Guardians defending Union

[Ragnaman]

If one is designing a tank Union,
The leader should be one that has Defender skill,
But it seems like only first three units go into defense.

Does this mean that enemies will randomly strike position 4 and 5 ?
Does that mean that the tank Union should just be 3 units otherwise whats the point, might as well use decoy on a full healer party set to standby for healing.

[Ragnaman]

Also, if the first 3 positions ALL have defender skill, does that increase chances of them actually going into defense ? Sometimes i see that not all units defend even if they are in pos1,2,3.

[PinkPаптҥэя]

"Classes with [Defender] skill (Monk, Cavalier, Guardian, Cleric or Paladin) will offer an additional "Defend!" command. Damage received by units in slot 1-3 is reduced to 50% and units in slot 4&5 may reassess to healing if needed. This is much more likely if the unit hasn't an art already assigned. So this is another good spot to put in mystic healers without offensive arts enabled.
This build will give you the perfect 'self-healing' tanking union!"

This is taken from a guide I wrote a long time ago
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=531214170

[Ragnaman]

Yeah I figured out that a Sage in pos 4 could be ideal for the tank party, but my question is whether the pos1,2,3 is more likely to be hit when they are under attack. My plan is to use decoy on the tank party (have no idea how to achieve that in any case), is it possible to have a ward caster in pos4,5 of tank union and if only decoy is active for the caster, would he cast decoy on his own union while the tanks use defend command ?

[PinkPаптҥэя]

Slots 1-3 usually are more likely to be hit (also depending on formation), but it's still possible for the rest of the slots to be targeted as well, although less likely.
AoE arts however, will deal the same amount of damage for everybody in the union (only to be further reduced in slots 1-3).
This is not a big problem if you place healers in Slots 4 and/or 5.

I have never successfully used Decoy, so I can't help with that.

[Ragnaman]

Hmm, if decoy is unreliable then I might just reconsider having a tank Union entirely. Whats the point, instead having 1 sage in pos 4/5 on every union seems like a better way of "tanking".

[Ragnaman]

Alternative idea I had was to use Rush/Emmy/Jager as union leaders to be able to have all summons, that would help with tanking i guess. Altho I am not sure how good are these summons.

[M1L4_1707]

Decoy can be cast out of deadlock only either on yourself or on other union with the highest hp. When cast on yourself other units will use defend command. Unions with decoy status can use commands normally associated with defender skill (like "Be our shield" command). Other unions without decoy can see "Wait for a chance" command which normally belongs to commander skill (or stealth status)

The best thing about summons is that they have 9999 hp while being a "solo" union which means they tank aoe crap extremely well.

[Ragnaman]

Originally posted by M1L4_1707:

Decoy can be cast out of deadlock only either on yourself or on other union with the highest hp. When cast on yourself other units will use defend command. Unions with decoy status can use commands normally associated with defender skill (like "Be our shield" command). Other unions without decoy can see "Wait for a chance" command which normally belongs to commander skill (or stealth status)

The best thing about summons is that they have 9999 hp while being a "solo" union which means they tank aoe crap extremely well.

Interesting, what are the requirements to be able to cast decoy on "self" ? The warder must be union leader ?
If my tank union could reliably cast decoy on self at start of battle then maybe there is still hope in tank union.

[Ragnaman]

Originally posted by P¡nkPªnтhe®:

Slots 1-3 usually are more likely to be hit (also depending on formation), but it's still possible for the rest of the slots to be targeted as well, although less likely.
AoE arts however, will deal the same amount of damage for everybody in the union (only to be further reduced in slots 1-3).
This is not a big problem if you place healers in Slots 4 and/or 5.

I have never successfully used Decoy, so I can't help with that.

Also, where can I read about that pos1,2,3 gets hit more often ? I cant find any such info on wiki.

[PinkPаптҥэя]

Just an observation, from experience. The game seems to take positioning of the units within a union into account.
Also the SPD stat may influence battle movements of the units. Faster units may have a higher chance of getting targeted, but in return also have a better chance of dodging under normal circumstances.

[Ragnaman]

Is the Union visual formation important when under attack ? Meaning, do units on flanks get attacked more often by a flanking attack ?
Do rear attacks attack positions on the rear of formation ?

[M1L4_1707]

Originally posted by Ragnaman:

what are the requirements to be able to cast decoy on "self" ?

None.

Originally posted by Ragnaman:

Also, where can I read about that pos1,2,3 gets hit more often ? I cant find any such info on wiki.

I don't think it's strictly about pos 1, 2, 3 but more likely their position on formation grid. When choosing formation you can see that back zone coloured differently so I believe units in that zone will be targeted less (probably?) Some formations (like Trident) don't have it at all.

[Ragnaman]

Originally posted by M1L4_1707:

Originally posted by Ragnaman:

what are the requirements to be able to cast decoy on "self" ?

None.

Originally posted by Ragnaman:

Also, where can I read about that pos1,2,3 gets hit more often ? I cant find any such info on wiki.

I don't think it's strictly about pos 1, 2, 3 but more likely their position on formation grid. When choosing formation you can see that back zone coloured differently so I believe units in that zone will be targeted less (probably?) Some formations (like Trident) don't have it at all.

if there are no requirements, does it mean I will always be able to cast decoy on self if i have a warder with only decoy active ?

[M1L4_1707]

Originally posted by P¡nkPªnтhe®:

Also the SPD stat may influence battle movements of the units. Faster units may have a higher chance of getting targeted, but in return also have a better chance of dodging under normal circumstances.

SPD does influence union speed. If you want one of your unions specifically to flank someone (when multi deadlocking for example) put them in formation which hinders SPD stat.

[M1L4_1707]

Originally posted by Ragnaman:

if there are no requirements, does it mean I will always be able to cast decoy on self if i have a warder with only decoy active ?

If a command appears. In other words other units can influence what type of commands you'll see.