Ninja/Traps any good?

Hello there, have come back recently after not playing for a long time and been playing through the MM's since ive been back as they are my favourite Archetype. Settled on a Demon/Dark which is good fun but I want another MM too and wondered if Ninja/Traps has good synergy?

I was wondering what the ninja's defenses would be like with traps as i have a ninja/therm 22 and they are pretty squishy. How does traps fair in terms of defence compared to other secondaries?

/Traps, in and of itself, is very good. It provides a broad range of support, and (if you're willing to take the time) can even be used to thin the enemy ranks before you even fight. /Traps should mesh well with any primary, although the ranged ones will probably get more all-over advantage from the Force Field Generator than the melee primaries will. The only drawback to the set (in regards to a Mastermind, at any rate) is that it's only heal is in Triage Beacon - a stationary +Regen object. I recommend dipping into the Medicine pool for Aid Other as soon as it is feasible in your build.

I don't really know Ninja/ well, other than they can do crazy amounts of damage to single targets, and have a reputation for being squishy. FFG can help add to their defense, but that would mean you are in the middle of the battle, too. On the other hand, Poison Gas Trap + Acid Mortar is a well recorded way to cripple a hard target... If you can keep your ninja alive, they should be tearing through enemies like nothing.

I currently have a lvl 20 ninja/traps. Since ninja are melee, I basically run in and toebomb, setting off poison trap, acid mortar, and throwing caltrops. The ninjas take care of the rest. I do have aid other to heal with and I use it a decent amount, but not as much as I thought I would. So far, very effective.

This is an awesome combo. The FF from traps stacks well with the ninjas. Placing the acid mortar helps with tougher fights. The caltrops can help restrict enemy movement. The triage beacon helps with the longer fights too.

Make sure you get the heal power pool, this has a big impact on the fights.

I've got a Ninja/Trick Arrow myself, and I can tell you from experience that Ninjas are very very squishy since their DEFenses are woeful and pathetically underpowered (to the point where you honestly wonder if they have *any* DEFense at all). They're also ADHD children hyped up on meth.

Traps is a set which works best around the stationary fight, where there's not too much running around. If that fits with your playstyle as a Mastermind then you should be able to leverage the advantages in Traps rather effectively. That's going to be the biggest determinant as to whether or not you'll be able to deal with Traps well. Do you feel like you need to "move around" too often(?).

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for ...

I decided after much playing around to roll Thugs/Traps instead. I love ninja's but like you say they are a bit Hyperactive and squishy. I figured that with 2 enforcers, FFG & Maneuvers that my guys should have some nice DEF and firepower? We shall see.

I dont like to constantly "move around", if my guys are fighting melee or range i will go in close and stay there to support them. My thug/traps is 8 at the moment and teamed with a friend who's Merc/FF so that should help for some more DEF.

Also, curious to know if the FFG stacks with other FFG's?

Another quick question, would it be wise to pick up Aid Other or can i do without and is it worth picking up seeker drones & detonator?

Aid Other - If you can work this into your build... do so! For a Mastermind, your henchmen are your life! A single target heal will improve your over all survivability immensely. Between that, and all the defense you can stack on your pets, you should have an easy time of things.

Oh, and I suppose when you team with other people, being able to throw another heal out is nice there, too.

Seeker Drones: Not absolutely necessary, but I'd recommend it. These are an excellent method for pulling enemy groups into your traps, and - more importantly, the will take the enemies Alpha Strike for you, sparing both you, and your pets, from that (and other teammates, I suppose). There are other tricks - like not needing line of sight - but those are gravy. Slot for recharge and add a little range, and you have a very nice tool.

Detonator: No. You want things that go boom? Pick up trip mine. Hell, you WANT to pick up trip mine. Detonator sacrifices one of your henchmen (i.e. YOUR LIFE) to make a boom. But said boom will only outdo Trip Mine if you sacrifice your Bruiser... which is probably not the pet you want to casually be removing from play. Stick with Trip Mines... pull your enemies into them. It's not hard to do.

What's this like for a build, anythings i should change? only put in the regular enhancements.

Villain Plan by Mids' Villain Designer 1.707
http://www.cohplanner.com/

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Level 50 Magic Mastermind
Primary Power Set: Thugs
Secondary Power Set: Traps
Power Pool: Medicine
Power Pool: Fitness
Power Pool: Leadership
Power Pool: Leaping
Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Call Thugs -- Dmg(A), Dmg(3), Dmg(3), Dmg(7), Dmg(15), Dmg(33)
Level 1: Web Grenade -- EndRdx(A)
Level 2: Caltrops -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(40)
Level 4: Triage Beacon -- Heal(A), Heal(5), Heal(5), RechRdx(7), RechRdx(34), RechRdx(36)
Level 6: Equip Thugs -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(46)
Level 8: Aid Other -- Heal(A), Heal(9), RechRdx(9), RechRdx(11)
Level 10: Acid Mortar -- EndRdx(A), RechRdx(11), DefDeb(40), Acc(46)
Level 12: Call Enforcer -- Dmg(A), Dmg(13), Dmg(13), Dmg(15), Dmg(21), Dmg(33)
Level 14: Swift -- Run(A)
Level 16: Force Field Generator -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(17), DefBuff(17), DefBuff(29), DefBuff(29), DefBuff(36)
Level 18: Gang War -- RechRdx(A), RechRdx(19), RechRdx(19), RechRdx(36)
Level 20: Poison Trap -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(21), RechRdx(37), RechRdx(40)
Level 22: Health -- Heal(A), Heal(23), Heal(23)
Level 24: Stamina -- EndMod(A), EndMod(25), EndMod(25)
Level 26: Call Bruiser -- Dmg(A), Dmg(27), Dmg(27), Dmg(33), Dmg(34), Dmg(34)
Level 28: Seeker Drones -- Range(A), Range(43), EndRdx(43), EndRdx(43)
Level 30: Maneuvers -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(31), DefBuff(31), DefBuff(31), DefBuff(37), DefBuff(37)
Level 32: Assault -- EndRdx(A)
Level 35: Upgrade Equipment -- EndRdx(A), EndRdx(46)
Level 38: Trip Mine -- Dmg(A), Dmg(39), EndRdx(39), EndRdx(39)
Level 41: Dual Wield -- Dmg(A), Dmg(42), EndRdx(42), EndRdx(42)
Level 44: Empty Clips -- Dmg(A), Dmg(45), EndRdx(45), EndRdx(45)
Level 47: Scorpion Shield -- DefBuff(A), DefBuff(48), DefBuff(48), DefBuff(48), DefBuff(50), DefBuff(50)
Level 49: Super Jump -- Jump(A), Jump(50)
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A)
Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Supremacy
Level 6: Ninja Run

Seeker drones are a must have. They to massive amounts of -to hit and -dmg. Get 'em, use 'em and emphasis recharge so you get them up as often as you can.

The only power I would recommend skipping is detonator. Killing pets is never a good idea, you should be doing everything you can to keep them alive.

Will take in the advice on the build thanks