Rystil Arden said:
Normal Areas are basically shut down completely by Evasion or Improved Evasion) (note the 85% and 90% chances for nothing, which become 86% and 91% after I fix for my mistake on Bruised). Targeted Areas are not.
I'd say this is more a sign that Evasion as written is overpowered.
In M&M, Area effects are such that, if you fail the Reflex save, you suffer the full effect, but if you make the Reflex save, you suffer only half the effect. Thus, if hit by an Area Blast 10, if you fail the Reflex save (DC 20), you have to make a Toughness save as if hit by a Blast 10 (DC 25), but if you make the Reflex save, you make a Toughness save as if hit by only a Blast 5 (DC 20).
As written, Evasion (1pp) lets you take no damage from an Area effect if you make the Reflex save (though you still take full damage if you fail the Reflex save) -- fail the Reflex save, make a Toughness save against a Blast 10, but make it and you need not make any Toughness save. If you take Evasion twice (for 2pp), you still take no damage on a successful save, but only half damage on a failed save -- fail the Reflex save, make a Toughness save against only a Blast 5, but no Toughness save needed if you make the Reflex save.
Now, compare this to the Immunity power, where, for 30 ranks (30pp), you can be completely immune to anything requiring a Reflex save. If you take the Limited version (15pp), then you reduce the DC of any Reflex save by half. However, nowhere has it been written how this plays to Area Effect things (and my very brief search at ATT yielded nothing) -- my guess is that, in the full Immunity case, you'd be treated as if you'd automatically made the Reflex save, so would need to save against half the base effect (in the Area Blast 10 case, you'd be treated as if you'd automatically made the Reflex save so would only need to worry about making a Toughness save against a Blast 5). In the case of the Limited Immunity, it would reduce the DC of the Reflex save, thus making it easier to avoid the full force of the base effect.
So, to summarize:
- No Evasion/Immunity: Either take full effect or half effect, based on outcome of Reflex save.
- Evasion (1pp): Either take full effect or no effect, based on outcome of Reflex save.
- Evasion 2 (2pp): Either take half effect or no effect, based on outcome of Reflex save.
- Immunity 30 (Reflex Saves; Limited to Half Effect) (15pp): Either take full effect or half effect, based on outcome of Reflex save, but Reflex save will be easier to make.
- Immunity 30 (Reflex saves) (30pp): (guess) Automatically suffer only half the base effect.
Evasion 2 (2pp) actually seems better than Immunity (30pp), since there'll be a chance you suffer no effect. 'Course, if I'm wrong, and the full Immunity is just that -- that you are completely immune to anything requiring a Reflex save, and suffer no effect -- then the Immunity is better than Evasion 2... but I'm not sure if it should be 28pp better.