How to get my Thief AC down?

maliagante1

Just wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of how to get my two thieves' AC down in BG:EE (if possible). My main is a Swashbuckler -- never tried that before, I tend to play Base kit for most of my chars. Imoen is pure thief. At lvl 6 now, Imoen is AC 0 (Shadow Armor) and my main is AC -1 (Telbar's Studded Leather +2). Both have Dex 18 (I rearranged a bit with EE Keeper on Imoen). Single weapon style for Imoen, two weapons (magic scimitars) for main.

I feel they get hit way too often for comfort, and of course none of the prot rings/cloaks/amulets can be used as they don't stack. Is that AC I should "learn to live with" or are there obvious stuff I could use to better their AC at this point? (I know Swashbuckler go down 1 AC again at lvl 10, but thats a bit off yet). Is there for instance any + AC items out there I'm not aware of that DO stack with magical armor? (I dont want to dual/multiclass, at least not yet).

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Yigor

U can improve your AC vs specific crushing/missile/piercing/slashing damage with belts, boots and robes. 👈

maliagante1

That's a good point, thanks!

lroumen

Spells and potions will help as well.

I was thinking buckler but you have a proficiency in single weapon which means the buckler will not add anything unless it is enchanted.

Drizzts defender scimitar gives a +2 bonus which might be interesting.

maliagante1

Thanks! Yes, spells and potions do help of course, was mainly looking for something a bit permanent.

Drizzt's weapon: Yes, that's very interesting! I was thinking there might be some item(s) or weapons like that which boosted AC. I'm aware that he's got two scims that would be perfect for me, but as I'm reading now you can't pickpocket them. Which means I'd have to attack him with my party at lvl 6/7, and that sounds slightly suicidal... Oh well, maybe I'll try a bit later. Thanks for the tip!

jmerry

Don't rely primarily on AC. Pure thieves just can't do that well in it, and they can't prevent critical hits at all.

What do you do instead, if you're primarily a melee attacker? Skirmisher tactics. Sneak in for surprise attacks, retreat when you draw heat. Stealth is, in fact, a crucial skill for melee swashbucklers.

maliagante1

That's sound advice, thx. I usually use more subtle tactics for them than pure combat, and I really don't try to rely on AC primarily. It's just that sometimes it can't be helped, especially if the combat draws out a bit. I guess I was just wondering if there were obvious equipment "tricks" or such to bring their general AC down more. But I guess it's safe to say that -1 and 0 aren't particularly bad AC for their classes at that level then, and if that's the case I'm OK with it. Just didn't want to be missing something obvious.

Trouveur

Claw of Kazgaroth and Cloak of Balduran.
Elven chainmail with a ring or amulet of protection.

maliagante1

Aha! Those are very specific and great tips, thank you! I was aware of the claw as it's being sold by Thalantyr, but not going to use it cause of the penalties. But I did not know that CoB was possible to stack with prot items. The Elven chainmails is a great tip, I didn't know about that at all. Seems you can only get it if Dorn is in your party; no wonder I never discovered it then... Gonna check it out, thx!

Trouveur

I'm currently playing a blade in a no reload run, so i did my homeworks before venturing forth. ;-)
But until I have stoneskin to protect against critical hit, I will stay away from melee.

maliagante1

Well it worked, I just pickpocketed the Cloak of Balduran, that helped! Got the Elven Chainmail as well; that worked great for my Swashbuckler (even with prot ring it couldn't beat the Shadowarmor for my thief). Thanks again.

Never played a blade before, perhaps I should try. Although I doubt I have the patience for a no reload run, good on you if you can manage that.

Hotheon

maliagante1 wrote: »

Thanks! Yes, spells and potions do help of course, was mainly looking for something a bit permanent.

Drizzt's weapon: Yes, that's very interesting! I was thinking there might be some item(s) or weapons like that which boosted AC. I'm aware that he's got two scims that would be perfect for me, but as I'm reading now you can't pickpocket them. Which means I'd have to attack him with my party at lvl 6/7, and that sounds slightly suicidal... Oh well, maybe I'll try a bit later. Thanks for the tip!

never mind his sword get his armor ac: 1 that allows thief skills without penalties when equipped. best rogue armor in bgee