Light armor +Dex vs Heavy armor

[Edgerunner]

I am looking at a character class that allows heavy armor but I rolled a damned fine Dex of 16.

We are starting @ lvl5 and he gave us solid starting cash and said that studded dragon leather armor(+4) is available for the character.

As my build stands at the moment if I use the Light armor and Dex I would get....
Armor Class: 20 = 10 + 4 [studded dragon leather] + 2 [steel shield] + 3 [dexterity] + 1 [defense style]

Would this be a better idea than taking heavy armor or should I just forget the Dex and load up on some plate?
Armor Class: 21 = 10 + 8 [plate] + 2 [steel shield] + 1 [defense style]

Is it worth that 1 point of AC to lose out on the advantages, Stealth, I am getting from the Dex?
I can't move the score from Dex as we rolled our abilities in order.

[SharkForce]

the difference between light armour with good dex and heavy armour is 1 point. if you have +2 or better light armour available and no magical heavy armour, the light armour will be vastly superior.

(note: +4 armour in 5e isn't really a thing... did you mean studded leather armour that is worth a total of +4 to your AC, thus making it +2 armour? because if that's actually +4 armour on a level 5 character, your DM is basically handing out artifacts at low levels, and it likely doesn't much matter what choice you make, you're going to be comically overpowered if this trend continues)

[Edgerunner]

(note: +4 armour in 5e isn't really a thing... did you mean studded leather armour that is worth a total of +4 to your AC, thus making it +2 armour? because if that's actually +4 armour on a level 5 character, your DM is basically handing out artifacts at low levels, and it likely doesn't much matter what choice you make, you're going to be comically overpowered if this trend continues)

According to our DM, and I checked this out on Pathguy.next and it confirmed, Studded leather gives a +2 while studded dragon leather gives a +4 to armor class.
No magic needed.

[Corran]

What you need to ask yourself, is if stealth is important for your character. That will almost singlehandedly determine whether you will go for heavy or light armor.
Also, what is your STR score? Encumberance may be an issue if your STR score cannot accomodate a heavy armor.
Moreover, if you go with the light armor, and you want a fighting style that boosts your AC, you might want to consider Mariner over Defense.

[GWJ_DanyBoy]

According to our DM, and I checked this out on Pathguy.next and it confirmed, Studded leather gives a +2 while studded dragon leather gives a +4 to armor class.
No magic needed.

So it's +2 studded leather with a name change. Still the mechanical equivalent to a rare or very rare magic item.

[StealthyRobot]

You might want to look at medium armor, specifically half plate. base of 15 + Dex (max 2).
However, at level 4 or if variant human, you could take the feat medium armor master, getting rid of that stealth disadvantage as well as allowing you to add your dex up to a max of 3.

So that would be AC= 21, 15[half plate] + 3[Dex] + 2[shield] + 1[defense]
Same as full plate, but with no stealth disadvantage, strength requirment, and 15 lbs. lighter as well. Only draw back is the consumption of a feat, and would be better for a dex based fighter.

[Edgerunner]

What you need to ask yourself, is if stealth is important for your character. That will almost singlehandedly determine whether you will go for heavy or light armor.
Also, what is your STR score? Encumberance may be an issue if your STR score cannot accomodate a heavy armor.

Str is 10 and we are still doing stats and backgrounds so I really haven't locked down this character yet which is part of the reason for my question.

So far I am planning Fighter1 /Cleric4. Fighter for the fighting style and Nature for the cleric so I can use Shillelagh.
Yes I plan on going fighter 2 for action surge just haven't done it yet.

I am still open to ideas and am locked into nothing yet.

[bardo]

So far I am planning Fighter1 /Cleric4. Fighter for the fighting style and Nature for the cleric so I can use Shillelagh.

There's overlap between Fighter and Nature domain in that they both give heavy armour proficiency. Getting the same proficiency twice isn't great, in this case it's a proficiency you're not even sure you want to use.

Cantrips damage scales with character level (not caster level), so you're already at the point where Sacred Flame deals 2d8 (DEX save for none) ranged and ignoring cover. Perhaps better than Shillelagh, depending on your Wisdom score. Also, is your Wisdom that much higher than your Dexterity to make Shillelagh better than a finesse weapon?

Bardo.

[Edgerunner]

There's overlap between Fighter and Nature domain in that they both give heavy armour proficiency. Getting the same proficiency twice isn't great, in this case it's a proficiency you're not even sure you want to use.

Cantrips damage scales with character level (not caster level), so you're already at the point where Sacred Flame deals 2d8 (DEX save for none) ranged and ignoring cover. Perhaps better than Shillelagh, depending on your Wisdom score. Also, is your Wisdom that much higher than your Dexterity to make Shillelagh better than a finesse weapon?

Bardo.

Am planning on taking War Caster for V Human Feat. Going to Fighter 2 for action surge at lvl 6. Useing my lvl 4 ASI for Wis and will have a 20.

[ad_hoc]

So, you have Str 10 Dex 16 and you have an option to get either +2 Studded Leather or Full Plate and you aren't sure which one you should have?

Personally I would have a talk with the DM about the way huge bonuses, especially to AC affect the game.

The +2 Studded Leather is best AINEC.

+2 Dex at level 4 then again at level 8. Don't get hit.

[Ruslan]

You might want to look at medium armor, specifically half plate. base of 15 + Dex (max 2).
However, at level 4 or if variant human, you could take the feat medium armor master, getting rid of that stealth disadvantage as well as allowing you to add your dex up to a max of 3.

So that would be AC= 21, 15[half plate] + 3[Dex] + 2[shield] + 1[defense]
Same as full plate, but with no stealth disadvantage, strength requirment, and 15 lbs. lighter as well. Only draw back is the consumption of a feat, and would be better for a dex based fighter.You mean, only drawback is that it consumes one of those thingies that you only get five of during your character's career? Yeah, doesn't seem to be much of a drawback.

Seriously, take the heavy armor and forget about stealth. The Dex is still plenty useful for initiative, saves and ranged attacks.

[Zman]

Will you need Stealth??

Yes: Light armor wins.
No: Heavy armor wins.

Light armor with +4 AC is as good as Heavy armor with +9AC. But, if you do not max Dex you will be able to get better protection in Heavy.

16 Dex with +4 Light armor is a 17, Fully Plate is an 18.

[Kane0]

With a 10 Str, you can't wear heavy armor.

Go with your dragon leather, your AC won't suffer significantly enough to worry about and it allows you to increase your dex (Higher AC, Init, Save, Stealth). 20+ AC is pretty good anyways.

[JNAProductions]

With a 10 Str, you can't wear heavy armor anyway.

Yes you can. You're just slow in it.

[bardo]

Am planning on taking War Caster for V Human Feat. Going to Fighter 2 for action surge at lvl 6. Useing my lvl 4 ASI for Wis and will have a 20.

You'd have 3 at-will attacks at your disposal:
+6 to hit, 1d8+3 damage with a finesse weapon.
+8 to hit, 1d8+5 damage with Shillelagh (bypasses damage resistance as a magical weapon)
DC 16 Dex save, 2d8 radiant damage with Sacred Flame (very rarely resisted).
You get heavy armour proficiency twice, probably won't use it.
You get martial weapon proficiency, probably won't use it.
There's a lot of redundancy in your plan.

Have you considered going Cleric 5? You'd start the game with access to 3rd level spells, huge boost for the group. You can take whatever domain you like for features or spell list, even nature if you like it, but not specifically for Shillelagh. With Warcaster you can go into melee with a shield and a dagger and just cast Sacred Flame instead of attacking. If you have to attack it's +6 to hit 1d4+3 damage. Leave the Fighter dip and action surge for later?

Bardo.

[Edgerunner]

You get heavy armour proficiency twice, probably won't use it.
You get martial weapon proficiency, probably won't use it.
There's a lot of redundancy in your plan.

Have you considered going Cleric 5? You'd start the game with access to 3rd level spells, huge boost for the group. You can take whatever domain you like for features or spell list, even nature if you like it, but not specifically for Shillelagh. With Warcaster you can go into melee with a shield and a dagger and just cast Sacred Flame instead of attacking. If you have to attack it's +6 to hit 1d4+3 damage. Leave the Fighter dip and action surge for later?

Bardo.

Well I did the dip early for the Martial weapons, specifically Longbow and the fighting style Defensive.
I can however see your point. I could just deal with the Shortbow but would miss the + to AC.

[bid]

As my build stands at the moment if I use the Light armor and Dex I would get....
Armor Class: 20 = 10 + 4 [studded dragon leather] + 2 [steel shield] + 3 [dexterity] + 1 [defense style]
Stop right there, no need to go further.
If you later need to match full plate AC, just spend an ASI on Dex. Orget a dragon breastplate medium armor for style.

Warcaster is not that useful since holy symbol on shield is enough to cast most spells. You only need a free hand for S or SV. Check with your DM if he ruled otherwise though.

Your choice depends a lot on which domains strike your fancy. You could go tempest/war to get weapon proficiencies without dipping in fighter. Which way does your concept push you?

[bardo]

Well I did the dip early for the Martial weapons, specifically Longbow and the fighting style Defensive.
I can however see your point. I could just deal with the Shortbow but would miss the + to AC.

Bows too? It sounds like you're focusing on dealing weapon damage with your Cleric. Maybe you're coming from a previous editions and thinking about a holy warrior, that's the Paladin's niche now. Clerics are stuck with a single attack forever*. By 5th level every other warrior type is already rocking Extra Attack and you're left behind, by 11th there's hardly ever a reason to pick weapon over your cantrip.

Now I'm just piling options on you, but are you sure Cleric is the class for you? Paladin, Moon Druid, Monk, are more suited to dealing damage with a high Wisdom.

Edit: I'm not saying don't be a Cleric, I'm saying if you're going to be a Cleric focus more on spells and less on weapon damage.

Bardo.

*except War Domain Clerics, but their extra attack is limited uses per rest and eats into their bonus action, can't recommend it.

[Pex]

Bows too? It sounds like you're focusing on dealing weapon damage with your Cleric. Maybe you're coming from a previous editions and thinking about a holy warrior, that's the Paladin's niche now. Clerics are stuck with a single attack forever*. By 5th level every other warrior type is already rocking Extra Attack and you're left behind, by 11th there's hardly ever a reason to pick weapon over your cantrip.

Now I'm just piling options on you, but are you sure Cleric is the class for you? Paladin, Moon Druid, Monk, are more suited to dealing damage with a high Wisdom.

Edit: I'm not saying don't be a Cleric, I'm saying if you're going to be a Cleric focus more on spells and less on weapon damage.

Bardo.

*except War Domain Clerics, but their extra attack is limited uses per rest and eats into their bonus action, can't recommend it.

At level 8 warrior type clerics get an extra d8 damage attacking with a weapon, similar enough to another attack.

At level 3 clerics can cast Spiritual Weapon for 1d8 + WI modifier damage as a bonus action attack that does not use concentration, so they're already getting an "extra attack" two levels before dedicated warriors.

Warrior type clerics do fine.

[Daishain]

In the interest of maintaining game balance, you may wish to inform your DM that studded dragon leather does not exist in official D&D material, regardless of what Pathguy says. The website includes a couple of items that seem to be homebrew. As others have mentioned, this piece of armor is the equivalent of +2 studded leather armor, a rare magic item. Very powerful to just hand to low level characters.

If he likes the concept enough that he wants to include it anyways, I would strongly suggest that he offer other armor types that would maintain the balance between existing lines. This would at minimum include a 20 AC heavy armor, and a 17+dex medium armor. Might also need a 'Greater Mage Armor' spell. If he does go this route, I would further recommend a slight increase in combat difficulty to compensate.

[Coidzor]

I am looking at a character class that allows heavy armor but I rolled a damned fine Dex of 16.

We are starting @ lvl5 and he gave us solid starting cash and said that studded dragon leather armor(+4) is available for the character.

As my build stands at the moment if I use the Light armor and Dex I would get....
Armor Class: 20 = 10 + 4 [studded dragon leather] + 2 [steel shield] + 3 [dexterity] + 1 [defense style]

Would this be a better idea than taking heavy armor or should I just forget the Dex and load up on some plate?
Armor Class: 21 = 10 + 8 [plate] + 2 [steel shield] + 1 [defense style]

Is it worth that 1 point of AC to lose out on the advantages, Stealth, I am getting from the Dex?
I can't move the score from Dex as we rolled our abilities in order.

There's always Medium Armor Mastery + Half-plate if you want the same AC as plate but the ability to use Stealth without Disadvantage. Or finding out about item availabilities and gunning for a set of mithril plate armor.

If you really want to Stealth, then 20 AC vs 21 AC is worth it, but the higher your AC gets, the more that extra +1 means, since it pushes you towards the upper bounds of bounded accuracy for a greatly reduced expected/average damage taken per round. This depends mostly on magic item availability, though, and whether your DM is allowing attack bonus and AC increasing items due to the effect they have on bounded accuracy.

Additionally, it depends upon whether you're going to bump your Dexterity score any higher.

[Edgerunner]

Or finding out about item availabilities and gunning for a set of mithril plate armor.

Mithril Armor is considered as uncommon magic item and is considered half the weight.
Would a Mithril Breastplate be considered light armor?

[Drynwyn]

At level 8 warrior type clerics get an extra d8 damage attacking with a weapon, similar enough to another attack.


Not really. It can't be used for combat maneuvers and it doesn't double up damage bonuses.

[SharkForce]

AC 21 vs AC 20 is not likely to make a huge difference at higher levels. it will make a pretty major difference at lower levels, though (at higher levels, monsters frequently have +10 or more to hit; getting hit 50% of the time vs 45% of the time is still a fairly significant difference (around 11% i think), but not nearly as much of a difference as getting hit 10% of the time vs 50% of the time.

on the other hand, each point of AC gets you closer.

[Coidzor]

Mithril Armor is considered as uncommon magic item and is considered half the weight.
Would a Mithril Breastplate be considered light armor?

No, but it does take away the disadvantage on Stealth if you can get Mithril Plate and then get it further enchanted to be +X over the course of the game.

[Tenmujiin]

At level 3 clerics can cast Spiritual Weapon for 1d8 + WI modifier damage as a bonus action attack that does not use concentration, so they're already getting an "extra attack" two levels before dedicated warriors.
Spiritual weapon works just as well for sacred flame spamming.

[djreynolds]

Who else is in your party? That is a big deal. Have a concept, and optimize that concept based on your party.

So you have a low str, and I'm assuming a high dex and wis. For combat purposes, that leaves you with an archer or a dex based fighter, such a rogue, or monk, or twf.

Now do you need a cleric in the party? Did everybody else claim the wizard, and paladin? Who is in your party?

Are you leaning towards polearm master/ sentinel with a quarterstaff, perhaps shield and quarterstaff and shillelagh?

Also variant human is cool, but elves give you a bow and darkvision and plus 2 in dex. Wood elf cleric/monk could be cool, ditch the shield, but you can still take polearm master/sentinel and reall capitalize on that high dex score and use a bow when needed.

[Ultimate_Coffee]

According to our DM, and I checked this out on Pathguy.next and it confirmed, Studded leather gives a +2 while studded dragon leather gives a +4 to armor class.
No magic needed.

The Armor you are speaking of, from Pathguy, is referencing an Armor that existed during the playtest (DND Next). As such, it is not in the rules for DND 5e, and should be classified as home brew. It would be best to let your DM know this.
In addition, the Studded Dragon Leather on Pathguy is a misprint, as the Armor should be a medium Armor, not light.
Just some things to consider before allowing such a grossly unbalanced option to the game...

[bardo]

At level 8 warrior type clerics get an extra d8 damage attacking with a weapon, similar enough to another attack.

At level 3 clerics can cast Spiritual Weapon for 1d8 + WI modifier damage as a bonus action attack that does not use concentration, so they're already getting an "extra attack" two levels before dedicated warriors.

Warrior type clerics do fine.

Clerics can Spiritual Weapon and cantrip just as well as they can Spiritual Weapon and attack. So Spiritual Weapon is hardly an argument in favour of the weapon-wielding Cleric. If anything, it highlights the faults in War Domain since both Spiritual Weapon and the War Priest feature compete for the bonus action.

Weapon-wielding Clerics get Divine Strike at 8th level (add 1d8 to weapon damage). Casting Clerics get Potent Spellcasting at 8th level (add WIS bonus to cantrip damage). Comes up to 2d8+ability in either case, so unless you max STR/DEX before WIS, the weapon-wielding Cleric is still lagging behind.

Warrior type Clerics do fine as tanks. For at-will damage dealing they are less than average.

Bardo.

[Pex]

Spiritual weapon works just as well for sacred flame spamming.

Which does not take away the viability of warrior type clerics if that's what a player wants to do. A warrior type cleric does not surpass dedicated warriors in attacking with a weapon, nor should it, but that is not the same thing as incompetence.