armor?

[Septik]

I have another bard question for you guys.

I was told bards should leave their head free. No helms and such. Would this apply to armor as well? Should I go for armor that covers all but the head?

[AMUSED1]

Ayup. Augmented chain is what I believe most bards strive for as an "end-game" armor.

[fallenSaint]

The required ranks for the head coverage on armors is a big jump for Bards. Aug Chain is the most reasonable cost of ranks... still covers head thou just not chain style.

[Septik]

so when the armor covers the head it doesn't effect singing or anything does it? Just a higher armor/hindrance as usual with casters?

[DaCapn]

Bard songs are just spells, so the hindrance affects singing. Renewals are not subject to the failure chance, of course.

http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Armor_Use

Notice how the ranks required to minimize bard circle penalties within a given armor group (not AsG, but AG) is constant until you get to the full-coverage armor and then it basically triples (plus or minus) in all cases. If you go for brig, you might as well go chain shirt, and if you go chain shirt you might as well go aug chain (since it's the same cost). And you should never wear a helm because your effective AsG training-wise will be that of the next full-coverage armor within your AG (helm + chain shirt = hauberk-level hindrance without the chain limb coverage and without the hauberk crit divisor). If you're in full-coverage armor, it's "fine" to wear a helm but again, it's a poor choice with a bard since you can just wear the next tier of armor for almost nothing.

Though with chain shirt (or any other non-full-coverage armor), for example, you have brig-level coverage everywhere outside the torso (so you have head coverage, just not full-coverage with chain). Similarly, aug chain has brig coverage on the head but chain coverage elsewhere. That's what fallenSaint was saying.

[Septik]

I got it now. Thanks for the info!

[thefarmer]

It's one of the few times where the armor system makes sense.