Softcap and Hardcap questions

[RiskyKisses]

Hey all.

 

So, I've read that Softcap is at 45%, and Hardcap is at 95%. Softcap is mostly for Defense, and Hardcap is mostly for Resistances? My question is this... 

 

If Softcap is the maximum the game allows us to get our defenses to without anything past that being a waste... why am I seeing builds that have a particular defense past 100? Mainly, finding a posted SR that can hit 103% with its Melee value.

 

Was something changed, and I am not finding the right thing to read up on? A bit confused on this, and any explanation would certainly be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Hedgefund]

These links should answer fundamental questions.

 

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Limits

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Attack_Mechanics

[Hyperstrike]

It's basically a about how Resist and Defense performs before buff/debuff mods.
 

[Captain Fabulous]

39 minutes ago, RiskyKisses said:

Hey all.

 

So, I've read that Softcap is at 45%, and Hardcap is at 95%. Softcap is mostly for Defense, and Hardcap is mostly for Resistances? My question is this... 

 

If Softcap is the maximum the game allows us to get our defenses to without anything past that being a waste... why am I seeing builds that have a particular defense past 100? Mainly, finding a posted SR that can hit 103% with its Melee value.

 

Was something changed, and I am not finding the right thing to read up on? A bit confused on this, and any explanation would certainly be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

45% is considered a soft cap because the base chance to hit of normal critters is 50%. Since there is always a minimum of 5% chance to hit, 45% defense brings you to a point where most critters are at the 5% minimum. But there are various critters throughout the game that have higher than base 50% chance to hit. Against those critters 45% defense isn't enough (especially on higher-difficulty task forces), which is why people build for more. Building for more than 45% also helps for when you get hit with defense debuffs, which are pretty common in the game. Most defense-based armor sets get some degree of defense debuff resistance, but it's not something you can get via IO sets.

Resistance caps vary by AT. Tanks and Brutes are the highest at 90%, HEATs and VEATS are 85%, and everyone else is 75%. You can build for more, but that only will come into play with resistance debuffs. Since your damage resistance values are also your damage debuff resistance values, in theory if you build to 100% or more it would effectively negate any resistance debuffs.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Captain Fabulous

[macskull]

6 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

45% is considered a soft cap because the base chance to hit of normal critters is 50%. Since there is always a minimum of 5% chance to hit, 45% defense brings you to a point where most critters are at the 5% minimum. But there are various critters throughout the game that have higher than base 50% chance to hit. Against those critters 45% defense isn't enough (especially on higher-difficulty task forces), which is why people build for more. Building for more than 45% also helps for when you get hit with defense debuffs, which are pretty common in the game. Most defense-based armor sets get some degree of defense debuff resistance, but it's not something you can get via IO sets.

Resistance caps vary by AT. Tanks and Brutes are the highest at 90%, HEATs and VEATS are 85%, and everyone else is 75%. You can build for more, but that only will come into play with resistance debuffs. Since your damage resistance values are also your damage debuff resistance values, in theory if you build to 100% or more it would effectively negate any resistance debuffs.

Don't forget enemies also have accuracy multipliers based on relative level and rank, and accuracy is factored into the hit chance equation after the 5% minimum clamp, so unless you fight exclusively even-con or lower minions everything will actually have a greater than five percent chance to hit you, sometimes more than double that, and there's no amount of defense you can add to reduce that higher chance.

 

Also also, in addition to making you immune to (resisted) -res debuffs, being above 100% pre-capped resistance will make you immune to damage debuffs.

[biostem]

1 hour ago, RiskyKisses said:

Hey all.

 

So, I've read that Softcap is at 45%, and Hardcap is at 95%. Softcap is mostly for Defense, and Hardcap is mostly for Resistances? My question is this... 

 

If Softcap is the maximum the game allows us to get our defenses to without anything past that being a waste... why am I seeing builds that have a particular defense past 100? Mainly, finding a posted SR that can hit 103% with its Melee value.

 

Was something changed, and I am not finding the right thing to read up on? A bit confused on this, and any explanation would certainly be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

Keep in mind that any such values are only in reference to even-con enemies and with no debuffs applied to you or buffs applied to them.  A higher-con enemy will have a greater chance to hit, and if you've been hit with any debuffs, (which are also present in many attacks that may hit you), that may further dip into your defense or resistance ratings.

[Zect]

1) Check what is toggled on. Parry, barrier, or elude may be toggled on by mistake.

 

2) There are niche circumstances in which significantly more than the softcap or i-cap are beneficial. Fighting eyeballs, for example. Whether it is worth it depends on how that defense was achieved. (The more I play the more I feel that if you want more survivability on SR that is tohit agnostic, build for res.)

 

3) It may just be a stunt; sometimes people build for X in mids just to show they can, with no assurance that X actually provides a worthwhile return on investment. It's easy to get insane amounts of any one stat if you are willing to devote the entire build to it.

[RiskyKisses]

Thank you very much, guys, that was all super appreciated! I love learning a bit more everyday about this game. heh!

[Uun]

In Incarnate content, the foes have higher tohit and the defensive soft cap is 59%.

[Captain Fabulous]

15 hours ago, macskull said:

Don't forget enemies also have accuracy multipliers based on relative level and rank, and accuracy is factored into the hit chance equation after the 5% minimum clamp, so unless you fight exclusively even-con or lower minions everything will actually have a greater than five percent chance to hit you, sometimes more than double that, and there's no amount of defense you can add to reduce that higher chance.

Um, that's what I said, albeit more simply for a newbie. 🤔

[macskull]

2 hours ago, Captain Fabulous said:

Um, that's what I said, albeit more simply for a newbie. 🤔

 

You said "45% defense brings you to a point where most critters are at the 5% minimum," which is only really true if you count even-con or lower minions as "most critters." Yeah, my addition to your post makes things more complicated, but it's a pretty common thing to see "45% defense means mobs only have 5% chance to hit" around here, and then people get confused when they find out most things still have a >5% chance to hit.

[Captain Fabulous]

13 minutes ago, macskull said:

 

You said "45% defense brings you to a point where most critters are at the 5% minimum," which is only really true if you count even-con or lower minions as "most critters." Yeah, my addition to your post makes things more complicated, but it's a pretty common thing to see "45% defense means mobs only have 5% chance to hit" around here, and then people get confused when they find out most things still have a >5% chance to hit.

You're splitting hairs. The OP's question was why is 45% considered the softcap and why do some people build for far higher, and I answered in the most simple way possible. They didn't ask for a dissertation on how tohit, accuracy, and defense work.

[Sovera]

On 9/8/2023 at 11:37 PM, RiskyKisses said:

Hey all.

 

So, I've read that Softcap is at 45%, and Hardcap is at 95%. Softcap is mostly for Defense, and Hardcap is mostly for Resistances? My question is this... 

 

If Softcap is the maximum the game allows us to get our defenses to without anything past that being a waste... why am I seeing builds that have a particular defense past 100? Mainly, finding a posted SR that can hit 103% with its Melee value.

 

Was something changed, and I am not finding the right thing to read up on? A bit confused on this, and any explanation would certainly be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Softcap is only for one thing and that's defense. Usually 45% is 'enough' but some armors can get higher because they are built for defense. As others pointed out there is a mix of defense debuffs (not a problem for super Reflexes who is immune to these), higher level enemies having more accuracy, and incarnate mobs, that make building for more defense profitable. This is very much dependent on what content you usually do. If incarnates much, then building for more might be good (around 59%. I say might because 45% is already pretty close and if taking damage it is simpler to ear a small purple inspiration than refit a whole build, or there might be a team mate who does defense buffs). If sticking to 'normal' content then building for more defense is probably not worth it since it being there or it not being there will not be noticeable.

 

Your next question is resistances. There is no softcap for resistances. As you've pointed out resistances have a hardcap (so do defenses but it is much harder to reach which is not the case of resistances) and building for more than 95% gives nothing. It is a pet peeve of mine to see Tanker builds in the forums happily showing off their 120%+ resistances since they could scrounge slots or change their slotting to have less resistances and still be at 95% then place those slots elsewhere.

 

Since resistances resist resistance debuffs (which is not the case of defense) there is not much point in in building for more than 95% except in some very niche situations (certain groups do an unresistable -resistance patch) but at that point what you need is to kill mobs fast or play smart instead of trying to build for more resistances just because there is that one niche group that does the thing.

The playing smart thing is anathema in CoH since the game pushes so much to standing one's ground, gird one's loins, square one's feet, and then slug it out until one or other is killed. So when a situation calls for finesse, a bit of kitting, paying attention to mechanics, it meets unprepared players.