GUIDE : Character Stats & Mechanics in Diced Combat

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GUIDE : Character Stats & Mechanics in Diced Combat

Postby Vysanth on Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:36 pm

Thank you to Krom for inspiring this topic.

First and foremost, this is meant to be a guidance/manual of some details and understanding about the Combat System of Belariath, and how readers may possibly wish to use it to build up your character. It may in future perhaps be used for other purposes, for the time being its just for the (very few) folks who actually have some interest in Diced Combat.

Also for people who have difficulty thinking what Stats to improve on levelling up.

If you're asking what is Diced Combat, at this point it would be good to follow this links and understand the subject.
http://belariath.com/combat/dice.html
and as an addition
http://belariath.com/combat/cdice.html

This guide is really build upon the concepts here and understanding how various aspects of the game, such as Stats, Armor, Spell Slots, Stamina, Weaponry, Damage rolls, come together to form the synergy that is combat system of TLI.

Examples are given in Quotes.

Note that unlike Krom's manuals, this particular one is based almost exclusively on OOC content. Hence I'm not putting it in the Mentors Section. I'm not sure if this is the right section, but I guess it could be moved.
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Re: Character Stats & Mechanics in Diced Combat

Postby Vysanth on Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:39 pm

Chapter 1 - Understanding the 4 Main Stats : STR INT AGI RES
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a general guideline for configuring a character's 4 main statistics. It does little else, but should be sufficient for most, in order not to have to read on too much further.

The basic of combat comes down to 8 dice rolls below, as taken from the http://belariath.com/combat/dice.html

Close-in Physical Attack: STR AGI (CloPhyAtk)
Close-in Physical Defense: AGI RES (CloPhyDef)
Ranged Physical Attack: STR INT (RanPhyAtk)
Ranged Physical Defense: AGI INT (RanPhyDef)
Close-in Magical Attack: INT STR (CloMagAtk)
Close-in Magical defense: RES STR (CloMagDef)
Ranged Magical Attack: INT RES (RanMagAtk)
Ranged Magical defense: RES AGI (RanMagDef)

For purpose of Chapter 1, we will treat the effectiveness of the dice roll as the total of the two stats, since the average outcome of the diceroll is directly proportionate to the average of the 2 stats.
(if you don't understand this statement, just ignore it. but for your ease of reading, I strongly advise not reading beyond Chapter 1 of this guide)

The discussion may be somewhat technical and mathematical, hence if at any point after this you get very lost in this post, just skip to next <START HERE IF YOU GET LOST DURING THIS POST>

Looking carefully at the 4 stats, observe the following
STR - improves 3 Attacks and 1 Defence
INT - improves 3 Attacks and 1 Defence
AGI - improves 1 Attack and 3 Defences
RES - improves 1 Attack and 3 Defences

Note that the following general observations :
- a Character can only use maximum 1 Attack in any one turn
- a Character can CHOOSE which Attack he intends to use (in most combats / most characters. some characters cannot choose Magical attacks)
- a Character canNOT choose which Defence he needs to employ, this is dependent on the choice of the other player.

Logically speaking, this would make a Stat that boosts multiple defences more worthwhile, especially since this same stat can be employed to boost the attack, so long as the character chooses that particular attack.

Hence we see the following
- AGI boosts Close-in Physical Attacks
- RES boosts Ranged Magical Attacks
Since there is so much benefit to be gained from improving these 2 Stats, which results in an improvement in these 2 particular attacks, for reference's sake we just refer to these 2 stats as "KEY" stats and these 2 attacks as "KEY" Attacks.

Observation
Ranged Magical Defense = Close-in Physical Defense = AGI RES
Both these Defences match the above KEY Attacks (perhaps call them KEY Defences? )
What is also means is this - if your opponent increases EITHER of these 2 stats, (which he is more likely to do since they each boost most of his Defences as well as one Attack) he will actually increase his chances of avoiding these KEY attacks.

In plain English :
IF you are reliant on KEY attacks (attacks that benefit from AGI or RES), since most opponents will also have high stats for AGI or RES or both, they will defend better against your attacks.

Observation
Close-in Magical Attack = Ranged Physical Attack = STR INT
NEITHER of these 2 attacks employ the KEY stats.
In other words, improving either of these 2 Stats gives you more Choice of what Attack to use, but in return you gain very little towards your Defences. In fact, if your opponent is attacking with KEY Attacks, you gain no benefit at all whatsoever.

What then is the benefit of boosting these 2 Stats / improving your Choice of Attacks? Here we look at the defence against these 2 attacks.

Ranged Physical Defense: AGI INT
Close-in Magical defense: RES STR
Here we see that each of these 2 non-KEY attacks, they are in fact able to bypass a KEY Stat.

In other words - if your opponent has high AGI and low RES, or high RES and low AGI, you can choose an attack that "bypasses" their high AGI or RES so long you have good STR or INT.

Arvein : STR 90 INT 10 AGI 50 RES 50
vs
Zechan : STR 40 INT 10 AGI 100 RES 50

As you can see, if Arvein were to use a standard CloPhyAtk (STR AGI) for him, he would be having total max 140 ATK vs 150 DEF.

But since he has high Strength, he can roll CloMagAtk (STR INT), he would be having total max 100 ATK vs 90 DEF. Note that even though his maximum total ATK roll is actually LOWER, he has a better chance of hitting the enemy.

It may not always be worthwhile however. If in the following case...

Arvein : STR 90 INT 10 AGI 50 RES 50 (no change)
vs
Ymalae : STR 60 INT 10 AGI 75 RES 55

Arvein's CloPhyAtk : 140 ATK vs 130 DEF
Arvein's CloMagAtk : 100 ATK vs 115 DEF

on the other hand, it might even be more advantageous for him to switch...
Arvein's RanPhyAtk : 100 ATK vs 85 DEF

Hence you can see that Arvein has more choices through his high STR.
He does however, become more vulnerable to KEY attacks, since his high STR doesn't help him against any of that.


Still in a nutshell, it will probably boost your character survivability to put the most into a mix of AGI and RES, favouring the one that gives you the KEY attack suiting your class, depending on whether you are Physical or Magical Character.

eg. If you are Magical, you probably want to put most into RES, some into AGI to balance your defence or INT to balance out your KEY attack, and just enough STR to wear all the best armor you want/can wear.

eg. If you are Physical, you probably want to put most into AGI, some into RES to balance your defence or STR to balance out your KEY attack, and just enough INT to ... well, as you like.

<START HERE IF YOU GET LOST DURING THIS POST>

Here are a few general and seen character Statting philosophies, all examples based off a sum total of 200 in the 4 stats. They are just guidelines, there are tonnes of variances.

A. Balanced (aka Warrior-Mage)
STR 50 INT 50 AGI 50 RES 50
They have no weakness but they have no strength either.
Where their versatility may strike fear into someone with either AGI or RES predominantly higher, likewise they may be vulnerable to that same character.
In general, they may end up weaker than any other character of the same level as them.

B. Balanced Defence
STR 10 INT 10 AGI 90 RES 90
They have good defence, and are almost impervious to KEY Attacks. Their strong defence can be bypassed to average by someone using non-KEY Attacks.
They are heavily reliant on their own KEY attacks which are only average, making those with high KEY defence generally unafraid of them.
IF 2 people with this same configuration fight each other.. man that could be LOOONG fight.

C. Skewed Defence
STR 30 INT 10 AGI 120 RES 40 (Physical)
STR 10 INT 30 AGI 40 RES 120 (Magical)
They have good defence against KEY Attacks, but their defences can be bypassed to a very large extent by someone using the correct non-KEY Attack. Due to variance (see Chapter 2), their defensive rolls will be more inconsistent over time as compared to B configuration.
While heavily reliant on their own KEY Attack, it packs a good solid punch. In return though, they have very limited effectiveness in all 3 other attacks.

Note that the STR/INT not only boosts their KEY attack, but also helps to compensate to a very limited extent for their weakness against the correct non-key attack (eg. a high AGI character has his STR compensate against the CloMagAtk his AGI cannot protect against, vice versa for high RES character)

D. Min-Max
STR 90 INT 10 AGI 90 RES 10 (Physical)
STR 10 INT 90 AGI 10 RES 90 (Magical)
This build sacrifices consistent and strong Defence for a very very strong KEY attack.
They have reasonable Attack Versatility, that would be useful against C Configuration. Nonetheless, due to their overwhelming KEY attack effectiveness, they usually will stick to that.
While their Defence is average (same as A Configuration) it is far less consistent and will very likely give way in long battles.

This build used to be popular, but with the introduction of the !Damage roll and limiting damage to a max of 50 Life per round, sudden sharp spikes of ATK are no longer as effective / decisive, but it is more important to stay alive.

E. Versatile Balanced Defence
STR 50 INT 10 AGI 80 RES 60 (Physical)
STR 10 INT 50 AGI 60 RES 80 (Magical)
This build has balanced and consistent defence, while allowing focus for many choices.
AGI and RES are almost the same, allowing for consistent KEY Defence due to reduced variance (see Chapter 2).
Attack wise, there is a very strong KEY attack available for deployment. Yet if the other party should have overwhelming KEY defence, eg. B. Configuration or C. Configuration, then the character has the option to use other more effective attacks.


Apart from the above 5, there are other Configurations, such as Attack-heavy builds. Attack-heavy builds are less likely to be effective in the current combat environment limiting Max Damage and requiring !damage rolls, but can make for exciting albeit short fights.
This is also because there does exist a fairly sizeable amount of "Instant-Win" effects, that will be discussed in a separate Chapter. Examples are spells like Sleep, which arguably can end a combat immediately once a successful ATK is made.

IMPORTANT NOTE : Please be reminded that character in RolePlay are not only unaware of their opponent's stats, they are also often unaware of their own stats. They are generally not able to deduce just from the start of combat what the weakness of the other character is. Unless your opponent is explicitly cool about you just cutting to the chase, or your characters have had multiple run-ins, please do not neglect the RP aspect of combat, which is itself very interesting (IMO)
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Re: GUIDE : Character Stats & Mechanics in Diced Combat

Postby Vysanth on Thu Dec 03, 2009 5:31 pm

Chapter 2 : Consistency, Damage, relating to LIFE, STA, Buffs

CONSISTENCY AND VARIANCE

What determines the Consistency of a pair of Dice Rolls?
Mathematically, the term is called Variance, which was mentioned in Chapter 1.
Generally, the higher the Variance, the higher chance that (Dice Roll - Average) will be a large number.
In other words, the higher the Variance, the poorer the Consistency of the Dice Roll.

Case A : 1d6 + 1d6 will give a result of 2-12, with average of 7.
Case B : 1d2 + 1d10 will also give result of 2-12, with average of 7.
What then is the difference?

For 1d6 + 1d6, there are 36 possible outcomes of the two dice rolls. Hence the chance for any given random roll to add up to a certain number is as follows
2 : 1 / 36 Chance ( the only way to get a 2 is to roll 1 for both dice )
3 : 2 / 36 Chance ( to get a 3 is to roll 2 then 1, or 1 then 2)
4 : 3 / 36 Chance ( roll 1 then 3 / roll 3 then 1 / roll 2 for both )
5 : 4 / 36 (and so forth for the rest... )
6 : 5 / 36
7 : 6 / 36
8 : 5 / 36
9 : 4 / 36
10 : 3 / 36
11 : 2 / 36
12 : 1 / 36
The further the total is from the average of 7, the lower the chance of getting that total.
The nearer the total is from the average of 7, the better the chance of getting that total.

For 1d2 + 1d10, there are 20 possible outcomes of the two dice rolls. The chances for each value are...
2 : 1 / 20 Chance ( the only way to get 2 is to roll 1 for both dice)
3 : 2 / 20 Chance ( to get 3 is to roll 1 then 2 or roll 2 then 1 )
4 : 2 / 20 Chance ( roll 1 then 3 / roll 2 then 2 )
5 : 2 / 20 Chance ( roll 1 then 4 / roll 2 then 3 )
6 : 2 / 20 Chance ( roll 1 then 5 / roll 2 then 4 )
7 : 2 / 20 (and so forth for the rest... )
8 : 2 / 20
9 : 2 / 20
10 : 2 / 20
11 : 2 / 20
12 : 1 / 20
Except for 2 and 12, all other totals have the same chance of occurring, regardless of how far / near they are to the average of 7.

A has a higher chance of producing a number near to the average of 7
B has a lower chance of producing a number near to the average of 7
Hence the difference between A and B is that A has a lower variance, B has a higher variance.


Since TLI Attack / Defence rolls are determined by 2 dice rolls, we see that -
The closer in value the two Stats are, the lower the Variance, the better the Consistency in the rolls.
The further in value the two Stats are, the higher the Variance, the poorer the Consistency in the rolls.

It is worth noting that high Variance is not always a bad thing. For Defence one may prefer Consistency over high scores, but for Attacks one may prefer a better possibility of getting a good high roll.

Yet, is Consistency better or Variance better?

DAMAGE ROLLS - AND ITS EFFECTS

Understanding the effects of the !Damage roll (see http://belariath.com/combat/dice.html), it basically caps the difference between the ATK and DEF of any single round at 50. This difference is then used to perform a single roll, which effectively halves the damage. Hence even in the case of an excellent attack, your average damage will probably be only about 25.

In other words - Diced fights are going to last longer, and you will probably only beat your opponent if you are genuinely stronger than him most of the time.

This makes Consistency preferable to Variance, in the general scheme of things.

LIFE

Further, if your Life is above 35, you have relatively low chance of being one-shotted ; if your Life is above 50, it is impossible for you to be one-shotted. Hence we see that the !Damage roll really adds a reasonable amount of benefit to increasing the Life Stat.

Remember however, that Life once decreased can not increase again in that same fight, whereas in general your 4 Stats will stand you in good stead throughout the fight, until you are defeated. A longer fight means you'll be using those Stats more often, which makes them valuable also.

As a personal opinion / gut feeling, I would suggest keeping it to about the average of your 4 Stats. If it is under the 55-70 range, you probably can keep it about 5-15 points above the average of your 4 Stats.

STAMINA

While longer fights would require more Stamina, let us consider - in the past with one or two good hits, a fight could be totally over, but now even with a good solid hit, the average damage done is only about 25, and max is 50. In other words - it is actually now safer to take just one action to !Evade and recover Stamina.

So Stamina should be enough to last you maybe say, 5-8 rounds or so, and then you can !evade knowing that even if you get hit, it probably won't hurt too much. The reduced deadliness / decisiveness of every round has actually reduced the value of Stamina to some extent.

BUFF

By the same logic as regards Stamina, taking 1-2 rounds to buff, or 3 buffs at max, in a fight nowadays could pay off, since by using your Buff you are not taking a lot of risk, given the reduced deadliness of every attack in the game now. However, taking too much time to apply too many buffs might not be a good thing, since you may spend an extra round evading to recover Stamina.

In an even match it might take you a while more time to catch up, by then you could be running out of Life, unless your Buffs provide very significant modifiers as compared to your Stats.

CONCLUSION

!Damage rolls results in less damage and hence more extended combat.

Hence, Consistency is preferred over Variance, when it comes to rolling Defence and Attack.

Similarly, Life should not be neglected but not over emphasised due to this factor, though it lasts a lot longer than in the past.
Suggest keeping Life to about the average of your 4 Stats, and if Life is under 55, add an extra 5-15 points depending on your preference.

Stamina does not need to be too high, just high enough to keep you going for about 5-8 rounds without needing to evade.

Buffs should be used if available, 1-2 buffs, or 3 at max, will generally help out during combat.


NOTE : there are instant-win effects, as mentioned in Chapter 1. Due to their nature, most of the above arguments would not apply when dealing with such a player.
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Re: GUIDE : Character Stats & Mechanics in Diced Combat

Postby Vysanth on Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:13 pm

Chapter 3 : DEF Buffs and Optimised Mhl Spending

This chapter is for people who want to understand how to make OPTIMISED USE of their LIMITED MHL to have the best DEFENCE possible in a shortest period of time.
If you have lots of gold, or already have maxed out DEF, then you can read for info if you like, to understand the possible redundancy of some things, which are unavoidable in an RP environment like TLI.

Along the way, I will number special key points and compile to a summary at the end of the Chapter, for easy reference of people who get lost in the argument. If you are lost along the way, skip to the word SUMMARY.

Defence is something that helps protect us against attacks. In general, Defence is a worthy modifier to look into, especially against Physical Attacks.

If we assume that 10% is a significant modification, and we have a Character of STR 150 INT 150 AGI 150 RES 150, the average of the two rolls would be 150, and the max +15 DEF against magic would still be considered significant.

Further, since DEF is a constant increase to your Defensive rolls, it is 100% consistent. Given the earlier Chapter on consistency in today's dice combat, the significance of DEF has increased more

GENERAL NOTES

Before we look at how we should spend money on improving DEF modifiers, we should be aware of what DEF does, and what it is effective against.

From http://belariath.com/info/armor.html
How do the modifiers of defensive dice rolls work in magical combat? Magical combat determines the Modifier for defensive rolls differently, since physical armor equipment plays no roll in defending against magical spells. Magical defense rolls are of two types: !clomagdef M (close range magical defense) and !ranmagdef M (long range magical defense).In both these cases, M stands for Modifier, a numeral value which denotes only the DEF enchantments on physical armor and any defensive spells cast at the time (not the default base DEF values of the armor itself).

Extending the same example given above, lets assume the base default DEF rating of a character's armor equipment is 6, the total DEF enchantments on these armors are 5, and that 4 slots of Magical Armor are cast for further defense. Since the DEF of armor won't count, we can only add 5 from the enchantments and 4 from the spell:!clomagdef 9!ranmagdef 9

In other words, a full plate mail a knight can wear is utterly worthless against an Ice Shards spell cast by a mage. However, its still good against Physical Attacks.

So, what then can be done against Magical attacks? Let us see, From http://www.belariath.com/shops/ss/enchant.html
Defense Enchantments: Defense, or DEF, enchantments can be placed on all armors, and all weapons. DEF enchantments on armor allows +5 to one piece, but they allow a stackable +15 DEF bonus vs. Physical and Magical attacks. DEF enchantments on weapons only work vs. Close Physical Attacks.

From the rest of the Material on this page, DEF enchantments can only be held on Weapons, Armor, and Jewellery.

1) DEF on weapons can only affect Close Physical Attacks, hence by this reasoning we go only for Enchantments on Armor and Jewelry

2) The 15 Points in DEF enchanments are the MOST IMPORTANT 15 Points.

Why? They are the only 15 Points standing between you and Magical Attacks (with the exception of defensive buffing spells)
Further - they are just as effective against Physical Attacks, so you lose nothing. Paying 125 mhl is a fair price for it, and you can pay even less, in fact


*DEF enchantments on jewelry add an additional + (up to 5) vs. Physical and Magical attacks, however they do not stack like Armors. The highest value is used on jewelry, but if one piece of jewelry holds +5, and Armors hold +10, then the full +15 applies.

So Jewelry works, but we are limited to exactly 1 piece of Jewelry that can have up to +5 DEF, and having more Jewelry awarding any amount of DEF will be useless.

3) In other words, to max out your 15 DEF enchantments against Magic, which are equally effective against Physical, you will need 2 pieces of armor plus one jewelry, OR 3 pieces of armor.

What Jewelry, can then be used for DEF Enchantment, and how does the price compare with the price of armor?
From viewtopic.php?f=128&t=8702
Question 1. How much can different metals hold in enchantments.
Wood, cloths and Bone can hold 1.
Metals and special for rp created <lightning-struck oak, onyx blessed by deity><which are Op approved/given> can hold 2.
Mithril can hold 3 and gets a discount in the cost of enchantments. <10% off anything including ink, weapons/armor get a 25% discount.>

So we know what sort of jewelry to look for. As it turns out, looks like anything will do. From http://www.belariath.com/php/shop/gs.php

4) We observe the cheapest jewelry is about 10 mhl or so. This makes Jewelry the most effective / cheapest "holder" for your first 5 DEF enchantments.
Not only that, Jewelry is good for RP, so even if surprised while stark naked you still have a +5 DEF on you, applicable against Spells and also weapons.

So, why not enchant your starting Mage Robe / Tunic / whatever with 5 DEF ? Simple - in time to come it will become obsolete and replaced by better Armor, and your Enchantments are not transferrable. So you will have to make a choice
- stick to your poorer armor but fully enchanted
- buy new better armor, and pay all over again to get it fully enchanted
Save yourself the pain and stick to this Rule :

5) NEVER Enchant any Armor that is not the Best Armor in that slot available to your Character
( we shall henceforth refer to the Best Armor in slot as Best-In-Slot, shortform of BIS)

But what then are the Slots? And wouldn't saving up for the TOP BIS Armor take a long time? Well, yes and no.
a) There are a few slots in TLI, and not all the slots have a very expensive BIS armor. in fact some of them have only one armor that fits in slot, which automatically becomes the BIS
b) You only need to get TWO Best in-slot Armor pieces. If you choose not to enchant Jewelry, you will need THREE.
c) Remember, you need to have enough STR to equip the armor - see http://belariath.com/info/armor.html if unsure.

Refer to http://belariath.com/php/arms/armor.php
While not explicitly stated, here are some of the slots of Armor
SPECIAL
ARMS / HANDS
SHIELD
LEGS / FEET
HEAD
BODY

ARMS / HANDS :
These are filled by Leather Bracers, Vambraces, Gauntlets, and Mithril Vambraces, Mithril Gauntlets. They all grant 1 DEF - makes you wonder why bother with the rest except for RP - so pick the cheapest one, namely Leather Bracers (1 DEF at 35 Mhl / 1 STR).
In fact, the Leather Bracers *are* the cheapest armor in the entire shop, matching the Codpiece. Since everything else in this slot gives 1 DEF, its already BIS and value-for-money, also value-for-STR.

SPECIAL :
Probably among the most unique and accessible of all armor is the Gambeson (1 DEF at 100 Mhl / 1 STR), that can be worn UNDER all other armor. This is one of the more ideal candidates for enchanting to +5 DEF.
The Codpiece (0 DEF at 35 Mhl / 1 STR) may be worth it also, but it grants no DEF so you may not wish to spend 35 Mhl on something technically useless.

6) With the Gambeson and Leather Bracers, both requiring 1 STR only, as their respect BIS item, and all are of class A (accessible to everyone) adding one piece of Jewelry will be fully sufficient for anyone to attain a full +15 DEF.

The next three other categories well suited to Defensive Enchantments are

SHIELD :
BIS C Class - Tower Shield - 4 DEF / 4 DEF against RanPhyAtk at 200 mhl / 17 STR
BIS B Class - Shield - 2 DEF / 2 DEF against RanPhyAtk at 60 mhl / 7 STR
BIS A Class - Targe - 2 DEF / 2 DEF against RanPhyAtk at 75 mhl / 6 STR
While Shields are handy, you may not always wish to carry a good shield around, and further you may wish to use a two-handed weapon. Secondly it might seem out of place for characters, for example magic users.
Even a Knight who can use the best Shield would probably need a few levels before hitting 17 STR and getting 200 Mhl to buy the BIS Shield, the Tower Shield. If earlier Chapters are well learnt, it wouldn't be wise to put all points into STR anyway.

LEGS / FEET :
Chain Leggings and Greaves occupy this slot, along with their Mithril counterparts.
They all give 1 DEF - again, why bother with anything but the cheapest? - and that brings us to Greaves ( 1 DEF at 75 mhl / 3 STR).
Though there are some restrictions on use of Greaves, such as non-metal wearers.

Hence...
7) After Leather Bracers, Greaves are the next cheapest BIS item to enchant, cheaper than Gambeson but may not be usable for all. Shield is cheaper than Gambeson, and considered BIS if the bearer is Class B, or for Knights who start with a free shield and plan to Dual to Magical Class later, hence should be enchanted if it suits the person's RP to carry the enchanted Shield around. Similar for Targe / Class A

HEAD :
BIS C Class - Winged Helm - 3 DEF / 2 Agi at 400 mhl / 10 STR (no spellcasting)
BIS B Class - Visored Helm (B Class) - 2 DEF at 175 mhl / 6 STR
BIS A Class - Coif - 1 DEF at 75 mhl / 3 STR
Depending on your class, you can choose one of the above 3 BIS items for Enchanting DEF, subject to your Class special rules (like Mist Raider cannot wear metal, hence no Coif even)
Of special Mention is the Mithril Circlet (A Class) - 0 DEF / 2 INT at 675 mhl / 2 STR. ou
If you fully enchant the Mithril Circlet with 5 DEF, counting the 25% discount ( 25% x 5 DEF x 125 mhl each = 156.25 mhl discount), it is actually CHEAPER than the normal Circlet (0 DEF / 2 INT at 550 mhl / 2 STR)
Still, its not that remarkable and if you have 675 mhl on hand, you're probably better off Maxing out your 15 DEF Enchantments on , after which the normal Circlet will be preferable.

SPECIAL NOTE ON MITHRIL
With the SOLE exception of Mithril Circlet, all other Mithril items are more expensive than their normal counterparts, even after taking into account the 25% discount from 5 DEF enchantments (ie take their price, subtract 156.25 mhl, and compare with the price of their normal counterpart)
This makes Mithril POINTLESS except for
a) WaMs who can cast some spells in Mithril armor but not their normal counterparts
b) if you have plenty of money and want to load on multiple enchantments, preferably 3, on a Mithril piece
c) because Mithril armor is lighter than normal and require less STR, you can spend more gold so you can deploy your Stat points elsewhere
d) if you just want to RP looking sparkly, cool, and show off you have (or possibly, had) lots of Mhl and are willing to splurge
8) If you are considering Mithril, read the above and understand the logical reasons for your choice.
For ease of reference when considering what spells to put on your Mithril, please see the Enchantment Spell List - viewtopic.php?f=128&t=6432

9) After you have got your 15 DEF Enchantments, you probably want to Max out your Armor. After getting the BIS items for the other slots, which are usually fairly affordable, usually at this point you will want to get your BIS Body Armor. Subject of course, to what Armor suits your RP style.

BODY :
BIS A/B/C Class - Robe of the Arch Magi - 5 DEF / 2 RES at 900 Mhl / 4 STR
BIS D Class - Body Plate - 13 DEF at 1500 Mhl / 32 STR
Note that all other body armor in classes A B C are fairly pointless as compared to Robe of the Archmagi. There is really no advantage given to Class B and C Armor users. Their only advantage is in the HELM / SHIELD slots.
Note that Body Plate takes many equipment slots, and replaces over some of the other slots, where you could have items that are already enchanted. Hence should be considered carefully before purchase. Please see Summary during the Ranking Detail

10) Don't forget to ask for Discounts WHENEVER possible! It makes for fun RP too.

SUMMARY

1) DEF on weapons can only affect Close Physical Attacks, hence by this reasoning we go only for Enchantments on Armor and Jewelry

2) The 15 Points in DEF enchanments are the MOST IMPORTANT 15 Points.
Why? They are the only 15 Points standing between you and Magical Attacks (with the exception of defensive buffing spells)
Further - they are just as effective against Physical Attacks, so you lose nothing.

3) To max out your 15 DEF enchantments against Magic, which are equally effective against Physical, you will need 2 pieces of armor plus one jewelry, OR 3 pieces of armor.

4) We observe the cheapest jewelry is about 10 mhl or so. This makes Jewelry the most effective / cheapest "holder" for your first 5 DEF enchantments.

5) NEVER Enchant any Armor that is not the Best Armor in that slot available to your Character / Enchant ONLY armor that is your Best Armor in that Slot.

6) With the Gambeson and Leather Bracers, both requiring 1 STR only, as their respect BIS item, and all are of class A (accessible to everyone) adding one piece of Jewelry will be fully sufficient for anyone to attain a full +15 DEF.

7) After Leather Bracers, Greaves are the next cheapest BIS item to enchant, cheaper than Gambeson but may not be usable for all. Shield is cheaper than Gambeson, and considered BIS if the bearer is Class B, or for Knights who start with a free shield and plan to Dual to Magical Class later, hence should be enchanted if it suits the person's RP to carry the enchanted Shield around. similar for Targe / Class A.

ie. Enchantment Priority
i) Jewelry - matter of personal taste, but highly recommended by me, lol.
ii) Leather Bracers - if not going to be replaced by Vambraces as part of Body Plate
iii) Targe / Shield - if planned / going to be BIS, having enough STR and suiting RP
iv) Greaves - if useable, and suiting RP
v) Gambeson - enchant this if above items facing restriction / RP Preference. you will eventually want to get this armor anyway, to grant an extra +1 DEF to Physical armor on top of everything else.
Note (i) (ii) and (v) requires the least STR, only 2 STR required.

8) If you are considering Mithril, read the above and understand the logical reasons for your choice.

9) After you have got your 15 DEF Enchantments, you probably want to Max out your Armor. After getting the BIS items for the other slots, which are usually fairly affordable, usually at this point you will want to get your BIS Body Armor. Subject of course, to what Armor suits your RP style.

10) Don't forget to ask for Discounts WHENEVER possible! It makes for fun RP too.

Other Notes
I have a spreadsheet of all the Armor in an Excel Format, comparing their STR requirement, DEF provided, Slots, Class, and also the "Value" of the Armor, in form of MHL-per-DEF and STR-per-DEF.
If you want a copy just PM me and I can send it to you.

Cheers! Hope you liked this chapter.
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Vysanth
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