There are basically four main different schools of thought on sin tanking stat allocation. Shield focus, minor absorb (consistent but can be taxing on healers and no major reducs from shield absorbs) Absorb focus, minor shield (when you shield, you shield BIG, but it doesn't happen often. Spiky but can work with skill. Balanced Shield and Absorb (Middle ground, decent shield rate and decent absorb. healers tend to like this one) Skank tank (toss in crit, more power focused mods, and generate ALL the threat! Leave rest to healers. Less def) Personally, I prefer the balanced method because when we do that, we can have insane amounts of shield still due to the use of Dark Ward, and still have decent absorb. There are a few key things you need to take note of when deciding on which style of sin tank you want to use. They are all from within out spec, but must be accounted for when considering the stats: - Dark Ward (+18% shield chance, 15 stacks) - Bulwark (+10% absorb, gain 1/10 per defended/shielded/avoided attack, reset on Dark Ward use) - Recklessness (+30% absorb for 20s, 1m 30s cd) Tacticals: - Ward of Continuum (+3% defense chance, +5 stacks of Dark Ward, refresh on Dark Ward use) - Tome of Wrath (+2% absorb per target hit by Wither for 5s (wither has a cd of 10s) - Double Cloak (can be used to be very tactical in operation boss fights) Important things to keep track of: - Each of these can compound with each other, turning a squishy tank into an Iron Warden. - Continuum is great for single target encounters - Tome is VERY good for 2+ target encounters (on Ravagers, I have gotten up to 130% absorb on pulls, its amazing) - Absorb from Bulwark and Recklessness stack, and if you have high enough absorb, can nullify enemy attacks - Always, always, always consider dark ward's dual purpose. 18% shield chance on demand, but can leave it after the stacks are gone, to stay with 10% absorb. What you might need changes constantly so keep on your toes. - Know what your shield % chance is when dark ward is off, so you know how much you can gain or lose Personally, I heavily advise the 50/50 or so split, because it is very versatile and adaptable. When using Dark Ward for example, you can easily still maintain a 65% shield chance while retaining around 50% absorb. One thing to keep in mind in regards to absorb though, is that it has a faster gain early in the points than shield, but around 2.5k or so shield and absorb start to have the same gain rates. Going beyond that too heavily in either I believe can lead to reduced survivability but that can all be adjusted for in your own style.

I mean, adding this to the amount of space and lack of guards... Can... Can I just walk right into the control room? I am sure my Quaesitors will be good and keep their stuff going to not be detected, I promise they will be good! /sarcasm

Alright, time to go over the EL's method to its madness before there are further misunderstandings. To clear a few things up: On the stations : The EL formation: Thane Encounters them Alone Scenario: Albaf Zibu'to Xil'Drom

Except it is still low level precog, and the precog lacks any boosters. The reason I brought up the droid brain upgrade, is because it would make that warning kinda pointless, as even though they were warned, it would be operating fast enough to compensate. I mean, lets not kid ourselves, droids are notorious for being harder to sense in-universe which has made them an issue in the past for Jedi. In this situation, your Knights are going against droids designed to face off against Jedi and eliminate them quickly. They also, as I have said before, never work alone. As I mentioned earlier, if they are constantly using force sight they are going to exhaust themselves and not be as effective when it comes time to fight. As for the perk: "Force bond:When Imperial Knights are fighting together they have a small boost to their combat efficiency while working together." A boost to their efficiency when working together, that is good, but doesn't make dodging an opening strike that they don't see easier or looking around with super powered eyes easier. Better as a team when fighting, definitely. Working together to check more area? Definitely. Covering each others flanks? Definitely. I mean, at the core of it, the precog is level one and in the scenario, they are not pushing their power into said ability to boost it, which means that it would be more akin to a weak spider sense. Giving a half second or so of warning, but not showing WHAT the warning is about. Do they have any anti-poison force abilities, training, or etc? (In the past, I have always graded poison and physical damage separately due to how they operate, not sure how K does it. At the very least, would basically be pure willpower to delay it, though, due to the strength of the poison + the cut, would still be lethal.) Except it doesn't work in a super-natural way is what I was trying to explain, and apparently failed at. A guy can be the best martial artist in the world, but even they can be defeated by an amateur when they aren't expecting a fight. Spot good locations to be ambushed from, sure, better at getting defensive positions against them, sure, holding out longer than others during it, sure, but evading a strike that they do not see coming (or if the non force users) can't sense coming... No, just no. As I previously explained, you are really stretching the precog that is at a super low level beyond what it could compensate for. It is the main flaw of your force users, having low precog but pretty good on most other things. Alright, lets go with a quick scenario of where they are able to not be eliminated. 3 Knights v 3 Knights, 1 graze, 1 eliminate, and 1 unharmed for the knights (the represent all 3 outcomes). The eliminated one is out, and would make it 3 v 2 (scenarios like this could happen due to probabilities, chances, and RNG). The 2nd one with the wound would be severely hampered by said poison, but still able to fight with his comrade. They go and fight the droids. Say the droids opt to 'trade blows' which is not something that the Knights would have experience with since, well, who the hell trades blows with a lightsaber?! In that act, the Knights would lose hard. The droid are made of a durasteel/cortosis alloy, meaning, that they cannot be destroyed by a single saber blow, in fact, it would mean they are EXTREMELY resistant to lightsabers in general, as we have seen weapons of such hold up to dozens upon dozens of saber strikes. Say the knights do this exchange, relying on their armor, speed, and lightsaber to come out on top. I would bet money that they would be surprised that the droid would still be standing, and at least one of them would then be struck with a blade. From there, it is compounding. If none of the Knights get out of the fight alive, then they can't warn the other Knights, and the droids can refine their Knight assassination protocols. Ofc, this was a 'fair' scenario numbers wise. In this match... it is NOT going to be fair. Nor are your Knights likely, before the red alert, to be traveling in large groups as they likely will be patrolling the large station. 2-3 max I would say. As for my droids, they would likely be moving in groups of 12, 4 sub-groups of 3. There would be 5 of these hunting parties. Just to cover bases, regarding the Knights other options from the saber: Speed Precog - covered Melee - covered Tk - Low grade, and would make Knight concentrate on one droid, allowing others to strike. Force Persuasion - useless against droids. Melee ++ - saber involved Force Speed+++ -saber involved Lightsaber throw - saber involved Alter damage - Useful, though not known if strong enough to turn the tide at its current level Force wave - buy them a little time, but could easily lead to exhaustion (do remember, they are not characters, but just regular guys, they have the power of a master npc, but still are rather finite compared to characters) Force Jump - Could try to escape, I suppose Force throw - similar issue as TK Tutaminis - Nothing here to absorb Force Body - Double edged sword, but would allow them to continue fighting through poison for a time. Telepathy - useless vs droids Force confusion - useless vs droids Force Repulse - tiring but very useful in 1vx scenarios Mind Trick - useless vs droids Force sight - tiring, but could potentially spot a droid before it strikes Unless your Knights are, without high/red alert, patrolling in groups of 10, so only 10 groups to cover this entire station, then it is unlikely that the initial knights to encounter one of the 5 droid hunting parties are to survive. That said, they could cause issues for the droids, which is when the Quaesitors would switch objectives and go and assassinate them. On High Alert they would likely funnel more into Precog, but that ultimately would NOT help them, as the Quaesitors would, since they then know the enemy are on high alert, funnel more energy into concealment. Which directly counters abilities like precog as they cannot be sensed or perceived by the force (unless the senser is stronger, specific skills, or etc) so the assassination attempts would still have a good chance of success as they work in groups of at least 5. Except Thane trying to confront them solo, is a death wish in this scenario. (Will detail why in another post) As for the basic Knights, their sight range is rather limited since it is only level one. As for spotting Quaesitor with it, did a little more reading on Force Concealment: "You blend in with the universe. Think of it as Force camouflage. The trick is to become so comfortable with it that you can slip into this state of being… dissolved, yet still carry on functioning, fully aware." ―Jacen Solo If Jacen Solo is taken at face value, that would counter Force Sight, though would need a ruling on that by K... All that said, if the station goes to red alert before they can even get close to the command center, they would change their objective to get around such. Combination of Quaesitor drain knowledge, and Xil'Drom frequency monitor would help the learn RF positioning and move to counter it. Ok, and where is this evidence? As far as I recall, in that trial, they only decided to look into XD more, and were not willing to give a statement yet. That said, there shouldn't have been anything on XD's memory or etc that implicated the EL or DU directly in any way thanks to his infiltration skills. (glances at K) We specifically talked about this point... You misunderstood. It is not Thane that I am saying would be having issues. Only, you know, EVERYONE ELSE. Pardon my French, but apart from Thane, all of your units (unless in a sizable number) are fodder for my 3 heroes. To use the big yet more common threat of the Knights as an example: Which leaves literally just Thane, Marr, and MAYBE the Hunters. Ofc, this plays into other variables, just as detection time, distance, and etc etc. As I mentioned above, it wouldn't be Thane that XD is trying to fool, and his infiltration skills would tell him that the gig is up in that scenario due to the cues and such. As for the speed, never disputed that, merely pointed that there is a LOT of ground to cover, and it is mostly twisting corridors, elevators, and such to navigate, not a straight line. Not to mention trying to find something in a 3D space, that is moving, and might be hiding its presence, at the very least making it only a general area instead of pinpoint until she gets closer. Lets do a little math real quick. Lets say distance, only passively at first, and distracted = 1 each. Let X be melding of power (excluding other perks for now). Concealment is rank 1, so lets go with = 1. 1+1+1+1*x+y=total concealment. Y, being other variables that are not specifically stated, so basically treated as a "if I forgot anything, else, 0" clause. Assuming at the start that x = 1, just to nullify it, then that is a rating of 4, which even then, would mean a very faint reading. Now, suppose that each quaesitor adds .1 to the standard 1 due to melding of power. That would be 1+1+1+5+y=8. Which would mean that when they are together (next post I will explain their formations) that they would have a rating of 8 and wouldn't be sensed by Thane until they split up. Now, as mentioned before, they work in groups of at least 5. Which would equate to 1+1+1+1.5+y=4.5. In this scenario it is still possible to go unnoticed, but she would likely detect them at this specific point. Marr ofc is 1 mastery level lower than Thane. Now, if they are separating, then they are not following the plan...

*Pushes up glasses like a nerd* *Nerdy voice* Well actually, that would only mean that they have a level 1 of precog, which would then go up against the droids stats. The Knights would still be at a huge disadvantage in the beginning of said interaction, due to the stealth, as well as precog being canceled out by: "State of the art droid brain capable of processing fast enough to keep up with pre-cog (force weapon 100)", essentially, closer to IG-88 than regular droids if you have read that book, but ofc not as extreme as IG-88's. So add in the lack of sense, and that precog is only level 1 without any boosters, and the likelihood of the backstab working are still pretty great. As for the armor itself, it still has a lot of weak points, though it does have a solid chest. The arm pits, neck, legs, waste, and etc etc could still be struck. Not as quick and dirty as a direct backstab, sure, but wit hteh poison and the advantage they would have after landing said hit, it would be enough. As for the perk: "Always Prepared: Through years of fighting a shadow war units in the remnant soldiers are always expecting to be walking into a trap, So they're always watching over their shoulders waiting for a ambush. Hard to set a ambush for units of the remnant." It sounds nice in this scenario, and would work in most scenarios, but this would literally mean that they are, without sense, dodging an attack they literally cannot see coming. This is also technically not what would fall under an 'ambush' in the sense that it isn't a battle initiation or a fight with multiple units. It is a assassination attempt. Technicalities, sure. That said, I do stand by the not seeing the attack coming and that the precog is neutralized/evened out by the droids own abilities. Ofc, an alternative, if the first few attempts to assassinate a Knight goes south, would be to have the Quaesitor assassinate the Knights. Straight up a fight, I admit that the Knights would slaughter a Quaesitor as that is not what they are intended for. However... They are still rogue-esque. They may not LITERALLY turn invisible (that is for the next teir) but their skill set does allow them to move around very sneakily, and with the force concealment, that would make them unsensable in the force by the Knight's, though at close range Marr or Thane could sense them if they are alone and not melding power. Basically, think Assassin Creed style assassination, out of sight, leap from the shadows, impale them, disappear. As for Xil'Drom...Did they ever actually find a connection between the EL and XD when they found him before? Do remember, IC, there are more than just you or I, and Replicators are not even EL specific tech. Originally, they were Sith Empire. Though, the only character who saw it happen in person was the Diplomat, was it not? Nor did the diplomat witness the full capabilities, which could lead to assumptions, and you know what happens when people do that... As for Thane finding the Quaesitors, well, for one, it is VERY BIG station... For two, that timer only starts once she or Marr senses one of them. With melding of power + distance + not focusing on sense passively + surprise + concealment = it would either be EXTREMEMLY faint, or not sensed at all since the sense levels are M5 and M6. Good to be sure, but variables!!! Now, if they only sensed something super faint... are they so insecure about their skills that they would instantly jump to putting the station on such high alert? I mean, in that situation, due to what you said to me about Marrs situation, I would think Thane would set out solo and try to find what it is. From there, if she is confident in her abilities (which looking at the stat page, she probably is) she might arrive solo as well, give or take a few that might already be nearly. At that point, well, characters are powerful, but they are still mortal. As for Xil'Drom himself, pray tell, what would they do to counter it, even if they knew he could change forms in fact, it could play AGAINST you due to not having a way to stop the shape changing, and no ways that I know of that you can de-activate his abilities. Which could lead to everyone on the station thinking that they are the imposter, which could lead to chaos. I mean, what if Thane goes into a room, and all of the personnel point their guns at her each and every time she enters a room, demanding proof that she is who she appears to be? Sure, there might be a protocol to bypass this, but then... There are again the Quaesitor's drain knowledge, which could rip that out of a crew members mind and XD himself could use it. As a last note, you say 'low number' of Quaesitors, but you only have 3, maybe 4 if you count Marr, that would be capable of sensing them out. In such a large station, with all the variables, I would say quite a while to find them all. Side Note: The other perk would only come into affect though when the defenders are not being stealth attacked, otherwise it would be a supernatural phenomenon. "Imperial Boarding actions:The Imperial Marines are the best of the best when it comes to boarding and repealing enemy borders.Bonus to unit cohesion when boarding an enemy ship or stopping enemy boarding operations."

In the interest of keeping it bite sized... Information gathering: Something to note regarding the Imperial Knights: About RF communications and coordination:

Alright, now to bring up the perks for the EL:

Going to try and keep it in straightforward, bite sized pieces this time, instead of text walls, as is my go to... Overall plan: Things to remember about EL forces: For now I will leave it there, and give J a chance to post his over-arching post... Just for a reminder concerning the Tech Knights, Tech Syncers, and Tech Deceivers, the write up about their style.

It is indeed T39, I asked that question multiple times. That said, you are right, I didn't ever list what was on my station, because I didn't have anything but the standard stuff that is auto on it, aka, fodder.

On that note...

Station 404 Turn: 39 Location: Bakura Arena: Space Station Units used: 20 Knights 20 Syncers 20 Deceivers 40 Quaesitors Heroes used: Albaf Zibu'to Xil'Drom Assumed RF forces: Marines (unknown) Crew (unknown) Technicians (unknown) Droids (unknown) No forces are listed to be on the station currently, so unless there is a criminal lack of documentation... This should be about what is on the station, unless a character is stationed there. Though, that would have had to have been placed BEFORE the operation, for obvious reasons that will be made clear during the debate.

The switching the blades on/off is actually a practice called Trakata. While often interwoven with niman, it also has prominence with the other forms as well. It does tend to be most effective with Makashi, Shii-Cho, Juyo, and Niman though, due to the way that such a technique bolsters these forms.

It is true, that there are essentially only two kinds of Niman practioners. The ones who do not want to dedicate to lightsaber combat, and the prodigies. What made Niman so powerful, is that it in a way allows the force user to approach the battle from a perspective that none of the other forms truly allow. Yes, some shift from strength to speed, or acrobatics... But other than Vaapad, which very few learned due to its dangers, only Niman remained as the form that brought force power to a saber duel in more than a passing sense. All force users could of course throw out a push, throw, pull, or etc in the heat of battle every now and then, but that is not what Niman helped with. Niman provided a form without a true weakness, while also not really excelling in any single thing. The good of that, is that unlike forms like Makashi, it doesn't have a natural counter other than superior skill. The catch 22 being that most Niman practioners did not practice much and thus lacked skill, due to it being thought of as the diplomat form. Those who took it to its Nth degree though... Each and every one of them is remembered as being one of the greatest saber duelists of their respective era's. Exar Kun for example is infamous for his Niman, as well as his tendancy to incorporate force strikes into his saber sequences. Yes, most jedi/sith could use the force during combat, but Niman essentially allowed them to do it flawlessly, without wavering in their saber movements. Kun for example, used this proficiency to unleash powerful blasts of force energy which could K.O. an opponent with one shot, if they were not prepared. Other examples being when Niman is mixed with Sokan, where the environment and force combat proficiency combine to make something truly terrifying. That is not to say that Niman is inherently superior to the other saber forms, far from it, but for one of an acute mind and with the talent, it allows the user to not just fight with the blade but their mind as well. The other forms each have their own pros/cons, whereas Niman balances out, ultimately making it the most adaptable form. If there is one thing to NEVER be underestimated in combat... it is sheer adaptability. That does not mean that it will out-do the other forms though, since adaptability is no good if they are not given the chance to adapt, such as when Djem So users batter through an opponents defense with sheer strength before they can muster a proper defense. Mmm... I suppose another way to say it, is that all of the saber forms are somewhere along the edges of a circle, judging where their natural speed, strength, and mobility and such are. Whereas unlike the others, Niman is in the center of the circle instead of along the edges. It does not have innate speed advantage, nor disadvantage. Nor strength advantage, or disadvantage. It merely is completely balanced. One of the difficult things about taking something so balanced, to such a high level like some of the Jedi and Sith did during the time of the movies, is that each if something is completely balanced... how does one make it better, without creating a weakness? Therein lies the issue, since Niman practicioners who did indeed seek to improve, ended up relegating Niman to a secondary form and taking another form as their new primary, to improve. It is only in the very rare cases of true masters of saber combat, that they are able to boost all of the elements of Niman and stay true to the form, without having to lean on another form to boost them up. I suppose what my sleep depraved mind is trying to say... Is that there are so few masters of Niman, precisely BECAUSE it is so balanced, that to improve it would cause imbalance which would then lead them to another form that they would likely then prefer, which leads them to no longer seeking to perfect Niman, but rather to focus on their own strengths. Individuals who are truly balanced and thus capable of fully utilizing Niman to its Nth degree, are much harder to come by, in my opinion at least, than most of the other traits that the other forms thrive off of. *looks over text wall* Gosh dang it, meant to just do a sentence or two... Ah well... Last paragraph has the summery if you want to skip the bloat...

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