Difference in armour classes PvE

ngillan · June 2015

I've been told that as an archer, I should use mostly MEDIUM class armour. I don't see the point though when I keep stumbling across heavy armour that has 100+ more defense than any medium armor that I have in my inventory at the time. Do I run faster with medium armor? Am I more agile with medium armor? The perks/enchantments on the med armour don't seem to outweigh the pure defense advantage of heavy armour.

Drazhar14 · June 2015

As an archer, you will be dodge rolling a lot. Medium armor lets you do that more often, and also gives you more attack strength. And yes one passive increases sprint speed. Once you begin putting skillpoints into armor lines, the difference will become clear.

Flaminir · June 2015

Medium armor has 75% of the armor value of heavy....

But take a closer look at the Stamina passives for medium.... that's why you use it as an archer!

It will increase both your damage & stamina regen

Spottswoode · June 2015

Medium armor is frequently used to maximize the damage that bows give. They add to weapon crit which will substantially affect your overall damage as an archer. You can be an archer in heavy armor, but you will sacrifice much higher damage for armor. A full set of medium armor will increase your weapon damage 12% and give you an extra 21% crit with the full perks.

There are other methods of protection that don't require you to sacrifice your damage potential. If your primarily an archer, it would be a little foolish to remove your highest damage potential. You can for instance, use mixed medium and heavy. But you would lose the 12% extra damage. There are also damage shield and defensive abilities that you can use to mitigate damage without using heavy armor.

ngillan · June 2015

Thank you!! I am just a level 10 right now so this is promising to know that medium will be more and more appealing as I build my skills.

arduinocutter · June 2015

exactly. the passives for medium armor are suited to a sneaky, swift ranged dps character. heavy passives make assumptions your character is toe to toe with the enemy and taking constant damage as well as trying to hold "hate" keeping the healer and ranged dps's out of harms way. so heavy allows for increasing the amount of healing received, has the amazing shield to prevent you getting knocked back etc...

through 8 characters I run all three armor types until I reach 50 to max them all out - then choose which I want to run with. the undaunted skill line allows for a special buff when wearing all three types of armor.

I've found the race of my characters to be a very important aspect of my builds. they each have different strengths especially in what kind of armor, what weapon and what job suits them best. good luck!

PBpsy · June 2015

ngillan wrote: »

I've been told that as an archer, I should use mostly MEDIUM class armour. I don't see the point though when I keep stumbling across heavy armour that has 100+ more defense than any medium armor that I have in my inventory at the time. Do I run faster with medium armor? Am I more agile with medium armor? The perks/enchantments on the med armour don't seem to outweigh the pure defense advantage of heavy armour.

Do you know that each armor type has skill line associated with it and the skills and passives you get from that line will give a Medium Armor wearer about 40% increase dps overall over Heavy and the resources to do damage almost indefinitely while the heavy armor guy will run out of steam pretty fast.?

Lynx7386 · June 2015

The real difference in armor types comes from the armor skill lines. The medium armor skill line gives you massive bonuses to stamina, crit, damage, sneaking, and mobility based on how many pieces of medium armor you have equipped.

AlnilamE · June 2015

ngillan wrote: »

Thank you!! I am just a level 10 right now so this is promising to know that medium will be more and more appealing as I build my skills.

If you are at a low level, I'd recommend wearing 5 pieces of medium, 1 heavy and 1 light so you can level the other armor skills naturally as you go. That will give you more flexibility in the future if you decide to change your play style.

idk · June 2015

ngillan wrote: »

I've been told that as an archer, I should use mostly MEDIUM class armour. I don't see the point though when I keep stumbling across heavy armour that has 100+ more defense than any medium armor that I have in my inventory at the time. Do I run faster with medium armor? Am I more agile with medium armor? The perks/enchantments on the med armour don't seem to outweigh the pure defense advantage of heavy armour.

Just look at the oassives for medium and heavy armor and it is clear the difference it makes.

As far as what you should wear as an archer, it's your choice.

Big damage archer wears medium armor.

Archer that likes to look pretty and shiny wears heavy.

Heavy armor will not do much for your survival regardless as this game requires a player to avoid and block damage. Otherwise they are dead regardless of the armor they wear.