Do Shields Count as Healing, Damage Taken, or Neither?

Discussion in 'War Room (Powers, Artifacts, & Builds)' started by ForkDance, Feb 6, 2022.

  1. Plowed In Loyal Player

    Last part, lol. I followed that to the other post…Earth pet build with dual pistols in tank role…not surprised a kick occurred. :)
    • Like x 1
  2. Dogico Loyal Player

    I've been tanking on and off for 10 years, haven't been kicked as a tank since my early days playing. If you're getting kicked it's because of your playstyle, not because anyone has a problem with you doing damage. My battle tank is always doing great damage in content and I only ever get people telling me I'm doing a great job, so my guess is you were ignoring mechanics, missing aggro on adds, or had poor positioning.
    • Like x 5
  3. Max Maximus Well-Known Player

    Simple as that: each one has its role in the game. If you are not fulfilling your role change roles or leave or you will be removed.

    Many want to do the same as dsp without being in the dsp role.
  4. ForkDance New Player

    I was tanking, in tank role. Can't remember which raid, specifically. Tbh, during the bossfight I missed a single pull because the adds were on the other side of the boss, within which time the dominoes began to fall, as it were. I was messing around with a different build, using Earthen Grip and Striking stones. I was also using Brick when normally I run Crystal, so it was the case that the group kicked two tanks. I mean, there was no reasonable defense for the group kicking me, other than spite. Thanks for the support, Catsplays. Pretty sure my 5 pets; Quizz, Grim, Vampire Bat, Brick, and Rifle Accomplice were lifting harder than some players on the team, lol.

    Each player should have a means of surviving for a few seconds, since we can't always be mechanically perfect. I'll admit I was experimenting with a different setup, using a midrage loadout instead of melee. It might have 'looked' like I wasn't tanking. I only mention dps #'s to give evidence that the build is strong, it's not necessarily that I'm chasing damage numbers.

    My normal loadout: jackhammer - HLS - Reinforce - Debris Field - Crystal - Pheromone Bloom. Arts are Trans, Quiz, and Grim. I use prec Adaptive augs and might Origin augs. The build's very effective (I have many toons to compare/contrast with); I top dmg consistently simply because I'm either doing AOE with jackhammer or using pistol's Full Auto. Even while having most damage, I will be towards the bottom of the group's 'damage taken' numbers. I either always have HLS up, am blocking, or have my enemies CC'd with the knockdown from jackhammer or the knockback from Full Auto.

    It's interesting that the damage absorbed from shields isn't tabulated. Running a dual shield spec at low level on my elec toon, so I feel a 0 dmg taken run may be possible. :)
  5. ForkDance New Player

    Just in case anyone wants to point out pistols being a strange choice for tank. I'll agree, with the caveat that they're really excellent for mobility. One button full range dash attack, plus tap and hold for both lunge forward and flip away. Magnum Burst is great ST and Full Auto almost competes with jackhammer dps on groups, plus has knockback CC. I kinda made the build to be a one-button wonder, but I'm too tryhard to just stand there holding one button, lol.
  6. xxHELLSTROKExx Loyal Player

    From the sounds of your build, it sounds like the troll or possibly even the healer had more dominance than you. You could never run like that with my buff troll, he would probably double your dom stat. I’d honestly be surprised if you have the minimum dom necessary with that build for regular content.
  7. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    There is no such thing as a "mid-range" tank build. Tanks are either melee or 'kiting'. Crystal is not part of any tank build for Earth, Earth has two options: Brick or Aftershock. It "looked like you weren't tanking" because you were quite factually not tanking. They didn't kick you out of spite, they kicked you because your build is wrong from top to bottom. Wrong loadouts. Wrong artifacts. Wrong augments. Wrong mentality. As a tank you are the opposite of effective. I would highly suggest you learn how to tank properly before attempting a battle build or get used to looking at loading screens.
    • Like x 3
  8. xxHELLSTROKExx Loyal Player

    I read your 1st response yesterday and was like dang Lorax is hangry. Now I’m like crap, dual pistols and a completely non tank built tank? I’d have kicked too. Sorry OP but you deserved the kick. Just dps, let a tank tank.
    • Like x 1
  9. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    I was really trying to give the OP the benefit of a doubt but alas.
    [IMG]
    • Like x 3
  10. Plowed In Loyal Player

    Yeah, sorry, but you’re all over the place. If you’re only running 1 shield (HL shield) and you’re low on damage taken, you probably aren’t even hitting the dominance requirements for content. You’re basically dps-ing in tank role. People will expect you to gather up the ads and hold them in place, only moving if you need to kite. Sounds fine for solo content, but you’re swimming upstream when it comes to group content. It’s ok to go out of your lane a little, but everything about what you’re saying says “dps.”
  11. xxHELLSTROKExx Loyal Player

    Wait, pheromone bloom without EoG? Does that do anything? Heals i always figured would be too weak to use without eye
    • Like x 1
  12. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    Heals a squishy Earth DPS.
    • Like x 1
  13. DeitySupreme Steadfast Player

    There’s the issue. You were not a tank. You are a dps in tank role. Just because you have the tank role over your name doesn’t make you a tank. In you “normal” build you said you normally run jackhammer, HLS, reinforce, debris, crystal, and pheromone bloom. That’s not a tank build at all. You are using crystal which is to dps and even that needs fortify. You are running reinforce which is a dps weapon buff but using jackhammer which is used to aftershock tank or dps. You are using debris to to deal damage. That is a terrible build. You are a tank and the most fundamental job is to pull yet you have not a single pull? No earthen grip or epicenter. And to experiment you ran grip and shrinking stone. Stones being another dps ability. And you finally added brick but won’t add fortify to keep your brick healed? Even your artifacts are for dps.

    Yet you say they had no reason to kick you other than spite? No you are wrong. Other players shouldn’t have to try and survive while you try to dps. You are supposed to pull the adds off of them. That is your basic job as a tank. If dps have to survive “for a few seconds” tha you have failed the group as a tank and did deserve to get kicked.
    • Like x 3
  14. ClowninAround Well-Known Player

    Reading the setup that the OP runs hurt my soul. Could you please let us know the name of your tank so I can avoid getting stuck in a run with it please? I'm not a fan of kicking people from a raid, but I fear I would have to.
  15. TheLorax 15000 Post Club



    Very solid information and pointers.
    • Like x 1
  16. ForkDance New Player

    Well, thanks for answering the question. I don't need any more 'help'. thanks.

    A few wrong assumptions. I don't spec out of dominance, intentionally. As I'm still gearing up to 333, I pretty much pick whatever has the + next to the rarest color gear. I run reinforce to amp Full Auto dmg, because I can cast Debris Field, Reinforce, and HLS with one animation.

    I'm just asking for clarification as to how a certain game mechanic operates. I'm not asking for ppl to pick me apart for taking the time to ask. Telling me to run a cookie cutter build isn't required, plus you're intentionally failing to grasp what is put right in front of you but not implicitly stated:

    If I'm doing top dps numbers from tank role and using wide aoe dmg (jackhammer and pistol full auto), then i'm pulling all aggro and all enemies are automatically aggroed to me.

    You're henpecking me for being an above average player that already peruses the forums to glean what I can from them, but not being a day #1 player that follows a youtube guide. Come on. I stream on Twitch as DolphinPrime, and no viewers have told me I'm terrible, yet. lol.
  17. ForkDance New Player

    I'll probably swap reinforce out for the aoe pull earth has, at least for 8 player instances. Idk, it's just not as good as atomic's, and I've never had to run a pull on my Ice tank, because it has so much AoE. Didn't mean to sound ungrateful, you guys have some kinda hardline opinions on this game. That's fair to say.
  18. ForkDance New Player

    The healing's decent, really. Up-front burst Heal and dmg with a DoT applied. Would work well with my pet arts if I had them leveled up that far. I found the artifact to give me the Godwave Strength ability as a loot drop but have no Idea how I'd fit it on the skillbar, likewise with EoG. Without bloom, I'd have to run Soothing Sands for some kind of heal. A self-heal is really useful sometimes.

    I'm a newer player, and have many characters so my arts and SP are pretty bad. I have had to switch arts on several chars which has put me even farther behind. To use EoG I'd have to swap out a 85 Trans card, which I'm already thinking should be a defensive art. I do find later content pretty difficult. Tier 5+ is tough.

    I believe the instance I was kicked from was a tier 4. In an 8-player, u know the ones where in a pub there's usually 1 or 2 players just kinda standing in the back idling most of the time? I mean, to justify kicking someone who isn't outright afk or trolling in a pub, tier 4, because of one wipe on the back of one mis-positioned ability, wasting an hour of my time when I had already carried the team to the end of the raid? It was a freak occurrence based on mis-perception (I play a lot and never got kicked before), created by what is wrong number generation in the end game stats.

    If they somehow got a more competent player in tank role to help them finish the instance in my place, it would have been a 1:1,000 miracle. The group disbanded because they kicked the mvp. I didn't have to be there to know what happened, after. They destroyed their only chances of finishing the raid and literally any other player than me would have been a better choice to kick.

    Regardless, my character is still receiving the damage being absorbed by a shield. That is damage that otherwise would be directed at another target. It is a mistake in the way the game tabulates 'damage received' numbers to not have that damage that my character received, that was absorbed by their shield, counted. You're working awfully hard to justify extremely bad player etiquette and what is simply a mistake in the game's coding, and the way numbers are calculated.
  19. Tilz Loyal Player


    That is simply wrong. People called you out, because of your loadout, spec and playstyle.

    Those loadouts and the playstyle is simple bad and not really effective. Not as tank, not as dps and not as battletank (which you kind of try to perform).

    Earth has 2 mechanics as tank (you can only use one though)

    1. Brick
    -> Keep your Brick alive, pull adds towards you and you can spam Jackhammer for damage.

    You might get ranged aggro. But adds can still attack you across the room while hitting other players. And thats on you then.
    Also clumping all up together helps the group to burn down stuff faster and quicker.

    FULL AUTO PISTOLSPAM IS AWEFULL

    2. Aftershock
    -> Using Jackhammer to build up the aftershocks to mitigate incoming damage. This method is more "free" regarding a loadout.


    Gemstone Shield is one of the best shields in the game

    Scoreboard as tank is the most useless stuff. It just doesn't matter.

    If you want to battletank go with jackhammer.

    You might be "able" to go through clamped content and getting carried, but once you start those tanking "skills" in endgame content (not talking about elite :D ) you are lost.
    • Like x 2
  20. TheLorax 15000 Post Club

    Again top DPS numbers in tank role does not net you aggro. Using weapon attacks in tank role does not net you aggro. Only using a superpower in tank role while in close range nets you aggro. That's why tanks need pulls to position enemies closer to them. Constantly using Dual Pistols to launch yourself away from the enemy is bad.

    I just hopped on one of your streams. You're not an above average player. You need to learn how to tank properly or just be a DPS.
    • Like x 1