[RPG] Does magical armor enhancement bonus increase the armor’s maximum dexterity

armorarmor-classmagic-itemspathfinder-1e

Do magical armor enhancement bonuses increase the maximum DEX mod allowed for an armor?

If so, awesome! If not, are there other ways to optimize AC through a DEX driven character?

Best Answer

No.

The magical enhancement bonuses on armor do not affect the Maximum Dexterity Bonus (MDB) the armor has.

There are a couple of ways to get a better MDB.

  1. Special materials for example. Darkleaf and Mithril both allow another +2 to MDB for armors made from those substances.

  2. Feats which somewhat link off DEX such as Two Weapon Defense but they have prerequisites. There is also Dodge, and Low Profile, though you need to be a small character (or smaller) for that last one.

You could also look at Combat Expertise which will trade off Attack bonuses for Dodge bonuses. Fighting defensively also works with the trade of sacrificed Attack for Dodge bonuses. Not strictly speaking just for Dexterity high characters... more for BAB high characters.