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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 5682084" data-attributes="member: 82106">Yeah, I don't think I agree that high AC is the exclusive purview of defenders, nor that it is wise for non-melee characters to ignore their AC. It works OK usually at lower levels. I can recall a warlock in one game that pretty much avoided being hit for a couple levels in mid-heroic, but he also had to devote some resources to that, it didn't come free. Eventually he discovered that as you get up in levels you simply cannot afford that approach, you NEED a decent AC. Likewise many defenders aren't really well advised to crank up the AC too much. You need to make sure your punishment is up to par or else you're just decoration. Sure, you'll be able to stand in the line of fire, but without devoting a couple feats to things like CC enhancement and buffing up your MBA the monsters will just walk past you eventually.There are also subtleties you're missing there. For instance a CON secondary shaman needs to deal with his AC issues, and that is going to require putting some extra points into either STR and or DEX depending on the exact solution chosen. This makes it very tricky to maintain a reasonable AC and you will find that no matter what solution you pick it will imply taking several 'mandatory' feats. Exactly which ones you go for is up to the player, but once he picks a stat layout he's pretty well committed to taking them.Likewise the Swarm Druid is pretty well hosed without ANY options when it comes to AC, and he NEEDS AC. Resistance is all well and good, but it simply isn't sufficient, and the entire build is currently moribund and basically unplayable since the nerf to Hide Expertise. Again with wizards, you can theorize that you can kind of ignore AC and just rely on a good INT bonus, but that really won't work for long. Pretty soon you will need something like Unarmored Agility, or Leather Armor Proficiency, and probably Staff Expertise or some other trick, which again involves some form of mandatory feat expenditure.The problem is no amount of excellence in your defenders can stop incoming artillery fire and other AC targeting attacks, nor can you stop all attackers from slipping past. At higher levels you simply have too many flying, teleporting, etc monsters, and there are always those pesky lurkers waiting to ruin the day. Not every second rank character needs bonzo AC, but if you're 5 or 6 points behind the defender, which you will be without some feat investment, you're going to be in a world of hurt.</blockquote>

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