I was merely saying if we remove the +mod to-hit, we could still allow the magic items to provide some relief there. I dislike the way a guy with 12 str has the same advantage over a guy with 11 str, as someone with a magic sword does over someone who doesn't. Doesn't sit right with me.
I don't want the math to be completely flat, just let the damage boosts be stat based (not even mod, i.e. I want 15 str to be better than 14 str). So you could have +1 at 15, +2 at 16, +3 at 17, and so on. Or start it at 14, or 13, but every point should count here.
The dex-stat is god argument comes from the fact that I made two characters, both with a 16 and a 14 dex, who had the same AC as a tenth level fighter in plate (with no shield).
My barb : 18 AC = 10 + 3 (dex) + 3 (con) + 2 shield.
My ranger : 18 AC = 10 + 4 (scale) + 2 (dex) +2 shield.
Some fighter who spent 5k like a dumbass : 18 AC, can't hardly move, clanks around the dungeon a lot, will probably drown and fall down the stairs like a stumblin stooge. Gee, thanks Wizards! Another edition with sucky armor rules for plate armor vs dex.
I think the two examples I gave were fine, it's just that Plate should give 20 AC on its own. You spend 5k you should have the best. You should BE the best. By 10th level the same barbarian would have 20 AC, the same ranger would have 19, beating the plate guy by 2 and 1. Maybe they should add plate and field/full plate, being 18 for 400gp like earlier editions, and 19/20 for 5k gp/10k gp. I don't like playing the game feeling like there's only one path to win, and the one I often want to play (the guy in shining armor), well sucks, comparatively.
Dex has been the god stat for precisely this reason, because its proponents are just overall better adventurers in every way that matters, without being penalized hardly at all for investing next to nothing in their armor. It's not balanced, nor realistic.