Armour & Shields

Staying alive is an axis of its own. Both armour and shields contribute Armour Class (AC) — the number every attacker's Weapon/Spell Class is measured against on the damage curve. The higher your effective AC, the harder you are to hurt.

Armour (1 slot, scales on VIT, `VIT ≥ IC × 150`)

Your single armour slot is your main source of AC. Like weapons, the line runs IC 0 → 20, gated by VIT:

Patchhide Vest → Mosswoven Jerkin → Barkplate Harness → Vergehide Coat → Mirescale Hauberk → Lanternguard Mail → Gibbetiron Plate → Fenwarden's Carapace → Duskforged Plate → Wyrmscale Aegis → Hollowking's Mantle → The Briarheart Bulwark (IC 20)

Because armour is gated on VIT — which is also your HP pool — investing in VIT buys survivability twice: more HP and the ability to wear higher-AC armour.

Shields (occupy a weapon slot, scale on STR, `STR ≥ IC × 120`)

A shield goes in a weapon slot, so equipping one means one fewer weapon swinging. In return it gives two defensive effects (see Combat):

+AC — each shield adds IC × 0.1 to your effective AC (the summed bonus is floored).
An attacker hit-chance penalty — attackers lose shield IC ÷ 6 from their hit %, so a big shield makes you genuinely harder to land on, not just harder to hurt.

Wicker Round → Bogplank Targe → Thornlattice Shield → Vergeboard → Mirebound Kite → Lanternward Shield → Gallowsgate → Fenbulwark → Duskward Aegis → Wyrmshell Wall → Hollowking's Gate → The Verge Eternal (IC 20)

Effective AC — the full picture

effectiveAC = armour.AC + armourMastery / 5 + (sum of shield IC × 0.1, floored)

Three stacking sources:

Armour piece — the bulk of your AC.
Armour mastery — +1 AC per 5 mastery (100 mastery = +20 AC). Trained by being hit.
Shields — +0.1 AC per shield IC, plus the attacker hit penalty.

Remember the curve is exponential: every +1 effective AC divides incoming damage by ×1.2, so a tank stacking armour piece + maxed Armour mastery + a big shield becomes extraordinarily durable.

Shield vs. second weapon — the trade-off

Run two weapons when…	Run weapon + shield when…
You out-tier your targets and want max kill speed	Enemies threaten your HP
You're a glass-cannon DPS/caster with a heal slot	You're tanking/training Armour or Doublehit
You farm low, safe mobs	You PvP or push above your comfort tier

The hybrid sweet spot: weapon + shield + a heal/Drain spell — you keep one damage source, gain the shield's defence, and self-sustain. Great for tank training and risky PvP.

The Warden's Paradox (mythic shield)

A special endgame option: the Warden's Paradox mythic makes a shield also count as an IC-5 weapon, and converts the weapon mastery you'd earn on it into Armour mastery. It's the premier tool for a damage-while-tanking hybrid. See Shadow & Mythic Items.

Sockets

Armour and shields take gems like any gear: 2 sockets at IC ≥ 15, 1 below. Defensive gem picks: Frosttear (+AC), Garnet/Opal/Black Pearl (lower enemy stats), and Heart of the Mire mythic (+HP from VIT).

Next: Gems & Enchanting → Shadow & Mythic Items → Combat