higher ac??? how

[ducetrae]

what can a 14 ranger do to get a higher ac i have :
10 base
10 dex
+5 protection
+5 barkskin
+7 shield
+6 armor bracers total
+1dodge
total= 44 ac
with haste+1 and def fighting +2
total =48 ac
and +3ac to fav enemies with fav defense 3
total = + 51ac
HOW CAN I GET MY BASE AC UP ANY HIGHER PLS HELp

22STR WITH +6 BELT +1 TOME
30DEX WITH +6 GLOVES +1 TOME
14 CON WITH +4 RING ( NEED +6 RING AND A TOME)
10 INTEL BASE
20 WIS +5 HAT +1 TOME
12 +1 TOME (18 WITH MY CLOAK FOR UMD ONLY)

[Mad_Bombardier]

+1 Armor Bracers +7, rr: (*ultra rare)
+2 Chaosgardes (dodge bonus bracers- Lawful only, replaces Armor Bracers and requires Armor Bonus Robe)
+1 'of Parrying' weapon
+3 Chattering Ring (dodge bonus raid loot)
+2 Recitation (cleric spell, luck bonus to AC)

[Jaysensen]

in lieu of 7AC Bracers ... White Dragon Robe = 7 AC

Theoretically you could get a +3 INT Tome and get CE. LOL I wouldnt do that but that was someone's Legitimate suggestion on a different thread on his Fighter.

IMHO AC needs to be built for. My ranger gets over 60, but that is because I planned in advance as an AC build. CE is REALLY helpful now.

[EDIT] Descartes is an elf right? So no Human boost or Dwarf Armor Mastery. Hmmm...

[BNFEAR]

Why is it so important to get your A/C higher than what you have? I have many melee characters, two of which used to have CE. A 44 base is good enough for most instances IMO, and if you get up to a 48 as you stated, you are set, and a 51 is just icing on the cake. You are not going to get hit hard and even if you have a 60 like my fighter used to have with CE, a 20 will still hit. As for CE, I used to use it and it is overated IMO, and the trade off on the attack is not worth it. My TWF has a 41 AC and with DPS I can drop a crowd before I take to much damage. I know this is not a fighter thread, but the concept of AC is the same, not to take damage. My suggestion if you have cash and UMD, scrolls of Stoneskin, and Displacement for the tougher fights. The displacement does not last long but it takes the edge off.

Just some food for thought.

[Jaysensen]

It is very easy for Rangers to easily break 55 AC while TWF. And 55 is very near the breakpoint for always useful AC. Whereas 50 is only useful in Desert and below content.

[Edit] CE is VERY Important on the right build, but can gimp you on the wrong build.

[QuantumFX]

- Switching to the White Dragon Robe and Chaosguarde. (+2 Dodge/+6 Armor/+4 Deflection)

- Combat Expertise (+5 Dodge)

- Chattering Ring (+3 Dodge)

- Recitation (+2 Luck)

- Weapon of Parrying (+1 Insight)

- If you have a single point of tumble skill and an item of mobility (Tumble +4 Dodge)

[BNFEAR]

It is very easy for Rangers to easily break 55 AC while TWF. And 55 is very near the breakpoint for always useful AC. Whereas 50 is only useful in Desert and below content.

[Edit] CE is VERY Important on the right build, but can gimp you on the wrong build.


Well if you are using CE to get there, I totally disagree, but that is what makes this game so much fun is the variety of builds. Like I said my characters are a 49 AC, 46 AC and 42 AC (miscalculated on this one) and it is more than enough for the highest content in this game. But remember I am juicing up with Stoneskin, Blur and Displacement throughout the runs. The 42 I will say it is borderline and I much appreciate Barksin from a Ranger to put me at 44. But to say that a less than 50 is not good for higher runs, Pfft... :p :D

If ya have a chance run with Philander (If you are on Argo), if you see him on (make it the highest content possible) and see how he fares in the quest. While raging he has a 15 AC I believe and he takes no more damage that the rest of the party. (Note: he is 10 levels of Bard/4 Fighter), so he is always self buffed and wearing Stone Skin...

It is absolutely amazing what that character can do, of course it also rely's on a players abilities.

Thanks for the reply...

[Jaysensen]

Dont confuse AC and buffs.

You can have uberhigh AC AND all the goodie buffs. And yes, 50AC is almost worthless on even POP Elite. 50 AC with stoneskin and displacement however is awesome. Now what about 60 AC with SS and Disp...

Im not saying you are wrong, exactly, but its not just the buffs. Its not just the AC. Its both together. I was talking about AC, because that was the discussion. The OP wants to know what to do to his AC to work together with his buffs.


But again, 50 AC is ****. 50 AC plus Displacement is **** plus Displacement lol. That was a joke.

[BNFEAR]

Dont confuse AC and buffs.

You can have uberhigh AC AND all the goodie buffs. And yes, 50AC is almost worthless on even POP Elite. 50 AC with stoneskin and displacement however is awesome. Now what about 60 AC with SS and Disp...

Im not saying you are wrong, exactly, but its not just the buffs. Its not just the AC. Its both together. I was talking about AC, because that was the discussion. The OP wants to know what to do to his AC to work together with his buffs.


But again, 50 AC is ****. 50 AC plus Displacement is **** plus Displacement lol. That was a joke.


I read a lot of your threads and comments Jay, and they are good and I use them in my builds, especially as this is my first ranger build. So don't get me wrong, I just am so accustomed to buffs, that I guess I have ignored the straight AC fighting. I still do not like giving up 5 to 9 on the attack with CE, and even more, I solo so much content and use clicks of haste; well Clicks of anything, and CE does not get along with clicks and slows things down, so that is probably my biggest beef with CE. I will send you my build stats in a PM and maybe you can help me along with this build if I have not screwed it up already.

I appreciate your feedback...

[Jaysensen]

CE is very situational. Its a non factor on my finesse Ranger, as her to hit is high. But on my STR Ranger, its a noticable loss- very rough at times. I love it, but others dont. No right or wrong answer.

[edit] Yeah, its A LOT of work to re-Shield yourself every min, Rage, Wand, etcetc then flip CE back on. Sometimes I admit to being too lazy to do it.

Hehe, given a choice of Displacement and Stoneskin or AC, Id take the buffs too! But in some cases, you can have your Cupcake and eat it too. OFC, I am not gonna stand around waiting for displacement because my mage is afking - Ill rely on AC.

[Soul-Shaker]

With only a 10 dex bonus, delvers and daggertooth belt will give you more ac.
18 vs 16 with white drag robe

[Soul-Shaker]

I read a lot of your threads and comments Jay, and they are good and I use them in my builds, especially as this is my first ranger build. So don't get me wrong, I just am so accustomed to buffs, that I guess I have ignored the straight AC fighting. I still do not like giving up 5 to 9 on the attack with CE, and even more, I solo so much content and use clicks of haste; well Clicks of anything, and CE does not get along with clicks and slows things down, so that is probably my biggest beef with CE. I will send you my build stats in a PM and maybe you can help me along with this build if I have not screwed it up already.

I appreciate your feedback...

Hehe costly fix but swap to haste pots. Im addicted and you wont worry about ce turning off.

[Lillitheris]

My pure 14 Ranger Vibius Claudius Sertorius, without uber stuff. A +5 Protection item would help, as would +7 Armor bracers. Not to mention a Chattering Ring :rolleyes:
I'm pretty sure I'm missing something but meh, here goes:

10 Base
12 Dex
6 Armor bracers
5 Barkskin
4 Shield clicky
4 Paladin Aura
3 Spec Ops
3 Favored Enemy Defense
2 Recitation
1 Haste
1 TWF Defense
= 51 TWF AC

Highest attainable:
7 Heavy Steel Shield (+3 over a Shield clicky)
2 Blocking
2 Defensive Fighting
= 58 AC

Add Displacement and Stoneskin; voilÃ*! Pure Tankage :D

[jmonty]

what were your starting stats, lilli?

[Soul-Shaker]

1 TWF Defense
= 51 TWF AC

Highest attainable:
7 Heavy Steel Shield (+3 over a Shield clicky)
2 Blocking
2 Defensive Fighting
= 58 AC


hehe, You might have over looked something when adding it. 57 at your highest.

[Girevik]

...
4 Shield clicky
...
1 TWF Defense


Do those stack? I thought they were both "Shield" bonuses.

[Soul-Shaker]

Do those stack? I thought they were both "Shield" bonuses.
Nope, just a ac bonus.

From Feat compendium


Two Weapon Defense
Grants you a +1 bonus to your AC when you wield two weapons.
Prerequisite: Two Weapon Fighting

[Soul-Shaker]

Heres the My breakdown of the ac on my current Ranger, Soulkizu 11rgr/2pala/1rog str TWF drow, but I dont have a daggertooth belt atm. I rarely have problems with using shield spell clickies and then CE on weaker missions and when I really need to, I have 5th/10th lvl wands rdy. Ill probably pick up TWF Defense at lvl 15 as well.
Soulkizu 11rgr/2pala/1rog str TWF drow

Base AC
10 Base
10 Delving Suit
6 Max Dex Mod (My real max dex is 8 but Delvers 6)
2 Chaos Garde
1 Pala Aura
5 Protection Item
3 Dodge Chatter Ring
2 Favored Enemy Defense
1 Dodge Feat
----------------
40 base unbuff

Self Buff
4 Bark
4 Sheild spell
2 Recitation
1 Haste
5 CE
----------------
56 TWF self buff

Maxed buffs
+3 Heavy Steel Shield(over shield spell)
+2 Blocking
+1 Barks(lvl 12 rgr Bark)
+3 Pala Aura(+3 over my base aura)
+1 parry insight
+2 with daggertooth belt
----------------
68 AC

[paintedman]

Almost all require fairly rare raid loot.

Can I get a realistic, non-loot whor3 ac write up?

So no raid items, or +6 stat items(ie dex), no +2 tomes, and no CE (more of a personal thing, -5 to hit, yikes!)

most appreciative!

-paintedman

[Mad_Bombardier]

Almost all require fairly rare raid loot.

Can I get a realistic, non-loot whor3 ac write up?

So no raid items, or +6 stat items(ie dex), no +2 tomes, and no CE (more of a personal thing, -5 to hit, yikes!)If you don't want to farm (or buy at Auction) for named items, don't want to raid for loot, or want high end items, then you can't do an AC build.

High DEX + Armor Bracers or Medium DEX + Mithral Breastplate
Barkskin spell
Protection item/Shield of Faith spell
+5 Shield for when you're getting smacked too easy
'of Parrying' Weapon
Favored Enemy Defense

That's about it; upper 30s AC if you're lucky.

[Meriadeuc]

Almost all require fairly rare raid loot.

Can I get a realistic, non-loot whor3 ac write up?

So no raid items, or +6 stat items(ie dex), no +2 tomes, and no CE (more of a personal thing, -5 to hit, yikes!)

most appreciative!

-paintedman

Ok, let's try this:

32 dexterity (you can reach this as an elf or halfling if you start at 20 dex, or if you start at 18 use a +2 dexterity tome as your 1750 favor reward).

+6 Armor bracers

+5 protection item

+5 heavy shield

+1 dodge feet

That should get you to 40 without barkskin or favored enemy - 41 if you are a halfling. No raid loot, +6 stat items, or +2 tomes required (even though you are guaranteed at least one if you do enough quests). Barkskin can get you to 45, which is probably enough to make a difference in most quests.

[redoubt]

10 base
9 mith chain shirt
6 dex (capped by chain shirt)
2 dex daggerstooth
4 protection bracers
7 shield
1 dodge feat
---
39 total static

+5 barkskin buff (since this is the ranger forum)
----
44

This uses 2 nice items, but they are far from uber any more. Its tough to get those high AC numbers (50+), don't kid yourself. Above is pretty much my setup. To go up there are a couple easy-ish options:
1. delving suit for +1 (raid)
2. chattering ring +3 (raid again)
3. higher plus protection bracers. +1 (maybe 2?)

I do have a high DEX (34) so that would be worth 12 AC and I would need a +5 armor item to match what I wear now. Or +6 armor to match the delving suit. Of course most armor items are either armor or bracers. If I pick bracers I have to get a new protection items which will bump item XXX.

I believe this is why it was stated earlier you need to build for AC from the start. To include your items. Gets to be quite a balancing act.

Best of luck to ya! :D

P.S. One other uber item I've considered is a dragon robe. For example the white dragon robe with +6 armor and +4 protection.
Can you get full dex bonus in one of these robes? That would match a delving suit for total AC and free of an equipment slot by having pro+4.

[Lillitheris]

what were your starting stats, lilli?

A bit of a delayed answer but here goes :p

16 Str (+1 Tome +5 Item = 22)
19 Dex (+1 Tome +6 Item +3 Level-ups +5 Enhancements = 34)
11 Con (+5 Item = 16)
8 Int
12 Wis (+4 Item = 16)
8 Cha

So, nothing uber here either. +6 Dex boots and two +1 tomes. I have 2 Wis tomes in the bank, I might end up giving one of them to Vibius. That and a +5 Item to get Wis up to 18.


hehe, You might have over looked something when adding it. 57 at your highest.

Yep my bad :p