Between dusk shrouds, mage plates, and archon plates what should the starting defense be? Wondering if I should make my own or just buy one.

First try the armor on and make sure you like the look
Second look up the armor on google
It’ll tell you the basic def range of said armors



Enjoy your findings

first always use a light armor.

choose your favorite skin and strengh requirment........

Dusk - 460+
Archon - 500+

Check the arreat summit site, you can can see the min - max of each armor and the weight, it changes the run/walk speed

Real man use ring mail from act2 normal kthxbai

I prefer even basic ED bases, since the final defense is boosted from the highest defense value of the non superior version. For example, a superior Archon Plate with 7% ED will have 7% added to 524, whereas a normal Archon Plates will have a range from low 400s to low 500s. Even the worst superior armor will always be better than the best possible non superior version of that same time, and they're not that hard to come across. The only issues with superior are the repair costs and style points. If you don't die and you MF a lot, gold cost doesn't matter. Style points don't matter to many, but it's either an awkward 7% or something or a perfect and more expensive 15% ED.

This post was edited by eric1014153 on Mar 21 2022 02:05pm

i would say first look at the weight of the armor (light/medium/heavy) then pick either light or at absolute most medium (if pvm i guess its alright, still reduces ur frw by a ton)

then look looks str/req

You need to be able to equip the armor without adding any strength. The enigma will probably give you enough str for the rest of your gear. That limits your options and makes mageplate a very popular choice.

This logic is true for paladins but not necessarily for spirit monarch using characters. For instance a lvl 90 character with a 20 stat anni, torch, and enigma and average base str of 20 is still nearly 40 Str short of wearing a monarch. This means in general you want your enigma to be under 90 Str req if you’re going for a spirit monarch depending on clvl. So Wyrmhide and Dusk are solid options in that regard.

Personally I prefer fashion over light v heavy discussion. The frw isn’t that big of a deal if you’re teleporting most of the time.

good point!