If you're wondering about adding on Bladesingers, it would mean dropping your shield (-5), and the hunter ranger (-4), and using your bonus action so you can't sheild of faith (-2). *HOWEVER* if you use multiple turns to set up, Shield of Faith on the previous turn, and get your Int to 30 with the Manual of Deep Thought, then I think Bladesinger Wizard instead of Hunter Ranger works out a couple of AC better! Check out the latest video on the new subclasses right here! th-cam.com/video/izWfxrHrc8A/w-d-xo.html
Also instead of doing all this you can just get infinite ac by being a level 3 path of the beast barbarian and keep using your tail to increase your ac by a d8 every turn because it doesn't have a duration
This could be a hilarious one shot in which the pc has to get back his dragon wife after finding out he (or she) disappointed her to the point of depression. And one of my players did basically what you comment says, so she's up for a surprise.
@@xxXXRAPXXxx I married her because I'm a paladin and find her righteousness hotter than her breath weapon but she gets embarrassed when I compliment it.
In Netflix's Love, Death and Robots, an episode named Good Hunting (Season 1) has a shape shifting creature get captured and turned into an animatronic creature. She eventually gets a new body that functions kind of like a Transformer allowing her to take her animal form again.
@@benjin3993 it’s unknown because in eberron they’ve been around for 30 years max so it could be that they all automatically explode at age 50 or they could be immortal
@@Weegiest_beegi I'd imagine a sort of Argos situation, replacing broken pieces then having the existential crisis of if they are still the same being now they have a new body
My DM tried that. Didn't work out so well for him when i was a Bladesinger Wizard 12/Ancients Paladin 8, who would frequently cast Haste on self. This was before the changes to Bladesinger in Tasha's. My DM did NOT let me use the updated version after it came out.
@@TerryAVanguard this was a campaign that went from level 3 to 20. I was insanely hard to kill by level 8 total. Not even halfway through the campaign.
standing here I realize that you were just like me trying to tell a story but who's to judge alignment charts when you let down your dice I think we'll both agree that we're murder hobos but in the end it has to be this way
Does patented just mean approved by the dm in this case? Because who made it seems mechanically less important than just having the ability to make it.
@@TimothyJJ yes cause they only usually stay operational for about 50 years but you would probably be able to get around thus by being friends with an artificer that's a long lived race such as an elf
Something important though: any AC above 39 is useless, unless the DM is using homebrew. The highest attack bonus any monster has is +19. With 39AC, you can only get hit by a Nat20. And those hit always (as mentioned in the vid).
@@Nighteye2 I would guess +54, if you include rolled bonuses Use Manual of quickness of action lots of times to get a dex of 30 (+10) Level 20 for +6 proficiency (+16) Archery Fighting style for +2 (+18) +3 Bow (+21) +3 Arrows (+24) War Domain Cleric Guided Strike +10 (+34 +Max roll bless 1d4 (+38) +Max roll lvl 20 Bardic Inspiration 1d12 (+50) +Max roll Wild Magic Sorcerer Tides of Chaos 1d4 (+54) This is just off the top of my head though. It might be possible to get higher Edit: +66 +D12 from level 18 battlemaster fighter precision attack manoeuvre
@@TheJerbol true, but +19 to hit is Tiamat level of power. Most campaigns end around lvl 10, so it is to be expected that most people wont meet creatures of that powerlevel even with homebrew. For the few that do get so far and were the DM does like to go above +19 to hit, yeah, higher AC has a use. I would guess that's maybe about 1-5% of all campaigns though.
The Grave Cleric: what do you mean you don't want me to use my reaction for Sentinel at Death's Door? The Barbarian: Trust me bro, this'll be hilarious!
@@KevinVideo I think you might be right. I looked back and saw that there isn't a cap on AC, as far as I can tell, only ability scores. On the other hand, there's is no creature in dnd that has a AC higher than 30.
[Player] HAHA! I have an AC of 75! Come at me, scrublord! [DM] Okay, what's your HP currently? [Player] 95! Not that you'll hit me! [DM] Cool... cool... *casts Power Word: Kill* [Player] *surprised pikachu face* Or, conversely... any skill that requires a saving throw =p
Considering this is an ac build, here’s a much simpler one for anyone looking! Warforged (+1 ac) with chain mail( 16 ac) and a sheild (+1 ac) there, if your a paladin(so you can start with the equipment) lvl 1 19 ac build
PC: Yeah, my AC is 35+. DM: The giant/dragon/Bulette make a deadly leap on you, so please make a DEX save... It grapples you with STR check, and throw you off the tree/cliff/river far away from the group... From a group perspective, PCs with similar AC will encourage DM to share damage distribution to the whole group. If one PC with extremely high AC, while other PC has relatively low AC, then DM is more likely to CC the high AC PC, and kill the low AC ones. So if you make an extremely high AC PC, please be expected that you will get targeted of CC spells/abilities, and lose your turn most of the time.
@@LJCyrus1 My point is not about Char build stacking AC or anti-CC. It's like a game theory. A good DM needs to provide challenging encounters for all PC builds, so PC getting ridiculous AC would only encourage DM to use more aggression without attack rolls, like saving throw spells/ability contest/movement/harmful terrain to make the AC useless.
That is pathetic. With my build (which is 3 levels in the college of eloquence bard, 2 levels in circle of the moon druid, and 1 level in school of illusion wizard) you can get an ac of 32, 781 if your dex modifier is 1. Edit: I forgot to include that my insanely high ac lasts 30 years and takes an hour to get
@@BasMovieMaker It's not about the mage hand, it's just that it only guards you against ranged attack rolls, and defensive duelist only guards against a melee attack roll!
I think you could still add bracers of defense to this. Or better yet, get your CHA up to 30 and get one of the Dragon Masks, which allow you to add your CHA score to your AC when wearing no armor. In fact if you go Bladesinger as in your pinned comment, you can add your INT to your AC as well, and have Dragon Mask, Staff of Power, and Bracers of Defense instead of Ring and Cloak of Protection, for a total magic item AC of 14 instead of 2.
Something to consider: True Polymorph, as far as I can tell, gives you easy access to a Shield Guardian, which will remain inactive until you create a controlling amulet with 1000 gp and a week's worth of downtime. The Shield Guardian benefits whoever has the amulet, so theoretically the part wizard could just give one to everyone in the party. This default gives a +2 AC bonus, but you could then store a spell of 4th level or lower in the Shield Guardian, or have someone else do so. This would allow you to have a party cleric store Warding Bond in your Shield Guardian, having it cast the spell on you, before having another character store Haste in it, which it would also cast on you, at the cost of a level 2 and level 3 spell slot but not anyone's HP or concentration. That's an additional +5 AC you can tack on to any build if you're willing to assume some party comp, or even just that you find a Shield Guardian of your own, and take Warding Bond and Haste as your spells for Magical Secrets. Just hope that the Shield Guardian makes their concentration checks, because they'll be eating 75% of your damage every time you get hit.
Ran a Ranger/Cleric who by the towards the end had 27/31 AC walking around and another +2 if I felt like buffing. Outrageous saving throws, with Prof. in the three biggest ones. Dwarf HP, and poison resist and could heal myself, oh and Evasion with a high Dex save. Once I got my Evasion turned on at level 8 I never took Dex based AOE damage for the rest of the campaign - and it was mostly dragons.
I have over half the party for the game I run, even after a year, still think AC is everything. Cocky level 4 barbarian: "Ha Kobolds? pft my AC is 23." Me with a single magic Kobold in the back; "Thats' cool. Give me an Wisdom Saving Throw" *charm person* "Now walk away from the battle." Cocky barbarian: *pickachu face*
Highest possible skill bonus is probably going to be Stealth, though there might be some VERY specific circumstances where a Charisma check could be made higher. In any case, the Stealth breakdown would be: +10 from DEX at 30 +6 from proficiency +6 from Expertise +10 from Pass Without a Trace 1d4 from Guidance 1d6 from Reborn racial feature Knowledge from a Past Life 14th level Lore Bard can add bardic inspiration to their own rolls for another 1d10 6th level Wild Magic Barbarian can add Bolstering Magic for another 1d3 Being a Lore Bard, we can get both of the spells from Magical Secrets, so we can do all of this with a single character, though it does take 2 rounds to set up (Pass Without a Trace and Bardic Inspiration on first round, Guidance on second round, attempt Stealth on third round and add Bolstering Magic as reaction). That gives us a bonus of +36 to +55. So we can roll a total of anywhere from 37 to 75 on our Stealth checks without any assistance. If you allow for help from other characters, then you can bump that inspiration bonus to 1d12 and add the 7th level Artificer ability Flash of Brilliance to gain another +10, giving us a bonus of +46 to +67, and potential rolls of anywhere from 47 to 87. And we can make the check with help even more ridiculous by being a level 20 rogue and failing the check (which would need to be DC 47 or higher to even be possible), using Stroke of Luck to change our d20 roll to 20 and guarantee that 87 result. Add on Boots of Elvenkind and a Cloak of Elvenkind to gain advantage on the check and impose disadvantage on anyone trying to spot or listen for you. (Edit) forgot about the Knowledge from a Past Life racial feature that the Reborn get. Added that to the breakdown above.
The highest hit bonus of any printed monster is +19, so the effective max AC is 39. Anything higher than that gives you 0 benefit against any printed enemy.
My friend plays DnD quite often and on a campaign, while everybody else was asleep (irl) he did a solo adventure and got this armor which lets him fuse things with it, increasing the armor class depending on the material. So my friend is gonna find some graphine to fuse it with (200x stronger than steel.) and is going to be able to get a AC of over 6000.
"After 500 years of training..." Or just make sure everyone else is in the party is a level 17 spellcaster and have them Wish the books were fully recharged. Speaking of manual/tome training, if you max out your Charisma, you can add it to your AC if you have any of the dragon masks from Hoard of the Dragon Queen/Rise of Tiamat, bringing your AC total up to 83.
Being a War Mage with Magic Jar casting Tenser's Transformation while in the Barbarians body and then jumping back into the jar means your concentration on a spell so you add +2 and if you make a container of Adamantine [23AC] +2 from the durable magic
So, I think I understand why you're saying 500 yrs of training. You're assuming that a person will only ever have access to 1 stat tome of a particular stat, but since they are not actually listed as unique items, just 'very rare' you can theoretically have those stat gains completed in like a few weeks if you can hunt down multiple copies before starting. 🙃
You could also potentially grab the Martial Adept feat for Bait and Switch and you get an extra 6 maximum on the d6 if there's a friendly creature nearby, which we'll assume is the person you married via ceremony
87 AC Manual of quickness of action, tome of clear thought and to make dex, int and wis +10 Monk 4 +20 = 30 Way of the kensei +2 Bladesinger (wiz 2) +10 Bard 10 combat inspiration +10 Fighter 3 battle master bait and switch +8 Wild magic sorcerer 1 51-52 +2 Cleric 1 sheild of faith +2 Dual wielder +1 Three quarters cover +5 Bracers of defence +2 Cloak of protection +1 Defender +3 Ring of protection +1 Rod of alertness +1 Staff of power +2 Any Aritifact with the minor benifital property of +1 AC Potion of speed +2 Warforged +1 Ceremony +2 Lycanthropy +1 = 87
I was going to say that you don't really need an AC higher than 39, since the highest roll that can miss is a 19, the highest proficiency bonus is +9 and the highest ability modifier is +10, however I realized that there are plenty of other bonuses to attack rolls. This leads me to pose the question: What is the highest total attack roll possible? (I'm not sure if he's already answered this or not, if he has, please tell me)
Weird things you can do in DnD, Use a bugbear as race for long-limbed. As class we choose lvl18 Rune Knight. And as weapon anything that has reach. Become huge with runic juggernaut. Now you have 20ft of melee attack Or be a lvl 3 Rune Knight, become large with giant's might and have enlarge/reduce cast on you
I saw a similar video make the same mistake here; being behind cover does not increase your AC. It just amps the threshold for a SPECIFIC attack roll on the ATTACKER'S END to hit, but does not alter your Armour Class itself. Being behind cover is also you cannot seek out, as it's not an 'observable' feature on a battlemap, and is something completely relative to the ANGLE of an attacker attacking you. As a player you have completely no say in when, where or whether you have half-/ three-quarters cover, this is something decided ad-hoc by the DM.
As a longtime DM, I can say that you are only partially correct. 3/4 cover DOES increase your AC, but the amount of cover you have is dependent upon your attacker's viewing angle. In 5e terms, it is granting YOU a bonus to your AC, not applying a penalty to the attacker's roll as previous editions did. Secondly, cover *IS* an observable feature. If you know where your opponents are, you can look for rocks, trees, buildings, etc. that you can duck behind to obstruct their viewing angle. So while a player might have no say in whether such features exist on a battlefield, you absolutely can use them if they do exist. Additionally, you CAN have 3/4 cover from nearly all angles in nearly any situation using some form of portable cover that you can deploy almost anywhere, if your DM allows it. In a world with magic, this is very likely a thing that would exist. As a matter of comparison, a shield is technically providing 1/2 cover (+2 AC) against all attacks while equipped, but you could theoretically plant it in the ground and duck behind it to gain the same benefit from attacks coming from the other side of the shield instead of carrying it, allowing you to use a bow or other 2-handed weapon while still benefiting from the +2 AC the shield provides, at least until the enemies flank around the shield. Some real-world shields are designed exactly for this. In any case, this is a hypothetical breakdown of the highest POSSIBLE armor class, under the exactly right circumstances with all official options on the table. You could not reasonably expect to get the AC that high in every battle, but that is not the goal.
@@daltigoth3970 what I'm saying is that there is not a moment your ac is increased from cover, except only for that attack and only that attack specifically. The RAW wording states literally; "when you are attacked by a source opposed from an obstacle". So, RAW, just 'being' behind presumed cover, does not increase AC. You have to be the target of an attack for it to ever take effect, and immediately is gone again as that attack already finishes. Also, no, likewise, RAW there is no visual cue whether you are behind cover. Cover explicitly is written not just take your position in account, but more specifically the angle / direction an attack that you would receive is coming from. This means that, there isn't really a way for a player to know "I have guaranteed cover here" without metagaming, because this takes the knowledge in mind of where the source of an attack would come from and if they hadn't adjust position to get a better shot.
@@Knuffeldraak Again, your AC is increased against that attack, so it applies to your total AC value. The video is not presenting the highest possible AC while walking around, it is explicitly the highest AC possible in a single moment. YOU are making a mistake by contradicting the premise. Since the +5 AC cover bonus could not be added if the attack didn't happen, and the +5 AC cover bonus is being added, it MUST be assumed that the attack did happen. Thus it doesn't matter how likely a player is to be in a position where they could get that bonus or if an enemy might opt not to attack and try to find a better angle instead. The premise assumes that the character was in 3/4 cover against an attack, as the AC bonus could not be applied otherwise.
I actually attempted this a bit ago and got over 100 temporary ac (BardBarian Bladesinger). Here are the basic stuff you can add to any character to increase ac. EXTRA BONUSES-30 Shield Guardian +2 7 Cavalier Knight +8 15 Valor Bard +12 3 Alchemist Artificer +1 3 Wild Magic Barbarian +1 3 Wild Magic Sorcerer +2 Rod of Alertness +1 Stone Defender +5 Banner of the Krig Rune +1 SPELL BONUSES-14 Shield of Faith +2 Haste +2 Shield +5 Warding Bond +1 Ceremony +2 Tashas Otherworldy Guise +2
Instead of 12 lvls in sword bard you could take only 10 (for the d10 bardic and magical secrets) and the other two place them in barbarian to get the subclass Path of the Beast and choose the tail for 1d8 to ac with reaction, beating the defensive duelist increase. Also i got to ask, lycanthropy gives a bonus to ac? never seen nor heard about it, also cant find it I also guess that you can get another manual for cha increase to get 30 to then slot any dragon mask to add ur cha mod (+10) in place of the shield (+5) and ring of protection (+1)
I looked into it, but you need to invest at least 10 levels to even get just one more slot! So it's better to go more bard for the higher bardic die for the defensive flourish
77 actually. Ring and Cloak of protection both have +3 variants. Also you could swap the Cloak of Protection out for a Cloak of Invisibility and Bracers of Defense+3 granting enemies disadvantage on hit which nets you a *theoretical* +4 to your AC ending in a technical 81.
High intelligence bonus blade singer, the shield spell and a ring of protection and light armor (cause bladesinger). Your ac can be like 23-24 for one turn or 19-20 just normally
That's not the point of the exercise. Yeah there is a million ways around stupid high AC, this is just for fun learn about fun, have fun, you might be happy
depending on your DM, you could also do a one level dip into monk along with barbarian for the two different unarmored ACs, in theory, that alone (with a purely theoretical 20 in DEX, CON, and WIS) can get you an AC of 25 at level 2
@@dallindespain5082 yes, I understand that, but I did say this was DM dependent, I personally would allow it, at least if I have a story that's either not very combat heavy or with a high difficulty level. But yes, RAW they don't stack
I think maximum your AC reasonably needs to be in 5e RAW is 39, because at that point the highest to hit (+19) has to crit you to hit. However, if playing with a DM that makes a lot of homebrew monsters, 42’s your new goal. Of which you can hit without getting absolutely ridiculous in your classes so you can be a beefy paladin and have good saves too.
Or as barbarian, there’s something that gives you +8 ac I think when someone attacks near to you, but it has no end clause so it won’t go away and can be used infinitely for a maximum of infinite ac
A Warforged is not immortal, or rather, it's unknown. "The maximum warforged lifespan remains a mystery." Lorewise, they they were created ~30 years ago, thus no warforged is older than 30, yet.
You could also have a battle master fighter use bait and switch on you, giving you a maximum bonus of +12 AC until their next turn, giving you a total AC of 85
I've calculated a 96 ac before. Don't forget to raise all your stats to 30 with the manual and tome magic items! Really boosts unarmored defense and bladesong
I got to a 40 in one of our modified gestalt campaigns where i was a pirate level 10 swashbuckler rogue level 10 oath of the open sea paladin with a 30 dex, serpent scale armour, a +3 shield and a minor beneficial quality giving me +1 AC(from silken spite) defensive fighting as my fighting style and then the fighting initiate feat for marine fighting, fighting initiate again for a homebrew fighting style making shields simple melee weapons and the dual wielder feat which gives me a +1 AC while dual wielding silken spite and my shield. Then shield of faith and finally if I get attacked I cast shield with magic initiate. So normally a 33 then concentration and reaction for a 40 total for 1 round
If you're wondering about adding on Bladesingers, it would mean dropping your shield (-5), and the hunter ranger (-4), and using your bonus action so you can't sheild of faith (-2). *HOWEVER* if you use multiple turns to set up, Shield of Faith on the previous turn, and get your Int to 30 with the Manual of Deep Thought, then I think Bladesinger Wizard instead of Hunter Ranger works out a couple of AC better!
Check out the latest video on the new subclasses right here! th-cam.com/video/izWfxrHrc8A/w-d-xo.html
Wait, aren't Warforged immune to becoming lycanthropes?
@@darklordmathias9405 Lycanthropy is a curse, not a disease! Crawford has tweeted to confirm this
@@DnDShorts Interesting. That means I had a DM play that out improperly in a game I was playing in about a month ago. Thanks for clearing that up.
Also instead of doing all this you can just get infinite ac by being a level 3 path of the beast barbarian and keep using your tail to increase your ac by a d8 every turn because it doesn't have a duration
Simichibrid also get +1 to ac when not wearing armour.
I find it hilarious that a monster could come at you with a 72 to hit and the only thing that saved you was that you got married that morning.
The DM, smugly: "Does a 72 hit?"
Me still in my wedding clothes and even more smugly: "No."
Me one day earlier: "I'm getting married in th'mornin'...~"
I am not dying before I go on my honeymoon.
Imagine not dying because you're no longer maidenless LMAO
Achievement unlocked: marriage saves my life
"They just married me for the AC". -My Gold Dragon wife after waking back up and I'm still training
I would definetely not marry a sexy dragon just for the ac but ac helps.
This could be a hilarious one shot in which the pc has to get back his dragon wife after finding out he (or she) disappointed her to the point of depression.
And one of my players did basically what you comment says, so she's up for a surprise.
@@xxXXRAPXXxx
I married her because I'm a paladin and find her righteousness hotter than her breath weapon but she gets embarrassed when I compliment it.
@@ーテイル
I like that idea.
bruh, leave some for the rest of us smh
A warforged with lycanthropy is the only thing my brain is focusing on.
Like, do they turn into a slinky-dog?
And aren't warforged immortal anyways? The boon is kinda wasted
In Netflix's Love, Death and Robots, an episode named Good Hunting (Season 1) has a shape shifting creature get captured and turned into an animatronic creature. She eventually gets a new body that functions kind of like a Transformer allowing her to take her animal form again.
@@benjin3993 it’s unknown because in eberron they’ve been around for 30 years max so it could be that they all automatically explode at age 50 or they could be immortal
@@Weegiest_beegi I'd imagine a sort of Argos situation, replacing broken pieces then having the existential crisis of if they are still the same being now they have a new body
@@benjin3993 The ship didn't have a consciousness though, did it? I'd say that solves that crisis pretty clearly.
My favorite part of ridiculously high AC characters is hitting them with saving throws.
Death by Vicious Mockery!! Emotional Damage!!
thats why you get evasion with rogue and be narcissist so that they can't "xbox live" you to death
My DM tried that. Didn't work out so well for him when i was a Bladesinger Wizard 12/Ancients Paladin 8, who would frequently cast Haste on self. This was before the changes to Bladesinger in Tasha's. My DM did NOT let me use the updated version after it came out.
@@EvanFarshadow yeah at lv 20 your going to be a beast
@@TerryAVanguard this was a campaign that went from level 3 to 20. I was insanely hard to kill by level 8 total. Not even halfway through the campaign.
"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?" "Nanomachines, son"
"Metagaming, son. Increases AC as well as DM psychological trauma."
Is the murasama a homebrew sword with a high crit range?
standing here
I realize
that you were just like me
trying to tell a story
but who's to judge
alignment charts
when you let down your dice
I think we'll both agree
that we're murder hobos
but in the end it has to be this way
We're making the mother of all Armor Classes here Jack, can't fret over every mechanic.
"They harden AC in response to attack rolls, you can't hurt me Jack!"
"Make a dexterity saving throw"
"F*** you Jack"
This is why I’m trying to get an adamantine moisturizer patented in my artificer game.
I`ll take twenty jars!
Monks and barbs will be so happy
- A monk and barb player
ah the catwoman plot, hopefully minus the decay
Does patented just mean approved by the dm in this case? Because who made it seems mechanically less important than just having the ability to make it.
Wait wait wait
Warforged Werewolf?!
Is this like when Bender got ran over by a car?
you're a transformer
Lycanthropy is a curse, not a disease, in DnD, so technically nothing stops it.
Is the immortality boon still needed if we're a warforged?
More Yan in Good Hunting on Netflix.
@@TimothyJJ yes cause they only usually stay operational for about 50 years but you would probably be able to get around thus by being friends with an artificer that's a long lived race such as an elf
This is how anime villains train and prepare, before being defeated by the power of friendship
But in this case, by the power of dex saves
@@brotherbango1560 Or Wisdom save, or Constitution save, or any other kind of save.
The powers of love and friendship are saving throws
@@brotherbango1560 As designed this character has a 30 dex... dex saves might not work out.
@@garyco766 You underestimate the saving throw
The tagline is both hilarious AND the most important takeaway.
Something important though: any AC above 39 is useless, unless the DM is using homebrew.
The highest attack bonus any monster has is +19. With 39AC, you can only get hit by a Nat20. And those hit always (as mentioned in the vid).
Unless you count players attacking players. Does anyone know to highest to hit bonus players can achieve?
@@Nighteye2 I would guess +54, if you include rolled bonuses
Use Manual of quickness of action lots of times to get a dex of 30 (+10)
Level 20 for +6 proficiency (+16)
Archery Fighting style for +2 (+18)
+3 Bow (+21)
+3 Arrows (+24)
War Domain Cleric Guided Strike +10 (+34
+Max roll bless 1d4 (+38)
+Max roll lvl 20 Bardic Inspiration 1d12 (+50)
+Max roll Wild Magic Sorcerer Tides of Chaos 1d4 (+54)
This is just off the top of my head though. It might be possible to get higher
Edit: +66
+D12 from level 18 battlemaster fighter precision attack manoeuvre
Here's the thing, plenty of DMs homebrew monsters so sticking to the MM is pointless
@@TheJerbol true, but +19 to hit is Tiamat level of power. Most campaigns end around lvl 10, so it is to be expected that most people wont meet creatures of that powerlevel even with homebrew. For the few that do get so far and were the DM does like to go above +19 to hit, yeah, higher AC has a use.
I would guess that's maybe about 1-5% of all campaigns though.
So, I don't need the 300 years of ingame roleplaying?
The Grave Cleric: what do you mean you don't want me to use my reaction for Sentinel at Death's Door?
The Barbarian: Trust me bro, this'll be hilarious!
DM: Make a dex saving throw
with advantage on dex saves and 30 dex? Sure!
@@DnDShorts should've said Wis hahah
@@marcosrauth2234 no you just have the plus 1 to ac
@@Weegiest_beegi you're right.
@@Iparu I don't know why everyone only thinks of dex-saves first.... there are so many other forms of saving-throws after all.
the greatwrym casts psychic scream. Make an DC 26 intelligence saving throw
Then an intellect devourer comes in and hijacks the body with an int save... Yikes.
Suddenly every enemy is able to cast magic missiles
That's why we keep those magic missile wands in the bag
I'm surprised that the Shield spell didn't come up in all this.
With max Dex defensive duliest is the better route both use your reaction when you get attacked
Unfortunately, the DMG specifies that your armor class cannot exceed 30.
Edit: Just realized that I was probably wrong.
Was just gonna say, thank you
Not everyone has the DMG, so everyone who don't know about it's content can just exceed it. Theoretically.
Huh
What page is that on? I went looking and all I could find for a hard cap on 30 was Ability Scores.
@@KevinVideo I think you might be right. I looked back and saw that there isn't a cap on AC, as far as I can tell, only ability scores. On the other hand, there's is no creature in dnd that has a AC higher than 30.
"Make an Int save".
"Dm I have 70 ac"
The dm - "OK the archlich casts a 9th lv finger of death action surge 9th lv finger of death again are you dead yet?"
lol GG
[Player] HAHA! I have an AC of 75! Come at me, scrublord!
[DM] Okay, what's your HP currently?
[Player] 95! Not that you'll hit me!
[DM] Cool... cool... *casts Power Word: Kill*
[Player] *surprised pikachu face*
Or, conversely... any skill that requires a saving throw =p
For the saving throw just make sure to have 3 paladins body guard level 6 and you’ll be fine
he has a 30 con how would he only have 95 hit points
Or just getting attacked by marut.
@@aaronjjacques Just ran through a lava river to jump Tiamat in her own home in Avernus.
@@Schilani 12 levels In bard would give access to fly
Marut: I am… Inevitable…
OK I'd like you to meet my demon who has a legend skill called Crit everything.
Everyone seems to forget adamantine armor, which negates crit attacks.
@@librariantopokemon that works until they are in 60ft and the demons legend aura kicks in, removing all items from everyone.
@@librariantopokemon
Didn't this build specify unarmored defense/ce?
Counter argument: A level 1 Tortle monk who has a +80 shield.
Defensive duelist sadly only grants the AC against the attack that triggered it. Thus making it pointless if you're getting crit.
Considering this is an ac build, here’s a much simpler one for anyone looking!
Warforged (+1 ac) with chain mail( 16 ac) and a sheild (+1 ac) there, if your a paladin(so you can start with the equipment) lvl 1 19 ac build
PC: Yeah, my AC is 35+.
DM: The giant/dragon/Bulette make a deadly leap on you, so please make a DEX save... It grapples you with STR check, and throw you off the tree/cliff/river far away from the group...
From a group perspective, PCs with similar AC will encourage DM to share damage distribution to the whole group. If one PC with extremely high AC, while other PC has relatively low AC, then DM is more likely to CC the high AC PC, and kill the low AC ones. So if you make an extremely high AC PC, please be expected that you will get targeted of CC spells/abilities, and lose your turn most of the time.
Seems like you want some anti-CC instead of ridiculous AC
@@LJCyrus1 My point is not about Char build stacking AC or anti-CC. It's like a game theory. A good DM needs to provide challenging encounters for all PC builds, so PC getting ridiculous AC would only encourage DM to use more aggression without attack rolls, like saving throw spells/ability contest/movement/harmful terrain to make the AC useless.
DnD Shorts: the memes we don't need, but the memes we deserve
:D
*Laughs in storm giant quintessent *
"ok so.. Roll me a Wisdom saving throw"
Every object, living thing, mana and reality itself fuckin fears you in that one moment
I wouldn’t allow a war forged to contract lycanthropy, personally.
Feels incompatible
You can get 1 more AC by relacing the ring for bracers of defence
And then a Marut completely steamrollers over them.
DM: "Okay, so roll a Wisdom save"
This man is a GEM for a a guy like me who is learning D&D.
I keep getting boggled at how complex this game is.
A fantastic tutorial for anybody that doesn't wanna get hurt, and want to max their defense
Gm: make a *inteligence saving throw*
That is pathetic. With my build (which is 3 levels in the college of eloquence bard, 2 levels in circle of the moon druid, and 1 level in school of illusion wizard) you can get an ac of 32, 781 if your dex modifier is 1.
Edit: I forgot to include that my insanely high ac lasts 30 years and takes an hour to get
*HOW THE F CAN A ROBOT BE A WEREWOLF?!!*
You can get higher:
Truely high AC:
Kensai monk 3, bladesinger wizard 2, battlemaster 3, bard of swords 5, hunter ranger 7
10 + 10(wisdom) +10(dexterity) + 10(intelligence)
+ 8(evasive footwork) + 8(defensive flourish) + 4(multiattack defense) + 2(agile parry)+ 6(defensive duelist) + 5(3 quarters cover) + 2(haste) + 2(shield of faith) + 2(tasha's otherworldly guise) + 2(ceremony, wedding) + 1(warding bond)+ 3(defender sword) + 2(bracers of defense) + 2(staff of power) + 1(rod of alertness) + 1(resilience potion from friendly alchemist) + 2(kruphix's disciple)
Total = 93
Unfortunately Kruphix's disciple and defensive duelist don't work together, but aside from that very cool! Great build!
@@DnDShorts you could get metamagic adept for subtle spell to allow for casting mage hand without somatic components
@@BasMovieMaker It's not about the mage hand, it's just that it only guards you against ranged attack rolls, and defensive duelist only guards against a melee attack roll!
@@DnDShorts oh whoops, well replace it with your lycanthropy and still get to 92 ig.
Cool that you actually respond btw, I was quite surprised
Defensive duelist is only against one attack not until the end of the turn.
I think you could still add bracers of defense to this. Or better yet, get your CHA up to 30 and get one of the Dragon Masks, which allow you to add your CHA score to your AC when wearing no armor.
In fact if you go Bladesinger as in your pinned comment, you can add your INT to your AC as well, and have Dragon Mask, Staff of Power, and Bracers of Defense instead of Ring and Cloak of Protection, for a total magic item AC of 14 instead of 2.
Forgot to add college of swords bard. For the bardic inspiration bonus.
Honestly terrified about what a warforged wereboar would look like.
Warforged lycanthrope… half wolf and half machine … THIS IS A POWERWOLF SONG!!!
Also use the floating sheild
Sips drink in "It hits..." ignoring the result of the dice
monk has a unarmored defense for wisdom
Something to consider: True Polymorph, as far as I can tell, gives you easy access to a Shield Guardian, which will remain inactive until you create a controlling amulet with 1000 gp and a week's worth of downtime. The Shield Guardian benefits whoever has the amulet, so theoretically the part wizard could just give one to everyone in the party. This default gives a +2 AC bonus, but you could then store a spell of 4th level or lower in the Shield Guardian, or have someone else do so. This would allow you to have a party cleric store Warding Bond in your Shield Guardian, having it cast the spell on you, before having another character store Haste in it, which it would also cast on you, at the cost of a level 2 and level 3 spell slot but not anyone's HP or concentration.
That's an additional +5 AC you can tack on to any build if you're willing to assume some party comp, or even just that you find a Shield Guardian of your own, and take Warding Bond and Haste as your spells for Magical Secrets. Just hope that the Shield Guardian makes their concentration checks, because they'll be eating 75% of your damage every time you get hit.
You have haste with this build but you're 100% right on Shield guardian and Warding Bond! I'm learning about a lot of cool monsters today!
Ran a Ranger/Cleric who by the towards the end had 27/31 AC walking around and another +2 if I felt like buffing. Outrageous saving throws, with Prof. in the three biggest ones. Dwarf HP, and poison resist and could heal myself, oh and Evasion with a high Dex save. Once I got my Evasion turned on at level 8 I never took Dex based AOE damage for the rest of the campaign - and it was mostly dragons.
I have over half the party for the game I run, even after a year, still think AC is everything.
Cocky level 4 barbarian: "Ha Kobolds? pft my AC is 23."
Me with a single magic Kobold in the back; "Thats' cool. Give me an Wisdom Saving Throw" *charm person* "Now walk away from the battle."
Cocky barbarian: *pickachu face*
Now we just need the highest possible skill bonus (and what skill gets the highest) as well as highest saving throw bonus.
Highest possible skill bonus is probably going to be Stealth, though there might be some VERY specific circumstances where a Charisma check could be made higher. In any case, the Stealth breakdown would be:
+10 from DEX at 30
+6 from proficiency
+6 from Expertise
+10 from Pass Without a Trace
1d4 from Guidance
1d6 from Reborn racial feature Knowledge from a Past Life
14th level Lore Bard can add bardic inspiration to their own rolls for another 1d10
6th level Wild Magic Barbarian can add Bolstering Magic for another 1d3
Being a Lore Bard, we can get both of the spells from Magical Secrets, so we can do all of this with a single character, though it does take 2 rounds to set up (Pass Without a Trace and Bardic Inspiration on first round, Guidance on second round, attempt Stealth on third round and add Bolstering Magic as reaction).
That gives us a bonus of +36 to +55. So we can roll a total of anywhere from 37 to 75 on our Stealth checks without any assistance.
If you allow for help from other characters, then you can bump that inspiration bonus to 1d12 and add the 7th level Artificer ability Flash of Brilliance to gain another +10, giving us a bonus of +46 to +67, and potential rolls of anywhere from 47 to 87.
And we can make the check with help even more ridiculous by being a level 20 rogue and failing the check (which would need to be DC 47 or higher to even be possible), using Stroke of Luck to change our d20 roll to 20 and guarantee that 87 result.
Add on Boots of Elvenkind and a Cloak of Elvenkind to gain advantage on the check and impose disadvantage on anyone trying to spot or listen for you.
(Edit) forgot about the Knowledge from a Past Life racial feature that the Reborn get. Added that to the breakdown above.
As a Warforged Druid, I can comprehend the concept of a Warforged Lycan.
The highest hit bonus of any printed monster is +19, so the effective max AC is 39. Anything higher than that gives you 0 benefit against any printed enemy.
**Inevitable reply arguing over homebrew content nobody actually take seriously**
Warforged Monk Artificer gets there too when their whole body is upgraded to adamantine.
Then someone goes “hehe pheasant railgun go brrr”
My friend plays DnD quite often and on a campaign, while everybody else was asleep (irl) he did a solo adventure and got this armor which lets him fuse things with it, increasing the armor class depending on the material. So my friend is gonna find some graphine to fuse it with (200x stronger than steel.) and is going to be able to get a AC of over 6000.
"After 500 years of training..."
Or just make sure everyone else is in the party is a level 17 spellcaster and have them Wish the books were fully recharged. Speaking of manual/tome training, if you max out your Charisma, you can add it to your AC if you have any of the dragon masks from Hoard of the Dragon Queen/Rise of Tiamat, bringing your AC total up to 83.
That's a lot of insight bonuses
Being a War Mage with Magic Jar casting Tenser's Transformation while in the Barbarians body and then jumping back into the jar means your concentration on a spell so you add +2 and if you make a container of Adamantine [23AC] +2 from the durable magic
So, I think I understand why you're saying 500 yrs of training. You're assuming that a person will only ever have access to 1 stat tome of a particular stat, but since they are not actually listed as unique items, just 'very rare' you can theoretically have those stat gains completed in like a few weeks if you can hunt down multiple copies before starting. 🙃
He's trying to be *cough* reasonable.
You could also potentially grab the Martial Adept feat for Bait and Switch and you get an extra 6 maximum on the d6 if there's a friendly creature nearby, which we'll assume is the person you married via ceremony
You’re doing Pelor’s work my friend
thanks for the boss fight, im gonna love to see how they react to this
Saves for half dmg or a tried and true bag of holding suicide... If you are a wizard you may just return
87 AC
Manual of quickness of action, tome of clear thought and to make dex, int and wis +10
Monk 4 +20
= 30
Way of the kensei +2
Bladesinger (wiz 2) +10
Bard 10 combat inspiration +10
Fighter 3 battle master bait and switch +8
Wild magic sorcerer 1 51-52 +2
Cleric 1 sheild of faith +2
Dual wielder +1
Three quarters cover +5
Bracers of defence +2
Cloak of protection +1
Defender +3
Ring of protection +1
Rod of alertness +1
Staff of power +2
Any Aritifact with the minor benifital property of +1 AC
Potion of speed +2
Warforged +1
Ceremony +2
Lycanthropy +1
= 87
I was going to say that you don't really need an AC higher than 39, since the highest roll that can miss is a 19, the highest proficiency bonus is +9 and the highest ability modifier is +10, however I realized that there are plenty of other bonuses to attack rolls.
This leads me to pose the question: What is the highest total attack roll possible?
(I'm not sure if he's already answered this or not, if he has, please tell me)
Don't forget the blessing of defense and the Shield spell.
Weird things you can do in DnD,
Use a bugbear as race for long-limbed. As class we choose lvl18 Rune Knight. And as weapon anything that has reach. Become huge with runic juggernaut.
Now you have 20ft of melee attack
Or be a lvl 3 Rune Knight, become large with giant's might and have enlarge/reduce cast on you
I saw a similar video make the same mistake here;
being behind cover does not increase your AC. It just amps the threshold for a SPECIFIC attack roll on the ATTACKER'S END to hit, but does not alter your Armour Class itself.
Being behind cover is also you cannot seek out, as it's not an 'observable' feature on a battlemap, and is something completely relative to the ANGLE of an attacker attacking you. As a player you have completely no say in when, where or whether you have half-/ three-quarters cover, this is something decided ad-hoc by the DM.
As a longtime DM, I can say that you are only partially correct. 3/4 cover DOES increase your AC, but the amount of cover you have is dependent upon your attacker's viewing angle. In 5e terms, it is granting YOU a bonus to your AC, not applying a penalty to the attacker's roll as previous editions did.
Secondly, cover *IS* an observable feature. If you know where your opponents are, you can look for rocks, trees, buildings, etc. that you can duck behind to obstruct their viewing angle. So while a player might have no say in whether such features exist on a battlefield, you absolutely can use them if they do exist.
Additionally, you CAN have 3/4 cover from nearly all angles in nearly any situation using some form of portable cover that you can deploy almost anywhere, if your DM allows it. In a world with magic, this is very likely a thing that would exist.
As a matter of comparison, a shield is technically providing 1/2 cover (+2 AC) against all attacks while equipped, but you could theoretically plant it in the ground and duck behind it to gain the same benefit from attacks coming from the other side of the shield instead of carrying it, allowing you to use a bow or other 2-handed weapon while still benefiting from the +2 AC the shield provides, at least until the enemies flank around the shield. Some real-world shields are designed exactly for this.
In any case, this is a hypothetical breakdown of the highest POSSIBLE armor class, under the exactly right circumstances with all official options on the table. You could not reasonably expect to get the AC that high in every battle, but that is not the goal.
@@daltigoth3970 what I'm saying is that there is not a moment your ac is increased from cover, except only for that attack and only that attack specifically. The RAW wording states literally; "when you are attacked by a source opposed from an obstacle". So, RAW, just 'being' behind presumed cover, does not increase AC. You have to be the target of an attack for it to ever take effect, and immediately is gone again as that attack already finishes.
Also, no, likewise, RAW there is no visual cue whether you are behind cover. Cover explicitly is written not just take your position in account, but more specifically the angle / direction an attack that you would receive is coming from. This means that, there isn't really a way for a player to know "I have guaranteed cover here" without metagaming, because this takes the knowledge in mind of where the source of an attack would come from and if they hadn't adjust position to get a better shot.
@@Knuffeldraak Again, your AC is increased against that attack, so it applies to your total AC value. The video is not presenting the highest possible AC while walking around, it is explicitly the highest AC possible in a single moment.
YOU are making a mistake by contradicting the premise. Since the +5 AC cover bonus could not be added if the attack didn't happen, and the +5 AC cover bonus is being added, it MUST be assumed that the attack did happen.
Thus it doesn't matter how likely a player is to be in a position where they could get that bonus or if an enemy might opt not to attack and try to find a better angle instead. The premise assumes that the character was in 3/4 cover against an attack, as the AC bonus could not be applied otherwise.
You can also be a total instead of a warfarged which gives a plus 2 to AC at all times
Totally read that in Limit Breakers Old Man voice
yes. Be an Immortal Warforged with Lycanthropy. AUTOBOTS, ROLL-OUT! *shifts to a metal werewolf*
Path of the Beast Barbarian with the Tail feature, rules as written. Durability increases without a cap or a duration.
A warforged with lycanthropy... transformers beast wars has arrived
There is a way to get a higher ac call being in a different dimension and getting infinite ac cause they can’t hit you in a different dimension
I actually attempted this a bit ago and got over 100 temporary ac (BardBarian Bladesinger). Here are the basic stuff you can add to any character to increase ac.
EXTRA BONUSES-30
Shield Guardian +2
7 Cavalier Knight +8
15 Valor Bard +12
3 Alchemist Artificer +1
3 Wild Magic Barbarian +1
3 Wild Magic Sorcerer +2
Rod of Alertness +1
Stone Defender +5
Banner of the Krig Rune +1
SPELL BONUSES-14
Shield of Faith +2
Haste +2
Shield +5
Warding Bond +1
Ceremony +2
Tashas Otherworldy Guise +2
Instead of 12 lvls in sword bard you could take only 10 (for the d10 bardic and magical secrets) and the other two place them in barbarian to get the subclass Path of the Beast and choose the tail for 1d8 to ac with reaction, beating the defensive duelist increase.
Also i got to ask, lycanthropy gives a bonus to ac? never seen nor heard about it, also cant find it
I also guess that you can get another manual for cha increase to get 30 to then slot any dragon mask to add ur cha mod (+10) in place of the shield (+5) and ring of protection (+1)
Pumping levels in Artificer for extra attunement slots for artifacts that increase AC might also help.
I looked into it, but you need to invest at least 10 levels to even get just one more slot! So it's better to go more bard for the higher bardic die for the defensive flourish
77 actually.
Ring and Cloak of protection both have +3 variants.
Also you could swap the Cloak of Protection out for a Cloak of Invisibility and Bracers of Defense+3 granting enemies disadvantage on hit which nets you a *theoretical* +4 to your AC ending in a technical 81.
*Laughs in saving throw*
High intelligence bonus blade singer, the shield spell and a ring of protection and light armor (cause bladesinger).
Your ac can be like 23-24 for one turn or 19-20 just normally
High AC don’t mean squat when the DM starts forcing saving throws.
That's not the point of the exercise. Yeah there is a million ways around stupid high AC, this is just for fun learn about fun, have fun, you might be happy
depending on your DM, you could also do a one level dip into monk along with barbarian for the two different unarmored ACs, in theory, that alone (with a purely theoretical 20 in DEX, CON, and WIS) can get you an AC of 25 at level 2
Well RAW it doesn't stack Because it says "your AC becomes"
@@dallindespain5082 yes, I understand that, but I did say this was DM dependent, I personally would allow it, at least if I have a story that's either not very combat heavy or with a high difficulty level. But yes, RAW they don't stack
I think maximum your AC reasonably needs to be in 5e RAW is 39, because at that point the highest to hit (+19) has to crit you to hit. However, if playing with a DM that makes a lot of homebrew monsters, 42’s your new goal. Of which you can hit without getting absolutely ridiculous in your classes so you can be a beefy paladin and have good saves too.
Mmmmm....hold person, I choose you!
Warforged and lycanthropy 🥃
Warforged with lycanthropy...so a Wire-Wolf.
Or as barbarian, there’s something that gives you +8 ac I think when someone attacks near to you, but it has no end clause so it won’t go away and can be used infinitely for a maximum of infinite ac
Warforged and Lycanthropy?...I wouldn't let that fly 😂
You don't need immortality boom being a warforge. You already get this.
A Warforged is not immortal, or rather, it's unknown.
"The maximum warforged lifespan remains a mystery." Lorewise, they they were created ~30 years ago, thus no warforged is older than 30, yet.
Then you get paired against a Marut and you weep.
You could also have a battle master fighter use bait and switch on you, giving you a maximum bonus of +12 AC until their next turn, giving you a total AC of 85
That’s cool cloud of daggers upcasted to 9th level
Don’t forget an army of shield guardians
Added on a possible missed extra 12 with the Level 20 valor bards inspiration added!!
I've calculated a 96 ac before. Don't forget to raise all your stats to 30 with the manual and tome magic items! Really boosts unarmored defense and bladesong
If your willing to drop unarmored defense, you can don adamantine armor and be immune to critical hits. At that point your functionally immortal.
I got to a 40 in one of our modified gestalt campaigns where i was a pirate level 10 swashbuckler rogue level 10 oath of the open sea paladin with a 30 dex, serpent scale armour, a +3 shield and a minor beneficial quality giving me +1 AC(from silken spite) defensive fighting as my fighting style and then the fighting initiate feat for marine fighting, fighting initiate again for a homebrew fighting style making shields simple melee weapons and the dual wielder feat which gives me a +1 AC while dual wielding silken spite and my shield. Then shield of faith and finally if I get attacked I cast shield with magic initiate. So normally a 33 then concentration and reaction for a 40 total for 1 round
You could have total cover, which makes you unhittable with attack rolls. Resilient Sphere is particularly useful here