Talk:Kensai/@comment-142.254.101.158-20190811220529

Doing a solo Kensai run on Core and I'll just say this with respect to AC.

There are a bazillion potions that keep your base AC at 0 and your effective AC in low-mid teens depending on your other equipment. In BG1 the shield amulet is necessary until you get access to Sorcerous Sundries but after that, just save those potions of invulnerability, defense and stone form for the Kensai. With stone form you also want a potion of Mind focusing, but one of those potions is good for 12 hours of canceling out the defect of stone form potions.

I've not fought a single battle except for situations where briefly somebody has dispelled my potions where my AC was anything but stellar. In real distress after Spellhold just pop into slayer form. That's not dispellable, the -2 AC stacks with its already great defenses and the Kensai damage bonuses are just stupidly effective in slayer form. (I've needed to do that exactly once so far, nearing the end of SOA).

Yes if it gets dispelled you have a tradeoff between drinking a potion and your usual action of activating a HLA or kai, but people who think kensai don't tank or are difficult to maintain decent AC have not perused the contents of the vendors or paid attention to the potion loot drops.

This, BTW, is also true of swashbuckler and dragon disciple (other classes with inherent AC bonuses even stronger than kensai but who are limited to weaker armor and are dependent on spells/potions for base ACs higher than 5ish for most of the game). While buffed, the swash and DD have ACs still pretty viable even in TOB (and certainly viable in slayer form). Kensai can't get to their level but it is in shouting range and the offensive ability to end fights quicker in melee than either should make up for it pretty well. (obviously no fighter can match how a sorcerer can set up spell novas to kill quickly or a thief spike traps to open a fight, so the comparison is mostly for when the sorcerer is clearing trash using polymorph or slayer form as a melee)