Hi guys, guess what my main character has -6 Armor, I did this by wearing Ankheg Plate Mail + Gauntlets of Dexterity + Ring of the Princes (+1 AC), the thing is how many sets of these items can you find in the Enhanced Edition? Maybe the developers could consider making the Rings of protection stack in a new patch cause I just love having lower ACs, it makes your characters much tougher!
Hi guys, guess what my main character has -6 Armor, I did this by wearing Ankheg Plate Mail + Gauntlets of Dexterity + Ring of the Princes (+1 AC), the thing is how many sets of these items can you find in the Enhanced Edition? Maybe the developers could consider making the Rings of protection stack in a new patch cause I just love having lower ACs, it makes your characters much tougher!
Well just my take on this subject, game on.
There are mods available that allow for unlimited stacking of magical armor and protection devices. But that is clearly contrary to the official rules, so such a change is unlikely to ever happen in an in unmodified game.
I am not quite sure of the rules this game is based upon, I am still quite new to this game but is it essential to have a good AC in the later chapters of the game? Any good strategies to recommend with regards to tackling this aspect of the game, cause I would want to get as low AC as possible for my whole party.
One more question I would like to enquire about with regards to stacking protection is whether spells like barkskin stack with Normal armor? Basically what stacks and what does not in this game? I am having trouble with deciding spells for my level 4 druid/fighter, should I just drop barkskin for charm person instead?
One more thing is I do not like using mods, but wouldn't it be easier if they just added game options to customise your official game through a patch? I think they should just allow players to toggle game options which are given in the default game in the first place to decide what aspects of the rules players want to go with in their game. Sure it might get a bit complicated and technical but at least players can have more fun with their version of an ideal game as opposed to just "following" the official rules determined by the game developer.
@Reposter Yes, you want good AC at the end of the game. I find it most useful to have a particularly great AC in 1-3 of your party members (the "tanks"), and to not worry about the others, rather than evenly splitting AC gear across your party.
Regarding AC rules, here's a copy+paste from a similar thread I was in:
-- Let's see if I can run down the list of confusing aspects of AC:
Base AC is 10. You can modify this while bare-naked with Dexterity, so a character with 18 dexterity would start out with an AC of 6.
Armor with a listed AC sets your base AC to that level. So, an armor with an AC of 8 would drop your AC down to 8. If it was already 6 thanks to the dexterity in the above example, the armor would drop down to 4.
Bracers with an AC value operate the same way as armor, and they don't stack with armor. Bracers with AC 8 give you the same effect as armor with AC 8, and equipping both at the same time serves no purpose. Bracers of AC are typically only useful for mages/sorcerers/bards, since those classes can't equip typical armor.
A +1 or greater value on armor is always a POSITIVE bonus. Think of the +X as being simply an indicator of how magical the armor is, rather than a mathematical expression that will impact your AC. So, if a typical suit of plate mail has an AC of 3, a suit of plate mail +1 would have an AC of 2, which is better.
Other positive influences on your AC, like a ring of +1 AC, will LOWER your AC. This is a good thing, as you already know.
It's confusing, and you'll have to take some time to get used to it. Just remember that when something sets your AC, you want it to be as low as possible, and when something adds or subtracts from your AC, you want it to add.
Edit for clarity: Dexterity still modifies your AC regardless of what you're wearing. I might have implied above that it only works while not wearing armor. --
Barkskin doesn't stack with your body armor, so its usefulness is dependent on what armor you have available versus what level it is cast at. I personally find little to no use for it. Druids tend to not have a great spell selection early in the game, but they make up for it later.
Regarding rule options: It might be easier for you, but the developers would rather let players use mods for that sort of stuff.
I am not quite sure of the rules this game is based upon, I am still quite new to this game but is it essential to have a good AC in the later chapters of the game? Any good strategies to recommend with regards to tackling this aspect of the game, cause I would want to get as low AC as possible for my whole party.
Oh, there's no doubt that having really low AC is good to have, it's just that asking that the rules be changed so that you can get better armor is kinda like saying "it's really awesome to do lots of damage, so can you just increase the damage of all the weapons in the game?". Even if trying to follow Dungeons and Dragons rules wasn't an issue, it's still a matter of game balance.
One more question I would like to enquire about with regards to stacking protection is whether spells like barkskin stack with Normal armor? Basically what stacks and what does not in this game? I am having trouble with deciding spells for my level 4 druid/fighter, should I just drop barkskin for charm person instead?
Ok the following applies for pretty much for any parameter (like AC, strength, THAC0, etc)
I think pretty much all effects (and by effects I mean a change due to an item, spell, potion, etc) fall into one of two categories; they either set a parameter or provide a bonus (or penalty) to a parameter. Two effects that set the same parameter will not stack; sometimes the best value is the one that is used (usually for effects due to items), or in other cases whichever is applied last (usually for spells or potions). Two effects that provide a bonus to a parameter will usually stack with eachother. They will also stack with an effect that sets the parameter, but sometimes only if the effect that provides the bonus is applied second.
For example, body armor, bracers of AC, and spells like Barkskin all set your base AC, so they will not stack. However they will stack with bonuses to AC from things like dexterity, a ring of protection, etc.
Reposter I would add to the excellent comments above (madhax and TJ Hooker) just by saying that AC does not matter equally to every character. You will want 2-3 tank characters (warriors of some sort) with the best possible armor class and hit points at the end. But it matters far less for your spell casters and missile troops who are holding back from the melee. You still want it as good as you can, but I've had thieves and mages even at the end game who have armor class above zero and still won the final battle easily.
Comments
Well just my take on this subject, game on.
One more question I would like to enquire about with regards to stacking protection is whether spells like barkskin stack with Normal armor? Basically what stacks and what does not in this game? I am having trouble with deciding spells for my level 4 druid/fighter, should I just drop barkskin for charm person instead?
One more thing is I do not like using mods, but wouldn't it be easier if they just added game options to customise your official game through a patch? I think they should just allow players to toggle game options which are given in the default game in the first place to decide what aspects of the rules players want to go with in their game. Sure it might get a bit complicated and technical but at least players can have more fun with their version of an ideal game as opposed to just "following" the official rules determined by the game developer.
Regarding AC rules, here's a copy+paste from a similar thread I was in:
--
Let's see if I can run down the list of confusing aspects of AC:
Base AC is 10. You can modify this while bare-naked with Dexterity, so a character with 18 dexterity would start out with an AC of 6.
Armor with a listed AC sets your base AC to that level. So, an armor with an AC of 8 would drop your AC down to 8. If it was already 6 thanks to the dexterity in the above example, the armor would drop down to 4.
Bracers with an AC value operate the same way as armor, and they don't stack with armor. Bracers with AC 8 give you the same effect as armor with AC 8, and equipping both at the same time serves no purpose. Bracers of AC are typically only useful for mages/sorcerers/bards, since those classes can't equip typical armor.
A +1 or greater value on armor is always a POSITIVE bonus. Think of the +X as being simply an indicator of how magical the armor is, rather than a mathematical expression that will impact your AC. So, if a typical suit of plate mail has an AC of 3, a suit of plate mail +1 would have an AC of 2, which is better.
Other positive influences on your AC, like a ring of +1 AC, will LOWER your AC. This is a good thing, as you already know.
It's confusing, and you'll have to take some time to get used to it. Just remember that when something sets your AC, you want it to be as low as possible, and when something adds or subtracts from your AC, you want it to add.
Edit for clarity: Dexterity still modifies your AC regardless of what you're wearing. I might have implied above that it only works while not wearing armor.
--
Barkskin doesn't stack with your body armor, so its usefulness is dependent on what armor you have available versus what level it is cast at. I personally find little to no use for it. Druids tend to not have a great spell selection early in the game, but they make up for it later.
Regarding rule options: It might be easier for you, but the developers would rather let players use mods for that sort of stuff.
I think pretty much all effects (and by effects I mean a change due to an item, spell, potion, etc) fall into one of two categories; they either set a parameter or provide a bonus (or penalty) to a parameter. Two effects that set the same parameter will not stack; sometimes the best value is the one that is used (usually for effects due to items), or in other cases whichever is applied last (usually for spells or potions). Two effects that provide a bonus to a parameter will usually stack with eachother. They will also stack with an effect that sets the parameter, but sometimes only if the effect that provides the bonus is applied second.
For example, body armor, bracers of AC, and spells like Barkskin all set your base AC, so they will not stack. However they will stack with bonuses to AC from things like dexterity, a ring of protection, etc.