Armour Discussion

From the bugs thread.
What armours are balanced, un-balanced, just right?

How much extra E would it take to give up xx abcd AL?
How much would a pip be worth?
How much +xx fire/earth/air/cold/x AL does it have to have to be worth taking over a +yy elemental AL or just a higher base AL?
What armours have nothing beside looks going for them?
and so on...

Discuss

I'd give 40 AL (especially on my gloves or boots) for an extra pip.

I believe +regen energy is King
+energy ... not useful if you are sacrificing something else.

I started the process last BWE myself of giving up the armor for the Tattoos. Unfortunately, I didn't get to test it, (It was late at night on the last day of the BWE) but each tattoo gives 5 AL less protection than comparable robes of a Monk, but each one gives 1 extra energy. (Bear in mind this was at level 10 or so, it may be more severe later on)

So that amounts to -20 AL overall, with +4 energy. I may keep a normal shirt as that is the area most often hit, but still... I'll try it this time around and see how it goes.

actually they only give you +1 Energy not +1 Energy Regen.

Check the Armour Compendium at this site for the stats.

I think the scars are largely useless becuase of this. If it was Energy Regen, that would be a different story.

Uthar: you also get -10 AL vs. Cold.
Keramon: yes with 1 E per part traded against -10 vs. Phys. they are mostly useless. But at what point would they become usefull?

Ok we all know an extra pip would be king

But among the other alternatives?

Noticed that Rangers has two armours with +1 E; the Hunters (75 AL, -10 AL vs. Blunt) and Druids (75 AL, -10 AL vs. Fire).*

And is +5 base AL for example worth a -15 AL vs Earth? (Me Regal set)

Only Warrior armours seem to not have any negative options, apart from the -5 base AL on the stonefist gloves?

[size=1]* +1 E per part = +4 E for the whole set compared with other armours.
Same as tattoos and scars.[/size]

It should be noted that armor stats are not final yet

Luggage,

I have just written a rather long analysis of this particular subject, which I will post soon.
There are a number of things that need to be considered when making this decision.

1. Playstyle. A PBAOE Elementalist should choose an amour set maximising resistance vs Physical damage. Whereas a ranged caster that uses +dodge, +block and +evade skills and runs from all warriors should choose something with higher AF vs Elemental Damage.

2. Look at whether the -ve effects are really that detrimental.
-15AL vs Earth is not a huge detriment. Many of the earth spells ignore armour anyway. So we are really looking at -15 vs Stone Daggers and Stoning in armour parts other than the chest. Two spells which aren't greatly used in their current state. So there is really little effect there.
I believe the following is true of earth spells.
Aftershock, Earthquake, Eruption : uses armour calculations (hits chest)
Crystal Wave, Obsidian Flame : Ignores Armour
Stone Daggers, Stoning: Any Armour Piece
If you are really concerned ... use a different chest piece and you only have to worry about two spells; Stone Daggers and Stoning.
At 10 Earth Magic;
Stone Daggers: sends out 2 daggers for 17 damage at a cost of 5 energy.
Stoning: Flurry of stones, 67 damage at a cost of 15 energy 5 recharge.

Personally I would welcome someone using stone daggers on me. Stoning hits a little harder but costs 15 energy with a 5 second recharge.

3. How often do you get hit by each damage type?
If you find that you are always getting beaten down by Warriors and Rangers ... maximise this protection, if it is Earth Elementalists (which I would doubt strongly), then this would not be the armour option for you. This one is very personal and is based on how you position yourself in PVP combat. You will find some people are very good at remaining out of the line of sight of the offense and are largely ignored for much of the combat. (Well that is until you become known as a large threat).

Since your chest gets hit by most spells that aren’t projectiles you could raise your elemental resistance on that piece of armor... so it may be worth it to compile a list of where spells/attacks hit or hit most often if it’s not consistent. That way you could build towards the common spells/attack types and where they hit.

It’s hard to say that this would improve your survivability a great deal but maybe thier is enough of a pattern to the damage that it could help.

conversly mabye their is a skill out their that hits the head area more often than other attacks so you get a higher critical hit rate?

I'd use a 0 AL, +1 pip chestpiece. Putting +1 pip on the other pieces of armor is an utter joke - +1 pip gloves and boots, even at 0 AL, are entirely brainless. At least the chestpiece would require some thought, but quick-swapping makes it a 'why not?' Just swap it out when you aren't being targeted.

I already think that the Monk tattoos are potentially useful, at least the arm and foot designs. Those areas are hit infrequently enough, and the AL difference is small enough that there would actually be some debate if Monks weren't fighting for every scrap of defense they can get. Ranger and Necromancer caster armors just require you to give up too much.

What's the equivilency? Your 'standard' Warrior shield is 15 AL, while a stadard focus is +10 energy. That's roughly the tradeoff between the to. Take hit locations into account and you can see pretty clearly which armor pieces are good and which are not.

On that note, the Studded Leather Vest is the worst piece of Ranger armor available. =)

Peace,
-CxE

haha... agreed. studded armour sucks.

i like the druid's armour the most. even if i would be better off with hunter's armour.

Agreed Studded vest sucks
to those who don't know why ... it is the only vest with no +energy (5/6).

But I have not problem whatsoever with the studded legs
AF 90
+1 Energy Regen

Actually these are quite good and may even be my preference.

Boots and gloves are also AF90 (though some of the other sets have +1 Energy this is IMHO easily mitigated by the high AF vs all damage types).

Keramon:
so...
chest "+10 base AL -10 AL vs. Elem. Damage" < "+5 Energy"
boots/gloves "+15 base AL +10AL vs. Blunt Attacks" > "+1 Energy"
?
Hmm I'm getting messed up trying to figure out if I should compare against the base armour or not :P Too late, time for sleep.




It will be interesting to see if they have changed the armours anything next weekend
The pros and cons should at least be somewhat balanced inside the professions.

Most people will carry 2-3 different armour sets in GW once the game gets going, swap them on the fly in PvP. An old PvP game I used to play was like that, half the battle was swapping armours/items at the right times to minimise damage and maximize offense. If you're getting pounded you'd pop on your best defense, pop on a shield, and start running/avoiding attacks. If people are ignoring you, pop on your damage output set and let her rip.

Though it will depend on how you play ... as a general rule, for a Ranger, I would recommend.

Rawhide Vest
Energy +5, AF 80 +20AF vs Elemental
Then either
Leather Set or Studded Set
AF 80 +20 AF Vs Elemental or
AF 90

But yes, when the game get released and people get more money, "power gamers" will most likely have two armour sets and 3-4 weapons. But counting runes and different weapon rarity ... it will be awhile before this is the norm.

For most Rangers, energy isn't a problem, but still you want the vests with elemental resistance just because so many spells hit there.

I like Studded Leggings just because the skirt looks cute.

I'd just like to let you all know that the -20 AL against cold attacks on the Monk's tattoos has been removed. I thought that might be of some significance.

Pretty much all the armors have been changed. Ranger armors for exemple all give 70 def with +30 elemental, and then Hunter set gets +15 piercing damage on top of that, +15 cold for the frostbourn. The only negative mods I've seen on all the armors to far are -energy on some steel-required sets for each profession, except warriors.