it because it was perfect stylistically for my character (a natural, non-super powered AR/Traps arachnos soldier type).

[/ QUOTE ]

Plus all those webs from Web Grenade, Web Envelope, Web Cocoon and the Disruptor are just fun

[ QUOTE ]
Anyway, nice work just trying to provide a different perspective on a couple things.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks! Always good to have an objective point of view.

I'd write a section on which primaries go best with the secondary, but that would need a lot more feedback from other players (I've only got experience with two traps corruptors)

Not Just a Load of Ol' Traps - Traps Corruptor Guide - now updated for Issue 8, to include the changes to Teleport (Recall Friend) and Poison Trap

Not Just a Load of Ol' Traps! - Issue 8

A Guide to the Traps Power Set
(Corruptors Specific)

Version 1.1






Version History:
1.0 KarmaKollapse 30/10/06 First Release
1.1 KarmaKollapse 09/12/06 Issue 8 change to teleport and poison trap.






A. Introduction
B. Traps, the basics
C. Traps - the Pros and Cons
D. Traps Powers
E. Traps and Travel Powers
F. Other Pools
G. Patron Pools
H. Conclusions
I. About the Author



A. Introduction

When Traps was introduced nearing the end of beta, it was a rather mysterious set that mostly found itself played by Masterminds, rarely by Corruptors. Perhaps the inclusion of so many powers from the Devices blaster set turned people away, but those that dared to venture in to the most misunderstood of the Corruptor secondaries found some interesting and different gaming techniques unlike the more popular power sets. This guide has been written to hopefully introduce to you some of the tactics and techniques used in the Traps power set, as well as guide you away from the areas in Traps that have caused it's less than perfect reputation.

This guide is meant to help both Corruptors and Mastermind with the secondary set Traps, although primarily for Corruptors. Although this information may proove useful to a Mastermind, some of the tactics may not work as well. This guide also does not contain details about the power 'Detonator' - which of course might be more useful than the final Corruptor power!

This is also a PvE guide, not a PvP guide. I don't have enough experience with Traps in PvP to understand its pros and cons, so no commentry on PvP has been provided. Perhaps the first line of a Traps PvP guide will read 'roll a Cold instead', or perhaps not - it's not my area of interest, so it has not been focused on!

This release of the guide covers the secondary /Traps up to build Version 13.20061121.5T2, which was brought to the test server on 30th Nov 2006 and live on 7th Dec 2006. It is inclusive of the changes to the Teleport pool (Recall Friend) and to Poison Trap.


B. Traps - Overview

Traps is a support set available to both Corruptors and Masterminds. The sets are identical - in powers and in strength - apart from the final power (Time Bomb for Corruptors, Detonator for Masterminds). The set sacrifices buffs and heals in favour of a focus on debuffs, and later on full damage, though it's inclusion of mez protection makes the Traps corruptor a good choice for a squishy-heavy team.

The bulk of Traps powers are summoned pets, selectable or not, many of which are static. Only Web Grenade is not classifiable as a pet. All other powers create objects in the play field. During boss/AV fights, this can result in Traps players creating huge fields of traps ready to lure an enemy into certain death. However, the way Traps powers work together does not limit a Traps player to the set-n-lure approach - there are ways for a trapper to distract an enemy spawn and then set Traps at the location of the spawn. This is covered during the individual power descriptions.

You should pick Traps if you:
<ul type="square">[*] Don't like healing/buffing[*] Like big explosions[*] Like pulling large targets into ambushes[/list]
You should not pick Traps if you:
<ul type="square">[*] Aren't willing to bind a few keys![*] Want to be a buff bot[*] Are of the 'R U H3L3R?' mentality[/list]

C. Traps - the Pros and Cons

Pros:
<ul type="square">[*] Low endurance costs thanks to no toggles.[*] Good general debuff values. Has high damage debuff (Seekers), decent defense/resistance debuff (Acid Mortar) and okay accuracy debuff (Seekers), as well covering other debuffs such as speed, recharge and regen (Web Grenade, Caltrops, Poison Trap).[*] Mez protection that does not require constant individual buffs. (FFG)[*] Nice, supportive mez attacks (Web Grenade, Poison Trap, Seeker Drones, even knockback in Trip Mine)[*] Superb damage in Trip Mine[*] Decent area defense buff. (FFG)[*] Ability to absorb alpha strikes (seeker drones) and provide static targets to take aggro (Acid Mortar)[*] No individual buffs - a trapper does not need to repeatedly buff his companions on an individual basis[/list]
Cons:
<ul type="square">[*] Awful activation times. Most of these can be overcome by taking hover - however, taking a power pool should not be necessary like this![*] All debuffs except Caltrops have to take a to-hit roll in order to take effect.[*] No heals aside from a weak, static regen aura[*] Minimal buffs[*] Next-to-useless final power for Corruptors[/list]


D. Traps - Powers:


1. Web Grenade:

Basics:
Quick recharging single-target immobilise power. Will cause -fly, -jump, knock resistance (water spouts, etc. won't budge the target), as well as 50% recharge and speed debuff (not stackable from same source).

Overview:
Web Grenade is mandatory on all /Traps characters, and the first initial reaction might be disappoint, given that most of the other corruptor sets start with a heal or at least a more conventional debuff. Those players who have fought against Longbow Spec-Ops, Malta or Knives know that web grenades are a terrible annoyance - they prevent escape by flight or jumping, savage recharge speeds and of course immobilise an opponent if they don't have mez protection (which is most PvE targets). Although the debuff does not stack with itself, the debuff stacks with other recharge and speed debuffs that can be found in Caltrops, Poison Trap, or should you take it the Mace Mastery pool.

In the long term, this power will be mostly used to fend off annoying or difficult foes - keeping melee opponents at bay (haha Rikti Soldier, you can't hit me with that big sword of yours! :P ), bosses recharge levels low, downing flying foes (e.g. Longbow Eagles, Wyvern, Sky Raiders, Rularuu, etc.), etc. It will not be the most vital power in your inventory, and slotting it for anything more than a base slot is a bit of waste in PvE. It's certainly not the worst power to start with, however, and you'll be finding it useful throughout your career.

Recommended Slotting:
1 Acc (PvPers might disagree!)


2. Caltrops:

Basics:
Creates a DoT / 80% speed debuff patch. Also -jump

Overview:
Some Trappers swear by Caltrops, some hate it and skip it. I'm of the later category I'm afraid! Caltrops is a good power to keep an opponent at bay, but that doesn't particularly gel well with powers like Trip Mine and Poison Trap where the idea is to attract the enemy to you, not push them away. It is not nearly as useful as Tar Patch from Dark Miasma at containing foes from escaping another AoE DoT power like Rain of Fire or Ignite, as the area of effect is smaller, the speed debuff is slightly smaller and there are no extra bonuses like resistance debuff. Its damage isn't worth mentioning, either (though it would harm invisible foes crossing it). Some play styles find use for it - I certainly haven't found it though.

Recommended Slotting:
1 Recharge (Slow is almost maximum already)


3. Triage Beacon:

Basics:
Creates a 150% non-moving regeneration aura at the casters feet. Recharges every 200 seconds, lasts 90 seconds.

Overview:
With it's long recharge time, somewhat meek regeneration rate and static, non-teleportable condition, Triage Beacon isn't a very attractive prospect. Fully slotted, Triage can be fairly useful and offer Integration-level regeneration, but this requires a full investment. It's also quite nice when used in combination with other Beacons, or Spirit Tree from the Plant Control Dominator set. The regeneration rate is low enough that a /rad or /thermal with their PBAoE heal powers on auto will recover the health around them faster than the Triage Beacon, with the exception of any Brutes with Dull Pain activated.

My view on Triage is this - if your primary does not offer three good powers by Level 4, then Triage Beacon is a better bet than Caltrops so long as you can get the spare slots later in your build. If you don't have the slots to spare, take caltrops just in case you do find a use for it. Honestly though, chances are you'll have enough slots to spare in the late 30s. Really, you want to hope for a primary where the first three powers are useful.

Recommended Slotting:
3 Heal, 3 Recharge - however, slotting of this power should be left until after essentials are slotted.


4. Acid Mortar:

Basics:
Creates a static Acid Mortar trap that throws balls of acid towards targets that get in range, causing AoE DoT damage and 20% resistance and defense debuff. Recharges every 90 seconds and lasts 60 seconds.

Overview:
The first of five staple powers in the Traps line, the Acid Mortar provides a nice resistance and defense debuff not unlike Acid Arrow from the Defender/MM Trick Arrow support set. It will fire these debuffs regularly at any target that comes within it's range - and in doing so attracting aggro to itself, instead of the caster. This not only means that the Acid Mortar will debuff your targets and make them more vulnerable to your primary's attacks, but will also steal aggro away from the vulnerable caster. Acid Mortars are pretty hardy and take quite a beating before they die - by which point they will have debuffed your foes a fair bit (the debuff itself lasts 20 seconds).

The downside of Acid Mortar is that, unlike most debuffs, it actually has to hit the target. Most of the time it has no problem doing this - but if you can spare an accuracy it's not such a bad idea.

With three recharges, Acid Mortar is available in 45 seconds, meaning two Acid Mortars can be up at the same time. Debuffs from the same source do not stack, but two different acid mortars can successfully double-debuff a target. Keeping two Acid Mortars up can be tricky, but not impossible - especially if you have hasten, or a kinetics/radiation corruptor increasing your recharge times.

Note: In I7, Acid Mortar was teleportable, in I8 this has changed so that Acid Mortar can no longer be teleported.

Recommended Slotting:
3 Recharge essential, then optionally 2 Def Debuff/1 Acc or 3 Def Debuff.


5. Force Field Generator

Basics:
Creates a Force Field Generator that follows you wherever you go. The FFG casts Dispersion Bubble - giving a 10% Defense Buff and decent protection to Hold, Stun and Immobilise attacks.

Overview:
Remember fighting the Sky Raiders for the first time, and being utterly frustrated when the Raider Engineer summoned a Force Field Generator? Well now is your chance to get back. A different model to the one used by the Sky Raiders, the Force Field Generator still casts Dispersion Bubble around itself - anyone in the bubble's shield is protected from Holds, Stuns and Immobs, as well as being given a 10% defense buff.

The advantage of the Force Field Generator over Dispersion Bubble in Force Field (other than you get it sooner, and it's available for Corruptors), is it uses no endurance after it's initial cast. It has a quick recharge time as well, so when it desummons after about 4 or 5 minutes or is destroyed in battle (which does happen), you can simply call another. It also will remain when you are slept or caught in a stacked hold/stun - something Dispersion doesn't do.

The disadvantage is that the Force Field Generator isn't a very smart machine, and whilst it follows you more often or not, sometimes it randomly decides to float about. It's very easy to run outside of it's field, especially when speed buffs are on you. It also is not indestructable, and will desummon itself after 4 or 5 minutes (you'll know this though because it explodse). Keeping an active FFG can be irritating; however, for the most part, it's invaluable to both you and your comrades.

It's worth observing that FFG's dispersion bubble is of the same strength as a defender's, rather than being of the same strength as a Controller/Mastermind's dispersion bubble. This affects both the mez protection and the defense - a 2.5% defense increase and about 2 mag of protection. The difference is almost petty, but it's an interesting point.

Recommended Slotting:
3 Defense Buff; no other slotting is required.


6. Poison Trap

Basics:
Creates a static Poison Trap that activates when a mob comes in range of it, creating a poisonous gas cloud. All those caught in the cloud upon it's release are held for a small amount of time, after which the effected suffer a 30% recharge debuff and a resistable 1000% regeneration debuff. Many foes, particularly humans, are likely to begin vomitting whilst affected by the cloud.

Overview:
With its ability to make large groups of foes begin spewing their guts out all over the map, Poison Trap is one of the more amusing powers in the game, and is once again one of the key powers in the set. This power will cause an initial hold, followed by ticks of regeneration debuff, recharge debuff, and possibility of causing the target to vomit (if they are affectable as such - see later). The return of the vomitting effect in the 7th Dec 2006 release was greatly rejoiced by everyone who plays the Traps powerset! Whilst targets are throwing up, they will not be able to fight back - a similar benefit to fearing a target. Toggles no longer drop when vomitting from Poison Trap

Poison Trap is also useful in giving the caster a few moments to manuever whilst a spawn is gassed and held (during which time a trip mine can be set), as well as providing the only means in the set to debuff regeneration. Like many traps, it has a 90 second recharge time, so slotting for recharge is a good idea if you want this up every fight.

Poison Trap has two 'attacks':
1. The intial hold. This only lasts a very short time - about 6 seconds. It's worth slotting this for holds since every second counts, and a trapper can lay an acid mortar, cast Aim and lay a Trip Mine during this time (a Traps Corruptor's 'I Win!' move when fighting mostly white minions).

2. Periodic ticks that will apply the regen/recharge debuff and vomitting for 10 seconds. These ticks will constantly stack upon the target but the effects themselves are not stackable. This will occur for as long as the cloud is active, which is 30 seconds.

One of the main advantages of Poison Trap is its effects will stack, and even one poison trap can affect a Boss mob. The vomiting, quite understandably, only tends to affect human(ish) foes - it will not cause a robot to vomit, for example.

Note on the regeneration debuff:
At 1000%, there's no question that the debuff is huge, twice as strong a debuff as Lingering Radiation, and enough to nullify the effects of a three-slotted Instant Healing on a scrapper/stalker. However, this debuff is resistable, so inherent resistance to regeneration debuffs in AVs/Heroes can combat this debuff. In a Level 54 AV, this happens to be a 96% resistance, so the debuff will only be 40%!

Recommended Slotting:
Recharge and Hold, to taste and depending on how much you want to invest. I personally prefer a 2 recharge / 3 hold slotting, adding a 3rd recharge when available.


7. Seeker Drones

Basics:
Summons two Seeker Drones to the location you summon them to. These Seeker Drones will find any mob close by, float towards them, and explode - causing 5% accuracy debuff, 20% damage debuff, loss of perception and a 25% chance of disorient.

Overview:
In the hands of a poor corruptor or MM, the Seeker Drones are mindless, pointless drones that float around and do nothing. However, a capable player will spawn Seeker Drones on a target mob, causing the drones to immediately strike their targets upon casting; or, the caster will have them circling around him whilst a target is pulled towards him, perhaps to carefully placed acid mortars and poison traps, ready to strike.

The most underrated, and probably one of the most powerful powers in the set, Seeker Drones provide much needed damage debuffs. When they explode, they affect all targets caught in the explosion - if both explode at the same time, this can cause a 40% damage debuff, making it a very substantial debuff indeed.

The best methods to use Seekers, as mentioned above, as follows:
1. Cast Seeker Drones at a target spawn. The spawn will attack the seekers, and may cause some damage. Whilst the alphastrike is soaked up, you can rush the mob and set further traps - meanwhile, the seekers will explode, making sure that when the mobs do focus on you, they will either hit you a lot softer, or not hit you at all.

2. Cast Seeker Drones at your own location, and set up traps around you. Pull a foe towards you into the trap patch. The seekers may be slow to react (because they are stupid), but hopefully poison traps and acid mortars will have softened the enemy up enough so that any time the target is not debuffed from the seekers, should be spent either choking or attacking your acid mortar. This method can proove quite brutal if you have your next batch of Seeker Drones ready to cast - an 80% damage debuff is not to be sniffed at!

Like Poison Trap and Acid Mortar, Seekers are on a 90 second recharge timer, so slotting for recharge is a good idea. The debuff lasts for 40 seconds, so it's unlikely to be stackable if the seekers explode shortly after they are summoned. Also, like Acid Mortar, Seeker Drones need to hit in order to debuff, so slotting for Accuracy is not such a bad idea (though they do have a good chance to hit). The debuffs from Seeker Drones stack as mentioned above.

Recommended Slotting:
3 x Recharge, 3 x Acc Debuff or 2 x Acc Debuff / 1 x Accuracy


8. Trip Mine

Basics:
Creates a trip mine at the location of the caster. These Trip Mines explode when a mob gets in range, causing a huge amount of fire and lethal damage, and knocking back the target.

Overview:
The last essential power for a Traps player, Trip Mine is staggering in it's power. A Trip Mine placed in the centre of a spawn will cause much of the spawn to be critically wounded - add resistance debuffs and self-damage buffs to the mix, and Trip Mine becomes a devastating part of any arsenal.

The downside of Trip Mine is that it has a 5 second cast time that is also interruptable - this means if you are attacked or attempt to move during this time, the trip mine will not be set. This means you will need to ensure the opposing spawn can't hit you during this time...

To do this, then, you do the following...

1. Summon Force Field Generator and activate Scorpion Shield (if you have Mace Mastery)
2. Summon Seeker Drones towards the opposing spawn. Charge in whilst Seekers take the alpha.
3. Set a Poison Trap at the feet of the spawn. The Poison Trap should hopefully activate just as the Seekers Explode.
4. As the Poison Trap takes effect, drop an Acid Mortar to debuff resistance and enable any damage buffs (e.g. Aim, red inspirations, etc.)
5. Set the Trip Mine. You might get attacked by any mobs left who are not accuracy debuffed, held, disorientated or manage to break through your defense - in which case you'll hafta do this the old fashion way.
6. However, hopefully, once you've heard the activation 'click', you should soon see a rather satisfying explosion as Trip Mine blasts the spawn away. Now all you need to do is clear up the mess.



For Elite Bosses and AVs, combined Trip Mines also work a treat. Recharge enhancers and Hasten help here as well - a stack of 14-odd Trip Mines is more than enough to take out an even-con Synapse! A little unfair, definitely, but amusing nonetheless.

Trip Mines and Poison Traps will despawn after 4 1/3 minutes.

Recommended Slotting:
1 x Acc, 3 x Damage, 2 x Recharge (optional)


9. Time Bomb (Corruptor)

Basics:
Creates a Time Bomb. This takes 8 seconds to set, after which there is a 15 second delay before it explodes.

Overview:
A pointless addition to the Traps line and a disappointing final power. Given the strength of Trip Mines (as explained above), Time Bomb is a little excessive, and very difficult to use. I've played with this on test and haven't *ever* gotten an opponent before. It also only does about 25% more damage than Trip Mines. Given that you could just set multiple Trip Mines to get more damage, and they are easier to use, Time Bomb ends up being somewhat redundant.

As such, this is a power you can definitely avoid!

Recommended Slotting:
Don't. Take. Ever.



E. Traps - Travel Powers

Unlike most sets, where the pick of the travel power may come to just personal taste, concept, or whether the power will lead to further powers such as Acrobatics or Hasten, Traps is a set that will benefit from which travel power you'll pick. Each has their own distinct advantages - although admittedly, changes to the game have rendered some travel powers less useful than they were before.

Let's take a look at each set individually.


Leaping
Although often the most popular choice of travel power, Superleap itself doesn't offer that much of interest to the trapper. It's quick enough and a good travel power, but in general combat it isn't as useful as the other three - it does not give you stealth, it does not put you in the spawn straight away, and it does not have the animation-reducing benefits of flight.

Leaping's obvious benefit is that getting Superleap and Combat Jumping/Jump Kick opens up Acrobatics with it's knockback protection - something that Force Field Generator does not supply. Whether knockback is as troublesome as to warrant this travel pool over the other choices may come to how annoying you actually find knockback - and how often you find yourself in the situation where you are being hit for it.


Teleportation
Last February, I would have declared Teleportation w/Hover to be the best travel pick a trapper can take, and near enough essential to a decent Traps corruptor build. This was because not only did it give you access to Recall Friend for teleporting Acid Mortars, and Teleport Foe for teleporting prey into your traps, but because Teleport had a rather unusual benefit - laying traps in transit. What this meant was that a Trapper could activate Hover, teleport to an enemy spawn location, and whilst the teleport animation was in progress, activate a trap (e.g. Poison Trap). The trap itself would be set and ready by the time the Trapper landed at the location. In the case of Poison Trap, this would result in the mob not being able to put up much of a fight as the Trapper set the Acid Mortar, and let loose AoEs. Alas, this little trick was identified and frowned upon, and several months before Issue 7 was released, a fix prevented this from happening.

Further to this, as of Issue 8, Acid Mortars will no longer be able to be teleported using Recall Friend - a seemingly unnecessary change that has many Trappers a bit upset. This leaves Teleportation as a pool that still has some value (Teleport Foe), but an awful lot less value than it used to in previous months.


Speed
A quick, stealthy Trapper is a dangerous one indeed, and combined with Stealth makes the Trapper invisible until he or she lays that first trap. Of course, with a Force Field Generator following, it's not difficult to know where one is - of course, in a PvE situation, the mobs will alpha-strike the FFG, and not the Trapper, and interesting albeit dangerous first move. An interesting travel power to pick, another positive is that the pool can be opened up with Hasten - a power that will benefit your recharge times in Acid Mortar, Poison Trap, Trip Mine and Seeker Drones.


Flight
Whilst Flight is quite possibly the slowest of the four travel powers, the travel pool is probably the best choice for a Trapper for one simple reason: rooted animations do not occur whilst flying. When setting Acid Mortar, Poison Trap or Triage Beacon, the Trapper is locked in a 4 second animation that lasts longer than the activate of the pwoer itself. This locked animation does not occur when the Trapper is in a flying state i.e. using hover or using fly, so the activation time of these powers is lowered by a good amount.

It does seem rather dirty to use Flight in this fashion, but in all probability, the aboves powers were probably not meant to take as long as they do to activate, otherwise the devices would spawn at the time of the set-trap animation's finish, not half way through. So whilst this is perhaps an issue the develops need to look at, in the meantime there is a fairly decent work around. Note that this does not work for Trip Mine due to interruptability, and given its power, rightly so!

Flight also works quite nicely for Corruptors and Masterminds since it keeps you out of melee range


F. Traps - Other Pools

With Travel Powers discussed, here is a run down of the other Pools and what they can bring to a Trapper

Concealment:
Not a bad choice, especially if you intend to take Superspeed / Stealth. Grant Invis / Invis / Phase Shift may suit particular concepts though aren't particularly necessary to a Trapper - I'm not sure if there is any benefit in granting invisibility to a Force Field Generator and certainly none to an Acid Mortar or Seeker Drones!

Fighting:
The value of the Fighting pool has lowered greatly since Issue 5, and nothing much has changed. You shouldn't desire either Kick or Boxing in your build, and whilst Tough might offer some minimal resistance to Smash and Lethal, Weave is still a waste of effort. Give this one a miss.

Fitness:
Depending on your primary, and indeed your AT, you might be able to skip the Fitness pool, or at least delay it. My experiences with a Rad/Traps suggested to me that Traps might be a set that doesn't need Fitness; however, my more extensive experience with Fire/Traps assured me that the endurance drain is mostly in the primary, not in the secondary. Once you've picked your primary, it would be wise to consult other guides to find out whether or not that power set is a particular 'end hog'. In most cases, MMs can probably delay or even skip Fitness.

Leadership:
The Leadership pools are never a bad idea for supporting classes, and with Traps low end use and lack of buffs to accuracy or damage, Leadership can fill a gap in what you provide to a team. Tactics especially can proove useful when fighting stealthy foes.

Medicine:
Like Leadership, Medicine is never a bad idea, and again this pool fills in a missing gap in Traps - healing. Although a Traps is never going to be invited into a team to be the healer, and thank god for that, being able to do the quick spot heal in battle will get you some kudos. Of course, taking Aid Other leads to Aid Self, an undeniably useful tool in any style of play.

Presence:
A rather inappropriate choice for a Trapper, since Provoke and Challenge will do nothing but take the aggro away from your aggro-grabbing Traps - something you probably don't want! Intimidate might have some benefits to it, but it seems like an odd direction to go in given that Traps has plenty of crowd control already.


G. Traps - Patron Pools (Corruptor)

Now, having only taken one Trapper to Level 50, and given that Patron Power Pools are not refundable, I have only experienced the Black Scorpion 'Mace Mastery' power pool. From personal experience, I would recommend this set - the Web Envelope/Cocoon powers work well with web grenade, the Scorpion Shield stacks well with FFG's defense (not to mention the more defense, the less likely a Trip Mine is to be interrupted), and the big ol' Disruptor make for a neat ally.

The other Patrons did offer me a few things that in hindsight I should've considered more. Scirocco's Power Sink power would've been a very useful tool due to my Fire/Traps corruptors incredible end usage, though it wouldn't have been very necessary for any Traps corruptor that was not having endurance issues (like my Rad/Traps). Having said that, it would've filled the hole of not having any end recovery powers either!

Ghost Widow also offered some nice treats in the form of Soul Drain - there's nothing like additional damage, and Traps does not have any damage enhancing powers of it's own outside of its resistance debuffs.

Given the non-respecable nature of Patron Pools, the best choice is to pick what you think stylistically suits you, rather than what might give you the better edge. Arguably, Mako is the least useful of the four, but the others all have something worthwhile, mostly dependant on what primary you have taken, and whether you feel you need more slow/-recharge/defense (Scorpion), end recovery (Scirocco) or just straight out extra damage (Ghost Widow).

To go into the Patron Pools in further detail probably deserves another guide all on it's own!


H. Conclusions

Hopefully this guide has helped you get a better idea of how the Traps power set works, whether you intend to play it or simply if you want to know how the set works as someone who players with a Trapper. Traps is definitely not a set without its faults - there are reasons why there are so few Traps corruptors after all! However, I hope you have read this thinking 'Hmm, that sounds like it could be fun', and give the set a go instead of building yet another Radiation corruptor

Remember:
<ul type="square">[*]Core five powers: Acid Mortar, Force Field Generator, Poison Trap, Seeker Drones, Trip Mine[*] Use Acid Mortar and Seeker Drones to soak aggro[*] Take Flight/Hover to lower animation times[*] Trip Mines = Loads of Damage[*] Don't take Time Bomb; advice is to only take Triage Beacon and Caltrops if nothing else available[/list]

I. Credit, and About the Author

Numbers and stats come courtesy of City of Data (www.nofuture.org.uk/cox). How did I ever do without it I don't know...

The name of this guide was suggested by Aire from OHMS Thanks to those who have been willing test subjects in the Arena when I've wanted to test traps in a safe environment (Vivoruh, Molty, and one more who I forget because it was a while back! :P )

Karma Kollapse has been playing City of Heroes since Issue 1. He now has four Traps characters - a Level 50 Fire/Traps corruptor, a Rad/Traps corruptor, a Thugs/Traps mastermind and a Robots/Traps (because he felt it was time he joined a bandwagon :P ). He also has a Level 50 Fire/Storm controller and managed to get a Trick Arrow defender to Level 30 before Issue 7, and feels like he should be awarded a medal for this. He is very glad the vomit is back. He currently plays on Victory and is a member of Eurocore and OHMS.

[ QUOTE ]
Rats, was hoping for a Fire/Cold guide

[/ QUOTE ]

There's no Fire/Cold guide? O.o

Woulda thought there'd be one for that uber combination


On another note, does the guide page ever get updated anymore?

[ QUOTE ]
Very helpful guide I have it stickied to my favorites
One question though... do you know the duration of the Seeker Drone debuffs? Thanks!

[/ QUOTE ]

40 seconds, as Brev just said - though it's also mentioned in the guide That means you can't stack them just by casting them over and over without calling them to your side, waiting for them to recharge, and then firing them again - unless you have buffs from rads and kinetics, or hasten.

Not Just a Load of Ol' Traps - Traps Corruptor Guide (Issue 7)

Not Just a Load of Ol' Traps!

A Guide to the Traps Power Set
(Corruptors Specific)

Version 1.0






A. Introduction
B. Traps, the basics
C. Traps - the Pros and Cons
D. Traps Powers
E. Traps and Travel Powers
F. Other Pools
G. Patron Pools
H. Conclusions
I. Credits, About the Author



A. Introduction

When Traps was introduced nearing the end of beta, it was a rather mysterious set that mostly found itself played by Masterminds, rarely by Corruptors. Perhaps the inclusion of so many powers from the Devices blaster set turned people away, but those that dared to venture in to the most misunderstood of the Corruptor secondaries found some interesting and different gaming techniques unlike the more popular power sets. This guide has been written to hopefully introduce to you some of the tactics and techniques used in the Traps power set, as well as guide you away from the areas in Traps that have caused it's less than perfect reputation.

This guide is meant to help both Corruptors and Mastermind with the secondary set Traps, although primarily for Corruptors. Although this information may proove useful to a Mastermind, some of the tactics may not work as well. This guide also does not contain details about the power 'Detonator' - which of course might be more useful than the final Corruptor power!

This is also a PvE guide, not a PvP guide. I don't have enough experience with Traps in PvP to understand its pros and cons, so no commentry on PvP has been provided. Perhaps the first line of a Traps PvP guide will read 'roll a Cold instead', or perhaps not - it's not my area of interest, so it has not been focused on!


B. Traps - Overview

Traps is a support set available to both Corruptors and Masterminds. The sets are identical - in powers and in strength - apart from the final power (Time Bomb for Corruptors, Detonator for Masterminds). The set sacrifices buffs and heals in favour of a focus on debuffs, and later on full damage, though it's inclusion of mez protection makes the Traps corruptor a good choice for a squishy-heavy team.

The bulk of Traps powers are summoned pets, selectable or not, many of which are static. Only Web Grenade is not classifiable as a pet. All other powers create objects in the play field. During boss/AV fights, this can result in Traps players creating huge fields of traps ready to lure an enemy into certain death. However, the way Traps powers work together does not limit a Traps player to the set-n-lure approach - there are ways for a trapper to distract an enemy spawn and then set Traps at the location of the spawn. This is covered during the individual power descriptions.

You should pick Traps if you:
<ul type="square">[*] Don't like healing/buffing[*] Like big explosions[*] Like pulling large targets into ambushes[/list]
You should not pick Traps if you:
<ul type="square">[*] Aren't willing to bind a few keys![*] Want to be a buff bot[*] Are of the 'R U H3L3R?' mentality[/list]

C. Traps - the Pros and Cons

Pros:
<ul type="square">[*] Low endurance costs thanks to no toggles.[*] Good general debuff values. Has high damage debuff (Seekers), decent defense/resistance debuff (Acid Mortar) and okay accuracy debuff (Seekers), as well covering other debuffs such as speed, recharge and regen (Web Grenade, Caltrops, Poison Trap).[*] Mez protection that does not require constant individual buffs. (FFG)[*] Nice, supportive mez attacks (Web Grenade, Poison Trap, Seeker Drones, even knockback in Trip Mine)[*] Superb damage in Trip Mine[*] Decent area defense buff. (FFG)[*] Ability to absorb alpha strikes (seeker drones) and provide static targets to take aggro (Acid Mortar)[/list]
Cons:
<ul type="square">[*] Awful activation times. Most of these can be overcome by taking hover - however, taking a power pool should not be necessary like this![*] All debuffs except Caltrops have to take a to-hit roll in order to take effect.[*] No heals aside from a weak, static regen aura[*] Minimal buffs[*] Next-to-useless final power for Corruptors[/list]


D. Traps - Powers:


1. Web Grenade:

Basics:
Quick recharging single-target immobilise power. Will cause -fly, -jump, knock resistance (water spouts, etc. won't budge the target), as well as 50% recharge and speed debuff (not stackable from same source).

Overview:
Web Grenade is mandatory on all /Traps characters, and the first initial reaction might be disappoint, given that most of the other corruptor sets start with a heal or at least a more conventional debuff. Those players who have fought against Longbow Spec-Ops, Malta or Knives know that web grenades are a terrible annoyance - they prevent escape by flight or jumping, savage recharge speeds and of course immobilise an opponent if they don't have mez protection (which is most PvE targets). Although the debuff does not stack with itself, the debuff stacks with other recharge and speed debuffs that can be found in Caltrops, Poison Trap, or should you take it the Mace Mastery pool.

In the long term, this power will be mostly used to fend off annoying or difficult foes - keeping melee opponents at bay (haha Rikti Soldier, you can't hit me with that big sword of yours! :P ), bosses recharge levels low, downing flying foes (e.g. Longbow Eagles, Wyvern, Sky Raiders, Rularuu, etc.), etc. It will not be the most vital power in your inventory, and slotting it for anything more than a base slot is a bit of waste in PvE. It's certainly not the worst power to start with, however, and you'll be finding it useful throughout your career.

Recommended Slotting:
1 Acc (PvPers might disagree!)


2. Caltrops:

Basics:
Creates a DoT / 80% speed debuff patch. Also -jump

Overview:
Some Trappers swear by Caltrops, some hate it and skip it. I'm of the later category I'm afraid! Caltrops is a good power to keep an opponent at bay, but that doesn't particularly gel well with powers like Trip Mine and Poison Trap where the idea is to attract the enemy to you, not push them away. It's damage isn't worth mentioning, either. Some play styles find use for it - I certainly haven't found it though.

Recommended Slotting:
1 Recharge (Slow is almost maximum already)


3. Triage Beacon:

Basics:
Creates a 150% non-moving regeneration aura at the casters feet. Recharges every 200 seconds, lasts 90 seconds.

Overview:
With it's long recharge time, somewhat meek regeneration rate and static, non-teleportable condition, Triage Beacon isn't a very attractive prospect. Fully slotted, Triage can be fairly useful and offer Integration-level regeneration, but this requires a full investment. It's also quite nice when used in combination with other Beacons, or Spirit Tree from the Plant Control Dominator set.

My view on Triage is this - if your primary does not offer three good powers by Level 4, then Triage Beacon is a better bet than Caltrops so long as you can get the spare slots later in your build. If you don't have the slots to spare, take caltrops just in case you do find a use for it. Honestly though, chances are you'll have enough slots to spare in the late 30s. Really, you want to hope for a primary where the first three powers are useful.

Recommended Slotting:
3 Heal, 3 Recharge - however, slotting of this power should be left until after essentials are slotted.


4. Acid Mortar:

Basics:
Creates a static Acid Mortar trap that throws balls of acid towards targets that get in range, causing AoE DoT damage and 20% resistance and defense debuff. Recharges every 90 seconds and lasts 60 seconds.

Overview:
The first of five staple powers in the Traps line, the Acid Mortar provides a nice resistance and defense debuff not unlike Acid Arrow from the Defender/MM Trick Arrow support set. It will fire these debuffs regularly at any target that comes within it's range - and in doing so attracting aggro to itself, instead of the caster. This not only means that the Acid Mortar will debuff your targets and make them more vulnerable to your primary's attacks, but will also steal aggro away from the vulnerable caster. Acid Mortars are pretty hardy and take quite a beating before they die - by which point they will have debuffed your foes a fair bit (the debuff itself lasts 20 seconds).

The downside of Acid Mortar is that, unlike most debuffs, it actually has to hit the target. Most of the time it has no problem doing this - but if you can spare an accuracy it's not such a bad idea.

With three recharges, Acid Mortar is available in 45 seconds, meaning two Acid Mortars can be up at the same time. Debuffs from the same source do not stack, but two different acid mortars can successfully double-debuff a target. Keeping two Acid Mortars up can be tricky, but not impossible - especially if you have hasten, or a kinetics/radiation corruptor increasing your recharge times.

Note: In I7, Acid Mortar was teleportable, with the impending I8 this may change so that Acid Mortar can no longer be teleported.

Recommended Slotting:
3 Recharge essential, then optionally 2 Def Debuff/1 Acc or 3 Def Debuff.


5. Force Field Generator

Basics:
Creates a Force Field Generator that follows you wherever you go. The FFG casts Dispersion Bubble - giving a 10% Defense Buff and decent protection to Hold, Stun and Immobilise attacks.

Overview:
Remember fighting the Sky Raiders for the first time, and being utterly frustrated when the Raider Engineer summoned a Force Field Generator? Well now is your chance to get back. A different model to the one used by the Sky Raiders, the Force Field Generator still casts Dispersion Bubble around itself - anyone in the bubble's shield is protected from Holds, Stuns and Immobs, as well as being given a 10% defense buff.

The advantage of the Force Field Generator over Dispersion Bubble in Force Field (other than you get it sooner, and it's available for Corruptors), is it uses no endurance after it's initial cast. It has a quick recharge time as well, so when it desummons after about 4 or 5 minutes or is destroyed in battle (which does happen), you can simply call another. It also will remain when you are slept or caught in a stacked hold/stun - something Dispersion doesn't have.

The disadvantage is that the Force Field Generator isn't a very smart machine, and whilst it follows you more often or not, sometimes it randomly decides to float about. It's very easy to run outside of it's field, especially when speed buffs are on you. It also is not indestructable, and will desummon itself after 4 or 5 minutes (you'll know this though because it explodse). Keeping an active FFG can be irritating; however, for the most part, it's invaluable to both you and your comrades.

Recommended Slotting:
3 Defense Buff; no other slotting is required.


6. Poison Trap

Basics:
Creates a static Poison Trap that activates when a mob comes in range of it, creating a poisonous gas cloud. All those caught in the cloud upon it's release are held for a small amount of time, after which the effected suffer a 30% recharge debuff and a resistable 1000% regeneration debuff.

Overview:
Poison Trap's status as one of the must have powers in Traps has become a bit more questionable since Issue 7. Originally, this power would cause an initial hold, followed by ticks of regeneration debuff, recharge debuff, and possibility of causing the target to vomit. This was change to remove the vomitting effect. Nearly every trapper misses the vomitting in Poison Trap, since this was one of the funnest aspects of the set. Alas, it is gone.

Despite this, Poison Trap is still useful in giving the caster a few moments to manuever whilst a spawn is gassed and held (during which time a trip mine can be set), as well as providing the only means in the set to debuff regeneration. Like many traps, it has a 90 second recharge time, so slotting for recharge is a good idea if you want this up every fight.

Poison Trap has two 'attacks':
1. The intial hold. This only lasts a very short time - about 6 seconds. It's worth slotting this for holds since every second counts, and a trapper can lay an acid mortar, cast Aim and lay a Trip Mine during this time (a Traps Corruptor's 'I Win!' move when fighting mostly white minions).

2. Periodic ticks that will apply the regen/recharge debuff for 10 seconds. These ticks will constantly stack upon the target but the effects themselves are not stackable. This will occur for as long as the cloud is active, which is 30 seconds.

Note on the regeneration debuff:
At 1000%, there's no question that the debuff is huge, twice as strong a debuff as Lingering Radiation. However, this debuff is resistable, so inherent resistance to regeneration debuffs in AVs/Heroes can combat this debuff. In a Level 54 AV, this happens to be a 96% resistance, so the debuff will only be 40%!

Recommended Slotting:
Recharge and Hold, to taste and depending on how much you want to invest.


7. Seeker Drones

Basics:
Summons two Seeker Drones to the location you summon them to. These Seeker Drones will find any mob close by, float towards them, and explode - causing 5% accuracy debuff, 20% damage debuff, loss of perception and a 25% chance of disorient.

Overview:
In the hands of a poor corruptor or MM, the Seeker Drones are mindless, pointless drones that float around and do nothing. However, a capable player will spawn Seeker Drones on a target mob, causing the drones to immediately strike their targets upon casting; or, the caster will have them circling around him whilst a target is pulled towards him, perhaps to carefully placed acid mortars and poison traps, ready to strike.

The most underrated, and probably one of the most powerful powers in the set, Seeker Drones provide much needed damage debuffs. When they explode, they affect all targets caught in the explosion - if both explode at the same time, this can cause a 40% damage debuff, making it a very substantial debuff indeed.

The best methods to use Seekers, as mentioned above, as follows:
1. Cast Seeker Drones at a target spawn. The spawn will attack the seekers, and may cause some damage. Whilst the alphastrike is soaked up, you can rush the mob and set further traps - meanwhile, the seekers will explode, making sure that when the mobs do focus on you, they will either hit you a lot softer, or not hit you at all.

2. Cast Seeker Drones at your own location, and set up traps around you. Pull a foe towards you into the trap patch. The seekers may be slow to react (because they are stupid), but hopefully poison traps and acid mortars will have softened the enemy up enough so that any time the target is not debuffed from the seekers, should be spent either choking or attacking your acid mortar. This method can proove quite brutal if you have your next batch of Seeker Drones ready to cast - an 80% damage debuff is not to be sniffed at!

Like Poison Trap and Acid Mortar, Seekers are on a 90 second recharge timer, so slotting for recharge is a good idea. The debuff lasts for 40 seconds, so it's unlikely to be stackable if the seekers explode shortly after they are summoned. Also, like Acid Mortar, Seeker Drones need to hit in order to debuff, so slotting for Accuracy is not such a bad idea (though they do have a good chance to hit). The debuffs from Seeker Drones stack as mentioned above.

Recommended Slotting:
3 x Recharge, 3 x Acc Debuff or 2 x Acc Debuff / 1 x Accuracy


8. Trip Mine

Basics:
Creates a trip mine at the location of the caster. These Trip Mines explode when a mob gets in range, causing a huge amount of fire and lethal damage, and knocking back the target.

Overview:
The last essential power for a Traps player, Trip Mine is staggering in it's power. A Trip Mine placed in the centre of a spawn will cause much of the spawn to be critically wounded - add resistance debuffs and self-damage buffs to the mix, and Trip Mine becomes a devastating part of any arsenal.

The downside of Trip Mine is that it has a 5 second cast time that is also interruptable - this means if you are attacked or attempt to move during this time, the trip mine will not be set. This means you will need to ensure the opposing spawn can't hit you during this time...

To do this, then, you do the following...

1. Summon Force Field Generator and activate Scorpion Shield (if you have Mace Mastery)
2. Summon Seeker Drones towards the opposing spawn. Charge in whilst Seekers take the alpha.
3. Set a Poison Trap at the feet of the spawn. The Poison Trap should hopefully activate just as the Seekers Explode.
4. As the Poison Trap takes effect, drop an Acid Mortar to debuff resistance and enable any damage buffs (e.g. Aim, red inspirations, etc.)
5. Set the Trip Mine. You might get attacked by any mobs left who are not accuracy debuffed, held, disorientated or manage to break through your defense - in which case you'll hafta do this the old fashion way.
6. However, hopefully, once you've heard the activation 'click', you should soon see a rather satisfying explosion as Trip Mine blasts the spawn away. Now all you need to do is clear up the mess.



For Elite Bosses and AVs, combined Trip Mines also work a treat. Recharge enhancers and Hasten help here as well - a stack of 14-odd Trip Mines is more than enough to take out an even-con Synapse! A little unfair, definitely, but amusing nonetheless.

Trip Mines and Poison Traps will despawn after 4 1/3 minutes.

Recommended Slotting:
1 x Acc, 3 x Damage, 2 x Recharge (optional)


9. Time Bomb (Corruptor)

Basics:
Creates a Time Bomb. This takes 8 seconds to set, after which there is a 15 second delay before it explodes.

Overview:
A pointless addition to the Traps line and a disappointing final power. Given the strength of Trip Mines (as explained above), Time Bomb is a little excessive, and very difficult to use. I've played with this on test and haven't *ever* gotten an opponent before. It also only does about 25% more damage than Trip Mines.

As such, this is a power you can definitely avoid!

Recommended Slotting:
Don't. Take. Ever.



E. Traps - Travel Powers

Unlike most sets, where the pick of the travel power may come to just personal taste, concept, or whether the power will lead to further powers such as Acrobatics or Hasten, Traps is a set that will benefit from which travel power you'll pick. Each has their own distinct advantages - although admittedly, changes to the game have rendered some travel powers less useful than they were before.

Let's take a look at each set individually.


Leaping
Although often the most popular choice of travel power, Superleap itself doesn't offer that much of interest to the trapper. It's quick enough and a good travel power, but in general combat it isn't as useful as the other three - it does not give you stealth, it does not put you in the spawn straight away, and it does not have the animation-reducing benefits of flight.

Leaping's obvious benefit is that getting Superleap and Combat Jumping/Jump Kick opens up Acrobatics with it's knockback protection - something that Force Field Generator does not supply. Whether knockback is as troublesome as to warrant this travel pool over the other choices may come to how annoying you actually find knockback - and how often you find yourself in the situation where you are being hit for it.


Teleportation
Last February, I would have declared Teleportation w/Hover to be the best travel pick a trapper can take, and near enough essential to a decent Traps corruptor build. This was because not only did it give you access to Recall Friend for teleporting Acid Mortars, and Teleport Foe for teleporting prey into your traps, but because Teleport had a rather unusual benefit - laying traps in transit. What this meant was that a Trapper could activate Hover, teleport to an enemy spawn location, and whilst the teleport animation was in progress, activate a trap (e.g. Poison Trap). The trap itself would be set and ready by the time the Trapper landed at the location. In the case of Poison Trap, this would result in the mob not being able to put up much of a fight as the Trapper set the Acid Mortar, and let loose AoEs. Alas, this little trick was identified and frowned upon, and several months before Issue 7 was released, a fix prevented this from happening.

Further to this, in the forthcoming Issue 8, Acid Mortars will no longer be able to be teleported using Recall Friend - a seemingly unnecessary change that has many Trappers a bit upset. This leave Teleportation as a pool that still has some value (Teleport Foe), but an awful lot less value than it used to in previous months.


Speed
A quick, stealthy Trapper is a dangerous one indeed, and combined with Stealth makes the Trapper invisible until he or she lays that first trap. Of course, with a Force Field Generator following, it's not difficult to know where one is - of course, in a PvE situation, the mobs will alpha-strike the FFG, and not the Trapper, and interesting albeit dangerous first move. An interesting travel power to pick, another positive is that the pool can be opened up with Hasten - a power that will benefit your recharge times in Acid Mortar, Poison Trap, Trip Mine and Seeker Drones.


Flight
Whilst Flight is quite possibly the slowest of the four travel powers, the travel pool is probably the best choice for a Trapper for one simple reason: rooted animations do not occur whilst flying. When setting Acid Mortar, Poison Trap or Triage Beacon, the Trapper is locked in a 4 second animation that lasts longer than the activate of the pwoer itself. This locked animation does not occur when the Trapper is in a flying state i.e. using hover or using fly, so the activation time of these powers is lowered by a good amount.

It does seem rather dirty to use Flight in this fashion, but in all probability, the aboves powers were probably not meant to take as long as they do to activate, otherwise the devices would spawn at the time of the set-trap animation's finish, not half way through. So whilst this is perhaps an issue the develops need to look at, in the meantime there is a fairly decent work around. Note that this does not work for Trip Mine due to interruptability, and given its power, rightly so!

Flight also works quite nicely for Corruptors and Masterminds since it keeps you out of melee range


F. Traps - Other Pools

With Travel Powers discussed, here is a run down of the other Pools and what they can bring to a Trapper

Concealment:
Not a bad choice, especially if you intend to take Superspeed / Stealth. Grant Invis / Invis / Phase Shift may suit particular concepts though aren't particularly necessary to a Trapper - I'm not sure if there is any benefit in granting invisibility to a Force Field Generator and certainly none to an Acid Mortar or Seeker Drones!

Fighting:
The value of the Fighting pool has lowered greatly since Issue 5, and nothing much has changed. You shouldn't desire either Kick or Boxing in your build, and whilst Tough might offer some minimal resistance to Smash and Lethal, Weave is still a waste of effort. Give this one a miss.

Fitness:
Depending on your primary, and indeed your AT, you might be able to skip the Fitness pool, or at least delay it. My experiences with a Rad/Traps suggested to me that Traps might be a set that doesn't need Fitness; however, my more extensive experience with Fire/Traps assured me that the endurance drain is mostly in the primary, not in the secondary. Once you've picked your primary, it would be wise to consult other guides to find out whether or not that power set is a particular 'end hog'. In most cases, MMs can probably delay or even skip Fitness.

Leadership:
The Leadership pools are never a bad idea for supporting classes, and with Traps low end use and lack of buffs to accuracy or damage, Leadership can fill a gap in what you provide to a team. Tactics especially can proove useful when fighting stealthy foes.

Medicine:
Like Leadership, Medicine is never a bad idea, and again this pool fills in a missing gap in Traps - healing. Although a Traps is never going to be invited into a team to be the healer, and thank god for that, being able to do the quick spot heal in battle will get you some kudos. Of course, taking Aid Other leads to Aid Self, an undeniably useful tool in any style of play.

Presence:
A rather inappropriate choice for a Trapper, since Provoke and Challenge will do nothing but take the aggro away from your aggro-grabbing Traps - something you probably don't want! Intimidate might have some benefits to it, but it seems like an odd direction to go in given that Traps has plenty of crowd control already.


G. Traps - Patron Pools (Corruptor)

Now, having only taken one Trapper to Level 50, and given that Patron Power Pools are not refundable, I have only experienced the Black Scorpion 'Mace Mastery' power pool. From personal experience, I would recommend this set - the Web Envelope/Cocoon powers work well with web grenade, the Scorpion Shield stacks well with FFG's defense (not to mention the more defense, the less likely a Trip Mine is to be interrupted), and the big ol' Disruptor make for a neat ally.

The other Patrons did offer me a few things that in hindsight I should've considered more. Scirocco's Power Sink power would've been a very useful tool due to my Fire/Traps corruptors incredible end usage, though it wouldn't have been very necessary for any Traps corruptor that was not having endurance issues (like my Rad/Traps). Having said that, it would've filled the hole of not having any end recovery powers either!

Ghost Widow also offered some nice treats in the form of Soul Drain - there's nothing like additional damage, and Traps does not have any damage enhancing powers of it's own outside of its resistance debuffs.

Given the non-respecable nature of Patron Pools, the best choice is to pick what you think stylistically suits you, rather than what might give you the better edge. Arguably, Mako is the least useful of the four, but the others all have something worthwhile, mostly dependant on what primary you have taken, and whether you feel you need more slow/-recharge/defense (Scorpion), end recovery (Scirocco) or just straight out extra damage (Ghost Widow).

To go into the Patron Pools in further detail probably deserves another guide all on it's own!


H. Conclusions

Hopefully this guide has helped you get a better idea of how the Traps power set works, whether you intend to play it or simply if you want to know how the set works as someone who players with a Trapper. Traps is definitely not a set without its faults - there are reasons why there are so few Traps corruptors after all! However, I hope you have read this thinking 'Hmm, that sounds like it could be fun', and give the set a go instead of building yet another Radiation corruptor

Remember:
<ul type="square">[*]Core five powers: Acid Mortar, Force Field Generator, Poison Trap, Seeker Drones, Trip Mine[*] Use Acid Mortar and Seeker Drones to soak aggro[*] Take Flight/Hover to lower animation times[*] Trip Mines = Loads of Damage[*] Don't take Time Bomb; advice is to only take Triage Beacon and Caltrops if nothing else available[/list]

I. Credits, About the Author

Numbers and stats come courtesy of City of Data (www.nofuture.org.uk/cox). How did I ever do without it I don't know...

The name of this guide was suggested by Aire from OHMS

Karma Kollapse has been playing City of Heroes since Issue 1. He now has four Traps characters - a Level 50 Fire/Traps corruptor, a Rad/Traps corruptor, a Thugs/Traps mastermind and a newly created Robots/Traps (because he felt it was time he joined a bandwagon :P ). He also has a Level 50 Fire/Storm controller and managed to get a Trick Arrow defender to Level 30 before Issue 7, and feels like he should be awarded a medal for this. Like everybody else, he misses the vomiting in Poison Trap and would happily trade it's -recharge component to get it back; though might think twice about the -regen component. He currently plays on Victory and is a member of Eurocore and OHMS.

Trams are a graphics bug. Sure it's annoying; but does it really impair on your gameplay? How many times do you even use a tram anyhow, specially now there are porters to all zones?

Heh, your mayhem mission spawned a lieutenant?

Gee, mine spawned an EB Manticore

The truth is, the shocking truth is, the reason why TA/A is currently in it's perceived state of suckiness is this...

Archers are just so much more sexy than everyone else.

To balance for their immediate sex appeal, they simply have to have heavy recharge times, horrible powers like Entangling and Flash, and debuffs that aggro everyone in the area.

The truth has been revealed.

- Karma, player of a Level 29 TA/A on Champion.

Great stuff. I really needed some background for my Hellion too Now I get to drop a few names in her bio...

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OOOooo ..

"Celtic n Manticore, sittin in a tree ..
B-L-S-T-I-N-G!"

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Blsting? Uh, okay.

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(It's the only way to keep the same cadence as
"K-I-S-S-I-N-G" .. get it .. oh well .. I thought it was funny - that's what matters to me. ;-) )

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Y'coulda gone B-U-F-F-I-N-G.

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If only TA/A was as deadly as these Wyvern guys make it seem.

Seriously Devs, take a note, TA/A Defenders or Archery blasters would probably love to be as deadly as these guys :P

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Nah, Wyvern are a pretty easy hero group, barely a trouble at all.

Nice background though... definitely think I'll put Manticore/Wyvern as being involved in one of my character's past, they seem just right for the job

Superb and informative I had not thought to use Dull Pain *after* the first strike, instead I've been hitting it on my stalker before each boss fight (too many bad memories of being one-shotted by Foremen). Definitely some food for thought, thanks

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Superadine is called Supes in the background web pages and Dyne in game. The only reference to "Supes" I've seen in-game is scrawled on the wall in the Skull Drug Lab map.

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Though, since it's street slang, both are probably right. I mean, real street drugs have so many different names, why can't the fictional ones?

How on earth did Atta get parole???

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I guess it depends on what you're playing. I got to 40th with my stalker, solo'ing missions against Longbow in Warburg. I thought they were pretty damn easy even on the 4th diff setting. Longbow is easy because...

- No particular resistances to anything
- No holds, imob, or sleep other than the rare stun or web gernade

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Not that I mind Longbow being so nasty at the later levels, but these two struck me as odd things to point out. Longbow seem to have a lot more resistance to lethal attacks in any case, because my blade stalker has a lot more trouble taking them down in one go.

As for 'a rare web grenade', are you kidding me? :P Spec-Ops open with them, and if there's two in a group, that means you can't fly away, you'll be slowed, and you'll only get a few attacks in because they aren't recharging any time soon.

Y'know what, this has gone too far. If you're bashing devs over the fact they're not willing to go over 18 months worth of data to give you a line of text and a picture for a task force you weren't expecting a line of text and a picture for in the first place, then chances are you're just looking for things to bash them with.

I've constantly heard the phrase 'The devs have lost the love for the game'. Seems more like a small minority are constantly throwing fits about the smallest things just for the hell of it.

Getting pissed because they nerfed a power you used a lot I can understand, but throwing fits at the devs for something as minor as *this*. For god's sake, get some perspective already.

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Don't bother, anyone who read the description of a blaster and actually rolled one up isn't capable of understanding your role,

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