Why Doesn’t Medium Armor Master Come Up?

[KOLE]

I mostly lurk these forums for optimization advice- as that’s one of my favorite parts of 5e. I have a long list of characters- with character sheets ready and their levels pre mapped out- so I’m always lookkng around at different optimization builds to make them better. Recently, I was fleshing out a Rogue/Warlock and stumbled across Medium Armor Master, which I didnt even realize was a feat. Since he’ll be starting with 16 Dex, and ASIs might go to CHA more than DEX, this feat seems really strong. I haven’t seen it mentioned much. It seems even stronger than Heavy Armor Master- which catches heat for not scaling well. Is there a reason for this? Is it a trap option that I just havent thought through?

[DeTess]

I mostly lurk these forums for optimization advice- as that’s one of my favorite parts of 5e. I have a long list of characters- with character sheets ready and their levels pre mapped out- so I’m always lookkng around at different optimization builds to make them better. Recently, I was fleshing out a Rogue/Warlock and stumbled across Medium Armor Master, which I didnt even realize was a feat. Since he’ll be starting with 16 Dex, and ASIs might go to CHA more than DEX, this feat seems really strong. I haven’t seen it mentioned much. It seems even stronger than Heavy Armor Master- which catches heat for not scaling well. Is there a reason for this? Is it a trap option that I just havent thought through?

I think the reason that it doesn't come up too much is that on most optimized builds that would qualify, it's equivalent to a feat that gives +1 AC. Most build that get 16 DEX are expected to max it out over their career, so medium armor master with medium armor gives you 1 more AC over the best light armor. Exchanging a feat for only 1 AC seems like it is bit underpowered.

I might be wrong though, as I'm hardly an optimization expert, but at first glance this seems the reason for it to often be overlooked.

[hymer]

I think there are two reasons this feat doesn't get mentioned much. It is very narrowly useful. Dex 16-17, and that's pretty much it. Most builds with that kind of dex wants to raise it to 20.
The other is that it's an AC boosting feat. If you're optimizing for AC, heavy armor is generally the way to go. After all, MAM makes breastplate the possible equal of plate mail. Why not just get plate mail and invest that feat in something else?

That said, it does have uses in very specific cases.

[nickl_2000]

My personal issue with MAM is that it doesn't provide enough for the cost of the deat. I no longer get disadvantage on stealth and I have the potential to get +1 AC. However you only get +1 AC if you have 16 Dex anyways. My personal thought is that if you are getting your Dex to 16, you need your Dex and are therefore going to be going all the way to 20 and using Studded Leather. Getting there where it would be useful in point buy or standard array just is to costly considering all the other things you could do with the ASIs.

Now, if you are rolling and you have 16 Dex to begin with, but will never increase that Dex, then sure it's probably worth taking.

[GlenSmash!]

It's kind of a niche Feat. It kind of saves you 2 ASI's to just keep Dex at 14 and not get the feat, or 1 ASI to get Heavy Armor Proficiency (which comes with a handy +1 Strength).

You have to plan on having 16 Dex, but never going higher than that. It happens but is rare. It could be more common in games with rolled stats.

[LtPowers]

After all, MAM makes breastplate the possible equal of plate mail. Why not just get plate mail and invest that feat in something else?

Either you don't have Heavy Armor proficiency or you don't have Str 15.

If you go Medium Armor Mastery with Half plate, you can get AC 18, and no disadvantage on Stealth checks. If you go with the Heavily Armored feat with full plate, you can get AC 18, but you suffer disadvantage on Stealth and might reduce your speed by 10 feet. (Though you do get +1 Strength that way.)

Now, granted, if you don't need the Heavily Armored feat to get proficiency, then you have a different comparison to make.

The alternatives to MAM and Half Plate (AC 18, no disadv on Stealth):

Half Plate without MAM (AC 17, disadv on Stealth)
Breastplate without MAM (AC 16, no disadv on Stealth)
Studded leather (AC 15, 16, or 17, no disadv on Stealth)


Of course, without MAM, that frees up an ASI to take +2 Dex... On the other hand, once your Dex is already 20, MAM would let you go from AC 17 to AC 18 without needing Heavy Armor proficiency, and without suffering disadvantage on Stealth checks. As long as you don't mind wearing 40-pound armor.


Powers &8^]

[djreynolds]

I mostly lurk these forums for optimization advice- as that’s one of my favorite parts of 5e. I have a long list of characters- with character sheets ready and their levels pre mapped out- so I’m always lookkng around at different optimization builds to make them better. Recently, I was fleshing out a Rogue/Warlock and stumbled across Medium Armor Master, which I didnt even realize was a feat. Since he’ll be starting with 16 Dex, and ASIs might go to CHA more than DEX, this feat seems really strong. I haven’t seen it mentioned much. It seems even stronger than Heavy Armor Master- which catches heat for not scaling well. Is there a reason for this? Is it a trap option that I just havent thought through?

IMO, its works for a small slice of the player population world.... but for that small group it is huge.

Being able to stealth in half-plate is nice.

But you could stealth in breast plate, which is a 14AC rather half-plates 15AC..... that's the rub IMO.

I'm assuming hexblade warlock which comes with medium armor and shield proficiency

But just a breastplate and shield and 14 dex, will give you an 18 AC. And you have the shield spell from hexblade, and 5 levels of rogue gives you uncanny dodge. This requires no feat.

IMO I would spend this feat elsewhere, unless your DM has said he/she has magical half-plate down the line for you.

So for which feat to choose, mage slayer or lucky or resilient constitution or war caster.... take your pick.

[Grod_The_Giant]

The consensus seems to be "benefits vaguely in line with Heavily Armored?" In which case it should probably be a +1 Dex half feat. It's about half an ASI anyway, boosting AC but not attack and providing some secondary benefits.

[nickl_2000]

The consensus seems to be "benefits vaguely in line with Heavily Armored?" In which case it should probably be a +1 Dex half feat. It's about half an ASI anyway, boosting AC but not attack and providing some secondary benefits.

I firmly agree with this. Medium Armor master either needs more effects or it needs to give +1 Dex

[jaappleton]

I love the feat for two reasons:

One, you get shield proficiency. The feat which grants proficiency in Heavy Armor doesn’t do that (WHY?!?!?! Seriously, why, that is a MASSIVE oversight!!!).

Secondly, it turns some squishy people into much less MAD people. Bladelock are a prime example, typically needing Cha, Con, Dex for AC and Str (if not using Dex for your weapon).

I love it for any Bladelock that I build (I hate starting Fighter 1), so getting Medium Armor and Shields is a massive boost. As a Bladelock, I typically go VHuman and MAM as my bonus Feat, since Warlocks can get Devil’s Sight to fix the lack of Dark vision

Even for Warlocks that aren’t Bladelocks, this is an excellent way to shore up the AC. Shield proficiency by itself is a +2 bonus to AC, and makes you much more in line with Clerics as far as your defense goes, so you can worry less about getting hit and losing Concentration on those prescious two spell slots you’ve got.


EDIT: I’m an idiot, and this isn’t the feat we’re discussing. At all.

[nickl_2000]

I love the feat for two reasons:

One, you get shield proficiency. The feat which grants proficiency in Heavy Armor doesn’t do that (WHY?!?!?! Seriously, why, that is a MASSIVE oversight!!!).

Secondly, it turns some squishy people into much less MAD people. Bladelock are a prime example, typically needing Cha, Con, Dex for AC and Str (if not using Dex for your weapon).

I love it for any Bladelock that I build (I hate starting Fighter 1), so getting Medium Armor and Shields is a massive boost. As a Bladelock, I typically go VHuman and MAM as my bonus Feat, since Warlocks can get Devil’s Sight to fix the lack of Dark vision

Even for Warlocks that aren’t Bladelocks, this is an excellent way to shore up the AC. Shield proficiency by itself is a +2 bonus to AC, and makes you much more in line with Clerics as far as your defense goes, so you can worry less about getting hit and losing Concentration on those prescious two spell slots you’ve got.

Medium Armor Mastery is different than Moderately Armored (what you are talking about)

[CTurbo]

Medium Armor Master is a niche feat that really only benefits Valor Bards, Hexblade, Ranger, and possibly a Cleric or two, BUT only if they start with a 16 in Dex and don't plan on bumping it ever.

In this small case scenario, it really is useful. Assuming 16 Dex, Breastplate + shield = 18AC. With the feat, Half-plate + shield = 20AC and it doesn't effect your stealth. Without the feat, the Bard and Warlock are unlikely to ever move up to Halfplate at least from my experiences. Disadvantage on Stealth is just too big of a penalty. So basically one feat = 2 AC which is not bad at all.

Moderately Armored fits an even smaller niche as it really only benefits Rogues and non hex Warlocks, but considering it gives you a solid +2 to AC AND a +1 to Dex, I think it's a great option for those 2 classes.

[JackPhoenix]

One, you get shield proficiency. The feat which grants proficiency in Heavy Armor doesn’t do that (WHY?!?!?! Seriously, why, that is a MASSIVE oversight!!!).

Because everyone who's proficient in medium armor (except for mountain dwarves) to qualify for Heavily Armored is already proficient with shields. Sometimes, you may even be proficient with shields, but not with medium armor! (start as someone without medium armor proficiency and multiclass into barbarian)

[GlenSmash!]

I love the feat for two reasons:

One, you get shield proficiency. The feat which grants proficiency in Heavy Armor doesn’t do that (WHY?!?!?! Seriously, why, that is a MASSIVE oversight!!!).

Secondly, it turns some squishy people into much less MAD people. Bladelock are a prime example, typically needing Cha, Con, Dex for AC and Str (if not using Dex for your weapon).

I love it for any Bladelock that I build (I hate starting Fighter 1), so getting Medium Armor and Shields is a massive boost. As a Bladelock, I typically go VHuman and MAM as my bonus Feat, since Warlocks can get Devil’s Sight to fix the lack of Dark vision

Even for Warlocks that aren’t Bladelocks, this is an excellent way to shore up the AC. Shield proficiency by itself is a +2 bonus to AC, and makes you much more in line with Clerics as far as your defense goes, so you can worry less about getting hit and losing Concentration on those prescious two spell slots you’ve got.


Medium Armor Mastery is different than Moderately Armored (what you are talking about)

Indeed. This is not the Feat you are looking for.

[jaappleton]

Because everyone who's proficient in medium armor (except for mountain dwarves) to qualify for Heavily Armored is already proficient with shields. Sometimes, you may even be proficient with shields, but not with medium armor! (start as someone without medium armor proficiency and multiclass into barbarian)

Sword Bards don’t get Shields.

[KorvinStarmast]

IMO, its works for a small slice of the player population world.... but for that small group it is huge. Being able to stealth in half-plate is nice.

But just a breastplate and shield and 14 dex, will give you an 18 AC. And you have the shield spell from hexblade, and 5 levels of rogue gives you uncanny dodge. This requires no feat.

IMO I would spend this feat elsewhere, unless your DM has said he/she has magical half-plate down the line for you.

My champion (Tier 3 play) uses Half plate, this feat, and has a 16 dex. Sword and board. AC > 20. Also has elven boots that give sneaky advantages. :) He isn't quite as sneaky as our rogue, obviously, but since remarkable athlete offers half proficiency boos for dex checks, my stealth goes up 2, and I get advantage. A modest side effect of bringing Dex up like that is a mildly increased initiative score, which also gets that remarkable boost since it is A Dexterity Check.

Super optimized? No, but our rogue doesn't have to sneak around all alone.

[Arial Black]

MAM is 'overlooked' because optimisation threads assume point-buy.

For a warrior-type, you will either have 8 or 10 Dex and go with heavy armour, or you will start with Dex 16/17 and want Dex 20 ASAP and get the rest of your AC from Con (Bar), Wis (Mnk), or +3 from mage armour (various spellcasting classes, a warlock invocation or the equivalent for a dragon sorcerer). Or, if you can't think of anything else, +2 from studded leather.

Leaving the shield out of the maths (because it's the same +2 for everyone), a Str build lets you wear plate which gets you AC 18 even with rotten Dex; while a Dex build (assuming 16 in the relevant stats) gets you AC 16, rising to AC 18 or 20.

If you have a Str build then plate is the way to go: AC 18 with no feat/ASI. This compares to wearing medium armour and getting half-plate/Dex 14 for AC 17. To get AC 18 you need an ASI AND a feat! And why would a Str build in point-buy waste all those points on Dex when he can GAIN 2 points by having Dex 8 with no detrimental effect to his AC?

For a Dex build then you want Dex 20. Assuming +3 from mage armour/whatever, that's AC 18 with two ASI's; the same AC as the half-plate/MAM combo, but your attack stat is 20 instead of 16.

With point-buy you can choose to have 8 or 16 in any stat you want, so why wouldn't you? Why would you waste 14/16 on Dex in a Str build? Why would you only want 16 as your attack stat in a Dex build? For those who attack with Dex OR Str then the feat is a poor choice.

Of course, with rolling for stats you may very well get a 14/16 Dex in a Str build. Good for you! The feat will be useful then. If only it weren't competing with so many other good feat/ASI choices....!

[LtPowers]

For a Dex build then you want Dex 20.

Sure. And once you get Dex 20, MAM lets you increase your AC by 1. Without the feat, Half Plate is the same AC for you as Studded Leather, and imposes disadvantage on Stealth checks. With the feat, Half Plate is one additional AC and no disadvantage on Stealth.


Powers &8^]

[Finieous]

Sure. And once you get Dex 20, MAM lets you increase your AC by 1. Without the feat, Half Plate is the same AC for you as Studded Leather, and imposes disadvantage on Stealth checks. With the feat, Half Plate is one additional AC and no disadvantage on Stealth.


Right. So is AC 18 at the cost of a feat better than AC 17 with no cost? The answer is obviously "no" for almost all characters. MAM is...not good.

[Kane0]

Yeah, i make it a half feat and also make it a flat +1 ac instead of +1 max dex.

[JackPhoenix]

Sure. And once you get Dex 20, MAM lets you increase your AC by 1. Without the feat, Half Plate is the same AC for you as Studded Leather, and imposes disadvantage on Stealth checks. With the feat, Half Plate is one additional AC and no disadvantage on Stealth.


Powers &8^]

For the same cost, you could take Magic Initiate instead, for Mage Armor to get the same AC (13+5) with high-dex character, and 2 cantrips on top. And no disdvantage on stealth, and invisible, so perfectly appropriate to take anywhere.

[LtPowers]

For the same cost, you could take Magic Initiate instead, for Mage Armor to get the same AC (13+5) with high-dex character, and 2 cantrips on top. And no disdvantage on stealth, and invisible, so perfectly appropriate to take anywhere.

Hmm, fair point. But it seems like Magic Initiate might be too powerful then. Mage Armor is primarily intended for characters who don't have access to other armor options.


Powers &8^]

[Arial Black]

Hmm, fair point. But it seems like Magic Initiate might be too powerful then. Mage Armor is primarily intended for characters who don't have access to other armor options.

Would any self-respecting Dex-based warrior really only get their base AC from studded leather? That +2 is easily beaten in so many ways.

Let me mentally review the 5e Dex-based warriors I have actually played, as opposed to merely theorised:-

* my first ever 5e PC was a single class noble fighter/battlemaster for HotDQ in AL, using a single rapier. By bonus vHuman feat at 1st was Magic Initiate (sorcerer), with pretidigitation/ray of frost as my cantrips and mage armour as my 1/day 1st level spell. Gotta love that 8 hour duration! Starting AC (with Dex 16) was 16, rising to 17 and 18 at 4th and 6th levels. If I had chosen MAM instead at 1st my starting AC would have been 16 (chain shirt, because no starting PC can afford breastplate or half-plate). As my Dex increased, my AC would not! I would have to find/buy that armour, and even if I got half-plate I would have had AC 18, while having to wear armour! I made the right choice. At 1st level I challenged the blue half-dragon general to a duel, and said that we had to fight unarmoured! I spent my Inspiration on that Persuasion roll, and while his AC dropped from 17 to 10 (I think), mine stayed at 16. I still lost, but lasted so long and did so well that he kinda admired me, which was useful in chapter 3. I just wish I'd've specified 'no breath weapons'! :smallsmile:

* my next was a wood elf spy Rog 1/Mnk (shadow) x in PotA, Dex and Wis gave me a starting AC of 16, rising as my Dex/Wis improved. Definitely no MAM for her.

* my next was a variant tiefling Ftr 1/War x in Strahd, Dex-based TWF Undying bladepact, with the invocation which gives mage armour at will. No way I could start with breastplate/half-plate, and the chances of finding some were slim to none. I spent my ASIs on Dex, and spening one on MAM would not have helped at all!

Even my barbarians are unarmoured! My current Bar/War has 18s in both Dex and Con, giving him an unarmoured AC 18. If he were to don half plate then his AC would go down to 17, and I would have to spend a precious ASI on MAM just to get back to where I was!

[JackPhoenix]

If I had chosen MAM instead at 1st my starting AC would have been 16 (chain shirt, because no starting PC can afford breastplate or half-plate).

17, actually. Scale mail has base AC 14 and with MAM, you won't get Stealth disadvantage. But unless you get lucky and find magic half-plate (and want to bother wearing that), after few levels, the AC will be the same. +3 half-plate is better, but it's legendary item, while bracers of defense will get you +2 AC, and are only rare (same rarity as +1 armor)

[beargryllz]

It's one of the worst feats in the game

It will give up to 1 AC under optimal circumstances and sometimes lets you negate disadvantage on stealth checks

Literally any other feat is better for most builds

If it had an effect like +1 str/dex or "ranged attacks against a medium armor master are made at disadvantage", you'd see a lot more builds use it I think

[Malifice]

I firmly agree with this. Medium Armor master either needs more effects or it needs to give +1 Dex

Plus one Dex or Str for mine.

I have a fighter that's considering getting it. He wears medium armour for fluff reasons. I wouldn't touch it otherwise from a purely mechanical position.

[jas61292]

Looking at the feat as +1 AC is a bad way to look at it. This is a feat you only take if you want stealth, but are not going to max Dex. for such a character, you would never wear half plate without the feat, so it is effectively +2 AC. Rangers are the primary usage for this feat, in my experience. Stealth can be key to how players want to play a ranger, so half plate is normally a no go. But between wanting other feats, and wanting other ability scores such as wisdom, they are less likely to max out Dex. Since you really don't need maxed out stats, this provides the defensive bonus of two ASI for only one. And so if they prioritize defense, it is perfect.

But yes, this is niche.

[Ali_face]

Im tempted by this feat with my current character, a Fighter/ Rogue Shieldmaster.

But its a hard feat to swallow with Magic Initiatie basically doing the same thing w/ daily access to Mage Armor

If I hadnt rolled my stats and gotten multiple 16's, I wouldnt even consider it.

That said, there are some interesting things you can do with access to Medium Armor that you cannot do with Light... most notable being Adamantite armor to negate criticals. Being able to sneak in medium half plate could already be accomplished by Mithral, but now you make your Half Plate as good as Plate and still sneak without penalty.

[Princess]

Are you trying to maximize total AC in a barbarian multiclass character who wants to maintain rage benefits, so you are stuck with medium armor and your constitution is very unlikely to exceed +5? No? Then Medium Armor Master isn't optimal. And most people aren't trying to optimize barb/x AC because damage resistance reduces the usefulness of extra AC anyway.

If I were set on figuring out the best possible use of medium armor master, I'd probably say a barbarian/fighter/rogue tank/grappler/boogieman might want it to get a little more AC and maintain the element of surprise, but that's very niche

[Crgaston]

Seems like it would work best on Strength Rogue builds. Specifically Mountain Dwarf ones.

I built a Mountain Dwarf Battlemaster4/Scout4 and used MAM and Squat Nimbleness to have AC 19 (Half plate, defensive fighting style) and 16/16/16/10/10/8 at CL 8. Expertise in Athletics and Stealth. Using 2 short swords until the Extra Attack kicks in at L9 and then he’ll be using a shield for AC 21. Then at L10 he’ll be able to choose between Uncanny Dodge if he’s hit and Riposte if he isn’t (with a second helping of Sneak Attack dice) for his reaction.

Not really optimized, but he’s a fun little build.

[KorvinStarmast]

Plus one Dex or Str for mine.

I have a fighter that's considering getting it. He wears medium armour for fluff reasons. I wouldn't touch it otherwise from a purely mechanical position. Our group doesn't have a rogue. We have a ranger (mine) with a criminal background. (Woot, proficiency in thieves tools). Currently, he is wearing a chain shirt rather than scale mail since our group/game uses encumbrance rules. (Had to do some trading and selling to afford it, but I'm glad I did. Medium armor master allows me to be sneaky and have OK armor. As we get a bit more money/loot, my objective is to get to half plate/light plate ... but next armor upgrade is breast plate.

[Balthasaurus]

I have always thought that Medium Armour Master works great for characters like rangers, who don't have the Strength or proficiency for heavy armour but feel like they need a little more protection than light. With half-plate armour, MAM gives a maximum AC of 18, but with studded leather the maximum AC is 16. Also, it allows a high-AC character to still be able to sneak around; great for revised rangers who want to set up an ambush and get their wonderful first round of combat as well as a surprise round.

It might not come up often in optimisation, but as a player it makes things much more enjoyable because when I play as a ranger (my favourite class), I don't have to sacrifice AC for stealth, or vice versa.

Edit: maybe it's not worth the cost of a feat, but I was playing as a variant human, so there was basically no cost (i.e. it's not like I was missing out on an ASI) , and none of the other feats looked particularly appealing for my sword-and-shield ranger.

[GlenSmash!]

I have always thought that Medium Armour Master works great for characters like rangers, who don't have the Strength or proficiency for heavy armour but feel like they need a little more protection than light. With half-plate armour, MAM gives a maximum AC of 18, but with studded leather the maximum AC is 16.

Max AC in studded Leather is 17. is the +1 AC worth the cost of the Feat? it will depend on if the ranger wants to leave Dex at 16, or maybe as found a really good Magic Medium Armor.

So MAM is still situationally useful.

[Balthasaurus]

Max AC in studded Leather is 17. is the +1 AC worth the cost of the Feat? it will depend on if the ranger wants to leave Dex at 16, or maybe as found a really good Magic Medium Armor.

So MAM is still situationally useful.

Exactly. Looking at a character sheet, MAM might not be the best choice. But through playing the game, you might decide it sounds like a pretty good option.

[KorvinStarmast]

Exactly. Looking at a character sheet, MAM might not be the best choice. But through playing the game, you might decide it sounds like a pretty good option.
Or doesn't sound ... given the option to sneak without disadvantage. :smallbiggrin:

[Tanarii]

Looking at the feat as +1 AC is a bad way to look at it. This is a feat you only take if you want stealth, but are not going to max Dex. for such a character, you would never wear half plate without the feat, so it is effectively +2 AC. Rangers are the primary usage for this feat, in my experience. Stealth can be key to how players want to play a ranger, so half plate is normally a no go. But between wanting other feats, and wanting other ability scores such as wisdom, they are less likely to max out Dex. Since you really don't need maxed out stats, this provides the defensive bonus of two ASI for only one. And so if they prioritize defense, it is perfect.

But yes, this is niche.
The problem with this is, the primary reasons to go Str with a ranger are TWF dual Wielder or 2H. The latter is perfectly fine for a Beastmaster with Defensive FS ... but its still 2 ASIs (1 for MAM, one for +2 Dex). The former means youre talking 3 ASIs, since your stacking Dual Wielder on top.

In both cases, you're going against spending those ASIs on Str and Con.

-------------

One thing that gets left out a lot in these discussions are found magic items. Taking this feat opens up your options for effectively using any found magic armor. That's a fairly huge benefit in any game where the DM uses the DMG treasure tables.

[GlenSmash!]

One thing that gets left out a lot in these discussions are found magic items. Taking this feat opens up your options for effectively using any found magic armor. That's a fairly huge benefit in any game where the DM uses the DMG treasure tables.

Yeah, magic items are so Table dependent that they are hard to white room around.

Getting some sweet Dragon Scale or Elven Chain, is the kind of thing that would make me more tempted to take it.

[AZDfox]

I have a Vhuman Paladin who took this at level 1, had a 16 dex, and then put ASIs towards Cha until it was maxed. But while I will agree that it really should give a +1 to dex, that isn't necessary to make it good. This a solid feat, definitely in the top 50%.

[Man_Over_Game]

I have a Vhuman Paladin who took this at level 1, had a 16 dex, and then put ASIs towards Cha until it was maxed. But while I will agree that it really should give a +1 to dex, that isn't necessary to make it good. This a solid feat, definitely in the top 50%.

We prefer not to have thread necromancy on old threads like with this one. Rather, it's good practice to create new threads and link to the dead ones as a point of discussion. This encourages new conversations, considering the creators of the old threads usually don't follow conversation of a year-old post of theirs.

[wheelercub]

Here's what we went with in our homebrew campaign. It allows for players to improve their skill and survivability, without allowing them to go past the maximum AC of 18 in normal armor and the appropriate Dexterity.

Light Armor Master

Prerequisite: Proficiency with light armor
You are a true savant in the use of light armors, dodging nimbly away from blows and tempting fate with near misses.
Your AC while wearing light armor is increased by 1
When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you may roll with Advantage.


Medium Armor Master

Prerequisite: Proficiency with medium armor
You have practiced moving in medium armor to gain the following benefits:
Wearing medium armor doesn't impose disadvantage on your Stealth, Swimming, or Climbing checks.
When you wear medium armor, you can add a maximum of 3 of your Dexterity bonus to your AC, if you have a Dexterity of 16 or higher.
While you are wearing medium armor, non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage is reduced by an amount equal to half your proficiency bonus rounded up.
If the armor is magical, the damage reduction applies to magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.



Heavy Armor Master

Prerequisite: Proficiency with heavy armor
You can use your armor to deflect strikes that would kill others. You gain the following benefits:
Increase your Strength score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
While you are wearing heavy armor, non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage is reduced by an amount equal to your proficiency bonus.
If the armor is magical, the damage reduction applies to magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

[Man_Over_Game]

Here's what we went with in our homebrew campaign. It allows for players to improve their skill and survivability, without allowing them to go past the maximum AC of 18 in normal armor and the appropriate Dexterity.

Light Armor Master

Prerequisite: Proficiency with light armor
You are a true savant in the use of light armors, dodging nimbly away from blows and tempting fate with near misses.
Your AC while wearing light armor is increased by 1
When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you may roll with Advantage.


Medium Armor Master

Prerequisite: Proficiency with medium armor
You have practiced moving in medium armor to gain the following benefits:
Wearing medium armor doesn't impose disadvantage on your Stealth, Swimming, or Climbing checks.
When you wear medium armor, you can add a maximum of 3 of your Dexterity bonus to your AC, if you have a Dexterity of 16 or higher.
While you are wearing medium armor, non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage is reduced by an amount equal to half your proficiency bonus rounded up.
If the armor is magical, the damage reduction applies to magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.



Heavy Armor Master

Prerequisite: Proficiency with heavy armor
You can use your armor to deflect strikes that would kill others. You gain the following benefits:
Increase your Strength score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
While you are wearing heavy armor, non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage is reduced by an amount equal to your proficiency bonus.
If the armor is magical, the damage reduction applies to magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.



What did I just say? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23725667&postcount=39)

[OverLordOcelot]

Aside from the oft-noted problem that it doesn't provide enough benefit for the cost of a feat, even if you upped it a bit (made it also give +1 dex, for example) who would actually want the benefits of the feat? If you're trying to maximize AC, and aren't high dex, then you almost certainly are going to go for heavy armor (18/20 AC) with defensive fighting style gets you to 19/21 with no magic and no ASIs and ignore dex. If you're a seriously stealthy type, then you're likely to go for a 20 (or 22 with tome) dex and will want studded leather, unarmored defense, or mage armor for your base AC so that you can use your dex. (Also if you expect to have the magic for it, Mage Armor/Unarmored Defense + Bracers of defense/Shield + 22 Dex gets you to 21 AC or more depending on your unarmored defense stat). So someone who's focused highly on stealth or highly on AC will not really have a use for it, they'll be going another route. That means the only people who it really helps are people who kind of like a higher AC but also don't want disadvantage on stealth and have a dex of 16-19, which is a pretty narrow subset of characters - even if the feat was good, there are few people who really benefit from it.

Also, there are lots of ways to cover for disadvantage on stealth if you're not a 'scout out ahead' type. Notably, a druid, ranger, or shadow monk can give +10 stealth for an hour with a 2nd level spell slot or ki points. Relatively common items also can fix the problem, for example Cloak of Elvenkind will negate the disadvantage and give enemy disadvantage on seeing you, and a staff of the woodlands will let a druid continually cast pass without trace.

So overall, it's a weak feat on basic analysis, there's only a really narrow slice of characters that would actually like both of the benefits of the feat, and part of the feat is made irrelevant by reasonably common abilities.