A Guide to Everything Earth

Combat log shows Jackhammer and Gemstone Shield (aside from GS cast from tray) working perfectly fine.



Also, it helps to not think of GS "stacking" with Jackhammer's absorption. GS's absorption refers only to shield strength and operates independent of absorption you get from Jackhammer or Brick. I see people try to combine the two numbers all the time when really they shouldn't.

As far as blocking absorbing 100% of the damage, the only thing I could think of would be your counter immunity shield is absorbing damage.

Sorry. Don't mean to be a pain here. But at like 50-52 seconds into your video you hit jackhammer and follow it with gemstone shield -- I don't think you aftershock gemstone shield -- and GS has no effect at all except for (I'm guessing) the home turf healing mod that causes it to heal you. You're still absorbing 50%, attributed to jackhammer in the log. You're still taking the same damage you would have with just jackhammer, even though I can still see the single ring around you. Seems completely broken to me.

Maybe I just don't understand it. Later in the video it looks like the shield degrades over time. Towards the end you clearly aftershock it up, but then after a few hits it only seems to be absorbing 50%.

You don't understand cause it's confusing and doesn't make sense...

Even the de so font think understand it heck lace dog had to explain it to a dev...

So if you just go from the tray the shield is useless it won't last past a hit or 2 it must be aftershocked to get full use outta it ... Depending on how much you aftershock it depends on how much damage it can absorb before busting... But if I remember right and dogi can clarify this if you fully aftershock it its nit as good then if you only do three after shocks

Yeah, that's the Gemstone Shield bug I mentioned earlier. When you cast Gemstone Shield and don't aftershock it, the shield breaks almost immediately. However, when aftershocked 1-3 times the shield works fine.

First time I cast GS I aftershock 3 times, meaning shield absorbs 100% of incoming damage until resto+dom is met. Shield runs for entire duration (12 seconds).

Second time I cast GS I don't aftershock, meaning shield should absorb 50% of incoming damage until resto+dom is met. Shield absorbs no damage.

Third time I cast GS I aftershock 1 time, meaning shield absorbs 67% of incoming damage until resto+dom is met. Shield runs for entire duration (12 seconds).

Goofed on fourth time and aftershocked GS 3 times again. Notice that shield runs for full 12 seconds.

Fifth time I cast GS I aftershock 2 times, meaning shield absorbs 83% of incoming damage until resto+dom is met. Shield runs for entire duration (12 seconds).

In retrospect I should have gone from 0 aftershocks to 3 aftershocks to make the video smoother. Really the only time you will notice Gemstone Shield not working for you is when A) you don't aftershock it by choice and B) you are knocked out of the aftershock animation due to crowd control effects. Hope this helped to clear it up.

Well, the shield is going to absorb resto+dom whether you aftershock it once or three times. The reason it's almost always a better idea to aftershock just once or twice (preferably once) vs three times is because the shield lasts the longest this way.

This is also why GS needs to get fixed. Technically, the best way to use the shield is to cast it from tray without aftershocking. Unfortunately we are unable to do that.

Thanks so much for taking the time to make this video, and to post it.

I see all the cases that you mention. There's definitely something not right here. Consider this: In the case where you get it to 66%, if you had brick out, GS would absorb 66% damage and then 30% of the remainder would be transferred to the brick. But because you're using aftershocks GS is just overwriting your aftershocks, not adding to it.

I think that may be the actual bug: I think GS is just not stacking with aftershocks. When you cast it, but don't aftershock, it should be 50%, but it seems to absorb no damage. What I think is actually happening is it's trying to give you 50% absorption but since you already have that (from jackhammer) it does nothing. It doesn't seem to break right away in the video, it just doesn't add anything to your defense.

Defense, then absorption, then shields. Ice wouldn't work as a tank if damage went through shields before defense/absorption.

I guarantee that if you closely look at the numbers you'll see the only thing wrong with Gemstone is when it's not aftershocked.

I understand that. So if our excellent Earth tank is hit for 1000 damage, roughly 500 of that damage is going to be absorbed by their defense (which doesn't show up in the combat log). Of the remaining 500 damage:
With brick out:

• 125 damage is absorbed (25%)
• 125 is transferred to brick (33% of the remaining 375)
• Our excellent tank takes 250 damage.

With brick and aftersocked GS

• 330 damage is absorbed (66%)
• 56 is transferred to brick (33% of the remaining 170)
• Our happy tank takes only 114 damage.

With Aftershocks:

• 250 is absorbed (50%)
• Our tank takes 250 damage.

With Aftershocks and GS aftershocked

• 330 damage is absorbed (66%)
• Our tank takes 170 damage.

The part that had me confused was how GS stacks (if it stacks) with aftershocks. What (I think) you're saying is that with the aftershock case GS lasts longer, because even though it doesn't show up in the combat log, more damage is absorbed before it gets applied against the shield. I'll have to run more tests-- in most of my tests (All but 1 that I can see) GS times out before actually breaking. If it actually stacks that way then under heavy attack I should see GS absorb ~30%-100% more damage than my combined DOM + RESTORATION.

Anyone else have an issue with crystals health and power bar disapearing?

That's been a problem for all pets for a long time.

Ty remander

These are good questions because Gemstone Shield works differently than any other shield in the game so how it works can be confusing. It used to confuse me too. I'm just going to write the main points when talking about GS.

Gemstone's absorption does not stack with Brick or Aftershock absorption. GS's shield absorption refers only to how much incoming damage the shield absorbs.

The reason I tell people to aftershock only one time vs three times is because the shield will last longer that way. Because less damage is absorbed by the shield when aftershocked once vs three times, it will take longer for damage equal to dom+resto to be reached. As an example, pretend a tank's dom+resto is 5000. An enemy hits the tank for five hits of 1000 each (5000 total). If Gemstone Shield was aftershocked 3 times, the shield would absorb 100% of damage, which in this case would be 5000 damage. Because that amount is equal to the tank's dom+resto, the shield breaks. If that same tank had only aftershocked GS once, the shield would absorb 67% of damage, which in this case would be 3350 damage. Because that amount is less than the tank's dom+resto, the shield doesn't break (it can take another 1650 damage).

The combat log for Jackhammer/Upheaval is pretty straightforward.

-Dogico's Jackhammer absorbed 56
-Space Commander Luthor's melee attack damaged Dogico for 56

50% absorbed, 50% damage taken. With Gemstone Shield aftershocked once (67% absorption)-

-Dogico's Gemstone Shield absorbed 67
-Space Commander Luthor's melee attack damaged Dogico for 33

Gemstone isn't "overwriting" aftershock absorption, it's working exactly as intended. In this scenario the shield is supposed to absorb 67% of incoming damage.

The combat log can be confusing when using Brick, so in this case it helps to look at red/grey numbers on the screen as well as the combat log. For instance, this is how a typical combat log will look when using Brick.

-Dogico's Innate Power absorbed 8
-Dogico transferred 8 damage to someone else
-General Lex Luthor's Bullet Storm damaged Dogico for 17
-Dogico transferred General Lex Luthor's Bullet Storm damaged Dogico for 8 to Brick

If we were to take the combat logs' word as Gospel, Brick would have taken 16 damage in the above example. The red and grey numbers on the screen, however, show he is only taking 8 damage. Basically it repeats that damage was transferred to Brick twice. Also note - while this isn't the best example - Brick tanking still isn't exactly 50% absorption. It's closer to 48.5-49%. This is what the combat log looks like when using Gemstone aftershocked once (67% absorption).

-Dogico's Gemstone absorbed 20
-Dogico transferred 3 damage to someone else
-General Lex Luthor's Bullet storm damaged Dogico for 7
-Dogico transferred General Lex Luthor's Bullet Storm damaged Dogico for 3 to Brick

So I noticed a minor discrepancy, in that aftershocking Gemstone Shield with Brick results in slightly higher damage absorption than should be happening. One aftershock should be 67%, but it seems to be 71-74%, two aftershocks should be 83% but seems to be 86-88%. This would mean that two Earth tanks could both be using Gemstone Shield to mitigate damage from the same attack, but if one is using Brick and the other is using aftershocks then the shield of the tank using Brick would break first. I'm guessing the reason for Gemstone being slightly off is because when they changed damage transferred to brick from 25% to 33% damage that the devs never corrected to work with the shield. Just a guess though, would need more numbers to confirm. When I saw the numbers I assumed, like you did, that Brick was having more damage transferred to him with Gemstone Shield out. Such is not the case, as he is taking less damage than he should.




The TL;DR version is Gemstone doesn't stack with either forms of Earth tanking, aftershocking Gemstone is better the less you do it (1 aftershock is better than 2 aftershocks is better than 3 aftershocks), GS and aftershocks are working completely fine, GS is absorbing slightly more damage than it should with Brick, Brick and user will be fine because of this but GS will break a bit sooner relative to an aftershock tank.

Jackhammer:
1000 damage - 500 jackhammer absorption = 500 damage taken

Brick:
1000 damage - 250 innate absorption = 750 - 250 transference 33 pct = 500 damage taken

Jackhammer with 67% gemstone:
1000 damage - 500 jackhammer absorption = 500 - 337 gemstone 67 pct = 165 damage taken

Brick with 67% gemstone:
1000 damage - 250 innate absorption = 750 - 502 gemstone 67 pct rounded down = 248 - 82 transference 33 pct rounded down = 166 damage taken

Gemstone is taking more damage when used with brick but for the same results. This assumes that the tank is taking the damage from an npc of equal Cr.

There's no need to re-explain brick tanking. It's quite clear from the combat log:

This attack hits for 401 damage (100+202+99=401). 25% of the 401 gets absorbed (100). Of the 301 remaining, about 1/3 gets transferred to brick (99).

Here's a gemstone shield example:

Here the total is a bit smaller (312+44+21=377). This time Gemstone Shield has been aftershocked a couple of times and is absorbing 83% of 377. Then brick is soaking up 1/3 (21) of the 65 remaining.

With Brick, at least, it seems clear that Gemstone Shield is just increasing the total absorption. It's absorbing 83%, not 66% after 25% or anything like that.

With Aftershocks it seems to work the same at least as far as % damage absorbed. I'm not sure how the damage is counted against Gemstone Shield. It doesn't seem to want to break running patrol catastrophe at CR105 / 3000 DOM / 4400 RESTO. One time it seemed to take more than 7400 damage.


EDIT: Just as an afterthought, I thought it would be funny to mention that all this work with Earth Tanks came out of example I was putting together for the Trailblazing Guide.

In the second combat log with GS active, I don't see the 25% innate absorption which should be there after activating any power.
Is it being combined with the GS absorption to equate to 83%?

Gemstone replaces the line of text that jackhammer or innate power would use in the combat log. Jackhammer or innate power is still applied independently and before gemstone.

I'm stupid. Your numbers are right, and I goofed on mine in regards to Brick+Gemstone. I was looking at the damage in for the player to determine how much damage GS is absorbing, instead of looking at damage in for player and Brick. Just because I want anyone to be able to correct me when I'm wrong, here are some more (small) numbers with Brick and Gemstone Shield.



Basically, what I'm seeing is that Gemstone is working as intended when aftershocked 1-3 times for both Brick and aftershock tanking. It is absorbing between 67-100% of damage in for both styles of Earth tank. However, the effective absorption (actual absorption hasn't changed, just effective absorption) is slightly better with Brick tanking (holy **** pet tanking is better than aftershock tanking for once). With Jackhammer/Upheaval the innate absorption is 50%. This is applied before Gemstone Shield but is replaced by Gemstone Shield in the combat log. With Brick tanking the 25% innate absorption goes through before GS but is replaced by GS in the combat log and then 33% of that damage is transferred to Brick (repeating this more for my own clarification than to explain to you). Initially I thought GS was taking more damage with Brick than aftershocks, but GS is taking the same amount of damage regardless of tanking method. It's the fact that damage transferred to Brick is done after GS absorbs damage that gives Brick tanking an edge here. Pretty significant edge, too. I'm not sure if this is a bug though.

Gemstone Shield still isn't stacking with either method of tanking but because of the way Brick tanking works it does offer more effective absorption with Brick than aftershocks. So without GS aftershock tanking is better by about 1-1.5%, but with GS Brick tanking is better by about 33% for between 3-36 seconds every minute.

Gemstone is just taking more damage while brick tanking because it is only really brick that is benefiting from gemstone in the long run in how the shield is applied.

So 377×0.83=312.91

312.91 is rounded down to the 312 that you see being sent into the gemstone. With 3000 dom + 4400 restoration the shield has a damage prevention cap of 7400. The gemstone after taking 312 damage has 7088 damage prevention left before it busts.

What you are missing even though it becomes hidden is the innate absorption that is applied before gemstone.

To find what is being absorbed before gemstone we must multiply what shows in the combat log by 1.25. Since everything rounds down we will use 377.99 in our highest possible equation while 377 is the lowest.

377.99×1.25=472.4875 is our highest possible damage received before innate absorption.

377×1.25=471.25 is our lowest possible damage received before innate absorption.

Since 471.25 is the lowest we can have and 472.4875 is the highest we can have while still maintaining 377 damage visible in the log we have but one possible whole number that is 472.

472 damage is actually what you are being hit with.

We will now use this number againist jackhammer with an 83% gemstone.

472×0.5=236 jackhammer absorption

236×0.83=195.88 then rounded down is 195 gemstone absorption. With the damage prevention cap of 7400, this shield has 7205 damage prevention left before this shield breaks.

236-195=41 damage taken to the tank.

So the combat log for jackhammer will look like:
LT Tank's Gemstone Shield absorbed 195
Envenomed Street Soldier's Melee Attack damaged LT Tank 41 damage

Combat log for brick:
LT Tank's Gemstone Shield absorbed 312
Envenomed Street Soldier's Melee Attack damaged LT Tank for 44
LT Tank Transferred Envenomed Street Soldier's Melee Attack for 21 to Brick

What happened was jackhammer is softening the blow to gemstone. With dom+restoration cap of 7,400 for this gemstone, what we see is that th gemstone from brick tanking has 7,088 damage prevention remaining which is lower then the 7,205 damage prevention remaining for using jackhammer tanking.

7205-7088=177 damage prevention difference

7205÷7400=0.9736486486486486
7088÷7400=0.9578378378378378

0.9736486486486486-0.9578378378378378=0.0158108108108108 or 1.6% shield prevention difference remaining

Hopefully it looks clear now. This was a pain to do with a ps4. Next time im using the computer!

That is the way it seems to me.

Gemstone definitely replaces Jackhammer or Upheaval in the combat log. As for the innate being applied independently before gemstone... I haven't seen this yet. If the damage were being reduced before being applied to the Gemstone shield, the combat log would either show reduced total numbers or it would show Gemstone Shield absorbing more than my Dom + Resto.

EDIT: So I just read your second response. I'll have to check the log to see if the average total damage is different between brick and aftershock tanking-- which would be the case if damage is hidden the way you describe. It will take a little work.

I was testing my earth toon today and while checking the active buffs list, i noticed that jackhammer and gemstone aftershocks were stacking. I always thought one aftershock power would overwrite the other. I'd usually alternate JH and GS to keep my absorption up, but if the absorption do stack I need to incorporate that into my gameplay.

Can someone clarify if this is right?