armor vs defense stat for SC

[MaxWilson]

Agreed that Protection is generally less brittle than high Defense, ethereality, etc. The one thing you have to especially watch out for with Protection, though, is fatigue, since even a 30 Protection can take significant damage on a lucky critical hit at fatigue 45 or so.

I've found that Wraith Lords benefit from good Defense because 1.) they already have high natural Prot and Ethereality, 2.) beating good Defense requires swarm tactics, 3.) swarms are just more fodder for Soul Vortex.

-Max

[Ironhawk]

Yeah, high prot is better than high def in the general case. But keep in mind that a strong SC may never really get heavily surrounded, instead killing the majority of the troops that come against them and keeping the numbers reasonable.

Additionally, remember that if you sacrifice too much def to get protection, you could open yourself up to another player using a cheap anti-SC against you.

[Shovah32]

*Insert lifeless swarm here*

[Taqwus]

Mandragoras, say. Fear the sleep vines.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Actually, skelly spam is all you need. If you're facing a very early supercombatant with no area attack, just keep them fighting until they run away, or fall unconscious. If you've got single d necros, you can just animate one at a time with several, or spend 5 on the world map. Just be prepared to counter any supporting priests.

[Rytek]

I dunno, it all goes back to that label thing. To me, an SC can by definiton deal with skelly spam.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Not if they're the father of frost- then you need to wait until you've climbed the spell tree. I was talking about my experiences with an awake Father of Frost.

Early on, an unequipped Father of Frost (with the right spells), is a super that can take on armies of anything but the undead, with their cold immunity and zero encumberance.

Later, skelly spam counters exist, but I'm talking early game supers. What supers can take out an army of, say, 100 undead within the first year?

I do make it a priority to get reinvig asap, and then fatigue is unworrying, and there's other upgrades I may do.

[Tuidjy]

Hmm. Most of my pretenders can take out a 100 strong undead army by turn 12.
Firebrands do wonders. In the one MP game I am at turn 12ish, my pretender has
a firebrand/charcoal shield, reinvigoration 8, regeneration, and casts Air shield,
Quicken self, Stoneskin, Mirror image and Mistform. There is not much that
can faze him except for casters. (Magic resistance is below 21 only because he
tends to fight outside of his domain... of course)

By turn 20ish, he will be invulnerable to ANY amount of ANY troops. Of course, by
then he will be sitting in a lab, because nothing can save a SC from a custom
tailored death squad.

[MaxWilson]

An E9N9 Hierophant Centaur has zero encumbrance after reinvig is accounted for. I expect he'd be able to take out 100 undead with some minor equipment.

-Max

[vfb]

MaxWilson said:
3.) swarms are just more fodder for Soul Vortex.

-Max

Funny you should mention that now. I thought I'd get away with casting Gift of Health at a 50% discount site, with AC up. Umor was not amused. The Treelord who cast it was expecting something a little less exciting, so he was only armed with a few swarms and Ardmon's Soul Trap.

Umor managed to increase his HP to 75 (from base 55) by feasting on the little buggers. With MR3 they didn't last very long because of the blood vengeance, otherwise he might have been able to eat a few more.