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This is true of all ATs but Blasters(both primary and secondary cause damage), even with a Scrapper early slotting is a toss up between increasing your damage output or increasing survivability.
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Yes, but with an empath (and many other defenders) early slotting often has to go to powers that are no use at all soloing. With a scrapper you always get _something_ useful (and with many scrapper secondaries, the early powers are so uninspiring that the slots almost inevitably fall into your primary).
Mind you, tankers who slot for teaming often end up as tickle-to-death merchants - no risk of faceplanting, because you're massively over-defended for soloing, but agonisingly slow defeats.
Controllers were miserable before Containment, but it's not so bad now; but again, at least you're generally taking powers that do *some* damage.
I do think the problem is worst for empaths. Most of the powers you're taking and slotting in your primary don't do any damage (unlike a controller); they don't do you any good soloing (unlike scrapper secondaries or - say - a rad defender's powers); unlike a tanker you aren't particularly robust. All these things are true of some other kinds of defender (like bubbles), but additionally all your primary powers are good and useful. Those other kinds of defender can figure out *something* to skip.
If you go for a traditional build with travel power and Stamina and take all the primary, it's _24th_ level until you can select a second attack. I think one reason people leave Absorb Pain alone is not so much its double-edged nature but the sheer desire for another power selection.
But... I've said it before, but multibuilds changes all this. Forget PvP vs PvE; think solo versus team builds. You'll never be a great soloist, but at least you'll have a decent bag of slotted attacks, and you won't have to compromise your team support for the sake of soloing speed.
I agree with most of what you said, but it is possible to make a decent solo/team Emp early on.
Six slot Healing Aura early - beneficial for you and the team.
Take your 1st two attacks - for most Defenders their bread and butter through their carreer.
Take Air Superiority to access a travel power.
That attack chain will allow you to solo early on and leave room for most of your primary.
L50s: Tanks: Cryofission - Ice/EM - Dr Celsius - Fire/Ice - Saint George - SD/SS | Controllers: Psichosis - Ill/Kin - Major Chaos - Ill/Stm | Scrappers - Neutron Crusader - DM/SR
Currently Levelling: Angelic Blade - BS/WP Scrapper | Seeds of Destruction - Plant/Kin Controller
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Six slot Healing Aura early - beneficial for you and the team.
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Agree, except probably five-Franken-slot it.
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Take your 1st two attacks - for most Defenders their bread and butter through their carreer.
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Mmm. So what are you going to skip? The traditional answer's Absorb Pain, but the early levels are just where Absorb Pain is strongest; enemies aren't flinging around so many AoEs, it doesn't need any extra slots to be effective (and slots are in short supply), you don't have 3 SO Recharge Redux to cycle Heal Other quickly, and you are far more likely to have endurance issues and have to fall back on zero-endurance Absorb Pain.
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Take Air Superiority to access a travel power.
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I must admit I hadn't thought of that, although of course it does leave you stuck with Fly instead of Super Jump.
Another approach is Hasten+Super Speed - more viable if you have the Good versus Evil jump pack. Obviously Hasten increases your attack power when it's up, and it's also ultimately valuable for the ability to have one of the Recovery/Regeneration Auras up almost all the time.
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Mmm. So what are you going to skip? The traditional answer's Absorb Pain,
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Yep; I hate this power, anything that increases my own chances of dieing is not for me 
At the end of the day all builds are a compromise; some are tighter than others but I've never had a build that allowed me to get every power that I wanted.
L50s: Tanks: Cryofission - Ice/EM - Dr Celsius - Fire/Ice - Saint George - SD/SS | Controllers: Psichosis - Ill/Kin - Major Chaos - Ill/Stm | Scrappers - Neutron Crusader - DM/SR
Currently Levelling: Angelic Blade - BS/WP Scrapper | Seeds of Destruction - Plant/Kin Controller
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Mmm. So what are you going to skip? The traditional answer's Absorb Pain,
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Yep; I hate this power, anything that increases my own chances of dieing is not for me
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Giving the tanker their health bar back in one go doesn't necessarily increase your own chance of dying. I remember a bad Synapse run where I was having serious endurance problems; I kept the team alive fighting the Clockwork King only because I could stand well back and pop Absorb Pain when I was out of blue. I didn't faceplant once; without AP we'd have taken multiple team wipes against the AV.
I agree that all builds are compromises; the compromise you are making by skipping AP is to improve soloing but at a considerable cost in your ability to support a team in the early levels.
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I agree that all builds are compromises; the compromise you are making by skipping AP is to improve soloing but at a considerable cost in your ability to support a team in the early levels.
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Not really, you're quoting one example where it was useful against an AV.
The majority of time at low levels are spent doing Heroic missions where Healing Aura and Heal Other are adequate. The extra damage from attacks would probably be more usefull in these cases.
To each their own; thats what makes the game so interesting. 
L50s: Tanks: Cryofission - Ice/EM - Dr Celsius - Fire/Ice - Saint George - SD/SS | Controllers: Psichosis - Ill/Kin - Major Chaos - Ill/Stm | Scrappers - Neutron Crusader - DM/SR
Currently Levelling: Angelic Blade - BS/WP Scrapper | Seeds of Destruction - Plant/Kin Controller
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I agree that all builds are compromises; the compromise you are making by skipping AP is to improve soloing but at a considerable cost in your ability to support a team in the early levels.
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Not really, you're quoting one example where it was useful against an AV.
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Er... yeah. It's an example. That's how examples work. I'm not saying it's the only time AP has ever been useful; I'm saying it's the most striking time, when a power that you say increases the risk of dying actually saved me from dying repeatedly.
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The majority of time at low levels are spent doing Heroic missions where Healing Aura and Heal Other are adequate.
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The missions may be Heroic, but in many other respects things are worse. Players may not be as disciplined, tankers have weaker defences, aggro management can be poor, blasters don't have enough attacks to dispatch enemies they aggro, scrappers are less self-sufficient, controllers can't lock down as much, Healing Aura and Heal Other cycle slowly and heal less, endurance is in shorter supply...
I would say quite the opposite; once you're into the 20s Healing Aura, Heal Other and Regeneration Aura are fully slotted, your team members are more likely able to manage things, and Absorb Pain gathers dust. It's precisely at low levels you are likely to want it.
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The extra damage from attacks would probably be more usefull in these cases.
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Again I must disagree. The extra damage from attacks is only worth having if you don't aggro stuff and get yourself in trouble - especially if trouble means being mezzed. That is much less likely to happen once tankers and controllers are fully capable.
Have a feeling though that the Red side version of "Absorb Pain" = "share pain" ... will be far far more used then the Hero version.
(damage buff on self... yes please )
My empath has also skipped Absorb pain as one levelled up. Get it or not, slot it with enchantments to increase each heal or not. Yes its the big heal but reserved for those few moments.
I skipped it as i wanted a nice little -res cone (secondary is sonic). Which helps the team in other ways.
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I've been playing Shanti my empath/dark from 1-50 these last few months and have to say this guide seems to cover most of what I had discovered for myself. On the absorb pain arguement I have to side with taking it as although it might get dusty being left on the shelf for so long it does provide a team saving heal at times of greatest need such as when your teams tank is taking hits from Recluse or whatever. I also found myself running out of powers to take as dark didn't have all that many powers I was interested in.
Thankyou to Shannon too for the suggestion of using AB on the other empath in a 2-healer team. The idea of empaths keeping each other CM'ed occured to me before during a CoT filled mission but I hadn;t realised the enormous benefit of keeping each other AB'ed as well. I used to get a little dismayed when teamed with other empaths but now I'm actually looking forward to it. 
The reason for showing the vids was simply to prove to any disheartened Emps that it is possible to solo.
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Simple fact is, if you want to be good at soloing leveling up the attacks require slots and you require an attack chain.
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This is true of all ATs but Blasters(both primary and secondary cause damage), even with a Scrapper early slotting is a toss up between increasing your damage output or increasing survivability.
I've had no issues leveling my Defenders, 3 powers is usually fine for an attach chain.
L50s: Tanks: Cryofission - Ice/EM - Dr Celsius - Fire/Ice - Saint George - SD/SS | Controllers: Psichosis - Ill/Kin - Major Chaos - Ill/Stm | Scrappers - Neutron Crusader - DM/SR
Currently Levelling: Angelic Blade - BS/WP Scrapper | Seeds of Destruction - Plant/Kin Controller