13.4 Armor and Shields
How do I use armour?
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Armour is the most basic defensive purchase that can be made. After being obtained and WORN, it protects the wearer from physical attacks (blunt and cutting damage), though this may also affect one's ability to move in combat with the same ease. While there are many types of armour available for purchase, the ability to wear one is restricted by your current class.
Shields are similar to armour, gifting constant protection after it is WIELDed. Note that there are ways for you to end up losing or unwielding your shield, so you may wish to consider getting a fist sigil in order to keep a tight hold on it.
Each suit of armour and each shield have been judged to possess particular statitics to determine their ability to reduce damage. To determine this, one must possess the weaponprobe ability in weaponry, and then WEAPONPROBE (armour) - or ask another to do this for you - to determine the level of cutting and blunt protection. It is important to state that there can be a great deal of variation in stats even across the same type of armour, which is often associated with the cost of the item.
What armour can I use?
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Armour comes in any of seven varying types, with differing amounts of protection. The armours listed here are always in order of least to most protective.
Even if your class has access to powerful armour, it can sometimes be worthwhile to wear lighter suits, as they will confer a higher chance to dodge, while lowering the chance to divert attacks. See HELP AVOIDANCE for an explanation of how this works.
The armour types you will encounter in Aetolia, their average expected protection, and their associated classes are as follows:
*-------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
| Type | Stats | Audit | Valid Classes |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| None | - | - | Ascendril, Bloodborn, Runecarver, |
| | | | Sciomancer, Shapeshifter |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Leather | 10/10 | ~5% | Predator, Monk, Ravager, Wayfarer, Zealot |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Ringmail | 20/20 | ~10% | Alchemist, Indorani, Oneiromancer, Shaman |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Scalemail | 30/30 | ~15% | Akkari, Bard, Infiltrator, Praenomen |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Chainmail | 40/40 | ~20% | Archivist, Executor, Sentinel, Voidseer |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Splintmail | 50/50 | ~25% | Classless, Earthcaller, Luminary, |
| | | | Teradrim, Tidesage |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Fieldplate | 60/60 | ~30% | Carnifex, Revenant, Templar, Warden |
*-------------------------------------------------------------------------------*
There are variations to these types that you might see in shops. You should see HELP FORGING POLICY for a full detailed list.
What type of shield can I use?
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Currently, any class can wield any shield without restriction, as in there are no physical penalties for choosing to wield a shield. All shields are capable of obtaining the same mechanical stats (for example, a tower shield does not mechanically provide more protection than a buckler). However, there are several instances in which a shield may not be beneficial depending on your class:
Classes that specialize in two-handed weaponry will not employ shields. They are: Carnifex, Sentinel, Shapeshifter, Shaman, Alchemist, Wayfarer, Warden, Zealot, or Ravager.
Some classes may benefit only periodically from the use of a shield, particularly while hunting. An example is a Templar may prefer to use a shield while hunting, though this may not always be the case.
Other classes may rely on a shield to provide cutting and blunt protection, as armor is not available to them. These classes are Ascendril, Sciomancer, Bloodborn, and Runecarver.
Lastly, there is only Luminary and Earthcaller which use a shield as a weapon, and therefore the SIZE of the shield provides a difference to their attack (for more information, AB SHIELDPLAY). The list of shields from smallest to largest is as follows:
Buckler*
Cavalry*
Banded
Kite**
Tower**
* Cavalry shields offer the same benefits as the buckler shield.
** Kite shields offer the same benefits as the tower shield.
See also: HELP AVOIDANCE
