I started playing 2 weeks ago and have run into a few questions about penetrating damage.

1) I know it goes through Toughness, does it also go through Invuln and Imperv?

2) Whats the best way to protect yourself from it? I.E. Psy Blast...

Thanks much!

1. Yes it goes through all damage reducers(unless a character has an ability to let them ignore psychic/penetrating)

2. Outwit is a good counter, as is not letting them have line of fire. That's all I have from the top of my head. hope it helps.

Penetrating damage goes through any power that reduces damage. This means Impervious, Invulnerability, Toughness or any special power that uses the word "reduce".

1) yes. It gets thru both.
2) super senses can avoid the attack , shape change makes them pick a new target, mastermind lets you pass it on to an adjacent lower costing friendly clix. Perplexing up or other ways to increase your defense . That's about it. Or have someone "tie-up" the psy blaster

If it's a pyshcic blast without sharpshooter, u can base them and they can't use it on you. But be careful if they have psychic blast and pulse wave.

If it's exploit weakness, stay at range attacks if you can.

There are only a few ways to defend against penetrating damage with figures that have damage reducing powers, and they all revolve around not being hit with said powers.

The first method is to cut off enemy access to said power(s). If you have Outwit available then that might handle it easily. You can also potentially cut off access to a power through placement of your other figures. If you are dealing with Psychic Bast/Penetrating then try moving one of your figures adjacent to the blaster. Unless they are a Sharpshooter they will no longer be able to use PB/P since you cannot make ranged attacks while in adjacency with an opposing figure. You can't keep an opposing figure from using Exploit Weakness by moving adjacent, but you can probably tie them up for a round or two as they'll either need to KO the figure next to them or else break away to move to your damage reducing figure. When using this tactic watch out for enemy figures with Charge or Running Shot. They may be able to roll breakaway and get to their intended target anyway. You can also try to damage the opposing figure first in an attempt to knock them off of their clicks that have penetrating damage powers. Your mileage will vary there, but usually any damage to the enemy is a good thing.

The second way is to cut off the enemy's access to the target. If you are dealing with Psychic Bast/Penetrating then blocking LoF is often an easy tactic. Keep walls or blocking terrain between you and the blaster. If you can't then you can try putting another figure between the two of you. Similarly, you might be able to keep an EW figure away from yours with careful placement of your other figures. Usually a figure must stop moving when they become adjacent to an opposing enemy. Using that "zone of control" around your other figures might help keep the EW figure at bay. Note that figures with Leap/Climb, Phasing, Hypersonic Speed, and Flight do *not* have to stop when they move adjacent to an enemy, so pay attention to the opposing figure's power set (Giants and Colossals also don't stop if the opposing figure is smaller). Finally, Barrier is a wonderful power to use to deny your opponent a target. You can place a barrier between the two figures or even barrier in one of them like this:

xBx
BFB
xBx

x=empty square
B=barrier token
F= figure in question

You can use that to block in the attacker or the defender, almost always breaking LoF and breaking adjacency. In the following layout an enemy with EW would not be able to attack your figure:

EBx
BFB
xBx

x=empty square
B=barrier token
F= friendly figure
E= enemy figure

Don't be afraid to add low cost figures to your team specifically to run interference for your bigger pieces. Lots of folks refer to pieces like that as "fodder" or "tie-up" pieces. They often can't do a lot offensively on their own, but if they are low enough cost it won't hurt your team if they are KOed if they protect your big hitters.

Thank you guys for the responses and Mr. Pilkington for the extended tactics. However to Mr. Pilkington, the second model you used barrier with, wouldn't the enemy still be able to attack my character because the are indeed adjacent to one another? Or does being in diagonal square not count as adjacent?

Adjacent barrier tokens are considered to be continuous/unbroken blocking terrain. Thus you are no longer adjacent (and won't need to roll break away to move) and you cannot make attacks through the diagonal (usually... a few characters like Cosmic Spider-Man could then attack with range since his LoF is never blocked).

So to summarize, being next to another figure on the same elevation usually means you are adjacent to them for rules purposes, but if that diagonal crosses between two squares of blocking terrain you are not, indeed, adjacent.

Groovy, thanks I didnt know that. Would that also work with Smoke Cloud ability?

Being in a diagonal square is normally adjacent, but blocking terrain connects across corners and blocks adjacency.

Smoke Cloud is only Hindering Terrain, not Blocking Terrain, so you would still be adjacent.

Just a little clarification to this bit: Leap/Climb and Phasing both require their own action to activate, so they can't be used straight out offensively. What I mean by this is that characters with these powers need to use one turn to get where they want to go and can only attack on the next turn. Basically I'm saying that you can't use them with Charge or Running Shot.

A defense of 25?

In Golden Age, Protected. Fortitude protects you from Exploit Weakness, and Repulsor Shield protects you from Psychic Blast.

In Modern Age, either Outwit the offending power, or hope that your have Shape Change and/or Super Senses to somehow avoid the attack.