Eiko-chan

I mainly play a Tanker and a MasterMind. I don't need a team.

I also play from work, which occasionally means I have to AFK right now, and teams tend not to like that.

I also don't like random groups, for two-fold reasons:
a) I'm an introvert. I find dealing with random new people tiring (not uncomfortable, just tiring). It's much more restful teaming with people I know, and team with my VG pretty much everytime we've got something going on.
b) I have low tolerance for poor grammar and chat speak. I'm old, both on- and off-line, and in my day people used proper English if they wanted respect and companionship.

We still miss you, DW.

Oh internet memes, are you ever funny?

I don't have any experience working with Mercenaries, but the standard MM pools - Leadership and Medicine (for Aid Other) - will probably be helpful in increasing the Mercs' lifetime and damage output.

If you're used to playing other MM secondaries, you might find Traps a bit sub-par at first, because unlike the other secondaries, to really leverage Traps powers requires being pretty close to the action - Caltrops doesn't have a great range, Poison Trap only affects the area around itself, Triage Beacon has to be deployed where the fighting is happening and so on. If the battle isn't happen on top of your Traps, you're probably operating at about 33% peak effeciency (because well-deployed Traps are, in fact, that good.) Of course, 33% from a Traps MM is still pretty impressive.

As for slotting, I personally have Web Grenade and Caltrops six-slotted; Web Grenade with Trap of the Hunter (which includes a damage proc, making Web Grenade now a damage power in addition to an Immobilise and -recharge) and Caltrops with Pacing of the Turtle (making Caltrops a slow field with a -recharge component). The rest of Traps is more lightly slotted with generic IOs to amplify their various effects, though I do have Ghost Widow's Embrace's damage proc in Poison Trap for the amusement of small damage from the Trap Gas (and random massive deaths of low-level foes). More than three slots in FFG is a waste, unless you're aiming for a specific IO set bonus.

I'd recommend a bit of recharge in most of Trap's powers, especially Trip Mine, Poison Trap, and Triage Beacon, simply so you'll have them available more often and so you can move your "fortress" zone more frequently. And note that the Seeker Drones, the Trip Mine and the Acid Mortar all need to make to-hit checks, so a bit of accuracy in each if you take them would not be remiss.

What primary?

Generally, I view Detonator as completely skipable, and if you're Bots, Seeker Drones as well (Protectors get Drones of their own). Must-haves are Poison Trap, FFG, and Web Grenade. Triage Beacon and Acid Mortar are both very good, and Trip Mine is nice solo, as well as against masses. I personally adore Caltrops, but others see it differently.

As for why you want these powers:

Web Grenade - you have to take it, but it's a nice immobilise and also has a -recharge component, which can stack if you spam it.

Poison Trap is billed as a hold - and it is a nice one, which I'll get to later - but its real benefit is its -regen component. It's also got more -recharge. The real beauty of Poison Trap's hold, by the way, is that it's unresistable. It's not a sure-hold and only has a chance of firing while enemies are in the cloud, but if it hits, it hits anything. Even an AV. Best thing ever was watching Reichsman double over vomiting (the FX of the Hold) from my Poison Trap.

Force Field Generator is a very powerful defence tool. Slotted, it's ~15% defence to everything, and that bonus applies to you, your team and your pets. And more importantly, it provides mez protection - Hold, Stun, and Immobilise - to everyone in range as well.

If you don't have Bots, Seeker Drones are really nice for two uses - taking alphas and debuffing to-hit and damage. Even without Bots, I still view this power as skipable, because unlike Poison Trap's Hold, the to-hit and -dam can be resisted (by the PToD), which limits its usefulness against AVs and EB where you really need the debuffs.

Trip Mine is excellent for setting up ambushes. With a bit of recharge, you can get 14-18 Trip Mines down before they start exploding, and that is enough damage to take down half an EB's health.

Triage Beacon is basically a stationary Regeneration Aura. Good way to keep your pets (and team) alive.

Caltrops is a slow field, which pairs really well with Bots or Thugs, who both have burn fields. Foes are slower getting out, so they take more damage. Slot in Pace of the Turtle's proc, and it's yet another -recharge power as well. Slot in Positron's Blast's proc and you get exploding Caltrops, and hilarity ensues.

Acid Mortar is a nice debuff - both resistance and defence - and can serve well to pull spawns as well. It's an AOE debuff too, which is always nice. You can't target it, though, which is its biggest drawback.

So, that's Traps in a nutshell. The combo of Poison Trap, Triage Beacon and Force Field Generator, as well as Acid Mortar, Caltrops, and general MM toughness, is why Traps is generally viewed as one of the primary AV-soloing secondaries. A good opening set of Trip Mines helps too.

A little tip on playing /Traps: it is a stationary set. For the most part, a /Traps MM sets up a killing field (Trip Mines, Poison Traps, Acid Mortar, probably some Caltrops) and then lures enemies into it. A /Traps MM makes a fort, then defends that fort. And once the /Traps MM is fully dug in, you're a powerhouse. Moving around a lot really diminishes the power of Traps.

This thread has been too long without

KITTY ATTACK!

MRP and ERP aren't really the same thing. Some MRPers ERP, and some ERPers MRP, but they two groups are not synonymous.

MRP tends to include people that will curse, kill, maim, or otherwise do R-rated things in their Roleplay (otherwise interaction tends to default to PG-13 thanks to the game's Teen rating).

ERP tends more towards the X-rated, but ERPers might be, aside from the sexual exploits, otherwise completely tame.

Someone that lists MRP/ERP probably has few boundaries in their play.

I declare that this thread

needs more kitty!

Sorah just knows I'm right about the greatness of Adam West.

The best comic movie ever was Adam West Batman.

I never get pretty pictures for my birthday...

I was never tempted by CO, because Jack Emmert was working on it. If you notice my joined date, I played Emmert's CoX. However, I'm only a 15-month veteran, because I only stayed after Emmert left. I think it is a much better game now than it was then.