Armor Class and attack rolls

[pedsdmd]

How exactly does AC work

For example.

I have a AC of 30, what attack rolls would be needed to hit that and how much do incremental AC increases matter.

I.e 30-31AC

[myzmar]

How exactly does AC work

For example.

I have a AC of 30, what attack rolls would be needed to hit that and how much do incremental AC increases matter.

I.e 30-31AC

I *think* the attack roll must be at least equal to your AC. So you have to take you attack bonus, add a d20 and compare it with your enemies AC. A natural 20 roll always hits.

[Vichan Lyonsen]

all I can tell you is, the higher level you get, the less effective AC is in protecting you. and a 20 always hits IIRC, so an AC of 3000 wont protect from the kobold that rolls a 20, so at the very least you will get hit 5% of the time.

[Moredo]

That's why high ac and 50% visibility is nice, then you are down to a 2,5% chance of getting hit.

[pedsdmd]

That's why high ac and 50% visibility is nice, then you are down to a 2,5% chance of getting hit.

So to hit a AC of 30 with an attach bonus of "10" means you still need a "20" to hit?

So if a person has an impossible Ac to hit, it would make more sense to Power attack because you can only hit on a natural 20 roll anyway?

Also for epic feats would 20hps or AC increase of 2 be more effective?(Vichan i think i know ur answer...lol

Ps. Vichan, you almost sounded bitter in that response. Did a nasty little kobold hurt your feelings?


thanks for the info guys

[Eindridi]

So to hit a AC of 30 with an attack bonus of +10 means you still need a roll of 20 to hit?

Yes

So if a person has an impossible AC to hit, it would make more sense to Power attack because you can only hit on a natural 20 roll anyway?

In that instance I'd be reaching for the potion of invisibility, but otherwise yes.

Also for epic feats would 20hps or AC increase of 2 be more effective?

Depends on your character.
If you are a level 21 fighter then you have 21d10 (+Con mod) HP. As you spend most of your life in melee you benefit most from the +2 to AC.
If however you are a level 21 wizard you only have 21d4 (+Con mod) HP and seeing as you aren't a front line combatant, you have less need for a very high AC so I'd take the extra HP.

[Vichan Lyonsen]

That's why high ac and 50% visibility is nice, then you are down to a 2,5% chance of getting hit.

So to hit a AC of 30 with an attach bonus of "10" means you still need a "20" to hit?

yep

So if a person has an impossible Ac to hit, it would make more sense to Power attack because you can only hit on a natural 20 roll anyway?

Yep

Also for epic feats would 20hps or AC increase of 2 be more effective?(Vichan i think i know ur answer...lol

Actually i might just take the AC...but the HP's are juicy as well..

Ps. Vichan, you almost sounded bitter in that response. Did a nasty little kobold hurt your feelings?

no that was more to counterpoint the diminishing returns of AC...I think Moredo can attest.. what really swings the bat when it comes to fighting is DR (Damage resistance) - you're gonna get hit anyway - its the same as the death saving throw...take the edge off the damage you take and the AC isnt quite as important....

thanks for the info guys

[Malathyre]

Also for epic feats would 20hps or AC increase of 2 be more effective?(Vichan i think i know ur answer...lol

Actually i might just take the AC...but the HP's are juicy as well..

I don't think there's such a thing as too many HP's or too much AC. The more you can get of both, the better. In other words, I don't think you can go wrong with either of these feats.

[The Vagrant]

I play a monk and some of the responses Ive read here have got me thinking. At this time I have a 14 str and a 16 wis, should I continue to pump my wis up or would it be better to sacrifice 2 points to put into str and increase my hit bonus?

[Khaelindra]

I play a monk and some of the responses Ive read here have got me thinking. At this time I have a 14 str and a 16 wis, should I continue to pump my wis up or would it be better to sacrifice 2 points to put into str and increase my hit bonus?

The classical question: what is better; attack or defense?

Depends on whether your monk is more the "keep them occupied" type going for staying power, or the "kill em before they kill you" type going for offensive power.

Of course WIS has other boni (WILL-save and spot/listen) as well as does STR (damage bonus, carrying capacity). Whatever takes your fancy as best fitting your character you should take, there's no right or wrong.

[Vichan Lyonsen]

Also for epic feats would 20hps or AC increase of 2 be more effective?(Vichan i think i know ur answer...lol

Actually i might just take the AC...but the HP's are juicy as well..

I don't think there's such a thing as too many HP's or too much AC. The more you can get of both, the better. In other words, I don't think you can go wrong with either of these feats.

Well, AS I can muster a 42 AC and still get smacked around by dire and sword spiders I can safely say I am unimpressed by High AC..at least 42 strikes me as high....

[Tangleroot]

With an ac of 40+, surrounded by a group of spiders like that.. one seems to hit with a natural 20 every round.

[Vichan Lyonsen]

With an ac of 40+, surrounded by a group of spiders like that.. one seems to hit with a natural 20 every round.

Without fail... more often its two though.. dont get me wrong.. while I personally dont like autofail on a 1, I do like autohit and a 20 (pc's or monsters)...we wont get into a percieved bias of the RNG to the monsters.

Which is why I say you can reach a point of diminishing returns with AC.....

[Moredo]

I play a monk and some of the responses Ive read here have got me thinking. At this time I have a 14 str and a 16 wis, should I continue to pump my wis up or would it be better to sacrifice 2 points to put into str and increase my hit bonus?

I also play a Monk, but I went with the weapon finesse feat and pumped my dex up, so I don't hit very hard. I did this because now my AB and one of my AC stats are the same one. So when I pump my dex with +2, I get +1 AC, +1 AB.

But going with a str based Monk is also nice. It's all up to what suits your character

[Gortog]

I play a monk and some of the responses Ive read here have got me thinking. At this time I have a 14 str and a 16 wis, should I continue to pump my wis up or would it be better to sacrifice 2 points to put into str and increase my hit bonus?

I also play a Monk, but I went with the weapon finesse feat and pumped my dex up, so I don't hit very hard. I did this because now my AB and one of my AC stats are the same one. So when I pump my dex with +2, I get +1 AC, +1 AB.

But going with a str based Monk is also nice. It's all up to what suits your character

Another nice thing about being a Moredo-based monk is the 60+ AC!

[The Vagrant]

Moredo wrote:

I also play a Monk, but I went with the weapon finesse feat and pumped my dex up, so I don't hit very hard. I did this because now my AB and one of my AC stats are the same one. So when I pump my dex with +2, I get +1 AC, +1 AB.

So in essence, if Im understanding you correctly, by taking the weapon finesse feat you cut out the middle man. This is something I will defininetly thing about as high dex goes along with my character's style (circle kick). Im still a little in the dark on how the weapon finesse feat works into this equation. Im assuming weapon finesse works with the unarmed strike, sorry Im a little ignorant on that feat.

[Dirk Cutlass]

Moredo wrote:

I also play a Monk, but I went with the weapon finesse feat and pumped my dex up, so I don't hit very hard. I did this because now my AB and one of my AC stats are the same one. So when I pump my dex with +2, I get +1 AC, +1 AB.

So in essence, if Im understanding you correctly, by taking the weapon finesse feat you cut out the middle man. This is something I will defininetly thing about as high dex goes along with my character's style (circle kick). Im still a little in the dark on how the weapon finesse feat works into this equation. Im assuming weapon finesse works with the unarmed strike, sorry Im a little ignorant on that feat.

Weapon Finesse lets you use your DEX bonus for "to-hit" rather than STR, but only for small / dex-based weapons, like daggers, shortswords, rapiers, fists.

[Malathyre]

Well, AS I can muster a 42 AC and still get smacked around by dire and sword spiders I can safely say I am unimpressed by High AC..at least 42 strikes me as high....

Oh yeah, I agree, and I've been in the same situation. I took the Expertise and Improved Expertise feats (I wouldn't be surprised if my character is the only Avlis character with both of these) and to be perfectly honest, Knockdown and Improved Knockdown are really better defensive feats, because the baddies can't hit you when they are on the ground.

I've similarly stood in the middle of a group of dire spiders with my AC in the mid to high 40's and 50% concealed and still watched my HP's go down.

Khaelindra is right, there is no right or wrong answer to which feat you should take for your character. However, I will say that some character concepts are much more viable from a combat standpoint than others. The defensive feats just don't stack up to the offensive ones, in my opinion.

[mortzestus]

I took the Expertise and Improved Expertise feats (I wouldn't be surprised if my character is the only Avlis character with both of these) and to be perfectly honest, Knockdown and Improved Knockdown are really better defensive feats, because the baddies can't hit you when you are on the ground.

Hey, in my regular party there are at least three characters with improved expertise. It's quickly becoming the new M'Chekian trademark, along with improved knockdown.

[Sickocrow]

DR is the thing to look for, as has been said above.

My previous main character had two armor set ups.

Set 1
AC 37
bastard sword and shield
full plate.
blunt resist 5/-
slash resist 10/-

Set 2
AC 30
twin sword
chainmail
blunt resist 5/-
slash resist 10/-
pierce resist 10/-

Now overall the second set allowed him to dish out shitloads more damage faster, and even with less AC he tended to take less damage due to DR to everything.

[Spell Singer]

There is a small point to AC which is important to realize.

The computer cheats just a little. Not on the RNG but on the fact it knows what your AC is. This allows it to judge if it can do things like disarm or knockdown, if it can it will...it will spam knockdown against you and that is perhaps one of the most dangerous things that can happen to you since sooner or later even with a good discipline bonus one will get through and when you are on the ground it is fairly easy to keep you there.

So the difference of a few points of AC may keep the computer from doing this...which may keep you alive.

[Moredo]

Moredo wrote:

I also play a Monk, but I went with the weapon finesse feat and pumped my dex up, so I don't hit very hard. I did this because now my AB and one of my AC stats are the same one. So when I pump my dex with +2, I get +1 AC, +1 AB.

So in essence, if Im understanding you correctly, by taking the weapon finesse feat you cut out the middle man. This is something I will defininetly thing about as high dex goes along with my character's style (circle kick). Im still a little in the dark on how the weapon finesse feat works into this equation. Im assuming weapon finesse works with the unarmed strike, sorry Im a little ignorant on that feat.

You shouldn't take Circle Kick because it is a horrible piece of bad coding. The entire feat is bugged, you end up loosing one attack per round and 9 times out of 10 it leaves you flat footed, that means good bye dex ac, wis ac and dodge ac.

[SpitwolF]

that means good bye dex ac, wis ac and dodge ac.

All in all... GOODBYE!

[mortzestus]

WIS bonus to AC should stay even when the monk is flatfooted, isn't this implemented in NWN?

[Comick]

I've got a strength based Monk and reaching level 18 made a big difference for him (50% concealment twice a day). He's got only poor items and can only reach AC 33 fully buffed with potions, but being hit twice less often gives him enough time to send to hell most of his opponents in less than a round.

Moreover AC is not everything for a Monk. Using his superior movement speed and a high tumble skill to break away from close combat in order to reposition and heal is part of the monk tactics for a high survivability.