Stacking AC bonuses?

[scottchiefbaker]

I have a rogue with the Artful Dodger build, so he gets +3 against OA attacks. I've been using this to dance around enemies and gain CA when they miss with Opportunity Knocks. If I were to take the Defensive Mobility feat would that stack with the Artful Dodger and I'd get +5 against OA attacks?

What if I attack a guy with Trickster's Blade to get the +3 AC bonus, then move around a couple of guys to get them to OA me? Would that stack with Artful Dodger?

 

[Nichwee]

Both Defensive Mobility and Trickster's Blade add an unnamed bonus to your AC, so they should stack fine.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

Nichwee is correct. And you realize that +3 is only against OAs and not against regular attacks, right?

 

[DracoSuave]

Altho, to be fair, there's only so much before you've gone too far for stacking AC bonuses for mobility. Once you get to the +10 or so mark, anything beyond that is a bit on the wasteful side. There is merit in this strategy tho, it will allow you to ignore powers that give you shifts.

 

[scottchiefbaker]

Basically I want to make sure my rogue has CA against enemies almost every turn for sneak attack. The more AC I can get against OA, the more likely I'll be to get CA against that enemy next turn.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

Basically I want to make sure my rogue has CA against enemies almost every turn for sneak attack. The more AC I can get against OA, the more likely I'll be to get CA against that enemy next turn.

Just be aware that your Rogue can get very dead from nothing but regular attacks, if though every OA misses. Also, if you provoke enough OAs, some of them will still hit, and many of the ones that hit will be crits. I found that out the hard way.

 

[Feelitmon]

I have a rogue with the Artful Dodger build, so he gets +3 against OA attacks. I've been using this to dance around enemies and gain CA when they miss with Opportunity Knocks. If I were to take the Defensive Mobility feat would that stack with the Artful Dodger and I'd get +5 against OA attacks?

What if I attack a guy with Trickster's Blade to get the +3 AC bonus, then move around a couple of guys to get them to OA me? Would that stack with Artful Dodger?

Both Defensive Mobility and Trickster's Blade add an unnamed bonus to your AC, so they should stack fine.

Looooong time lurker here; first time poster.

As I read the rules, all of these bonuses will stack, as Nichwee says. But in the interests of assisting my own understanding I thought I'd dig a little bit deeper. Page 28 of the Rules Compendium states that "untyped bonuses from the same named game element (such as a power or a feat) are not cumulative." So let's break down the untyped bonuses that you're considering.

Artful Dodger: I believe this is an untyped bonus that comes from a class feature
Defensive Mobility: this is an untyped bonus that comes from a feat
Trickster's Blade: this is an untyped bonus that comes from a power

Since they're all untyped bonuses that come from different game elements they do in fact stack. But let's say your rogue were to take the Dodge Giants feat. Since that untyped bonus to AC comes from a feat it would not stack with Defensive Mobility.


Is that how you guys read it too?

--
Feelitmon
"In the faculty of writing nonsense,
stupidity is no match for genius." - Walter Bagehot

 

[frogged]

Looooong time lurker here; first time poster.

As I read the rules, all of these bonuses will stack, as Nichwee says. But in the interests of assisting my own understanding I thought I'd dig a little bit deeper. Page 28 of the Rules Compendium states that "untyped bonuses from the same named game element (such as a power or a feat) are not cumulative." So let's break down the untyped bonuses that you're considering.

Artful Dodger: I believe this is an untyped bonus that comes from a class feature
Defensive Mobility: this is an untyped bonus that comes from a feat
Trickster's Blade: this is an untyped bonus that comes from a power

Since they're all untyped bonuses that come from different game elements they do in fact stack. But let's say your rogue were to take the Dodge Giants feat. Since that untyped bonus to AC comes from a feat it would not stack with Defensive Mobility.


Is that how you guys read it too?

When it says "untyped bonuses from the same named game element (such as a power or a feat) are not cumulative," the key phrases are "same [name]" and "a power"/"a feat". It means that gaining an untyped bonus multiple times from a single power/feat/whatever do not stack, but untyped bonuses from two different feats will still stack.

As an example, here is a fake feat:

"Battle Confidence: Whenever you hit with an attack power, you gain a +1 bonus to AC until the end of your next turn."

If a player with this fake feat were able to hit twice during a turn, such as with an action point or a power like twin strike, the feat's effect would not stack with itself. It could, however, still stack with different untyped bonuses to AC granted by different feats.

 

[Feelitmon]

Ah, I definitely prefer your interpretation of "game elements," frogged. It makes more sense and it's much easier to keep track of in-game!

--
Feelitmon
"In the faculty of writing nonsense,
stupidity is no match for genius." - Walter Bagehot

 

[DracoSuave]

Frogger has the right of it.