Fortification or Protection?

[GrandinBob]

What is more beneficial for a Wizard, Fortification or Protection (AC) item?

[Allistair]

Both and add resistance to the list as well.

[baddax]

Both and add resistance to the list as well.

depends on level but fort is more important imo becuase as a wizzie you will have a probably have a crappy ac anyways. but When you get hit you dont want to get critted because u dont have alot of hp either. Blur / displacement helps also.

[Winded]

My Wizard hasnt worn a protection item since I got the Reaver napkin and does fine, but defeinately carries a prot +5 cloak for when i need to shut up and turtle up. My Minos Helm doesnt get removed, ever..... Ive tested , the heavy fort mitigates much more damage than protection for my 26-30 ac wizard, cause guess what, if something swings at ya, youre gonna get hit, period.

[BGP]

In my opinion, AC is ALMOST useless to Wizards at high lvl content. Unless you can get it to a 45+ (minimum) then you need to concentrate on the Heavy Fort. It will drastically cut down on the crits for 100+ from mobs and keep you alive long enough for the cleric to keep you up.

Also displacement is more important than AC IMO. That 50% chance of totally missing is better than most wizard AC's. I play a capped wizard, cleric and 2 tanks FWIW.

Knut

[llevenbaxx]

Id say fortification, hands down. Unless you are making an AC relavent specialized caster, AC isnt going to save you much, you are better of not being in a position to be getting swung at often. With the shear number of mobs we face, eventually you are going to get swung at, most likily your AC isnt going to prevent the hit but you will prolly be able to shrug off a hit here and there...unless its a crit. As a squishy getting critted is the last thing you want to have happen, with the wrong mob, it can easily mean 75-100% of your hps... Fort and tactics first, AC as an afterthought.

Just throwin this out there, was doing threnel east 3 last night on my WF sorc9 and there was two other WF wizzys in the group who when struck by the rusties were almost certainly dead. I was able to shrug off enough hits due to having 125% fort(Heavy fort belt RR WF).

[unionyes]

Fortification for sure.

You shouldn't be anywhere that you are going to get hit, anyhow, and when you hear fighters talk about how AC is almost irrelevant at end game, that should give you a clue that your robes and protection stuff aren't going to be much help if you are getting whacked.

I alternate between a Heavy Fort robe and a Deathblock robe, usually leaning toward the Deathblock but depending on the quest.

I always buff with False Life and Greater Hero (to boost HP), Blur (so they miss me sometimes anyhow regardless of my AC), Stoneskin (takes the first 10 points of damage per physical shot), Jump and Expeditious Retreat (can't hit me if they can't catch me).

When I was leveling, I found that a Fearsome and Heavy Fort combination kept me alive a lot, as the Fearsome meant that I was only getting hit once, and the Heavy Fort meant I wasn't taking 200 pts of damage from a critical hit. Of course, it's hard to keep the mobs in your firewall when they are fleeing in fear, and they are usually only whacking you if the rest of the party can't get aggro, so it is a mediocre solution at best, and more suited to solo stuff or a PK and FOD playstyle.

If you are playing your caster in the 'usual' style (hanging back, crowd control, AOE stuff, and the odd instakill stuff), you probably will have more to worry about from enemy spells than melee damage, so get those elemental resistances up, from items or spells or both. If the mobs are chasing you around to beat on you, then most likely the party is in the process of wiping and you're dead but just don't know it yet.

[ArkoHighStar]

The keys to avoiding damage are the following

heavy fortification
blur
displacement
stoneskin
fearsome
haste
jump

situational protection

elemental resistance
elemental protection
greater heroism
freedom of movement

[Warmane]

The keys to avoiding damage are the following

heavy fortification
blur
displacement
stoneskin
fearsome
haste
jump

situational protection

elemental resistance
elemental protection
greater heroism
freedom of movement

Wow.... I could've used that when I started my Sorc.... still, it's good to hear about now... *wonders why "Hisnoobishnes"
never thought of it*

[GrandinBob]

Thanks everyone. There was a lengthy in-game discussion the other night which is better if you could only equip one or the other.

[Galapas]

"Jump and Expeditious Retreat (can't hit me if they can't catch me)."

I think I've gotten more defense out of these spells than stoneskin. Very useful when doing the firewall polka.

[sirgog]

I consider the #1 form of damage mitigation in-game to be Heavy Fortification - even on normal the rednamed Orc in the Shroud can crit for 220 which will take most level 16 arcane casters down to about 10hp.

#2 is Stoneskin, #3 resist energy, #4 Haste and Jump (to avoid the attacks with twitch skills) and #5 blur or displacement.

[baddax]

Dont forget my casters favorite Fearsome!