I've been playing Pathfinder Society for about half a year now. I have a second level character and a third level character. Both are dex based melee characters and expect to be in the thick of things once the battle starts. They both have Armor Class up near 20 and are surviving OK so far.
Now, I'm starting to see some pretty hefty ACs mentioned on the board for characters at higher levels. ACs in the 30's appear to be pretty common. I'm wondering what AC I should be shooting for at each level.
Both characters won't be able to get much more than a 20-22 AC for a few levels. Are they going to go squish? Maybe I can get them up near an AC of 30 by seventh level. Will that be sufficient or should I be looking for ways to pump them up more? How high do I need to go? Can anyone break down a good guideline for needed AC for a melee character to survive at higher levels?
Last session my 3rd level character had managed to get his AC up to around 22 and was getting smoked. He got hit on nearly every attack and only survived by burning nearly a dozen charges off of his HLW wand. Was this an aberration, or are things going to be this lethal from here on out?
Level plus 10 is generally safe-ish. Level plus 20 is generally pretty safe for frontliners until CR falls apart at high levels. What you describe is hopefully an aberration.
Take a look at the table Monster Statistics by CR. The High Attack column should give you an indication where your AC needs to fall: every point higher than 10+ that bonus reduces your damage against a "typical"* attack from a creature of that CR.
* Monsters vary a lot. This is not a solid rule but an approximate guideline that monsters will tend to be close to.
Looking at that chart, CR 3 should be around +6 to attack, which makes you getting pounded on at AC 22 quite odd. Sounds like (un)lucky dice.
Thanks. That chart was just what I needed. Staying 10 to 15 ahead of that curve should be a workable goal. I feel a little better about the viability of these character builds.