How do you get allies to be more durable?

My story calls for an ally...but even set to Elite Boss, this ally is a wimp. He cant survive a single fight.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there some way to increase the ally's hitpoints so he can at least survive a few fights? The enemies are not that strong. They con white and yellow to my test character.

I'm having similar issues with the end villain. I want him to be soloable, but even set to elite boss, he seems weak. In my experience, Elite Bosses should be tough to solo, but I am having no problems soloing mine. He doesn't seem to have the hitpoints I see with other Elite Bosses.

Are there different rules for pre-publish than post-publish? Meaning that maybe in this test phase the enemies are deliberately weaker than normal or something. I don't want to inflate these characters power too much if the power levels will change once the story is published.

do they have a defensive powerset?

without a defensive powerset (dark armor, willpower, etc) they will be a squishy

I tried that, and it did help quite a bit. I wanted something stringer than a boss, but weaker than an Elite boss, so I tried an Elite boss with minimal powers and no defensive powers. I didnt think it would make that big a difference.

defensive powers are huge.

if you want a boss who fights well and is tough - typically use dominator assaults for attacks, and a defensive set.

It is usually more interesting to have the lt's be the buffers, debuffers and healers and have the bosses be tough.