The Merits of Mag Defense

[Priest]

For those new FO armor peices, I would need 60 more tdef on a lvl 40 Newman FO, and thats a lot of commit to a mag. So it's either that or I should have about enough at level 50. It's a hard call because we want them NOW!

[Benesato]

I think I'm pretty good at dodging but i still get hit and get into spots where it is impossible to dodge.

As I said i don't think i have seen much damage increase from where i am now, but defense looks to do a lot more so +0 perceptual dmg output vs less damage taken it seems that even if it is made useless by dodging for the most part it is still better to take less damage when you do get hit than effectively adding what seems like nothing by adding more ATK

Get what I'm saying?

Simple rule of thumb,

If you kill things faster, they have less time to kill you. Unless it's a second mag for a boss that's a pain in the butt, I personally wouldn't do def.

[HFlowen]

Currently building a dedicated defense mag because wtf else am I gonna use that leftover 300AC on.

Dunno how I wanna spread it out though. 50/50/50? Only do Strike and Range 75/75/0?
No Idea, I'm just ramming armor into it for kicks.

[Metalsnake27]

I put in points on Defense every once in awhile, but yeah, I mostly focus on attack.

[MelancholyWitch]

I think you're a bit wrong as well. There is no R-ATK on units other than the abilities that are on them (or get put on them). The humble 1* unit will increase your ATK stat exactly as much as your 9*+10, as long as they have the same abilities. Most units with the exception of some R-DEF-req ones also have bonus hp and/or pp that isn't seen until you equip them.

Anyway, my opinion is that dead DPS is no DPS. If you're godly enough to dodge everything, sure, but the first time I got drilled by a Tranmizer crossfire and lived with 5 health I was glad I had my 9*+10 armors.

Did you even read what I said in my post? Most likely not but as I stated it isn't the unit itself but the abilities that add the R atk, since I was lucky to get vol armor units with some R atk abilities (and through some transfering of abilities from dudu) then those units in fact are much better than if I had not picked up r def and gone rest in ability instead. So yeah just saying they were +10 didn't mean that's why I got r atk from them. Please read more carefully before responding in such a manner.

[RocSage]

One of the reasons I'm considering this is the new classes and the fact that it is a pain to make a pure mag.

I have 5 mags right now.
LV 150 Cygnus - 74S-ATK/ 75ABL/ 1R-DEF
LV 103 Crux - 34S-ATK/ 34R-ATK/ 35ABL (thinking about adding 16S-DEF/16R-DEF/15ABL)
LV 50? future Carina - Balanced S-ATK and T-ATK, will have higher Striking when I evolve it
Lv 40? future Cepheus - all R-ATK
Lv 40? future Monoceros - All T-ATK

I can't help but feel that some DEF and/or ABL would be good for the Carina, and DEF would be good for the Monoceros, while Cepheus could probably use some ABL and forget the DEF because I don't get hit as a Ranger unless i'm being stupid.


As far as when you can't dodge. There is a delay where you can't dodge or more in general and you are vulnerable. So if you are facing more than one thing and dodge wrong you are screwed. Likewise there is always the blindsided thing that has been mentioned. I have literally been taken out from full health and not seen who or what did it, even after dying and scanning the area. It was probably a Spargun, but I don't know for certain. There is also the times when you just aren't feeling well, are distracted, are tired, or any other number of things that can keep you from being optimal.

So far the argument is "kill faster that way less chances to hit" which ignores the point that +20 dmg isn't going to make the different 99.99999% of the time and that seems to be the difference in attack power we are talking about by adding more ATK where as DEF it seems that the DEF mitigates an amount that makes a whole heap of difference when you are playing sub-optimal or sub-perfect which, for most people, is most of the time.

On top of that defense also might be more economically intelligent if you aren't a force because less damage = less healing and/or faster healing = less buying of mates/deaths

Did you even read what I said in my post? Most likely not but as I stated it isn't the unit itself but the abilities that add the R atk, since I was lucky to get vol armor units with some R atk abilities (and through some transfering of abilities from dudu) then those units in fact are much better than if I had not picked up r def and gone rest in ability instead. So yeah just saying they were +10 didn't mean that's why I got r atk from them. Please read more carefully before responding in such a manner.

What you're saying is you would prefer 3 units with 124 DEF (the best unit i can equip with no DEF MAG stuff grinded to +10) and Mutation II (40HP) and Stamina V (60HP) which would give a total of +300HP, than get 3 +217 DEF by adding +20 (i think that's the number for me) DEF to your MAG. In other words you think 300 HP is better than 260 DEF, but that also misses the fact that you can add that +300 HP to those units so you can have both... if you're lucky and rich.

[Coatl]

But really even when they raise the level cap, they WILL include new gear that also needs more ATK/DEF than you can have without a mag/skills.

This...
What is the point of waiting?

By the time you are able to equip the rares you can't now, you'll still be taking heavy damage from the enemies your level.

You will still be as fragile as wet paper.

[Dinosaur]

I feel that raising defense on MAGs is only important for Hunters. Hunter naturally puts itself into dangerous positions so taking hits is part of the job. That is, unless you're super god-like and Just Guard and Step EVERYTHING.

As for the other classes, it's not as important unless you find yourself actually getting hit(which can because of different playstyles). Force can easily avoid everything in the game as well as fight from great distances. Ranger is a mid-range fighter and will get personal with enemies from time to time. Ranger also has a vulnerable moments such as launcher use and dodge recovery frames. If you're not careful, getting R-Def for stronger units on RA might be a good idea.

[MelancholyWitch]

What you're saying is you would prefer 3 units with 124 DEF (the best unit i can equip with no DEF MAG stuff grinded to +10) and Mutation II (40HP) and Stamina V (60HP) which would give a total of +300HP, than get 3 +217 DEF by adding +20 (i think that's the number for me) DEF to your MAG. In other words you think 300 HP is better than 260 DEF, but that also misses the fact that you can add that +300 HP to those units so you can have both... if you're lucky and rich.

No what I'm saying is I'd prefer the units I have simply because of the abilities on them, not really the unit itself, it being +10 was just a bonus and since it is 8 stars it's not difficult at all to do that.

[Sigmund]

Did you even read what I said in my post? Most likely not but as I stated it isn't the unit itself but the abilities that add the R atk, since I was lucky to get vol armor units with some R atk abilities (and through some transfering of abilities from dudu) then those units in fact are much better than if I had not picked up r def and gone rest in ability instead. So yeah just saying they were +10 didn't mean that's why I got r atk from them. Please read more carefully before responding in such a manner.

Wow, there's nothing wrong in the way JeyKama responded. He actually attempted to decipher your attempt at English. I personally have no clue of what you are trying to say. You should be the one watching your attitude, good sir.