D&D (2024) Bracers of Defense vs Ring of Protection +1

[ECMO3]

One of my PCs is out of attunement slots. She is a multiclassed Dragonborn Fey Wanderer Ranger 6/Monk 1/Bard 1. She is currently wearing a ring of protection +1 and using other attunement slots for a Wand of Fear and a Staff of Striking. We also have some Bracers of Defense no one is using and I am debating swapping the ring for the Bracers. FWIW the whole party has either a ring or cloak of protection, so it is not like another member will use the ring if I don't.

Her stats are: S8 D16 C12 W18 I8 CH13

In play she is about one third casting, one third ranged and one third melee. She has the Thrown Weapon Fighting style feat and as a house rule every PC has Two Weapon Fighting. So for a lot of fights if she isn't using a spell or her Wand, she starts off casting Hunter's Mark and throwing things (she has a +2 Javelin, +1 Ywkla, +1 Hand Axe, Dagger of Venom and some non-magic axes and daggers). When she is throwing she usually gets 3 attacks by using an axe for one attack and nicking a dagger for another. Then the following round she will often throw another volley of 3 and then move in for an unarmed strike as a bonus action and pull out her staff to melee on the third round.

She goes unarmored and has the shield spell through origin feat, so she currently has an AC of 18 with the ring and 23 with Shield.

I am debating whether it would be better to attune to the Bracers to up her AC by 1 but lose the save bonus. One of my concerns is maintaining concentration on Summon Fey after I get it at 11th level. Also at Ranger 8 (8/1/1) she is taking a half-feat (Dragonfear) and boosting Charisma, so her base AC will be stuck at 17 until her next Wisdom ASI at level 14.

Thoughts?

 

[W'rkncacnter]

i'd stick with the ring, personally. saves can be way nastier then attacks.

 

[DrJawaPhD]

I'd take +1 to all saving throws over +1 AC, but there's no wrong answer really

 

[Zardnaar]

I'd take +1 to all saving throws over +1 AC, but there's no wrong answer really

This.

 

[aco175]

Is there a lot of bad guy casters making you roll saves over just fights with brutes and you needing the AC?

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Overall, I'd say stick with the ring, unless you have good reason to think that you'll take lots of melee attacks and not make very many saves. If you're concerned about Concentration checks, those are Con saves, so your ring makes those easier.

 

[FrogReaver]

Keep the save boost.

 

[Dausuul]

Do you plan to keep both items? If you know what you're going to be facing and have an hour to prepare, you can swap in the item that will serve you best against that foe.

But you still need to decide your standard loadout for when you don't have the time or recon to tailor your gear to the situation. If it were me, I'd go with the ring. Your AC is solid if not spectacular and you can boost it with the Shield spell in a pinch; you have no equivalent "panic button" for saves. And a failed save can mess you up in very unpleasant ways.

With regard to concentration: For a hit that does 21 damage or less, given your base AC and Con bonus, +1 to your concentration saves is worth somewhere between 1.25 and 1.75 AC*. On higher-damage hits, the relative value of the bracers goes up. On the other hand, area effects and spells usually target saves rather than your AC, and in that case the bracers get you nothing at all, while the ring pulls double duty -- first improving your chance to halve or negate the damage, and then improving your chance to hold concentration against the damage you do take.

*Assuming the monster's attack bonus is between +6 and +10. The higher the monster's attack bonus, the less effective the bracers are relative to the ring. Reducing a 50% hit chance to 45% prevents one hit in 10, but reducing a 70% hit chance to 65% prevents only one in 14.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Really depends on the threats you face.

If you are the frontliner and get attacked a lot, one less hit every 20 rolls is nice.

With shield +5 bonus, you will get to AC24 however. Which means that enemies with +4 to hit or lower only hit you with a natural 20. If you have AC 23, enemies with a +4 bonus hit you twice as often. Enemies with a lower to hit bonus only hit you with a natural 20 anyway, so bracers are wasted.

I'd say if your main duty is tanking and keeping many lesser enemies (+4 to +8 to hit) away from your squishies, bracers are good. Maybe a second level of monk will be helpful here.

Otherwise keep the ring.

Maintaining concentration on summining fey should be a non issue, as you want to cast it in the special no concentration version anyway. Just recasting HM is also no big of a cost.

 

[Seramus]

Another vote for the ring. Defend those Concentration saves!