human ranger just reached 8TH what should my AC be

[jk7275]

Hello
Everyone in my pathfinder group just reached 8th or is close to it and I was wondering what my AC should be about. I did see comments in other threads about ac should be level + 20. Is this a good rule of thumb for everyone?

[Kurald Galain]

No, that's way too high for a general rule of thumb. It's fine as a goal if you're optimizing for AC, but for the average character you'll be fine with less AC than that. I find my average character gets AC 25-26 at that level.

[Selion]

Hello
Everyone in my pathfinder group just reached 8th or is close to it and I was wondering what my AC should be about. I did see comments in other threads about ac should be level + 20. Is this a good rule of thumb for everyone?

I found this guide, here there is a comparison between expected character stats and average monster stats in pathfinder
https://rpgwillikers.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/bench-pressing-character-creation-by-the-numbers/
These are the tables
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CCxnAb8apicr3fOrSCEFNRwHlzRieMrXm6ld9-uLAFc/edit#gid=0
http://legacy.aonprd.com/bestiary/monsterCreation.html
Stats are labeled in 3 values: high (blue), medium (green), and low(yellow)
To give you an example, if i have AC 29 at level 11 (green value) and compare it to average attack bonus on good attacks of CR 11 monsters (19), i have 50% to be hit.
If your character is not that into defense you could be fine with a lower value (monsters hit you often with their good attacks, but you defend yourself properly against secondary attacks); conversely, if defense is your main strategy, you should aim at a higher value.

At level 8 this guide suggests 31 (blue), 26 (green), 22(yellow)

[Eldariel]

Depends:
- Are you ranged or melee? Ranged characters are better served with more attack investments more often than not.
- If melee, are you reach or not? Reach, again, reduces the need for AC.
- Are you using auxiliary defenses (miss chances, concealment, damage reduction/protection, etc.)? This reduces the need and efficiency of AC.
- How many (other) frontliners are there in the party and how good are they at absorbing the pressure?
- How strong is the alpha strike of the party? Dead enemies don't hit you.


Determine how much AC you need and how much you can get from spells (on level 8, Magic Vestment from a Cleric gives you a +2 armor for free and if you ever invest in Improved Buckler Defense or Animated Shield, another +2 - just buy them a Pearl of Power or something in exchange; Magic Circle against Evil negates +2 and lower Deflection bonuses and if there's a Druid in the party, Barkskin makes Natural Armor a somewhat questionable investment). Then add up to a normal combat encounter's values and go from there. But yeah, if you rely on AC and want to never be hit (are in the frontline and the only one taking hits and have no other forms of defense), you might want to invest heavily to the tune of 30 or so. Most of the time, 25ish will be more than enough and if you take little in terms of pressure, anything over 20 can be a waste (get non-magical armor and Dex and that'll be about it).

[Geddy2112]

A quick dirty rule of thumb is 10+level as bare minimum, 15+level as average, and 20+ level or more for tanks.