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Magical plate mail - what's the point?

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  • CamDawgCamDawg Member, Developer Posts: 3,438
    Yeah, all the dragon armors are magical in BG2. Ankheg plate is magical in both BG and BG2, too.
  • IgnatiusIgnatius Member Posts: 624
    Enjoy the playthrough! I will put in a bit of time tonight myself... while on armor and given the specific resistance to piercing/slashing/..., I wonder if the Spint Mail is not better than the plain Plate. On average. I wonder how many simply do the entire playthrough with just a splint mail equipped, it is a fantastic armor for the price you pay.
  • bigdogchrisbigdogchris Member Posts: 1,336
    This subject in part is being discussed over here as well. Ankheg is too powerful and has always been.
  • ankhegankheg Member Posts: 546
    Some magical armors (especially in BG2) have quite unique slashing/piercing/missile bonus. It's always good to check in records.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    Why not just add any magical armor + bonus to your saves as well? I don't quite remember if that was a rule in 2nd edition, and I'm not close to my books right now, but it totally makes sense to me as each + is actually a magical layer of protection.
  • bigdogchrisbigdogchris Member Posts: 1,336
    edited December 2012
    @ankheg

    You're right about that. However, Ankheg Plate now with a Ring +1 (both level 1 equipment) is better than Platemail +3 (basement of Durlag's), even when you look at the slashing, missile, etc it's better. Equipment from the beginning of the game should not be the best equipment still at level 10.

    Ankheg Plate (AC2) is supposed to be a slightly better version of basic plate mail. The Ankheg Plate in vanilla BG was AC 1 and flagged as not able to use + protections (or as I like to call it Ankheg Plate +1). The way they changed it in BG:EE by allowing + protection makes it overpowered as stuff even in Durlag's is now obsolete by it.

    We have a few suggestions in that thread, ranging from setting it back to just vanilla BG,changing descriptions, or adding multiple versions to the game.
    mlnevese said:

    Why not just add any magical armor + bonus to your saves as well? I don't quite remember if that was a rule in 2nd edition, and I'm not close to my books right now, but it totally makes sense to me as each + is actually a magical layer of protection.

    Current + protection on rings, necklaces, and cloaks does add to saving throws. Armor + does not. I'm not sure if it's supposed to per PnP or not, but I've learned the hard way just because it's in PnP doesn't mean it's an excuse to put it in BG.
  • EilerEiler Member Posts: 93
    If I have druids or clerics they always end up with the ankeg plate due to their often subpar strength stats.
    Kirkor said:

    Ignatius said:

    Well, you're quite right actually.

    I was going to mention weight as an issue - although the ankheg is light. Having the ankheg armor as non-magical makes it by far the best armor in the game, and so easily available. Am not too happy with that change tbh...

    The other reason for wearing a magical armor is to free up one slot for a ring/necklace/cloak. This might be relevant towards the end game when you have gathered enough such powerful items, although I hate no to enjoy my +1 bonus to all saving throws.

    Nope. Ankheg is much worse than Full Plate.
    You can compare those two armors in your characters Record screen.
    There are some bonus stats, like protection against damage (slashing, piercing etc.), and full plate is the best in those stats.
    So the best combo is Full Plate and Ring +2.
    Not to mention, that Full Plate is best looking heavy armor :)

    Ankheg Plate is good only for characters with low strength, like Viconia, who can't wear full plates or normal plates.
  • ankhegankheg Member Posts: 546

    @ankheg

    You're right about that. However, Ankheg Plate now with a Ring +1 (both level 1 equipment) is better than Platemail +3 (basement of Durlag's), even when you look at the slashing, missile, etc it's better. Equipment from the beginning of the game should not be the best equipment still at level 10.

    Ankheg Plate (AC2) is supposed to be a slightly better version of basic plate mail. The Ankheg Plate in vanilla BG was AC 1 and flagged as not able to use + protections (or as I like to call it Ankheg Plate +1). The way they changed it in BG:EE by allowing + protection makes it overpowered as stuff even in Durlag's is now obsolete by it.

    We have a few suggestions in that thread, ranging from setting it back to just vanilla BG,changing descriptions, or adding multiple versions to the game.

    mlnevese said:

    Why not just add any magical armor + bonus to your saves as well? I don't quite remember if that was a rule in 2nd edition, and I'm not close to my books right now, but it totally makes sense to me as each + is actually a magical layer of protection.

    Current + protection on rings, necklaces, and cloaks does add to saving throws. Armor + does not. I'm not sure if it's supposed to per PnP or not, but I've learned the hard way just because it's in PnP doesn't mean it's an excuse to put it in BG.
    Well, yes especially with additional itmes which are behaveing like x of protection but can be stacked. Like cloak of balduran. One can argue with these in BG1 however in 2 the magical plates are usually better. (at least the very best of them)
  • DarkcloudDarkcloud Member Posts: 302
    The plate mail is quite useless because you most likely have at least full plate at that point anyway. I really love the component of BG 2 fixpack that allows you to wear rings with PnP rules. That way you can wear them even with magical armor but don't get the extra AC bonus.
  • IkMarcIkMarc Member Posts: 552
    edited December 2012
    Simply because back in da dayzz we didnt have the internet to check up the location of every uberitem so we didnt have this abundance of them and had to divide the ones we had over six characters. Same reason there are longsword +1 etc in the game.
  • RiolathelRiolathel Member Posts: 330
    edited December 2012
    IkMarc said:

    Simply because back in da dayzz we didnt have the internet to check up the location of every uberitem so we didnt have this abundance of them and had to divide the ones we had over six characters. Same reason there are longsword +1 etc in the game.

    I didn't look up anything on my first playthrough.. I still figured out ankheg mail, and full plate mail is right in the store..

    After running through durlags with all 4 plate users using full plate or ankheg i realized even the best dungeon in the game had nothing better to offer

    Post edited by Riolathel on
  • ankhegankheg Member Posts: 546
    Darkcloud said:

    The plate mail is quite useless because you most likely have at least full plate at that point anyway. I really love the component of BG 2 fixpack that allows you to wear rings with PnP rules. That way you can wear them even with magical armor but don't get the extra AC bonus.

    When we talked about plates we inculded full plate mails too. In BG2 they don't use the "full" part necessarily but they are full in statistics.
  • DeucetipherDeucetipher Member Posts: 521
    Incredibly niche, but I generally keep the plate+3 around in my f/thieves' inventory, if good aligned. They tend to wear shadow armor+Kaz+Sandthief, so keeping a light, powerful armor is useful for some engagements. I don't bother on evil/neutral because I will generally kill Drizzt in those playthroughs, and the chain+4 is pretty comparable.
  • ankhegankheg Member Posts: 546

    Incredibly niche, but I generally keep the plate+3 around in my f/thieves' inventory, if good aligned. They tend to wear shadow armor+Kaz+Sandthief, so keeping a light, powerful armor is useful for some engagements. I don't bother on evil/neutral because I will generally kill Drizzt in those playthroughs, and the chain+4 is pretty comparable.

    The bonus ac is much lower.
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