What is better? Extra armor or life? - Guild Wars Forums

ibex333 · Jul 17, 2006, 05:15 PM // 17:15

Let me give an example.

Let's say you are fighting an enemy that does lightning damage to you ONLY.
And you are a warrior.

You have a choice between a shield with 9 armor vs. lightning, or a shield that has +30 life always. Which would help you more to survive?

TGgold · Jul 17, 2006, 05:34 PM // 17:34

It depends on how much damage you'll be taking.
I think 9 armor is taking about 14% less damage.
If you took 215 lightning damage, you'd break even, since 30 damage would have been prevented due to armor.
If you took more than 215 lightning damage, armor is superior.

ender6 · Jul 17, 2006, 05:36 PM // 17:36

There are several factors to consider. Let's start with a simple mathematical approach.

You're hit 4 times. 9 * 4 = 36. So you have saved yourself 36 health via the 9dmg reduction. Therefore you have outpaced the +30 health bonus. So if you are going to be hit repeatedly armor wins.

Now let's say you are facing a spike heavy time. Here you are going to recieve ~490 dmg in about a split second. Your current health is ~470. Here having the plus 30 helth will save your life. Meanwhile the dmg reduction wouldn't unless of course it was an air ele spike.

I usually opt for dmg reduction armor over health mods. But as I said it depends on the scenario.

Acillios · Jul 17, 2006, 05:50 PM // 17:50

Quote:

You're hit 4 times. 9 * 4 = 36. So you have saved yourself 36 health via the 9dmg reduction

9 armor vs. lightning doesnt mean 9 dmg reduction..

On-topic again: I think TGgold is right

derrtyboy69 · Jul 17, 2006, 05:50 PM // 17:50

Against warrior pressure: armor, against nearly everything else: health. However warriors pressure is one of the biggest threats so most ussually armor. If i come up against a spike, i switch to health. As a warrior, health as armor ignoring damage and degen are the most common ways to bring down a high armor foe.

Carth` · Jul 17, 2006, 06:48 PM // 18:48

+30 health is really just a temporary measure that keeps you alive a bit longer, once you've taken the 30 damage it does nothing. The +AL will continue working even when you are almost dead, helping you take less damage.

Felbryn · Jul 17, 2006, 11:50 PM // 23:50

+Health lets you sustain a fixed amount of damage, while +Armor will have saved you more and more health as the battle goes on; you can think about armor as both increasing your health and increasing the amount of healing you get (unless the damage ignores armor, of course). Your healer won't need to heal as often if you have +armor.

However, +health also gives the healers more play room. There's a certain window in which the healer needs to cast his spell so that you don't die, but he doesn't waste energy overhealing. Getting +health will increase the size of that range, making his timing easier.

So I suppose you could say that +armor will allow you to win harder fights (if everything goes according to plan), while +health will reduce the chances that you die when something goes wrong. Or: +armor is best vs. pressure, +health is best vs. spike.

Jul 17, 2006, 05:15 PM // 17:15	#1
ibex333 Desert Nomad Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Brooklyn, NY Guild: [EYE] Profession: Rt/A	What is better? Extra armor or life? Let me give an example. Let's say you are fighting an enemy that does lightning damage to you ONLY. And you are a warrior. You have a choice between a shield with 9 armor vs. lightning, or a shield that has +30 life always. Which would help you more to survive?

Jul 17, 2006, 05:34 PM // 17:34	#2
TGgold Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Jul 2005 Guild: Flying Gophers Profession: Rt/P	It depends on how much damage you'll be taking. I think 9 armor is taking about 14% less damage. If you took 215 lightning damage, you'd break even, since 30 damage would have been prevented due to armor. If you took more than 215 lightning damage, armor is superior. Last edited by TGgold; Jul 17, 2006 at 07:06 PM // 19:06..

Jul 17, 2006, 11:50 PM // 23:50	#7
Felbryn Academy Page Join Date: Jun 2005 Profession: Mo/E	+Health lets you sustain a fixed amount of damage, while +Armor will have saved you more and more health as the battle goes on; you can think about armor as both increasing your health and increasing the amount of healing you get (unless the damage ignores armor, of course). Your healer won't need to heal as often if you have +armor. However, +health also gives the healers more play room. There's a certain window in which the healer needs to cast his spell so that you don't die, but he doesn't waste energy overhealing. Getting +health will increase the size of that range, making his timing easier. So I suppose you could say that +armor will allow you to win harder fights (if everything goes according to plan), while +health will reduce the chances that you die when something goes wrong. Or: +armor is best vs. pressure, +health is best vs. spike. Last edited by Felbryn; Jul 17, 2006 at 11:52 PM // 23:52..

Jul 17, 2006, 05:36 PM // 17:36	#3
ender6 Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Feb 2006 Profession: Mo/	There are several factors to consider. Let's start with a simple mathematical approach. You're hit 4 times. 9 * 4 = 36. So you have saved yourself 36 health via the 9dmg reduction. Therefore you have outpaced the +30 health bonus. So if you are going to be hit repeatedly armor wins. Now let's say you are facing a spike heavy time. Here you are going to recieve ~490 dmg in about a split second. Your current health is ~470. Here having the plus 30 helth will save your life. Meanwhile the dmg reduction wouldn't unless of course it was an air ele spike. I usually opt for dmg reduction armor over health mods. But as I said it depends on the scenario.

Jul 17, 2006, 05:50 PM // 17:50	#5
derrtyboy69 Grotto Attendant Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The Clouds Guild: Scars Meadows [SMS] Profession: Mo/Me	Against warrior pressure: armor, against nearly everything else: health. However warriors pressure is one of the biggest threats so most ussually armor. If i come up against a spike, i switch to health. As a warrior, health as armor ignoring damage and degen are the most common ways to bring down a high armor foe.

Jul 17, 2006, 06:48 PM // 18:48	#6
Carth` Desert Nomad Join Date: Apr 2006	+30 health is really just a temporary measure that keeps you alive a bit longer, once you've taken the 30 damage it does nothing. The +AL will continue working even when you are almost dead, helping you take less damage.