Protective Gear

Protective Gear is worn armour: helmets, vests, neck guards, pads, masks and crafted plate. These pieces give far more bite and scratch defence than normal clothing. Some, like the bulletproof vests, also stop bullets. Many can be made from tires, magazines, bone, wood or scrap metal. Armour is the strongest defence against bites and scratches. The Tailor is the best occupation for protective gear. It starts with the most Tailoring skill.

All Clothing Categories

Best Protective Gear

The top pick for each role, by the game's own figures.

For	Name	Image	Stats	Spawn ID
Warmest	Crash Helmet		100% insulation	/additem Base.Hat_CrashHelmet
Best against bites	Crash Helmet		100% bite defence	/additem Base.Hat_CrashHelmet
Best against scratches	Chainmail Glove - Left		100% scratch defence	/additem Base.Chainmail_Hand_L
Best against wind	Crash Helmet		100% wind resistance	/additem Base.Hat_CrashHelmet

Helmets and Masks

Helmets guard the head. The Riot Helmet, the Crash Helmet - Spiked, the Crude Metal Helmet and the Scrap Metal Helmet each give 100% bite defence and 100% scratch defence. The Nuclear Biochemical Mask also reaches 100 and 100 and covers the whole head.

Work and sports helmets give solid cover. The Military Helmet, the SWAT Helmet, the Hard Hat, the Firefighter Helmet and the Football Helmet each give 70% bite defence and 80% scratch defence. Batting helmets and jockey helmets match those numbers. The Bicycle Helmet give 30% bite defence and 50% scratch defence.

Masks guard the face and eyes. The Bone Mask, the Wood Mask and the Metal Mask each give 50% bite defence. The Hockey Mask and the Gas Mask each give 30% bite defence and 50% scratch defence. The Gas Mask (No Filter) drops to 10 and 30. Make Gas Mask Filter and Recharge Filters keep a mask working. The Engineer occupation knows both recipes.

Body and Limb Armour

Body armour covers the torso. The Catcher's Vest gives 80% bite defence and 100% scratch defence. The Metal Body Armor, the Scrap Metal Body Armor, the Bone Body Armor, the Tire Body Armor and the Wooden Body Armor each give 80% bite defence and 90% scratch defence. Magazine Body Armor matches them.

Limb armour covers the arms and legs piece by piece. Forearm armour made of leather, bone, wood, tires or full metal gives 100% bite defence and 100% scratch defence. Shin and thigh armour of most kinds give 80% bite defence and 90% scratch defence. Shoulder armour ranges from 50 for tire and wooden pieces up to 100 for articulated metal.

Neck guards protect a deadly spot. The Leather Neck Guard, the Ice Hockey Neck Guard, the Metal Neck Guard and the Bone Choker each give 100% bite defence and 100% scratch defence. The Leather Neck Guard and the Ice Hockey Neck Guard also have 100% insulation. Cloth neck guards, such as the Denim Neck Guard, give only 10 and 20.

Sports pads fill the gaps. Football Shoulderpads and Ice Hockey Shoulderpads give 100% bite defence and 100% scratch defence to the shoulders. The Athletic Cup gives 100% bite defence and 100% scratch defence. The Kneepad and the Elbow Pad each give 30% bite defence and 50% scratch defence.

Bullet Protection

Bullet defence matters against other survivors. The Bulletproof Vest - Military, the Bulletproof Vest - Civilian, the Bulletproof Vest - Police and the Bulletproof Vest - SWAT each have 100% bullet defence. They also give 30% bite defence and 55% scratch defence. Each weighs 5.

A spare vest can be cut into limb armour. Make Bulletproof Forearm Armor, Make Bulletproof Shin Armor and Make Bulletproof Thigh Armor each use a vest, Duct Tape, a needle and scissors. The results have 100% bullet defence as well. The Burglar occupation knows these recipes from the start.

Metal armour stops some bullets too. Articulated metal pieces, the Metal Body Armor and the Crude Metal Helmet each give 20% bullet defence. Scrap metal pieces give 5% to 15% bullet defence.

Weight and Movement

Armour is heavy. The Metal Body Armor weighs 4 and cuts running speed by 10 percent. Bulletproof vests weigh 5. Football Shoulderpads weigh 4, and Ice Hockey Shoulderpads weigh 5. The Firefighter Jacket weighs 4 and cuts running speed by 13 percent. Firefighter Pants lower it to 0.82.

Bulky gear can bring the Restricted Movement moodle, which blocks sprinting. Heavy loads also bring the Weighed Down moodle and its worse levels. Light pieces, such as the Leather Neck Guard at 0.5, cost almost nothing to wear.

Crafting

Tires and magazines make cheap armour. Make Magazine Body Armor needs Tailoring 1. Make Magazine Limb Armor is open to everyone. Make Tire Forearm Armor and Make Tire Shin Armor need Tailoring 3 and Maintenance 2. Make Tire Body Armor needs Tailoring 6 and Maintenance 5. Cut Up Tire gives the Tire Piece for all of them.

Bone and wood need Carving. Make Wooden Forearm Armor needs Tailoring 1 and Carving 2. Make Wooden Body Armor needs Tailoring 5 and Carving 5. Make Bone Forearm Armor needs Tailoring 4 and Carving 5. Make Bone Body Armor needs Tailoring 7 and Carving 7.

Leather gives light, strong pieces. Sew Leather Vambrace makes Leather Forearm Armor at Tailoring 2. Sew Leather Neck Guard needs Tailoring 3. Sew Leather Gaiter needs Tailoring 2. Sew Neckguard makes cloth neck guards at Tailoring 1.

Metal makes the best armour. Most scrap metal pieces, such as the Scrap Metal Helmet, need Welding 5 and Tailoring 1. Make Scrap Metal Body Armor needs Welding 6. The Welder occupation knows most of these recipes. Forge Metal Body Armor needs Blacksmithing 6 and Tailoring 3. Assemble Full Metal Forearm Armor and the articulated pieces need Blacksmithing 8 and Tailoring 4. Forge Coat of Plates Body Armor also needs Blacksmithing 8.

Locations

Police and prison storage hold the Riot Helmet and police vests. Army surplus stores and army storage hold Military Helmets, Gas Masks and military vests. Fire station storage holds Firefighter Jackets.

Hard Hats fill logging sites, tool stores and construction outfits. Sports stores hold hockey gear, including the Hockey Mask and the Ice Hockey Neck Guard. Crash Helmets turn up in survivor safehouses. Gas Mask Filter items turn up in army surplus stores and army bunkers.

Notes

• Neck wounds can kill within minutes if left unbandaged, so a neck guard is worth wearing early.
• Spike Large Armor adds spikes to a Crash Helmet or football shoulderpads. It needs Tailoring 5 and Maintenance 1.

All Protective Gear