Armor Rework Suggestion
In Diablo 2, because of Movement Speed penalty and Str requirement, every character is using light armors. It kills variety and makes no sense lore-wise. So how should we fix it? Lorewise it should be:
- Light armor: Sorceress, Amazon, Assassin.
- Medium armor: Druid, Necromancer, Warlock.
- Heavy armor: Barbarian, Paladin.
Inspired by some recent discussions on buffing underused skills, I propose these changes to Diablo 2 Resurrected:
1. Class-Specific Armor Penalties
D2 already uses "hidden tables" for weapon speeds (e.g., a Maul is "Fast" on a Druid but "Slow" on a Sorc). We should apply this logic to armor weight.
- Barbarian / Paladin: 0% MS penalty from Medium armor; -5% MS penalty from Heavy armor.
- Druid / Necro / Warlock: 0% MS penalty from Medium armor; -10% MS penalty from Heavy armor**.**
- Sorc / Zon / Sin: Unchanged (Standard -5%/-10% penalties).
2. Skill-Based Requirement Reductions
- Barbarian (Increase Stamina): Each soft point reduces Armor Str requirements by 2–3%. This gives the Combat Masteries tree a huge boost.
- Paladin (Vigor): Each soft point reduces Armor Str requirements by 3%.
3. Innate Physical Damage Reduction (PDR)
Defense is a neglected stat because it only affects "chance to be hit.", also it's useless when running. To make Heavy armor actually worth the investment, it needs to offer real protection. All body Medium and Heavy Armors should grant a default Physical Damage Reduction (like blunt weapons grant 50% increased damage against Undead).
- Body Medium Armor: 4% Physical Damage Reduction.
- Body Heavy Armor: 8% Physical Damage Reduction.
This would make the choice between a Mage Plate and a Sacred Armor a genuine tactical decision: Do you want maximum speed, or do you want to be a tank that can actually take some physical hits?