I give in - Inventions knockback protection

I give up. Knockback is TOO annoying even for me to deal with. I thought I could deal with it by taking Hover and such, but far too many things have far too much knockback far too frequently, and it's starting to make Fiery Aura and Dark Armour unplayably annoying. I didn't delete a level 50 Fire/Fire/Flame Blaster so that I could remake her as ANOTHER character I didn't want to play, after all.

So I come begging for forgiveness and asking what one might look for in terms of Inventions to fix this. Many people have touted those "special" Set Inventions enhancements that have Knockback protection, but what exactly are they? Here's what I know so far:

A cursory search of ParagonWiki revealed three enhancements - Blessing of the Zephyr (the "BOTZ" I still snicker at), Karma and Stadfast Protection. Two points to make here: 1) Are there others I'm forgetting about and 2) Which of these are easiest to get and make without turning this into a multi-character project? That's including getting the recipe AND getting the salvage.

I noticed "BotZ" is obtainable via Alignment Merits (listed at 2) or "a whole lot of" Reward Merits, while the other two are not purchasable via Alignment Merits but cost 75 Reward Merits a piece, which shouldn't be all that much considering I have a grand total of four characters that need these and a grand total of ~50 who can help get them.

Furthermore, "BotZ" appears in level 50 format, which is very pleasing to the eye for someone who insists all of his enhancements be level 50, whereas both of the other two only show up for Defence and Resistance, respectively. And why is Steadfast Protection unique while Karma is not? Is there something inherently BETTER about knockback protection put in resistance-based powers over defence-based ones that necessitates this? Pure curiosity here.

Finally, all three are listed as "Global," but will these really work for the character at all times even if I, say, slap a "BotZ" on Sprint, or will I have to sprint all the time? The characters in question are universally Hoverers, so Hover might be the right place for it, but the question remains - how global are these things?

tl;dr version:
1. What knockback protection enhancements are there?
2. Which ones are the easiest to get for Fire and Dark armours?
3. Will they work even if the toggles they're put in are disabled?

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Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

While I can not speak for Dark Armor or Fire Melee, I can say that I slot Steadfast Protection: KB protection and BOTZ KB protection on EVERY toon I roll. They are invaluable and do provide protection even if the power in which they are slotted is turned off. The recipes are resonably cheap at WWs.

The Steadfast KB protection IO isn't unique. However, the 3%def/res IO in the same set is.

If you're desperate, Kinetic Crash also has knockback protection as a set bonus for slotting four of its enhancements. Fury of the Gladiator and Gladiator's Armor both have knockback protection for three enhancements, and it's not really worth mentioning Gladiator's Javelin since it requires five. :P

Yeah I'd recommend 2 Steadfast KB protection IO's if you can fit them in, 2 is enough to cover pretty much anything except being hit by a Fake Nemesis's force bolt.

In addition to the three you mentioned, there's at least one set, Kinetic Crash (for knockback powers) that also grants Knockback protection if you slot a few in a power, though that means your powers will be doing more knockback (which you may or may not want for a melee set), provided you have any powers that can take them anyway.

With regard to the big 3, lower levels are actually better than higher ones, since they work like set bonuses, the lower the level of the enhancement, the lower you can exemp and still use it. If you're buying them with Merits or A-Merits, best to go low. They don't have any aspects that are enhanced by being a higher level. Since they work like set bonuses, they also protect you even when the powers they're slotted in aren't running or available.

For Fire and Dark Armors specifically, the Steadfast protection one will be the easiest to find a space for. I'm pretty sure those aren't unique, I know I have at least one Fire Armor tank that uses two of them. A Steadfast would go great in Temperature Protection. You can also stick a Karma in Combat Jumping, since you'll probably want that for Immobilize protection (or, if you're using Dark Armor, in Cloak of Darkness). For the BOTZ, consider sticking 'em in the Veteran Sprint powers that you will otherwise never use, more than likely.

As a reference to effectiveness, just one -4 Knockback invention will prevent about 90% of what you're hit with in the game. Two of them will turn even the nastiest knockback effects (e.g., Fake Nemesis staves) into knockdown, and three will pretty much ensure you never lose your balance again.

Glad to see you entering the modern age Sam.

You can slap a BotZ in your travel power, so you don't have to use up a slot in one of your toggles for it. The Karma and Steadfast -KB IOs don't actually enhance the resistance or defense of the power they're in. The BotZ doesn't enhance travel speed either, but if you have Super Jump or Super Speed the base speed should be good enough. BotZ can't go in Sprint.

Each of these enhancements gives 4 points of KB protection, which should be good enough for most things at lower levels, but post-40 you'll probably want two. With two you should be good against pretty much everything except Mary, Fake Nemesisises, RWZ pylons, some AVs/EBs and probably some Longbow bosses.

Weren't you giving Satanic Hamster your Purple drops? Selling even one Purple IO would get you enough Inf to buy a dozen or more -knockback IOs. Since you don't like to play with the Market, just have him return the favor by acquiring and crafting all the -knockback IOs that you need. This way you won't have to think too much about it and can just treat it as another enhancement.

A couple of points:

1. I don't intend to exemplar. Ever for any reason under any circumstances. HATE doing it, and the more I can make my build incapable of exemplaring, the more excuse I'll have not to do it. For this reason, a level 50 BotZ is the perfect excuse.

and

2. I like seeing the number 50 on a level 50 build. I like all of my enhancements to say level 50, including BotZ if I go for it, so that's likely what I'll do. I already snagged a level 10 Steadfast Protection thing and I'm on my way to make it now, but I'll swap that out at level 50 (or, more likely, at level 47). Will likely stick it into Temperature Protection.

Question about BotZ: It says it's applicable to travel powers. Is that just Super Jump, Super Speed, Fly and Teleport, or do simpler things like Hover and Sprint work? Because I can just snag my four veteran Sprint powers and kit all four out with BotZ if that's what it comes down to. But can I do that?

*edit*
And another question: What would I want mag 8 knockback protection for? Aside from specific high-yield bosses, do normal critters get higher mag?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

So be it. I'm sure I can spare a slot or two in something for BotZ 50. Fly or Hover, we'll see how that goes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

I would go for 12 points, will help you for most of the game. Just 4 points stop most of the KB in the game, 8 doesn't really do much that's why I suggest going for 12.

I see. But it's just not the same without the enhancement saying it's level 50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Stick it in Hover. It's the easiest, I find.
Honestly, one slot of 4 points will stop over 85% (ish) of stuff. 8 Points will stop all but about one to two very rare things from KBing you, and you'll certainly avoid that bloody godawful pinball KB I hate, hate, HATE with a passion of burning burnination...

One slot in hover, sorted

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

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Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.