Defenses, Tanking, and the Invulnerability Primary
By
Arcanaville,
Posted on: 2006-07-10 24:32 in Player Guides
The three enhancments in CJ are a waste.
Other than that, it is a very nice, concise guide. I went with Air Sup/Fly instead of Jump for another attack - but that is just personal preference.
205723: A Different DESTINY
When Soldiers of Arachnos got their names added to the Destiny List, Longbow managed to get a copy of the list and began rounding villains up. But one name on the list shocked them...
There is no specific toxic-typed defense in the game (its a game engine omission: no defense can literally be typed toxic, although positional defenses will defend against toxic attacks if they are also positionally typed).
So Invincibility and Tough Hide are really s/l/f/c/e/n. All the damage types that you can have defense against at all except psi.
Weave is not base defense: weave is defense to smash/lethal/fire/cold/energy/negative/psi/melee/ranged/AoE. The difference is subtle, perhaps, but weave is typed, not base defense.
[Guide to Defense] [Scrapper Secondaries Comparison] [Archetype Popularity Analysis]
In one little corner of the universe, there's nothing more irritating than a misfile...
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I meant that the base number on Weave is 0.05. However you are correct. Weave offers it's bonus to all typed damages, and none of them offer toxic protection. I will be editing that now if I can.
The slots in CJ are actually significant after a certain threshold. However, as I said, they are the last priority.
Edited: Past max time, but yes, note that the Toxic listings on defense powers were an oversight (impulse when I'm typing all non-psi).
This is a great guide.
Minor nit: you have boxing slotted with damage resistance. You almost certainly meant damage, but it may be worth correcting in some future version of the guide.
Introduction
This guide is written for the Invulnerability Tanker. While there will be knowledge applicable to other situations, I only vouch perfect validity with respect to Invulnerability Tankers, and absolve myself of responsibility if this guide is used by anyone else. Furthermore, I apologize in advance, but I will at times be very harsh sounding, egotistical, and belligerent, especially to certain archetypes or game play styles. These come from firsthand experience and can be expected almost as a rule. However, everyone should get there fair chance. Ive seen exception to every non-programmed detail herein. Take that how you will.
My former main is a SL50 Tanker named Dheurromar on the Virtue server. He has the powersets of Invulnerability and Super Strength, as well as three pools and an ancillary set. He has seen every issue and patch from I1 on. I am not a herder, a soloist, a meatshield, or any such things, though I am capable of fulfilling these roles. The archetype tanker can be applied to many, but I am tanker in job and name, and confidently a tier one tanker at that. Herding is a talent. Tanking is an art, and career.
Note that this is the 3rd Edition of my Tanker Guide. Any older versions are at this point utterly uselss, as are most guides to anything produced prior to October 2005.
Invulnerability Powerset
Invulnerability is the most straightforward of tanker primary powersets in that it is designed purely to survive damage, with almost no extraneous abilities. Invulnerability now and always has been reliant on both defenses and resistances. Other than the variability with DP and Ivc, you can flatly calculate damage mitigation, whereas Fire and Ice rely on enemy effectors to supplement it. Earth is likewise defense-oriented.
Invulnerability has a dual reliance on damage resistance and defense, which reduce or avoid incoming damage respectively. The balance has now shifted a dozen or so times, now being in favor of defense supported only by S/L resistances. It also lacks largely in terms of activated powers, most being toggles or passives.
I will also assume the use of single-origin enhancements equating to flat +20% or +33% based on their schedual for all direct mathematical calculations, for sake of simplicity and relevance. I will not be slotting more than three of a kind, so this estimate is usually reasonable. Resistances will be referred to by first letter (Smashing/Lethal/Fire/Cold/Energy/Negative/Toxic/Psionic).
1- Resist Physical Damage (RPD):
This passive gives a base resistance of 7.5%, which may be enhanced to 12% versus S/L. On its own, it is respectable. In tandem with the other powers of this set it becomes more impressive. I recommend taking it as early as possible, but it isnt necessary.
1- Temporary Invulnerability (TI):
This toggle gives a base resistance of 30%, which may be enhanced to 48% versus S/L. It costs about 0.4 end/sec to maintain. On its own, it is impressive and borderline mandatory. The impact is very noticeable instantly, and you will face a majority of resistible damage the whole game.
2- Dull Pain (DP):
This click gives a base heal and +MaxHP of 40%, which may be enhanced to 80% and 60% respectively. It may be activated every six minutes with duration of two. Early on its a stopgap measure, but later on well enhanced it can protect against attacks which slice through DEF and to which you have no resistance (pretty much anything non-S/L). Even then, it stacks nicely with S/L to stop you from getting overwhelmed, and if timed right the heal is impressive. Its less of a priority than RPD, but Id still grab it when I can.
6- Resist Elements (REl):
This passive gives a base resistance of 7.5%, which may be enhanced to 12% versus F/C. This power was once a mainstay in my repertoire, but since has declined in importance. The reason is simple: nowadays it has about than 1/4 its former capacity, and its facing a type of damage that is too infrequent. Some like it, I dont. Id consider this a skipable power, but if you have a spare slot, you can take it.
8- Unyielding (UnY):
This toggle gives a base resistance of 5% versus S/L and 10% versus F/C/E/N/T, which may be enhanced to 8% and 16% respectively. It costs about 0.4 end/sec to maintain, and comes with a scaling MAG -6 to -12, mez-resistance, and a -0.05 defense buff. Well get to the math later, the point is that this power is mandatory for the mez-protection. However, its otherwise not a helpful power. Youll see later on that even fully enhanced you net taking more S/L than you ordinarily would have, though you net a bit ahead against the less common types (its a defense debuff so you get hit substantially more for slightly less damage). However, other than UnS, it is our only reliable mez-protection, so take it.
12- Resist Energies (REn):
This passive gives a base resistance of 7.5%, which may be enhanced to 12% versus E/N. This power was once a mainstay in my repertoire, but since has declined in importance. The reason is simple: nowadays it has about than 1/4 its former capacity, and its facing a type of damage that is too infrequent. Some like it, I dont. Id consider this a skipable power, but if you have a spare slot, you can take it.
18 -Invincibility (Ivc):
This toggle gives a base defense buff of 0.05 versus melee attacks +0.015 per opponent in melee to a maximum of 10 enemies, which may be enhanced to 0.08 and +0.024 respectively versus S/L/F/C/E/N/T. Half of this buff applies ranged attacks. It additionally applies a similar strength ToHit buff. It costs about 0.2 end/sec to maintain, and comes with a PBAoE taunt aura. This power does not activate until enemies are in melee range. This power isnt mandatory, but I dont see a reason not to take it. It helps to tank by maintaining aggro, and it drastically improves survivability. I get it at 18. Its king of the hill again, even if its a much smaller hill.
26- Tough Hide (TH):
This passive gives a base defense buff of 0.05, which may be enhanced to 0.08 versus S/L/F/C/E/N/T. This power outshines the other passives in the set, and considering my recommendation to RPD, apply that to this. It can be done without, but it helps substantially.
32- Unstoppable (UnS):
This click gives a base resistance of 70% which may be enhanced to 112% versus S/L/F/C/E/N/T. It may be activated every fifteen minutes with duration of three, and comes with a MAG -17, mez-resistance, and a endurance recovery buff. At its conclusion, you are reduced to 10% HP and 0% END. This gives you a short burst of true godliness (except verus psionics), where in addition to your already formidable defenses, your resistances reach near caps. With UnY, youre so close you dont really need more resistance buffs, but any passives or toggles will reach that cap. The power is good enough that Id slot it for recharge though. It can really help in a pinch against anyone who threatens to detoggle you or who can deal through your defenses overwhelming amounts of damage to which you have low resistance. That being said, we lose a lot of Tankers because they forget they have set an expiration date. Youve been warned.
14- Tough [Fighting]:
This toggle gives a base resistance of 15%, which may be enhanced to 21% versus S/L. It costs about 0.3 end/sec to maintain. While kind of unimpressive next to the numbers put out by TI, it does help almost cap S/L. This effectively reduces the most common damage types by 2/3, a very noteworthy improvement once slotted. I advise it. Mind the endurance though.
20- Weave [Fighting]:
This toggle gives a base defense buff of 0.05, which may be enhanced to 0.08. It costs about 0.3 end/sec to maintain. Its essentially TH with a cost to it. On the other hand, TH is good enough that it may be worth it. For me it was. Once more, mind the endurance, but the improvement is noteworthy.
14- Health [Fitness]:
This passive gives a regeneration buff of 40%, which may be enhanced to 80%. Since you are probably going for Stamina anyway, it just makes sense to take this power. Slotting is optional, but it is a notable improvement.
20- Stamina [Fitness]:
This passive gives an endurance recovery buff of 25%, which may be enhanced to 50%. Unless if you are trying to run multiple endurance reducers in toggles and attacks, it just does not make sense to skip this power. For your own sake, get it as soon as possible.
6- Hover [Flight]:
This toggle gives a defense buff of 0.025, which may be enhanced to 0.04. It costs about 0.1 end/sec to maintain, and comes with a low fly speed. Air Superiority contest this as a Fly perquisite, and is a decent DPS attack with reliable knockdown (damage mitigation on its own). Hover 3-slotted is respectable but not impressive air speed, and you will often want to be grounded to tank. However this will be a bit of a help to your defenses, and is dirt cheap. Slot it last though, your other defenses are far better.
6- Combat Jumping [Leaping]:
This toggle gives a defense buff of 0.025, which may be enhanced to 0.04. It costs about 0.05 end/sec to maintain, and comes with a small jump height and jump speed buff. Jump Kick is poor, but this will be a bit of a help to your defenses, and is dirt cheap, while helping your mobility. Slot it last though, your other defenses are far better.
20- Aid Self [Medicine]:
This click gives a self-heal of 20%, which may be enhanced to 40%. It has a recharge time of 20 seconds and an interrupt time of three. You may find this power increases your long-term survival, since with one recharge reducer you are unlikely to be interrupted especially if your defense (not resistance) is high. I dont use it, since it would take powers and slots I otherwise need (I went fighting), and I feel anything you wont get interrupted by isnt likely to kill you anyway. DP is enough for me, but this is a fair choice.
6- Hasten [Speed]:
This click gives a base recharge buff of 0.7. It may be activated every eight minutes with duration of two. It is a great improvement to DPS and can help the recovery time of your click powers significantly. However it often prompts one to outrun their already taxed recovery rate. Flurry however is a poor contestant. Some people take it stand alone. Id skip it if not using Super Speed.
Understanding Survivability
Note: This is the real nitty-gritty of the way defense and resistance work. You can skip this section if you please and not lose much, however if you want to really know how it all works enough to tinker with the system and have reasonable certainty rather than trial and error, I recommend you read it. Also seek out Starsmans and Arcanavilles guides.
The key thing to building a solid Invulnerability Tanker is understanding how the various mechanisms work to improve your survivability. At your disposal you have the largest base and possible max hit point totals in the game. You also have a set that allows you to exploit those hit points by slowing their rate of depletion. To that end, you have two tools: defense and resistance.
Defense is the most familiar method of survivability and is found in abundance. Heres the formula for their chance to strike you:
Net ToHit Chance = (EnhAcc) * (AttackAcc) * (LvlAcc) * (RankAcc) * (0.5 + ToHitBuffs TargetDefBuffs).
Most AttackAcc = 1 and can be tossed out (many Scrapper sets are 1.05, single holds 1.2, AoEs 0.8, etc ). LvlAcc = 1 for even level, and +0.1 for each level above you up to +5s. RankAcc = 1 for minions, 1.15 for lts, 1.3 for bosses, 1.5 for AVs.
Long story short, your chance to be hit starts out at 50%. Every 0.01 defense buff makes that 1% less. You can reduce their hit chance in theory down to 5% this way. After that, whatever the chance is gets multiplied by a bunch of factors you cant do anything about, which can raise that floor. They will never have more than a 95% chance though.
The perks of defense are that its universal (mostly), and provides protection from effects that would piggyback on the damage. The tradeoff is that against debuffers once defense falters it dissipates very quickly, and an opponent with a solid ToHit buff can breach it with ease. Defense also possesses a cap that can be adjusted for every enemy fought. Fighting a +2 Marauder, your cap is 9.5% before even accounting for any accuracy enhancements the AV may have.
Resistances were once the core of the Invulnerability powerset. The hit will land just fine, however you will take a certain percentage less than would ordinarily have been dealt. This formula is unaffected by level, its purely based on damage dealt and percentages. It makes those hit points matter, dragging them out, and making you sustain gradual damage. The cap is that there is never more than 90% resist (for Tankers). Invulnerability doesnt really sport respectable resistances anymore, save versus S/L. However those comprise most attacks anyway.
Also, resistance has the perk that it resists debuffs, and the damage comes gradually. Moreover, resistances always scale, but defense buffs scale only through +5s, after that diminishing rapidly.
On paper they seem fairly similar, both letting you survive more attacks. However the way they function makes a huge difference in effectiveness in circumstance. The one thing thats universal is that it pays more to work towards a cap than halfway to it, even if halfway would take a minimum effort. For our example well use resistance. Say you were working on your surviving S/L damage. The difference the first 50% makes is that you can survive double what you originally could. Another 25% (only ½ the effort) doubles it again. Another 12.5% (only ½ the effort) doubles it again. So basically even with decreased investment, you get more and more effect out of it. A person with 90% resistance doesnt survive twice the one with 45% resistance. They survive over five times the damage. So it pays to work towards the cap. (This is the opposite of attacks, where each enhancement adds a lower proportion).
On a base level, the defense cap pays off better for most sets. There are numerous power pools with defense bonuses, and while they tend to be a bit smaller, a total of 45% caps versus even con opponents. The basic luck inspiration is a temporary +12.5%, and a mere two caps against a basic even con enemy. In contrast, it is outright impossible for most sets to come close to capping their resistance scores, with only Tough from the Fighting pool to supplement, and needing to amass 90%. Moreover, on average a character fighting even con or +1 minion takes only 5% of normal damage as opposed to 10% of resistance, so they have the advantage in more common fights. Any excess helps in difficult fights.
Its the combination that makes Invulnerability so powerful. Universal defenses in tandem with solid S/L resistances allows you to survive slugging matches with enemies no one else could, while still being almost indestructible versus weaker foes. The Ice Tanker will outclass you on the near levels with better defense and slows. The Fire Tanker will destroy enemies rapidly, and be slightly better against more esoteric damage sources. The Earth Tanker can trade nearly the entirety of their offense to match your defense in terms of power. But it is the Invulnerability Tanker who can lead a team against the legions of a vastly superior Infernal, and not only live to tell the tale, but to tell a tale of victory.
Application of Survivability
So now that we see that resistances allow us to excel and do what no one else can, how do we make it work? Well, the answer is quite simply to build yourself as close to the caps as you feasibly can, taking into account what youre fighting and your endurance consumption. You want to try to cap everything, but its realistically not possible. Its up to you to find that golden mean. Here however Ill give you the nice toolbox to do it with: base percentages and contributions per SO. Note these are approximations through SO #3. When I list powers, I list in terms of priority. These I follow by a total so far. For example: when I do S/L resistance, that is assuming you have UnY up first (no mez-protection is usually a death indicator), then TI. After that, most people who choose to go further THEN get and slot RPD, and finally Tough. I then list how much is sustained when compared to the prior level (in essence the net improvement):
S/L Resistance:
UnY: 5% (+1% per SO)
TI: 30% (+6% per SO)
RPD: 7.5% (+1.5% per SO)
Tough: 15% (+3% per SO)
TOTAL UnY = 8% (sustains 92%)
TOTAL +TI= 56% (sustains 48% of prior)
TOTAL +RPD = 68% (sustains 73% of prior)
TOTAL +Tough = 92% (sustains 31% of prior due to cap)
A quick analysis will show that every power or slot to resist S/L produces significant improvement, and being that it is a common damage type, it should be emphasized.
F/C/E/N Resistance:
UnY: 10% (+2.0% per SO)
RE*: 7.5% (+1.5% per SO)
TOTAL UnY = 16% (sustains 84%)
TOTAL +RE = 28% (sustains 86% of prior)
A quick analysis will show that effective non-S/L resistance increases very slowly and has a very low maximum capacity. Additionally, the fact it requires two powers and the damage type is less common makes this focus of mitigating damage less appealing than others like improving defense, S/L resists, or offense to more quickly defeat the enemy.
Defense:
UnY: -0.05
Ivc: 0.125 (+0.025 per SO) [assume 5 foes in melee, none at range]
TH: 0.05 (+0.01 per SO)
Weave: 0.05 (+0.01 per SO)
CJ: 0.025 (+0.005 per SO)
TOTAL UnY = -0.05 (sustains 110%)
TOTAL +Ivc= 0.12 (sustains 69% of prior)
TOTAL +TH = 0.20 (sustains 79% of prior)
TOTAL +Weave = 0.28 (sustains 73% of prior)
TOTAL +CJ = 0.31 (sustains 86% of prior)
A quick analysis will show that defense increases in its effects at a decent rate (not as quick as S/L resistance but far quicker than others), and its effective mitigation applies across the board. The countermeasures to defense counterbalance this somewhat, but it still pays. Assuming Ivc is maxed at 10 foes, the effective mitigation is almost doubled, which means that even fighting more foes the tanker takes no additional damage!
Build Order
So how does this all translate into a coherent build order? The key is understanding you what nets more benefit when. Eventually you will want those powers slotted out (eventually coming at certain levels as discussed above in the powers section). However, most of what youll find is that attacks dealing more damage have a bigger difference than those first few percentage points. For this reason, I actually tended to slot defenses later for the most part. But by the time you reach SOs you receive full benefit, and there is little reason to tarry longer.
Here is a sample, based off my build order.
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Exported from Ver: 1.7.6.0 of the CoH_CoV Character Builder
---------------------------------------------
Name: Inv-SS-Pyre
Level: 50
Archetype: Tanker
Primary: Invulnerability
Secondary: Super Strength
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Temp Invulnerability==> DefBuf(1)DmgRes(15)DmgRes(15)EndRdx(33)
01) --> Jab==> Acc(1)Dmg(3)Dmg(3)Dmg(9)EndRdx(9)
02) --> Resist Physical Damage==> DmgRes(2)DmgRes(17)DmgRes(23)
04) --> Haymaker==> Acc(4)Dmg(5)Dmg(5)Dmg(13)EndRdx(13)Rechg(17)
06) --> Boxing==> Acc(6)Dmg(7)DmgRes(7)Dmg(11)EndRdx(11)
08) --> Unyielding==> Acc(8)DmgRes(23)DmgRes(31)EndRdx(34)
10) --> Swift==> Run(10)Run(46)Run(46)
12) --> Combat Jumping==> DefBuf(12)DefBuf(43)DefBuf(43)
14) --> Super Jump==> Jump(14)
16) --> Health==> Heal(16)Heal(43)Heal(46)
18) --> Invincibility==> DefBuf(18)DefBuf(19)DefBuf(19)
20) --> Stamina==> EndMod(20)EndMod(21)EndMod(21)
22) --> Knockout Blow==> Acc(22)Dmg(37)Dmg(40)Dmg(40)EndRdx(42)Rechg(42)
24) --> Tough==> DmgRes(24)DmgRes(25)DmgRes(25)EndRdx(34)
26) --> Tough Hide==> DefBuf(26)DefBuf(27)DefBuf(27)
28) --> Rage==> Rechg(28)Rechg(29)Rechg(29)
30) --> Weave==> DefBuf(30)DefBuf(31)DefBuf(31)EndRdx(34)
32) --> Unstoppable==> Rechg(32)Rechg(33)Rechg(33)
35) --> Dull Pain==> Rechg(35)Rechg(36)Rechg(36)Heal(36)Heal(37)Heal(37)
38) --> Foot Stomp==> Acc(38)Dmg(39)Dmg(39)Dmg(39)EndRdx(40)Taunt(42)
41) --> Char==> Acc(41)Hold(50)Rechg(50)Rechg(50)
44) --> Fire Blast==> Acc(44)Dmg(45)Dmg(45)Dmg(45)
47) --> Fire Ball==> Acc(47)Dmg(48)Dmg(48)Dmg(48)
49) --> Hand Clap==> Acc(49)
---------------------------------------------
01) --> Sprint==> EndRdx(1)
01) --> Brawl==> Acc(1)
01) --> Gauntlet==> Empty(1)
02) --> Rest==> Rechg(2)
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How to Tank
This will be a brief section for those who have never tanked before that is to hold aggro for a team. Tanking is one of the quickest skills in the game to learn, but a tough one to master. And when done wrong it causes team wipes.
Foremost, you are not tanking solo. Tanking is holding aggro for other players to do their jobs under less pressure. If its only you trying to kill the enemy before he kills you, thats scrapping. And while tankers can scrap, scrappers can better. Tanking becomes essential in about the mid-teens when the difference in ATs capacities begins to become more apparent. Thankfully, this is also when your defenses will really start coming into their own, especially S/L and mez protection.
Basic rules to follow:
1. The tanker leads. He doesnt have to bark orders, but where he goes, everyone else should follow. If youre being lead by anyone who is not another tanker [or rarely a Kheldian Dwarf or Scrapper], you are doing something wrong.
2. You are the first one in. You are the last one out. Ask your team to give you about a 5 second leeway on each of these. It gives you time to make the bad guys mad, and also time for the good guys to get clear of a disaster. Empaths sometimes balk at leaving a Tanker in danger though. For those, tell them to Fortitude and run or the like.
3. Get up close and personal. Youre going to survive melee combat much better, and once in melee Invincibility and Guantlet should mostly keep the enemy locked on.
4. Engage. Get surrounded. Dont get overwhelmed. Monitor your bars, and pace yourself, once out of endurance you cannot use Guantlet effectively.
5. Monitor your teammates. You as tanker should have a more relaxed pace, but that doesnt mean you should get careless. Rather this means that you should also be the first person to respond to a new threat, be it an accidental aggro, a patrol, or something else entirely.
6. Use terrain. Its tougher for the enemy to get past you (at least without being drawn in by Ivc) if you fight in a narrow doorway. You can also use terrain to herd and plant traps, but thats for another day.
7. Communicate. This is the key. If the team knows what youre doing, you all are much likely to avoid debt and maximize rate of progress. Especially important is for those situations of extreme danger, such as facing AoEs or enemies who can 1-2 shot less protected ATs. For these a target through me macro or the like can save so much aggravation.
Some useful things to note are as follows:
1. Aggro seems to be unreliable at the moment, due to a recent AI change that forces an automatic disengage and random target aquire. Essentially, every so often the enemies will automatically lose aggro and, if they have an attack ready, fire it at a random new target. The disturbing tendancy is for them all to simultaneously attack the same one in the same moment. There is nothing you can do about this. Period.
2. With Ivc and Guantlet, you do not need Taunt. It will however help with ranged aggro-draw. However, if you have AoE like Fireball, will work as well if not better.
3. Stamina at 20 is a key boon, as running 2-6 toggles can soak up endurance pretty fast. Un-enchanced TI and UnY consume roughly 25% of your base recovery each. There is almost no way to run an Invulnerability Tanker without Stamina.
4. It is a grind to 20. But after that it becomes so much easier. I heavily recommend teaming throughout your career, especially early on, and focus on thug type enemies who do mostly S/L (Hellions, Skulls, Troll except for bosses). With Invincibility, I recommend Talos due to the fact its almost all S/L attacks.
5. S/L resistance helps the whole way. Once you hit the teens, elemental and energy damage starts showing more, especially with the CoT and Outcasts who more than make up for the rest. The 20s see that lower again, but in the 30s it comes back. 40s see lots of energy damage and the increase in psionic. To compensate for these foes:
- Get in melee. Once there, the total damage will increase, but a much larger percentage will be S/L.
- Boost your defenses, it helps against everything. A purple or two will exponentially lower incoming damage, especially if you already boast formidable defenses.
- To increase those defenses, fight in teams. As mentioned, Invincibility almost cancels the odds of fighting numerically superior foes. If theyre no more risk, but you now have a teammate who can reduce their offense or kill them faster, youre going to be safer.