I decided to go with light armor with my character on Tepium and I am regretting the decision. Either Light armor and dodge are broken or they need an upgrade. Here is why:
The other day, a friend and I went out to see if we could kill a Bear cub. I was in a set of Hardened Leather with Studded leather gloves and boots, with Light armor skill 30. I was also running both sword skills with a Blue quality Iron Sword with skill 30, and Dodge skill in light armor. My companion, who is a newer player, was in all Bronze armor w/shield and sword. My companions skills are in the low to mid 20's. Finally, I have a Dodge chance of 76% and a Dexterity of 8.
Bear Cub #1- We ran up and swung at cub>both hit>bear attacks me and hits>I use swift strikes, companion swings reg, both hit>bear attacks me and causes bleeding(3/4 hp at this point)>I use dodge to get out of the way and let companion tank>during dodge bear attacks and crits(im now at 1/8 hps and bleeding>companion attacks>I die from bleeding before i can bandage. By the time i got back which was about 3 minutes, my companion had killed the bear cub, and although was bleeding, still had plenty of hitpoints. No skills or tactics used just fighting for their life.
Bear Cub #2-Companion goes in first and tanks. I run in and attack. I dodge first bear strike but get hit the next 2. I use the dodge skill and like the first time, the bear crits me during my roll. I bandage, switch to bow and fire iron tipped arrows. Bear gives chase to me, hits, I die. As with the first, companion kills the bear cub before I can get back simply using regular strikes and fighting for their life.
Bear Cub #3-Companion kills alone with few hp left, no strategy used, just run in and attack.
Bear Cub #4- I run in and attack, make it through both sword skills and a few regular attacks, and die. No strategy or tactics, just to see the difference in Light and Heavy armor.
So in conclusion, a player in beginning heavy armor and weapons with low to mid armor and weapon skills can kill a bear cub, but someone in almost end game light armor and using iron weapons with mid to high level armor and weapon skill cant.
Can someone explain this to me and can we get some kind of fix or something? I mean with high level gear and a dodge of 76%, I should be able to avoid damage like Bruce Lee, but instead, I get hit if a predator even looks at me.