Traps? PGT how to use it?

Hey Folks,

I have had PGT for a few levels now and don't really understand how to use it, is it's effect only against those who were there when it went off (therefore, putting one down and running folks into it seems useless) or does it pulse or something?

Acid Mortar is pretty straight forward as is seekers and Trip Mines, but PGT?

Anyone have any battle strategy advice?

PGT is a bit weird.

When the trap first goes off it applies a single, short hold to all enemies in range (this hold has to make a hit roll even though PGT cannot take accuracy enhancements). After that the gas cloud remains for 30 seconds which will once a second apply a regeneration debuff and have a 2% chance of applying an additional short hold.

Now in general the primary usage of PGT is really the regeneration debuff against AVs. The usage of the core power against normal enemies is not as good. What I do is jump into the middle of a group and place the Trap. That way the entire group gets hit by the first hold which provides some benefit. I also recommend putting in a Lockdown Hold Proc, that provides an additional change to hold during the rest of te duration so you get quite a bit more effectiveness.

I use it to cover the second rank, just place it behind the battle to catch any members of the mob that break loose and attempt to attack those hanging back (like fenders, trollers, blasters).

The mini hold is great as a trip wire, since it allows those in the second rank to put them down before the hold wears off.

Drop your seekers on the spawn. While the hilarity of the stun -tohit debuff takes effect, I run in (best if done with forcefield generator ) and drop the trap next to the biggest baddest guy. Then, I pop out and hit the mortar. I do it in this sequence to avoid the spawn from separating.

One thing to note is that if you want to plant it in the middle of a spawn to open a fight, you'll need two things - stealth, and for PGT's hold to actually hit.

Generally I find that if you just run straight into a spawn, the FF generator lags far enough behind to deny you its protection just when the spawn uses its alpha. Some form of stealth, or indeed full invisibility, is very useful to prevent them from unloading on you while you're vulnerable (I use super speed + stealth IO). Even if you're using seekers to avoid the alpha (which is a very good idea), stealth is useful to prevent them from noticing you while you get within the rather short 60' casting range.

The other issue is that, at base, the initial hold is not very reliable. Even against even cons it'll only have a 75% hit rate and last 6s, and of course those will both degrade against up-level foes. You can slot hold to make it last longer, but the power doesn't accept accuracy enhancements. However, since it accepts hold *sets*, and hold set IOs can have accuracy in them, it *is* still possible to boost the accuracy of the initial hit. I prefer at least 60-70% acc to get good CTH on +2s, but any at all is still helpful. Acc/hold/rech IOs are your friend. If you can get good acc and hold enhancement in it, that initial hold suddenly goes from 'unreliable and very short' to 'reliable and short-but-long-enough', where 'long enough' is enough time to lay whatever other traps you want and get out of the way.

I use a full lockdown set in PGT, with SS and Stealth IO for Invisibility.

Toss in the Seekers, Dive in, PGT, Mortar, Trip Mine, Caltrops. PGT holds em while Mortar animates, then by the time the hold takes effect, I start dropping the interrupt-able trip mine. If I try trip mine sooner, it's interrupted before the PGT can take effect, if I try it later, It's interrupted as the PGT wears off before it finishes animating. If I'm on a team, by that time everything is dead. If not, the real fun begins.

It's the second power i use on pretty much every spawn. Seekers > jump in and lay PGT.

I put mortar in the middle of the spawn too. Ime it switches targets better as opposed to when put at range.

I see PGT as a weaker pbaoe troller hold that is up almost every spawn with the side benefit of destroying regen of pretty much anything. It buys me enough time to get my other powers out with much less risk. I'm fire/traps so the spawn is usually dead or very close to it when the hold expires, but it would still allow other combos a good head start on the fight.

For me, some days I get a little crazy and do a Robin to the team tank's Batman... following the tank in at their six, and throwing down a PGT before running back to join the second rank. Not sure if its effective or smart, but its sure fun to see the whole mob choking as the rest of the team comes in for the kill.

Has any trapper gone the team teleport route to get the FFG in with you?

I have team-port on my bots/traps MM, and the FFG seems to either come along for the ride or catch up quickly. I'll have to do some checking this afternoon to confirm one way or the other.