Max HP mechanic?

[Sandman25]

I have a Profane Faerie with Vitality 5 (in-game help shows -16% HP) and level 3, it has 40 max HP.
I've met a Lilim with Vitality 13 (in-game help shows -5% HP) and level 6, it has 48 max HP.
Why is the difference so small (about 17%)? 3 levels add just only about 6%?

[Ferret]

You get a bonus to MaxHP for having a modifier. You also get one for being unique.

Note: Summoners (player and enemy alike) automatically get both bonuses, even though they technically aren't modified.

Finally, MaxHP is influenced by a character's resistance table (better resistance table = lower MaxHP) and their Speed (higher speed = lower Max HP, lower speed = higher Max HP)

[Sandman25]

What do you mean as resistance table? Bonus for every weakness and penalty for every resistance/immunity?

[Ferret]

Basically, yes. Every immunity, resistance, and weakness gives you a small % adjustment to MaxHP. (Penalty for immune/resist, bonus for weakness)

If you have a relatively balanced table, they will largely cancel out and there won't be much of an effect, but extremely good or bad tables can add up to something noticeable. Slime for example, gets a +24% bonus for its ridiculously bad resistance table (six weaknesses, no resistances or immunities.)

[Sandman25]

This is very important info IMHO. I usually try to use silver matrix to convert a weakness into resistance but as I have just learned it means the demon gets a penalty to max HP. So it looks like optimal composition of army is not one of demons with multiple resistances and a single weakness which can be used in almost all fights but one of demons with a few resistances and many weaknesses where the latter are irrelevant in current fight. So I can have weaker demons resistance-wise to get extra max HP as bonus.
I mean something like this:
1) fire resistance, electro and ice weakness
2) ice resistance, light and fire weakness
etc.
Does the bonus for weakness cancel penalty for resistance? There are some demons with 4 resistances and 3 weaknesses, is the resulting penalty to max HP the same as for demon with 2 resistances and 1 weakness?

[Ferret]

Well... it may be not be THAT big a deal.

Gaining a modifier is a +12.5% bonus to HP.

Gaining a weakness is a +4% bonus to HP.

Gaining a magical resistance is a -2% penalty to HP.

Gaining a physical resistance is a -3% penalty to HP.

Gaining a magical immunity is a -3% penalty to HP.

Finally, gaining a physical immunity is a -5% penalty to HP.

Even in the most extreme case (turning a physical weakness... +4%... into a physical immunity... -5%), you only swing 9% HP... which means the modifier's 12.5% still overrides it and gives you 3.5% more than you had before.

As for which resistance strategy to pursue, the short answer both approaches are pretty valid, as there are some pros and cons to each:

Demons w/ lots of resistances:
+ Unlikely to be a victim of pile-ups: with multiple resistances, it's more likely at least one enemy will find them an unworthy target, discouraging the enemy from just all ganging up on them.
+ More economical use of stable space: Covering more resistances per demon leaves you with more stable room for other things.
- Lower HP, which may make them difficult to use when not facing the elements they resist, even if they aren't weak to the elements being used to attack them.

Demons w/ lots of weaknesses:
+ More HP against their chosen resistance types. A Fire resistant guy with 5 other weaknesses will have considerably more HP than a Fire resistant guy with 3 other resistances and just 1 weakness. Against a Fire enemy, the pile of weaknesses demon will be able to survive longer.
+ More HP in general, even during times when the resistances/weaknesses don't come into play. Slimes for example, can do well against Slash and Impact using enemies, even though they don't resist those types, simply because they have so many HP from the weaknesses that they can stand up to them.
- Requires more stable room to cover resistance types.
- More likely to be forced out of a fight quickly if enemies are capable of hammering on any of their multiple weaknesses.

The relative value of these pros and cons is somewhat a matter of playstyle and personal preference, I'm not sure I could make a claim on one approach or the other being outright better.

[Sandman25]

Thank you for detailed answer, I am actually happy to see the numbers
I don't understand "More economical use of stable space: Covering more resistances per demon leaves you with more stable room for other things" and "Requires more stable room to cover resistance types". What do you mean? Demons may need to use abilities to cover their weaknesses (like Evasion or Blocking)?

[Ferret]

Oh, I just mean that if you wanted to have at least one demon that resists each damage type, it's easier to do this with demons that have multiple resistances than it is if you only want ones with one or two each.

[Sandman25]

I see. I believe 1 demon with specific resistance is too little, there were very hard battles where even 3 fire-resistant demon barely were enough.