Skyrim - Chest Armor
Chest armor is the main piece of every armor set. It covers the body, and it carries the highest armor rating of the four armor slots. A cuirass is usually also the heaviest piece in a set, so the choice between light and heavy matters most here.
Every armor material has a chest piece. Hide Armor and Iron Armor come at the start of the game, and Dragonscale Armor and Daedric Armor come at the end. Light chest armor trains the Light Armor Skill, and heavy chest armor trains the Heavy Armor Skill. Clothing and robes also go in the chest slot, but they give no armor at all.
The chest piece also matters for the armor perks. Custom Fit, Well Fitted and both Matching Set perks need a chest piece, a helmet, gauntlets and boots of the same armor type. A missing chest piece switches all of those bonuses off.
Armor Categories
Best Chest Armor
Daedric Armor is the strongest heavy cuirass in the base game. It is forged from Ebony and a Daedra Heart with the Daedric Smithing perk. Dragonplate Armor and Ebony Armor follow close behind. Dragonplate weighs less than Daedric, which suits a warrior without the Conditioning perk.
Dragonscale Armor is the strongest light cuirass in the base game. Glass Armor sits just below it and weighs even less. Elven Armor is a strong middle game choice at a very light weight. On Solstheim, Stalhrim armor rivals these top sets.
Plain chest pieces turn up in loot by character level. Iron and hide appear from the very start. Ebony appears around the middle of the game. Daedric and Dragonscale only turn up at high levels, and even then rarely.
Unique Chest Pieces
Many unique cuirasses come from guilds and quests. The Thieves Guild Armor raises carrying capacity, and the Guild Master's Armor raises it even more. The Shrouded Armor of the Dark Brotherhood resists poison. The Nightingale Armor comes from Trinity Restored in the Thieves Guild questline.
Daedric artifacts give two famous chest pieces. The Ebony Mail, Boethiah's reward, muffles the wearer and poisons nearby enemies. The Savior's Hide, Hircine's reward from Ill Met by Moonlight, resists magic and poison.
The Dragonborn add-on adds more. Ahzidal's Armor of Retribution can paralyze an enemy who strikes it in melee. It lies in Kolbjorn Barrow during the quest Unearthed. The Deathbrand Armor is part of a Stalhrim set buried across Solstheim.
The Armor of the Old Gods is the reward for helping Madanach in No One Escapes Cidhna Mine. It makes Destruction spells cheaper. Linwe's Armor comes from the leader of the Summerset Shadows during a Thieves Guild quest.
Enchanting
The chest slot takes more enchantments than any other armor slot. Fortify Health, Fortify Stamina and Fortify Healing Rate suit a warrior. Resist Poison and Resist Disease are protective choices.
The chest slot is also the only armor slot that takes the double effects for mages. Each magic school has an enchantment that lowers the cost of its spells and speeds up magicka regeneration in one go. Fortify Smithing on the chest helps when improving gear. Fortify Light Armor and Fortify Heavy Armor fit here too.
Fortify Destruction on the chest, a helmet, a ring and an amulet can bring Destruction spells down to no cost. The same works for every other school. The Extra Effect Perk allows two schools on each piece.
Light or Heavy
A heavy cuirass protects more, but it weighs far more than a light one. A Daedric cuirass weighs about five times as much as a Dragonscale one. That weight fills the pack and slows the wearer until the Conditioning perk removes it. The Unhindered perk does the same for light armor.
The perks of each skill only count the matching kind of armor. Mixing a heavy cuirass with light boots and gauntlets loses the full set bonuses of both trees.
Smithing and Upgrades
Improving a chest piece at a workbench gives twice the bonus of the other pieces. At the Legendary level, a chest piece gains 20 points of armor, while a helmet, gauntlets or boots gain 10. That makes the chest piece the most rewarding one to improve.
Improvement uses the material of the armor. Ebony and Daedric pieces improve with an Ebony Ingot, Elven pieces with Refined Moonstone and Glass pieces with Refined Malachite. Dragonscale improves with Dragon Scales and Dragonplate with Dragon Bone. Improvement works twice as well with the Smithing perk that forges that material.
Enchanted chest pieces need the Arcane Blacksmith Perk before they can be improved. Unique pieces from quests can be improved as well, but they cannot be forged.
All Chest Armor
Light Armor
All light armor chest pieces are listed below with their armor rating, weight, set and upgrade material.
Heavy Armor
All heavy armor chest pieces are listed below with their armor rating, weight, set and upgrade material.
