Enemies with 30+ AC

[Lessnor]

Playing on normal diffculty in and after Drezhen i started to run into enemies with huge armour class to the point where my entire party barely can scratch them. Do i really have to make OP builds to continue playing or lower diffculty or theres some way to deal with HUGE AC?

[NdNd]

There are different types of AC's, one of them is touch AC. Next time when you encounter an enemy with high AC check hist stats with inspect button and you will see that his touch AC is much lower.

When you form a party make it versatile. All physical damage or all caster is not a good composition, put some ray attackers in there ( ember and nenio are great ray attackers with ray spells). Ray attacks are against touch AC so that even if you can't harm those enemies with weapons you can easily kill them with other means.

[Deo]

If it is Blackwater - it is completely optional area, where you are not forced to go.

If it is not Blackwater - there is a way to deal with huge AC. 30 is not huge tho, and your Leopard pet has 30 ac by the start of the game.

Paladin with maxed CHA casts Mark of Justice (lvl 11 ability, and you are lvl 11 after Drezen).
Cleric with Community Domain and maxed WIS casts Guarded Hearth (lvl 8 ability, and you are lvl 11 after Drezen).
Same Cleric with Impossible Domain: Madness casts Vision of Madness (Attack rolls).
Haste is +1 AB.
Brown Fur Transmuter can give +6 enhancement buff to STR/DEX before level 20. Also he can give +4 size bonus to STR or DEX before level 20.

Those are not OP builds, but a part of any composition that wants to play the game comfortably.

[ayrtep]

30+AC? That's nothing, my character easily gets 40+AC by Drezen.

A level 10 character with 20+Str and a +2 weapon is needs 13+ to hit. Seems fine to me.

Ways to handle huge AC (Not 30 more like 50 or 60). Target touch AC. Use AOE spells. Slog it out; if both you and the enemy need 20 to hit you just get a long fight that you are always going to win because of healing potions.

If all else fails, then go back and design you characters better or play at a lower difficulty.

[Commander Zero]

Each of your Melee members should have the following feats:

Weapon focus = 1+ Attack rolls with chosen weapon type.

Combat Reflexes = increase the number of attacks of opportunity equal to your Dexterity
bonus.

Seize the moment = (Need Combat Reflexes) Anytime an ally lands a critical, those with this feat can perform an attack of opportunity.

Outflank = melee users with this feat will get 4+ attack rolls while flanking the same enemy.

Blind fight (Optional) =Optional if you want to spare a feat for it, it rerolls your attack once Against Concealment such as displacement, blur and greater invisibility. Also grants immunity to Gaze attacks which is really good to have.

----
Spells

Haste = Double movement speed, 1+ Attack rolls, Armor Class, Reflex

Heroism = +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, saves, and skill checks.

Good hope (Bards and Skalds only)= It's Heroism but as an AOE buff with a lower duration. does not stack with Heroism.

----
Gear

Chainmail of Comradery - Wearer of this gets a boost in 2+ damage roll when flanking an enemy, increases to 4+ if the wearer has outflank feat. Put this on your strongest melee until you get better gear. You can get this from Underground Hideout at the world map as early as Act 2.

[Ishan451]

Originally posted by Lessnor:

Playing on normal diffculty in and after Drezhen i started to run into enemies with huge armour class to the point where my entire party barely can scratch them. Do i really have to make OP builds to continue playing or lower diffculty or theres some way to deal with HUGE AC?

Oh just wait until you encounter the Enemies with 60+ AC. This is very normal, and why you have a group of characters. Usually the enemies with huge AC require you to take them on in a different way. Via Touch AC or via attacking one of their 3 saves (Reflex, Fortitude or Will).

Also there are Mythic abilities for your melee characters that let them deal damage even on a miss.

[Uzkin]

Originally posted by Commander Zero:

Each of your Melee members should have the following feats:
Combat Reflexes = increase the number of attacks of opportunity equal to your Dexterity
bonus.

Seize the moment = (Need Combat Reflexes) Anytime an ally lands a critical, those with this feat can perform an attack of opportunity.

Outflank = melee users with this feat will get 4+ attack rolls while flanking the same enemy.

I don't think Seize the moment and Outflank stack, so Outflank is enough. Combat Reflexes is good on RTwP mode but nearly useless on TB.

[Soul]

Originally posted by Uzkin:

Originally posted by Commander Zero:

Each of your Melee members should have the following feats:
Combat Reflexes = increase the number of attacks of opportunity equal to your Dexterity
bonus.

Seize the moment = (Need Combat Reflexes) Anytime an ally lands a critical, those with this feat can perform an attack of opportunity.

Outflank = melee users with this feat will get 4+ attack rolls while flanking the same enemy.

I don't think Seize the moment and Outflank stack, so Outflank is enough. Combat Reflexes is good on RTwP mode but nearly useless on TB.

I dont find combat reflexes to be useless in turn based.... I take advantage of it a lot actually....

[NdNd]

Originally posted by Soul:

Originally posted by Uzkin:

I don't think Seize the moment and Outflank stack, so Outflank is enough. Combat Reflexes is good on RTwP mode but nearly useless on TB.

I dont find combat reflexes to be useless in turn based.... I take advantage of it a lot actually....

If your melee party member, whoever that is using reach weapons like glaive, fauchard etc, then combat reflex is a must. Else it is up to you.

[Cursed Life]

Give Ember Evil Eye and she can give -4 to AC every turn.

[Cursed Life]

Ember best grill

[Chan]

Need more buffs and debuffs. With good buffs and especially after Drezen you can easily hit any enemy in the game at any point with a decent party comp.

[Razer]

First: get a wolf/dog companion. Preferably 2 of them, tandem trip and fury's fall feats and they will knock down anything. This allows you to attack enemies flat footed. Also get improved initiative on your characters if you have trouble winning on initiative. I like to get this on animal companions too so they can trip dangerous enemies right at the start of the battle when they are still flat footed.

Second: Evil Eye hex is great. It scales and at least lasts for a single round giving enemies -2 AC.

Third: The spell Archon's Aura gives enemies that fail their save a -2 to AC in an AoE.

There's more ways to lower enemy AC or to increase your own Attack values. Check out the buffs available such as Heroism, Good Hope, Prayer, etc. You should at least have some of these available when you're in Drezen.

[canuck250]

Get ember and Cam, shaman and witch hexes stack. So you can double evil eye enemies and double prot luck your tanks.

Skald is an easy way to boost your partys attack. If you have pet riders they can get pounce from skalds (more dmg on charge). I personally prefer a skald over bft for a general party.

[dwarfpcfan]

Shaman hex to reduce AC and take advantage of touch attacks.

Ember with ascended element fire is a super simple way to laugh at high ac. Give her the rod that gives you maximize spells 6 times per day and ring of the pyromaniac and watch her roast anything in just 1-2 rounds.

[Warbird]

When AC is super high, most of the time these targets are open for magic attacks...

There are so many items, feats and spells in this game to help overcome any situation ( especially in Turn Based ). Just take your time, Inspect enemies and watch for vulnerabilities.

And if you have lot of healing with you, you can always go for an attrition fight and keep rolling dice for 20s with your archers and meleers. The first attack of high BAB classes will have a decent chance to score a hit most of the time.