Returning player, need help spending my budget

[Jimjam]

Don't worry too much about proc/aggro weapons. Get a group member to root the mob and stand on it's toes. Fast DPS weapons more consistent aggro and better dps.

Cobalt boots is a good call; magic, nice AC, Str clicky if you need it (self only).

[Sage Truthbearer]

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

AC is not capped per level. Defensive skill is capped per level. I'd argue that AC is more relevant the lower level you are. High AC at low levels makes a huge difference as mobs will hardly touch you before 30 with high AC. Yes, haste is immensely more important, but with the budget described above it is not as obtainable.

Not true, there actually is an AC cap.

It is a "softcap" and it works exactly the same as when a Druid has so much WIS that begins to get less mana per 1 WIS point past a certain amount of WIS. Once your Worn AC (the AC you get from equipping items) gets to a certain point, any extra amount over the cap will be severely penalized.

The penalty is about 33% - 50%. So if you are already above the softcap in Worn AC, and put on a breastplate with 20 AC on it you will only actually get about 33-50% of that in AC. The softcap changes depending on what class you are, and what level you are, and other factors. It is actually fairly easy to reach the softcap at lower levels.

[Naethyn]

AC soft cap is a myth. Real AC is a calculated value based on a percentage for each class, but it has nothing to do with levels.

[Yuuvy The Destroyer]

There certainly was an ac soft cap on live.
Assuming there is one here as well

[Naethyn]

On live the formula was this:

RealAC = SoftCap + Shield + IksarAC + [ WornAC - (SoftCap + Shield) ]*OvercapReturn

Overcap Returns:
Warrior: 0.45
SK/Pal/Monk: 0.33
Rang: 0.17

The thing is soft cap still had absolutely nothing to do with levels. AA's are the only modifier outside class type that changed it. But here, it doesn't seem to exist. Load up a level 10 alt with a ton of AC and you won't see any max hits and mostly misses until late 20's.

[Sage Truthbearer]

On live, there was an AC hardcap and it was in fact based on your level.

During Velious, it was changed to a softcap and no longer based on your level.

Here is a quote from an original EQ developer that worked on core mechanics (Kavhok):

Your AC cap was lowered. That was absolutely and unequivocally a nerf. I didn't mean in any way to imply otherwise.

Let me give a more full explanation of what happened, though. Here's how the AC formula used to work before the patch immediately preceding PoP:

The AC from your items was added up, but the value used for it was hard capped based on your level. This was the same for all classes. Once you had 289 raw AC from items (or 385 as a cloth class, since they get less effect from item AC), that was it. More AC from items wouldn't do anything.

After this, it added your class bonuses (including the monk bonus, which is equivalent to your level + 5 in raw item AC), defense skill bonus, agility bonus, and the AC from spell buffs.

Total AC at this point was capped again, this time based on class. In the Kunark-era code, this was a hard cap, but sometime during Velious it was changed to a soft cap for melee classes only. The return was fairly small, though.

[Jimjam]

The interesting thing about that quote is it implies there are class bonuses other than the monk bonus...

The only other two class bonuses I know of are beast lord and rogue, which get 16 and 12 AC for having their agility at 100, but I only read about them way, way after classic so assumed rogue got added in later, but maybe it was in from the start? That's what the quote seems to imply...