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Questions about armor class

Discussion in 'Neverwinter Nights 2' started by The Great Snook, Sep 22, 2008.

  1. The Great Snook Gems: 31/31
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    I don't have the game in front of me (or the manual) so I can't actually try these things. I'm going by what I have found on websites.

    Point 1

    I'm trying to figure out what type of armor to wear and the whole dexterity thing is confusing me.

    I believe the base armor class of everything is 10

    I believe if your character has a dexterity between 16-17 you get a +3 to AC and if it is 18-19 you get a +4.

    Next I see that different types of armor put a limitation on how much of dexterity bonus you can use. A chain shirt (which is a light armor) has a base of 4 and a dex bonus limit of 4. Therefore a character with 18 dexterity wearing a plain chain shirt should have an AC of 18 (10+4+4). The same character wearing full plate (a heavy armor with a base of 8 and a dex bonus limit of 1) would have an AC of 10+8+1 or 19.

    If I understand this correctly it certainly seems like high dexterity characters are better off with lighter armor. From what I can see a chain shirt (at 4/4) or a breastplate (at 5/3) are probably the best bets for an 18 dexterity character. The heavy armors only seem to make sense if you have a dexterity of 12-13 (bonus of 1) or 10-11 which would be 0 bonus.

    Am I missing something?

    Point 2

    I figured out that AC bonuses do not stack (which I remember from other games), but what does stack and increase AC?

    Can the character mentioned above wear

    Base (10)
    Chainmail +4 (5+2+4= 11)
    Bracers of armor +3 (3)
    Amulet of Natural armor +2 (2)
    Ring of protection +5 (5)
    Kossuth's belt of priestly might (3)
    Adamantine helm (2)
    Heavy Shield +3 (5)

    Now if all that worked this character would have an AC of 41. :p

    I'm especially curious about Bracers of armor. Do they stack with armor and shields. If someone is wearing Bracers of armor +6 and chain mail +3 does that mean they only get the +6?

    How does this work with shields? If I have plate +2 and a shield +1 does it ignore the +1 on the shield?

    Are there other combinations that I haven't even thought of?
     
    The Great Snook, Sep 22, 2008
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  2. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    First: There are situations where a character is denied their Dexterity bonus to AC (e.g. flatfooted, held, dazed), so in those situations a better armor would help out.

    Second: There are several things that contribute to overall AC and things that provide the same type do not in general stack (I can't remember if there are exceptions). Armor and Bracers provide the same type so they do not stack. Armor and Natural Armor are different so they do stack. Armor and Shield are different so they do stack. There are deflection bonuses which I believe rings of protection provide. There are dodge bonuses that various things provide. I don't remember offhand what all the different types that contribute to AC, but you need to consider each type when deciding what equipment to use.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Sep 22, 2008
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    I found my answers

    I will have to try this as it looks like bracers of armor will increase your AC to the excess of the magical bonus of your armor. If I understand this correctly Plate +5 and bracers +3 would be the same as plate +5, but plate +5 and bracers +10 would be the same as plate +10
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2008
    The Great Snook, Sep 22, 2008
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  4. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Ah, now that's interesting. I know Bracers never increased my AC over the armor I was wearing. I must've always had a higher Armor enhancement bonus than the Bracers I tried.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Sep 22, 2008
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