JeckWild,Mar 2 2005, 02:59 PM Wrote:Apologies, if this was discussed elsewhere on the forum.
Trying to build a Protection paladin, 53 so far.
Should I focus on the +defense skill items, and then armor?
Or should I max out the armor, and think of the +defense as a secondary bonus?
And, what is the effect of the Defense skill - or any other skill - anyway?
I'm hearing a lot of "may be" and "I suppose", and what the seems to be the most popular opinion: defense skill gets you hit LESS often, according to a formula that doesn't exist.
How about +weapon skill? +healing?
Thanks in advance.
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Really, your main choice isn't between armor and defense, but between defense and stamina or defense and resists. Most of the big defense items, like Helm of The Mountian, Legplates of the Eternal Guardian, and Stoneform Shoulders have absolutely huge armor. Some like the Ornate Adamantium Breastplate, Stockade Pauldrons and Golem Skull Helm have big defense, armor, and stamina and are amazing for any tank.
I've read reports that at level 60 +25 defense corresponds to +1% dodge, +1% block, +1% parry. This is a total of slightly more than 2% damage avoidance. It is also theorized that defense decreased your opponent's chance to hit and crit you by similar amounts (+25 = 1%), but I haven't seen any solid evidence of that. If you can get a lot of +defense it seems like it could be pretty effective, but its reliance on the random number generator can make it more dangerous than mitigation and hitpoints over short time scales.