I had to decide which augment to choose after the "Visions - Past or Future" task, and a friend told me to take the Disrupted Stone of Chaos, because "AC>all".
I recall from pen & paper RPG that the higher AC, the harder for the mob to hit you; and I know that in EQ it's a lot easier to come by stats, saves and hp/mana (by AAs, spells, gear) than AC.
But is there something else I'm missing? How exactly are the EQ game mechanics working concerning AC? Is there a roll against AC at the start of each mob swing?
In some ways, I'm still an EQ noob... ;-)
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A dumb question on ACFollow
You'll want to consult The Steel Warrior. But the VERY brief version is this:
The damage mobs do when they hit you is in two parts. A base element (DB) and a random number (damage interval, or DI for short).
The DI is a range of 20 numeric values, so when you get hit, you take (DB + 1 of the 20 DI values) damage. Think of it as totally random which particular DI value you get. AC changes the odds, so that the higher AC you have, the higher chance you have of getting one of the lower DI-values. You can't really avoid the DB part of the damage you take, but with high enough AC, you can ensure you at least don't get the highest values of the DI-interval, thereby reducing what they call 'damage spikes'. These spikes are what kills you; when a mob suddenly has a few lucky flurries in a row, the healers may not be able to keep up.
So for a tank, AC is king (up to a point).
The damage mobs do when they hit you is in two parts. A base element (DB) and a random number (damage interval, or DI for short).
The DI is a range of 20 numeric values, so when you get hit, you take (DB + 1 of the 20 DI values) damage. Think of it as totally random which particular DI value you get. AC changes the odds, so that the higher AC you have, the higher chance you have of getting one of the lower DI-values. You can't really avoid the DB part of the damage you take, but with high enough AC, you can ensure you at least don't get the highest values of the DI-interval, thereby reducing what they call 'damage spikes'. These spikes are what kills you; when a mob suddenly has a few lucky flurries in a row, the healers may not be able to keep up.
So for a tank, AC is king (up to a point).
Scholar
30 posts
i always thought the lower the ac the better in D&D. its been so long since ive played though, i can't really remember. might be some other game i am thinking of.
Clevos wrote:
i always thought the lower the ac the better in D&D. its been so long since ive played though, i can't really remember. might be some other game i am thinking of.
Nope, the higher the AC, the better. Some games I've played, negative amounts of AC are "higher", therefore better -- you'd take less damage with -2000 ac than you would with -1500, for instance. But it's definitely +AC = less damage received.
Whitman gave a good explanation of the basics of it. That's why warriors are wanted to tank at higher levels -- of the 20 DI values, they can only be hit for 19 of them (1-19). They can never take the utmost maximum damage from a mob, if I remember correctly.
Clevos wrote:
i always thought the lower the ac the better in D&D.
Belkira wrote:
Wow. Regular ol' Joph fan club in here.
jonnypanic - that is probably the most understandable explanation for AC and mitigation that I have ever seen. I play a level 80 Warrior and am a regular visitor to The Steel Warrior. If you play the class you learn form experience what you are talking about - have played mine for about 9 years - but untill it is explained succintly, you make many mistakes in gear and AA's. I know that from many mistakes that I have made, both in choice of gear and AA's.
I finally found mt way tot The Steel Warrior after about 5 years of trying to muddle through all of that - it has taken the last 3 years of playing the warrior and following the guidelines on TSW to get him to where he should have been 10 levels ago. Hopefully, by the time I make it to 85 he will be up to h is level in stats and AA's. Your post will help a lot of young warriors develope thier characters properly.
Dyciere
I finally found mt way tot The Steel Warrior after about 5 years of trying to muddle through all of that - it has taken the last 3 years of playing the warrior and following the guidelines on TSW to get him to where he should have been 10 levels ago. Hopefully, by the time I make it to 85 he will be up to h is level in stats and AA's. Your post will help a lot of young warriors develope thier characters properly.
Dyciere
I have always gone on the formula 1AC = 5HP. So if you are trying to chose between a 100HP aug or a 30AC aug the 30AC aug would be comparable to 150HP. I honestly dont know where that formula comes from but this is what the warriors in our raiding guild went off of. It seems a simple way to do the math when trying to chose one or another.
Scholar
30 posts
Jophiel wrote:
It used to be that way. They've since changed it from what I've heard (1st ed 4eva!)
yay! glad i wasn't going senile :P. old skool is great >_<
Quote:
I have always gone on the formula 1AC = 5HP
It has been tossed around so many different ways over the life of the game. Currently, many at the Steel Warrior have the following opinion:
If you lean towards HP > AC, then 1 AC = 5 HP.
If you lean towards AC > HP, then 1 AC = 10 HP.
If you are unsure, then use 1 AC = 7 or 8 HP.
No matter where you are in terms of AC vs. HP, do not leave any augment slot empty. Remember that to remove (and destroy) any augment costs about 10pp. To remove and save an augment can get expensive.
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