Help with a crazy Psions AC

[KarinsDad]

Chances are it's perfectly legit. He only used two, though, so it could be worse.

Consider:
Inertial Armor (+4 Armor bonus, augmentable)
Force Screen (+4 Shield bonus, augmentable)
Precognition, Defensive (+1 insight bonus to AC and saving throws, augmentable)
That would give +9 in bonuses; with a base of 10, that's 19. If he had a dex bonus of, say, +3, he could have 22. If the mage shrank him for +1 AC, that would make for 23.

At second, he could have used a fully augmented vigor for 10 temporary HP; further, if he was an Egoist, he could have used Thicken Skin to get another point of AC (natural armor).

My 6th level Egoist has Inertial Armor, Force Screen, Precognition Defensive, Thicken Skin, and Animal Affinity (+4 to Dex if desired).

So far, I usually only have Inertial Armor and Force Screen up in any given situation (AC 22 or 23 if I pump up Force Screen to max). The best I have ever done is have these two powers up along with Thicken Skin for AC 25 (and that was one combat out of about 30 now, 10 combats or so since I had all five of these together).

I have yet to even manifest Animal Affinity (I keep wanting to do it for the Cha bonus in a diplomacy situation, but it hasn't come up yet) or Precognition Defensive.

It is really tough to find enough time in a combat to get them all up, even with Inertial Armor typically up ahead of time. In the small combats, they are not worth wasting PP on. In the big combats, you are too busy knocking opponents down to size to worry about your AC for four rounds.

So yes, it could be worse, but it typically isn't. The duration on most of the AC powers for psions (except Inertial Armor at one hour per level and Thicken Skin at 10 minutes per level) are just too short (one minute per level for the rest of them).


Having said this, one day I will cast them all when I am about to ambush someone powerful and I will have a huge AC. Actually, my psion just went to 7th level, although I have not yet revised her, but at 7th level, she can max her AC to 32 for 29 PP, 34 AC fighting defensively. But, that's a lot of PP and not worth it for 90+% of the fights.

 

[Jack Simth]

That's what Quicken is for. Also Psicrystal Containment (extra Focus!) and Psionic Meditation (gain focus as a move action, rather than full-round)

 

[Rystil Arden]

That's what Quicken is for. Also Psicrystal Containment (extra Focus!) and Psionic Meditation (gain focus as a move action, rather than full-round)

Quicken is unfortunately a pretty bad idea for the AC buffs, since you get more AC if you just cast them straight out and pay more (you lose out on either 1 or 2 AC each for Force Screen and Precognitive Defense, depending on your level, and more for the others).

 

[MatthewJHanson]

Quicken is unfortunately a pretty bad idea for the AC buffs, since you get more AC if you just cast them straight out and pay more (you lose out on either 1 or 2 AC each for Force Screen and Precognitive Defense, depending on your level, and more for the others).

But you'll get more AC manifesting force screen and a quickened defensive precognition than if you just manifesting force scree.

 

[Rystil Arden]

But you'll get more AC manifesting force screen and a quickened defensive precognition than if you just manifesting force scree.

Why would you ever Quicken DP? That's a waste of a psionic focus, as the power lets you swift it for free (by free I mean without focus, but you still pay 6 PsP).

 

[KarinsDad]

Why would you ever Quicken DP? That's a waste of a psionic focus, as the power lets you swift it for free (by free I mean without focus, but you still pay 6 PsP).

Ditto for Thicken Skin.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Ditto for Thicken Skin.

Yup, although you definitely wouldn't want to Quicken that, since you'll likely have to live with the subpar results for a good number of fights. But if you really wanted to put all four up in two rounds, you could do it without Quicken Power.

 

[Jack Simth]

Quicken is unfortunately a pretty bad idea for the AC buffs, since you get more AC if you just cast them straight out and pay more (you lose out on either 1 or 2 AC each for Force Screen and Precognitive Defense, depending on your level, and more for the others).

Which is better is situational; take, for example, a 7th level manifester with Force Screen and Inertial armor: He can get Inertial Armor (Augment +3 AC) and Force Screen (Augment +1 AC) in two rounds for +12 AC, or he can get Inertial Armor (Augment +3 AC) and Force Screen (Quickened) in one round for +11 AC. If he already has Inertial Armor up, Quickening the Force Screen can permit a damaging power while the non-quicken is still putting up Force Screen for an extra AC point. Is a round of blasting worth 1 AC? Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Which is better is situational; take, for example, a 7th level manifester with Force Screen and Inertial armor: He can get Inertial Armor (Augment +3 AC) and Force Screen (Augment +1 AC) in two rounds for +12 AC, or he can get Inertial Armor (Augment +3 AC) and Force Screen (Quickened) in one round for +11 AC. If he already has Inertial Armor up, Quickening the Force Screen can permit a damaging power while the non-quicken is still putting up Force Screen for an extra AC point. Is a round of blasting worth 1 AC? Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

Of course, he's better off saving the focus for the blasting round and throwing in Defensive Precognition or Thicken Skin.

 

[Jack Simth]

Of course, he's better off saving the focus for the blasting round and throwing in Defensive Precognition or Thicken Skin.

Which will put him down 3 points of AC, relative to a quickened Force Screen. Sure, the extra 0.5dX of damage from an Empowered power (at 7th - 5dX base, 2.5dX from Empowering gives.... 7.5dX, vs. 7dX without empowering; seems manifester level 7 is about the break-even point of empower; with overchannel, that's 9dX with Empower, 8dX Standard; Wild Surge gives 12dX Empowered, 10dX standard) will be handy, but it may or may not be worth the AC bite. It's situational. If you are facing well-spaced archers with fewer HD, the AC could be more important; if you are facing a single BEG, the extra damage could be more important.