Best armor for max AC

[Deca4531]

Simple question really, what do most people think to be the best armor in the 3.5? i know some will say it all depends on your class and combat style, so lets say for a melee or divine caster melee character.

[Immabozo]

It all depends on character and class. I recently made a level 28 druid with 89 AC, 97 AC with one buff. But at 12, mid 50s AC is very easy. All this with no Armor Check Penalty

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264623

Armor was a (Dragonhide) Wilding Dwaven Mountain Plate +7 or so

[Deca4531]

It all depends on character and class. I recently made a level 28 druid with 89 AC, 97 AC with one buff. But at 12, mid 50s AC is very easy. All this with no Armor Check Penalty

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264623

Armor was a (Dragonhide) Wilding Dwaven Mountain Plate +7 or so

i was shooting more for cleric, druids are easy to cheese lol.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Without having more specifics, I would say a Mithral Breastplate is the best generic armour in most cases.

[Alabenson]

It largely depends on what you mean by "best armor". Are you talking about best AC per gp value, highest combined Armor + Dex value, best total AC / Armor check penalty ratio...?

[Deca4531]

well im making a melee cleric, going with the DMM persist combo and im just looking for some decent armor for him. i was thinking mithril full plate or something like that. 9 AC 3 dex.

im the party tank so whatever will offer the best defense.

[Glimbur]

Depends how high you expect your Dex to get. Most armors AC bonus + Max Dex is at best +9. Mithral lets you kick that up to +11 by increasing max dex by 2. Celestial Chainmail is +3 Chain (+8) with a +8 Max Dex bonus (for +16 total) because angels. If you expect to get more than +8 Dex bonus, check out Gnome Twistcloth from Races of Stone or just fight naked.

[Deca4531]

Depends how high you expect your Dex to get. Most armors AC bonus + Max Dex is at best +9. Mithral lets you kick that up to +11 by increasing max dex by 2. Celestial Chainmail is +3 Chain (+8) with a +8 Max Dex bonus (for +16 total) because angels. If you expect to get more than +8 Dex bonus, check out Gnome Twistcloth from Races of Stone or just fight naked.

no im only looking at +4 to +6 dex at most. what book can i find Celestial Chainmail in?

[Azoth]

Don't forget about using the Dastana and Chahar-Aina for another +2 AC. Go with mithral to keep the max dex the same and the armor check penalty at 0. Two staple pieces of gear for my light armor characters to boost AC a little and allow more enchants on the cheap.

[Immabozo]

Or, as a cleric, if you have high wisdom, you might want to use a monk's belt. Wisdom to AC, plus I believe another 1 AC as a monk of level 5, plus you can wear bracers of armor with them, plus no max dex

[Deca4531]

Or, as a cleric, if you have high wisdom, you might want to use a monk's belt. Wisdom to AC, plus I believe another 1 AC as a monk of level 5, plus you can wear bracers of armor with them, plus no max dex

the bracers of armor get pretty pricy, and i'll be looking at a +6 wis.

[Immabozo]

You could also be an Illumian and use the Power Symbols that change your spell casting stat to Dex and then getting your spells per day from dex, get high armor bonus as well. Your wis still needs to be 10+spell level to cast and is still used to calculate DC to resist, bu if you are the tank, that might not be a big problem.

[Immabozo]

the bracers of armor get pretty pricy, and i'll be looking at a +6 wis.

Yes, Monk's belt aint too cheap either, but 6 wis to AC plus 1 AC as a monk of level 5 is 7 AC plus no max dex, plus whatever bracers of armor you can afford. It may not be cheap, but it should be effective. Plus, I think there are a ton of feats to give armor when unarmored.

Also, if you have a Druid, or someone else, buff you, you'll be sitting pretty.

[Deca4531]

Yes, Monk's belt aint too cheap either, but 6 wis to AC plus 1 AC as a monk of level 5 is 7 AC plus no max dex, plus whatever bracers of armor you can afford. It may not be cheap, but it should be effective. Plus, I think there are a ton of feats to give armor when unarmored.

Also, if you have a Druid, or someone else, buff you, you'll be sitting pretty.

all my feats are tied up to 12th lv. funny thing is i asked my DM about monks belt while wearing armor, he says i can still have my wis to armor even in armor. i wont argue lol.

[Darrin]

well im making a melee cleric, going with the DMM persist combo and im just looking for some decent armor for him. i was thinking mithril full plate or something like that. 9 AC 3 dex.


Non-magical full plate is +8 AC. Did you mean full plate +1?

Mithral Sectioned Full Plate (Planar Handbook) has a slightly better ACP (-2) than Mithral Full Plate (-3).

For Max Dex +3, that's probably the best armor you can get without adding the Nimbleness enhancement. Otherwise, Mithral Heavy Plate (Races of Stone) with Nimbleness (+8 armor, +1 enhancement, +3 Max Dex = +12 total) or Mithral Mechanus Gear (Planar Handbook) with Nimbleness (+10 armor, +1 enhancement, +3 Max Dex = +14 total) is probably the best.


no im only looking at +4 to +6 dex at most. what book can i find Celestial Chainmail in?

DMG, 22400 GP. It's chainmail +3 with a Max Dex of +8, so the combination of Armor Bonus/Max Dex is 13. It's hard to get a Dex bonus up that high, though, unless you deliberately optimize Dex. For a Max Dex of +4, you can get by with Mithral Full Plate + Nimbleness (+8 Armor, +1 enhancement, +4 Max Dex = 13 total) or Mithral Sectioned Full Plate + Nimbleness (same total AC bonus, but ACP = 0).

After your Max Dex bonus gets above +4, you're probably better off with the Celestial Chain Armor.

[Deca4531]

Non-magical full plate is +8 AC. Did you mean full plate +1?

Mithral Sectioned Full Plate (Planar Handbook) has a slightly better ACP (-2) than Mithral Full Plate (-3).

For Max Dex +3, that's probably the best armor you can get without adding the Nimbleness enhancement. Otherwise, Mithral Heavy Plate (Races of Stone) with Nimbleness (+8 armor, +1 enhancement, +3 Max Dex = +12 total) or Mithral Mechanus Gear (Planar Handbook) with Nimbleness (+10 armor, +1 enhancement, +3 Max Dex = +14 total) is probably the best.



DMG, 22400 GP. It's chainmail +3 with a Max Dex of +8, so the combination of Armor Bonus/Max Dex is 13. It's hard to get a Dex bonus up that high, though, unless you deliberately optimize Dex. For a Max Dex of +4, you can get by with Mithral Full Plate + Nimbleness (+8 Armor, +1 enhancement, +4 Max Dex = 13 total) or Mithral Sectioned Full Plate + Nimbleness (same total AC bonus, but ACP = 0).

After your Max Dex bonus gets above +4, you're probably better off with the Celestial Chain Armor.

This is almost exactly the info i was looking for. thank you =)

[Immabozo]

all my feats are tied up to 12th lv. funny thing is i asked my DM about monks belt while wearing armor, he says i can still have my wis to armor even in armor. i wont argue lol.

That is not at all per the rules and makes me cry inside.

[Deca4531]

That is not at all per the rules and makes me cry inside.

lol, i know. but i asked and if the DM likes this rule better im not gonna press the point.

also, anyone know what book Chahar-Aina comes from?

[Marnath]

lol, i know. but i asked and if the DM likes this rule better im not gonna press the point.

also, anyone know what book Chahar-Aina comes from?

Oriental Adventures I think.

[DarthCyberWolf]

What I use for my divine caster is Greater Luminous Armor + Monk's Belt + Magic Vestment. Totally works!

Greater Luminous Armor provides +8 armor bonus (plus the whole blinding thing). Magic Vestment cast on your clothes provides an enhancement bonus, stacking with the armor bonus. (It works. The description for the spell describes clothes as armor with a +0 armor bonus.) Then Monk's Belt adds your wisdom to AC since you're not actually wearing any armor (not that that matters for you anyway apparently, lol).

[Deca4531]

What I use for my divine caster is Greater Luminous Armor + Monk's Belt + Magic Vestment. Totally works!

Greater Luminous Armor provides +8 armor bonus (plus the whole blinding thing). Magic Vestment cast on your clothes provides an enhancement bonus, stacking with the armor bonus. (It works. The description for the spell describes clothes as armor with a +0 armor bonus.) Then Monk's Belt adds your wisdom to AC since you're not actually wearing any armor (not that that matters for you anyway apparently, lol).

wow thats pretty slick, and if my DM changes his mind latter on that will come in handy. im keeping a high Wis score cause im taking the Saint template, and its Wis to AC will stack with Monk's belt.

[Immabozo]

wow thats pretty slick, and if my DM changes his mind latter on that will come in handy. im keeping a high Wis score cause im taking the Saint template, and its Wis to AC will stack with Monk's belt.

ok.... THAT is disgusting! ESPECIALLY if your DM lets you wear armor with the monk's belt.

Where can I find the Saint template?

[Darrin]

also, anyone know what book Chahar-Aina comes from?

Dastana and chahar-aina come from Oriental Adventures, although the dastana also appears in the Arms & Equipment Guide (but not the chahar-aina). These can only be added to a select few light armors, chain shirt being the best. Thus, you can get a slightly better AC than a mithral breastplate (+5 armor bonus) by stacking the chain shirt (+4 armor bonus) with a dastana (+1 armor/shield bonus) and a chahar-aina (+1 armor/shield bonus) for a total of +6 AC bonus. It's not clear if this makes the resulting armor count as medium (chahar-aina requires medium armor proficiency, but can easily be made with zero ACP and thus zero non-proficiency penalty). It's also not clear if making the chahar-aina out of mithral/darkleaf/sentira makes it count as light armor.

While you can enchant the dastana and chahar-aina separately, ask your DM how he wants to treat the stacking of enhancement bonuses, as it's not clear if the dastana/chahar-aina provide an armor bonus (as per the text) or a shield bonus (as per the table). Although it's pretty likely that the DM won't allow the enhancement bonus to stack with the enhancement bonus on the base armor, it can be a cheap way to add an armor property that would be much more expensive on your base armor. (You may also be able to add the Feycraft and Githcraft templates from DMGII to stack up untyped bonuses to Bluff or Concentration.)

[Eldariel]

ok.... THAT is disgusting! ESPECIALLY if your DM lets you wear armor with the monk's belt.

Where can I find the Saint template?

Book of Exalted Deeds, the book with Greater Luminous Armor too. You do need to use Lesser Restoration (or few) daily to pay for the stat cost of Greater Luminous Armor but as should be readily apparent to everyone, it's easily worth it.

It's also worth noting that Greater Luminous Armor grants effective +4 AC vs. most enemies from the blinding effect so you could say it's a base +12 Armor, 0 ACP & - Max Dex Armor. It does make hiding basically impossible tho so there's that; huge tactical disadvantage (well, you can work around it).

[Deca4531]

Book of Exalted Deeds, the book with Greater Luminous Armor too. You do need to use Lesser Restoration (or few) daily to pay for the stat cost of Greater Luminous Armor but as should be readily apparent to everyone, it's easily worth it.

It's also worth noting that Greater Luminous Armor grants effective +4 AC vs. most enemies from the blinding effect so you could say it's a base +12 Armor, 0 ACP & - Max Dex Armor. It does make hiding basically impossible tho so there's that; huge tactical disadvantage (well, you can work around it).

oh im the LEROY JENKINS kinda guy all the way. and saint is an awesome template but its expensive. requires you to pretty much waste 3 feats, be lv 6, and never do and have done anything evil ever. but for a +2 lv its pretty pimp

[TuggyNE]

What I use for my divine caster is Greater Luminous Armor + Monk's Belt + Magic Vestment. Totally works!

Greater Luminous Armor provides +8 armor bonus (plus the whole blinding thing). Magic Vestment cast on your clothes provides an enhancement bonus, stacking with the armor bonus. (It works. The description for the spell describes clothes as armor with a +0 armor bonus.) Then Monk's Belt adds your wisdom to AC since you're not actually wearing any armor (not that that matters for you anyway apparently, lol).

That actually does not work. Magic vestment increases the effective armor bonus of the targeted item (with an enhancement bonus to it) and only the highest armor bonus applies, which will be greater luminous armor. Therefore, you're burning an extra spell to no purpose.

A better idea is probably to use a +1 animated shield and magic vestment that up.

[Azoth]

Shame you are a cleric, because Abjurant Champion is mean with Luminous Armor + Shield. Who doesn't like using Shield for +9AC and Greater Luminous Armor for +13AC and giving mele enemies another-4 to hit you?

[Deca4531]

That actually does not work. Magic vestment increases the effective armor bonus of the targeted item (with an enhancement bonus to it) and only the highest armor bonus applies, which will be greater luminous armor. Therefore, you're burning an extra spell to no purpose.

A better idea is probably to use a +1 animated shield and magic vestment that up.

yeah i guess that wouldnt work, and the luminous armor is only an aura not a physical thing so cant be targeted.

[Deca4531]

Shame you are a cleric, because Abjurant Champion is mean with Luminous Armor + Shield. Who doesn't like using Shield for +9AC and Greater Luminous Armor for +13AC and giving mele enemies another-4 to hit you?

actually its only 1lv of cleric and the rest Archivist. but when i have a couple levels to spare i might dip into it.

[DarthCyberWolf]

That actually does not work. Magic vestment increases the effective armor bonus of the targeted item (with an enhancement bonus to it) and only the highest armor bonus applies, which will be greater luminous armor. Therefore, you're burning an extra spell to no purpose.

A better idea is probably to use a +1 animated shield and magic vestment that up.

DMG lists an enhancement bonus as seperate from an armor bonus, so they should stack. However, if you're allowed to use a Monk's Belt with armor, then you should still use it on a shield as suggested instead.
An AC of 10 (base) + 8 (armor) + 4 (animated tower shield) + [Magic Vestment] + Dex + 1 (belt) + Wis + [Wis again?] + [Whateva else you got] = Alot.

[danzibr]

It's already been mentioned, but mountain plate is just too cool.

[Darrin]

It's already been mentioned, but mountain plate is just too cool.

Not cool. It requires a feat: Exotic Armor Proficiency. You're better off with Mechanus Gear (armor bonus +10, Planar Handbook) or Thaalud Stone Armor (armor bonus +12, Anauroch Empire of Shade).

[Deca4531]

It's already been mentioned, but mountain plate is just too cool.

it like 250lbs... and i think it drops you movement to like 10ft or something

[erikun]

DMG lists an enhancement bonus as seperate from an armor bonus, so they should stack. However, if you're allowed to use a Monk's Belt with armor, then you should still use it on a shield as suggested instead.
An AC of 10 (base) + 8 (armor) + 4 (animated tower shield) + [Magic Vestment] + Dex + 1 (belt) + Wis + [Wis again?] + [Whateva else you got] = Alot.
No, an enhancement bonus is added to the bonus provided by the item it is on. In your case, it would be added to the +0 Armor bonus provided by basic clothing, for a +5 Armor bonus to AC.


Enhancement Bonus
An enhancement bonus represents an increase in the sturdiness and/or effectiveness of armor or natural armor, or the effectiveness of a weapon, or a general bonus to an ability score. Multiple enhancement bonuses on the same object (in the case of armor and weapons), creature (in the case of natural armor), or ability score do not stack. Only the highest enhancement bonus applies. Since enhancement bonuses to armor or natural armor effectively increase the armor or natural armor's bonus to AC, they don't apply against touch attacks. link (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/theBasics.htm#enhancementBonus)

I do not know of anything that simply provides a direct Enhancement bonus to AC. Magic Vestment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magicVestment.htm) certainly does not.

[Immabozo]

Mountain Plate is AMAZING for a wildshaping Druid as long as it has wilding and is made from Dragonscale, or at least not metal. Otherwise, I agree, it is a pretty horrible armor.

[Andezzar]

No, an enhancement bonus is added to the bonus provided by the item it is on. In your case, it would be added to the +0 Armor bonus provided by basic clothing, for a +5 Armor bonus to AC.That is exactly what he did, do to a houserule the OP can wear actual armor with the monk's belt: +8 Actual Armor + Magic Vestement. You could even add another magic vestment to the tower shield.

[Slipperychicken]

You only need to care about max dex if you have a decent Dex, which is unlikely since you already need 3 stats (Wis, Str, Con) to function. You're getting Wis to AC anyhow, so no need to worry.

For not-getting-hit, a Smoking (+1) weapon (or any other means of getting a miss chance) will do nicely, slapping a 20% miss chance on top of your now-massive AC.

You can also try Defending (+1) weapons + GMW. It's not gonna be cheap (not until you're swimming in gold, anyway), but hey, it's a stacking bonus to AC which doesn't cost feats or class levels. See if you can get +1 Defending Armor/Shield Spikes to work for you, and +1 Defending Gauntlets too. Even if you don't enchant them or anything fancy, there's no reason not to get armor/shield spikes. They can serve as backup weapons in a pinch, without needing an action to draw them.

Yeah, potentially adding [CL/4]x4 to your AC is pretty sexy, even if it costs a pretty penny (~32k for four +1 Defending weapons). If you're going to play the AC game, you might as well go all the way.

[TuggyNE]

That is exactly what he did, do to a houserule the OP can wear actual armor with the monk's belt: +8 Actual Armor + Magic Vestement. You could even add another magic vestment to the tower shield.

Technically, erikun was correcting a faulty statement in his description, not correcting his math (which actually does work, due to switching to exploiting the houserule instead of applying enhancement bonuses to the wrong things). :smallamused:

[Balmas]

If your DM allows third party material, you might consider Mithril Dwarven Plate, as taken from Hammer and Helm (http://www.amazon.com/Hammer-Helm-System-Races-Renown/dp/0971438056). It gives +10 AC, with a maximum dexterity bonus of +5. However, since it's an exotic armor, you'll suffer it's armor penalty of -3 to attacks if you don't take the appropriate feat to become proficient.

[JaronK]

Mechanicus Gear, from Planar Handbook, gives +10 AC with 0 Max Dex, and doesn't require any feats to wear. It slows you down more than other heavy armor, but that doesn't matter if you're mounted or a Dwarf. And you can make it Mithral.

Also, Dragon Magazine 358 has the Master's Forge article, which offers various mundane upgrades to your armor (but a smith making such armor needs 5 ranks for each modifier beyond the first). Useful upgrades include Reinforced (+1AC, slightly more weight), Vital Protection (+2AC vs critical hit confirmation), and Segmented (+1 Max Dex). So a suit of Mithral Mechanicus Gear with those upgrades would give +11 AC (+13 vs critical hits) and a max dex of +3. Not too shabby, as you can then enchant it however you see fit.

JaronK

[shaikujin]

My favorite is the clockwork armor:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cw/20070212a

8 Armor bonus to AC. No max Dex. +4 Circumstance bonus to Str and Dex. +5 feet to land speed.

That gives 10 AC right off the bat.

No ACP or ASF if you pass a DC 14 Craft (Construct) or DC 18 Spellcraft check.

Costs 27,250 gp.

Main drawback is you'd want to find a way to never fail your saves against cold-based attacks.



Comparatively, Bracers of Armor with 8 Armor bonus to AC costs 64,000 gp.

There's also the Dyrr’s Impervious Vestment (Complete Arcane), that has 9 Armor bonus to AC, plus a 1/day Blade Barrier. Costs 123,000 gp.



All AC bonus above are Armor bonus, so you can still add enhancement bonus to all of them.



Posters above have already mentioned enchanting Armor & Shield spikes plus 2 Gauntlets with the Defending property and casting GMW.

To see a hardcover DMG flying at your head, do the same to special weapons like a Braidblade, 2x Boot/2x Elbow/2x Knee/2x Sleeve blades.

[Eldariel]

That actually does not work. Magic vestment increases the effective armor bonus of the targeted item (with an enhancement bonus to it) and only the highest armor bonus applies, which will be greater luminous armor. Therefore, you're burning an extra spell to no purpose.

A better idea is probably to use a +1 animated shield and magic vestment that up.

Well actually, it could be argued that Greater Luminous Armor creates a piece of armor, which is a valid target for Magic Vestment. Magic Vestment targets "Armor or Shield touched" so any kind of Armor or Shield suffices, magical or physical.

To be sure, it's certainly fairer to rule this can't be done (god knows casters have ridiculous AC already) but RAW is ambiguous on the matter.

[Deca4531]

Well actually, it could be argued that Greater Luminous Armor creates a piece of armor, which is a valid target for Magic Vestment. Magic Vestment targets "Armor or Shield touched" so any kind of Armor or Shield suffices, magical or physical.

To be sure, it's certainly fairer to rule this can't be done (god knows casters have ridiculous AC already) but RAW is ambiguous on the matter.

Luminous Armor (BoED p102)
Level: Sanctified 2,
This spell, favored among eladrins visiting the Material Plane, envelops the target in a protective, shimmering aura of light.
The luminous armor resembles a suit of dazzling full plate, but it is weightless and does not restrict the target's movement or mobility in any way.
In addition to imparting the benefits of a breastplate (+5 armor bonus to AC), the luminous armor has no maximum Dexterity restriction, no armor check penalty, and no chance for arcane spell failure.
Luminous armor sheds light equivalent to a daylight spell and counters darkness spells of 2nd level or lower with which it comes into contact.
In addition, the armor's brightness causes opponents to take a -4 to penalty on melee attacks made against the target.
This penalty stacks with the attack penalty suffered by creatures sensitive to bright light (such as dark elves).
Sacrifice: 1d2 points of Strength damage.

by the spell description i would take this to act more like Mage Armor, where its more a force field with a visible shape (shaped to look like armor) and not a physical object

[ericgrau]

Tricks aside, celestial armor (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicArmor.htm#celestialArmor) tends to give the best armor + dex in core. But if you heavily optimize AC and don't mind a little cheese then unarmored setups tend to do better. From an obscene dex and from stacking all the bonuses that you can only get when not wearing armor.

[Eldariel]

by the spell description i would take this to act more like Mage Armor, where its more a force field with a visible shape (shaped to look like armor) and not a physical object

But a forcefield can be an Armor all the same. Hell, Riverine Armors are basically made of force. It really comes down to terminology and semantics not defined in D&D and the English language definitions for those words can easily be read either way.

[Deca4531]

But a forcefield can be an Armor all the same. Hell, Riverine Armors are basically made of force. It really comes down to terminology and semantics not defined in D&D and the English language definitions for those words can easily be read either way.

I'll grant that so many things in D&D are up to interpretation. this is probably one that you have to leave up to each DM to decide.