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40d:Armor

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

Depending on the type, a certain dwarf 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 a blacksmith 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 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, who will wear leather (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 will carry a Crossbow. Similar behavior for weapons is observed in the Mining and Woodcutting labors, where civilians may carry either Picks or Axes, to better defend themselves.

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.