Tanking In Hit Gear

Tanking in hit gear refers to tanking in mixed hit/tank, or full hit gear. This page primarily applies to the hero tier.

Tanking in mixed gear can be a worthwhile strategy for medium sized melee characters. For example, a rogue at hero 101+ (but with a relatively small amount of hp) may choose to wear some AC gear in lieu of hit gear to reduce damage taken from mobs while still delivering a reasonable backstab.

When soloing or preparing for battles such as the Ultimate Dragon, it is not unusual for DR (HR) oriented classes like Warriors or archer-types to attempt to optimize damage dealt and damage taken.

For larger HP characters and/or those with enough fire power in their group to one-round mobs, it may be desirable to lead/tank in full hit gear. For some situations, for example a soloing Psionicist, it may be convenient to plan the run such that HP regen is not likely to be required until mana runs low.

A few notes to preface the table:

• Keep in mind that certain locations have AC modifiers. See Armor Class page for detailed info.
• A standard set of hit gear does not use a shield. A charged shield may be optimal depending on specific circumstances as it is only useful when being hit. However, the loss of the offhand damage roll and offhand damage (assuming the character has dual) will have to be considered.

The following table compares common DR and AC items.

Type	From	Stats	To	Stats	AC Improvement per DR lost
Light	Minor Eye	5DR:0AC	Orb Of The Shogun	0DR:50AC	10
Light	Minor Eye	5DR:0AC	Mega's Spark In A Bottle	2DR:50AC	17
Finger	Ice Ring	4DR:0AC	Templar Ring	1DR:20AC	7
Finger	Ice Ring	4DR:0AC	Orkenfyr Signet Ring	2DR:20AC	10
Neck	Necklace Of Teeth	3DR:5AC	Carved Neck/Turtle Amulet	0DR:25AC	7
Neck	Medallion Of Justice	3DR:0AC	Carved Neck/Turtle Amulet	0DR:25AC	8
Body	Ultimoose Power	5DR:0AC	Carburized Steel Plate Armor	0DR:75AC	15
Body	Ultimoose Power	5DR:0AC	Darklinscale Lamellar	3DR:50AC	25
Head	Helm Of Cherubims	5DR:0AC	Smoldering Crown	2DR:50AC	17
Head	Helm Of Cherubims	5DR:0AC	Teardrop Helm	1DR:50AC	13
Legs	Flaming Pants	3DR:10AC	Heroic Dragonscale Skirt	0DR:40AC	10
Feet	Fatewalkers/Mukluks	4DR:20AC	Fatewalkers/Mukluks	4DR:20AC	0
Hands	Killing Gloves	5DR:0AC	Single Silver Archer's Gauntlet	0DR:10AC	2
Arms	Spiked Sleeves	4DR:5AC	Pair Of Steel Bracers	0DR:10AC	1
Arms	Spiked Sleeves	4DR:5AC	Aura Of Elemental Strength	2DR:15AC	5
Arms	Dark Dwarven Brand	4DR:0AC	Pair Of Steel Bracers	0DR:10AC	3
Arms	Dark Dwarven Brand	4DR:0AC	Aura Of Elemental Strength	2DR:15AC	8
Offhand	Any offhand wield	9-15DR:0AC	Shield Of Heroes (*)	0DR:86AC	6-10
About Body	Robe Of Greatness	3DR:0AC	Unholy Robe	0DR:35AC	12
About Body	Robe Of Greatness	3DR:0AC	Lizardskin Jerkin	2DR:30AC	30
Waist	Chained Steel Collar	2DR:20AC	Chained Steel Collar	2DR:20AC	0
Wrist	Symbol Of Darkness	3DR:0AC	Orosca / Crystal Wristguard	0DR:15AC	5
Held	Various held items (**)	8DR:0AC - 12DR:15AC	LeMans Family Seal	0DR:10AC	1 (runed Shard) - 3 (Banner)

(*) The 86 gain value comes from 3x base 12 + -50 affect.
(**) The most common held item is Shard Of Black Doom Marble which can be enchanted to 12/12 (10/10 is common) as well as runed for -15 AC. When runed, it's comparable to an unenchanted LeMans Family Seal (B12+10=22AC).

The table can be useful as a starting point to decide which items provide the best balance between AC and DR. However, the final decision should take into account the enchantments placed on weapons and armor.