AC softcap and low level hardcap discussion

[TytosOfEight]

So if the idea is that a shield, regardless of slot, acts as a shield and pushes AC above the soft cap, the design should be:

Test 1.
Same AC
Non-shield back slot
Shield in secondary vs. no shield
(this should tell you if a shield is pushing above softcap)

Test 2.
Same as above, but with shield in secondary vs. a none-shield AC item in secondary, something like a KDT orb.
(this should tell you if any AC if secondary acts as a “shield” and pushes you above softcap)

Test 3.
Same Ac
Back slot shield (Lodi etc.) vs. non-back slot shield
(this should tell you if items denoted as “shield” work in any lot and it’s not just AC “shield” item in secondary)

Ideally you would keep AC constant across all three tests.

There might be other ways to test it too, but this feels the most straightforward.