What’s the point of the second half of the vanguards mitigate ability?


Advice


I can come up with some marginally useful corner cases, but it seems like something you’d never actually use. Presumably, I’m missing something obvious?


Not a fan of using the second bit as I don't like taking damage but I suppose it allows a Vanguard to generate more EP and makes triggering their catalyst ability more likely.

The Exchange

It is going to be mostly corner cases. Primarily needing to lower your DR/Resistance enough to generate EP. Or lowering it because you want a secondary effect to trigger. (If you completely mitigate all damage from an effect by DR or resistance, the secondary effects don't happen.)

Not something most people are going to want to do very often. I'm glad to see it as an option even if most players are rarely going to use it.


To clarify, you are talking about this ability, yes?

Mitigate wrote:
as a swift action, you can remove any DR or energy resistance you have, or the AC benefit of any ability or spell that increases your AC.

And yeah, the only reason I can think of to use that ability is to make sure that you are getting EP when you get hit.

Which feels like something Incineroar would use.


It’s just so specific range and you’ll rarely know if it’s right to use it.

If you don’t take enough, you risk “paying” your DR for no entropy points anyhow. If you take too much you’re going to pay hit points for entropy points you were already going to get.

The energy resistance is slightly better, but still...


Steve Geddes wrote:

It’s just so specific range and you’ll rarely know if it’s right to use it.

If you don’t take enough, you risk “paying” your DR for no entropy points anyhow. If you take too much you’re going to pay hit points for entropy points you were already going to get.

The energy resistance is slightly better, but still...

I'm pretty sure you're near guaranteed to get EP against anything your level or higher when you take a hit as a Vanguard regardless of DR, it's more of a 'I need EP from this Mook on the way to the boss' thing.


Yeah, but thats when you have to judge it right. (You're correct that it's always wrong against a heavy hitter).

A level 5 vanguard with DR5 only benefits if they're hit and take damage precisely in the range 10-14 points. Any lower and they've taken 5 points for no EP. Higher and they've taken 5 points and got the EP they would have got anyway.

Its so precise - you're never going to know if it's right or not (and its usually wrong).


Resistance can be a better option (and as your DR grows the range you have to guess you're about to take grows with it).

I still can't imagine a situation where it's right to use it though. (Barring weird corner cases like being shot by a needler pistol loaded with a healing serum or similar).


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Garretmander wrote:
Steve Geddes wrote:

It’s just so specific range and you’ll rarely know if it’s right to use it.

If you don’t take enough, you risk “paying” your DR for no entropy points anyhow. If you take too much you’re going to pay hit points for entropy points you were already going to get.

The energy resistance is slightly better, but still...

I'm pretty sure you're near guaranteed to get EP against anything your level or higher when you take a hit as a Vanguard regardless of DR, it's more of a 'I need EP from this Mook on the way to the boss' thing.

Agreed.

However, make sure that not everybody is a mook. Otherwise you may run into the problem that you can't gain EP against non-significant encounters.

Also the EP goes away at the end of combat, so the significant enemy has to be in the same battle as the mook.

And if you choose to drop the protections from a spell or other temporary ability, then you can't get it back.

So in all: a very high risk, low reward ability.


I mean, if the encounters aren't significant, they shouldn't be costing the party anything either, or really even need to be rolled out in detail.

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