Yes.
Or for more detail, both are very good options. Traps offers a lot of utility, and a lot of different effects. Forcefields offers a superior set of Defense enhancements, and soft-control through knockback.
It depends on what you enjoy playing - both are relatively hands-off secondaries (fire and forget) although perhaps Traps is a bit more hands on.
Pick - they're both excellent choices (in fact, apart from Trick Arrow which is almost universally considered weak, there are no bad Mastermind secondaries).
Thankyou.
One other thing, would you advise on skipping any of the powers in either set?
I believe that the 3 "attack" powers in the MM primary are often missed (since the bots are the ones doing the fighting 
) which frees only 3 slots for power pool powers
What about endurance usage? Stamina was always a neccecity in COH
My build takes a primary attack, most of my secondary and still takes three Leadership skills (Assault, Tactics, Vengeance), and three Travel skills (Hover, Fly, Group Fly).
I prefer core skills over pools as they are inherently more powerful.
As to skipping powers, it's all a matter of taste. For me, Detention Field and Personal Forcefield don't make the grade as I always want my area buffs affecting my henchmen and always want to be able to affect enemies.
From the primary, I've skipped the first attack power, and the AoE attack power. Everything else is in.
I view myself as havign a very solid PvE build with that set up, yet it would veritably suck (outside of a team) in any PvP situation. My best advice is to think first what role you want to fulfill then pick the powers that suit that role.
And Stamina? It's always been overrated - especially for Masterminds as we do not need to constantly need powers to keep up DPS. Our henchmen do that and beyond the initial "setup" period of a mission we barely use much endurance (unless we start spamming powers). Pop 1-2 End Rdx into toggles and then forget about Stamina. You have better power choices than tying up three with CoH's "Holy Trinity".
Superb, thanks.
Now if i could only get the updater to connect, i could actually put this into practice 
I'd recommend reading my Guide to the Modern Mastermind as it will cover a lot of the questions you may have as a new Mastermind player.
To complement Zap's thoughts...
I've played both Poison (in Beta) and Traps (now) up to 20, and these are my thoughts:.
For Poison: all of them are useful, though I found Neurotoxic Breath is a bit too much of an aggro magnet. Slot Alkaloid for healing.
Traps: DEFINITELY get FF Generator and Acid Mortar, which you will love to bits. Triage Beacon doesn't really come into its own till you get SOs and will not save you from debt low down - I'd say skip it initially and buy it at 20 or 22. Caltrops aren't essential but fun if you've got a spare slot. Still unsure about the value of Poison Trap but may come back to it.
Incidentally, I did take the Robot AoE as it's got a nice Disorient component, but it's a bit of an END hog for the damage you get.
Don't bother with the Ninja cone arrows - the damage doesn't justify either the END or the Aggro.
Is it time for the dance of joy yet?
My Soldiers/FF mastermind is at lvl 20. I don't intend to take the fitness pool either. I normally take an extra blue insp with me on missions and use it after I've set up my troops, and with the medic I don't need to carry as many healing insps. From the primary set I've gone with burst and slug as they help to take down mobs quickly. Slug, which has decent range, is also pretty useful as a pull to thin out large groups.
This is the first time I've ever tried the FF powerset, Force Bolt is a handy power which can push away any melee types that are coming towards me, it's also great fun to get to the top of a high building and use it on mobs 
and the defensive bubbles work well, protecting my men from most kinds of damage and also gives good protection against holds, sleep and disorient.
[ QUOTE ]
My Soldiers/FF mastermind is at lvl 20. I don't intend to take the fitness pool either. I normally take an extra blue insp with me on missions and use it after I've set up my troops, and with the medic I don't need to carry as many healing insps. From the primary set I've gone with burst and slug as they help to take down mobs quickly. Slug, which has decent range, is also pretty useful as a pull to thin out large groups.
This is the first time I've ever tried the FF powerset, Force Bolt is a handy power which can push away any melee types that are coming towards me, it's also great fun to get to the top of a high building and use it on mobs
and the defensive bubbles work well, protecting my men from most kinds of damage and also gives good protection against holds, sleep and disorient.
[/ QUOTE ]
Since mercs, like robotics is a primarily ranged set of minions, then FF makes sense for Force bubble at 38. Of course in a team environment, force bubble can be a nightmare, but solo it can keep stuff far enough away to reduce the chances of your minions deciding to go melee.
Please note, the only toon I've got with Force bubble is my Fire/FF controller, so I'm not totally sure if Masterminds even GET force bubble, but I assume they do...
Also, TBH all the powers you REALLY need from FF are deflection shield, insulation shield and dispersion bubble. anything past that is down to personal preference, but you want those three slotted as soon as possible.
Warning:
The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
In beta i had a lvl 26 Ninja MM, to say the least, while good, they got boring, very fast. My Merc MM is currently on his way to 22, My opinion on Mercs until i get Commando at 26 is that they have got very weak very fast. Having seen all MM henchmen in action I have to say the winner in my eyes is Bots, no doubt they shall be struck with the Nerf Bat sometime soon...
Retired - For Now
@Infernius - 50 Fire/Fire Tanker
AeoniX - 50 MA/Regen Scrapper
Syinf - 36 Katana/SR Scrapper
Proud Member Of The FORUMITES
[ QUOTE ]
In beta i had a lvl 26 Ninja MM, to say the least, while good, they got boring, very fast. My Merc MM is currently on his way to 22, My opinion on Mercs until i get Commando at 26 is that they have got very weak very fast. Having seen all MM henchmen in action I have to say the winner in my eyes is Bots, no doubt they shall be struck with the Nerf Bat sometime soon...
[/ QUOTE ]
Aye.. me and girlfriend just hit 32 2nite with out Robots/Traps MM, and we've seen what the final upgrade does..
*looks for NERF bat and tries to steal it*
its guarded by an Army of Longbow, you'll never seize it 
Retired - For Now
@Infernius - 50 Fire/Fire Tanker
AeoniX - 50 MA/Regen Scrapper
Syinf - 36 Katana/SR Scrapper
Proud Member Of The FORUMITES
Like the army of longbow guarding the Zig that just got dusted by my beautiful shiny bots... when I broke back in?
Lemme at'em.
I'm not sure who I like more FTW out of Ninjas and Bots. Bots do lots of visually interesting stuff, have good range, and because of their forcefield secondaries are great in a team role.
However, brave they aren't, and frequently have to be shoved in the direction of any enemy that needs melee attention using Go To. Hence your MM needs to be on his/her toes and loaded with Respites in case they decide to stand off and blast.
Ninjas aren't nearly as much fun to look at but will repeatedly throw themselves in front of oncoming trucks in order to save you from getting splashed. They're also great at tying up opposition in melee for blasters to work on, and when the Jounin remember to Hide and get critical hits they can be pretty devastating.
Need to try out Necromancy next, I think...
Is it time for the dance of joy yet?
Necro is great but the zombies tend to die a fair bit. Which is grand cos you can just re-res them and it adds to the feel of the char.
Mr Grave knight is great in close combat but he does need some encouragement to get in there. Zombies too can do their puke and then one runs in while the other stands there and waits for puke to recharge.
So Goto is used a bit of them too.
They're also a bit prone to running off and picking fights, especially if they're on a runner. So keep the Heel button ready...
Thaniks for the advice...
I have decide on the following build...
01) --> Battle Drones==> Empty(1)
01) --> Force Bolt==> Empty(1)
02) --> Deflection Shield==> Empty(2)
04) --> Insulation Shield==> Empty(4)
06) --> Equip Robot==> Empty(6)
08) --> Assault==> Empty(8)
10) --> Hover==> Empty(10)
12) --> Protector Bots==> Empty(12)
14) --> Fly==> Empty(14)
16) --> Aid Other==> Empty(16)
18) --> Repair==> Empty(18)
20) --> Dispersion Bubble==> Empty(20)
22) --> Group Fly==> Empty(22)
24) --> Pulse Rifle Burst==> Empty(24)
26) --> Assault Bot==> Empty(26)
28) --> Aid Self==> Empty(28)
30) --> Maneuvers==> Empty(30)
32) --> Upgrade Robot==> Empty(32)
35) --> Tactics==> Empty(35)
38) --> Force Bubble==> Empty(38)
41) --> Grant Invisibility==> Empty(41)
44) --> Invisibility==> Empty(44)
47) --> Phase Shift==> Empty(47)
49) --> Repulsion Bomb==> Empty(49)
However... my next quandy is how to slot the powers... any advice?
Naturally the summon powers will be 6 slotted... but apart form that i am really not sure...
i haven't quite got my head around the way the slots work yet, is there some kind of new restrictions? (i played COH for a while)
Anyone any ideas on slotting these powers?
Hi.
COuld anyone offer some insight into either of these two secondaries?
I plan on going Robotics, but cannot decide on Forcefields or Traps as secondary.
Can anyone give me any advice on the two secondary sets in question? maybe commenting on the usefullness of the powers within?