Balancing AC and HP (For Paladins/ShadowKnights)

[pallius]

Originally Posted by Danth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If you're a Paladin or SK in the tank role for a full or near-full group, haste is effectively optional: No group is going to care how much damage you do anyway. That's not why they invited you. I never had haste on my Paladin (a character I used solely for group tanking) and it simply didn't matter. If you solo or participate in smaller groups (on my SK I mainly duo with the wife, for example), then your own damage output matters much more. As such it becomes worth sacrificing one slot for that zero AC FBSS simply because the target will die more quickly, thus saving you from additional damage intake.

If you're not sure, buy the FBSS and a cheap 8 AC Thick Leather Apron and put on the AC belt when you feel like you don't need haste. At 46 plus you can potentially head to Plane of Sky and loot a 8 AC 16% haste belt; they rot regularly due to the lack of Paladins and SK's on P1999.

I believe Warriors receive a better HP multiplier from Stamina than Paladins or Shadow Knights. My 60 SK receives 5 HP per point of stamina.

EDIT: For low-level players, just do the best you can. Hit points don't matter so much at low levels simply because they offer no real efficiency gain (no complete heal yet), though they do of course improve your time-to-death lifespan. AC helps, but it's hard to stack in sufficient values to make a good difference: AC and monster damage output have always been a little wonky on P1999 and it's particularly rough in the middle level ranges. In my opinion life is easier as a tank at 50+ than it was at 30.

Danth

I guess its not central to the overall discussion... but as a paladin, I routinely outdamage ~55 monk/rogues with my sky haste belt, epic, and 255 buffed str.