Armor rating system, ESO vs Skyrim

Koorta · May 2015

Hi All,

This is a noob question but I haven't worked it out from ESO wikia pages and the like. How does the armor rating system work in ESO?? Does each item add its own value and the sum total is mathematically related to the damage you take in combat? Is there a cap beyond which is useless to improve your armor? Can you check your total armor rating value?

I remember in Skyrim, the cap was something like 547 and it was the same for Heavy or Light armor, so you could easily reach it with light and the advantage (besides not looking like a tank:) was you get much more inventory space because light weighs less than heavy. That seems to not matter in ESO, since they're all treated as single items regardless of weight.

I just left Auridon, so still close to the beginning of the game, but for now it seems Heavy armor is a better choice, you survive longer. I've seen passive abilities that come with each armor and it comes down whether you want more health, stamina or magicka, so totally personal choice. I use up stamina abilities first when in combat but that all can change when I get to better abilities.

Robbmrp · May 2015

With the latest game updates on heavy armor, it provides both the best physical and magical defense in the game.

Since your new to the game, one of the best ways to work armor up is to actually wear some of all three armor types. Get one piece of each armor with "training" on it so they level up faster. This way when you reach higher levels, all of your armor skill is maxed out.

Most end game builds run 5 of their main armor type. Tanks will use heavy, NB's usually use Medium and Healers and Sorcs go with light. It's not uncommon for magicka users to go with 5 light and 2 heavy for extra protection. I run with 5 LA, 1 MA and 1 HA for Undaunted passive bonuses.

Woolenthreads · May 2015

There's an awesome Active Skill in Heavy too, which is well worth having. "Immovable" which gives you 5s of immunity to knockback and disabling effects.

Ffastyl · May 2015

The individual Armor ratings from each armor piece is directly translated to your Physical and Spell Resistances with a multiplier from your passives. Certain class and racial passives add flat values to certain resistances (e.g. Breton and Templar increase Spell Resistance). Armor passives and the late-game Champion passives confer a multiplier to the Armor rating of their respective types.

As stated by @Robbmrp , Heavy Armor provides the highest mitigation in game by a potentially wide margin. Medium Armor has a rating 3/4ths that of Heavy Armor, and Light Armor has a rating 1/4th that of Heavy Armor (excluding multipliers from passives).

The hard cap for mitigation is 50%, however the Resistance value at which this is achieved varies by level. For Veteran Rank 14 characters, the mitigation cap is achieved at 32,500 Resistance, conferring 1% damage reduction per 650 Armor rating. There is no indicator for when the hard cap is reached. Going beyond the hard cap provides a buffer against armor piercing abilities and debuffs.

Magic, Fire, Frost, and Lightning damage types are mitigated by Spell Resistance. Physical and Poison damage types are mitigated by Physical Resistance. Disease is likely mitigated by Physical Resistance, but this is not confirmed.

Koorta · May 2015

Thanks for the detailed answer Ffastyl!

Help me understand, if the hard cap for mitigation is 50% that means you take only half of the damage the enemy deals. Can you reach 50% mitigation with Light and Medium armor? If so, does your clothing skill have to be at a much higher level than your blacksmithing skill for producing the same rated Heavy armor??

Actually what does a higher level of any skill bring besides unlocking better abilities??

Robbmrp · May 2015

Since items are rated based on their level and not your crafting level, you could never get to 50% mitigation in Light or Medium Armor even with the reinforced trait. Before 1.6 that was possible as people were tanking in Light armor. But no longer.

Unfortunately your crafting level only determines what skills you can unlock with skill points. A level 10 item made by a level 5 or level 50 blacksmith has the exact same armor rating.

The only way to make an item stronger than the base levels is to improve it with Resins, Tannens or Tempers. The higher the item color the more armor/damage the item has/does. Even at legendary improvement, Light and Medium armor will not get you to the 50 % mitigation level.

Koorta · May 2015

Oh wow, thanks for finally setting that straight. I saw some posts on the forum, obviously from before 1.6 that talk of 50% mitigation on all three armor types... Heavy it is for now I guess. I mean I prefer the look of Light and Medium, but higher mitigation is more important for now, maybe it'll change once I get level 50.

Nestor · May 2015

Koorta wrote: »

Oh wow, thanks for finally setting that straight. I saw some posts on the forum, obviously from before 1.6 that talk of 50% mitigation on all three armor types... Heavy it is for now I guess. I mean I prefer the look of Light and Medium, but higher mitigation is more important for now, maybe it'll change once I get level 50.

Well, there is the other side of this, just how important is Armor? If you play a certain way, you may never take a hit from an enemy. There are also shields I can call up on my light armored* sorcerer that can effectively stop any incoming damage, or make it so I can ignore it. So, Heavy might seem the best on paper if you just look at Armor Mitigation. But if you include the Passives from Light or Medium and how they can synergize with your class/build, then Heavy may not be the best over all choice.

*She wears 5 Light, and 2 Heavy. The Heavy pieces almost double her armor rating.