Unit Stats
- Thread starter Provin915
- Start date
In the PvE section, Aryz has a huge number of guides and spreadsheets as to what gear you should aim for.
Because of how end-game quests are currently designed, Bonus Damage Protection is the strongest defensive stat there is. Thus, the best armor pieces for units tend to have the max amount of Bonus Damage Protection.
Because of how end-game quests are currently designed, Bonus Damage Protection is the strongest defensive stat there is. Thus, the best armor pieces for units tend to have the max amount of Bonus Damage Protection.
Going a bit more into detail on the various stats...
Armor - Crush, Pierce, Melee-Infantry, Melee-Cavalry - Each unit has 1 of 4 different damage types. Most Infantry have Melee-Infantry damage, most Ranged deal Pierce, most Cavalry units deal Melee-Cavalry, and most Siege deals Crush.
Armor reduces the damage of that specific type by a percentage. If you have .5 Crush Armor (Almost all Cavalry units), then you take 50% less damage from Crush damage.
Bonus Damage Protection is somewhat different - A good number of units deal bonus damage to specific units. Spearman, for instance, deal 2x-4x more damage against Cavalry compared to other units. Bonus Damage Protection reduces the amount of bonus damage you take. As an example, if a Spearman deals 10 damage normally, and 10 bonus damage against Cavalry, then 20% bonus damage protection will reduce ONLY the bonus damage dealt by 20% - Thus, stated Spearman will instead deal 18 damage to a Cavalry with 20% bonus damage protection.
The reason why Bonus Damage Protection is so strong is because high-end quests tend to have enemy units with a 5x bonus to everything, and a 8-10x bonus against whatever it is you are strong at. So Bonus Damage Protection winds up being a blank damage reduction against everything, this is why Norse's Adaptation Milestone is a must for all 6 civs.
There is also a more rare and unique armor type, Splash Damage Reduction. Any unit with AoE damage - Most siege, most boats, Berserkers, Elephants, and Champions - have their damage counted as Splash damage, which deals damage to all nearby units based on the area of the AoE and distance from the initial hit. Splash Damage Reduction reduces that damage by the %age. It generally isn't considered a very strong stat due to both how niche it is, as well as how little of it you find on gear.
Armor - Crush, Pierce, Melee-Infantry, Melee-Cavalry - Each unit has 1 of 4 different damage types. Most Infantry have Melee-Infantry damage, most Ranged deal Pierce, most Cavalry units deal Melee-Cavalry, and most Siege deals Crush.
Armor reduces the damage of that specific type by a percentage. If you have .5 Crush Armor (Almost all Cavalry units), then you take 50% less damage from Crush damage.
Bonus Damage Protection is somewhat different - A good number of units deal bonus damage to specific units. Spearman, for instance, deal 2x-4x more damage against Cavalry compared to other units. Bonus Damage Protection reduces the amount of bonus damage you take. As an example, if a Spearman deals 10 damage normally, and 10 bonus damage against Cavalry, then 20% bonus damage protection will reduce ONLY the bonus damage dealt by 20% - Thus, stated Spearman will instead deal 18 damage to a Cavalry with 20% bonus damage protection.
The reason why Bonus Damage Protection is so strong is because high-end quests tend to have enemy units with a 5x bonus to everything, and a 8-10x bonus against whatever it is you are strong at. So Bonus Damage Protection winds up being a blank damage reduction against everything, this is why Norse's Adaptation Milestone is a must for all 6 civs.
There is also a more rare and unique armor type, Splash Damage Reduction. Any unit with AoE damage - Most siege, most boats, Berserkers, Elephants, and Champions - have their damage counted as Splash damage, which deals damage to all nearby units based on the area of the AoE and distance from the initial hit. Splash Damage Reduction reduces that damage by the %age. It generally isn't considered a very strong stat due to both how niche it is, as well as how little of it you find on gear.
Thank you. I was looking for an answer like this. Whether I should prioritise bonus damage protection -> crush/pierce armor or other stats.
Very solid explanation as well. I'm pretty much well informed regarding this topic now thanks to you guys. Cheers!
Hah, So I'm going to go into even more detail
The question of Bonus Damage Protection vs Specific Armor types comes down to what you intend for units to do. An excellent example is the Babylon Shield Bearer unit - This guy isn't good at anything else besides soaking up range damage. He has no infantry armor, no cavalry armor, and only the standard amount of infantry crush armor. However, he has a LOT of Pierce Armor, and his Champion upgrade gives him even more Pierce armor. So in his case, rather then getting Bonus Damage Protection gear, it makes better sense to get him Pierce Armor gear, such as what we would find here
This maximizes his Pierce Armor significantly, with the end result being that he can take 4600 worth of Pierce Damage compared to most other units. If you were to go the expensive route and give him a Zahhak Spear as well as the Ice King's Grieves, a single Shieldbearer can tank 2-3 Forts without any issue for prolonged periods of time. Or just sit there and let Archer generals wail on him.
On the other hand, with units that compromise the bulk of your army, such as the Norse Berserkers, they will take damage from a wide variety of sources - Infantry, Cavalry, Pierce, and Crush. Because of that, it's much more cost effective to equip Berserkers with the Tunic of Actaeon.
There is also effective. Cavalry, for instance, are already good at getting up close with Siege units and dismantling them - Between a high health-pool, high movement speed, AND natural 50% crush armor, Cavalry don't really need any help against Siege, so it's kinda silly to equip them with Light Armor that gives high Crush and Splash resistance. On the other hand, if you are up against Persia, the only unit that can give your cavalry trouble there are the Persian Spearman, so you can equip Ra on Asabara or Raiders to get the best of both worlds - Both units are effective against range with natural pierce armor, so equipping them in a way that makes them extremely tanky against Infantry will allow you to have Cavalry soaking team while your Bowman rain damage from behind.
But yea, in most cases, Ranged units get maximized Damage armor, and Melee units get maximized Bonus Damage Protection. Feel free to experiment.
The question of Bonus Damage Protection vs Specific Armor types comes down to what you intend for units to do. An excellent example is the Babylon Shield Bearer unit - This guy isn't good at anything else besides soaking up range damage. He has no infantry armor, no cavalry armor, and only the standard amount of infantry crush armor. However, he has a LOT of Pierce Armor, and his Champion upgrade gives him even more Pierce armor. So in his case, rather then getting Bonus Damage Protection gear, it makes better sense to get him Pierce Armor gear, such as what we would find here
This maximizes his Pierce Armor significantly, with the end result being that he can take 4600 worth of Pierce Damage compared to most other units. If you were to go the expensive route and give him a Zahhak Spear as well as the Ice King's Grieves, a single Shieldbearer can tank 2-3 Forts without any issue for prolonged periods of time. Or just sit there and let Archer generals wail on him.
On the other hand, with units that compromise the bulk of your army, such as the Norse Berserkers, they will take damage from a wide variety of sources - Infantry, Cavalry, Pierce, and Crush. Because of that, it's much more cost effective to equip Berserkers with the Tunic of Actaeon.
There is also effective. Cavalry, for instance, are already good at getting up close with Siege units and dismantling them - Between a high health-pool, high movement speed, AND natural 50% crush armor, Cavalry don't really need any help against Siege, so it's kinda silly to equip them with Light Armor that gives high Crush and Splash resistance. On the other hand, if you are up against Persia, the only unit that can give your cavalry trouble there are the Persian Spearman, so you can equip Ra on Asabara or Raiders to get the best of both worlds - Both units are effective against range with natural pierce armor, so equipping them in a way that makes them extremely tanky against Infantry will allow you to have Cavalry soaking team while your Bowman rain damage from behind.
But yea, in most cases, Ranged units get maximized Damage armor, and Melee units get maximized Bonus Damage Protection. Feel free to experiment.
Great extensive explanation. Stacking crush or pierce armor on certain units can be incredibly strong yes, but overall bonus damage protection just peaks out.