Light Armor Users

[MwaO]

Mind you, the archer ranger can bump his Dex and his Wis, keeping his attack and defence stats the same as the twf ranger but getting additional benefit from the 13 encounter and 1 daily power which factor Wis bonus into their effects.

Doesn't seem quite fair...

On the other hand, the twf ranger can both shoot a bow and twf and do whichever is needed more.

 

[Otterscrubber]

My 2 weapon ranger is lvl 4 and has a 19 Str and 17 Dex. He has +1 hide armor and Two Weapon Defense Feat. His AC is 20, while the main defender in our group has AC 23. I would expect his AC difference from the defender to remain about the same as well level from this point onward, In fact it may narrow as my Dex will go up but the defender will never get any stat bonuses to his AC as we progress. This seems acceptable to me given that I will be dishing out more damage, I need to make use of his marking ability or stay out of harm's way as much as possible while still dishing out the love.

 

[Ahrimon]

I think the main concern of a "fall behind point" would be mid paragon when armor shifts into the +4 range and people start breaking out the MW armor for a big jump on heavy armor, big hop on the light.

Maybe I'm a bit overworried about his Str being maxed at all times. Probably won't be as necissary as I was thinking it was.

 

[deleteme123456]

My 2 weapon ranger is lvl 4 and has a 19 Str and 17 Dex. He has +1 hide armor and Two Weapon Defense Feat. His AC is 20, while the main defender in our group has AC 23. I would expect his AC difference from the defender to remain about the same as well level from this point onward, In fact it may narrow as my Dex will go up but the defender will never get any stat bonuses to his AC as we progress. This seems acceptable to me given that I will be dishing out more damage, I need to make use of his marking ability or stay out of harm's way as much as possible while still dishing out the love.

The defender will catch up / surpass when you start getting the +4 armors that jump. Assuming a light shield, and assuming you both take the armor specilization feat at 11, assuming the light armor wearer starts with 18 INT or DEX and bumps it every time, comparing Hide to Scale (you can adjust to leather or Plate easily by + or - 1, with an extra -1 for leather above level 11 for no feat).... Also assume you get +1 armor at level 1, +2 armor at level 6, etc. That may not be realistic but it's a nice simplification.

From level 1-7 the Hide Armor wearer will be 1 behind (3+4 = 7 to start vs. 7 + 1 (shield) = 8 to start). At level 8 you catch up from that +1 stat. At level 14 you pull ahead by one from your second +1. At level 16 you both get your first set of +3 armor, but this gives him an extra +2 because heavy armor jumps for exactly this reason. The result is that heavy is now up by 1. At level 21 you catch up again due to ability score boosts, and at 26 when you get +6 armor heavy jumps up by +2, a lead you'll cut down to +1 at level 28.

Leather vs. Scale is -3 by the end, Leather vs. Plate is -4, etc. You can pick up Two Weapon Defense possibly too, to offset the difference (and they can take heavy shield, or you could be a staff wizard, or you could have started with 20, or gone Demigod and boosted it even more, etc.).

Now if ability is only say +2 to start and only goes up at 11 and 21... then the Hide armor guy is 6 behind at the end (Leather is -8). Is that a big deal? I don't know, I haven't played at level 30 yet.

 

[DracoSuave]

Of course, rangers have more to defense than just AC. They have that whole 'Don't Get Hit' schtick going on that goes above and beyond AC. Look at the Utility Powers to see a few examples.

 

[Ahrimon]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'll go the light armor route and start with 16's in both str and dex. If he get's splattered, I'll try heavy armor next time I do a DB Ranger.

 

[erik_the_guy]

There is a certain balance between heavy armor and light armor that makes either a good choice in certain situations.

Heavy armor offers a better AC bonus, which increases while you advance in tiers at an accelerated rate. Light armor offers a modest AC bonus, which increases across tiers at a lesser rate. In general, a character with a very high INT/DEX score and light armor has the same AC as one in heavy armor.

The following chart shows the AC bonus of two characters. One is in heavy armor (plate mail) and the other is in light armor (Hide). Both armors improve at about 11th and 21st level. We assume a maximized DEX or INT score for the light armor. I am ignoring shield/enhancement bonuses etc.

Level___Armor Bonus___INT or DEX___Bonus AC Bonus
_______PLATE/HIDE____PLATE/HIDE____PLATE/HIDE
1st________8/3___________0/5__________8/8
15th______11/4___________0/7_________11/11
30th______14/5___________0/9_________14/14

As you can see, if your ranger has maximum dex, his bonus to AC from Armor/Ability will be exactly that of a fighter in full plate at these points (it may vary up or down from that by a point or two at certain times). If your ranger is a melee character, then you likely maxed out strength, and have a dex score no higher than 14. In this case your AC will be about 3 points lower with light armor.

If you are often in melee, you may want to consider investing the necessary feats to work up to scale (13 con required) or plate (15 con required). One benefit of doing this is that you do not have to increase your dexterity, since you do not need it for AC and most of your skills rely on strength. You could take a high CON instead for access to better armor, more HP, and more surges.

On the other hand, if you value mobility you are best to stick with the light armor, since it does not impede movement or skills. If you can slip in and out of combat (as some strikers can) you do not need the extra protection of heavy armor since you are not a target as often. If you stand in combat for rounds at a time, don't throw a lot of points into dex, and focus on CON and heavy armor.

 

[yu gnomi]

While this may be a far off concern for a 2nd level character, the Masterwork armors available at higher levels aren't exactly balanced. The heavy armors get a much better bump to their AC, then the Masterwork equivalents of light armors.

It seems that as a Ranger moves up in level, the character should be either: constantly bumping his/her Dex stat and sticking with light armor; take feats allowing for heavier armor; or consign himself/herself to being a vulnerable melee combatant.

Of course, Rangers have a lot of powers that allow them to shift and retreat without provoking attacks, so being vulnerable might not be that great a concern.

 

[NeoNick]

While this may be a far off concern for a 2nd level character, the Masterwork armors available at higher levels aren't exactly balanced. The heavy armors get a much better bump to their AC, then the Masterwork equivalents of light armors.

IMHO the armors are very balanced. The heavy armor bump you speak about is equivalent of the increased INT/DEX bonus light-armor-bearers get as their stats increase with increased level.

 

[Donnachie]

I have the same sort of character, twf ranger but uses ranged attacks more often. If I remember correctly I have 16 for both DEX/CON. +3 isn't too bad for STR, so I'm going to leave it there and bump my DEX=+ac/ref/ranged at