Thompson

Overview

Thompson is a versatile, high-durability Main Tank who slots well into any Echelon that needs someone to take aggro and soak damage. Although Thompson is usually less favored than SMGs like Vector or UMP9 who have high base Evasion and more team-impacting skills, players can still consider Thompson for the Main Tank role due to her survivability.

Despite her low max Evasion, Thompson excels in her role due to her exceptional base HP pool and Force Shield skill, which grants her invulnerability for a short period of time. When equipped with a high Evasion Exoskeleton and Crit or Accuracy increasing Accessories, Thompson becomes a spiked shield, able to absorb chunks of damage.

Strengths

Highest HP Among SMGs

When equipped with a high Evasion Exoskeleton and/or provided with formation buffs for Evasion, Thompson can soak up exceptional amounts of damage before reaching a critical HP level.

Force Shield Invincibility

The Force Shield Skill provides Thompson with invulnerability on a timer, which when combined with her high HP pool provides her with excellent survivability over longer battles.

Weaknesses

Low Base Evasion Among SMGs

Thompson has the second-lowest base Evasion among all SMGs. This weakness can be mitigated, though, by equipping Thompson with a high Evasion Exoskeleton to compensate.

Awkward Formation Buff Pattern

Thompson’s buff pattern applies in both directions diagonally behind her, which means only one buff square can apply to her allies if Thompson is placed in the top or bottom row of a standard F or b formation.

Full Analysis

Compared to other T-Dolls of the same class, Thompson’s stat block has both very clear advantages and disadvantages. Thompson’s maximum HP at x5 Dummy Link is 1190, over 30% higher than the average for SMGs. Her Evasion, however, caps at a meager 54, which is 20% less than the class average and the second lowest among SMGs. Fortunately, Thompson’s first two Equipment slots are for Exoskeletons and Hollow Point Ammo, which means that the damage penalty that EVA-increasing Exoskeletons tend to have can be cancelled out by Ammo equips. The IOP T family of Exoskeletons is recommended to mitigate the downside of her low base Evasion.

Thompson’s skill is Force Shield, which at max rank provides 4 seconds of invulnerability on a 16 second cooldown. This skill not only allows her to soak more damage from mobs, but also -- if timed properly -- can be a way to nullify burst damage from bosses, snipers or armored enemies. However, Force Shield has a long initial cooldown of 8 seconds, which means it does not always activate in shorter encounters.

Overall, Thompson can be a powerful candidate for the Main Tank role in Echelons seeking to sustain through extended encounters. Although she does not have the AoE clear power of grenade-skill SMGs, her high HP and Force Shield grant her top class survivability against burst damage enemies. Players can consider saving their cores for Thompson if they are looking for a tank that can survive large maps or boss fights without too many repairs.

Team Options

Tokarev

Makarov

P08

M4A1

ST AR-15

TAR-21

P7

OTs-12

FAL

Welrod MKII

Type95

HGs with EVA affecting skills

To further help compensate for her low base EVA, Thompson pairs well with HGs that debuff enemy accuracy with their skills such as Welrod MkII and Makarov. She also performs well with  HGs that buff allies’ EVA with their skills such as Tokarev, P7, and P08.

ARs or HGs with EVA formation buffs

Similar to above, Thompson also pairs well with ARs and HGs that offer EVA formation buffs. For maximum efficiency, pair Thompson with ARs with formation buffs that extend diagonally in front of them such as Type 95, FAL, and TAR-21 so that Thompson and the AR mutually buff each other.

ARs with self-ROF buff

Thompson’s formation buff boosts Damage and Evasion, and therefore is most effective when applied to ARs with skills that increase their own ROF. Examples include M4A1, ST AR-15, and OTs-12

Recommended Formations