Quote Originally Posted by Steelstar View Post
I may be wrong (please correct me if I am), but I believe you can get more PRR and MRR out of this Enhancement Tree than any other Enhancement Tree in the game... Standing still and wearing Medium armor, you get 19 PRR and 29 MRR out of this tree, which goes up to 39 PRR and 49 MRR when you get Spirit Armor fully running. (Note: I noticed that Spiritual Bastion and Spiritual Ward don't say that you also get the Allies portion yourself. Right now, you do. We'll fix the wording.) That's on top of your armor and any other external sources, plus you're buffing your friends' PRR/MRR as well. If we switched it to a static bonus, it'd be a smaller bonus, and a lot less interesting. Nobody likes getting hit, but if you can survive a few seconds of it, you'll be good for the fight.
Thanks for the reply! First, yes, absolutely (regardless of whether its the most) this tree offers wonderful PRR/MRR bonuses, and I didn't mean to imply that it was slouching in that regard, particularly in regards to other "squishy" classes. The basic concept of "Circumstantially get a significant boost to PRR/MRR" is also welcome. My point was directed more at the mechanism of "Get hit in order for hits to hurt less", and how it applies to a class that is, after all the buffs, still... kind of squishy. This is NOT to say that I'm advocating for Paladin-esque levels of damage mitigation from Warlocks!

My goal with the proximity-based buff suggestion was not to suggest those numbers specifically (i see now that I presented an increase to the numbers, I intended for them to be equal bonuses for ease of comparison, and I obviously failed in that regard). I was just trying to present triggers other than getting hit that could, theoretically, be utilized.

By needing to take the hits to get the bonus, there is definitely a sweet spot. If the hits aren't coming through hard (because of PRR, weak enemies, DR, whatever), then growing the PRR doesn't mean as much. If the hits are coming through too hard, then the extra PRR might not compile until its too late. This makes the ability very fluid in its effectiveness. It marginalizes the effectiveness in both challenging content above you (where you're more likely to really get creamed), and in weak content below you (where it isn't as likely to matter). Its easy to anticipate the effectiveness of other lvl 18 abilities like Crit Multiplier, which have a very consistent value in content, and is harder to really calculate Spirit Armor's value without playing it (and even then it may not be casually apparent). From a quick look, to me personally, the narrow window and steep decline of usefulness makes it an underwhelming choice.

Here's where I show my dirty logic: If I cared about defense on the character, rather than taking the 18th lvl slot, I'd consider 3 lvls of Paladin. Sacred Defense adding 25 PRR/MRR all the time is a huge bonus, and coupled with Divine Grace (even the theoretically neutered Divine Grace that has been rumored for so long), it's a solid choice. Of course, that is a big trade off! The capstone is just so well done, and other Warlock abilities grow so cleanly with level! But see, now I'm not comparing 3 lvls of Paladin to the 18th level ability, I'm comparing those 3 lvls with the capstone, with Eldritch Damage, and nearly disregarding the lvl 18 ability entirely.

On the other hand, maybe other things could make it more exciting, outside of just PRR! Maybe a chance to also proc a low level heal on hit. Again, consistent with the theme and scales some into Epics with Healing Amp and Positive Spell Power.