Repair is a must have. It's a full heal for your robot. Don't skip repair.
Why would you be taking the attacks? The bots are your attacks. The only thing I can see taking is the photon grenade to stack stuns with your protector bots.
If you HAD to skip one more power from traps... skip the trip mine I guess...
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Trip Mine and Detonator
Definitely skip Detonator... Trip Mine I could see being useful against really powerful foes (depending on the primary - robots should stay at range and lure foes onto the minefield)...
I happen to love Caltrops --- keeps the enemy from closing to mlee with me or the bots and keeps them at range.
I happen to hate Triage Beacon; sure, the bots are better about staying in place and attacking at range, but IMO triage beacon's immobility and the fact it's not a heal but a regen-booster really make it questionable. It's rare for me to stay in one place long enough to benefit from it (except, I suppose, on BIG fights but there aren't enough of those for me to spend a power choice on it).
I'm not sure about Repair -- my Bots is Dark, so I don't NEED the heal so much, but even if I were traps Secondary and "only" had Aid Other... the Protector Bots ~usually~ do a pretty good job of healing. Not always, true, but every time I see a bot's health fall and start getting ready to heal somehow, BOOM, the Protector throws a heal.
Still, if I had a free power choice I'd probably get it just because it looks cool and there IS the chance the protector won't heal when I need it to. Repair (AFAIK) only works on YOUR bots, though, so it's less useful than, say, Aid Other that can be used on anyone (although Aid Other isn't a FULL heal, necessarily).
For a second I was going to put down Poison Trap but I was thinking of the POISON secondary's Poison Trap, which IS horrible. The traps version is -great- and definitely worth getting.
Only other power I can see skipping would be Seeker Drones --- perhaps I'm not using them properly or in the chaos of combat I don't realize what effect they are really having, but I haven't been OMFGWOW impressed with them.
I took everything but Detonator from Traps. I took only the summons and upgrades from Bots; Repair recharges too slow. I took Aid Other ( Aid Self isn't really needed ), the Fitness pool to spam traps faster, and TP Foe to drop enemies on Trip Mines/Poison Trap.
Caltrops is actually quite good; it bunches up enemies, and can distract even EBs, who often will run around instead of attacking. Trip Mine is also good; it adds a nice chuck of damage against EBs and such.
Seeker Drones are great, as long as you know to summon them on top of the enemy; they eat the alpha strike.
Triage Beacon is good once you can slot it with SOs ( or the IO equivalent ); combined with Aid Other it helps keep your bots alive in big fights. Just don't expect much without 4-5 slotting it, and set it down before the fight starts.
You really want Acid Mortar; it's a hefty debuff, and often takes aggro from you as well. Basic slotting is 3 recharge/1 def debuff for me; it's proc friendly too.
Arc #40529 : The Furies of the Earth
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Repair is a must have. It's a full heal for your robot. Don't skip repair.
Why would you be taking the attacks? The bots are your attacks. The only thing I can see taking is the photon grenade to stack stuns with your protector bots.
If you HAD to skip one more power from traps... skip the trip mine I guess...
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Trip Mine is skippable, and so is repair. The recharge is not worth it, as Aid Other does the job twice as well as repair.
Oh, and take Detonator for giggles. The Nuke damage on spawns is well worth it.
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Why would you be taking the attacks? The bots are your attacks. The only thing I can see taking is the photon grenade to stack stuns with your protector bots.
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At low levels, I think taking the first two personal attacks is a good idea. They add to damage, and also give you personally a ranged attack, something Traps doesn't have.
Later, probably around level 24, you can use your second build to remove the personal attacks and add two more powers. I'll usually add my travel powers at that point.
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Trip Mine is skippable, and so is repair. The recharge is not worth it, as Aid Other does the job twice as well as repair.
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Aid Other also works one both teammates and pets. Repair only works on your pet. One Recharge and one Heal in Aid Other usually does it for me until very late levels.
I'm a level 50 bots/FF and I've never used Repair, only Aid Other.
Great info. Thank you all.
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Definitely skip Detonator... Trip Mine I could see being useful against really powerful foes (depending on the primary - robots should stay at range and lure foes onto the minefield)...
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Robots DON'T stay at range and shoot, no matter how sensible it would be. Once engaged in a battle, they will move to what they think is a better position... even if (for some reason) that position is in melee range. (Why Protector Bots, Why?!)
I've found it much more effective to simply stay in Bodyguard mode and toe bomb things after my 'bots have their attention. Still, it's a flavor power for a Master Mind... don't feel too bad if you have to drop it.
Same with Detonator. Robots actually have an easier time with this power... they make a loud noise and flash some lights when they are low on health - having your nearly dead robot (even a battle droid) explode on your opponents is a better use for it then just letting it die.
Overall, though... you might go one or the other, but you probably don't want to take both.
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I happen to love Caltrops --- keeps the enemy from closing to mlee with me or the bots and keeps them at range.
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Agreed. I especially like it as it needs little slotting - the initial slot is usually good enough.
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I happen to hate Triage Beacon; sure, the bots are better about staying in place and attacking at range, but IMO triage beacon's immobility and the fact it's not a heal but a regen-booster really make it questionable. It's rare for me to stay in one place long enough to benefit from it (except, I suppose, on BIG fights but there aren't enough of those for me to spend a power choice on it).
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Triage Beacon is better for other player teammates, than for the bots themselves. It is better for reducing downtime and as a... well, beacon. It's a good way to mark a location visibly, that won't hinder any further plans.
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I'm not sure about Repair -- my Bots is Dark, so I don't NEED the heal so much, but even if I were traps Secondary and "only" had Aid Other... the Protector Bots ~usually~ do a pretty good job of healing. Not always, true, but every time I see a bot's health fall and start getting ready to heal somehow, BOOM, the Protector throws a heal.
Still, if I had a free power choice I'd probably get it just because it looks cool and there IS the chance the protector won't heal when I need it to. Repair (AFAIK) only works on YOUR bots, though, so it's less useful than, say, Aid Other that can be used on anyone (although Aid Other isn't a FULL heal, necessarily).
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Aid Other may not be a full heal, but it is a better choice in the long run. Take Aid Other, and - if you still have an extra power choice - take Triage Beacon over Repair.
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For a second I was going to put down Poison Trap but I was thinking of the POISON secondary's Poison Trap, which IS horrible. The traps version is -great- and definitely worth getting.
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Not as great as it was, but the -regen still makes it worthwhile. Be sure to maximize its recharge... against really tough things, you will be dropping one of these every time it comes up!
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Only other power I can see skipping would be Seeker Drones --- perhaps I'm not using them properly or in the chaos of combat I don't realize what effect they are really having, but I haven't been OMFGWOW impressed with them.
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Seekers have some nice debuffs... but nothing special. Their real purpose... is as an Alpha eater. Enemies can target the drones themselves - so summon them just outside of the enemies aggro range. The Seeker(/s) will launch themselves, and the enemies will waste their alpha on the seekers!
It's unlikely that the enemies will destroy the seekers before they detonate, but either way, you - and your bots - are spared that initial attack. I recommend putting in at least 1 Range enhancement into Seekers... that will give you some breathing room to summon them from without getting the enemies aggro yourself.
-This Space Intentionally Left Blank.-
detonator is skippable
that's all
do not skip:
poison trap, the -regen is extmrely handy and in many cases may make or break a simple EB fight (ie. widdershins/biff)
seeker drones - fantastic alpha absorbers and eb/av pullers into your mine fields
trip mine - the way my mm is slotted everything is at least -40% resist debuffed. my toe-bomb trip mines hit for over 500 damage. annoying sapper around corner? trip mine and tp foe - it's dead, jim.
triage beacon - when you get io'd out and most of your pets are soft capped, you'll find you dont need repair or aid other that often, this is enough. it's also a great place to slot 5 doctored wounds for global recharge.
I find Detonator a power you can go both ways with. The Nuke damage is nice, and if you are great with endurance totally worth it.
Remember it takes the Boss pet for a good BOOM, but it's awesome when you're on a team.
Detonator is the most skippable. The damage is good, but the endurance cost for re-upgrading a replacement is pretty steep. I find that with Bots/Traps I don't have pets get in trouble enough to justify it as a "he was going to die anyway" power... and when I do run into a situation like that I can hit Repair and save the pet instead.
Trip Mine is handy for dropping at an enemy's feet and can be handy to set traps, but it's not vital by any means. I use it as much for something to do as anything... once you drop Caltrops, Poison Trap, and Acid Mortar you're pretty much sitting there doing nothing, and Trip Mine hits far harder than any of your Pulse Rifle attacks.
I'd skip the personal attacks (or respec out of them in the 20s) before skipping anything else in Traps. Acid Mortar is a great debuff (especially with an Achilles' Heel proc slotted). Caltrops is a significant damage mitigation since it tends to make things run around instead of shoot, and it can take some good sets for cheap bonuses. Triage Beacon is fantastic in AV fights... if you take Provoke or Challenge and get a little extra ranged defense from IOs you can immobilize and tank an AV while the Triage Beacon heals the bodyguard damage from the occasional hits. Poison Trap is a so-so hold but an incredibly good -regen debuff... it makes a big difference against AVs. Seeker Drones can be dropped in front of a spawn to eat their alpha strike, and they help on AVs by debuffing damage. Web Grenade is the key to defeating bosses quickly since it holds them still in the Assault Bot's burn patches, and it also makes AVs and EBs a lot less dangerous by removing their melee attacks. And of course FFG is pretty much the best single power in any MM secondary, period. The only one of those I'd consider skipping is Seeker Drones, and they are nice enough that I'd need a good reason to skip them... and a pulse rifle attack isn't good enough.
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
On my Bots/Traps the only power I skipped from traps was Detonate. Some people like it, I don't. Especially now with the new way pets are upgraded I find it a waste but it's all personal taste.
As for the Bots/ powers I took one attack just for fun but I didn't waste too many slots on it. They all kind of stink so they're all skip-able imo. You -can- stack Photon Grenade with your ProtBots, but that's a once in a blue moon timing thing. I don't like taking powers on the off chance they might be effective at some point.
Repair is not a bad power but if you're taking medicine pool powers I would put Aid Other > Triage Beacon > Repair in order of importance for fitting into your build. Triage and AO are both far more useful on a team later on.
Just my $.02
Agreed on Aid Other... I only took Repair because it was one of the very few powers I could grab at level 49 and use with just the default slot (since I already had Assault).
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
Do not skip trip mine. Ever. A mine field can one shot a purple conning boss. Each mine does massive lethal/fire damage. A bunch together can make a serious dent on an av or cut an EB down to half health.
Detonate sucks quite frankly. Your bots do knockback which scatters mobs so you can't hit more than one person with it, if you are lucky, and the end cost to re-equip a bot mid fight is cost prohibited, never mind dropping a minion out of bodyguard mode.
The Case Against Hardcase- arc id: 438272
Clowning Around- arc id: 408447
Down the Rabbit Hole- arc id: 193055
I've respec'd Delta Commander(Bots/Traps) so many times it's not even funny. My general advice is this:
-* You don't need Medicine or Repair if you have Triage Beacon and plenty of defense.
-* Provoke goes a long way for keeping stuff in range of the Traps.
-* Never forget about Web Grenade. It's your root power(unintended pun 
) in Traps and can be made useful in every situation.
-* Detonator isn't worth it. Even if your Bots run in, just send them back with Go-To, since the mobs are usually disorganized enough that it didn't get the henchmen killed.
-* Armours, both Resistance and Defense, are always useful, especially Resistance once you have plenty of defense from IO sets.
-* Hasten is always nice.
Of the 5 you're considering, I'd say Detonator is the most skippable. It has entertainment value, and the damage isn't bad, but you can accomplish similar things with a Trip Mine or two without sacrificing a pet (and more frequently). I'd *maybe* say Seekers are skippable for a MM since one of their main uses is taking alphas and MMs are generally able to do that anyway.. but that -dam debuff is pretty nice too.
Also, while I know you've got Triage as one of the ones you're definitely taking, I'd say that one is somewhat redundant when you've also got Aid Other on top of the ProtBots' heals.
Detonator is the most skippable. Caltrops are quite good, and u can slot them with a lot of procs.
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Do not skip trip mine. Ever. A mine field can one shot a purple conning boss. Each mine does massive lethal/fire damage. A bunch together can make a serious dent on an av or cut an EB down to half health.
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Yes, but the bots can kill a purple boss faster than you can set up that minefield. 
Good advice for a Corruptor, but a Bots/Traps MM can just hit purple bosses and EBs head on and flatten them so in practice the mines are less vital.
Cascade, level 50 Blaster (NRG/NRG since before it was cool)
Mechmeister, level 50 Bots / Traps MM
FAR too many non-50 alts to name
[u]Arcs[u]
The Scavenger Hunt: 187076
The Instant Lair Delivery Service: 206636
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Do not skip trip mine. Ever. A mine field can one shot a purple conning boss. Each mine does massive lethal/fire damage. A bunch together can make a serious dent on an av or cut an EB down to half health.
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Yes, but the bots can kill a purple boss faster than you can set up that minefield. Good advice for a Corruptor, but a Bots/Traps MM can just hit purple bosses and EBs head on and flatten them so in practice the mines are less vital.
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depends on the boss/eb
there are some you want weakened as much as possible as soon as possible.
If you plan to solo avs taking down a huge amount of their health at the onset of the engagement is vital. A minefield and three poison traps is a great way to start making that dent.
And mid fight if you can score another hold from poison trap you can toe bomb the av for more damage. It adds to the dps you need to take them down.
At this point (level 43) it's quicker for me to list the avs I haven't soloed, so if you have a little patience I'm sure you'll be happy with the results.
The Case Against Hardcase- arc id: 438272
Clowning Around- arc id: 408447
Down the Rabbit Hole- arc id: 193055
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And mid fight if you can score another hold from poison trap you can toe bomb the av for more damage.
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I find that I can drop Trip Bombs in mid fight even if the enemy ISN"T held; that's the main reason I took /Mace, for the Defense based shield. It makes it much less likely you will be interrupted while dropping a Trip Bomb. Especially once the bots suck most of the enemy aggro off you.
Arc #40529 : The Furies of the Earth
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And mid fight if you can score another hold from poison trap you can toe bomb the av for more damage.
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I find that I can drop Trip Bombs in mid fight even if the enemy ISN"T held; that's the main reason I took /Mace, for the Defense based shield. It makes it much less likely you will be interrupted while dropping a Trip Bomb. Especially once the bots suck most of the enemy aggro off you.
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I prefer the damage resistance plus mezz resistance plus KB resistance from Mu myself, but to each is own. 
The Case Against Hardcase- arc id: 438272
Clowning Around- arc id: 408447
Down the Rabbit Hole- arc id: 193055
So I made a Robotics/Traps over the weekend and got her to lvl 8.
I like the powerset combo a lot so far so I think I'm going to make a
run of it. Looking ahead my only curiousity is which traps powers I'm going
to take.
I am taking seven bots powers (everything but repair and rifle blast), assault and tactics, heal other and heal self, fitness health and stamina,
combat jumping and superleap.
I am definitely taking web grenade, triage beacon and FFG.
I will not take caltrops.
So of the remaining five traps powers, what would you skip??
Thanks for your time.