Light armor, when?

[ibanix]

Perhaps because of my incomplete understanding of Recovery, I end up putting my characters in the heaviest armor I can find. DR seems to trump recovery.

 

But... are there classes or builds for which lighter armor is preferable? 

 

Thanks in advance.

[Ink Blot]

Caster, presumably, since it means they recover quicker and can off more spells during combat. Although I've found that any mobs that aren't actively tied up with engagement with your tanks will make a beeline right to your lowest armored party member, which tends to be your casters. So keep that in mind.

[Climhazzard]

Well monk at least only wants to wear as much armor as he needs to safely generate wounds, to much and they generate to slow, not enough and he's dirt napping.  If you know what you're doing you could probably get away with never using armor on your monk in normal or hard difficulties, it just sort of makes life easier.

 

Other classes, I tend to keep my casters in light armor or robes but partly for aesthetic reasons.  Having a lower recovery is nice when you really want to get off that mental binding spell right away, but might not be necessary in some cases.  For example i never really have my priest attack when he isn't buffing or debuffing, this way he is always available to respond when needed no matter how much armor he is wearing.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Climhazzard

[Laz0r]

I think if you're playing on hard or PotD it can be fairly punishing not to have your casters with any armor, because they're going to die instantly. Then again, you don't really want them in full plate because they're going to cast too slow in critical moments, which is where light armor comes into play.

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I keep my Ciphers, Druids, and Wizards in padded armor. No DR is a bit too risky, but high quality padded does a nice job of taking the worst of any ranged attacks or melee that rarely slips by. When my clerics are using reach weapons, they stay in high quality padded armor as well. Recovery time is essential for these classes.

[Climhazzard]

It's pretty easy to use casters on hard with just enchanted robes, maybe because I often have 3 melee in my teams.  Not sure about PotD though.

[tnc]

On hard you can make everyone except your tank cloth/light armor and get away with it easily. The fight will end in ten seconds anyway Might be different in PotD but my backrow rarely gets hit due to good positioning and i doubt that'll change in PotD.