How to improve armor class in Baldur’s Gate 3

No matter how many points you put into Charisma, no matter how proficient you are at Stealth or Persuasion, in Baldur’s Gate 3 you will eventually have to face your foes in dice-determined, turn-based combat.

And while having a high Initiative or a stellar Stealth build can help you get the jump on your enemies, they will fight back at one point. When that happens, you best believe you’re going to want a higher armor class.

Having a higher armor class is vital to surviving against tougher foes, so let’s look at all the ways we can improve it in Baldur’s Gate 3.

What is armor class in Baldur’s Gate 3? The primary defense stat explained

When you think of the idea of armor in a video game, you likely think about something that reduces the amount of damage you take when hit, or something that absorbs a certain amount of damage before your health starts to go down. Well let me be the first to tell that’s not how armor class works in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Armor class, or AC, determines how protected someone is from being hit by an attack. When an attack is made, the creature attacking rolls a D20; if that roll (plus all its bonuses) equals or exceeds the AC number of the creature being attacked, than the attack is successful and damage is dealt. If the roll is below the AC number, the attack misses.

• For example: If I attack and roll a 16 against a creature with an AC of 15, then the attack succeeds and I deal damage. If the creature has an AC of 18, then that attack would miss.

What determines armor class in Baldur’s Gate 3?

Every character has a base AC of 10 plus their Dexterity modifier, not including armor, shields, or other effects. Players with a Dexterity above 11 will get a boost to their AC, while players with Dex below 10 will have their AC reduced.

Past the base score and the Dexterity modifier, AC is also influenced by armor and shields. These items will increase your AC when equipped, but make sure you know what you’re putting on. Armor type is very important:

• Heavy armor provides a ton of AC, but you gain no benefit from your Dexterity modifier.
• Medium offers provides a moderate amount of AC, but you can only use up to +2 of your Dexterity modifier.
• Light armor offers the smallest amount of AC increase, but it doesn’t restrict your Dexterity modifier at all.
• Shields add +2 or +3 to any character’s AC, but equipping a shield may reduce your attacking rolls.

The kind of armor you want to wear depends on the kind of character you build. Rogues and ranged characters with high Dexterity (at least +3) I put in light armor, so they get the full use of their modifier bonus. Tank characters with high Strength and Constitution will wear heavy armor. You also want to make sure your class is proficient in the type of armor you’re wearing.