Came here to say that Defenders are immensely satisfying to play. My first Lancer campaign, I played a Drake with a bunch of additional HA systems from Napoleon and Big Sal. We did the math after the end of our "Tier I" arc, and I blocked or otherwise prevented over 100 points of damage across the party. Fortress Protocol, Stasis Bolt Generator and Blinkshield Module put in a ton of work and saved everybody at least a structure worth of damage at some point or another. A little sad that I had to ditch it in the escape sequence due to the space station hallways being too small, but wedging it into the passageways let it be a wall right to the bitter end. My one big regret is that I didn't get to use the big Leviathan Heavy Assault Cannon until the very very end of the campaign.
Imo defenders are super important in lancer because they are true tanks in a TTRPG. An issue I see with a lot of tank design in other TTRPGs is they give these tanks lots of HP, AC, or damage reduction but not many ways to actually protect allies in way. So it really leaves it up to GM just deciding to attack the tank anyway simply because they don’t want the situation of the enemies just running past the tank and massacring the squishy Pcs. Lancer to me does a good job of providing defenders with the means of actually protecting allies especially in a system where ranged weapons are really common. If there’s no cover on the field, simply become the cover you have the bulk to do that after all. If they enemies want to shoot at the Sherman they have to get past Big Sal first. Really smart design especially for a tactical combat focused game like Lancer.
For 1 SP, Personalizations (+2 HP), and Redundant Armament from Dustgrave (prevent weapon loss when structured) are generally better, more consistent options than Paint Job. It can still be good! But it's also totally possible it will literally never work the entire time you play.
This was a great video! Thanks for making it and I will surely see more of your work I DM a Lancer table, but I'm always seeing stuff like that to help the players when they reaaaally want a build, but don't know exactly how to build it
Paint job is nothing compared to personalizations. Paint job is random, so trying to rely on it to save you is a gamble you don't want to take. And think about it; it has a 1/6 chance of basically recovering 1hp for free. Personalizations is just +2 hp. It doesn't sound like much but it's actually a lot if you're talking about mechs with armor, and more importantly it always works. If you structure with paint job, you have a 1/6 chance to get 1 hp. If you structure with personalizations, you are guaranteed to get 2 hp more than you would have. You have to keep in mind: as much as you don't want to structure, you will, and a bigger buffer to prevent that from happening, especially repeatedly, is genuinely good. Plus, you might get a free bonus to a certain random check if your DM is lenient enough.
I wouldn't argue that Personalizations provide a solid boost for their SP cost, but I'd say you miscalculate the amount of HP Custom Paint Job saves on average. 1 HP is what it saves you if you were to be reduced to 0 HP. Imagine a different situation: your mech is already at 1 HP. Any amount of damage that passes through armor would cause the mech to structure. But it could be a huge amount, even more so - if you are unlucky enough to have an Exposed condition. I've been in a fight recently, where an Exposed mech had to Structure twice from a single hit. In such scenario Custom Paint Job could create a truly epic moment. But yeah, it's far from being reliable. P. S. Now I'm actually kinda curious if there's a simple way to properly evaluate amount of HP saved by Custom Paint Job or Balor's core ability. Intuitively it seems that this amount would increase as enemies get bigger guns, but I've been studying probability theory long enough to not trust intuitive estimations.
@@einfalschung1279 I'm just learning about lancer, but I'm seeing that the paint job is limited one on comp/con, so while technically the hp savings can be infinite since it negates all damage it only activates 17% (rounded up) of the time, and only once per full repair. Personalization is +8 effective HP (I'm not going through all the mechs, but pretty sure all, or at least most, have 4 structure) with 100% up time. I'm no mathmagician, but I think _because_ of that % chance on paint job, the EHP of paint job ends up being lower. Though you are right, the time that Paint kicks in one a massive attack would be a memorable moment, I think outside of lower LLs I'd be focusing on systems that provide cover or impose difficulty, as the EHP gains are even greater if an attack just doesn't hit you. I could be completely wrong as I've not actually played the game to see practical scenarios, but in a vacuum it makes sense to me.
Could you do an Orchis video. About to start a Lancer game and it would help me a lot. I plan on making him a defender but this is my first time playing. Keep up the great work.
I'm gonna completely disagree with "avoid flying." As a defender, you need to be able to move where your allies will move, not hold them back to your pace. If you want to be a defender who's any use to your strikers on the front lines, you better not be stuck behind difficult terrain or walls. Rank 3 of the Ace talent is arguably designed for defenders more than any other archetype: you tag an ally with supersonic, and when that allied striker pushes forward aggressively, you then get to appear next to them with all your defensive bonuses after they've done their turn.
Came here to say that Defenders are immensely satisfying to play. My first Lancer campaign, I played a Drake with a bunch of additional HA systems from Napoleon and Big Sal. We did the math after the end of our "Tier I" arc, and I blocked or otherwise prevented over 100 points of damage across the party. Fortress Protocol, Stasis Bolt Generator and Blinkshield Module put in a ton of work and saved everybody at least a structure worth of damage at some point or another. A little sad that I had to ditch it in the escape sequence due to the space station hallways being too small, but wedging it into the passageways let it be a wall right to the bitter end.
My one big regret is that I didn't get to use the big Leviathan Heavy Assault Cannon until the very very end of the campaign.
Imo defenders are super important in lancer because they are true tanks in a TTRPG. An issue I see with a lot of tank design in other TTRPGs is they give these tanks lots of HP, AC, or damage reduction but not many ways to actually protect allies in way. So it really leaves it up to GM just deciding to attack the tank anyway simply because they don’t want the situation of the enemies just running past the tank and massacring the squishy Pcs. Lancer to me does a good job of providing defenders with the means of actually protecting allies especially in a system where ranged weapons are really common. If there’s no cover on the field, simply become the cover you have the bulk to do that after all. If they enemies want to shoot at the Sherman they have to get past Big Sal first. Really smart design especially for a tactical combat focused game like Lancer.
0:00 intro
1:10 overview
2:01 frames & systems
3:20 guardian trait
4:31 custom paint job
5:50 talents: bonded
7:52 talents: combined arms
9:44 talents: house guard (KTB)
12:51 core bonuses: universal compatibility
14:12 core bonuses: reinforced frame
14:46 core bonuses: sloped plating
15:40 core bonuses: integrated ammo feeds
16:14 defender playstyle
I love how you refer to your bonded ally as your huckleberry 💜
For 1 SP, Personalizations (+2 HP), and Redundant Armament from Dustgrave (prevent weapon loss when structured) are generally better, more consistent options than Paint Job.
It can still be good! But it's also totally possible it will literally never work the entire time you play.
Thank you for these videos. It’s not easy to find player focused Lancer content
This was a great video! Thanks for making it and I will surely see more of your work
I DM a Lancer table, but I'm always seeing stuff like that to help the players when they reaaaally want a build, but don't know exactly how to build it
Paint job is nothing compared to personalizations. Paint job is random, so trying to rely on it to save you is a gamble you don't want to take. And think about it; it has a 1/6 chance of basically recovering 1hp for free.
Personalizations is just +2 hp. It doesn't sound like much but it's actually a lot if you're talking about mechs with armor, and more importantly it always works. If you structure with paint job, you have a 1/6 chance to get 1 hp. If you structure with personalizations, you are guaranteed to get 2 hp more than you would have. You have to keep in mind: as much as you don't want to structure, you will, and a bigger buffer to prevent that from happening, especially repeatedly, is genuinely good. Plus, you might get a free bonus to a certain random check if your DM is lenient enough.
I wouldn't argue that Personalizations provide a solid boost for their SP cost, but I'd say you miscalculate the amount of HP Custom Paint Job saves on average. 1 HP is what it saves you if you were to be reduced to 0 HP. Imagine a different situation: your mech is already at 1 HP. Any amount of damage that passes through armor would cause the mech to structure. But it could be a huge amount, even more so - if you are unlucky enough to have an Exposed condition. I've been in a fight recently, where an Exposed mech had to Structure twice from a single hit. In such scenario Custom Paint Job could create a truly epic moment. But yeah, it's far from being reliable.
P. S. Now I'm actually kinda curious if there's a simple way to properly evaluate amount of HP saved by Custom Paint Job or Balor's core ability. Intuitively it seems that this amount would increase as enemies get bigger guns, but I've been studying probability theory long enough to not trust intuitive estimations.
@@einfalschung1279 I'm just learning about lancer, but I'm seeing that the paint job is limited one on comp/con, so while technically the hp savings can be infinite since it negates all damage it only activates 17% (rounded up) of the time, and only once per full repair. Personalization is +8 effective HP (I'm not going through all the mechs, but pretty sure all, or at least most, have 4 structure) with 100% up time. I'm no mathmagician, but I think _because_ of that % chance on paint job, the EHP of paint job ends up being lower. Though you are right, the time that Paint kicks in one a massive attack would be a memorable moment, I think outside of lower LLs I'd be focusing on systems that provide cover or impose difficulty, as the EHP gains are even greater if an attack just doesn't hit you. I could be completely wrong as I've not actually played the game to see practical scenarios, but in a vacuum it makes sense to me.
Great vid! Just got into the game and this helped a ton.
Love your videos they make me consider alternate playstyles and options to incorporate into my builds.
Great video. Really helpful as I'm trying to learn and start up a Lancer game. I hope to see many more!
This is the style I’m thinking of taking my first Lancer character. Either that or a long range fire support mech. It’s hard to chose.
When talking about reinforced frame, isn’t it equivalent to 2.5 points in hull, since each point in hull grants 2hp?
You are probably right I probably miss remembered, still doesn't diminish the point.
Could you do an Orchis video. About to start a Lancer game and it would help me a lot. I plan on making him a defender but this is my first time playing. Keep up the great work.
I'm gonna completely disagree with "avoid flying." As a defender, you need to be able to move where your allies will move, not hold them back to your pace. If you want to be a defender who's any use to your strikers on the front lines, you better not be stuck behind difficult terrain or walls. Rank 3 of the Ace talent is arguably designed for defenders more than any other archetype: you tag an ally with supersonic, and when that allied striker pushes forward aggressively, you then get to appear next to them with all your defensive bonuses after they've done their turn.
Please don't stop these videos on lancer the only other person I've found to watch uses a Microsoft Sam thing and it's terrible
How dare you slander the good works of Dragonkid11 those videos are impeccably written and edited
@lvl99dh you're right, they're just completely unlistenable.