Density and You

It's human nature to want to go for the flashy techs. Perhaps that primitive, reptile part of our brains that drove our ancestors to throw themselves at mammoths several hundred times their mass persists in us when we go to make techniques. Have you ever gone into a battle realizing that who will win literally comes down to who gets off the first attack?

Well, fear not, brave player, for today you will learn how a little-utilized thing called density can have you laughing as you shrug off your enemy's technicolor assaults.

Properties of Density

1. Density blocks you as the target of all magical effects but damage
   ◦ Due to this property of magical techniques: No spells generate "at the target." Energy must flow from caster to user even if it's invisible
   ◦ Density effectively blocks magical energy from flowing to your person with the exception of DMG, which is the only effect stated to affect dense objects.
   
2. Density is a persistent property, unlike damage
   ◦ You can hypothetically attach a mode to SHLD, but you can't attach a mode to DMG, and ABS can't penetrate density
   ◦ Additionally, as a property, density never completely goes away until an object is destroyed
   
3. Density isn't a property of characters, so they must effectively cover themselves with density to benefit

1. If you're completely covered, then you'll probably be immune to such annoyances as magical binds, possession, and absorption techniques (depending on how they're worded) until the person breaks your armor. If you're using a shielding technique in addition to your armor, this could take a very long time or a very powerful attack.
   
2. A defensive strategy ultimately is less stamina-consuming than an equivalent offensive strategy (due to shielding modes, armor, and the persistent properties of density). Additionally, not many people currently employ defensive techniques, and if the opponent has been planning at all, this will throw them off.
   
3. Defensive techniques make it simple to wear down an opponent who's invested too heavily in offense until that opponent is no longer in a good position, strategically, to hurt you. Keep in mind that at 0 stamina, a character has no mobility. If you can push them to or past that point, they will be unable to dodge any of your attacks until they recover. This is as good as the status effect paralyze.
   
4. If your opponent isn't completely covered in density, you can easily take advantage of the exposed areas, depending on how your technique is worded
   
5. Remember that objects have a default density of 5. This includes terrain objects and cover such as trees, rocks, and old building fragments. This can be very handy if you have speed-up techniques, which I will cover in a later part of this series.

This means, my friends, that at the very least, if you don't want to be thoroughly raped just because you didn't get off the first attack, then I would advise you to buy at minimum light armor. What else were you planning to spend your trade items on?

And that is my tip for this evening.