Defense is worthless for a powertech? power better?

[Finrok]

I heard the defense stat is for the other tank classes and bad for powertechs. I was told you might as well use crit or power even.

 

Is it that worthless of a stat for us? obviously absorb is better but i cant always get it.

[mrObtuse]

My idea of where that thought is coming from is the fact that defense is important to the light armor AC tanks, as well as the melee heavy due to both of those classes being reactive tanks that really want to avoid damage, thus defense is great for them. PT/V mitigate lots of damage and are more proactive, just taking lower damage and rarely spiking so would prefer mitigation. I still wouldn't think skipping defense for a damage stat makes any sense. That's my thought without any number crunching

[Agooz]

For a tank I wouldnt trade Defense for offensive stat at all. Defense is not "worthless" for a PT let alone any type of tank. It just isnt priority over Shield/absorb. If you cant get Shield/absorb, then definitely opt for defense.

[GhoXen]

Defense improves survivalbility, Power does not.

 

Power increases threat generation. However if you cannot generate enough threat from the Aim available on tanking gear, then either you are doing something wrong, or the DPS is a lot more geared then you are and is being an idiot with aggro.

[TheronFett]

As a tank, I would choose power over defense. Harder hitting attacks generate more threat.

 

There isn't enough defense stacking available on our gear to make it worthwhile.

[Agooz]

As a tank, I would choose power over defense. Harder hitting attacks generate more threat.

 

There isn't enough defense stacking available on our gear to make it worthwhile.

 

Wow. So you go on my thread , criticize a spec which you have no idea how it works or bothered to try, throw comments like it has "way" less defenses, talk about 4pc set bonus of supercommando which adds "defense", then come here and say defense is worthless.

If you are having so many issues with threat as a tank, I can assure you the gear/stats have nothing to do with it.

Edited April 29, 2012 by Agooz

[PorsaLindahl]

My personal choice in priority of defensive stats are: 1) Shield; 2) Absorb; 3) Defense. It's basically a choice of Resisting attacks or Avoiding attacks.

 

My PT has around 48% shield, 36% absorb and 15% defense. As a comparison, my Jugg has around 25% shield, 20% absorb and 45% defense. They both have comparable mitigation from their armor and have close to the same amount of hit points. Which has the higher survivability? My PT, hands down. She can soak up more damage than my jugg can avoid. I won't say defense is useless, but it's not even close to comparable to shield + absorb.

 

Ultimately the choice is yours to make. Sure gearing for more damage will generate a tiny bit more threat, but trying to generate threat through damage over a dps class that's just waylaying the hell out of a mob won't work.

[Tenacity]

You dont want to trade defense for crit or power (or any offensive stat), but you do want to prioritize shield rating and absorbtion rating over defense rating with your gear. We're all about shielding attacks.

[TheronFett]

Wow. So you go on my thread, criticize a spec which you have no idea how it works or bothered to try, throw comments like it has "way" less defenses, talk about 4pc set bonus of supercommando which adds "defense", then come here and say defense is worthless.

If you are having so many issues with threat as a tank, I can assure you the gear/stats have nothing to do with it.

 

Still pimping that worthless spec? It's not gonna catch on, sorry to be the one to break it to ya. Nowhere in my response did I say defense was worthless, nor that I was having threat generation issues. If you're going to troll in other people's threads, at least learn to read first.

Edited April 30, 2012 by TheronFett

[Crixaliss]

My personal choice in priority of defensive stats are: 1) Shield; 2) Absorb; 3) Defense. It's basically a choice of Resisting attacks or Avoiding attacks.

 

My PT has around 48% shield, 36% absorb and 15% defense. As a comparison, my Jugg has around 25% shield, 20% absorb and 45% defense. They both have comparable mitigation from their armor and have close to the same amount of hit points. Which has the higher survivability? My PT, hands down. She can soak up more damage than my jugg can avoid. I won't say defense is useless, but it's not even close to comparable to shield + absorb.

 

Ultimately the choice is yours to make. Sure gearing for more damage will generate a tiny bit more threat, but trying to generate threat through damage over a dps class that's just waylaying the hell out of a mob won't work.

 

Interestingly (according to some quick back-of-envelope maths) from the stats you posted there (even taking into account that your PT will have an extra 8% absorb from flame stacks), your juggernaught should have vastly more survivability. Are you sure those stats are correct? I didn't realise juggs could get to 45% defense, that seems amazingly large, can anyone confirm? (I have no clue about jugg tank stats)

 

But to the point of this thread, I would never give up defense on my PT for extra power, that seems silly. You don't really need the 'extra threat' as taunts cover your threat on bosses. Extra defense is a great addition, why as a tank wouldn't you take the extra avoidance if its there? Of course, shield/absorb should be prioritised as a PT tank because a lot of your stuff is based around that (rocket punch procs from shieled attacks, etc), but if theres a mod with some defense on I certainly wouldn't try to swap it for one with power on, thats ridiculous (though I may try to swap it out for one with absorb on ). I also question where you'd actually find the opportunity to swap defense for power. Maybe you want to get rid of mods with defense, but then surely a better choice would be one with absorb instead of power. In pretty much every other situation I can think of, defense comes alongside other tanking stats, so you'd be losing those too in order to gain power, which seems rather a silly idea.

 

Bottom line, defense is a great tanking stat, it allows you to avoid incoming damage. Just the way powertechs skills and gear is set up, shield and absorb are the priority choice. Doesn't mean you shouldn't take a bit of defense where its offered though.

[PorsaLindahl]

Interestingly (according to some quick back-of-envelope maths) from the stats you posted there (even taking into account that your PT will have an extra 8% absorb from flame stacks), your juggernaught should have vastly more survivability. Are you sure those stats are correct? I didn't realise juggs could get to 45% defense, that seems amazingly large, can anyone confirm? (I have no clue about jugg tank stats)

 

My bad. Those numbers were off the top of my head, from memory - I haven't played my jugg in a while, and my memory isn't what it used to be. My PT has also had a couple of gear changes I didn't take into consideration. Jugg stats: Dam Redux - 45.50, Def - 23.79, Shld - 36.79 & Abs - 23.15, with 7064 AR. PT stats: Dam Redux - 50.59, Def - 15.49, Shld - 45.37 & Abs - 32.78, with 7689 AR. Prior to the "upgraded" armor on my PT, her Def was around 10%, so she's swapped out some shield for defense (mods from dailies to tionese/columi gear). I'd still stand by the statement that my PT has/had a better survival rate than my Jugg, even when they both had mods from dailies only, and the numbers were more in line, just in different stats. Also, my wife plays a healer and prefers to group with my PT because she's easier to heal than my Jugg.

 

Back on topic : Looks like the general consensus is not to sacrifice defense for a little bit more damage.