City of Heroes: Homecoming | General-purpose build for task forces & incarnate content | Mid-to-high IO budget
1. Concept & Playstyle
Bots/FF is the classic "turret and bubble" Mastermind: Robotics brings ranged, high-DPS pets (including a genuinely tanky Assault Bot) that don't need much babysitting, and Force Field patches the biggest MM weakness — squishy pets and a squishy you — with team-wide defense. It's forgiving, strong on teams, and solid solo once the Assault Bot comes online at 22.
You'll play at range behind your Protector Bots and Assault Bot, using Deflection/Insulation Shield on your pets and any nearby allies, and leaning on Repulsion Field/Force Bomb for crowd control when things get messy. This build targets a durable all-rounder: soft-capped-ish defense, solid recharge for pet uptime, and enough personal attack chain to not feel useless when there's nothing left to buff.
2. Primary: Robotics
| Power | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Pulse Rifle Blast | 1 | Ranged, Moderate DMG(Energy), Foe -Regen |
| Battle Drones | 1 | Summon up to 3 Battle Drones |
| Pulse Rifle Burst | 2 | Ranged, High DMG(Energy), Foe KB, -Regen |
| Equip Robot | 6 | Permanent henchman buff: +Res(Leth/Cold/Psi/Fear/Stun/Sleep) + new attack per tier |
| Photon Grenade | 8 | Targeted AoE, Moderate DMG(Energy), Foe Disorient, -Regen |
| Protector Bots | 12 | Summon up to 2 Protector Bots (they cast Force Shield on allies!) |
| Maintenance Drone | 18 | Summon a self-sacrificing healer drone |
| Assault Bot | 22 | Summon your big single Assault Bot |
| Upgrade Robot | 26 | Second permanent henchman buff + more attacks |
Notable: Protector Bots already cast a Force Shield-like defense buff on your team as an AI behavior — this stacks with your own Deflection/Insulation Shield, which is part of why Bots/FF gets to soft-cap more easily than most MM/FF pairings.
3. Secondary: Force Field (current MM power table)
| Power | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Repulsion Bolt | 1 | Ranged, minor DMG(Smash), Foe KB, -Res(All) |
| Deflection Shield | 1 | Targeted AoE, Ally +DEF(Smash/Lethal/Melee), +Res(Toxic) |
| Insulation Shield | 4 | Targeted AoE, Ally +DEF(Fire/Cold/Energy/Neg/Ranged/AoE), +Res(End Drain) |
| Detention Field | 10 | Ranged, captures a single foe in an unbreakable bubble (situational hard-CC) |
| Personal Force Field | 16 | Toggle, Self +DEF(All), +Res(All) — but locks you out of using other powers while active |
| Dispersion Bubble | 20 | Toggle PBAoE, Team +Res(mez) + +DEF(All) |
| Repulsion Field | 24 | Toggle PBAoE, Foe Knockback |
| Force Bomb | 28 | Targeted AoE, DMG(Smash), Disorient, KB, -Res(All) |
| Damping Bubble | 30 | Location PBAoE, Team +Res(debuffs), Foe -Str(defense/regen/speed/tohit debuffs they apply) |
Skip candidate: Personal Force Field is largely a "PvP/emergency escape" button on an MM — it locks out all your other powers while active, which is a poor trade for a pet class. Most Bots/FF builds take it for the set bonus slot and 6-slot it with a cheap defense set, or skip it in favor of a pool power if you want the extra pick elsewhere. I've included it below since it's a good IO mule regardless.
4. Recommended Build Order
Deflection Shield and Insulation Shield are your bread and butter — get them both slotted and running on your Assault Bot and Protector Bots as early as possible, since a shielded Protector Bot casting its own shields is where your team defense compounds.
| Level | Power |
|---|---|
| 1 | Battle Drones |
| 1 | Deflection Shield |
| 2 | Repulsion Bolt |
| 4 | Insulation Shield |
| 6 | Equip Robot |
| 8 | Maneuvers (Leadership) |
| 10 | Detention Field |
| 12 | Protector Bots |
| 14 | Assault (Leadership) |
| 16 | Combat Jumping or Hover (travel/mule) |
| 18 | Maintenance Drone |
| 20 | Dispersion Bubble |
| 22 | Assault Bot |
| 24 | Repulsion Field |
| 26 | Upgrade Robot |
| 28 | Force Bomb |
| 30 | Damping Bubble |
| 32 | Tactics (Leadership) |
| 35–41 | Fighting pool: Boxing → Tough → Weave |
| 44–47 | Epic pool (see below) |
| 49 | Personal Force Field (IO mule / situational) |
5. Pool Powers
- Leadership (Maneuvers, Assault, Tactics) — Maneuvers stacks more team defense on top of FF; Tactics fixes your and your pets' accuracy (robots have middling base ACC) and mules Gaussian's proc.
- Fighting (Boxing → Tough → Weave) — Tough/Weave give you personal S/L resistance and another defense toggle; standard on nearly every modern MM build for the set bonuses alone even if you never throw a punch.
- Travel — Combat Jumping (mule + minor defense) into Super Jump, or Hover into Fly. Either works; Hover/Fly is nice for staying above melee-range chaos while directing pets.
6. Epic/Ancillary Pool: Mace Mastery (recommended) or Mu Mastery
For a general-purpose all-rounder, Mace Mastery is the community-standard pick on Robotics MMs:
- Scorpion Shield — another +DEF(S/L/Energy/Neg) toggle, stacks beautifully with FF's existing defense layers and is the single biggest lever for hitting soft-cap.
- Web Envelope / Mace Beam Volley — fills your attack chain and mules ranged damage sets if you want more personal DPS.
Mu Mastery is a reasonable alternative if you want Mu Lightning's ranged AoE and a bit of self-endurance recovery instead, but it doesn't give the defense toggle, so it's a worse fit for a defense-first Bots/FF build.
7. IO Slotting Plan (mid–high budget)
This assumes you're willing to buy purples/winter sets where they meaningfully move the needle, but you don't need to go full PvP-IO. Set piece names below are accurate to real Homecoming IO sets, but I'd still verify exact % values in Mids' Reborn before finalizing — those numbers shift between patches and I'd rather you check the live data than trust my memory of specific figures.
One rule that matters for reading this table: unique enhancements (LotG +Recharge, Steadfast Protection +3% Def, Gaussian's Build Up proc, Force Feedback +Recharge, Achilles' Heel -Res) can only be slotted once per power, not once per build — that's why you'll see the same unique IO show up in several different powers below. Five separate LotG +7.5% Recharge uniques in five different powers is standard practice and gives +37.5% global recharge for five slots total.
Pets
Battle Drones (6 slots)
- Sovereign Right: Accuracy/Damage
- Sovereign Right: Damage/Endurance
- Sovereign Right: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- Expedient Reinforcement: Endurance/Damage/Recharge
- Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Recharge
- Achilles' Heel: Chance for Res Debuff (proc)
Protector Bots (6 slots)
- Call to Arms: Accuracy/Damage
- Call to Arms: Damage/Endurance
- Call to Arms: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance
- Call to Arms: Defense Bonus Aura for Pets (unique — pulses +Def to nearby pets)
- Expedient Reinforcement: Resist Bonus Aura for Pets (unique — pulses +Res to nearby pets)
- Sovereign Right: Resist Knockback & Repel (unique)
Assault Bot (6 slots)
- Expedient Reinforcement: Accuracy/Damage
- Expedient Reinforcement: Damage/Endurance
- Expedient Reinforcement: Endurance/Damage/Recharge
- Sovereign Right: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- Achilles' Heel: Chance for Res Debuff (proc)
- Sovereign Right: Resist Damage (unique)
Force Field powers
Deflection Shield (6 slots)
- Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance
- Red Fortune: Defense/Recharge
- Red Fortune: Endurance/Recharge
- Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- Red Fortune: Defense
- Shield Wall: +Res(All) (unique)
Insulation Shield (6 slots)
- Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance
- Red Fortune: Defense/Recharge
- Red Fortune: Endurance/Recharge
- Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- Red Fortune: Defense
- Steadfast Protection: Resistance/+Def 3% (unique)
Repulsion Bolt (5–6 slots)
- Sudden Acceleration: Knockback to Knockdown (unique — makes it a safer team-friendly KD instead of scattering foes)
- Sudden Acceleration: Damage/Knockback
- Sudden Acceleration: Accuracy/Damage
- Sudden Acceleration: Accuracy/Recharge
- Force Feedback: Chance for +Recharge (proc)
- Achilles' Heel: Chance for Res Debuff (proc)
Detention Field (2 slots — low priority)
- Generic Accuracy IO
- Generic Recharge Reduction IO
Dispersion Bubble (6 slots)
- Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance
- Red Fortune: Endurance/Recharge
- Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance/Recharge
- Red Fortune: Defense
- Luck of the Gambler: Defense
- Luck of the Gambler: +7.5% Recharge (unique)
Repulsion Field (3–4 slots)
- Generic Endurance Reduction IO
- Generic Recharge Reduction IO
- Sudden Acceleration: Damage/Knockback (optional — only if you want to keep the true knockback here rather than convert to KD; leaving Repulsion Field's push intact is often useful for peeling enemies off you specifically, versus Repulsion Bolt/Force Bomb where KD is friendlier to teammates)
Force Bomb (6 slots)
- Positron's Blast: Accuracy/Damage
- Positron's Blast: Damage/Endurance
- Positron's Blast: Damage/Recharge
- Positron's Blast: Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
- Force Feedback: Chance for +Recharge (proc)
- Achilles' Heel: Chance for Res Debuff (proc)
Damping Bubble (2–3 slots — low priority, rework is recent so treat as unverified)
- Generic Recharge Reduction IO
- Generic Endurance Reduction IO
Pool & Epic powers
Maneuvers (3 slots)
- Luck of the Gambler: Defense
- Luck of the Gambler: +7.5% Recharge (unique)
- Red Fortune: Endurance/Recharge
Tactics (6 slots)
- Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: To-Hit/Recharge
- Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: Chance for Build Up (proc)
- Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: To-Hit/Endurance
- Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: Recharge/Endurance
- Gaussian's Synchronized Fire-Control: To-Hit/Damage
- Luck of the Gambler: +7.5% Recharge (unique)
Assault (1–2 slots)
- Generic Endurance Reduction IO
Tough (4 slots)
- Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Endurance
- Unbreakable Guard: Resistance/Recharge
- Unbreakable Guard: Resistance
- Unbreakable Guard: +Max HP (unique)
Weave (5 slots)
- Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance
- Red Fortune: Defense/Recharge
- Red Fortune: Defense
- Red Fortune: Endurance/Recharge
- Luck of the Gambler: +7.5% Recharge (unique)
Scorpion Shield (5 slots)
- Red Fortune: Defense/Endurance
- Red Fortune: Defense/Recharge
- Red Fortune: Defense
- Red Fortune: Endurance/Recharge
- Luck of the Gambler: +7.5% Recharge (unique)
Priority order if budget is tight: the five LotG +Recharge uniques (Maneuvers, Tactics, Weave, Scorpion Shield, Dispersion Bubble) → Steadfast +3% Def (Insulation Shield) + Unbreakable Guard +Max HP (Tough) → Force Feedback +Recharge procs → Achilles' Heel -Res procs → pet damage sets last, since pet survivability/defense matters more than pet damage for a general-purpose build.
Target numbers: Soft-capped (45%) S/L/Energy defense is very achievable on Bots/FF thanks to Deflection + Insulation + Scorpion Shield + Weave all stacking, plus the passive defense your Protector Bots grant your team. Aim for permanent Hasten-level global recharge (~70%+) to keep pet summons and Force Field toggles cycling fast after a wipe. Verify the actual defense total in Mids' before committing purples — with five FF/Red Fortune-style layers plus Scorpion Shield, you may already be soft-capped before you've spent on the expensive slots, which would let you redirect that budget to pet damage instead.
8. Incarnates (Full T4)
| Slot | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha | Spiritual Core/Radial Paragon | Recharge helps Equip/Upgrade Robot, pet re-summon timers, and your FF toggles all come back faster. Musculature (pet damage) is the alternate pick if you want more DPS over survivability — both are defensible; Spiritual is the safer all-rounder choice. |
| Judgement | Ion Judgement (Radial or Core) | Chains between targets for strong AoE, good general-purpose damage on trials without needing a specific positioning gimmick. Void is a solid alternative if you want the -regen/-recovery debuff to help you tank aggro. |
| Interface | Reactive Radial (or Diamagnetic) | Reactive adds a DoT + -Res proc that benefits your whole army's damage output. Diamagnetic (-regen) is more of a "boss/AV killer" pick, less useful since Robotics attacks already apply -Regen. |
| Destiny | Barrier Core Epiphany | Team-wide +Def/+Res on demand stacks on top of your existing FF defense layers for a huge survivability spike during trial burst-damage phases. Ageless is worth considering if endurance/recharge debuff resistance is a bigger problem for your group. |
| Lore | Robotic Drones (thematic) or Seers Radial | Robotic Drones fits the theme and adds more ranged pet damage. Seers Radial is the stronger support pick if your team needs the extra confuse/heal utility — a genuine toss-up, pick by what your team already lacks. |
| Hybrid | Support Core | Reinforces your team's survivability further; Assault Core (personal + pet damage boost) is the alternative if you want to lean fully into DPS since your defense is already carrying the survivability load. |
Flag: Lore and Judgement picks are legitimately playstyle-dependent — there's no single "correct" answer the way there is for, say, the LotG recharge uniques. I've given you the general-purpose community consensus, but if you tell me whether you lean more solo-AV-farming or team-trial-support I can narrow these further.