I guess what I'm having a hard time grasping, and this could just be due to what little I've tanked before, how 1620 damage could really matter, as it isn't even 1 full auto-attack worth of damage. Especially because its 1 and done, for the full duration. Yes, you are mitigating 40.5 damage per second post mitigation, but its really just 1 hit every 40 or so seconds. While I can understand that the shield technically lasts for 6 seconds, its also limited by 1620 damage. Which is basically just 1 hit. So from what I'm understanding, is you get a shield, every 40 seconds, which is then immediately torn down, and you can't get another one for 40 more seconds. Yes, it stopped 1620 damage from happening, but that is all it did. No more, and no less. This is in contrast to what the Shield amplification does, as it doesn't have an upper limit on how much damage it can actually absorb. Yes it relies on pre-mitigation values for shield and absorb, but it also procs more often, so wouldn't it prevent more overall damage, due to not having an upper limit? Is there a threshold I'm just not seeing where one relic would actually perform the other, but that threshold is to high that it doesn't factor into todays mitigation values? I would actually love to see the math on the pre-mitigation damage taken per second, and the average spread of damage types. I did some very brief theory crafting back in 1.1x, and I know the numbers have changed quite a bit since then. Just for my own clarification though, from what I understand, defense only handles melee/range type attacks, and not force/tech type attacks, but you can shield any attack that deals Kinetic/Energy damage even force/tech type attacks.

I'm not arguing that relics are amazing, and I really do understand what you are saying, that a flat damage shield, however small, is better then an absorb increase, because it soaks all of the damage, vs some of the damage. I'm having a hard time following your numbers though, and here is why: Nothing seems to consider proc chance. 1520 damage shield, with a 6 second up time, and a 40 second ICD -> 1520 divided by 6 gives you a 253.33 damage reduction per second, then multiply that by the up time of the damage shield, which is 6/40, or .15 (15%), and you have 255.33 * .15 or about 38 damage reduction per second. Looking at the 198 relic, you have 1620/6 * .15 or about 40.5 damage reduction per second. I'm not sure how you are getting the 42 dtps (damage taken per second?) but you also aren't counting the proc chance, of 30%. This further reduces the dtps as you can get an unlucky streak, where the proc doesn't proc. It happens, but to even it out, you have to take the proc chance into consideration, and reduce the dtps value by the proc chance, meaning you would have real benefit of 'amount per second * up time * proc chance', or 1620/6 * .15 * .3 or about 12.15 damage reduction per second for the Revanite Reactive Warding. This doesn't sit well with me either though, as the damage shield is only worth 1620 damage, and that can easily be done in 1 or 2 hits, which will happen faster then 6 seconds. Meaning for the remainder of your Internal Cool down, you have no protection at all from your relic. However, when you look at the absorb boost relic, things get a little weird. Using you're own numbers, You have a proc chance of your shield chance, as the relic procs on shielded attacks (so in this case 58%) The relic itself will add 890 absorb, which you said translates to about 7.578% more absorb. That varies based on gear level, but I'm assuming that you are using 198 gear, as those are the numbers you presented. The formula is going to be the same, as we want to figure out how much absorb per second we're actually getting, based on proc chance, however, as it will always last the full duration, instead of a set amount, we have to take that into consideration. The formula I used above is 'amount per second * up time * proc chance' amount per second is simply 890/6, or 148.33, up time is 6/20 or .3, and the proc chance is simply your shield chance, as the relic procs on shielded attacks, so you have 58% or .58. 148.33 * .3 * .58 = 25.81 absorb per second, but it lasts for the full 6 seconds, so you have a total of 154.86 absorb boost with the relic. You said that the absorb boost translates to about 7.578% more absorb in 198 gear, which takes into consideration diminishing returns, so if we rework the numbers, we have this: 7.578 * .3 * .58 = 1.32% absorb boost for the relic vs not having its at all, considering both its up time, and the proc chance The question then arises, is 1.32% more absorb, better then 12.15 damage per second reduction? Using your 2k damage taken per second ratio, the damage shield reduces that to 1987.85 damage taken per second, where the absorb is a little tricky to figure out but I'll try using your math as an example. The closest I could get to your 28dtps estimate was taking 2,000 * .8 (to account for all the attacks that are shield able) and then multiplying that by 1.933%, however that gave me 30.9 so i feel that something is wrong. The way that I would do it would be to take the 2,000 damage, multiply it by .8 to account for all shield able damage types, and then multiply it again by the shield chance (as you aren't going to shield every shield able attack) and then take that number and multiply it by your absorb chance as that is the damage you are actually going to prevent, so something like this: 2000 damage per second * .8 = 1600 damage per second that is shield able * .58 shield chance = 928 damage that could be shielded. Then * absorb to see how much damage is actually absorbed, and you'll have ((57.62[base chance] + 1.32[relic boost])) = .5894 so 928 * .5894 = 546.96 damage per second absorbed That is considering your base chance of 57.62, so we need to subtract that to find out how much the relic is actually benefiting you: 546.96 - (928 * 57.62) = 12.25 damage reduction per second, lasting for the full 6 seconds, as there is no cap on how much damage absorb can absorb. The damage shield is 1620 damage over its entire duration, and could easily be take out with 1 hit, where the absorb boost will last the full 6 seconds, and continue to absorb damage while the boost is there. Unless my math is simply wrong, but I tried to at least explain everything that I worked out. Please let me know what you think. TL;DR: Reactive Warding's Damage shield is worth 12.15 damage per second, with a cap of 1620 total damage over 6 seconds, and a cool down of 40 seconds Shield Amplification is worth 12.25 damage per second, with no cap during its 6 second duration, with a cool down of 20 seconds At least in 198 gear..

While I don't doubt your theory (that certain attacks, can't be shielded and thus the damage can't be prevented) I'd really like to see some hard numbers on how this interacts with our passives, and other cool downs. I only ask, because numerically speaking, 835 absorb translates to a pretty huge boost, and the increased up time (30%, vs 15%), and the amount of damage that is soaked up by Reactive Warding isn't even a full hit on trash mobs, with its longer internal cool down, it doesn't seem very useful. Aren't all Kinetic/Physical attacks shieldable? Even if they are labeled as Force/tech powers? (i/e I can shield Force Lightning, even though it is a force power)

So MK-1's are only available from comms (being basic - 186, elite 192, or ultimate 198) MK-2s are operation drops(198) or HM flashpoints (192), and the token ones are better then everything under the sun?

I have a quick question about this. Do you mean ear/implants from elite comms (192) or from the operation drops (198)? I know there are different 'MK-X' versions of each item, and while some are pretty obvious due to the mods they carry, what versions are the best all around? I read a guide that stated that MK-2 items, especially from the comms, are a waste because they sacrifice too many defense stats for endurance, but I'm not sure what level range those are in (192, 198, lower?) so its hard to make sure I'm getting the best gear possible. Especially with the new hard mode flashpoint changes, where MK-2 gear will be dropping a lot more often, I want to make sure I'm not losing out on anything specific.

Due to the god-awful commendation enhancements, are Advanced 36 enhancments the best you can get from the auction house? Are 37 level enhancments only available from actual drops? I've been looking on Harbringer, and I haven't really seen much 37 level items except for barrels and hilts.

to be entirely fair, KBN's way is still better then any other way.. yeah, the difference is not really measurable (~.135%) but it's still higher, and easier to look at. While I can understand the thought process behind the 'gear the way it feels' at the end of the day, everything is based on numbers, and numbers really can't lie, so while things may 'feel' different in different gear levels, its all anecdotal evidence, as the numbers tell the real story.

I guess that is the issue at hand then, is getting a group to run SM TFB or S&V, especially today with everyone wanting to run current content. Especially because Campaign gear isn't really worth the basic comms to get them. I'm about 80% done with the gear that I posted previously, and I've noticed a significant boost in my survival, especially without a companion healer, aside from getting the rotation down pat, and working on movement (being Story mode as got me in a 'tank and spank' mindset, and i know most bosses aren't that way) is there any other things I need to focus on? Due to running the Revan story, and doing some of the weekly that are solo-able, i've started to earn up some decent elite comms (the tier above basic). What would you'll recommend I purchase first using those comms?

This is something that I'm very interested in, however I haven't been able to find any hard numbers on what the exactly difference is. The numbers that I posted earlier show a budget of 3159 which is using Comm mods, crafted Advanced 36 enhancements and augments, crafted 186 relics (not the 193 ones, as the difference is ~10 stat points between then, but the cost difference is HUGE) and Comm ear and implants, Are the crafted Ear and implants that much better?

Ok, now that I've worked out some of the numbers myself, before I actually make the drive to purchase things, I wanted to touch base here, and get an opinion. Looking over the available crafted enhancements, and augments, and the Mods from level 60 basic gear, I came to a budget of 3,159. As that is right between 3100, and 3200, I had to finagle some numbers and hopefully I came to a good metric to go for. I plan on using the following: 1 defense Mod (60 defense) 8 Absorb Mods (480 Absorb) 5 Advanced Immunity Enhancements 36 (510 Shield, 340 Defense) 2 Advanced Sturdiness Enhancements 36 (204 Shield, 136 Absorb) 10 Advanced Absorb Augments 36 (520 Absorb) 1 Advanced Shield Augment 36 (52 Shield) 3 Advanced Redoubt Augment 36 (156 Defense) Basic Commendation Implant x2 (204 Shield, 206 Defense) Basic Commendation Ear Piece (102 Shield, 103 Absorb) Defense Relic x2 (86 Defense) Total: 848 Defense, 1072 Shield, 1239 Absorb I looked at the level 50 Survivor gear, and while the set bonus is nice, I'm losing almost 2k HP, and almost 500 armor rating, which I think translates to more then the 2% DR that the set bonuses gives me. While the 5% Shield bonus may offset it, I'm just not sure if it would be worth it, especially because I do plan on running flashpoints in the future, probably via the group finder, and I want to try to have a cushion in the event I get a poor PuG. Also, from what I have been reading, I need to get each piece of the Commendation gear, as the Armorings can only be used in specific gear slots (i/e, Bracer Armoring from the commendation gear can only go in Bracers, etc) As I plan on using so many Absorb Mods, this means buying all of the gear pieces, and then duplicating purchases to get the Mods I want. While there are more then enough Basic Commendations to go around, this seems tedious, so I'm hoping there may be a better option. Any advice or help would be appreciated.

Ok, thank you very much. I'm guessing 'tokens' are the item drops from operations, similar to WoW's gear token drops?

That makes sense, I was able to grab the Campaign Survivor's chest piece from the False Emperor quest, are there any other solo options to grab Survivor gear for free, or just spend the comms for it and enjoy the free-ish set bonuses?

I have a quick question about this, as the Shield Amplification relic boosts Absorb values, however you mention Force Shroud and Saber Reflect, which protects from Force/Tech powers (which can't be Absorbed or Shielded anyway, from what I understand, however I haven't really played since 1.0X so I could be wrong) So I'm not sure what exactly you mean... Could you clarify this a little bit for me?

How exactly do set bonuses work here? Is it based on the Armoring mod? or the actual item?

That is exactly what I wanted to hear, thank you so much. I'm barely getting back into SWTOR after a very long absence, and I want to try to not be a fail tank. This is the first MMO that I'm playing a tank in, and so far, I'm loving it. I'll be sure to follow your recommendations, and keep an eye on what defense stats I need to work towards. Thank you every much.