Parry AC Bonus

[R0GUE]

Well after not even giving the parry AC changes a week to simmer, they've nerfed it so it's practically pointless unless you are a melee class. Not sure why they made these changes but I wish they'd waited to implement them until they were in their final form. I've put my shield up for sale in a friend's shop and am now really hoping it doesn't sell.

[Jagel]

Playing devils advocate here: new features usually take a long while to reach a “final form” so going all in and selling your stuff is a risky move when things are still getting tweaked.

I think realising major mechanics on the build server first is a really nice development tool as it allows the team to iron out the worst bunch of bugs, imbalances and quirks before being put on the live server but things are still in development when it’s put on the main server.

[NPC Logger Number 2]

I'm very disappointed in how the parry AC updates were handled and the wasted build potential. We could have had a lot more variety in builds but now it's back to monk dips and divine dips if you want to be viable.

[dallion43]

The majority of the builds with 3/4bab that this is relevant to get 21+bab on lvl 30. At that point it is +6 shield AC.

Some builds like 30 lvl dex bard don't.
It is not easy to introduce a non-aesthetic mechanic that will cater to each and every build without shifting the balance.
There still plenty of builds that will benefit from this. The fact that the dev polishes the mechanic while it hot and not after RL months, when many PC were already created and invested into, is worthy of praise.
Not to mention the fact that two weeks ago parry AC wasn't existing and someone went and spent his time developing something new and since we couldn't fit it in our builds we are disappointed instead of being grateful :p.
No offense. And yeah, I am no better myself :p.

If one has an alternative suggestion like the SD displacement idea following the HIPS nerf from a week ago, why not posting it here?

[Drowboy]

Just, uh, to clarify, everyone gets +5 BAB from epic levels. So a pure 30 dex bard would get 15 from pre-epic, and 5 from epic. 20. Which is where the threshold is.

[dallion43]

Just, uh, to clarify,

I always try not to post without testing first on the PGG. And I recommend you to do the same.
Unless it was changed in the last 30 minutes since I tested it on the PGG:
30 lvl dex bard, 20bab, 30 parry, gave +4parry AC
16bard/4fighter->10bard, 21bab, 30 parry, gave 6AC

- The AC bonus is now capped by the character BAB until it reaches 20. (+1 at 5, +2 at 10, ..., +4 at 20, then uncapped.)

[R0GUE]

No, the threshold is 21, and it goes straight from 4 to 6, skipping over 5 for some reason. So a pure bard build or a 3/4 Bab build caps at 4 and never gets to 5 or 6. So I'm better off back to using my fencing buckler again, but now my stupid 5% ASF is back.

[R0GUE]

Here's my compromise solution.

Make it so at 20 Bab you cap at 5 instead of 4. Then at least my AC with the shield vs without the shield would be equal, but now I could finally be free of ASF.

The trade off is that I still had to spend at least 25 skill points into parry plus I don't get the extra benefits of a shield like enchantments, runes, etc.

[Gouge Away]

Is the primary concern wizards? Any who took a ranger dip would have, what, 16 to 18 BAB by 30 wouldn't they? Maybe the BAB requirement could just be lowered a point or two to allow pure bards and rogues to benefit, as those are pretty masochistic builds already?