AE Defense Question

[Floust]

Hello!
I created a few sentinels (Fire/Rad, Elec/EM, Elec/Nin) and ran different ITF +4/8 with the Fire/Rad & Elec/EM on the test server without issues. They each held their own; the Elec/EM tanked exceptionally well, and the damage was decent.
 

The issue I am having is that I tried them in an AE fire farm environment on the test server, and the Elec/EM & Elec/Nin seemed to be hit a lot, and one even got into the red. Is there something missing? The Elec/Nin is above 50% def with Melee, AOE, and Ranged, while the Elec/EM is at 48% fire def. I am not trying to be a tank, but I am wondering why I was hit so much when pulling two groups of 8/+4's. Also, I understand that I should be at 75% resistance to fire, but I would like to know more about the defensive part.
 

Any thoughts would be great! Thanks!

[HelenCarnate]

You are not getting hit any more or less than a brute or tank on the same farm with the same defense.  You are just taking at least 250% damage compared to those ATs (more if your resists are less than 75%) On top of that you also have a much lower HP pool.  Basically you will die much faster unless you also have significant regen to counteract the damage.

 

Edit because me no word good

Edited February 29 by HelenCarnate

[Floust]

Thank you very much for the explanation. It makes sense, as my Fire/Rad does very well with its absorb/regen.

 

The only confusing part is that in ITF running +4/8s, my Elec/EM seems to be able to take on multiple groups without an issue. 

[MonteCarla]

AE enemies often have access to Aim or Build Up, which will eat through Defence with the +to Hit bonuses.

I found this in the early days of testing AE with my Super Reflexes scrapper, not sure if its still the case.

[HelenCarnate]

23 hours ago, Floust said:

Thank you very much for the explanation. It makes sense, as my Fire/Rad does very well with its absorb/regen.

 

The only confusing part is that in ITF running +4/8s, my Elec/EM seems to be able to take on multiple groups without an issue. 

What is EM in this context?  There is no secondary that fits those letters.  There is Electric Armor and Energy Aura.  Either way, both have Energize which adds a decent amount of regen every time you use it.  But without knowing the full build I couldn't really say for sure why one would stand out more than others.

[Ashford]

He is talking about energy manipulation. and to answer your question EM is a defense secondary which means it's designed to prevents things from hitting your character in the first place. Issue with defense secondaries  compared to resist secondaries  is that a defence is a lot more expensive to build and if the player lacks a guide, their build is going to suck. A resist build is more accessible, but tend to have gaps in their armor which means starting out at 50 even with decent enhancements, epic powers, and some investment in incarnetes, the build is going to be downed eventually or quick if it's a blapper, controller, etc. 

 

The only inherent flaw with a defense secondary is that although rare once maxed, eventually something will hit the character and if it's one big hit, it's a one shot.