40d:Armor

Armor is the protection your dwarves wear, to keep them alive longer. It comes in many types, from simple clothing to shell, bone, leather, chain mail and plate mail.

Depending on the type, certain dwarves with certain skills are needed to make the armor, as well as the appropriate materials. While clothes aren't necessarily armor, they do offer a little protection. Shell and bone armors are made by a bone carver at a craftsdwarf's workshop. Chain mail and plate mail are made by an armorer at a metalsmith's forge, and the type of metal used affects their performance. Leather armors are made at a leather works by a leatherworker.

Better materials provide better protection, according to the following table:

Material	Modifier %
Adamantine	500
Steel	133
Iron	100
Bronze or Bismuth bronze	75
Copper	66
Other metals/materials (leather, cloth, bone, shell, wood, etc.)	50

Toady has also stated that item quality increases its protection (or damage, in the case of weapons), namely, "Quality has a huge effect on damage and damage reduction... Exceptional is almost double damage/damage block."

• Item : Basic armor - x1.0 damage reduction
• -Item- : Well-crafted armor - x1.2 damage reduction
• +Item+ : Finely Crafted armor - x1.4 damage reduction
• *Item* : Superior Quality armor - x1.6 damage reduction
• ≡Item≡ : Exceptional armor - x1.8 damage reduction
• ☼Item☼ : Masterful armor - x2.0 damage reduction

Using Armor

To tell a dwarf to wear armor in Fortress Mode, view the dwarf, go to preferences, then soldiering. There you can select the highest level of armor he should wear: clothes, leather, chain, or plate. Shield level is selected separately. You can also set the armor level for many dwarves at once on the military screen, under weapons.

Upgrading a civilian dwarf's armor level will not take effect unless they are activated as soldiers. Civilians will not wear armor other than clothing, except for those given the Hunting labor (provided their armor level is set above "clothing"). This will, however, cause them to go out into the wilderness and hunt, which is often undesirable. Hunters do not appear to use bucklers or shields, so it may be advantageous to give them two melee weapons if you do not plan on having them use a crossbow.

Armor Levels

Slot	Leather	Chain	Plate
Head	leather cap	metal cap and/or helm	helm
Upper Body	leather armor	chain mail	plate mail
Lower Body	leather leggings	metal/bone/shell leggings	greaves
Foot	leather boot	metal boot	metal boot
Hand	glove	gauntlet	gauntlet

Creating plate mails requires three bars of metal. Chain mails and greaves require two bars. All other metal armors require one bar. Note that making gauntlets or boots will always produce a pair (a left and right gauntlet, or two boots) from one bar of metal.

Shields and Bucklers

Shields and bucklers come in all the same material flavours as armor, but offer a slightly different form of protection. While armor absorbs some of the damage from all successful attacks, a shield provides complete protection from some attacks. In Adventure Mode, a successful block may also grant the defender an immediate free counterattack. Bucklers weigh less than shields, making them useful for more mobile Marksdwarves, but are assumed to provide less protection^[Verify]. Dwarves can also equip both a shield and buckler at the same time.