Request - So Tank AC ....

[Jax]

This 4th of July thing has been awesome for my box team. 5 out of 6 are 115 now, and zerker is working on 115 after starting fresh as an 85 heroic when this thing started.

I got to thinking about next steps for my little box team. The tank is the sun if the group is the solar system. So I wondered about making my tank tankier with better gear. Then I checked out a Magelo or two of some high-end SK tanks. HOLY CRAP. How is my AC so ridiculously low compared to these guys? I get that I only have 26,000AA and they have 50,000. I get that they have RAID gear, and I have T1 group gear, but HOLY COW the difference. I'm happy when I hit 7k AC and these guys are rocking out 20+/30+ thousand AC.

What should I focus on to get better AC ratings since everything I read says AC is kind for tanking.

Thanks!

Oh, example: https://eq.magelo.com/profile/3986449

 

[Sic]

This 4th of July thing has been awesome for my box team. 5 out of 6 are 115 now, and zerker is working on 115 after starting fresh as an 85 heroic when this thing started.

I got to thinking about next steps for my little box team. The tank is the sun if the group is the solar system. So I wondered about making my tank tankier with better gear. Then I checked out a Magelo or two of some high-end SK tanks. HOLY CRAP. How is my AC so ridiculously low compared to these guys? I get that I only have 26,000AA and they have 50,000. I get that they have RAID gear, and I have T1 group gear, but HOLY COW the difference. I'm happy when I hit 7k AC and these guys are rocking out 20+/30+ thousand AC.

What should I focus on to get better AC ratings since everything I read says AC is kind for tanking.

Thanks!

Oh, example: https://eq.magelo.com/profile/3986449

magelo uses the old ac calculation and not the new way it is split in eq - that's why the numbers look inflated

7k you're doing fine - 8k you're rockin - higher and you're bigdog

 

[Jax]

Phew. I figured I had missed the boat on something. Thanks for the guidance.

 

[Many_Whelps]

Also, people are *totally* honest with what gear they have in their magelo profile.

 

[Grimm68]

i like to think im a pretty decent tank. when i look at gear, my order when i consider stats

AC
HP
Dex

rest is cake.

unless im mistaken. im sure lots of people have thier own system but mine has worked out fairly well for me.

 

[Many_Whelps]

Do you really even need to get any more in depth than T1<T2<T3<Raid? Obv a tank wants "of Security" in the neck, back and charm slots and guardian's mask. IMO, gear selection in EQ has been so dumbed down that there's no real "wrong" choice as long as you're moving through the tiers accordingly.

Augs are another matter entirely.

 

[Grimm68]

cookie cutter armors. couple of choices you can make. but over all mostly the same.

 

[fohpo]

Do you really even need to get any more in depth than T1<T2<T3<Raid? Obv a tank wants "of Security" in the neck, back and charm slots and guardian's mask. IMO, gear selection in EQ has been so dumbed down that there's no real "wrong" choice as long as you're moving through the tiers accordingly.

Augs are another matter entirely.

I don't even think the "of Security" prefix stuff has significantly more AC anymore. TBH, I look for hDex > HP on augs these days since it's so conflated but ultimately, as Tucoh pointed out on EQ Forums, it's all so tiny it hardly matters anymore. You could honestly just go with the T1<T2<T3<previous expansion raid<current raids route and be perfectly safe to complete any and all group content if you're playing with even half a brain.

EDIT: to prove a point, I smash some of the lazy beastlords on raids with my T3 group geared bst just because I have a better understanding of when and how to burn.

 

[Dragonslayer]

My SK today wears all gear of actual content. I focus on hdex and it works well.
I started growing him up about 18 Month ago. For my feeling most impact came from all the aa's available to improve survivability. Around 35k aa I had the feeling that he was able to tank solo, without the mages pet pingponging aggro using taunt.
I always go tank-first when new gear is available, apart from neck-item for best heal-focus for priest.
I would suggest just to hunt where you have fun and pick up whatever updates drop along.
With full T1 gear you should be able to farm the ts-stuff to get t3. Alongside you will catch up on the Aa's.
As you already managed to get 26k AA most of the 'hard work' is already done.
Once you pass the 35k aa mark, you have all you need, the others are mostly 'nice to have'.