Armor Class vs Shield Size vs Dodge

[Wrathbringer]

After reading through the previous post about building in DS, it's clear you folks know your stuff. I didn't see anything specific concerning my issue though.

One of my main chars is a paladin in half plate with a tower shield and it seems like the only time I ever die is when I fail to dodge something that can't be blocked with a shield, like boil earth, for example.

I've singled both dodge and shield so I'm thinking I might be better off switching to a smaller shield to remedy that as much as possible but am worried about how much that might affect my stance offensive DS.

Given my armor choice and 1x dodge/shield use, what size shield would you recommend in order to maximize stance offensive DS as well as my ability to dodge? On a similar note, would I be better off overall to go down to a chain class armor as well, at the expense of the better protection plate offers? Or maybe I should only do that and keep the tower?

Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

[Fatsix]

armor and shield are a direct hindrance to dodge. dropping shield size and picking up more dodge would be the answer. if your dodge and shield ranks are =, you should be using a medium shield at most, your actually loosing ds by using a tower shield. someone will spit calculations out for you shortly..

[Wrathbringer]

Thanks, Fatsix. With ;your advice and the fixskill coming up, do you think I'd be better off to 2x shield/1x dodge and go with a large shield or 2x dodge/1x shield and stay w/medium in order to optimize offensive DS and dodge capability? I'm assuming either way I should avoid the tower shield.

[Fallen]

One of my main chars is a paladin in half plate with a tower shield and it seems like the only time I ever die is when I fail to dodge something that can't be blocked with a shield, like boil earth, for example.

I've singled both dodge and shield so I'm thinking I might be better off switching to a smaller shield to remedy that as much as possible but am worried about how much that might affect my stance offensive DS.

Just to clear up any confusion as I may be reading this wrong, Dodge does not in any way factor into 99% of maneuvers, be they CMAN based or Critter maneuver based. It certainly factors into DS, though.The skills you are looking for to help against those types of attacks are CM, and Physical Fitness.

[Wrathbringer]

Wow. I played alot in the 90's, then quit until a couple years ago, and only recently have I given any thought to the new nuances of training and mechanics. Seems I have alot to learn, but I think I came to the right place.

So maybe I should be doubling CM (currently singled), and remaining singled in shield and dodge, and use a medium shield. Stay in the plate?

[Fallen]

Plate will affect your ability to outright DODGE a maneuver, but (usually) make the damage done a lot less severe. The best thing you can do against reducing the damage taken by maneuvers is to get into the best set of crit padding you can get your hands on. Crit padding saves you deeds. No other way to put it. You can get HCP added onto ANY suit of armor by joining GoS and running their symbol of Major Protection. Note that if you get a crit padded set of armor AND run this sigil the benefits STACK. Debia, a Paladin I hunt with wears MDP Full Plate and uses Sigil of Major Protection to garner her a Masterfully damage padded, heavily crit padded set of full plate. She also threw on one of those Temp Masterfully padded Aventails to give her neck another layer of crit padding. If you can't get your hands on crit padded plate, get as high of an enchant as you can, and get a Padded helmet that covers your head and neck.

Next, if you haven't already, max out Physical Fitness. It is a cheap skill that provides a million little benefits, among them helping you climb and swim better, and granting you a better possible outcome when facing maneuver attacks. You squares and semi's get Damage Reduction if you stay under 1x spells, but I certainly don't know enough about that to tell you anything other than 2x Physical fitness at all times.

After that, CM. You should want to get as many CM ranks as possible. They help to a small extent with CMANs, but unless you specifically train in the CMAN you're facing, you are still going to have problems outright dodging them. CM also factors into nearly all Critter based maneuvers. You have a spell, Patron's Blessing, that increases your CM with lore training, but I don't know if that would actually be factored into non-CMAN based maneuver attacks. Increasing your Blessings lore would help get you more CM, though, raising your AS, and skill with using/defending CMAN attacks.

Finally, if I had access to a spell like Divine Shield, I would be rocking a Tower Shield. Any reduction to dodge DS is going to be made up by the fact that you will be blocking shots outright like a madman. This wont help against maneuvers, but I think Paladins should definitely make use of as many of their spells as possible. I would move towards 2x Shield Use, use Divine Shield, and the highest enchant Tower Shield you can get your hands on. 10x Towers are Fing rad.

[Fallen]

BTW, I edited my post a bit if you already read it.

[Belnia]

Both heavier armors (in terms of ASG) and larger shields will reduce the amount of DS you get from dodge ranks and penalize your attempts to outright dodge AS attacks. For a paladin, there are big incentives in shield use (Divine Shield for example) and a big shield. A tower shield will give you a 2.1x modifier on your ranged DS from shield ranks, making you pretty much immune to bolts and arrows if you don't block them outright.

In my personal opinion, dodge just isn't worth it for a paladin with the emphasis already on heavy armor and a big shield. If you're playing a shield-less paladin, then I would suggest loading up on as much dodge as possible, however.

[droit]

I agree. If it's maneuvers you're worried about, load up on CM and PF. Keep the plate and tower shield.

[Fatsix]

i think you would need to drop dodge and load up on shield ranks and cm and run 1609. cause right now your getting no added benefit of a larger shield with shield ranks and dodge being equal.

[TheLastShamurai]

depending on where you hunt, you might want to actually train in cmans for defense. i dropped a couple ranks into charge, disarm and bullrush for hunting in nelemar. worked wonders.