Editing Guardians (section)

== What "score" is made of ==

Your '''expedition score''' is one pile, assembled from:

: '''score = (attack × 1.5) + defense + party + bonuses'''

* '''Attack''' — your equipped weapon and trinket attack, any [[Blueprints|forged]] attack, and attack [[Tonics|potions]]. Attack is worth '''1.5×''' in the formula, so a stronger weapon is the single most efficient upgrade.
* '''Defense''' — your armour, shield and trinket defense, forged defense, and defense potions.
* '''Party''' — each uninjured [[Companions|companion]] in your expedition party adds '''power + (guard + swiftness) ÷ 2'''. A strong, [[Breeding|bred]] and [[Imprinting|imprinted]] party is a huge share of your score.
* '''Bonuses''' — a flat pile added on top: the full-set bonus of a worn [[Sets|expedition set]], the [[Homestead|Watchtower]], [[Museum]] wing perks, [[Mastery]] expedition perks (these '''scale with the Guardian's difficulty'''), [[Rivals|War Banners]] (+1 each), the [[Rifts|Rift Standard]] (+10), [[Weather]], [[Pets]], and dino '''trinkets''' (a Vale Charm adds +5 each).

The game shows your exact win chance on the Guardian's card before you commit — and because the displayed number uses this identical pile, the card never lies.