/Super Reflexes

[arcanaville]

Can I call you Arcana? :)

 

Everyone pretty much does.  And I forgot the Sentinel numbers were lower on DDR, which would as you point out increase the value of going over the soft cap.  But when I built SR characters, I tried to balance how much defense I was building against everything else I was building, knowing that if I was going to have to pop a purple anyway then breaking my build for two extra points of defense didn't make sense.

 

In other words, I'd rather make a build that had to occasionally pop a purple than constantly pop blues or greens.  Since inspirations exist, people should factor their use into the build.  My main MA/SR (scrapper) build was designed to add a lot of passive regen and end management to make the build more sustainable, at the expense of going for the incarnate cap (which is super difficult for scrappers anyway).  Fundamentally speaking, purples last longer than greens or blues.  But I still tried to build for somewhat over the normal soft cap, so I didn't need to use inspirations in most "normal" content.

 

I found that theorycrafting builds was more about compromise than maximize.  Everything costs something, and the question isn't what you should build for but rather what should you pay for what you want to try for.  Some build targets are worth going for, some aren't, and the devil is in the specific details.  We were still coming up with build options right up to shutdown, so there wasn't and isn't any such thing as the perfect build for any powerset combination.

 

That's one thing I actually liked about CoH buildcraft.  No one actually found the min/max optimal point for any build, there were always more options to explore.

[oldskool]

I found that theorycrafting builds was more about compromise than maximize.  Everything costs something, and the question isn't what you should build for but rather what should you pay for what you want to try for.  Some build targets are worth going for, some aren't, and the devil is in the specific details.  We were still coming up with build options right up to shutdown, so there wasn't and isn't any such thing as the perfect build for any powerset combination.

 

My pre-edit reply went into opportunity costs vs spending and planning as purpose built vs common occurrence.  I've been doing risk management for years and weighing cost benefit analyst is so second nature I apply it to games too.

 

When I play around with builds, I look for what I feel is "just enough" for whatever content I want to push with a build.  I love to plan long-term, but I also don't sweat things like "optimization" much.  A lot of returning players and new ones look over various threads like ones on this forum.  I find it important to stress that the constant optimization they see isn't required, it's fun for some to come up with, but it isn't necessary.  This is also a team game.  Groups can, and often do, close gaps in whatever build weakness an individual has.  You can't guarantee a "perfect" team, but most teams where the players are awake while doing content is still going to work out. 

 

I used to post on the old forums, but that was pre-issue 6 stuff.  I was pretty chatty about Dark/Dark Scrappers back then since they were rare and often denigrated for their existence.  Even after I stopped actively posting I kept on it and read your posts quite a bit.  They were always insightful. 

 

I'm just bouncing the same ideas at this point which is kinda off topic now, but we're in agreement here.

[nihilii]

The good news here is that between SR's base defense and the endless set bonuses we have access to these days, it's likely you're going to end up over 45% def while building for other things.

[jack_nomind]

Since inspirations exist, people should factor their use into the build.

 

Canny, you're divine.  Nobody believes these things when I say them, but now I can quote God Herself.

 

That's one thing I actually liked about CoH buildcraft.  No one actually found the min/max optimal point for any build, there were always more options to explore.

 

Sure, but is it turing complete?

[Galaxy Brain]

How much psy defense can be built? SR has a bit of that now as well.

[Murcielago]

So what does this mean for Super Reflexes?  Well, if you can get your three Vector Defense numbers up to 45%, you will be as untouchable as the game mechanics allow for against all normal content.  You can stand in front of Archvillians or giant monsters and they will miss time and again.  Until they hit you and crush you like a bug because you've got no other mitigation.  ^_^

 

One thing I'd like clarity on is if it's worth it to go over that 45% value to ward against -Def debuffs? So if my Def is, say, +60%, I know I'm still capped. But if I get a -15% Def debuff, am I still capped?

 

Super Reflexes already has a high amount of resistance to defense debuffs.  So going over 45% isn't worth it, in my opinion, for that particular goal with SR. 

 

If you're concerned about specific groups with LTs or Bosses with higher than average hit chances, then using inspirations covers that gap if you are opposed to certain Incarnate solutions.  Also, those kinds of enemies are priority targets to die first while their friends whiff whiff whiff.

 

I would always try to build for slightly above 45% as a hedge against defense debuffs.  SR has huge resistances to those, but it is important to realize that because SR's protection comes mainly from high defenses at or near the soft cap it is also much more vulnerable to defense debuffs.

 

A -7.5% defense debuff might get resisted all the way down to -0.375%, but for an SR at the soft cap this actually increases incoming damage by a relative 7.5%.  A 7.5% increase in incoming damage is not unnoticeable.  But an SR running around with 47% defense can ignore the first -40% in raw defense debuffing, which encompasses most of what you're ever likely to be hit by.

 

Where this was most noticeable was in things like the ITF where you're surrounded by defense debuffers, often right up to the aggro cap.  The difference between 45% defense and 47% defense was definitely noticeable there: my MA/SR with slightly overcapped defenses would regularly outtank other SR that only built to 45%, or sometimes even slightly lower thinking there was no real difference.

 

In *most* normal content the difference is not very noticeable and you can often cover with inspirations.  But that's less practical in content with wall to wall debuffers.

Totally unrelated but welcome back!