Bots solo build??
By
Clave_Dark_5,
Posted on: 2010-08-16 17:31 in Archetypes and Powers General Discussion
I'd like to add...when considering all of the secondaries, Pain still sticks out as the most promising to me.....able to heal/buff bots, and later an AoE debuff to enemies.......just wonder if it's enough in late game encounters......
Not sure why I can't seem to find ANY Bots/Pain builds!!!!....been Googling like a friggin madman!
Well an "easy" route would be bots/ff. Your bots will almost never get hit, let alone die, and even if they do get hit, you have a MAX heal that will automatically restore them to full hp, and the protector bots have a heal they can use. It is not very exciting, but it is safe and you won't ever find yourself feeling that your henchmen are too squishy.
Thermal will provide a smaller yet still noticeable amount of protection, and it will also give them some damage. Forge and melt armor will help a lot for adding to that. A forged assault bot will do some pretty sick things.
Traps will keep your bots alive to a slightly lesser extent than ff, but moreso than fire. It also provides some added damage and control through acid mortar, caltrops, poison trap, and trip mine. From what I hear, this is one of the top damage sets to pair with bots.
IMO those are the top three sets to pair with bots but YMMV.
found an offensive, non-conformist build someone posted for bots/thermal....just seeing what everyone thinks.....
Villain Profile:
Level 1: Battle Drones
(A) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage
(3) Sovereign Right - Damage/Endurance
(5) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Endurance
(11) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(13) Sovereign Right - Accuracy
(25) Sovereign Right - Resistance Bonus
Level 1: Warmth
(A) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance/Recharge
(3) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Endurance
(5) Numina's Convalescence - Endurance/Recharge
(11) Numina's Convalescence - Heal/Recharge
(13) Numina's Convalescence - Heal
(34) Numina's Convalescence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
Level 2: Pulse Rifle Burst
(A) Apocalypse - Damage
(7) Apocalypse - Damage/Recharge
(7) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(37) Apocalypse - Accuracy/Recharge
(37) Apocalypse - Damage/Endurance
(40) Apocalypse - Chance of Damage(Negative)
Level 4: Pulse Rifle Blast
(A) Devastation - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(9) Devastation - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
(9) Devastation - Damage/Recharge
(46) Devastation - Chance of Hold
Level 6: Hurdle
(A) Jumping IO
Level 8: Equip Robot
(A) Recharge Reduction IO
Level 10: Hasten
(A) Recharge Reduction IO
Level 12: Super Speed
(A) Celerity - RunSpeed
(43) Celerity - Endurance
Level 14: Protector Bots
(A) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage
(15) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage/Recharge
(15) Soulbound Allegiance - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(19) Soulbound Allegiance - Accuracy/Recharge
(19) Soulbound Allegiance - Damage/Endurance
(25) Soulbound Allegiance - Chance for Build Up
Level 16: Health
(A) Miracle - Heal
(17) Miracle - Heal/Endurance
(17) Miracle - +Recovery
Level 18: Power of the Phoenix
(A) Javelin Volley - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
Level 20: Stamina
(A) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod
(21) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Recharge
(21) Efficacy Adaptor - EndMod/Accuracy/Recharge
Level 22: Maneuvers
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
(23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
(23) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
(33) Luck of the Gambler - Endurance/Recharge
(34) Luck of the Gambler - Recharge Speed
(34) Karma - Knockback Protection
Level 24: Assault
(A) Endurance Reduction IO
Level 26: Assault Bot
(A) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage
(27) Sovereign Right - Damage/Endurance
(27) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Endurance
(29) Sovereign Right - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
(29) Sovereign Right - Accuracy
(37) Edict of the Master - Defense Bonus
Level 28: Vengeance
(A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
Level 30: Forge
(A) Adjusted Targeting - To Hit Buff/Endurance/Recharge
(31) Adjusted Targeting - To Hit Buff
(31) Adjusted Targeting - To Hit Buff/Recharge
(31) Adjusted Targeting - Endurance/Recharge
(33) Adjusted Targeting - To Hit Buff/Endurance
(33) Adjusted Targeting - Recharge
Level 32: Upgrade Robot
(A) Recharge Reduction IO
Level 35: Heat Exhaustion
(A) Accuracy IO
(36) Accuracy IO
(36) Recharge Reduction IO
(36) Recharge Reduction IO
Level 38: Melt Armor
(A) Touch of Lady Grey - Recharge/Endurance
(39) Touch of Lady Grey - Defense Debuff
(39) Touch of Lady Grey - Defense Debuff/Recharge
(39) Touch of Lady Grey - Defense Debuff/Recharge/Endurance
(40) Touch of Lady Grey - Defense Debuff/Endurance
(40) Touch of Lady Grey - Chance for Negative Damage
Level 41: Charged Armor
(A) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
(42) Aegis - Resistance/Recharge
(42) Aegis - Endurance/Recharge
(42) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
(43) Aegis - Resistance
(43) Aegis - Psionic/Status Resistance
Level 44: Thunder Strike
(A) Armageddon - Damage
(45) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge
(45) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
(45) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge
(46) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
(46) Armageddon - Chance for Fire Damage
Level 47: Electrifying Fences
(A) Gravitational Anchor - Accuracy/Immobilize/Recharge
(48) Gravitational Anchor - Immobilize/Recharge
(48) Gravitational Anchor - Immobilize/Endurance
(48) Gravitational Anchor - Chance for Hold
Level 49: Electric Shackles
(A) Lockdown - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge/Hold
(50) Lockdown - Endurance/Recharge/Hold
(50) Lockdown - Recharge/Hold
(50) Lockdown - Chance for +2 Mag Hold
------------
Level 1: Brawl
(A) Empty
Level 1: Sprint
(A) Unbounded Leap - Jumping
Level 2: Rest
(A) Recharge Reduction IO
Level 1: Supremacy
Level 6: Ninja Run
I'm really happy with bots/traps. It's not about healing -- at 24, you have two healers with you, and you can always take Aid Other. It's about not having anything able to damage you much, because your opponents have recharge, regen, defense, and damage debuffs.
My Bots/Traps did indeed take Aid Other over Repair. It's a much more effective heal all around.
Don't forget your Triage Beacon! (Triangle of Death). It'll keep your bots in tip-top shape after they soak the alpha of a tough spawn.
Whining about everything since 2006.
Ammo switching for Dual Pistols was my idea:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=135484
I'd just like to drop ina note here about Dark for Bots. It's really not a "high skill or fail" kind of secondary for MMs and is indeed a fantastic pairing. I've seen a couple of vids of them soloing AVs; haven't done so myself, but I can tell it wouldn't be too hard.
Don't forget the heal and the rez powers can be slotted for debuff! I had purples who couldn't touch me or my bots because of those two.
I have had a great experience playing Bots/TA
The TA has pretty much every debuff you ever need, and the bots dont need you to heal them, they handle that themselves very well. With two protector bots, the defense and healing goes pretty high.
Besides, TA doesnt seem to kill your stamina as much as say poision
Bots/Traps are a fantastic pair. Running FFG, manouvers and the shield from your bot, your(and the bots) def is pretty much capped. Add a little +res from your patron shield, and bodyguard mode on top of all that, and you are very sturdy. The alpha should be taken by the seekers, not your bots, no need to heal them then. I rarely need to drop a triage beacon.
Traps is probably the most versitile secondary being able to steamroll a mission, or take your time, and set everything up just right. It only depends on your playstyle.
Bots/Storm is my personal favorite. Again, pretty easy to cap defence, but also able to debuff the spawns ToHit severely. Very tough. Add in the massive debuffs of freezing rain, and your bots will rip the shreds out of everything. That is before Storms damage capabilities kick in. With practice, you will be able to lock down a spawn and take advantage of the bots aoe's while contolling the knockback. Very, very potent combination.
I really would recommend /Dark. It's just an incredibly powerful powerset for any Archetypes that has access to it.
It really isn't hard to learn how to use Dark Miasma at all, you just need a basic understanding of each powers and how/when to use them for maximum effect.
I have free time right now, so here goes:
> Twilight Grasp - I'm sure you're familiar with this power. It's just a PBAoE heal that requires an enemy to be alive in order to use. The heal is centered around you and of course it must actually land on your target in order to work...bla bla bla.
> Tar Patch - A location-based power that debuffs whatever is inside it. Debuffs all resistance by 30%, slows them down to a crawl, disables their ability to jump, and disables their fly. Since it is location-based, you can cast it from behind a wall or wherever it's safe. Definitely slot this power with recharges ASAP, until you get about 90% +recharge in it. You will be using this power A LOT. It's especially nice when you get that final upgrade for your bots that makes your Assault Bot an AoE beast.
> Darkest Night - It's a toggle that puts a debuff on your target and will debuff anything around your target as well. It debuffs tohit as well as damage. You can enhance the tohit debuff portion of the power so remember to do this, but you will want to put a couple endurance-reduction enhancements in this power first. This power should be used right after a "tank" takes aggro OR right after your robots take aggro. You usually don't want to just pop this power first since it will generate a lot of aggro...unless you know how to jump out of the way right after it activates and go behind a corner.
**Other uses for this power: You can use this power to herd up mobs so they'll clump up better. Just simply pop it on a mob that's furthest away and then run behind something to cut off line of sight; the mobs should then all run to you...nicely clumped up and all debuffed.
> Howling Twilight - The only team-rez power in the game. This power functions a lot like Twilight Grasp but instead of healing the area around you, it rezzes any fallen allies nearby instead. Oh, it's also auto-hit, which means that it does not require an accuracy check.
**Other uses for this power: This power can be used as an AoE stun as well, although it's only a mag 2 stun, which means only minions will be affected. It's also a great power for fighting AV's because it has a -500% regen on it, which is HUGE. If you PvP, it's also great for dropping Regen Scrappers and Willpower anything.
> Shadow Fall - A toggle aura that buffs you and nearby teammates. You can always look this power up in game if you want to see its effects so I wont bother with that here.
> Fearsome Stare - A very powerful soft-control power. With a base range of 70ft, you'll notice that this power can pretty much hit an entire spawn. Once you have access to Fearsome Stare, it should be the very first power you use when you engage a group of enemies, UNLESS a Tank or someone else is herding...let them group things up nicely first before you throw Fearsome Stare out. This power has a nice base -11% tohit debuff so it'll stack with Darkest Night nicely.
**Other uses for this power: Not actually another way of using this power...but you will usually want to Fearsome Stare -> Tar Patch -> Darkest Night. Tar Patch right afterward mainly because feared mobs will attempt to run away, Tar Patch will pretty much slow them down enough to prevent that from happening.
> Petrifying Gaze - A single-target hold. I personally didn't find a use for this power and just wasn't worth wasting a power slot on.
> Black Hole - A targeted-AoE power, pretty much means your target and anything around your target will be affected by this power. Also another situational power, however it IS useful enough to be in my build. It pretty much makes all affected mobs intangible, meaning they can't affect you and you can't affect them...in any ways. It's pretty much an "OH CRAP!" power for when sh*t hits the ceiling and it's pretty much going to be a team-wipe..or if you're about to die and you know no one can save you in time. However, team-wipes are fine as long as you're not dead...you DO want to use your AoE rez don't you? :P
**Other uses for this power: Some people will NOT slot accuracy into this power. This is useful in that it will only affect some of the mobs, pretty much breaking a big group into 2 little groups so that you and your team can deal with them easier. If you slot it for use this way, it wont be a good "OH CRAP!" power simply because it probably will not hit whatever you want it to hit.
> Dark Servant - A temporary pet. He's pretty much a replica of you, except his powers are just a bit different from yours, and he has fewer powers than you. He can PBAoE Heal like you, has his own version of Darkest Night, which is centered around him instead of an enemy. He has a hold, an immobilize and probably some other powers that I'm missing. There are many ways to slot Dark Servant, however make sure you slot enough recharge in him so you can have him up most of the time. Also, make sure to have enough accuracy in him so that his powers can actually hit. Popular slottings for Dark Servants are recharge, accuracy, heals and tohit debuff.
Have fun reading through my semi-wall of text!
Bots/Traps is pretty much the ultimate Mastermind combo for soloing really tough things without an expensive build. It really shines against EBs (or even full AVs) because you can park your bots on a Triage Beacon and immobilize the AV, then keep it taunted and rely on Budyguard and high personal defense to protect you while the beacon keeps the Bodyguard damage healed. The big selling points are:
- Acid Mortar (significant -resist debuff that makes hard targets easier to kill)
- Poison Trap (massive -regen which is great on AVs, can also hold normal mobs)
- Force Field Generator (defense for you, defense for the bots, hold and stun protection, not suppressed when mezzed... this power is insanely good)
- Bots are tough and the Protector Bots can heal the others and bubble them and you.
With a good Bots/Traps build you'll be sitting at around 40% defense and all but the Protectors will be softcapped (you can softcap yourself if you want to spend a bit more, but it's not really needed). You can take Provoke and tank, or just let the bots do it (it's better to tank yourself against things with heavy AoE and keep the bots out of splash range), and I highly recommend Aid Other + Aid Self to keep the bots and you topped off. Triage Beacon is great against tough targets that will take a while to fight but not for normal mobs. You can even skip the Fitness pool since Traps don't take a lot of endurance.
One thing that's very handy to know for a /Traps MM: Bodyguard mode does not require the pets to be in Follow mode. As long as they are Defensive and set to Follow, Stay, or Goto and they are within Supremacy range (60 feet or less from you and in line of sight) they are Bodyguarding you. A good way to deal with AoE-happy bosses is to park the pets on one side of a Triage Beacon using Defensive Goto, then stand on the far edge of the Beacon and spam Web Grenade and Challenge or Provoke. You'll keep the boss (or AV) stuck at range shooting at you, while the pets soak up most of the damage using Bodyguard and the Beacon heals everyone. With high enough personal defense the Beacon will probably be enough, and even with lower defense you can use Aid Self to keep topped off.
Bots/Storm is also nice. You don't have much healing but when everything is debuffed into oblivion by Freezing Rain + Hurricane and stuck in a corner being melted by massed AoEs you really don't need it. Bots/Traps is a lot better at AV hunting though due to having good -regen.
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
If the OP is finding Demons "squishy" I'm not all that sure s/he would find Bots what s/he needs. It's my opinion that though Demons are probably a bit less survivable on their own (independent of secondary) than Bots, but the difference isn't so great. Demons have heals too, and resistance.
The OP mentions being 21 and that's just a tough stretch for MMs. Better days are around the corner though. At 24 you get your 2nd T2 and at 26 your boss pet. A level 21 Bots MM is no picnic either. I say stick with it, I see no reason why Demon/Dark wouldn't be as effective as any MM combo (though I've never paired them).
Global = Hedgefund (or some derivation thereof)
My one toon is a level 21 Demon Summoning/Dark MM. The problems I am having are.....
My demons are so squishy! I am constantly running around using Twilight Grasp trying desperately to keep them alive. Not fun. Also I feel like I am too much of a newb to use Dark correctly.
I see alot of toons with bots running around and am very impressed. I would love to make one tomorrow for Going Rogue.....but dont know what secondary to take. I have considered the following:
1. Traps - sounds cool, but the healing beacon is soooo slow on the healing, and the build doesnt FEEL like a superhero.....no super powers, just scientific.
2. Dark - i see the greatness, but am not experienced enough to get the full benefit, and would like to try something new.
3. Pain - Looked great on paper, but some threads point out the lack of debuffs/damage mitigation.....might be PAINful....ok tried to be funny.
4. Thermal - Also looks good, but not sure how to use it
5. Storm - sounds cool as hell, but no AoE heals to keep bots alive
Any advice would be great, as well as builds so i can see big picture