Icewind Dale Armor Class
In Icewind Dale 1, AC represents the ability of a character to dodge, deflect or otherwise avoid incoming melee and ranged attacks (THAC0 IWD), thereby mitigating damage.
Armor Class is a very important stat in a campaign that features hard-hitting enemies and horde-based combat encounter design.
But no matter how low our AC drops (lower ACs are better) there is still a 5% chance that we will be hit on any given physical-based attack: a critical hit (rolling a natural 20 on the 1d20 attack) always hits (and the damage is doubled if the target is unhelmed); conversely, natural 1s always miss.
Armor Class Sources Gnome Fighter Illusionist
Best Armor Class IWD
- Base AC 10 (AC 10)
- Dexterity 24 (+6) (AC 4)
- Mithral Field Plate Armor +2 (+10) (AC -6) [item code: plat04]
- Red Knight's Shield (+4) (AC -10) (or Mystery of the Dead or Great Shield +3)
- Helm of the Trusted Defender (+3) (-13)
- Black Wolf Talisman (+1) (-14)
- Mithran's Cloak (+3) (-17)
- Kaylessa's Gloves (+1) (-18)
- Battleaxe +2: Defender (+2) (-20)
- Blur Deck or Boots of the Many Paths (+3) (-23)
- Prayer + Recitation (+3) (-26)
- Defensive Harmony (+4) (-30)
- Improved Invisibility (+4) (-34)
- Tenser's Transformation (+4) (-38) (-41 vs. slashing)
cf. Armor Class Baldur's Gate.
The above shows us that conventional armor contributes more to our AC than anything else. It also shows us that we can reach godly ACs in IWD.
We want the Hero to be gnome because then we can wear the best helm (HotTD).
24 Dex and max Dex AC bonus of 6 is achieved through stacking Potion of Mind Focusing.
Arcane-augmented AC (say, Gnome Fighter Illusionist) is superior because we can cast Tenser's Transformation for +4 AC and then equip our armor for its +10 AC.
Fighter/Mages have the best overall defense in BG and IWD thanks to Mirror Image [pic]. To spell that out: when the enemy gets lucky on that 5% chance to hit our AC Lord, the mirror images absorb the damage completely.
Mithran's Cloak cannot be worn with Ring of Protection +2, but RoP +2 or MC can be erroneously worn with Mithral Field Plate Armor +2. Since no other magical armors allow us to wear such magical items at the same time, MFP +2 is the best armorset in IWD.
Mid-game AC and tanking:
Don't forget about IWD DR.
Conclusion: If we want the extra edge with AC, roll with Gnome; it feels special and the three Blur items give us that Illusionist feel even if we're not arcane-based. But any warrior can reach godly ACs if we know what we're doing.
Title image: A gnome supertanker under the effects of the second circle Illusion, Blur.
This write-up is based on v.1.06 of Black Isle's Icewind Dale (the official version).
This write-up is based on v.1.06 of Black Isle's Icewind Dale (the official version).
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