I expect the vast majority of people to not know what the
Defender of Easthaven +2 is. It is a flail that is sold by Joluv, the bonus merchant. I have never really took notice of it before, but now I wonder if we have an underappreciated weapon here.
It grants the bearer 20% physical resistance( except missile) and an AC bonus of 1. Not very impressive right? The low level of the enchantment is a let-down in particular, as most people will want a +3 enchanted weapon at least.
However... I do not intend to use it as a weapon, but purely for its bonuses. I intend to use as an off-hand weapon, and to be more specific, I intend to only use it with Paladins( except Inquisitors), Barbarians, Rangers, Cleric/Rangers, and Cleric/Fighters.
Why only these classes? Simply put... it is because they can cast Armour of the Faith( natural physical resistance in the Barbarians' case)
and Hardiness. In addition, they can all dual-wield properly.
Armour of Faith = 25% at character level 20
Barbarians have 45% at level 39
Hardiness grants 40%
So... excluding the Barbarian,
25% + 20% + 40% = 85% physical resistance to melee attacks
The Barbarian can have,
45% + 20% + 40% = 105% physical resistance to melee attacks! Immunity! Does this mean he will heal 5%?
This is totally insane, as attacks that used to deal 20 damage, now deal 3 damage... or none in the Barbarians' case. Wonderful ain't it? Hell, it seems to be potentially even better than a shield towards the end, because the bosses practically ignore your AC and will always hit you.
So that concludes another random musing from me. As before, comments are welcome.