DEFCON II: AFTERMATH — Do Controllers Still Outscale Defenders?

[Dark Current]

Round 2: Empathy

"Your powers give you the ability to heal and aid allies as well as yourself. Empathy has no offensive powers, but its heals and buffs are unmatched."

 

 

The Challengers...

 

Ankh

Empathy / Water / Soul DEFENDER

 

 

Concept: Lord of the Wrapped. Empowered by Ra, the sun god to reclaim incarnate power stolen by the insolent Greek deities.
Blasts of punishing sand and bursts of radiant vitality. Hunting down Mu mystics in service to Scirocco who have plundered the tombs of the ancients and stolen relics.

Playstyle: Light switch. Buff first. Then Blast away. Support on the fly.
 

VS
 

Frisson Sensate

Symphony / Empathy / Ice CONTROLLER

 

 

Concept: Famous soft rock superstar who gained power through abuse of designer neuro-pharmaceuticals synthesize using CSF from Praetorian Seer Network. His vocal talent has been enhanced to where his songs amplify the emotions of his listeners bringing them euphoria and elevating them to heights of passion.
Playstyle: Blanket enemies with 7 swaths of far-reaching cone attacks, layering multiple CCs and debuffs. Support as needed.

 

 

Matchup Video

 

Both are designed to bring the pain as much as ease the pain. Of special note, Frisson was designed by Cathy (Chat GPT) and I can't wait to show you what she came up with.

 

Edited August 14 by Dark Current

[Dark Current]

Ankh

MIDS Build: Ankh - Defender (Empathy)2.mbd

 

 

 

Frisson Sensate

MIDS Build: Frisson Sensate - Controller (Symphony Control - Empathy).mbd

 

 

 

 

Edited August 6 by Dark Current

[Dark Current]

Frisson's 801 Trials

"The Slaughterhouse doesn’t let you save the team. It lets you trade it—one soul at a time." Chatty Cathy

 

 

The Challenge: AE 801 Trials

• A brutal custom mission arc designed by @Linea to push support builds to their limits
• Includes elite bosses, ambush chains, and heavy debuffs
• Played at +4/x8 difficulty with incarnate-level enemies
• 5-man teams, level 50 minimum
• Increasing mission difficulty from Tier 1 - Tier 5, randomly selected from mission list by die roll
• Trial ends when either Defeat Condition is met: 4 out of 5 defeated teammates at the same time; time-limited missions (30, 30, 45, 45, 60) or Success Condition is met: complete all 5 tiers of missions before the time limit expires.
• No extraneous help, no 'cheese' temp powers like AV summons or super-inspirations, no email access, no exiting the map, no hospital visits... just what your character has on them and would 'normally' do within the purview of their build

Edited August 14 by Dark Current

[Linea]

🍿🍺 I'm glad you're enjoying the missions.  I've been chuckling almost non-stop for the last 2 hours. Voltak and Lumi both frequently brought empaths to these.  If Either of them joined the team I'd automatically set it 1 tier higher. 😉

 

"801.0 I hope this isn't too easy peasy"

- 801.0 is the easiest.  It's intended for a very small team or solo

 

"801.5-C ..."

- You overlooked the team-size multipliers in the list.  That effects lots of things within the tier itself, including mission length and difficulty.

- 801.5 is intended as a full team test, as compared to the small team/solo test above.  Each tier is roughly double the difficulty of the previous tier and you went from the bottom of tier 1 to the top of tier 2.  I'd guess that means this mission is about 3-4x harder than the one you started with, as well as about twice as long.

 

"801.6-Static ..."

- Static tagged missions are "Very Short, Static, less comprehensive, lightweight tests" designed so you can quickly and easily test and compare tiers "Without the Randomness". 

 

"801.7-Tech-R"

- I hope you brought your grown up pants.

- This is just barely over the balance point where game mechanics start breaking. 

- Give me the smallest amount of team buffs and the mechanics balance back out.  However, this is why I made the 6s and inserted them into the list.  The 6s are just under the mechanics balance point.   It was fun and interesting to really find how all the various mechanics work and when and where and how they break.

- I ran a lot of 6's and 7's depending on the balance point of the team.

 

"It's hard to figure out a time limit"

- Teams vary too much, You'll never get one answer here.  I've had teams complete Difficulty 15 in less than 30 minutes, and teams fail difficulty 2 after 2 hours.  

 

"We've Got this."

"Wasn't too bad."

"Oh !@#$ ... Oh ^%!@#,  ... OH! @#$ %!@# &%@#!"

"Got Smoked. Bro!"

"They broke the Unbreakable Tank ... "

"It's getting to the point that I have to start buffing the tanks ..."

"We're dying like crazy ..."

"Come to the PO AE and have BAG of Wakies ..."

"Holy !@#$ this is !@#$%$# Insane ..."

"What the !@#$ was that! Holy %@#% ..."

"Does that Count? ... That was Brutal! ... The Doom of the Squad ..."

- *Evil Chuckle* 🤣

 

Edited August 7 by Linea

[gyyv]

@Linea

Been running these with a couple diff groups (along with DC.) Love this stuff. I've had the team express hesitation about doing them, however once started thegrind is addictive.

Thanks.

[Dark Current]

On 8/7/2025 at 4:15 PM, Linea said:

🍿🍺 I'm glad you're enjoying the missions.  I've been chuckling almost non-stop for the last 2 hours. Voltak and Lumi both frequently brought empaths to these.  If Either of them joined the team I'd automatically set it 1 tier higher. 😉

 

"801.0 I hope this isn't too easy peasy"

- 801.0 is the easiest.  It's intended for a very small team or solo

 

"801.5-C ..."

- You overlooked the team-size multipliers in the list.  That effects lots of things within the tier itself, including mission length and difficulty.

- 801.5 is intended as a full team test, as compared to the small team/solo test above.  Each tier is roughly double the difficulty of the previous tier and you went from the bottom of tier 1 to the top of tier 2.  I'd guess that means this mission is about 3-4x harder than the one you started with, as well as about twice as long.

Thanks for putting these together @Linea They're a fun challenge for testing my DECONs.

 

If each tier is 2x as hard as the one before, how would the 801.0 compare to a standard +4 radio or paper mission?

[Apocalyptical]

@Linea Dude! Thank you for creating these! They have been a blast! 

Edited August 12 by Apocalyptical

[Linea]

18 hours ago, Dark Current said:

If each tier is 2x as hard as the one before, how would the 801.0 compare to a standard +4 radio or paper mission?

Harder.  I really don't know how much harder.  My original intent was to design a mission, or two, that would test each potential mechanic and/or potential hole in armors.   I never really intended to do more than the two missions that were what is 801.2 now.  But people asked for more.

• 801.0 would be roughly equivalent in layout, and overall mission mechanics, and short small maps like radios.
• I'd guess somewhere between 1x and 2x length, but I really didn't measure it that way so I'm not sure.
• Harder Mobs, it has 801 mobs instead of standard mobs.  I'd guess they are probably similar to Blackwing, or Blackwing are similar to them.   But I don't know.  I tested the early Blackwing prototypes when they were still buggy and overpowered.
• Harder, Even with just 801.2, I stopped counting after slaughtering a few thousand tanks.

[Dark Current]

Frisson Sensate, Empathy Controller analysis:

 

 

Mission Overview

• Mission 1: 801.0 IC 6034 = 16 minutes
• Mission 2: 801.5 C IC 6035 = 36 minutes
• Mission 3: 801.6 Static IC 6041 = 30 minutes
• Mission 4: 801.7 Tech R IC 6089 = 18 minutes

4 Teammates: Arcfusion (Tanker), Shocksplice (Tanker), Nate Shocks (Sentinel), gyyv (Peacebringer)

Total Time = 100 minutes

 

1. Survivability – Personal Defeats

Mission	P Defeats	Time	Teammate	RATE	Composite
1	0	16	4	0.000	0.000
2	7	36	4	0.194	0.049
3	7	30	4	0.233	0.058
4	3	18	4	0.167	0.042
Total	17	100		0.149	0.037	AVG
				0.103	0.026	STD
				0.051	0.013	SE

 

 

 

2. Risk – Ally Defeats

Mission	A Defeats	Time	Teammate	RATE	Composite
1	0	16	4	0.00	0.00
2	8	36	4	0.22	0.06
3	17	30	4	0.57	0.14
4	10	18	4	0.56	0.14
Total	35	100		0.34	0.08	AVG
				0.28	0.07	STD
				0.14	0.03	SE

 

 

3. Resilience – Damage Taken

Mission	DMG In	Time	Teammate	RATE	Composite
1	1454	16	4	91	23
2	20112	36	4	559	140
3	23342	30	4	778	195
4	11814	18	4	656	164
Total	56722	100		521	130	AVG
				300	75	STD
				150	38	SE

 

 

3a. Punishment – Damage taken vs Personal defeats

 

3b. Overwatch – Damage taken vs Ally defeats

 

3c. Pet Loyalty – Pet Damage Taken

Mission	Char DMG In	Pet DMG In	Total	PP	CP
1	1454	2441	3896	62.7%	37.3%
2	20112	6931	27043	25.6%	74.4%
3	23342	20656	43997	46.9%	53.1%
4	11814	3684	15498	23.8%	76.2%
Total	56722	33712	90434	39.8%	60.2%

 

 

3d. Pet Sacrifice – Pet Damage Taken vs Team Defeats

 

4. Disruption – Controls Delivered

Mission	Controls	Time	Teammate	RATE	COMPOSITE
1	406	16	4	25.4	6.3
2	1013	36	4	28.1	7.0
3	1497	30	4	49.9	12.5
4	1235	18	4	68.6	17.2
SubTotal	4151	100		43.0	10.8	AVG
				20.3	5.1	STD
				10.1	2.5	SE

 

 

4a. Blunting – Controls vs Damage Taken

 

4b. Prevention – Controls vs Team Defeats

 

5. Avoidance – Hits Taken

Mission	Hits	Time	Teammate	RATE	COMPOSITE
1	88	16	4	5.5	1.4
2	252	36	4	7.0	1.8
3	234	30	4	7.8	2.0
4	74	18	4	4.1	1.0
Total	648	100		6.1	1.5	AVG
				1.6	0.4	STD
				0.8	0.2	SE

 

 

5a. Targeting – Hits vs DMG taken

 

5b. Deflection – Controls vs Hits

 

6. Provision – Buffs Provided

 

6a. Warding – Buffs vs Ally Defeats

 

6b. Shielding – Buffs vs Pet Damage Taken

 

7. Lethality – Foe Defeats

Mission	F Defeats	Time	Teammate	RATE	Composite
1	26	16	4	1.6	0.4
2	82	36	4	2.3	0.6
3	44	30	4	1.5	0.4
4	10	18	4	0.6	0.1
Total	162	100		1.5	0.4	AVG
				0.7	0.2	STD
				0.4	0.1	SE

 

 

7a. Kill Share – Proportion of Team Kills

 

7b. Amplification – Provision vs Foes Defeated by Allies

 

8. Threat – Combined Damage Output

Mission	DMG Out	Time	Teammate	RATE	Composite
1	31029	16	4	1939	485
2	110368	36	4	3066	766
3	142988	30	4	4766	1192
4	99522	18	4	5529	1382
Total	383908	100		3825	956	AVG
				1625	406	STD
				812	203	SE

 

 

8a. Potency – Damage Dealt vs Foe Defeats

 

8b. Engagement – Hits vs Damage Dealt

 

9. Efficiency – Character vs Pet DMG Out

Mission	Character		Pets	Total	PP	CP
1	27758	3272		31029	10.5%	89.5%
2	91710	18658		110368	16.9%	83.1%
3	121571	21416		142988	15.0%	85.0%
4	82761	16761		99522	16.8%	83.2%
Total	323801	60107		383908	14.8%	85.2%	AVG

 

 

 

9a. Character Ratio – Out:In

Mission	DMG Out	DMG In	Ratio
1	27758	1454	19.1
2	91710	20112	4.6
3	121571	23342	5.2
4	82761	11814	7.0
Total	323801	56722	9.0	AVG
			6.8	STD
Ratio of the Sums	5.7		3.4	SE

 

9b. Pet Ratio – Out:In

Mission	DMG Out	DMG In	Ratio
1	3272	2441	1.3
2	18658	6931	2.7
3	21416	20656	1.0
4	16761	3684	4.5
Total	60107	33712	2.4	AVG
			1.6	STD
Ratio of Sums	1.8		0.8	SE

 

 

 

 

9c. Pet Aggression = Pet DMG : Character DMG Output Ratio

 

9d. Pet Savagery – Pet Damage vs Foe Defeats

 

10. Debilitation – Controls vs Damage Dealt

 

10a. Devastation – Controls vs Lethality

[Dark Current]

Empathy Defender Team

Ankh's 801 Trials - Team 2

 

Mission Overview

• Mission 1: 801.0 f IC 6034 = 13 minutes
• Mission 2: 801.5 F IC 6035 = 23 minutes (team defeated)
• Mission 3: 801.0 f IC 6034 = 17 minutes
• Mission 4: 801.5 F IC 6035 = 46 minutes (timer expired)

Teammates Missions 1-2: Gammalock (Dominator), Wednesdaywoe (Tanker), Fire Marsh (Blaster), Golden Anathema (VEAT Crab).
Teammates Missions 3-4: Gammalock (Dominator), Nate Radrock (Tanker), Hank Kirchhoff (Blaster), KILL O’WATTS (Scrapper)

 

Empathy Verdict

Reaction and Analysis - Ankh vs. Frisson Sensate (DEF vs CON)

 

 

Defensive Metrics

 

 

 

 

 

 

Defensive Summary

• Survivability: Ankh only fell 2 times vs Frisson’s 17. Clear durability edge.
• Ally Risk: Ankh’s allies suffered fewer defeats (22 vs 35), even with reckless teammates.
• Resilience: Ankh absorbed half the damage (29k vs 57k) and withstood spikes far better.
• Punishment & Overwatch: For Frisson, damage taken was directly tied to both his own and his team’s defeats. For Ankh, those links were weaker — he could take hits without dragging allies down.
• Avoidance: Frisson dodged more hits on paper, but when he was struck the damage was devastating. Ankh took more hits but reduced their impact.
• Provision (Buffs): Ankh nearly doubled Frisson’s buff output and delivered it more consistently.
• Warding (Buffs vs Ally Defeats): Frisson’s buffs tracked with collapses (reactive). Ankh’s broke the tie, preventing defeats.
• Shielding (Buffs vs Pet Damage → proxy for teammates): Frisson’s buffs rose alongside pet damage (reactive). Ankh’s reduced the link, showing true prevention.

Verdict

Defensively, Ankh was the far stronger supporter.

• Frisson: avoided more hits, but every landed blow punished him and his team. His buffs were reactionary, tied to defeats.
• Ankh: took more hits, absorbed them at half the cost, kept defeats low, and proactively blunted damage with nearly twice the buff volume.

Takeaway:

Defensively, this one wasn’t close. Frisson dodged more, but when he got hit, both he and his team collapsed. His buffs mostly came too late, chasing damage. Ankh, meanwhile, soaked more hits, turned them into half the damage, barely fell himself, and pumped out almost double the buffs — actually preventing collapses. Bottom line: Ankh was the sturdier, steadier supporter… defensively speaking.

 

Offensive Metrics

 

 

 

 

 

 

Offensive Summary

• Lethality & Kill Share: Ankh nearly doubled Frisson’s kills (339 vs 162) and claimed a larger share of team lethality (22% vs 14%).
• Amplification: Ankh’s buffs scaled cleanly with ally kills, while Frisson’s were inconsistent.
• Threat (Raw Damage): Frisson dealt more total and per-minute damage (384k vs 323k), showing higher ceiling for raw output.
• Potency (Damage → Kills): Ankh converted his damage into kills far more reliably. Frisson’s damage often failed to finish.
• Engagement (Under Fire): Frisson held the edge — at his worst he matched Ankh, but at his best he outpaced him even when targeted.
• Disruption (Controls): Frisson dominated volume (4,151 vs 985), but Ankh’s knock-up controls hit harder and were tied to kills.
• Efficiency: Ankh turned damage taken into output more effectively (10.2 vs 9.0 average ratio).
• Pets: Ankh’s pets contributed more (81k vs 60k), were more efficient, and tied tightly to kills. Frisson’s pets were steadier but secondary.

Verdict

Offensively, Ankh was the more efficient and lethal supporter.

• Frisson: excelled at raw damage output and constant control pressure, thriving when under fire — but much of that effort failed to translate into kills.
• Ankh: dealt less raw damage, but converted more of it into decisive outcomes. His pets, buffs, and efficiency made him deadlier and more reliable in supporting team offense.

Takeaway

Frisson flooded the field with pressure, but Ankh struck with sharper results. Offensively, Ankh comes out ahead.

 

 

 

Final Verdict…

In this Empathy showdown, Ankh comes out on top. Defensively, the difference wasn’t close. Ankh only fell twice compared to Frisson’s seventeen, absorbed half the damage, and still kept his allies standing with nearly double the buffs. Frisson dodged more hits, but when he got tagged, both he and his team collapsed. Ankh, on the other hand, soaked more pressure and turned it into half the cost.

Offensively, Ankh was just as decisive. He nearly doubled Frisson’s kills and claimed a bigger share of his team’s lethality. His pets were stronger, more efficient, and tightly tied to actual enemy defeats. Frisson still shined in raw damage output and sheer control volume — he blanketed the battlefield and put up the bigger numbers. But much of that pressure didn’t finish fights, while Ankh’s output translated directly into results.

⚖️So here’s the Bottom Line:

• Frisson was the louder supporter, overwhelming the field with suppression and damage. He fought hard, putting up bigger raw numbers and constant suppression pressure, but he was fragile: when hit, he and his team paid dearly, and his offensive volume often failed to convert into kills.
• Ankh was the stronger supporter — sturdier, steadier, and far more lethal. He absorbed twice the punishment at half the cost, kept his team standing with superior buffs, and turned his output — and his pets’ — into actual victories on the field.

So while Frisson made a lot of noise — Ankh brought receipts carved in stone. And in this matchup, that makes him the true pharaoh of Empathy.

 

DEFENDERS Win Empathy!!!