Barbarian on plate, is it worth?

[Victim]

Don't compare plate to hide, compare hide to chainmail. Once you're in the heavy armors, each step up is just a feat for +1 AC, no matter what level you're at.

+6 Spiritmail is AC +18; +6 Elderhide totals +11. With a modest +2 dex bonus (started out at +1, and got two automatic upgrades at 11 and 21) and his Agility, that adds up to AC +16.

A feat for +2 AC isn't awful (it starts out at +1 in Heroic and increases to +2 in Paragon), but the speed hit is going to be something a barbarian really notices. And if you start with 14 dex (not hard), you're only lagging by 1 point behind wearing speed-sapping metal.


Armor just isn't worth your feats. Take Armor Specialization if you really want to boost your AC; then you'll actually be reducing your check penalties as well. Take Defensive Mobility (since you know you'll be charging a lot, probably past other enemies). But you're a striker! Boost your damage output, not your defenses. You can deal disgusting amounts of damage, and that's what you should be focusing on!

If you're a striker who's trying to get Defender-class AC... You're doing it wrong.

Well, not necessarily. How valuable your AC is depends on the defending power of the party, and other aspects of composition. Great defending (fighter with lots of bursts, let's say) will make your AC less useful. OTOH, a defender who only ties up one enemy at time will probably leave some guys to beat on you. Similarly, the fewer melee people, the more likely you'll be in an exposed position and attacked. Also, the way the DM builds encounters plays a role: someone who uses the encounter budget on larger groups makes your AC more valuable compared to someone who often goes for fewer good guys.

That being said, you have convinced me to take another look at Hide armor for the character I'm making, an 11th level human Thaneborn.

Heavy Armor: 14 Con, 11 Dex, AC 27, Ref 18 ( ), Fort 24, 12 surges, Scale Armor (-1 speed)

Hide Armor: 11 Con, 14 Dex, AC 25, Ref 22, Fort 25 (the masterwork bonus there will go away in a few levels though), +2 Initiative, Toughness, Weapon Focus, Hide Armor (-1 skills). Also, this character can eventually qualify for Heavy Blade Mastery with some stat ups (OTOH, Jagged works).

+2 AC and Healing Surges is worth a lot, IMO, so I don't really consider Hide to be strictly superior - but it is a lot more competitive than I thought. Tough call.

But in my case, it's looking like we'll have laser cleric, Invoker, Dragon Sorcerer, and a ??? (possibly Avenger). Extra AC is looking mighty good.

 

[Evil DieM]

@3sp you're getting ripped off. Although for a good cut of Minotaur, maybe.

Maybe you think that's a fair rate for Minotaur, but I get them at wholesale.

Either way, that's not a very good deal, if you think about it. Minotaurs can't barely generate three silver pieces from their individual Treasure Types.