Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Build Discussion Basic Armor

How many pieces of gear are there, really, that outperform the humble +2 armor and +1 shield?

This means +2 studded leather for light armor, +2 half plate for medium, +2 full plate for heavy.

Wyll and Gale are conveniently human and could just set up on +2 studded with +1 shield. Astarion can also studded +2.

Karlach and Shadowheart could use +2 half plate, though it is likely only Shadowheart that wants a shield.

Of course Lae'zel can use the mighty full plate+2.

But if you compare full plate+2 to adamant splint armor, which is only ac 18, what wins? How about flawed Helldusk? Etc.

I don't get the question... but the whole point of using adamantine armor ist not the AC it is the immunity to crits

The point is that there is gear that outperforms basic AC boosts. I am curious if a list has been made. And while Adamantine gives crit proof, that only comes up 5% of the time. Vs. plate +2, which dodges normal hits 10% more of the time

sorcerer and Barb are offen better to take mage outfits with the "as long as not wearing armour" buffs they get, then there is also a nice ring so you can easy get to 20ac

if you are going to have armour then Gale is the one that really wants a shield, anyway the real question is what magic buffs you get and that matters if your build wants to be in melee or not

Let's look at Barbarian.

Potentially, AC 20 with Dex 20 and Con 20.

You might get con 20 from the Barbarian garb that boosts AC and a natural of 18. But you just don't have the points for dex 20. So you're stuck with dex 18 with gloves of dex. And there's only one of those. That's AC 19.

Also AC 19: Half plate+2 and dex 14. The same dex 14 your cleric and druid probably have.

Comparing Full Plate +2 to Adamantine Splint Armour is a false comparison. You can get Adamantine Splint Armour at the end of Act I - around level 5-7 range, but Full Plate +2 isnt available until level 11. So for Act II Adamantine Splint Armour is better than Full Plate +2 .. because you can't get Full Plate +2.

If you compare it to Armour you get around the same level - say Armour of Persistence, or Helldusk Armour - it comes out as slightly worse.

It's also worth noting that +1 AC reduces your chance to get hit by 1 in every 20, where as the special effects on most armour generally allow you to reduce enemies effectiveness or to kill them quicker - Reeling on the Adamantine Splint Armour effectively gives your party +1 AC against that enemy for 2 turns. And as we all know, a dead enemy does not make Attack Rolls, so killing an enemy 1 turn faster means they party takes less damage than you would do with that enemy alive and your +1 AC.



You can get an amulet that set's Con to 23 so that would also give you AC: 20 with the dex gloves

Does Wyll have Med Armour Proficiency? Most shields I have found in Act 1 & 2 are +2.

Decking out Wyll, Gale and Astarion would require three sets of Studded +2. How far into the game are you going to achieve that?

The basic +1 and +2 armours aren't that useful IMO. I find the 'Specials' much more useful.

Using the +2 Half Plate on Karlach would mean her Dex 20 was pointless.



So what what weapon is this barbarian using? What is Str at?


In addition to the timing factor, the immunity to crits and the Reeling already mentioned, the Adamantine is slightly lighter than the Plate and gives -2 damage to all damage whereas the Full Plate +2 only gives the -2 to physical (S/P/B). Or at least that's how I read the wiki:
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Adamantine_Splint_Armour
https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Plate_Armour_%2B2

Also the Adamantine is 1.k more expensive than the Full Plate +2 - I use the price as a rough guide to usefulness/efficacy.

Sort answer a lot.
But my question to what do you really have in mind.
What class are you interested.
What type of armor are you interested.
I armored with ligth medium or heavy. Or unarmored???
Are you interested in maximum armor class?

And by the way I don't find in the final realease sudden leather armor.

No list I’m aware of. The + full dex medium armor can far outperform basic +2, of you’re just looking at AC values.

But I don’t think just looking at AC is wise. The whole point of other armor is the effects it provides; from lightning charges to permanent advantage on dex checks there are many effects which are just flat out better than high AC, on the right character. Monk and Barb may only even out their AC with mage gear, but then the monk gets like double the movement and jump values they otherwise would. And so forth - the benefit of “basic” +2 is specifically high AC, especially on the “best” armor of a given class. The way other armor will typically compete is in benefits you can’t get from AC alone, not in higher AC.

I’ll make a list later though, sounds fun.

Looking strictly at AC

Better than:

+2 Studded Leather (AC 14 + Dex), with Light Armor Proficiency
Bracers of Defense, on Monks or Barbs with Wis or Con 14 or higher respectively, or on those with Mage Armor or other AC boosting effects
Bonespike Boots, same as the above, especially if paired.
Vest of Soul Rejuvenation, same as the above.
Robe of the Weave, same as the above. Lots of other robes and clothing provide +1, which is likely equal to but not better than other than specifically for Monks and Barbs, but from a strictly AC standpoint it’s worse than the listed options.
Armour of Moonbasking, on Druids who spend most of their time wild shaped
Helldusk Armor, with Dex less than 24
Bhaalist Armor, it’s strictly better
Elegant Studded Leather, same deal, strictly better


+2 Half Plate (AC 17 + Dex up to 2)
All of the non-armor options above, but with higher ability score requirements or more pieces needed.
Armour of Agility, with Dex scores of 16 or higher (18 if for some reason comparing with someone who has Medium Armor Master, or MAM)
Sharpened Snare Curiass, with Dex scores of 22 or higher (24 with MAM)
Unwanted Masterwork Scalemail, with Dex scores of 18 or higher (20 or higher with MAM)
Yuan-ti scalemail, with Dex scores of 20 or higher (22 with MAM)
Dark Justicar half plate, it’s strictly better
Helldusk Armor, better even with MAM.

+2 Full Plate (AC 20, no Dex bonus)
All of the Dex enabling options above, but using the values for MAM.
All of the non-armor options above that, but with potentially even higher stat requirements and / or more pieces. For example a Barb with +1 from their boots, +2 from clothes, 23 Con and 18 Dex will end up with an AC of 23, while having 2 hands free for great weapons)
Helldusk Armor, better in every way including AC
Armour of Persistence, strictly better

+1 shield (AC +3)
Adamantine Shield, after a miss for the rest of that turn and next
Viconia’s walking fortress, strictly better

That’s the list! Let me know if I missed anything or got anything wrong. Obviously this list is missing much of the best Armor of the game, stuff like Ketheric’s Shield and Adamantine Armor and Armour of Landfall so forth have benefits that far outweigh strict AC bonuses, but the point of this list is specifically to have the highest AC possible, not the best possible characters.

I think you missed a looooooot.
Shadowharts Chain mail is really special a +3 chain mail whit in building shield of faith. It net you 22 with medium armor mastery.
Raphaels armor simply just gives 21 ac.

And there is 2 rings that can give +1 armor class +1 cloak +1 boots + 1 gloves + flail.

And yes armor outperforms everything specifically on paladin and barbarian or bard. If someone is reaching the 30 - 31 and start to buff on top of that and the character have an item that gives him immune to critical . Then in the end there no enemy in the game that can hit you with an attack.

But there is one green armor that is on a top of everything.
That can give you even 40-50 armor class with an ongoing debuffot. But I refuse to use it because I think it is a bug.

Shadowhearts 'chain mail' is the 'Dark Justiciar Half Plate'. Raphaels armor is the 'Helldusk Armor'. Neither of those were missed. The reason the rings and cloak were not mentioned is because they can be worn regardless of what armor you're wearing, and thus they don't represent options which provide superior AC to the 'basic' +2s the OP was indicating, since they can be worn with those.

Also though a character with an AC of 30 can *absolutely* be hit with many attacks - for example, if paralyzed, *all* attacks will hit. Or they can have a fireball dropped on them, or other effects reliant on save DCs rather than attack rolls. Or effects like Magic Missile and Spike Growth that simply auto-hit and don't need an attack roll at all. And so forth. Attack Rolls are not the only way to inflict damage on a character.

For me the dark justiciar armor epic ( very rare) version don't say that is a half plate its just an armor. I assume that every dark justiciars are wearing chain mail. So it's a +3 chain mail.
And if I am immune to critical even if I am paralyzed by hold person the are usly missing. If the don't have enough to hit attack. I think even sleeping is working the same way.
But i will test it out. Just I never get holded or paralyzed or sleep after I have so high amount of defense. I am not even sure that it's possible. Specially with paladin. I am usly running around with 16-19 saves. Except dexterity saves:) I will try to test it out. Actually the only thing is happening as cc at act3 is stunn prone.
.

Also it's incorrect and irrelevant what you are saying abut magic missile and aoe effects. They are not counted as to hit attacks. And we are talking about Armor in this thread.

But can be countered with counter spell or shield spell. Spike grow do so low damage that it's usly resisted by heavy armor Master and magical armor passive resistance but honestly I am not sure what enemy can cast it. Is it possible at all?
I mean the only time I see spike grow if I am casting it but it definitely not happening in late game. And this is why specifically I sayed Barbarans (Oath of Ancient is even more stronger ) Paladins and Bard's because the are ower performing in defensive region.

To hit attacks are usly ability modifier + proficienty bonuses and magical effects like bless enchant on weapons.

It's definitely half plate, your assumption is incorrect. Regardless, it was not missed. Paralysis and unconscious ignore the to-hit calculation, they auto-hit within 3m regardless of AC, even if immune to crits, to the best of my knowledge. The point in terms of magic missile and aoe effects is neither incorrect nor irrelevant. They are indeed not counted as to hit effects, and we are indeed talking about armor. Let's recap your assertions I was responding to:
"armor outperforms everything", "there is no enemy in the game that can hit you with an attack".
The point about there being non-attack roll based ways to damage you is that you are not at that point impervious to damage, and therefore, armor may not outperform everything. For example, Ketheric's Shield only gives +2 to AC instead of +3. But any Cleric or Sorc or other primary spellcaster who took the +1 Shield for +3 AC over the +1 to their Spell Save DC is missing out in a huge way and is *not* outperforming compared to other options. High AC is nice, but it's hardly the same as invulnerability, and there are absolutely effects more valuable than AC bonuses available on your gear.

Well i think you misunderstood the title of this thread.
And by the way there is no armor saves or invulnerablety that can protect you from shove.......

Magic missile Can be negated by a lvl 1 spell.
And fireball and other aoe spells are dont do any damage.
Almost all gear in the game even bow's helmets armors pff the list is almost endless that are giving 50 %resistance. And I don't even remember that I meet someone casting fireball.
Magic missile I saw by the last battle. At least in tactican mod they are not dooing it.

And as I pointed out I will test ( paralyze) it because I am not sure.
But i remember sleep isn't automatic critical aganst high ac and critical immune caracters. And I never get paralyze in this game with a high ac defensive character.

Magic is the least of the worries of my Ancients Paladin to begin with.

Exactly that's why I think it's not even a threat. I can get on all saves advantage except charisma and dexterity.
And all my saves are +3-6 +5 (+ ability bonuses and proficiency) and on the top of that half damage from everything. What can go wrong?

So I was right immune critical and impossible to hit armor is preventing to be hitted with paralyze status.

Good to know but definitely a bug, I'll go ahead and get that reported. Thanks for testing!