## Combine Full Plate and Shield with racial and class options for AC 27 without spells

There are at least four ways to get an extra +1 to AC on top of the AC 20 that full plate and shield provides to you:

- Fighters with the Defense fighting style wearing armor get +1 to AC.

- Forge Domain clerics can use the feature Blessing of the Forge to enchant their armor for +1 to AC. <sup>1</sup> 

- The Soul of the Forge feature Forge Domain clerics get at 6th level adds +1 to AC while wearing armor. 

As per [this Q&A][1], you can combine all four of these, for a total AC of 24.

- Artificers get infusions on level 2. This adds +1 AC for infusing your shield with Enhanced Defense. You get +2 once you are a 10th level artificer, at which point it would add +1 more AC to also infuse your armor instead of using Blessing of the Forge.<sup>1</sup>  

As a warforged fighter with Defensive fighting style, Chainmail and Shield you can start  with AC 20 at level 1. By level 2, taking one level of Forge Domain cleric, you already will achieve AC 21, and by level 3 you should be able to upgrade to Splint Mail for AC 22. By sixth level, you will be able to afford the Plate Mail for AC 23, and by seventh level gain an extra AC for AC 24. Now take artificer levels. By eight level, you get AC 25 from infusing your shield with Enhanced Defense, by 18th level you get another +2 to AC from better Enhanced defense, for a total of AC 27. 

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<sup>1</sup> *This feature turns a nonmagical item into a magic item. If you would consider the use of this ability to be a "magic item" you could exclude it and still get to 23 AC. You cannot bolster your armor through both Blessing of the Forge and Enhanced Defense at the same time, as both require a nonmagical item to start from.*

  [1]: https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/198817/do-bonuses-to-ac-stack