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Ryan.
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August 19, 2012 at 4:49 pm #988
Ryan
MemberHello Swords
I have a Dwarf Stalwart that Ive been slowly levelling and have a few questions.
At the moment hes a L12 TWF. My future plan is for him to have useful AC and useful IntimThe intim i can sort but its the AC I struggle with understanding. Theres so many things that affect it I get muddled with what stacks.
Theres Prot items and Dodge items to name but two plus barkskin, shield pots etc etc and Im lost.
Any advice would be much appreciated on what gear to use would be much appreciated. I
Many thanks
.August 20, 2012 at 3:36 pm #991
SinaefayMemberGetting useful ac through armor now means heavy armor and tower shield to start with, but you also need to look at Physical Resistance Rating and Dodge bonuses (heavy armor and tower shields means you will get the bets PRR you can get). Then you add in the additional bits, including feats like Shield Mastery, Improved Shield Mastery and Combat Expertise.
That is the basics, but if you want to get your AC and PRR high, you also need gear that boosts that. That means you need items that gives you +5 protection (a very common way to get it is a mineral 2 shroud greensteel item that gives you heavy fortification and +5 protection in the same item, very often as a hp item).
Natural armor comes from barkskin (spell or potion) or an item that grants it (random loot or named epic item or random epic loot item).
Dodge nowadays only gives you a % chance to avoid an attack, which is capped by your armor’s max dex bonus.
August 20, 2012 at 4:45 pm #993MemberThak you Jan.
Toughtrax uses a Tower shield (i forget which) and wear Full Plate of the Giants. He also has a Prot 4 item and Bracers of Deftness. Ive taken some enhancements that boost AC but I forget which one. I dont fully understand the Dex cap thing tbh.
I’ll have to check my AC as it is now but Im sure it was in the 60’s pre u14 (self buffed) PRR may be in the 50’s (at a guess)
If useful AC is is too difficult to obtain then perhaps Ill give it up at GHold.
TBH I just dont understand it enough atm.
Thanks again
Ryan
August 20, 2012 at 6:46 pm #995SinaefayMemberI dont think bracers of deftness will give you anything, except for mobility (only one ac item counts, of which your heavy armor will be the highest).
August 25, 2012 at 8:01 am #1039
MolfeinMemberHi Ryan,
Yes the DEX capping is complex, but I will try to sum up:
DEX gives you a bonus to armour class, e.g. DEX 16 (+3) gives +3 AC
All armours have a Max DEX bonus, e.g. Full Plate Max DEX is 1, Mithral Full Plate, Max DEX is 3, etc.
Therefore a character as above with 16 DEX wearing Steel Full Plate armour would only get +1 AC.
If this character was a Dwarf, then some APs could be spent on Armour Mastery, which increases the Max DEX bonus. So Armour Mastery II would allow the character to realise the full +3 AC.
There’s also the Dragontooth belt which is an item giving the same effect. Unsure if there are other items giving same effect too.
Clearly once the character above equipped a DEX item, or had Mithral Full Plate, more Armour Mastery would be needed to increase the AC.
The situtation is further complicated as Tower Shields also have a Max DEX bonus; Steel Tower Shield 2, Mithral Tower Shield 4 (iirc).
If you mouse hover over AC on your character sheet, you can see the breakdown of where the AC comes from. Just ensure you’re not standing near a Paladin (who gives a protective aura) as that will further confuse!
Take a look at Gyolnir who is built as Dwarven Defender … a row of them acts like a steel wall, although is more dangerous if you stand too close 🙂
http://my.ddo.com/character/ghallanda/gyolnir/
I can let you know his AP spend IG.
Cheers,
G
August 26, 2012 at 7:38 pm #1041MemberHello Chris.
thankyou for the explanation, its much appreciated as I now understand how it works..
I guess the AP enhancements are for those trying to get every lastlittle bit of AC then.
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