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40d:Armor

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Revision as of 21:42, 19 December 2007 by Turgid Bolk (talk | contribs) (→‎Armor Levels: moved materials needed info into text instead)
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Armor is a class of clothing items that your dwarves can wear for protection to keep them alive longer. Armor can range from simple clothing, light weight shell, bone and leather, to heavy chain mail and plate mail.

Depending on the type and material, different dwarves with specific skills are needed to make armor. While clothes aren't necessarily armor, they do offer limited 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. The type of metal used affects the effectiveness of the armor. Leather armors are made at a leather works by a leatherworker. Skilled craftdwarves, leather workers and armorers will produce better quality armour that multiplies the effectiveness of the item.

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."

Symbol Name Damage reduction multiplier
Item Basic armor x1.0
-Item- Well-crafted armor x1.2
+Item+ Finely Crafted armor x1.4
*Item* Superior Quality armor x1.6
≡Item≡ Exceptional armor x1.8
☼Item☼ Masterful armor x2.0

Assigning 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. A full suit of leather armor requires five leather pieces to manufacture, a full suit of chain armor requires seven metal bars, and a full suit of plate armor requires eight metal bars. This does not include shields.

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.