Traps is Fantastic.
Let's see... I can Speed-Supress/Fear and damage with Caltrops (great power), Fly/Speed Supress with Web, Taunt, Debuff and Damage with Acid Mortar, Hold and Damage with Poison; all the while whilst my boys are shlocking into them.
Fair enough, with Robotics it's not as useful as you'll be barraging most of the time, but with Zombie/Ninja and even Thugs it rocks.
For Robotics, you're best looking into Leadership (as you'll be at point blank), but a good pulling technique would be...
Mastermind runs up, drops Mortar (which aggros as it fires), Surround it with Caltrops, back off and set up a Triage around your robots that are gunning them down. Lob the odd web grenade at runners.
8 man mob up to +2 will go down easily with that combo, before you add FFG.
traps is great only power i dont like in the set are seeker drones as a robotics mastermind my bots spawn there own seeker drones so i have no use for them best powers in the set are trip mines and the detonator
Web Grenade: Immobilize / -fly / -recharge
Caltrops: Minor DoT (Lethal) +DMG / -spd / fear-like effect
Acid Mortar: -DEF +DMG
Poison Trap: Hold / Slow / -Regen / +DMG
EBs/AVs anyone???
My robotics/traps (even tho he's been at level 41 for a while now) takes down most things fairly easy.
Traps is a bit of an odd set as it has some great powers in it but it also has a hell of a lot of stinkers in there. COmpared to something like /dark, it's not as useful in general team play due to the fact most of it's useful powers require set up. The simple fact is that in the time it takes you to set up, most teams could have wiped the mob by then anyway.
That said, when a team is struggling and are willing to wait for the prep a traps MM needs to do, it can be an awesome set. Also great for defending in base raids 
I wouldn't have a /trap for general play but for certain situations, I am glad when one is to hand.
Slotting :Add 1 Acc to other Acc's for PVP
Web : Acc, Immob, Rechrg
Caltrops : Acc, Slowx2 (Damage is next to useless)
Triage : 3xHeal, Rechrg (Works well at low levels on hench, save it for yourself on higher)
Acid Mortar : Acc, Damage, ToHitDebuff, Range
FFG : 3xDef
Poison (weak) Acc, Rechrg
Seeker (weak) Acc, 3xDmg
Trip : Acc, 3xDmg,Rechrg
Detonator : (Not used) For a Rob MM, it might be a waste.
/Traps can be frustrating in a team. Yep, you'll rarely be afforded the time to set up before everyone else has piled in 
.
When you do get to play with it, it's fantastic fun, and works very well.
And it is an absolute blinder in base raid defense 
. Build your base to suit your /traps MM and play to it 
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/Traps can be frustrating in a team. Yep, you'll rarely be afforded the time to set up before everyone else has piled in .
When you do get to play with it, it's fantastic fun, and works very well.
And it is an absolute blinder in base raid defense . Build your base to suit your /traps MM and play to it .
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Sod the team as a Mastermind your best off soloing I have yet to play with a decent team in CoV. Solos the way to go on your MM you will get xp so fast that it will make Regens and PL cry.
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Traps is a bit of an odd set as it has some great powers in it but it also has a hell of a lot of stinkers in there. COmpared to something like /dark, it's not as useful in general team play due to the fact most of it's useful powers require set up. The simple fact is that in the time it takes you to set up, most teams could have wiped the mob by then anyway.
That said, when a team is struggling and are willing to wait for the prep a traps MM needs to do, it can be an awesome set. Also great for defending in base raids
I wouldn't have a /trap for general play but for certain situations, I am glad when one is to hand.
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Agreed on all accounts.. it does take a few seconds to set up those lil "toys".. and in that time you yourself can be killed in the process.. (tho I do the smart thing and have a couple of bots take aggro for a while, while I attempt to set up things) - I but it's solo and semi-team ability is very nice in my own experience.
It's not RAD/Debuff replacement, like Dark, and it's not as potent.. but it can help you a lil sometimes, when a RAD or a DARK isn't available.
It took me a while to get used to the set itself, but once you know what does what and best time to use it -- it gets to be a lil fun watching mobs land in the "trap" you made
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Sod the team as a Mastermind your best off soloing I have yet to play with a decent team in CoV. Solos the way to go on your MM you will get xp so fast that it will make Regens and PL cry.
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Bit of a broad statement that Rock and I actually think it's incorrect.
Teams on CoV aren't naturally bad, it's just that CoV is harder to play as a team compared to CoH as AT's like MM's and stalkers are clearly built to solo.
Personally, I enjoy CoV more purely becuase of this. I've been venturing back over to CoH a bit more lately and actually found it yawn inducing over there because it's so easy in PvP. On CoV, you always seem to be on the edge more with the weaker heals on there, brutes needing to take damage to inflict it, stalkers being squishy yet having to take out the biggest threats etc.
All that aside, it's VERY rare I end up on a bad team on CoV but that's probably down to the fact I have a wide circle of players I know and team with regularly so we've all worked on MAKING teams work on CoV, rather than on CoH where they work naturally.
Surely the hint is in the powerset name? Traps! No aggro, lay your traps and lead them to you!
Anyway, what powers would people advise? Seeking drones on my Mercs/Traps MM seems a bit of a waste, huge reload time for 2 bangs that marginally affect a foe.
Pro's/con's in the set??
"Like War_Hero said, leave it as it is, it toughens up the softies." - Naz Nomad
Union Heroes
War Borg - Leader of The Paragon Knights
Union Villains
McCabe - Co-leader of The Rogue Knights
Defiant - Supreme Hero
Actually my Robotics/Traps MasterMind (who's stuck at level 38 till my Brute hits 50) has been a very rewarding experience in regards to traps.
Sure you mostly get to use all of your toys when soloing, but I have had some very good experiences while teaming as well.
During team battles, having the acid mortar firing away draws aggro away from my MM, who can then waltz in during a pile-up fight and set poison traps and trip mines to seriously disrupt enemies - drop caltrops behind the fighting slowing any enemies trying to run away and bogging down Lts and Bosses with web grenades.
I must say I really like Traps - and I also initially chose it as it fit perfect with the concept for my toon
Hellowie!
I've been playing a Necromancy - Traps mastermind, and I love Traps. She was originally Necromancy - Trick Arrow, but I found, as a secondary, it took along time to feel like a rewarding set. Traps on the other hand is amazing from the get go.
I remember getting completed splatted when I went up against the Damned Boos in Mongoose's timed mission as a Trick Arrow Mastermind, as Zombies have very little defense against Fire attacks. With Traps, I just threw down some Caltrops, Web Grenaded said Damned and set down a Triage Beacon. Done.
All in all. Traps is my favourite Mastermind secondary. You really feel like a Mastermind when using it. Methodical, calm, prepared. Awesome
The Rot Hood.
Ive got a robotics traps master mind and notice that very few masterminds take traps as a secondary ability.
I took it so it would fit in with my character design. However its only recently that i respecced out of a lot of other abilities such as healing and retook some of my trap secondaries (whats the point in having a secondary power pool if you dont use it i may as well or rerolled)
However the abilities that seem the strongest in traps is Force field generator and detonator everything else seems either on an excessivly long respawn timer or just weak.
Should i be bothering with any of the traps abilities or am i slotting them badly .IE not at all.