Arcanaville

Arcanaville
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  1. This is a bit off topic of the Defense changes, but what I'm hearing is:

    1. MoG is broken because it has no +regen. Its Integration that should have no +regen.

    2. The set would be more balanced if some of the powers were renamed.

    3. Regen should have the full the benefits of Instant Healing all the time, and maybe twice that when MoG is running, and that would be the correct level of power for the set with and without MoG.


    I suppose it wouldn't mean much if I were to say that, taken on average, this beats perma-elude stacked on top of the SR passive resistances by a wide margin. Nah, didn't think so.
  2. I've updated my I7 "Defense Scaler" FAQ to version 2.0. As with the original FAQ, I would recommend discussing the literal content of the FAQ itself in that thread, but keeping discussion of the defense scaler in general in this thread, especially if the discussion revolves around either giving the devs feedback as to how you like or dislike the change, or questions about possible bugs, oddities, or other unusual side effects of the change.
  3. Frequently Asked Questions about the I7 Defense Scaling Change Version 2.0


    Short Attention Span Theater

    Q1: Is there a really short way to describe the change?

    A1: Yes, I'll give you two short blurbs about the change. First, this is how I would have written the patch notes, if I was writing them:

    [ QUOTE ]
    Critters in I7 will all have base 50% chance to hit. Previously, higher Ranked Critters such as Bosses and AVs had higher base chance tohit, but this was unfair to Defense sets that were balanced against base 50% chance tohit. Higher Ranked critters will now get accuracy increases instead of tohit increases.

    Similarly, Critters of higher level than the player received tohit bonuses in I6 and earlier. In I7, they will now receive accuracy bonuses from +1 to +5, and only begin to receive tohit bonuses from +6 and higher. This is designed to ensure that higher level attackers within a certain range are also not scaled unfairly to Defense sets.

    Because its critter accuracy that is being changed, not players, and not Defense itself, this change has no effect on players' ability to hit anything, and of course has no effect on PvP

    [/ QUOTE ]


    Second, this is the quickie summary of the change:

    [ QUOTE ]
    1. If you only fight even minions, you aren't going to notice much of anything.

    2. If you don't have a lot of defense, you aren't going to notice much of anything.

    3. If you do have a lot of defense, and you fight anything other than even level minions, critters will have a harder time hitting you. The higher you fight, the harder it will get for them to hit you, relative to I6.

    4. But if you have REALLY high defense, enough to floor everything in sight, in I7 you might get hit a bit *more* often than in I6.

    5. If you are PvPing, you shouldn't care about the change at all.

    [/ QUOTE ]



    The Basics

    Q1: What change does I7 make to Defense?

    A1: None.


    Q2: I don't understand, doesn't I7 have a Defense Scaling change?

    A2: Yes. But its not a change to Defense. Its a change to Critter Accuracy.


    Q3: Okay, what exactly was changed in I7?

    A3: In I7, tohit bonuses normally given to critters of different (higher) Rank, and given to critters that are higher level than you, are going to be changed to accuracy bonuses.


    Q4: I don't understand. What's the difference? Why was this change made?

    A4: This takes some explanation. Don't want a long explanation? Skip to the end of the box.


    [ QUOTE ]
    We need to start with how tohit works today in I6. Basically, whenever anything attacks anything, their chance to hit the target is based on a couple of numbers. First, the attacker has a Base Tohit probability. Its the probability that they will hit you assuming no other factors are in play. For minions, its 50%. For players, its 75%.

    Defense reduces this chance tohit. If the target has defense, then the chance for the attacker to hit the target is
    (Base ToHit - Defense).

    Attackers can be buffed in a number of ways. For example, they can run tactics. Lets say the attacker has tactics running: tactics is a tohit buff. ToHit buffs and debuffs are factored into tohit by being added to or subtracted from Base tohit. So the net chance to hit the target becomes
    (Base ToHit + Tactics - Defense).

    Attackers can also have Accuracy. Accuracy, in the CoX technical sense of the word, functions differently than tohit. Certain bonuses are Accuracy, and not tohit. Accuracy Enhancements are Accuracy bonuses. The Weapon Draw bonus is also an Accuracy bonus, not tohit. Accuracy is applied after all tohit and defense factors are taken into account, and is multiplied. So in this case, the net overall chance tohit is really:

    Accuracy x (BaseToHit + Tactics - Defense)

    The chance to hit anything obeys certain boundaries. In CoX, you can never have less than 5% chance to hit anything, and never more than 95% chance to hit anything. So bounds-checking takes place:

    Bounds ( Accuracy x (BaseToHit + Tactics - Defense) )

    Where Bounds( X ) means "if X is less than 5%, then the chance is 5%; if X is greater than 95%, then the chance is 95%, otherwise the chance is just X."


    This is actually precisely how tohit worked at release. However, around I4 when the arenas came out, a problem arose. It was possible for very high Defense players (Elude, MoG) to have so high defense, it was greater than the attacker's Base Tohit, and any tohit buffs they might have been running. What happens when that is true? When that is true, the (BaseToHit + ToHitbuffs - Defense) term becomes negative. And then when you multiply by Accuracy, you get a bigger negative number. And since that's lower than 5%, the tohit chance became 5%, always. In other words, with enough Defense, a player could make Accuracy completely worthless. (Why did 6-slot dmg/acc HOs not do anything to Perma-MoG scrappers? *That's* why.)

    To prevent this from happening, some time after I4, the devs altered the way tohit worked. To the best of my knowledge, its the *only* time they made any significant change to how tohit works (as we would put it - its not how the devs would put it, but thats a really long discussion). To prevent high defense from "Deep Flooring" tohit, they added another Bounds Check:

    Bounds ( Accuracy x Bounds(BaseToHit + Tactics - Defense) )

    Basically, the intermediate term is checked against the 5%/95% floor/ceiling *before* Accuracy is applied, and then *after* its applied again. This means Defense cannot drive tohit any lower than 5% before Accuracy is taken into account. This change definitely happened long ago, back in I4.


    Thats how tohit works. Now why was a change made? Because tohit severely penalizes Defense, and the critters were getting too much of it..

    In I6, minions have base 50% tohit. Lts have 57.5%. Bosses have 65%. AVs have 75%. In addition, +1s have +5% tohit. +2s have +10%, and so on. So a +3 Boss (in I6) has effectively a BaseToHit of 80%.

    Lets imagine two scrappers, one with 25% defense, and one with 50% resistance, both fighting even minions. The 25% defense scrapper gets hit 50% - 25% = 25% of the time, for full damage. The 50% resistance scrapper gets hit 50% - 0% = 50% of the time, for half damage. Both, on average, take the same amount of damage over time. This is roughly balanced.

    Now put them in front of that +3 Boss. The defense set gets hit 80% - 25% = 55% of the time, for full damage. The 50% resistance set gets hit 80% - 0% = 80% of the time, for half damage. In effect, the 50% resistance set takes 40% of the total damage thrown at it, while the 25% defense set takes 55% of the total damage thrown at it. What the heck happened here?

    What happened is that adding tohit is not proportional to Defense. It has a large effect on high defense, and a small effect on low defense. Tohit, in essence, is a Defense Counter.

    That's fine: everything should have a counter. But the problem was every single LT, and every single Boss, and every single AV, and every single EVERYTHING above even level had it. Maybe tactics should be a Defense counter, but not all LTs.

    The problem is that the devs designed and balanced Defense and Resistance assuming 50% tohit, the magnitude of even level minions. Everywhere else, Defense would quickly fall apart. The devs wanted higher Rank and higher Level things to be more "accurate" (hit more often), the problem is that they had two ways to do that, and they picked the wrong one: the one that was unfair to Defense.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    ...The I7 Defense Scaler fixes that. In I7, critters will no longer get higher ToHit if they are higher Rank or Level, they will now get higher Accuracy.

    Its for this reason specifically that I'm advocating changing the name from the I7 Defense Scaler to the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler.


    Q5: I don't have any defense. What does this mean to me?

    A5: Basically, nothing. If you have little or no defense, critters will hit you about as often in I7 as they used to in I6. If you have zero defense exactly, even level critters of all ranks will hit you *exactly* as often as they used to in I6. Higher level critters (+1 and up) that are also higher than minion rank will hit you just slightly more often in I7 than in I6, but you'll hardly notice. How much of a difference is there? A +1 AV used to hit you 80% of the time in I6. They'll hit you 82.5% of the time in I7. Just having a single power pool defense basically nullifies this little difference in the math from I6 to I7, so don't worry about it.


    Q6: Will this help me hit [fill in the blank]?

    A7: Nope. This change only affects critter accuracy, so the only thing that changes in I7 are the ability for NPC critters to hit you, not the other way around. Ever.


    Q7: Has any of this been tested, or is this just speculation?

    A8: The details of the scaler have been basically disclosed for some time. I've confirmed all aspects of it with the devs numerous times, in exacting detail. I've also testing various aspects of it: to the degree that I've currently tested it, the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler is functioning as described.


    PvP

    Q1: How does this affect PvP?

    A1: It doesn't. The I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler obviously can't affect PvP.


    Q2: If it doesn't, shouldn't it?

    A2: No need. In a patch around I5, for precisely the same reason the devs are putting in the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler (because I told them to ), they altered Player accuracy in PvP combat: Players attacking Players all have base 50% tohit, instead of 75%, which is exactly what the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler does to critters in I7.


    Q3: I thought I heard that in PvP, players get +25% more defense, not lower tohit. In fact, the patch notes say that.

    A3: Yeah. Originally, it was called a tohit reduction. A lot of people complained about "PvP driving nerfs." I suggested five separate times in various threads that mathematically, a -25% tohit for the attacker was identical to a +25% defense buff for the defender, so its just as easy to see the change as a buff rather than a nerf. When the patch notes came out, thats how it was ultimately described. Completely coincidentally, I'm sure.

    (Actually, I'm not kidding. This is one of the threads in question. Note how Castle describes it in the first post, my observation in the last post of the thread, and note the date: before the patch notes were amended to add the note about the Defense buff in PvP. I should at least get a badge or something ).


    Side Effects

    Q1: What's this I hear about Elude and MoG being nerfed?

    A1: They aren't. They are unchanged.


    Q2: But I hear that with I7, the floor is no longer always 5%; that's a nerf to Elude and MoG which used to be able to floor things to 5%, right?

    A2: Well, sort of.

    First of all, since I4 Elude and MoG have never been able to floor everything to 5%. The intermediate floor guarantees that so long as the attacker has any accuracy. And critters have accuracy: its been confirmed, for example, that all Malta minions have +20% accuracy (1.2), and Gunslingers themselves have +100% accuracy (2.0). MoG and Elude was *never* flooring them to 5% since I4.

    It *is* true that in I7, accuracy is going to be a lot more common, and stronger, because all Rank and Level Bonuses are going to be converted into more and more Accuracy. So overall, Elude and MoG's performance is going to go down when fighting those things.


    Q3: That's broken. They need to fix that.

    A3: Its not broken. Its exactly, precisely what's supposed to happen.

    In I6, Elude can floor an even minion to 5%. That's 90% damage mitigation. That is Elude's maximum performance against even level minions. Elude can floor a +2 Boss to 5% also; that's 93% damage mitigation. Elude is stronger against a Boss than an even minion. That means Elude scales upward to stronger values against higher Rank and Level foes (until its finally overwhelmed) in I6, relative to Resistance that has constant strength regardless of attacker.

    In I7, "normal" defense will now scale correctly - meaning, it will have the same strength against foes of any Rank or Level, making it comparable to Resistance. It would be unfair if "ultrahigh" defense also scaled *better* than Resistance. In I7, Defense of any strength, and any value, will scale correctly - it will have constant mitigation strength. It won't break down, and it won't go up either. That's the correct behavior.


    Q4: But MoG is now even more worthless in I7 than in I6.

    A4: If you think MoG was worthless in I6, its worse in I7. That's a problem with MoG, not a problem with the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler. Nor is there really a way to change the Critter Accuracy Scaler to "fix" this problem, without creating worse problems.


    Q5: So because Defense now "Scales" upward, +3s will be no more difficult than evens; Defense is now UBER!

    A5: No. +3s will still hit you more often than evens (and harder). Just like they currently hit Invulns, and Regens, more often. It will just be the same amount of "more often" not "ridiculously more often."


    Q6: I heard this affects tohit debuffs also. Does it?

    A6: Yes. If you apply a net tohit buff of X% on a target, that has the same effect, essentially, as having X% defense against his attacks. However, tohit debuffs are a bit more complex than defense buffs, because tohit buffs are affected by the purple patch, and they are resisted by higher ranked villains. But a net X% tohit debuff has the same overall affect as X% defense.

    Which means, basically, tohit debuffs have a stronger effect in I7 than I6, in much the same way as Defense has a stronger effect in I7 than I6, against higher Ranked and higher Level critters. Remember: Defense wasn't changed. Tohit wasn't changed. Critters were changed. Tohit debuffs (and defense buffs) are more effective not because they are stronger, but because in effect critters are weaker against them.


    Q7: But I heard tohit debuffs were nerfed also?

    A7: Unrelated to the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler, tohit debuff enhancements were put on Schedule B. Where they belong, with tohit buff enhancements, and Defense enhancements. This does weaken slotted tohit debuffs, but its not directly related to the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler.


    Q8: But doesn't that [the tohit debuff enhancement change] lower ToHitDebuffs in PvP?

    A8 It lowers their maximum slotted value everywhere, not just in PvP. But since most critters will now have less tohit (and more accuracy), tohit debuffs are becoming more effective in PvE as well (the net behavior is sometimes weaker, sometimes stronger, but generally not by large amounts either way). They are becoming weaker in PvP only because players' base tohit was changed *first* in PvP, prior to the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler. If player tohit was being changed to 50% now, simultaneously with the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler change, then tohit, defense, and tohit debuffs would have all changed in behavior simultaneously, and no one would be now suggesting that the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler had one effect in PvE, and a different effect in PvP. In essence, tohit debuffs got their PvP buff back in the post I5 Player PvP Accuracy patch, and is getting their PvE buff now. Simultaneously, they are getting their enhancements reduced now, to balance them against tohit buff and defense enhancements, which were lowered earlier, or were always on Schedule B, respectively.


    Q9: I've heard Luck inspirations are even more uber now.

    A9 You heard right. Because there is, in a sense, an effective limit on how much Defense will do anything at all (45%), two (small) lucks will automatically do as much as any amount of Defense you can stack on top of yourself by any other means. Two Lucks = Max Possible Defense, barring tohit buffs and Defense Debuffs.

    But was there ever a time when Luck inspirations *weren't* uber?


    Q10: I heard lucks were nerfed. Is that true?

    A10: No. Lucks were not nerfed. Completely unrelated to the I7 Critter Accuracy Scaler changes, it was discovered that lucks are not as strong as their labels say they are. For that matter, Insights are also not as strong as they say they are (all other inspirations seem to be labeled correctly). See this thread for more information.


    Technical Details

    Q1: What *precisely* does the I7 Defe- uh, Critter Accuracy Scaler do?

    A1: In I6, different critters used to have different base tohit:

    Minion: 50%
    LT: 57.5%
    Boss, Elite Boss: 65%
    AV, Turrets: 75%

    And in I6, for each level higher than you, the critter used to get +5% tohit. Actually, the game used this table:
    0 1
    1 1.05
    2 1.1
    3 1.15
    4 1.2
    5 1.25
    6 1.3
    7 1.35
    8 1.41
    9 1.48
    10 1.68
    11 1.8
    12 1.95
    13 2.1
    14 2.2
    Subtract one from the numbers, and add to the critter's tohit. Its +5% per level out to +7, and past that point you're probably dead anyway (This is one of Iakona's tables. Unfortunately, the I7 tables are not where Iakona looks for them anymore).


    In I7, the Rank tohit increases are going to be replaced by an Accuracy increase that is comparable. And that number is the critter's base tohit divided by 50%:

    Minion: 1.0
    LT: 1.15
    Boss: 1.3
    AV: 1.5

    The level increases for even con to +10 are:

    <font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>lev acc tohit
    +0 1.0 0
    +1 1.1 0
    +2 1.2 0
    +3 1.3 0
    +4 1.4 0
    +5 1.5 0
    +6 1.5 +5%
    +7 1.5 +10%
    +8 1.5 +15%
    +9 1.5 +20%
    +10 1.5 +40%</pre><hr />
  4. [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]

    I?ll work it out a little more fully here with the To Hit Formula. Taking that boss mentioned above, his To Hit would work out like this?

    (0.5 - 0.4372) * 1.3 = 0.0816 or 8.16%.


    [/ QUOTE ]

    This example does not take into account that the boss now has a .2 resists factor to tohit debuffs.

    Even con boss with 2 SO in RI:
    (0.5 - 0.4375*0.8) * 1.3 = 0.195 or 19.5%.

    You should also probably note that ToHit debuff are also resistant by level, same example with a +2 boss

    (0.5 - 0.4375*0.8*0.8) * 1.3 * 1.2 = 0.342 or 34.2%.

    With 3 slotted RI:
    (0.5 - 0.48*0.8*0.8) * 1.3 * 1.2 = 0.30 or 30.0%.


    Edit: Before I7 ToHit debuffs were double-penalized for level difference. Now they are double-penalized for level difference and rank. Was this really warranted??

    [/ QUOTE ]

    You know, that "explanation" wasn't all that well written when Statesman posted it the first time. (Terms used without explanation for example.) This subsequent snipping has only made it worse. Now we have phrases like "let's take Radiation Infection again, without mentioning it the first time. Not to mention numbers (like "0.3123") popping up with no explanation where they came from.


    Then there's the ToHit Debuff mess, inaccurately left out the first time, corrected, and apparently raising its' head again. Thank God for the Ladioss_Sopp/MrQuizzles spreadsheet. But I believe disco_ is entirely correct here, and fear what CuppaJo quoted was off the original, uncorrected version.


    I know I'm grumpy, but it really bugs that even when I like the change I can't stand the explanations.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Just to add more fun, I'm not sure disco_ is in fact 100% correct here: I'm not convinced that tohit debuff resistance is multiplicative: in cases where I'm pretty sure of how a debuff resistance works, its additive.


    Just a friendly word on examples: when writing examples to illustrate a point, its generally a good idea to avoid touching any other subject non-relevant to the point. If you are trying to illustrate how the critter accuracy changes are going to affect defense, only use defense in your examples. If you are trying to illustrate how the critter accuracy changes affect tohit buffs, only use examples that don't mess with tohit debuff strength, and warn people that there are other factors completely separate from the thing you are trying to illustrate. It prevents being misleading, and eliminates opportunities for being nit-picked.

    The fact that tohit debuffs are a foe effect, and therefore subject to foe resistances, is not relevant to the subject of the I7 critter accuracy changes. It is relevant to tohit debuff mechanics in general, regardless of the critter accuracy changes. Every issue brought up with regard to tohit debuffs would still exist now if the I7 critter accuracy changes didn't happen.

    I'm not trying to police what gets discussed and not discussed in this thread: I'm only suggesting that the specific issues be discussed separately and not intertwined, or the vast majority of people reading this thread will almost certainly lose track of what's going on, assuming there's anyone left at all that is still on track and following along properly in the first place.
  5. [ QUOTE ]
    Im curious how Rad infection/Darkest night and force field/Sonic field are gonna stand up now?

    Sonic should stay the same, but side by side comparison with Bubbles should prove something interesting given the "New and improved fiasco" of Jacks online prima guide with Bubbles and Sonics clocking in at the same values 11.25 for the little bubbles........ didnt def=2 res....so Sonics at half value?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Prima lists sonic bubbles at 15% res for the little bubbles and 11.25% res for the dispersion bubble for corruptors. It lists FF bubbles at 11.25% for the little bubbles for masterminds and 7.5% defense for the dispersion bubble. If I'm doing the AT scale conversion correctly, this means FF for defenders is 12.5% defense for the little bubbles and 10% defense for the dispersion bubble. Sonics would be 25% res for the little bubbles and about 14% res for the dispersion bubble. The little sonic bubbles do seem to work out to twice the numeric value of the little FF bubbles, which equates to about the same level of protection. Dunno about the dispersion bubbles, though.

    I'm not an expert on the sonic set, so I cannot confirm those numbers on the sonics set for defenders; that's just what the AT modifiers tell me it should be if the set is has the same inherent scale strength for corruptors and defenders (and I'm using the right AT modifier). The sonic dispersion bubble's number "feels wrong" to me, but again, either the Prima Guide or my conversion could be off.
  6. [ QUOTE ]
    so basically this means the defense effects the accuracy or the base defense....

    if it effects the base defense thent he accuracy bonus is going to make higher level things actually do better andhte origianl problem will remain.

    If it effects the accuracy then the defense will have a floor to it....meaning no matter what the enemies will hit you 50% of the time...whihc means basically everyother hit you will get hit....ergo the defense is in a worse standing then before.

    So anywise which of those does it effect the accuracy or the base...

    Also is there any chance to see how this effects the character blocking or defelcting or absorbing hits.....i noticed i had a power doing this when i turned it on....

    In my opinion this would signify i was getting defense but something esle in addition.....

    So anywise maybe i am totally off....

    [/ QUOTE ]

    I'm afraid I can't help with this one: I don't understand this one. You might try repeating the question without the pronouns, so I know which its are which.
  7. [ QUOTE ]
    Fair enough, but I wonder where I got the impression that the change was somehow expected to make higher cons (+1, +2) effectively the same as even cons versus Defense buffs or ToHit buffs, up to +5 or so? I'm certain I didn't make that up, but I haven't a clue what mistaken assertion I read. I remember wondering how that could possibly work given the formula as stated.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Because a lot people kept saying it, many more than I could find to correct.


    [ QUOTE ]
    I guess I can see why some SRs would be a little disappointed, given that the overall to-hit floor for bosses, AVs, etc. isn't just 5% * (their rank modifier) but actually 5% * (their rank mod) * (their con mod) * (per-power mod). As someone whose current main is a Dark def, I can understand. I can see how it's mathematically fair, but it does mean that I'm still not protecting the team as much as I thought, or hoped.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    The "new floor" (its not really new, its been this way since I4) really only affects you if your total +DEF and -ToHit exceeds 45%. If you used to be able to drive things like AVs (that didn't have inherent accuracy bonuses) all the way down to 5% before, well you won't be able to now. But for most reasonable values of defense and tohit debuff, I7 is better than I6.

    Lets say you're facing off against a +1 AV. In I6, he had 80% base tohit. In I7, he has 50% base tohit, and 1.1 * 1.5 = 1.65 total accuracy.

    If your total debuff strength was like -72% tohit or higher in I6 (wow), you could have debuffed that AV better in I6 than now in I7. If your debuff strength is less than that, you're better off in I7.

    That's because in I7, once you hit 45% debuff, you've hit the floor, which for this particular AV is 1.65 * 5% = 8.25% In order to beat that in I6, you would have needed 80%-8.25% = 71.75% debuff strength or better.

    These numbers are really the kind of thing you only see with Elude, MoG, and stacked bubbles (or highly stacked debuffs).

    I get the feeling you'll be protecting your team better in I7 than I6, by a wide margin. Hope that helps.
  8. [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]
    3. Take result from (2), and multiply by all accuracy terms. If you have one accuracy term, multiply by that. If you have two accuracy terms, multiply by each in turn. Do NOT add accuracy together. If you are dealing with a +2 Boss, multiply (2) by 1.3 (for the boss factor) and then by 1.2 (for the +2 factor). If you are dealing with a +2 Boss that is using thunder kick, multiply by 1.2, then 1.3, then 1.05 (for the martial arts accuracy bonus).

    [/ QUOTE ]
    Wait, and here I thought I understood the new system. Weren't the +con modifiers supposed to be removed up to +5 or so? So a +1 Boss and a +4 Boss would have the same overall chance to hit a person with Defense in I7, and only after +5 would it get abruptly more dangerous again? Wasn't that supposed to be big part of what helped Defense to scale versus higher cons?

    Where and how am I getting confused? Thanks to your many other informative posts, I thought I understood how the former +ToHit modifier for con level contributed to making life more difficult for Defense sets compared to the Resistance sets. But if that same exact modifier exists on Accuracy now, and it still begins at +1 con level, then what did we gain? Why did we go through this whole exercise?

    &lt;/obviously-missing-something&gt;

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Bosses hit everyone more often than minions do. +5s hit everyone more often than even cons. And that's what we want.

    But if a Boss hit *everyone* 30% more often, that's pretty much like hitting everyone 30% harder right? That's fair to everyone, whether you have defense or not.

    But in I6, that's not what happened. In I6 and earlier, instead of hitting us 30% more often, they instead hit us fifteen percentage points more often. What's the difference?

    Compare a regen scrapper with zero defense to an SR scrapper with 30% defense. Against minions, the regen scrapper gets hit 50% of the time. The SR scrapper gets hit 20% of the time.

    Now a boss comes along. In I6, he just added the number 15 to both of those numbers. So the regen gets hit 65% of the time, and the SR 35% of the time.

    In proportional terms, the regen gets hit 65/50 = 1.3: 30% more often.

    The SR: 35/20 = 1.75: 75% more often. Ouch.


    In I7, that boss now has an accuracy buff instead. He just boosts the net tohit by 30% for everyone. So, he hits the regen scrapper 30% more often than minions do, from 50% of the time to 65% of the time. He also hits SR scrappers 30% more often than minions do: from 20% of the time, to 26% of the time.


    A similar thing happens with higher conning critters. They hit more often, but *fairly* more often to everyone. A +2 hits everyone 20% more often whether you have defense or not. Which means everyone takes (on average) 20% more damage. That's how we measure "fair" for damage mitigation (everyone takes the same amount more damage).


    The change was never supposed to make Bosses hit you just as often as minions. And it was never supposed to make +5s hit you just as often as evens. It was supposed to make the more accurate things equally more accurate against everyone, whether you have defense or not. In I6, the "more accurate things" were a little more accurate against the stuff with no defense, and *a lot* more accurate against the stuff with a lot of defense. In I7, they are still more accurate, just fairly so.


    The one sentence version: accuracy is fair, tohit is not fair, so in I7 critters trade in their evil tohit buffs for accuracy buffs, but they still get to be more accurate than their near-sighted brethren.
  9. [ QUOTE ]
    Am i more or less likely to get hit under this new system

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Interestingly, I actually forgot to have this question in the FAQ:

    Q: If I have no defense, will I get hit more, or less often, in I7 than I6?

    And the answer is:

    A: against even level critters, you'll get hit at exactly the same rate in I7 relative to I6, if you have no defense. However, against +1 and higher, you'll get hit very slightly more frequently by LTs and Bosses in I7 than I6. A +2 Boss, for example, will hit you 78% of the time in I7. It was hitting you 75% of the time in I6. You're not likely to notice.


    Maybe I should update the FAQ.
  10. [ QUOTE ]
    What I would truly like to know is has this been extensively tested.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    I can confirm that in I7 critters now appear to have base 50% chance to hit, regardless of rank, and have accuracy bonuses instead. I can confirm the LT bonus, and the boss bonus.

    I can also confirm the +10% accuracy per level to +3, within reasonable tolerances, for minions and LTs. It all *seems* to be working as described.
  11. [ QUOTE ]
    Completed on Thursday June 15, 2006. 12pm Eastern. Started at 9pm Eastern. 3 hours Total.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Gratz guys, awesome job.


    And its amazingly close to what I thought an optimal team would look like, too. Half Ice/rad,Ice/cold, the rest mostly brutes and masterminds. That's not so good, actually.
  12. [ QUOTE ]
    I'm confused. What happens when multiple To Hit Debuffs apply or when a To Hit is there WITH a character with defense? Is that where the caps apply or do the caps apply at all stages?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    1. 50% + AllToHitBuffs - AllToHitDebuffs - AllDefenseBuffs + AllDefenseDebuffs

    2. Take number above, and apply 5% floor and 95% ceiling (if less than 5%, set to 5%; if more than 95%, set to 95%).

    3. Take result from (2), and multiply by all accuracy terms. If you have one accuracy term, multiply by that. If you have two accuracy terms, multiply by each in turn. Do NOT add accuracy together. If you are dealing with a +2 Boss, multiply (2) by 1.3 (for the boss factor) and then by 1.2 (for the +2 factor). If you are dealing with a +2 Boss that is using thunder kick, multiply by 1.2, then 1.3, then 1.05 (for the martial arts accuracy bonus).

    4. Take the result from (3), and apply the 5% floor and 95% ceiling again. You're done.
  13. [ QUOTE ]
    In the old system, the To Hit chance increased over level. A +1 level had a 1.05 modifier, +2 level 1.1 and +3 1.15. For example, the base to hit chance of a lieutenant +2 levels was 0.58*1.1 or 63.8%.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Actually, although its somewhat moot now, I believe that in I6 and earlier, the modifiers worked like this:

    BaseToHit + (Mod-1)

    I.e. +1 was BaseToHit + (1.05-1) = BaseToHit + 0.05, +2 was BasetoHit + 0.10. Or if you prefer, +1 was +5% tohit, +2 was +10% tohit, etc.

    I've had this confirmed to me many times.
  14. [ QUOTE ]
    I'm a little surprised by this statement:

    [ QUOTE ]
    It is unclear why Defense was lowered as part of the Global Defense reductions in I5, but tohit buffs were (apparently) not. If they were, this fact was not reported, nor has it shown up yet in anyone's testing.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Quite simply, the reason is because the nerf was, in fact, a defense nerf. It did not (in and of itself), reduce our offense. And our final toHit against a given foe is a dominant factor in our offense.

    If you meant to append "in PvP", you might want to mention it. Because the reasons are quite obvious to me. These powers are simply the only way you can sometimes overcome the toHit debuffs that are slathered on you (in PvE especially, but this can be an issue in PvP). Since toHit debuffs and defense are indentical from a mathematical perspective (if not a full mechanical one), and at least some characters should have a way to combat toHit debuffs, that leaves toHit buffs as a direct counter to defense as well.

    Moreover, as you mention, many critters have outrageous defense powers, in many cases apparently posessing completely unnerfed versions of the powers heroes had when the game was launched. Powers like Aim and Build Up are the only way heroes (and villains) can sometimes affect these foes.

    In other words, these powers appear balanced in PvE.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Well, that statement is somewhat out of date. Part of the many little clean up jobs I need to do on the Guide (its 6 version old, now).

    On the other hand, tohit buffs are balanced in PvE only because critters weren't reduced by the GDF in equal measure with players. They should have been, which would have scaled tohit buffs downward appropriately, and that would have then made them less of a wildly stupid problem in PvP.
  15. [ QUOTE ]
    *The +6 through +10 numbers may be suspect. Statesman once said that the scaling would stop after +5, but the math behind it is unknown. Whether defense even stops it scaling after +5 is unknown at this point. If anyone can provide some numbers detailing what happens at that level, please PM me so I can add it to the sheet.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    You should presume the numbers in this guide are accurate to +10 until someone else tests them to the contrary. They are not guesses.
  16. [ QUOTE ]
    One thing to note, Invincibility provides a base of 5% for Tankers (3.75% for Scrappers) with no foe in melee range.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Castle corrected me on that one, its in the same thread where I originally asserted that it did. It doesn't. It starts at 6.5% - 5% for the first one, and 1.5% for the first one again, and then 8% total for two, and so on. Testing seems to show that that is the case.

    Sorry for the confusion.
  17. Darn it, I broke the forum again. Here's the rest of the guide


    UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT DEFENSE

    (At least, I don't know the answers)

    1. When a click defense is triggered, does the defense stack immediately, or only after the activation is completed, or something in-between?

    Although I never fully tested this (and now its almost impossible to do so) I (and many other SR scrappers) experienced an alarming sense that we were being hit in mid-backflip while cycling elude more often than chance would suggest, even though the protection of elude should have been fairly continuous. It was conjectured that when elude was cycled, the original cast of elude was momentarily dropped, and the new cast of elude was significantly (by a second or two) delayed. This would have made elude comparable to powers like grant invisibility, which if you refresh it, causes the targetted player to become momentarily visible again.

    Whether this is true, and how this affects other defense powers, like parry/DA, is unclear.

    2. Just exactly how does invincibility work?

    Much more industrious people than me are continuing to investigate invincibility, most recently Stargazer. Invincibility was originally thought to have a base defense, plus an additional amount of melee and ranged defense per villain in melee range. Havok concluded that the original belief that invincibility had a base defense was false, and attempted to correct that mistaken belief. Much more recently, Stargazer seems to have done fairly convincing tests that lead one to believe that invincibility is not offering melee/ranged defense, but rather damage-typed all except psi defense. Whether invincibility was always like this, or changed to be this, is not clear to me, given the complex history of invincibility testing.

    Additionally, further testing by others have hinted that invincibility might be offering twice the defense the developers quote for it because (like all auras) it "pulses" to generate its effect, and the pulses might be coming twice as fast as the actual pulse duration, in effect causes invincibility to stack with itself.

    Testing of invincibility might be the longest running attempt to define how a power works in CoH by the player community.

    *** Update ***

    The mechanics of invincibility seem to be generally accepted now, as are invincibility's defense values (which are listed in the above section for invulnerability). I'm keeping this question here as a placeholder to mention that invincibility now seems to be much better understood: it (the question) is probably going away in the next version of the guide.

    3. Are hits and misses "streaky?" Is the random number generator in City of Heroes "broken?"

    Its possible the random number generator has some sort of flaw, but in my opinion, whatever flaws it has, they are unlikely to be causing major problems in the game. However, its possible there are other systematic errors in the game related to how random numbers are actually used. There are some instances where it is blatantly obvious that the tohit calculators are doing something weird, but across a wide range of other cases, the randomness of hits and misses appears to be fairly random. Its important to note that "random" does not mean "not streaky." True random numbers are inherently streaky to a degree: the question is whether or not the hits and misses in CoH obey statistical norms of streakiness. This is still an open question, because its such a difficult thing to test for and because few people are able to test it precisely.

    (New)4. How do radiation attacks work? How exactly do they "bypass defense?"

    The most logical way for radiation attacks to "bypass" defense is for them to have inherent tohit buffs. If that is the case, radiation attacks would be the only exception I am aware of to the rule that *attack specific* accuracy increases are accuracy buffs, not tohit buffs.

    New: I'm told radiation attacks don't really "bypass" defense despite what the description says: they simply have significant accuracy buffs and defense debuffs


    THE CANONICAL LIST OF DEFENSE-RELATED COMPLAINTS REGULARLY DISCUSSED ON THE FORUMS

    In no particular order (and without commenting on validity):

    * SR underperforms other scrapper sets (Update: not so much now)
    * SR is a "one trick pony" that has only defense (Update: SR now has resistances)
    * Ice tanks uderperform other tanker sets (Update: Ice performs well now, as tankers go: Fire seems to underperform)
    * Ice tanks performance is too similar to SR scrappers for a tanker (Update: not since I6)
    * High defense is too frustrating in the arena
    * Low defense is too frustrating in the arena
    * There are too many defense debuffs in the game
    * Defense debuffs are too strong
    * Tohit buffs in the arena are too strong
    * Defense requires you to be lucky
    * Defense is inferior to Resistance in all respects
    * The SR set is too reliant on power pool defenses (Update: mainly Aid Self)
    * The Force Fields set is insufficiently strong as a buff set
    * Resistance buffs are more appreciated than Defense buffs (Update: in I7, probably not anymore)
    * The SR (and to a lesser degree Ice) set can be too easily simulated with a few luck inspirations (Update: a few more than originally thought)
    * Lucky and Evasion are in the wrong order in the SR set
    * Invincibility is too powerful a defense power for Invulnerability given that it can outperform the supposedly "defense-oriented sets"
    * The -DEF in Unyielding should be removed given the overall reductions to the invuln set
    * SR passive defenses are too inefficient to slot
    * There are too many autohitting attacks (Update: this seems to be changing)
    * There shouldn't exist autohitting defense debuffs (Update: devs seem to directly think otherwise)
    * Quartz eminators


    Be forewarned: this stuff has been debated to death. Also, while I strongly encourage people to post their ideas, observations, comments, and suggestions on defense-related issues, bear in mind that if you post a message stating, essentially "I have the answer to everything" one of two things is extremely likely to happen: the message will be ignored, or the suggestion in the message will be heavily critiqued. Be prepared for both.


    THE PURPLE PATCH

    Get asked about this all the time. Here is what happens when you try to attack something much higher than you are, in terms of your powers effectiveness going down, and in terms of your base tohit going down also. Note: this affects players attacking higher leveled foes. Low level villains attacking a higher level player are not affected by the purple patch. These numbers come from a Geko post from the distant past.

    [ QUOTE ]

    Foes your level have not changed. You have a 75% chance to hit and your powers are 100% effective.
    Foes 1 level above you - No Change. You have a 68% chance to hit and your powers are 90% effective.
    Foes 2 levels above you - No Change. You have a 61% chance to hit and your powers are 80% effective.
    Foes 3 levels above you - You have a 55% chance to hit and your powers are 65% effective.
    Foes 4 levels above you - You have a 48% chance to hit and your powers are 48% effective.
    Foes 5 levels above you - You have a 41% chance to hit and your powers are 30% effective.
    Foes 6 levels above you - You have a 34% chance to hit and your powers are 15% effective.
    Foes 7 levels above you - You have a 25% chance to hit and your powers are 8% effective.
    Foes 8 levels above you - You have an 11% chance to hit and your powers are 5% effective.
    Foes 9 levels above you - You have a 6% chance to hit and your powers are 4% effective.
    Foes 10 levels above you - You have a 5% chance to hit and your powers are 3% effective.
    Foes 11 levels above you - You have a 5% chance to hit and your powers are 2% effective.
    Foes 12+ levels above you - You have a 5% chance to hit and your powers are 1% effective.


    [/ QUOTE ]


    *** New for version 1.2 ***
    Testing seems to indicate that the base tohit of players might not follow this progression precisely. Additional testing seems to show, and the devs seem to have confirmed, that the tohit decrease follows this progression instead:

    -4 .95
    -3 .90
    -2 .85
    -1 .80
    +0 .75
    +1 .65
    +2 .56
    +3 .48
    +4 .39
    +5 .30
    +6 .20
    +7 .08

    It is unclear what the source of the discrepancy is.


    Things on the horizon

    * Statesman has suggested that high tohit buffs are being looked at, but no solution has been put forth by the devs.

    * Lots of defense sets counting the days to I7.



    A discussion on AT modifiers

    All defense powers (in fact, all powers period) are designed with a scale value. Its the inherent strength of the power. However, the actual strength of the power depends on which AT has it. Each AT has a set of modifiers that "scale" the power's values to the proper strength.

    This table is the AT defense modifier table (taken from Iakona's thread).

    <font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>
    Mod Blast Contr Def Scrap Tank PeacB Warsh Brute Stalk MasM Dom Corrupt
    M Def 0.070 0.090 0.100 0.075 0.100 0.075 0.075 0.075 0.075 0.090 0.085 0.085
    R Def 0.065 0.075 0.100 0.065 0.065 0.075 0.075 0.065 0.065 0.075 0.075 0.075</pre><hr />

    For example, these are the values for Super Reflexes:

    SR Toggles: Scale 1.85
    SR Passives: Scale 0.75

    This means SR toggles are 1.85 * 0.075 = 0.13875 = 13.875% SR passives are 0.75 * 0.075 = 0.05625 = 5.625%

    Note that there are two values, an "M" (melee) modifier, and an "R" (ranged) modifier. This has nothing to do with melee or ranged defense. M modifiers are used for powers that self buff, and R modifiers are used for powers that ally buff. So powers like combat jumping, hover, and stealth use the melee modifier. Maneuvers uses the ranged modifier. Grant Invisibility seems to be an exception to this rule: GI uses the melee modifier, not the ranged modifier, as you would expect given that its a buff.

    Most Power pool defenses are 0.25 scale. Weave is an exception: its 0.50 scale. It seems stealth is also an exception: its 0.5 scale unsuppressed, and 0.25 scale suppressed. This is suggested in the Prima Guide.

    Supposedly, everything obeys AT modifiers, including all defense powers, whether in primary or secondary sets, or in power pools. An interesting exception is the Unyielding Debuff: its -5% for both scrappers and tankers.

    SR scrappers and SR stalkers have the same defense values, except SR stalkers have a higher scale value for Evasion, because they lack lucky. Ninjitsu stalkers have the same values for toggle defenses as SR scrappers and stalkers. This is because the toggles and passives for SR scrappers, SR stalkers, and Ninjitsu stalkers all have the same scale value, and scrappers and stalkers have the same AT defense modifier. Simple as that.



    SOURCES OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

    I kept the power set numbers out of this guide for the most part, except where they appear to be commonly discussed or questioned. If you want them, here they are:

    BuffySummers has updated her Scrapper Guide and Tanker Guide for I7 and are great starting points for the values of the scrapper and tanker damage mitigation sets.

    RedTomax is working on a web-based guide to all of CoH: it contains Defense information including defense types and values in tabular form here.

    Iakona is doing an impressive job digging up underlying base numbers for CoH, like AT modifiers and scales. His Power Data Standardization Thread is a central point for number cruncher data fiends that would rather not deal with bin files. Note: I7 accuracy scalers are not where Iakona looks, to the best of my knowledge.

    The Prima Update for I7 has a lot of numbers now published for all sorts of power values. Fair warning: if you are not knowledgeable about how the numbers actually *work* in CoH, this guide might lead you astray. For example, power pool defenses are listed for a theoretical AT with Defense buff modifier 0.100 - i.e. its good for tankers. Scrappers would actually benefit by only 75% of the listed values for defense and resistance.


    Use of this Guide

    Anyone compiling information for use by players of City of Heroes and City of Villains has permission to reproduce this guide whole or in part, so long as some form of attribution is maintained. But if you make a ton of money off of it, and I find out about it, I'm going to come looking for my cut.
  18. Version 1.4 of the guide is posted here. Special easter eggs mistakes have been randomly scattered throughout by my subconscious mind: be one of the first to spot one and harass me about them for special forum poster bonus points.
  19. Well, here's version 1.4 of the Guide to Defense. I've significantly reworked the explanation of the tohit formula to simplify it (to the extent possible), and to reflect some better understanding of certain background issues. Also, I added pritty colors and some examples so its easier for people to see where the numbers are supposed to go. Hopefully, the colors won't look too crappy on anyone's monitors.

    Updates from 1.3:

    * The I7 scaler is described within
    * Updated explanation of tohit formula
    * Sample color-coded calculations
    * Updated info on invincibility
    * Info on the problem with insights and lucks being mislabeled
    * Info on attacks that are not positionally defense typed, and what that means for SR
    * Discussion of AT modifiers and scalers
    * Lots of miscellaneous little corrections

    The Guide is now big enough that its pretty likely I'll make a typo here and there, but hopefully it incorporates all the comments and suggestions from the previous version correctly. I was thinking of cleaning up some additional sections, but since I7 is out now, I'll post this and save the clean up for the next version.


    Defense in CoH


    Defense, and its relationship to the basic tohit equations, is one of the least understood mechanisms in City of Heroes. This guide will try to explain Defense, how it functions, how it relates to tohit probabilities, and how it interacts with the other elements related to Defense in the game.


    DEFINITIONS AND THE BASIC TOHIT EQUATIONS

    The basic tohit formula

    NetToHit = Accuracy * (BaseToHit - Defense)

    where:

    NetToHit: the probability that one thing will hit another thing with an attack. If net tohit is 45%, then 45% of the time when A attacks B, A will hit B.

    BaseToHit: the probability, associated with the attacker that represents the base probability that attacker has of hitting any target in general, before buffs, debuffs, and defense are taken into acount.

    Defense: the ability, or power, to reduce the chances of an attacker from hitting you. Defense is normally expressed in percentage points, and is the number of percentage points that the defensive ability will reduce your chances of being hit by an attacker.

    Accuracy: the effect of any buff that specifically affects the ability for a single power to hit its target. This includes accuracy enhancements, and things like inherent attack bonuses (i.e. weapon draw bonuses). Accuracy is a bit complicated: see the advanced tohit formula below.


    The advanced tohit formula

    The advanced tohit formula (my terminology - there isn't really a term for it) takes into account accuracy enhancements, tohit buffs, tohit debuffs, and defense debuffs. It is:

    NetToHit = (InherentAttackAccuracy) * (1 + AccuracyEnhancement) * [ BaseToHit + ToHitBuffs - ToHitDebuffs - (Defense - DefenseDebuffs) ]


    Tohit buffs and defense debuffs

    One way to improve your tohit chance is to use, or have cast upon you, tohit buffs. Tohit buffs are, according to the devs, additive:

    BaseToHit + ToHitBuffs

    So if your base tohit is 75%, and you use or receive a 60% tohit buff, your modified tohit becomes:

    0.75 + 0.60 = 1.35 = 135%

    Note that this is higher than 100%: see tohit floors and tohit ceilings below.

    Tohit debuffs have the opposite effect, they reduce your chances to hit anything, and they subtract from base tohit.

    Defense debuffs are subtractive from defense: if you have 40% defense, and you are hit with a 10% defense debuff, your effective defense becomes: 40% - 10% = 30%.


    Inherent Attack Accuracy and Accuracy enhancements

    Both Inherent Accuracy bonuses and Accuracy Enhancements are Accuracy Buffs. Accuracy Buffs work differently than tohit buffs. As shown in the formula, accuracy buffs take effect after defense, while tohit buffs take effect before defense. The difference is that tohit buffs are much more effective than accuracy enhancements when defense is high. If your tohit on a target is 30%, a 33% accuracy enhancement SO will boost that percentage to 40% (30% * 1.33) regardless of what the defense of the target was (as long as the net effect of base tohit and defense was 30%). Another difference is that all separate accuracy buffs/modifiers are multiplied together, not added together. There have been many posts by devs with examples that show accuracy bonuses as being summed together: these appear to have been inaccurate: in specific discussions regarding accuracy, its been repeatedly stated to me that accuracy is multiplicative, not additive.

    All attacks have what is sometimes referred to as "Base Accuracy" or sometimes just "accuracy" and I've called "Inherent Attack Accuracy" for clarity purposes. Inherent Attack Accuracy is the "inherent accuracy" of an attack power. A "normal" attack has base accuracy of 1.0, or 100%. Attacks that are less accurate than normal have base accuracy values less than 1.0, and attacks that are more accurate than normal have base accuracy values more than 1.0. For example, archery attacks are said to have a higher inherent accuracy: they have accuracy 1.15. AoE mez attacks are said to have lower inherent accuracy, they have accuracy less than 1.0.

    Note on accuracy buffs and tohit buffs: it seems that the general rule is that anything that buffs (or debuffs) the accuracy of an individual power is an accuracy buff, while anything that buffs or debuffs the player - and all attacks he or she performs - is a tohit buff (or debuff).

    I am currently unaware of anything that is an accuracy debuff (and not a tohit debuff) but I'm told that they theoretically exist in CoH. However, I'm also told that the game engine doesn't currently do anything with player accuracy buffs. In other words, so far as I have been told, no power can give the entire player an "accuracy" buff, only tohit buffs. Any power that was set to give an accuracy buff would (as of this writing) have no effect.

    "Base Accuracy" and "Base ToHit" is very frequently confused. Base ToHit represents the intrinsic accuracy of an attacker: its the chance that he or she will hit a target, in general, assuming all other factors are absent (defense, buffs, debuffs, etc). Base Accuracy represents the intrinsic accuracy of an attack relative to other attacks, and is scaled to 1.0: "normal" attacks have Base Accuracy of 1.0, which means they have no effect on the overall accuracy of the player. Attacks inherently more or less accurate have Base Accuracy values of more or less than 1.0, which increase or lower the overall accuracy of any attacker using them.

    The best analogy to distinguish Base Accuracy and Base ToHit is to consider two people shooting firearms. One of those individuals might be inherently a better shot: he will have higher Base ToHit than the other. Separate from that, both of them will have different accuracies when firing snug nose revolvers and sniper rifles: the actual weapons have an intrinsic relative accuracy separate from the shooter, and thus the sniper rifle would have a higher Base Accuracy than the pistol.


    Floors, ceilings, and caps

    There is a maximum net tohit value and a minimum tohit value honored by the CoH game engine. No power or set of powers can drive your net tohit higher than 95% or lower than 5%. In other words, there is always at least a 5% chance of hitting anything, and always at least a 5% chance of missing something.

    The 5% minimum chance to hit something is referred to as the tohit floor.
    The 5% minimum chance to miss something, or alternatively the 95% maximum chance to hit something, is referred to as the tohit ceiling.

    It used to be thought that there was no cap on the amount of defense that a hero could achieve. It turns out there is, but it is very high and not normally applicable to most reasonable combat situations: its in the range of 300% defense at high levels (it scales upward with increasing combat level of your hero).

    The full tohit formula

    Taking into account accuracy, defense, buffs, debuffs, and floors and ceilings, its this:

    Bounded[ NetToHit = (InherentAttackAccuracy) * (1 + AccuracyEnhancement) * Bounded[ BaseToHit + ToHitBuffs - ToHitDebuffs - (Defense - DefenseDebuffs) ] ]

    Where Bounded[x] is the result of setting x to be 5% if x is lower than 5%, and 95% if x is higher than 95%. Notice that bounds checking is done twice: first after tohit and defense are combined (cf: the simplified tohit formula) and then again after accuracy buffs and debuffs are factored in.

    (In excel terminology, Bounded(x) is MIN( MAX(x,0.05), 0.95) )


    [ QUOTE ]
    Example Calculations

    To help people trying to make sense of this formula, I have two examples that show where all the numbers are supposed to go.

    Example #1: Player attacking even level minion with thunder kick slotted with 1 acc SO; minion has 5% defense.

    Net tohit = Bounded[ 1.05 * (1 + 0.33) * Bounded[ 0.75 - 0.05 ] ] = Bounded[ 1.05 * (1 + 0.33) * 0.70 ] ] = Bounded[ 0.978 ] = 0.95 (capped) = 95%

    1.05 = Martial Arts inherent accuracy bonus on all attacks
    0.33 = Value of slotted accuracy enhancements
    0.75 = Base tohit of player verses even level critter
    0.05 = Defense of critter

    Example #2: Player attacking player with thunder kick slotted with 2 acc SOs, attacker has +8% tohit buff from tactics, target has 55% defense.

    Bounded[ 1.05 * (1 + 0.66) * Bounded[ 0.5 + 0.08 - 0.55 ] ] = Bounded[ 1.05 * (1 + 0.66) * Bounded[ 0.03 ] ] = Bounded[ 1.05 * (1 + 0.66) * 0.05 ] = 0.087 = 8.7%

    1.05 = Martial Arts inherent accuracy bonus on all attacks
    0.66 = Value of slotted accuracy enhancements
    0.08 = Tohit buffs on the attacker
    0.5 = Base tohit of player verses player
    0.60 = Defense of target

    [/ QUOTE ]



    Rank and Level scaling, and the I7 Defense Scaling Update

    Base tohit of villains

    The base tohit of villains prior to I7 was:

    minions: 50%
    LTs: 57.5%
    Bosses, Snipers: 65%
    Monsters, Giant Monsters, AVs, Controller Pets: 75%

    These numbers are for even level villains: villains equal to your own combat level.

    This increase in tohit based on the type of villain is sometimes referred to as the rank bonus or more colloquially "higher ranked villains have better tohit."

    In I7, all critters have base tohit of 50%, and instead have accuracy increases:

    minions: 1.0 (i.e. no bonus)
    LTs: 1.15
    Bosses, Snipers: 1.3
    Monsters, Giant Monsters, AVs, Controller Pets: 1.5


    Tohit based on level

    Tohit bonuses based on level prior to I6 were additive tohit buffs. If the villain/critter was higher level than you, their base tohit increased by the following factor:

    +1 +5%
    +2 +10%
    +3 +15%
    +4 +20%
    +5 +25%
    +6 +30%
    +7 +35%
    +8 +41%
    +9 +48%
    +10 +68%
    +11 +80%
    +12 +95%
    +13 +110%
    +14 +120%

    There is a table with these numbers (shown as 1.05, 1.10, 1.15, etc) in the values that Iakona finds them: the first 12 have been confirmed to me to be true independent of Iakona's tables.

    In I7, critters now get accuracy buffs from +1 to +5, and then tohit buffs from +6 higher.

    The level scaler in I7 for even to +10 is:

    <font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>lev acc tohit
    +0 1.0 0
    +1 1.1 0
    +2 1.2 0
    +3 1.3 0
    +4 1.4 0
    +5 1.5 0
    +6 1.5 +5%
    +7 1.5 +10%
    +8 1.5 +15%
    +9 1.5 +20%
    +10 1.5 +40%</pre><hr />


    Base tohit of heroes (players)

    The base tohit of heroes in PvE is 75%. In PvP (arena combat and player vs player fights in PvP zones) base player tohit was recently reduced (in I6) to 50%. This improves the performance of defense sets in PvP combat substantially, although tohit buffs (being additive) are still a significant issue. Tohit buffs maybe also have been affected or reduced in I6, but this has not been confirmed. The devs have stated that high tohit buffs severely impacting defense sets is a problem they are working on a solution for.

    Question: is this a "nerf?" Answer: no, its a proper balancing of defense sets. Defense sets performance were balanced against even level minions, which have a base 50% chance to hit. Furthermore, it is just as reasonable to view this as a +25% buff to player defense across the board, instead of a base -25% tohit chance.

    [Note: as of 11/16/05 a patch note was added which specifically stated this exact thing.]


    Because there is now a Rank Accuracy Buff, and a Level Accuracy Buff, this is how the I7 tohit mechanics will work for critters:

    Bounded[ (InherentAttackAccuracy) * (AccuBuffs) * (RankBuff) * (LevelBuff) * Bounded[ (BaseToHit + ToHitBuffs - ToHitDebuffs + Defense - DefenseDebuffs) ] ]

    Note the position of the Rank and Level buffs, and note that all accuracy modifiers are multiplicative (in discussions with pohsyb, he specifically told me that overrode anything else he might have said about them earlier).

    Its important to note that the defense scaler does not affect how tohit buffs work in any way (directly). Tohit buffs are just as dangerous for defense sets as before. What the change does is remove the tohit increases from higher rank and higher level foes: anything that nevertheless still possesses high tohit buffs is still a major threat to defense.

    Its also important to note that because it changes villain tohit/accuracy, the defense scaler does not affect player's ability to hit critters or other players, in any way.

    There is an interesting quirk to how this works now. In I7, the "floor" will no longer be 5% for all villains. In fact, even now the 5% tohit floor is before accuracy is factored in. In other words, even in I6, there are villains that are IMPOSSIBLE to floor to 5% (i.e. Gunslingers) because they have inherent accuracy. In I7, this will become more prevalent as higher level and higher rank critters lose tohit and gain accuracy. This means "normal" defenses will become more effective against higher level and higher ranked foes, but ultra-high defense like elude and MoG will actually become somewhat less effective.


    [ QUOTE ]
    Sample I6 verses I7 calculations

    Example #3: +2 AV attacking player with thunder kick; Player has 30% defense; I6

    Net tohit = Bounded[ 1.05 * Bounded[ 0.75 + 0.10 - 0.25 ] ] = Bounded[ 1.05 * 0.50 ] ] = Bounded[ 0.525 ] = 0.525 (capped) = 52.5%

    0.10 = +2 Level Bonus (I6)
    1.05 = Martial Arts inherent accuracy bonus on all attacks
    0.75 = Base tohit of AV
    0.25 = Defense of Player

    Example #4: +2 AV attacking player with thunder kick; Player has 30% defense; I7

    Net tohit = Bounded[ 1.05 * 1.5 * 1.10 * Bounded[ 0.50 - 0.25 ] ] = Bounded[ 1.05 * (1.5) * 0.25 ] ] = Bounded[ 0.3938 ] = 0.3938 (capped) = 39.38%

    1.10 = +2 Level Bonus (I7)
    1.05 = Martial Arts inherent accuracy bonus on all attacks
    0.50 = Base tohit of I7 critter
    1.5 = AV Rank Bonus
    0.25 = Defense of critter

    [/ QUOTE ]


    DEFENSE MECHANICS

    Typed Defense and Defense Stacking

    Every attack power is classified based on how the attack is delivered, and based on the type of damage it delivers, and every defense power has an associated type or types that represents what types of attacks that defense power is effective against. There are two basic kinds of attack and defense typing: damage types, and vector or positional types. An attack can theoretically be tagged with anyone one or all of these types, or be left untyped (Hamidon attacks are apparently completely untyped - no damage *or* positional typing). In general however, most attacks will have exactly one vector type and one or two damage types.

    Positional, or attack vector classes

    Every attack is (generally) classified as either a melee attack, a ranged attack, or an AoE (area of effect) attack (cones are generally AoE attacks). In general, melee attacks are attacks that are limited to melee range (typically 5 to 10 feet maximum). Ranged attacks are attacks that will work to larger ranges. AoE attacks are defined as attacks that affect multiple targets. All attacks in CoH are classified as exactly one of these types: no more and no less.

    There is a special case issue that comes up with these basic definitions: melee cones and PBAoEs (point-blank area of effect attacks). It seems that in general, melee cones and many PBAoEs are generally considered melee attacks, but other PBAoEs (i.e. PBAoEs of giant monsters) are considered AoE attacks. There is apparently no sure-fire rule guaranteed to predict what a melee-ranged AoE will be classified as, although if its net range is less than 10 feet, it is very likely to be classified as a melee attack for the purposes of defense.

    One thing is certain: how an attack is typed for the purposes of defense is entirely up to the designer of the attack. *Any* attack could be typed as *any* of melee/ranged/AoE if the designers wanted to. This is why the decision to type headsplitter - a small cone attack - as a melee attack for the purposes of defense was, and is, purely arbitrary (for the developers). You cannot "know" with 100% certainty how an attack is typed by characterizing how it works or how many targets it hits, but only by testing it against various typed defenses.

    [ QUOTE ]
    *** New for Version 1.4 ***

    There ARE attacks that are not typed with any positional defense type. These include some mind control powers, like Dominate and Mesmerize. These attacks, because they have no positional type, will bypass positional defenses competely. This has significant consequences for SR scrappers, SR stalkers, and Ninjitsu stalkers, all of which rely on positional defenses.

    [/ QUOTE ]


    Damage-type classes

    Every attack has one or more (usually no more than two) components of damage: each component has a particular type of damage associated with it. The damage types in CoH are:

    smashing, lethal, fire, cold, energy, negative energy, toxic, and psionic

    An attack can be all of one damage type: electric attacks are generally all energy damage. An attack can have multiple damage components: most energy blast attacks have smashing damage and energy damage.

    Damage-types are often thought of as coming in pairs: smash/lethal (physical damage), fire/cold (elemental damage), and energy/negative (energy damage), because damage resistances are usually organized that way (but not always: cf Dark Armor). Toxic and psi are both considered special cases (see the special note on toxic defense below).

    Defense types

    Just as every attack is classified as melee, ranged, or AoE, and also, smashing, lethal, etc, each defense power is classified based on what type(s) of attacks the defense power is effective against. In City of Heroes, most defense powers in (self) damage mitigation sets (such as SR, Ice, etc) are either attack-vector typed (also referred to as positionally typed, or ranged-typed), or damage-typed, but not both. Thus, a particular defense power might be effective against melee, or melee and ranged, but not melee and fire, for example. Defenses in buff sets and power pools are usually typed with both damage typing and positional typing, to ensure that they will stack in some beneficial fashion with other sets' defenses. Parry in the broadsword set (and divine avalanche in the katana set) appear to be an unusual exception: its defense is melee/lethal.

    There is also a special type of defense called "Base Defense." Base defense is defense to all attacks, period. A confusing issue in CoH/CoV is that when a defense is called Defense to All, it could refer to Defense to All damage types (which means it does not include toxic attacks), or it could refer to Defense to Literally All Types (power pool defenses are now typed this way), which means they are defense to smash/lethal/fire/cold/energy/negative/psi/melee/ranged/AoE, or it could mean that it is Base Defense. It is theorized that Elude, and possibly lucks, are base defense, and PFF was once said to be base defense.

    *** SPECIAL NOTE ON TOXIC DEFENSE ***

    If a power is listed as defense to All but psi, then (as of this writing) that does not include toxic. The explanation is long and historical, but there is no toxic-specific defense in CoH. This does not mean that no power provides such defense, but rather that no such defense can exist due to a complication in how defense was originally designed. If a power is listed as "melee defense" this implicitly works against all melee attacks, even ones with toxic damage, but a power listed as "all damage types" does not include toxic.

    Untyped attacks

    Untyped is another special case: there used to be a significant amount of "untyped" damage in City of Heroes, most of which eventually became toxic damage. The main source of untyped damage left in CoH is the damage dealt by the Hamidon (nucleus), and the Hamidon Mitochondria. It appears Hamidon's attacks are truly untyped: they are not melee, ranged, or AoE, and they are not smashing, lethal, fire, cold, energy, negative, toxic, or psi. As such, no defenses of any type will work against Hamidon attacks. There is a defense that will: Base Defense which is defense to all. However, its unclear which powers (if any) currently offer Base Defense. We'll ignore untyped damage in this guide unless specifically mentioned.

    For more information on the specifics of defense within particular power sets, see the section DEFENSE IN POWER SETS below.

    Defense Stacking Rules

    If you have multiple defenses running (either your own powers or defense buffs cast on you by other players), certain defenses stack. Defense in CoH stacks additively, which is to say, if you have Defense A, and Defense B, and they stack, your net defense is A+B.

    Which defenses stack and which do not is slightly tricky. Fundamentally, the following is true:

    * All defenses of exactly the same class stack (melee stacks with melee, fire with fire, etc).
    * A single defense that protects against multiple classes of attack functions like multiple defenses, each of which protects against a single one.
    * You are only allowed to use the best defense you have against an attack with multiple classes.

    For example, if you are attacked with a power bolt (from the energy blast set), that attack is ranged, and has smashing and energy damage associated with it. You are only allowed to use the best of your net ranged defense, your net smashing defense, or your net energy defense.

    There was an issue a while ago in which the game engine was considering, say, someone with smashing defense and energy defense to get smash+energy defense against energy attacks with both smashing and energy components. This was considered a bug by the devs and corrected.

    The Bottom Line

    If you want to know how much defense you have against an attack, the game does this:

    First it figures out how much base defense you have.
    Then it looks at the way the attack is typed (for example, ranged/smash/energy)
    Then for each type, it sums up all of the defense you have to that type (for example, your total ranged defense, your total smashing defense, and your total energy defense).
    Then it picks the biggest of those, and adds it to your base defense, if any.
    That's your defense to that attack.



    Defense enhancements

    Each defensive power can be enhanced using defense enhancements. Defense enhancements (along with resistance enhancements) are one of the few enhancements that do not follow the general 8.33%/16.7%/33.3% TO/DO/SO (training, dual origin, single origin) enhancement progression. Defense enhancements are worth 5% for training, 10% for dual origin, and 20% for single origin enhancements.

    The way enhancements work in defense powers (and in powers in general) is that the power has a base defensive value. Enhancements increase that value by a percentage amount equal to their value. To be precise: if a defense power's base value is +5% defense, and an (even level) defense SO is slotted into it, the defense power's new enhanced value is 5% * (1 + 0.2) = 6%: the power is increased in value by 20% (and not 20 percentage points, which would be 5% + 20% = 25%).

    Defense enhancements themselves vary in strength based on your hero's level relative to the enhancement: enhancements are 10% weaker than their base value for every level lower than your combat level they are, up to three levels lower, where they are 70% of effective strength (they are worthless if you are more than three levels higher). Conversely, they are 5% stronger for each level higher than your level they are, up to 15% stronger when they are three levels higher than you are (enhancements more than three levels higher than your character's level cannot be slotted). For example, a -2 defense SO (normally +20%) is +16% (20% * 0.8) while a +3 defense SO is +23% (20% * 1.15).


    Inspirations

    Luck inspirations appear to be +Defense to all, and additively stack with any other defense powers you might be running. This has not, to my knowledge, been conclusively tested, but appears to be either explicitly true, or very near true.

    Insights, it has been confirmed, work like tohit buffs: they are exactly the opposite of lucks in effect.

    [ QUOTE ]
    *** New for I7 ***

    Lucks and Insights are mislabeled. According to the devs, lucks and insights are REALLY these values:

    DEF
    S - 12.5%
    M - 25%
    L - 33%

    ACC
    S - 7.5%
    M - 18.75%
    L - 37.5%

    This is considered a bug that is being worked on. What's unclear is whether the values are wrong and the labels are right, or the labels are wrong and the values are right, or if *neither* are what the values of the inspirations really *ought* to be.

    [/ QUOTE ]


    ***Enhancement Diversification***

    New to I6 is a change in how enhancements work called "enhancement diversification." Basically, it works like this for defense SOs: however you slot, and whatever you slot, you get the first 40% benefit (i.e. 2 even level SOs) at full strength, any benefit above 40% and below 60% at 0.85 (85%) of their value, and any benefit above 60% at only 0.15 (15%) of their value.

    This is tricky, so an example should help illustrate what's going on. You slot (presume even level SOs) one defense SO. Defense SOs provide 20% benefit, so you get 20% bonus to the defense power you slotted it in. The second SO adds 20%: you now have 40%. The next SO provides benefit above 40% (and below 60%), and so you get 85% of its value. 85% of 20% is 17% (0.85 * 20%). So SO #3 adds 17%, not 20%, and your net benefit is now 57%, not 60%. The fourth SO you slot is providing benefit above 60% (note, this is calculated based on the raw values of the SOs, not the reduced value). So you only get 0.15 (15%) of its value. 15% of 20% is 3%. So you now have 60% total benefit, instead of 80%. The fifth and sixth SOs would similarly provide 15% of the SO strength, so SO #5 brings you to 63%, and #6 brings you to 66%.

    Notice the extremely sharp cut off in benefit after enhancement #3. The basic rule on ED is: do not slot more than three SOs *worth* of enhancements. Its based on *benefit* and not on the little round thing you slot. So if you slot three SOs, and then one DO, the DO gets hit by ED. If you slot 3 HOs (Hamidon enhancements) of */*/defense and then an SO of defense, the SO gets hit by ED, even though "I didn't slot more than three of anything."

    What matters is *benefit* - you simply aren't going to get much more than 3 SOs *worth* of benefit on anything, no matter what crazy combination of enhancements you try to use to dodge it.

    Other enhancements, such as accuracy and damage, follow a different, but proportional scale (i.e. 3 SOs worth is where ED kicks in, even though 3 SOs of damage is about +100%, and not +60%).

    I6 introduces something else: you can now tell *exactly* how much benefit your powers are getting from enhancements, by hovering your mouse cursor over the blue bar of the power in the enhancement screen. Also, you can "hover" (without dropping) an enhancement over a slot, and see in a popup window what the net overall change to the attributes will be if you chose to slot there.

    One final note on I6 change to enhancements: tohit buff enhancements were originally schedule A enhancements (i.e. one even SO was worth +33% buff). They are now schedule B enhancements (i.e. one even SO is worth +20% buff) just like defense enhancements are.


    Resistance to defense debuffs

    As of the writing of this guide, supposedly resistance to defense debuffs have been added to hero and villain sets. The powers themselves now state that they include such resistance in the in-game power descriptions. Castle posted that to the best of his knowledge, the debuff resistance is in. However, careful testing has not demonstrated conclusively that they are working properly, and several tests appear to suggest that it isn't working correctly, or is working at a much lower level than originally specified. The thread where the concept of resistance to defense debuffs was originally put forth by Statesman is here. Castle has also stated that the mechanism might not be as simple as we were lead to believe: sometimes the resistance reduces the duration of the debuff, and sometimes the magnitude (but most of the time, the magnitude - see this post for more info. I believe the jury is still out on whether or not this effect is really working properly.

    *** New for Version 1.4 ***

    SR defense debuff resistance has been listed in the Prima Guide update, and confirmed by the devs. Each SR toggle offers 13.85% resistance to defense debuffs, each passive 6.925% resistance to defense debuffs (half that), and (I believe) Elude offers 34.625% resistance to defense debuffs (2.5 times the toggles, exactly). This is at level 50: the debuff resistance scales upward from lower levels to higher levels, but I do not know what the scaling curve is. There are similar posted numbers for the debuff resistances in the Prima Guide update, but I have not been able to confirm them as well, although there is no reason to doubt them at the moment.

    These numbers are *much* smaller than originally described by Statesman.


    THINGS RELATED TO DEFENSE

    What is mez defense?

    "Mez defense" is the generic term sometimes used to refer to powers that protect against mez. (Using terminology originally used by geko when explaining mez) there are two types of mez "defense" :mez protection and mez resistance. Neither of these is directly related to Defense in terms of damage mitigation, but its worth reviewing.

    The basics of mez are: everyone has a threshold that mez effects must break through in order for the mez effect to take hold. Without any mez defense, everyone has a base mez level of -1. All mez powers have a mez magnitude. When a mez power lands, it adds its magnitude to your mez level. A hero with mez level of -1 that gets hit by a magnitude 3 hold has mez level of 2 (-1 + 3). Any mez level higher than zero means the target is mezzed. Mez protection continuously subtracts its associated defense magnitude from your mez level while the power is running. Someone running a mez defense power with mez protection magnitude 10 has a mez level of -11 (-1 - 10). If hit with a mag 3 hold, mez level increases to -8 (-11 + 3). It would take 3 more such holds for the mez level to reach +1.

    Mez effects last for a certain period of time, then expire. Mez resistance allows a target to shake off mez effects faster. So instead of a mez effect lasting ten seconds, it might last eight.

    Mez protection and mez resistance are not true Defense or Resistance, but its useful to understand and is often confused with true Defense and Resistance.

    All mez protection powers in melee defense sets scale up with level, with tankers getting maximum protection at level 35, and scrappers at level 45.

    *** Note: in I6 mez protection powers were reduced from their previous levels. Maximum protection for tanks and scrappers used to be about magnitude 15, which in effect means controllers needed 6 holds to break protection. In I6, this has been tested to happen at 3 or 4 holds, which implies mez protection has been roughly cut in half.



    DEFENSE, ACCURACY, AND VILLAINS

    Some villains possess tohit buffs (either inherent ones, like those attributed to rank and level, or power-based ones, like Behemoths that use invincibility), and some behave like their attacks are slotted with accuracy enhancements. Rularuu Watchers appear to have significantly higher than normal base tohit (the precise value is unknown to me). Malta gunslingers have an accuracy buff instead of a tohit buff on their pistol's cone attack. Its been approximately measured as about +65% - comparable to two accuracy SOs of accuracy boost.

    Also interesting: Paragon Protectors that use MoG have *massively* higher defense than the ones that (apparently) use Elude. Its unclear precisely why the large difference exists.

    Villains seem, over time, to be acquiring defense powers and abilities. That could be a large source of people believing that "accuracy" has been reduced, when accuracy is unchanged, but the defensive capabilities of the villains has improved.


    DEFENSE IN POWER SETS

    Its important to note that the information related to Defense in the printed manuals is, as with all things, both dated and often inaccurate. Again: this guide is not focused on the numbers, but as this information appears to be difficult to find, power set-specific Defense issues (especially what stacks with what) are listed here. Note: just as the manual is out of date, so to this guide might be out of date at the time its read. Force Fields, for example, had positional defense added literally a few weeks before this guide was finalized. For specific details, numbers, and other set information, consult the links provided at the end of this guide.

    Super Reflexes defenses (scrapper and stalker) are all positional or ranged-typed. Every SR defense power is effective against one attack vector only: melee (Focused Fighting, Dodge), ranged (Focused Senses, agile), or AoE (lucky, Evasion). The exception is Elude, which is effective against all vectors. Because SR defenses are typed with positional types, SR defenses do not stack with any defense claiming to defend against a particular damage type or types. However, after recent changes to defense powers, no defense buffs or power pool defenses are typed with only a damage type, and should in some way stack with SR defenses. SR defenses do work against attacks that do toxic damage, because positional defenses work against all attacks within their range band, irrespective of damage type. SR defenses also stack with all power pool defenses, because all power pool defenses now offer defense to all.

    Note: SR defenses do not work against attacks that are not positionally typed. Some attacks, like dominate and mesmerize in the Mind control set (which includes attacks from critters like Rikti Mesmerists) are not positionally typed. They therefore bypass all SR defenses.

    Ice Defenses are all damage-typed. Ice defense powers are generally typed against two damage types (as is generally true for many damage-typed resistances). Ice Defenses now stack with power pool defenses, because all power pool defenses now offer defense to all types (this is a relatively recent change). Ice defenses work on any attack that has a component of damage within the defensive scope. For example, Frozen Armor provides smashing/lethal defense. Glacial Armor provides energy/negative defense. If attacked with an energy blast attack that does smash/energy, both defenses potentially apply. As with all damage-typed defenses that overlap, Ice tanks will always use the greater of the two - they do not stack together. Ice has one of only two "scalable" defenses in the game: energy absorption is a click power that boosts Ice tanker defenses based on the number of villains it hits with a PBAoE "attack." For more information, consult the links at the bottom of this guide.

    Granite Armor has a power that functions differently from the printed manual. Rock Armor provides Defense, not Resistance. Granite Armor has four defense powers. Three are stackable defenses (in the sense that they can be run simultaneously - they do not stack defensively with each other): Rock Armor (smash/lethal), Crystal Armor (energy/negative), and Mineral Armor (psionic). One cannot be used with the others: Granite Armor, which has defense to all but psi (as well as resistance to all but psi). Granite Armors, like Ice Armors, now stack with power pool defenses (which are now defense to all).

    Force Fields used to be damage-typed. They are now both damage-typed and positional typed. Specifically, Deflection Field provides both smash/lethal defense, and melee defense. Insulation Field provides both fire/cold/energy/negative (energy/elemental) and ranged/AoE defense. Dispersion Bubble provides both defense to all types (meaning melee/ranged/aoe/smashing/lethal/fire/cold/energy/negative/psi). This means Force Fields will stack with anything (specifically, the right bubble will stack with any conceivable defense). It also means that Force Fields now implicitly protect against toxic attacks (since Deflection Field *should* protect against melee-based toxic, Insulation Field should protect against ranged or AoE toxic, and Dispersion Bubble should protect against anything except untyped damage).

    Invulnerability has two defense powers: invincibility and tough hide. Invincibility and TH both offer defense to all damage types except psi (and toxic). Here's the bottom line on invincibility. Invincibility offers Base 5% defense for tankers (3.75% defense for scrappers) so long as there is at least one thing in range. It then offers +1.5% defense per target in invincibility's aura range, to a maximum of ten. So, with nothing in range, invincibility offers zero defense. With one thing, its 6.5% defense (for tankers). With two things, its 8%. With 10 things, its 20% defense. Invincibility also has a tohit buff: its +2% per target in range, for a maximum buff of +20% (unslotted) tohit. Interestingly, the Invulnerability set also has a self defense debuff. Unyielding (the power originally called Unyielding Stance) originally rooted you to the ground when activated. It now has a self defense debuff, of -5%. This defense debuff appears to be a -DEF to all attacks, and its the same for tankers and scrappers (and any AT with Unyielding).


    Stalkers

    All stalkers have a power called hide. Hide appears to offer defense to melee/ranged/AoE. The defense appears to be about 3.75% to melee/ranged, and 37.5% to AoE (that's not a misprint: thirty seven point five percent) when hidden, and 1.875% to melee/ranged/AoE when hide is suppressed (these numbers come from a dev posting from the CoV beta boards). Hide also provides the highest -perception (i.e. stealth) of any power, and while hidden stalker attacks critical (double damage) and assassin's strike powers do six times bonus critical damage.

    The Ninjitsu stalker set has positional defenses similar to SR. Ninja Reflexes is similar to Focused Fighting (melee), and Danger Sense is similar to Focused Senses, but Danger Sense has both ranged and AoE defense.

    The Energy Aura stalker set has damage-typed defenses. Supposedly, the energy aura version of hide offers defense to all but psi, instead of the positional hide everyone else has, but I haven't confirmed that yet (if energy aura has the same hide as everyone else does, it wouldn't stack with its own defenses because hide would be positional, and energy's defenses would be damage-typed). Kinetic Shield offers defense to smashing, lethal, and (to a lesser extent) energy. Power Shield offers defense to fire, cold, energy, and negative. Overload offers defense to all damage types except psi (remember, "all but psi" excludes toxic) [note: Overload also has a dull pain component].



    *** New for I5/I6 ***
    Power Pool defenses are now supposed to offer defense to all, to guarantee that they stack appropriately with any defense that might be possessed by a hero/villain from their primary and secondary sets. This change was made to ensure that power pool defenses did not discriminate for or against any particular defense sets. Originally, most power pool defenses offered melee/ranged defense, and for a short while power pools offered melee/ranged and smash/lethal to try to address some stacking issues. They were changed to defense to all when it became clear that limited typing was not going to fully address the stacking issues, and was going to make stacking highly complex.

    Power pool powers with defense components:

    Concealment/Stealth
    Concealment/Grant Invisibility
    Concealment/Invisibility
    Fighting/Weave
    Flight/Hover
    Leadership/Maneuvers
    Leadership/Vengeance
    Leaping/Combat Jumping



    What other powers provide defense?

    The following additional powers provide defense:

    Devices/Cloaking Device (all types)
    Illusion Control/Superior Invisibility (all types)
    Illusion Control/Group Invisbility (all types)
    Dark Miasma/Shadow Fall (all types)
    Empathy/Fortitude (all types)
    Storm Summoning/Steamy Mist (all types)
    Dark Armor/Cloak of Darkness (all types)
    Regeneration/MoG (all damage types except toxic/psi)
    Cold Mastery/Frozen Armor (smash/lethal) [note: this power also has cold resistance]
    Force Mastery/Personal Force Field (base defense)
    Warshade/Shadow Cloak (melee/ranged ?)
    Katana/Divine Avalanche (melee/lethal)
    Broadsword/Parry (melee/lethal)

    Note: Hasten used to have defense; it was removed in I5

    This list hasn't been confirmed with regard to typing since the stacking changes post I5. Its very possible that some of the powers listed as melee/ranged are actually defense to all. Parry and DA have been confirmed, powers listed as all or all types have been confirmed.


    Special Note on Stealth

    Stealth powers generally break their concealment component when you either attack or are attacked. When the stealth is broken, most stealth powers that have a defense buff component will have about half their defense also suppressed while the stealth component is broken.

    The following stealth powers appear to suppress a portion of their defense when the stealth is broken:

    Devices/Cloaking Device
    Illusion Control/Superior Invisibility
    Illusion Control/Group Invisbility
    Concealment/Stealth
    Concealment/Grant Invisibility
    Concealment/Invisibility


    According to Statesman, stealth powers in "Primary Defensive Sets" do not suppress their stealth when concealment is broken. The following stealth powers appear to not suppress any of their defense even if concealment is broken.

    Dark Miasma/Shadow Fall
    Storm Summoning/Steamy Mist
    Dark Armor/Cloak of Darkness
    Warshade/Shadow Cloak


    Special Note on Power Boost

    The power Power Boost (both the blaster energy manipulation version, and the epic power pool version) boosts defense powers while power boost is active. The boost is equal to the base value of the defense power being boosted. For example, if you have hover running (2.5% defense) and you trigger power boost, hover gains 2.5% additional defense. If hover was 5-slotted with defense SOs (net 5% defense) the boost would still be 2.5% (to 7.5% total defense).


    What is the Streak Breaker?

    The streak breaker is a bit of code within the tohit calculator that is designed to prevent very long strings of misses. There is a lot of misunderstanding about how the streak breaker works, so I'm going to be very specific in terms of detailing how I know what I know about the streak breaker.

    First, the streak breaker only breaks streaks of misses, not hits. Confirmed by my own testing, dev postings, and red name PMs.

    Second, the streak breaker affects both heroes and villains. Confirmed by my own testing, dev postings, and red name PMs.

    Third, the streak breaker "decides" to break a string of misses when the string of misses exceeds a particular value. That value is dependent on the tohit probability between the attacker and the target. Here is Weirdbeard's specific statements on how the streakbreaker works:

    [ QUOTE ]

    Final to-hit : misses allowed
    &gt;.9 : 1
    .8-.9 : 2
    .6-.8 : 3
    .4-.6 : 4
    .3-.4 : 6
    .2-.3 : 8
    0 -.2 : 100

    Auto-hit powers are not included in the system.

    Critters get the benefits of the system as well.

    The system does not track each power individually; instead it tracks every miss you make in a row, regardless of power (or target). Otherwise you could have nine different powers, each with a 0.95 to-hit, and if you executed them all in a row you could miss each attack (note a caveat at the bottom of the post regarding this).

    AE attacks are considered distinct sequential attacks on indivudual targets for the purpose of the system (so if you AEd two targets and had 0.95 to-hit for both, you be guaranteed to hit one of them).

    To determine the to-hit used in the table above, you take either the current to-hit, or the worst to-hit in your current miss series, whichever is lower.


    [/ QUOTE ]

    This basically matches all the testing I've done to measure the streakbreaker, correcting for some errors in my testing methodology that Weirdbeard was able to detect in my discussions with him.


    DEFENSE ISSUES

    These are some of the issues related to how defense and tohit works in City of Heroes


    Autohitting attacks

    There are attacks that automatically hit, bypassing the tohit floors and ceilings. Typically, these things are damage auras, such as the aura emitted by Circle of Thorns Death Mages, or patches, such as the damage due to caltrops. No amount of defense reduces the damage of autohitting attacks. Note: some people used to think burn (firey aura) was autohit, but in actual fact it simply has a very high accuracy.

    *** Update from version 1.1 ***

    It seems that autohitting attacks are being slowly removed from CoH, to address this issue. In fact, it appears that the damage aura from Death Mages is now considered an AoE attack, defendable with AoE defense. This agrees with dev statements that autohitting *damage* (but not necessarily autohitting debuffs) were being toned down or removed from CoH in the long run.


    Special Note on defense debuffs

    Although defense debuffs were covered earlier, its important to note that the subtractive nature of defense debuffs makes them extremely dangerous. Up to the writing of this guide, defense sets did not have any resistance to defense debuffs (such resistance is currently being added in some form). Their only means of defending against them was defense itself. This creates a problem whereby any defense debuff that manages to land decreases defense and makes the hero both more vulnerable to damage, and more vulnerable to more defense debuffs - a spiralling downward situation.

    This is significant because resistance does not work that way. All resistance powers have an inherent resistance to resistance debuffs. When someone with 40% defense is hit with a 10% defense debuff, defense is reduced to 30%. When someone with 40% resistance is hit with a 10% resistance debuff, 40% of the debuff is resisted, and actual damage resistance drops to 34%, not 30%. Furthermore, the resistance to debuffs remains 40%. If hit with another 10% resistance debuff, resistance drops to 28%, not 20% (like defense would be) and not 27.4%, which would be the case if resistance was truely dropped to 34%.

    *** Update from version 1.1 ***

    There are more specific statements about Defense Debuff Resistance, which are covered in this guide. However, I have yet to be able to construct a test to measure the Defense Debuff Resistance, nor has anyone else posted tests confirming its effect (that I'm aware of). So I think the jury is still out here.


    Quartz eminators, quicksand patches

    Quicksand patches are autohitting slow and defense debuff patches. These were highly lethal to defense sets, because their defense debuffs couldn't be defended against or otherwise avoided, and once hit, the slow made it difficult to escape (Super Reflexes has a resistance to slow, but it didn't fully mitigate the -fly -jump which could trap a scrapper between villains and friends alike, and it didn't necessarily allow for quick escapes from the patch). Quicksand was also spammed by Earth thorn casters - a CoT minion - in CoT missions from levels 35 to 39. Although this was supposedly fixed (by lessening the frequency of earth thorn casters as well as reducing their propensity to cast quicksand) its still an example of a highly powerful defense-unfriendly power that has few analogs for resistance or regeneration.

    Quartz eminators - the eminators dropped by DE LTs - is even more exceptional. Quartz eminators emit a tohit buff to all DE within its buff radius. The tohit buff eminated from quartz eminators is extremely large - by some estimates several hundred percent. To put Quartz eminators into perspective, I3 SR scrappers running perma-elude and the toggles combines were running with more than 150% defense - and still being easily hit by Quartz-eminator buffed DE minions. Once again, there is no analog to the quartz eminator for any other form of damage mitigation, such as resistance and regeneration.


    Team scalers and difficulty sliders

    Important to note for defense sets: the difficulty slider (also known as the reputation slider) increases the level of villains within your missions, and therefore increases the base tohit of those villains (it doesn't generally increase the ranks of villains, except for the fact that heroic suppresses bosses). The team scaler increases the difficulty of missions based on the number of heroes on the team, and it increases rank and level and numbers of villains. With much lower defenses in I5 than earlier issues of CoH, high level missions can be less than friendly to defense-oriented sets, moreso than other damage mitigation sets.

    *** Update from 1.1 ***

    In I7, this problem should vanish when tohit increases for both rank *and* level basically go away.


    Is Defense really inferior to Resistance?

    Not especially. Defense and Resistance both have pros and cons in terms of their inherent effects. Defense's main problems are three-fold:

    1. There are sets that rely heavily on Defense, but most other protection sets do not singularly rely on a single mitigation effect.

    This is not a critical issue, but it amplifies the others.

    2. Defense is - in the opinion of some - scaled too low (at least in some situations)

    The argument goes that because Defense avoids status effects, Defense has an inherent advantage that more than balances the fact that the damage mitigation of sets that rely on Defense is significantly lower than other sets. Most testing, analysis, and review of a transparent nature (i.e. open to review) suggests this is false. The devs, who do not generally reveal their own analysis, testing, or reviews, disagree.

    3. What Defense is most vulnerable to, is plentiful in the CoH environment.

    The most common secondary effect in CoH besides DoT (damage over time) is defense debuff. Defense debuffs are more common than resistance debuffs and regeneration debuffs combined. And Defense debuffs are undoubtably more dangerous to Defense sets than resistance debuffs and regeneration debuffs are to resistance and regeneration sets, respectively (regeneration debuffs would be significantly more dangerous to regeneration sets if they prevented things such as reconstruction and dull pain from functioning). Defense is also vulnerable to tohit buffs, and every single villain of higher rank than minion, and every single villain higher in level than even con, has an effective tohit buff.

    To say that Defense is inferior to Resistance, given the large environmental disadvantages that Defense faces in CoH, would be comparable to changing all the damage dealth by villains to toxic and psi, and then claiming that Resistance was inferior to Defense. What is true is that the threats to Defense are generally more plentiful, and stronger, than the threats to Resistance in general. But that is a situational difference, not a fundamental one between Defense and Resistance.


    *** New *** Will I7 make Defense superior to Resistance?

    Not especially. The I7 scaler will normalize the accuracy of higher Rank and higher Level critters so that the proportional mitigation of Defense and Resistance is the same across the "normal" range of critters (minions, LTs, Bosses, AVs, +0s through +5s). However, Defense still has all the problems it used to have, just to a much less ridiculous degree. Defense is still vulnerable to tohit buffs (critters increasingly use tactics, for example), and still (based on testing) much more vulnerable to Defense Debuffs than Resistance is to Resistance Debuffs. Defense, so far as I can tell, still has more situational vulnerabilities than Resistance, and I7 will lessen, but not eliminate, that.


    What's up with tohit buffs?

    Good question. Very high tohit buffs are, at least, uncommon in PvE. They are very common in PvP, because high order tohit buffs are extremely common in player power sets.

    The two most common tohit buffs are build up and Aim, and both are high order tohit buff (the exact numbers are being currently debated: its quite possible that both BU and Aim have much lower tohit values than originally assumed, but even the lower debated numbers are still very high relative to most defense numbers). Virtually all blasters, most defenders, almost all scrappers, and most tankers have access to either Build Up or Aim, and many blasters have access to both. Only controllers as a class lack BU or Aim (and pets have a tohit bonus).

    If you are relying on defense in the arena, here's the score. If you have SR or Ice, and a couple stacked bubbles, someone who elected to 6-slot Aim with tohit buff enhancements to kill defense sets will hit you no matter what defense level you think you have. Realistically, that one power, and 5 extra enhancement slots, can effectively nullify an entire team's worth of defense buffs (7 stacked bubbles will beat Aim, of course, but all reasonable levels of defense and most unreasonable ones are going to be beat by 6-slot Aim). Without significant buffs, anyone with either build up or Aim will hit you.

    It is unclear why Defense was lowered as part of the Global Defense reductions in I5, but tohit buffs were (apparently) not. If they were, this fact was not reported, nor has it shown up yet in anyone's testing.

    *** New for I6 ***

    One change made to tohit buffs in relation to balancing them with defense is that tohit buff enhancements are now schedule B (like defense: +20% for even SO) instead of schedule A (like damage: +33% for even SO). This at least places tohit buff enhancement and defense enhancement on a relatively even footing, although for high tohit buff powers, the net benefit of even an equal strength SO will be higher than a similar enhancement in a lower numerical strength defense power.


    Continued Next Post
  20. [ QUOTE ]
    Because, for whatever stupid reason, they've made a decision that PvE bases need to suffer PvP costs.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Not even that: they'll decided that everyone's bases have to suffer level 50 nothing-else-to-do-but-farm-prestige-23.2-hours-a-day costs. Base costs are one of those rare moments when both PvE and PvP are simultaneously screwed, leaving even the conspiracy theorists genuinely stumped.
  21. Rather than repeat the choir, I'll ask the next very non-rhetorical question:

    Is there anything in this game that poorly conceived stacking doesn't completely break in CoX?


    Not even all the costumes stack properly.
  22. [ QUOTE ]
    I see the Devs doing one thing whether it is purposeful or by accident:

    Creating TIMESINKS.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Well, mislabelling the inspirations only created a timesink for me, so it was a very inefficient one.
  23. [ QUOTE ]
    I may have missed it but how did you do the test? I must know.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    I was originally testing the performance of Invuln and SR in Maria's Infernal mission, specifically in the portal room. I let it spawn a ton of portal pets and let them shoot at me. While testing Invuln with and without inspirations, I noticed that three lucks seemed to be working a lot better than two - and with twelve or more portal pets and Infernal shooting at you constantly, you tend to notice any differences fast. I then noticed that with four, an unstoppable scrapper could pretty much tank the room for the entire duration of unstoppable (so long as Infernal shot from range, instead of swinging in melee). The difference between two lucks and four lucks was unbelievably large.

    So I did several tests at two lucks, three lucks, and four lucks, and watched the survival over three minutes (with enough lucks). I was able to measure that, to within a large but manageable margin for error, I was taking a lot more than five times the damage at two lucks as four - which is getting suggestive that lucks were not 25% def, but rather closer to 15% def. Which made me think that perhaps what was happening was that somehow, lucks were obeying the AT modifier: instead of being 25%, maybe its only 25% for tankers, say, but 18.75% for scrappers, or something similar. Actually, that would *still* be too high to explain what I saw, but maybe it was something like that.

    Turns out lucks do not obey the modifier, but they are in fact weaker in base value. Voila.
  24. [ QUOTE ]
    So either people put unreasonable demands on the ones originally talking about this issue, or people are misremembering what those demands were.

    [/ QUOTE ]


    Possibly. As I mentioned previously, sometimes high samples are necessary, and sometimes not. But I also worry often that because of the particular way I reject one person's problem report as unlikely, someone else with less understanding of the issues might reject someone else's problem report for the same reason, but in an inapplicable way.

    Moral to the story is speak for yourself only, and not with the words of others. In particular, echoing mine without proper context is likely to get you into trouble. I hope no one ever rejects someone's problem report "just because they think Arcanaville would." That would be wrong.

    Especially because in this case, I never really rejected any of these types of reports, so much as I didn't really know what to do about them, if anything, based on what I originally thought was being reported.


    One more thing on this subject: never exaggerate or use hyperbole to draw attention to a problem. It only confuses the issue. It seems obvious to me that at least some people who sensed there was a problem elected to overdramatize the problem, in a way that made sense to them given what they thought the problem was. If you thought lucks occasionally stopped working, then exaggerating the effect by claiming "sometimes I would pop an entire tray of lucks and they still wouldn't do anything" sounds good. But in fact, it only served to blur the actual symptoms of the problem, and in retrospect, it now appears clear that no one should have been able to claim that particular symptom truthfully.