TOPIC: Armor for Druid?

Planning ahead for outfitting the troops, and was wondering: What is the best red armor for a druid?

Well, there are only two Red armors a Druid can wear (at least according to the Token guide) and both are from this year.

Your choices are the Eelskin Armor (+4 AC and water breathing) or the Sharkskin Armor (+5 AC, -1 REF, and water breathing). Personally, unless you are going into the Lair of the Sea Lich (I think that was the official name) and don't have an Iridescent Spindle or Ring of the Deep, you'd be better of with a Green armors. I would say Wolf Totem (+4 AC and +1 REF), Ram Totem (+4 AC and immune to Stun), or Dire Turtle armor (+4 AC and can attack during first round when Hindered) are your best bets.

But if you are going into the Lair, water-breathing looks like it will help!

True, but strategically, there are better ways to get water breathing then Armor. Both of the two I mentioned are superior choices.

The Ring of the Deep covers not only water breathing, but underwater speech, which the Druid will need to cast spells.

The Ioun Stone Iridescent Spindle is an Ioun Stone (obviously) which is a much less coveted slot than Armor or Ring slots. Also, the Spindle covers other breathing hazards than water, like vacuum or smoke, and should even protect the character from inhaled effects (Cloudkill, Stinking Cloud, etc.).

Hindered status is less dangerous, but has fewer options (Green Armors and the Boots of Free Actions being the primaries).

WaterSome (or do you prefer Mr. Plants?) what kind of Druid build are you looking for? I am assuming this is for RED Guild, but can we also assume most of the previous chip reds are on the table?

Xavon wrote: Your choices are the Eelskin Armor (+4 AC and water breathing) or the Sharkskin Armor (+5 AC, -1 REF, and water breathing). Personally, unless you are going into the Lair of the Sea Lich (I think that was the official name) and don't have an Iridescent Spindle or Ring of the Deep, you'd be better of with a Green armors. I would say Wolf Totem (+4 AC and +1 REF), Ram Totem (+4 AC and immune to Stun), or Dire Turtle armor (+4 AC and can attack during first round when Hindered) are your best bets.

Ignoring UR's (Dragonscale), I still think the Red Sharkskin Armor is worth it (over the Uncommon +4 AC options).

Let's compare to Wolf Totem Armor for the sake of simplicity:

You gain +1 AC at the expense of -2 to Reflex. AC tends to be more valuable (most monster attacks check AC. Saving throws don't always happen and even when they do, there's about a 1/3 chance that it is a Reflex one). Alternatively, if you compare the Ring of Protection vs the Ring of Reflexes (both Reds), you'll see that +1 AC is roughly worth +4 to Reflexes (so with the Sharkskin, you're only paying half price, so to speak). People rarely use the Fox Totem or Owl Totem Armors and would rather have an additional AC over a small bump in saving throws.

For most purposes, the Sharkskin Armor will "free up" the Ioun Stone slot normally dedicated to the Iridescent Spindle. With the increasing number of Ioun Stones, the limit of 5 is starting to become an issue, so having a little flexibility (say, for one of the new Coral ones) is an added benefit to the Sharkskin Armor.

The water breathing from Sharkskin covers the most important part, but not spellcasting or being Hindered. But the Iridescent Spindle doesn't cover those two areas either. And even the Ring of the Deep doesn't help with being Hindered.

It's not a complete blowout (Sharkskin vs. Wolf Totem) but I strongly feel that the benefits of the Sharkskin are well worth it most of the time (unless you *know* you are going to need Reflex, like up against a fire-breathing dragon).

I guess it depends on your stat priority. I don't think a +1 is that good, considering the overall trade offs. Remember you have to devote slots to covering the four underwater penalties, or take them. If the Ring of the Deep covers two, that is an overall strategic advantage.

Well, I think an appropriate comparison involves the Fey Armor from last year.

The Smoak dungeon was an exception because of the sheer lethality of the firebreath.

But generally for non-Purped out character, I think most Bards would still prefer (Elven) Chainmail over Fey Chainmail. And most Clerics / Fighters / Paladins would choose Full Plate Armor over Fey Plate Armor. Based on that assumption, I think +1 AC is worth more than +2 to Reflexes, making Sharkskin Armor the better choice over Wolf Totem Armor, even before taking the waterbreathing into account.

Xavon wrote: WaterSome (or do you prefer Mr. Plants?) what kind of Druid build are you looking for? I am assuming this is for RED Guild, but can we also assume most of the previous chip reds are on the table?

Mr. Plants is fine!

I don't have a particular build in mind, just trying to round out as best I can into a generally sturdy setup. You are correct, many of the chip rares are available as options.

Incognito wrote: Let's compare to Wolf Totem Armor for the sake of simplicity:
You gain +1 AC at the expense of -2 to Reflex. AC tends to be more valuable (most monster attacks check AC. Saving throws don't always happen and even when they do, there's about a 1/3 chance that it is a Reflex one). Alternatively, if you compare the Ring of Protection vs the Ring of Reflexes (both Reds), you'll see that +1 AC is roughly worth +4 to Reflexes (so with the Sharkskin, you're only paying half price, so to speak). People rarely use the Fox Totem or Owl Totem Armors and would rather have an additional AC over a small bump in saving throws.

I used to think AC was king, but these days, I'm not so sure. Often, I test AC once in the dungeon, sometimes not at all (the class I play is not a high damage one, so rarely gets singled out in combat (like the ranger), or a holy class (cleric or paladin) that gets selected for attacks from the enemies of Pelor. When I do test, I usually need to beat a 20+ to avoid the attack.

I'm finding Saves to be very helpful, since often time everyone in the party has to save at the same time from a mass effect. Even worse, a failed save usually means something very bad- out of combat from a mind effect, attacking own party members, turned to stone, etc. I've been using the various Rings of Saves (plus cloak, plus Ioun stone) for the past few years, and have been very happy with the results. It will be hard to give up a ring slot for the Ring of Riches, but hopefully the other save boosts will be sufficient.

Everything that you said other then the worth of the Ring of Riches is spot on. 5 years ago already, my entire party with the exception of the Paladin and I, the Ranger, failed their saves against the Medusa. Although AC came into play when we were the only 2 targets, it would have come into play far less if a few more of our party would have had save bumping items.

In actuality, it is all about choice, you have to decide what is the best build for you, many things have good bonuses, you have to decide if you want AC or Saves. A great example will be this year with the Torc of Natural Armor or the Oak Skin Medallion, +2 vs +3 and -1 to Reflex saves. Which item is better? Which would you use? It is up to you, my Ranger has a +18 to Reflex saves so I would choose the +3 AC, but that is only because I have an outrageously good Reflex score. People will debate what they believe, but it is your character, it is all about what you think is the better.

archmage78 wrote: In actuality, it is all about choice, you have to decide what is the best build for you....

Yeppers.
I think this is going to keep being a big challenge in the years to come. So many great tokens to choose from, particularly URs. Tokens that were once great loose some of their luster as the years pass- I remember when a wooden Ring of Regen could practically name its own price; these days, Rings have many more choices, and many of them great. Same with the Amulet slot...

So here's what I compiled as the best Red/Green choices for Druids. I wasn't sure if Blues were on the table.

Melee:
+1 Scimitar/+1 Darkwood Club/Captain's Mug
Range:
Mighty Sling/+1 Sahuagin Blunt Lt. Crossbow
Armor:
Wolf Totem Armor/Toad Totem Armor/Ram Totem Armor/Dire Turtle Armor/Eelskin Armor/Sharkskin armor
Shield:
Sea Elf Shield/Brawler's Mug
Head:
Catspaw Hat/Hat of Escape
Neck:
Necklace of the Oak/Torc of Natutral Armor/Oakskin Medallion
Back:
+2 Cloak of Resistance/Druid's Sacred Vestments
Wrists:
+1 Bracers of Defense
Hands:
Gauntlers of Ogre Power
Rings (2):
Ring of the Deep/Ring of Protection +1/Ring of Frost Resistance/Ring of Gaea
Waist:
Belt of Ogre Power/Belt of Retrieval
Feet:
Boot of Free Action/Boots of Warmth
Ioun Stones (5):
Emerald Prism/Iradescent Spindle/Faceted Amber/Beryl Prism/Coral Sphere/Black Pearl
Charms (3):
Charm of the Urchin
Other:
Greater Mistletoe

Personally I would go with (though the weapon choices are more esoteric):

Melee:
Captain's Mug
Range:
Mighty Sling
Armor:
Ram Totem Armor
Shield:
Brawler's Mug
Head:
Hat of Escape
Neck:
Torc of Natural Armor
Back:
+2 Cloak of Resistance
Wrists:
+1 Bracers of Defense
Hands:
Gauntlers of Ogre Power
Rings (2):
Ring of the Deep/Ring of Gaea
Waist:
Belt of Ogre Power
Feet:
Boot of Free Action
Ioun Stones (5):
Emerald Prism/Iradescent Spindle/Faceted Amber/Beryl Prism/Coral Sphere
Charms (3):
Charm of the Urchin
Other:
Greater Mistletoe

This covers breathing (twice over), underwater weapon restrictions, speech and casting, Hindered, and cold damage. +7 to AC, +4 STR, +3 to all saves. Plus Sanctuary effect, +2 damage, range reduction, scroll protection.

If you want More traditional, go with +1 Scimitar and Sea Elf Shield. That gives you +9 AC, +1 to Hit, but you lose the +2 damage and the triple critical.