What sort of DT Armour? Pros and Cons

[Zogdor]

I've got my Dwarf Rogue/Barb up to Reaver's Refuge level and will be working on getting him DT Armour this weekend, but I'm not sure which sort to go for.

I see lots of rogues wandering around with vestments, and a few with Leather Armour, is there really any "best" choice? I gave up on AC a long time ago, so what would you suggest? (and are Shrouds worth a look in too?)

[Cardtrick]

If you've completely given up on AC, as you say, then either a Shroud or a Vestment is the right choice. These are both cloth armor (Shroud is a robe, Vestment is an outfit), and the difference is purely cosmetic. Personally, I feel like the vestment would look slightly less weird than the shroud, but it's up to you.

Why Shroud or Vestment rather than Leather or one of the other options? Because there's no delay when swapping cloth armors. Eventually, you may have a couple of different situational sets of DT armor to swap between; or maybe you want to swap between your DT and a Deathblock Outfit of Greater Fire Resistance at times. Either way, the lack of a delay is good and the lack of AC doesn't hurt you.

If you were actually asking about which runes to plug in, that's a more difficult question and depends on your other gear and how often you want to grind RR quests for runes. Personally, my Rogue/Fighter/Monk is using vestments with Resistance + 5 for Eldritch, Healing Amp 20% for Tempest, and Earth (which procs Stoneskin on me) for Sovereign. It's far from ideal, but I really hate grinding those quests. Long term, I would like corrosive salt guard on the Tempest rune and Radiance Guard on the Sovereign.

[sephiroth1084]

If you don't care about AC, robe or outfit.

They swap instantly, have no armor check penalty, and have no arcane spell failure chance.

[QuantumFX]

I see lots of rogues wandering around with vestments, and a few with Leather Armour, is there really any "best" choice? I gave up on AC a long time ago, so what would you suggest? (and are Shrouds worth a look in too?)

I seriously doubt you will seen any rogue player wearing the DT leather for it’s AC bonuses. Some people actually like the look of Dragontouched Leather better than the “Purple PJ's” look of the DT vestments. However, with the introduction of appearance kits players can finally look past that particular problem.

[destiny4405]

outfits imo, because you run faster, and you can change them on a whim. have 3 dt's. everyone is +5 res and heal amp 20, and 3 different sovereigns (destruction, radiance guard and tharne's)

[Calebro]

I'll toss one more vote for outfit or robe.
I'll concur with the suggestions for Resist +5 on Eldritch, <choice> on Tempest [healing amp and Salt are good suggestions], and Radiance Guard on Sovereign.

Personally I usually go two sets with:
Resist, Protection, Radiance Guard on set 1
Resist, Salt, Dust on set 2
Set 1 gets worn for general purpose while my AC is still fairly effective and Rad procs still work.
Set 2 gets put on for boss fights where the only thing that matters is damage.

Alternately you could build a defensive set of Resist, Healing Amp, Stoneskin.

[karl_k0ch]

Another vote for Robe. Not only because of the ability to switch them easily, but also AC.
Unless I did my math wrong and/or the wiki states incorrect info, a DT Leather Armor will provide a total armor bonus of +8, with a max dex modifier of +7 (which is 24 dex), resulting in a maximal AC of +15 through armor and stat mod.
A robe or shroud will provide only +6 ac, but it has no max dex mod. In order to achieve the aforementioned +15 AC, you will need a dexmod of +9, i.e. a Dex of 28.
To conclude: With regards to AC, cloth armor is equal or better than leathers as soon as you can reache 28 Dex or more.

My two current outfit layouts are Resistance and Healing Amp on both and either Tharnes or Radiance Guard as 3rd tier. The former for party play and raids, the latter for quests when you solo.

[Vengenance]

1) go cloth of some sort robe or outfit w/e you like more or one of each for quick swaps.

Main Outfit: +5 Resist, Healing Amp, and Destruction

Secondary Outfit: +5 Resist, Salt Guard, (Freezing Ice, Radiance, Disintegration)

Personally I love having destruction on my chars w/o a full BAB as it makes everything easier and is party friendly. It also allows me to pretty much keep PA on full time.

[Illiain]

I have a vestment with +6 chr and +3 chr skills. Helps a lot when needing to pop scrolls.

[Bodic]

Vestment

2 sets
+5 res and C Salt for both

teirIII Rad(1) and Dust(2) guards

[jurzey]

I have a vestment with +6 chr and +3 chr skills. Helps a lot when needing to pop scrolls.

I'm going to start working on this set as well. A quick swap for UMD and then back to regular.