Manguadi
Dalayan Beginner
All three feature strong net resists, a 5 hp difference, and good AC for melee dps in those slots. The bracer comes from a considerably more challenging encounter and has no attack. It was a difficult decision to upgrade to this from my thaz bracer because the avoidance bonus granted has lots of synergy with the way monks tank, which I think makes up for the AC and possibly even the hp difference (which when compared in terms of aug value is only about 11 more AC). In fact, the only reason I ended up using it at all is so I could swap my perception back in.
The most striking thing about this item is that it's very bland. The nashtav is really outstanding in that a single item can have so much crit, attack, and even damage reduction on top of very good resists. It's one of the first times you see so much on a single item. The shroud is exceptional because of its extremely high FR and impressive AC for melee dps, which make for a good swappable item even if you happen to upgrade it.
The simple solution would be to add ferocity to it as well, but I'm not sure it's the best solution since at this point it is so easy to max crit strike and ferocity. In any case, I think it should be adjusted.
The only significant advantage vorrel holds over each of these is HP. Between raw mana and FT, vorrel is a minor upgrade at best to any of these items. Each has comparable ac and the stats, large as ever, continue to add nothing to characters of this tier. It doesn't even feature stamina, probably the only useful raw stat for the classes that can use it. The bane enhancement is no more than another line of text as there are pitifully few spells that benefit from this and the only class to benefit from bane enhancement (paladin) only benefits in two zones and they can't even use vorrel.
Anyone who needs the FT is going to need to prepare to use this because a 2 FT hit is significant. Anyone who uses an everburning core might as well pass since the 30 FR is much bigger than 15 mana and some hp. A bard will use this on fights where pot4 is critical, but at the cost of the stoneculler mod in most cases and the additional melee dps. Worse still, they can use vastly better shields for aux tanking.
Resists would go a long way toward bringing this shield up to par, but its raw mana and HP do not go far enough toward equaling the value of FT, particularly when FT is at such a premium. As an upgrade to pot4, this item is fine, but for the rest of the classes listed it's an extremely minor improvement, and one that in every case will cost you something.
