Armored Mages and Shield spell

[Vowtz]

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[Stan]

It still has no effect on crits. AC ~25 is very good but a +7 to hit roll gives 15% hit chance so not insurmountable. You're likely to have more rounds of combat than 1st level spell slots. Not all damage requires to hit rolls. It's effective but not crazy.

Dipping still has a cost on casters as it puts them about a spell level behind (depending on the size of the dip).

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Shield is great and all but you can only cast it after you are hit by an attack. Note: HIT, not targeted.

[Beige]

Shield is great and all but you can only cast it after you are hit by an attack. Note: HIT, not targeted.

true, but the AC change - and thus the attack negation - occurs immediately, so the attack does miss

the problem with that tactic is your resistant, true, but if you use all your spell slots to survive, your not a threat to anyone.

but you see now why eldritch knights are the best tank in the game, no? :P

[DrLemniscate]

If he gets to Wizard 18, he can cast Shield for every reaction and not use a spell slot.

Add School of Abjuration on top of that, and you get 41 HP damage ward, which Shield will regen by 2 every time you cast it. You also get advantage on saving throws against spells, as well as resistance to damage.

[Person_Man]

My 5E experience has been that combat is pretty quick, so you tend to go through a lot of combats per game day. Thus the daily limit on spells is a meaningful limit (though spellcasters can always fall back on cantrips, rituals, and sometimes just hitting stuff or using Wildshape or whatnot).

So I have no problem with the Shield spell, until Wizard 17 can cast it at-will. Then its a bit annoying.

[Surrealistik]

My 5E experience has been that combat is pretty quick, so you tend to go through a lot of combats per game day. Thus the daily limit on spells is a meaningful limit (though spellcasters can always fall back on cantrips, rituals, and sometimes just hitting stuff or using Wildshape or whatnot).

So I have no problem with the Shield spell, until Wizard 17 can cast it at-will. Then its a bit annoying.

AC 26 (more AC than the Tarrasque) post Shield _without_ an iota of magical gear is more than a bit annoying when combined with at-will Mirror Image.

[Giant2005]

Worth noting is that with the magic items already released in the books, a Wizard can get the highly unlikely but still ridiculous AC of 36. And that is their consistent AC, it could potentially go higher with spells like Haste or Shield of Faith active.

[Cambrian]

AC 26 (more AC than the Tarrasque) post Shield _without_ an iota of magical gear is more than a bit annoying when combined with at-will Mirror Image.Blur is better in this situation.

Mirror Image in a vacuum is probably the better spell, but when an opponent needs stupidly high rolls to hit, Blur makes getting hit significantly more unlikely.

[Surrealistik]

Blur is better in this situation.

Mirror Image in a vacuum is probably the better spell, but when an opponent needs stupidly high rolls to hit, Blur makes getting hit significantly more unlikely.

You don't want to take Blur as your L2 at-will spell because it requires concentration; Mirror Image doesn't. Mirror Image will therefore always be applicable/usable. Just keep Blur in your back pocket and cast it conventionally on an as needed basis.