I never get hit while I'm grouping. leave that job for pallies/sks/warriors so I got this equipped just so I can cast my self buffs in between pulls and it's really not bad when you're soloing and you got Endless quiver AA, getting up mana while kiting. Rare as hell in the bazaar though
Bein' a Paladin Ah know tha both are important to me. FT is damme nice fer when yer tryin t'keep yer friggin prayer power up an usin yer stuns t'keep tha God-cursed mob's **** frozen in one spot. While on t'oter hand havin AC an HP is damme important - REAL damme important fer us paladins.
Ah got two nice stuns right now - neither knock back mobs an both now work on mobs up t'65th level (most times). Of course at tem levels lots o mobs canno be stunned witout a Enc or someone debuffin tem first - but! When they be stunnable - then they canno hit me or you - an then FT is damme important cause my prayer power will drop fast without someone rechargin it.
Ah tank - a lot. Ah am a good tank too. Keep aggro, fall little. Have good AC an HP fer a non-raidin Paladin. Its a toss-up. FTI does me no good at this point - LDoN items do better than this item but NEVER snear at it!!
This is a great bard item, it seems the common melee use waist slot for haste or stats, both of which aren't necessarily a priority for your high level charming/Fading Memories bard. The MOB that drops this is soloable by a proficient 60+ bard, just takes some patience. I got sick of camping him though and got lucky enough to find one on the market for 18k.
Impresario Malorian Harmonybinder, 65 Maestro, Qeynos Chapter Tunare Server
Even if you aren't at the soft cap, AC has so very little effect. Hitpoints are for more important. Tell me. When was the last time your AC mattered when you were not the MT and got hit by an AE, or pulled a caster mob and got hit by a DD or DOT? It didn't!
I've run the range from about 1100 (unbuffed) to 1300+ buffed AC since hitting 65, and I'll tell you, it's just not that big a deal. Usually it's easier to raise hitpoints too. Think about this as well. FT = more mana = more hps tapped = damage mitigation vs ANY form of damage (DD, AE, melee, etc).
Also, I tend to suspect a 51 SK has a lower AC softcap than you get at 60 when your defense skill is maxed. Level is far more important a factor in damage mitigation anyway, so it's not like it really matters. The 51 SK will get more improvement from a level than from adding some AC. And by 60 with a high defense, the soft cap will at least be close.
If you guys don't believe me about AC, too, ask warriors (with a much higher AC cap) who were in guilds just starting to kill Derakor the Vindicator why they would their kael quest BP in the bank for a vindi bp when it drops... even if they weren't at the soft cap, and they'll tell you. Hitpoints.
Another thought on hps. Clerics are using complete heal right? Lets say you actually warrant a complete heal chain. Does your AC matter? Nope. Your AC is 100% irrelevant if it's a good CH chain. The reason? You don't count on one bit of damage mitigation. To figure out a needed CH rotation you look at max damage per round from the mob (say it quads 1100 vs Defensive, then you are looking at 4400 damage per round max) and the tank's hitpoints (say its a warrior with 8900). You plan on worst case scenario and decide the warrior can take 2 but not 3 rounds. Lets say the mob isn't slowable either, and a round is 1.5 seconds. That means every CH has to land within 3 seconds of the previous one. So your CH delay is 3 seconds. The warrior could have 600 AC or 2200, it doesn't matter. You have to plan for the worst, and that's what the CH chain gets set to.
Try tank something naked and you will see if AC makes a difference oh..sure buff yourself up with hp buff like if it matters when every hit on you is maxed.
The name Shaphedra is female name not a male.. I know her from Drinal.. She got haste gloves and put this in her belt slot so in all she did gain ac. And what the hey for now she has something kinda unique.
In a kite, usually the bard does not get hit. Haste is meaningless to one who does not melee. However, since Bards have no meditate and aren't affected by mana regen effects, Flowing Thought is VERY MUCH in demand...
Also while pulling, a high level bard with Fading Memories (saps 900 mana, removes bard from all hate lists, invisses bard) would use this after a Fade to recoup some of the cost as fast as possible.
And just to add, bards are always looking for flowing thought items. This would be just the ticket for the swarm kiting bard, where AC isn't as important.
Well, Flowing Thought is always nice, I guess, but come on...
I can't imagine a sitution where a SK that had the means of attaining this belt would trade the AC they have on thier waist (likely 20 or better, or hasted, or both ) for it, though.
I could be wrong... but I doubt it.
Nezmeron Maxalex Wizard <--------why I could be wrong. what do wizards know about melee?
This is a great FT belt but I think it fits a bard best, clarity line regen is useless and for a class other then bard, at this level everyone has KEI (14 vs 1 FT). Far as other listed classes are concerned I'd think this would be better suited to twinking.
I personally know of a number of SK's & Paladins who wear the Boots of Flowing Slime (only AC 7 & FT 3).
I have a CoCW & Belt of the Great Turtle... would I wear this instead? I sure would.
I solo alot in LGuk, and often find that with my Fungi + Jeldorin I keep well ahead on hps, but my mana level is never great because of my self-buffs and the fact that I don't sit to med very often.
One reason would be the soft cap on AC which is around 1250 from my understanding. So if the SK or whatever class had already exceeded their cap they would then have a reason for using this item (the mana regen would be nice).
I am a 51 sk and i am not that bad off. I am not even close to my cap i have 936ac. Not many 51 sk are at there cap.. Unless they have been in a good guild and have all thug and then they wont be..