A passionate minmaxer wants to find the strongest tank build in Dungeons & Dragons. His own idea makes him functionally untouchable, but the community reminds him of another bonus that he hasn’t considered yet.
What armor class does the player achieve? With his own idea for the ideal tank build in D&D, the player, with the perfectly chosen name BodybuilderSuper3874, reaches a whopping AC (short for Armor Class) of 37. (That’s a really strong value for a tank in D&D. The comparatively toughest AC builds in Baldur’s Gate 3 only achieve around 27, which is already considered OP.) In his Reddit post, he explains how this number comes about.
His permanent AC of 29 is achieved with:
- a standard AC with plate armor (+3) of 21
- 5 AC from a +3 shield
- 1 AC from his defensive fighting style
- 1 AC because he is playing a construct
- 1 AC from the Ring of Protection.
After that, he uses the following actions to further boost his AC:
- 1 AC from a “Protective Bond” of a friend (2nd-level abjuration spell)
- 2 AC with half cover from his Blood Shield (2nd-level necromancy spell)
- 5 AC from the Shield spell (1st-level abjuration spell)
The minmaxer is aware that this planning is theoretically easier to implement than in practice. However, he is purely focused on the highest possible potential: “To be honest, I don’t care at this point whether it’s overpowered. I just want to see how high the number can go.”
Community reminds him of an AC buff that makes him even untouchable
Which buff makes him even more powerful? When asked by the player how to further increase his armor class, he is pointed towards a spell from “Xanathar’s Guide to Everything.” This includes the 1st-level religious ritual spell “Ceremony.”
With this, clerics and paladins can perform one of six ceremonies, including a wedding. And that provides a solid buff.
During a wedding ceremony, two willing humanoids are required who wish to be bound by marriage. For the next 7 days, both parties receive a +2 bonus as long as they are within 9 meters of each other.
If the minmaxer is willing to marry for his armor class, he could reach an AC value of 39. With an armor class of 39, even the powerful dragon mother Tiamat would need a critical hit to even touch the player in one blow. She only has an attack bonus of 19, which means that any rolled number below 20 would not be enough to reach the required 39.
The thread features many more AC-boosting tips that the player could use to further optimize his build, such as the Haste spell (+2 to AC), the Cloak of Protection (+1 to AC), or the Battlemaster maneuver “Dancing Footwork” (AC bonus from a rolled dice value of a d6).
Even though many players strive for the highest levels, a lot of power, or a hefty armor class, other D&D fans do not completely share the same opinion. MeinMMO editor Caro also does not find level 20 particularly desirable: Why level 20 in D&D is the ultimate goal for many and why you should probably never reach it.
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