Viability of Light Armor in Melee

[bremmon]

How vaiable is it? I am 23 melee and dodge ALOT in melee without modifiers in dodge. My fights with growling Gingos goes quite awhile before I lose but I know if I could put more damage on them I should be able to take one with no problem and only with light armor.

I am thinking of moving to medium but if light is possible for the long haul I think that would be interesting. I imagine it would have to do with the modifiers I put in a set of light armor that would determine its success or not.
The only problem that I see is a person may dodge alot but one hit might be all it takes to knock them out of a fight.

Let me know your thoughts.

[svayvti]

Are you tanking?
do you use a shield?

if you're strictly a damage dealer, then it isn't so important. Tanks need the heavy armor though.

If you use a shield then I think you can get by with light armor at lower levels. You'll want to at least move up to medium armor by around level 40 IMO.

The armor does make a big difference in how much you get hit for.

Do remember that medium is a decent compromise. Much less stamina/sap/focus burn for a good middle of the road set of armor. If you really intend to be the tank in big grouping parties though.

I still wouldn't suggest anything other than heavy after level 50 if you're tanking for a team.

[kierstad]

Are you tanking?
do you use a shield?

if you're strictly a damage dealer, then it isn't so important. Tanks need the heavy armor though.

If you use a shield then I think you can get by with light armor at lower levels. You'll want to at least move up to medium armor by around level 40 IMO.

The armor does make a big difference in how much you get hit for.

Do remember that medium is a decent compromise. Much less stamina/sap/focus burn for a good middle of the road set of armor. If you really intend to be the tank in big grouping parties though, I still wouldn't suggest anything other than heavy after level 50.

After level 50 for tanking I'd strongly recommend going up the heavy armor route as high as you can get (medium +). A good crafter with the right skills can offset some of the penalties both with good materials, as well as using bonus stanzas while making the armor.

For damage dealers: light is fine, unless you intend on helping out the tank.

[bremmon]

I mostly want to deal damage, not tank. I presently use two QL25 daggers, no shield and all light armor QL25. Kind of a thief type without the stealing.

I am not sure light armor will work well at higher levels. I know if I find things way too difficult I can always buy medium armor. I just thought it would be interesting going this route of light armor.

[kierstad]

I mostly want to deal damage, not tank. I presently use two QL25 daggers, no shield and all light armor QL25. Kind of a thief type without the stealing.

I am not sure light armor will work well at higher levels. I know if I find things way too difficult I can always buy medium armor. I just thought it would be interesting going this route of light armor.

One thing you can do if you aren't sure is mix and match light armor with medium armor. Take a look at stats on the store bought armor to get an idea of how you can combine them.

[shrike]

Which brings up another question:

What is the probability to hit a body part? Is it head-torso-arms-hands-legs-feet all 16.6% (or better: 20%, since I never have seen hands being hit) or something like (for example) head 10%, torso 30%, legs 30%, arms 20% and feet 10%?

[ayne31]

Which brings up another question:

What is the probability to hit a body part? Is it head-torso-arms-hands-legs-feet all 16.6% (or better: 20%, since I never have seen hands being hit) or something like (for example) head 10%, torso 30%, legs 30%, arms 20% and feet 10%?

This is a good question. I too have never seen a msg that hands being hit. As hand armor gives the same penalty as other parts heavy gloves are probably not the best choice if they only play a minor role for protection.

I am also not sure how the protection works at all. Does "overall protection" add to some kind of "defensive factor"? and do the protections against slash, pierce etc from a certain armor piece only have some effect if the appropriate body part is hit?

[foreverb]

I like to tank, so i use heavy armor. Love the message, Bla Bla hits you for 70(145).

[pandorae]

Heh ... I tank for our hunting parties ... in light armor.

I would not reccomend it unless you have a legitimately godlike healer (Zen) and numerous other top flight mages in support. Even then, it is just not the most efficient way to do things. We are working on switching tank duties over.

1000+ hp just doesn't last long when you tank a lvl 150 in light armor! =p

[shenan]

The dodge/parry modifier on armor matter way more than how much damage it absorbs. Someone using light armor created from moon lining and the like may well tank better than someone using a suit of heavy armor with a mediocre dodge modifier. This is especially true with high level mobs; avoiding most of the big hits in the first place is really crucial.