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<blockquote data-quote="MostlyDm" data-source="post: 6707130" data-attributes="member: 6788973">Medium armor is slightly better than light armor... for everyone but the top fraction of a percent of people that are so acrobatic and quick that they're better off in light armor.&nbsp; This is sort of analogous to the way that in 3.5 you could theoretically get someone with such a high Dexterity that even padded armor was too restrictive, and they were better off totally unarmored.&nbsp; Just, less granular than that, because 5e.&nbsp; Thankfully.But if you look at how the armors fit into the framework of the world... that is, not with an eye to perfect balance for fully optimized PCs, where each armor is 100% equivalent... the picture emerges more clearly.&nbsp; Of the NPCs in the Monster Manual exactly one has a 20 in a stat; the highest CR NPC Archmage has 20 Intelligence.&nbsp; The Assassin has 16 Dex.&nbsp; The Elite Drow Warrior has 18 Dex.For most people in the world, medium armor gives better AC than light armor.&nbsp; For a tiny percentage of light armor users, the two are roughly equivalent.&nbsp; If you're in the top percentile of agile people, care about stealth and don't play with feats, light armor might even be better.This really doesn't seem like a bug.&nbsp; If light armor is a motorcycle, and heavy armor is a tank, then medium armor is a regular car.&nbsp; It may not be as good as either of the other options when it comes to specialized purposes, but it's hands down the most accessible, reliable, and common tool for the job.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MostlyDm, post: 6707130, member: 6788973"] Medium armor [i]is[/i] slightly better than light armor... for everyone but the top fraction of a percent of people that are so acrobatic and quick that they're better off in light armor. This is sort of analogous to the way that in 3.5 you could theoretically get someone with such a high Dexterity that even padded armor was too restrictive, and they were better off totally unarmored. Just, less granular than that, because 5e. Thankfully. But if you look at how the armors fit into the framework of the world... that is, not with an eye to perfect balance for fully optimized PCs, where each armor is 100% equivalent... the picture emerges more clearly. Of the NPCs in the Monster Manual exactly one has a 20 in a stat; the highest CR NPC Archmage has 20 Intelligence. The Assassin has 16 Dex. The Elite Drow Warrior has 18 Dex. For most people in the world, medium armor gives better AC than light armor. For a tiny percentage of light armor users, the two are roughly equivalent. If you're in the top percentile of agile people, care about stealth and don't play with feats, light armor might even be better. This really doesn't seem like a bug. If light armor is a motorcycle, and heavy armor is a tank, then medium armor is a regular car. It may not be as good as either of the other options when it comes to specialized purposes, but it's hands down the most accessible, reliable, and common tool for the job. [/QUOTE]

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