Armor

Armor is what keeps you alive between good food and a solid block. Every set is tied to a biome and a material tier. Heavy sets give the most protection but cost movement speed. Light and mage sets trade some armor for speed, stealth, bow skill or eitr regeneration.

Slots

Armor uses six slots:

• Helmet: pure protection with no movement penalty.
• Chest: the highest armor value, usually with a movement penalty on heavy sets.
• Legs: matches the chest and carries the second half of the movement penalty on heavy sets.
• Cape: low armor but high utility (frost resistance, fall damage immunity, stamina and more).
• Trinkets: no armor, but unique effects and adrenaline triggers.
• Accessories: the utility slot, holding one item that carries more, finds treasure or clears the mist.

Only the chest and legs normally reduce movement speed. Helmets and capes do not.

Heavy, Light and Mage

• Heavy (Bronze, Iron, Wolf, Padded, Carapace, Flametal): maximum armor, usually at −10 % movement speed. This is the default choice for melee and tank play.
• Light (Troll, Root, Fenris, Vilebone, Ask and similar): lower armor and little or no speed penalty, often with useful set bonuses (sneak, bow skill, movement speed, stamina).
• Mage (Eitr-weave, Embla): the lowest physical protection but strong eitr regeneration. You need it for serious staff builds.

Poison and spirit damage ignore armor entirely. Your only real defence against them is resistance from individual pieces, set bonuses or meads.

Progression by Biome

• Meadows: Leather (the first real set).
• Black Forest: Troll (light and sneak) or Bronze (heavy).
• Swamp: Root (bow and poison resist) or Iron (heavy).
• Mountains: Fenris (speed plus frost and fire resist) or Wolf (heavy, with built-in frost resist).
• Plains: Padded (the highest armor for a long stretch) or Vilebone (the light alternative).
• Mistlands: Carapace (heavy) or Eitr-weave (mage).
• Ashlands: Flametal (heavy), Ask (light, stamina) or Embla (mage).
• Deep North: Protector (heavy, the most armour in the game), Vanguard (medium, with a set bonus) or Caller (mage).

Fully upgrading a set adds a significant amount of armor. Quality does not change movement speed or set bonuses.

Useful Set Bonuses

A few sets are worth wearing just for their full-set effect:

• Troll: +15 Sneak.
• Root: +15 Bows, plus poison and pierce resistance (but weak to fire).
• Fenris: +9 % movement speed, +15 Fists, and fire and frost resistance.
• Vilebone: strong health and stamina regeneration, plus blunt and pierce damage.
• Eitr-weave and Embla: large eitr regeneration bonuses for magic builds.
• Vanguard: cheaper running and dodging, +10% health and stamina regeneration, and +10% pierce damage.

All Armor Categories

Armor Sets

Here is every set in the game, from rags to flametal, with what each one is worth at every quality and the bonus for wearing the whole thing.

Notes

• The armor rating is the sum of all equipped pieces.
• Heavy sets usually slow movement by 5% on the chest piece and another 5% on the leg piece.
• Only chest and leg armor carry a movement penalty.
• Poison and spirit damage ignore armor, so bring the right resistance gear or mead.
• Upgrading only raises armor. Weight, speed penalty and set bonus stay the same.
• Upgrading a piece that is being worn takes it off, so check the gear before heading back out.