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Skyrim talk:Light Armor/Archive 1

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This is an archive of past Skyrim talk:Light Armor discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page, except for maintenance such as updating links.

Light Armor v. Heavy armor

"Light Armor is less protective than Heavy Armor, ..." About this note; it might be important that Reflect Blows doesn't mitigate damage while Deft Movement does. 81.233.217.129 08:22, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

I would say that one is a bit inconclusive. Does "Reflect Blows" work the same as it did in Oblivion with Reflect Damage spell effect? Or does reflect the damage but also injure the user despite of this? I think this needs further testing. 195.67.240.236 00:35, 2 December 2011 (UTC)
From what I've tested so far the player still takes the damage on a reflect. So with Light you have a chance to take no damage, with heavy you have a chance to take the damage but the enemy also takes the damage. As to the "Light Armor is less protective than Heavy Armor" that isn't actually true. Both sets can reach the defense cap, and it doesn't require any "exploit". Though I think people titling alchemy/enchanting an exploit are just lazy people that don't want to put the work into getting something they consider a boring skill raised. 98.95.154.154 18:06, 4 December 2011 (UTC)
Since both armors can reach the cap, Light Armor does offer better protection in the end because of the Deft Movement, which is like having extra 10% damage reduction on top of the 80% cap. Plus it has Wind Walker, plus it gets important perks earlier, doesn't drain stamina as much and generally is much easier to live with. 178.183.245.220 20:42, 5 December 2011 (UTC)
The "exploit" is called that not because of boring skills but because of the effect of basically infinite mutual raising of effects. Generally: Do A to be able to do B better or do B to be able to do A better are not exploits, but "Do A to be able to do B better then you can get A better so you can get B better which in turn increases A for the benefit of B" should have only so many steps before it gets silly. --Ulkomaalainen 01:14, 6 December 2011 (UTC)
... except not only do you not have to do this at all, you only have to do it once before the "cycle" stops being a cycle. You create +alchemy armor at 25% to make potions of +enchanting, and then use the potions to create new +alchemy armor at 29%. Then you're at the cap, because the +enchanting potions can't get you over 29% no matter what you do, beyond exploiting glitches like the fort resto glitch and such. So, I don't know how you can call that an exploi, or even "silly." It's two steps. That's not "so many steps." 146.115.161.12 03:48, 19 December 2011 (UTC)
Exactly, it can hardly be considered an exploit. The first reason being is the fact that it isn't an "infinite loop" since their is a cap on the bonus percentage you can get with the potions and the enchants. Secondly, just the simple fact that a cap exists at all means the developers perceived that such a possibility could occur. And they therefore put a limit on it to "balance" it. Now whether not it is actually "balanced" (which it isn't lolz) is a whole other debate entirely and semi off-topic. Anyway, I do agree though that light armor is superior. If you don't include the heavy armor or light armor perks, then the main argument is heavy armor's superior armor rating versus light armor's superior sneak/stamina-utility. However, if you can reach the armor cap regardless of whether or not your wearing heavy armor, then the only reason for wearing heavy armor has been officially thrown out the window. As for perks (that are worth mentioning), Reflect Blows vs. Def Movement seems more like a player's personal preference. Now I don't have enough experience to really say one way or the other, but I would guess if you were to meet an "armor cap", their would less of a need for more damage mitigation (i.e. Def Movement), and a greater demand for more damage output (Reflect Blows); I could be wrong though. The only other note worthy perk that may be worth mentioning is light armor's Wind Walker. But it depends on the build your playing with which would ultimately determine it's value. --69.205.180.81 08:47, 19 December 2011 (UTC)
Honestly, guys, it seems this has turned into more of an 'ethics' debate instead of a discussion about the pros and cons of light armor. I think the subject of using... um... 'over-powered' strategies and such should be left in a section discussing role play vs game play. Maniclurker 15:29, 5 January 2012 (UTC)

It apears that light armor rises werewolf armor rating while heavy armor does not.

You have any results that corroborate this? Not that I doubt you, just I would like to know for certain, and maybe get some numbers in here (looking at you, PC players). Maniclurker 17:00, 5 January 2012 (UTC)

Rearrange

I've rearranged the notes so that they list what the Pros and Cons exactly are. Feel free to do the same to the Heavy Armor section.--Shm0key 18:39, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

Direct benefits of skill?

So what benefits does a higher light armor skill provide other than access to more advanced perks?

It boosts the armour rating, but obviously not by as much as it would do with the benefit of perks. So you would have, say 20 armour rating at skill 20. 100 at skill 100 with no perks, and 250 at skill 100 with maxed perks. (Those numbers are complete abstracts however) JimmyDeSouza 14:47, 28 November 2011 (UTC)

Light Armor Bonus Question

My assumption is that if you have all light armor, but you are wearing a circlet on your head, you don't get the bonus. Is this possible to confirm? --Cdevine 14:58, 5 December 2011 (UTC)

Confirmed. Circlets are not armor, they are clothing. I have the Custom Fit bonus and all Legendary Scaled armor. If I equip my Circlet of Eminent Archery, replacing my helmet, then my armor rating drops from 321 to 203. We'll have to wait for the CS for mods that make circlets into armor. Phaid 03:25, 13 December 2011 (UTC)
Or you can use this modto make helmets not required for these perks. Kastagir 18:53, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

Leveling armor skills + restoration.

I'm sure this is well known by most but I'm gonna post it anyway since so far there are no leveling tips.

The river outside whiterun (to the east) has mud crabs all along the banks. Go here, turn the difficulty down to novice, aggro 2 mud crabs, equip your highest healing spell and best magic regen items (jewelry, enchanted armor, potions, etc), and let them beat on you. Mud crabs are perfect for this because they attack at a semi-fast steady pace, do weak damage per hit, and move extremely slow, allowing you to step out of combat range to regen.

If/when you run low on magicka, you can run circles around the mud crabs till you regen it back. This will need to be done more often at first until you get a few perks that make this process faster.

Those perks are: Light/heavy armor % bonuses at the beginning of the trees. (note: too many ranks will slow down restoration leveling a lot, but I suggest having 1-2 ranks so your magicka has more time to regen before you're low on health. This is mostly a preference issue. You don't NEED these but it helps.) Restoration skill perks (novice, adept, etc) Recovery (faster magicka regen), and the one that increases healing 50%, I forgot the name.

The most important IMO are the skill perks and recovery. Having these let's you stand there and get beat on for much longer stretches of time.

You COULD get more than 2 mud crabs for this but I think it's a waste. Having 2 on you will constantly attack. Any more than that and at least one of them tends to duck in and out while the other 2 attack. They kind of alternate turns, it's difficult to explain but try it yourself and you'll see what I mean.

It's boring, but it works. I hope this helps someone. If people would like I can post this in the heavy armor section as well.

Happy hunting.

- good tip for lower levels but more damage taken = more exp gained, so eventually you may wish to move up to stronger foes.
- I found that standing in a corner with a pack (preferably 3) of wolves dramatically decreased the time needed at medium to high levels


--- This works better for high level players with a large health pool against mammoths and with the Equilibrium spell in one hand and whatever healing spell you use in the other.

GLASS ARMOR.

i am an admirer of heavy armor, but i wanted to have all sets of armor.since the houses have now the mannequins and we can put on the armors.i found all the armors except glass...i found only in a chest a glass armor, but no helmet gauntlets or boots. i cant smith them cos i have choose the other side in the tree ( heavy armor ) but no merchant has anything to sell except weapons. i am at level 31.at what level the merchants sell glass staff??? (if they sell it anyway).

If you don't mind murdering someone (or stealing with 100 pickpocket and Perfect Touch perk), one member of a wondering Thalmor group is often wearing a full set of glass armor.
From what I've heard, it doesn't have to be murder--just bring up the topic of freedom of religion. --Evil4Zerggin 05:43, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

Anybody knows whats the best place to find these guys?????

They are random but if you hang out outside Solitude you'll run into them. The road to Dragons Bridge tends to spawn them pretty regularly. Also the cut road up toward the Thalmor Embassy seems to be a sweet spot as well as the road from Dragons Bridge to Morthal. Philbert 22:47, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

At the apropriate level almost every guard at northwatch keep has a full set

I'm 32 level...everybody had elven armor...in what level they have glass???? — Unsigned comment by Misusel (talkcontribs) at 09:38 on 12 December 2011

Glass armour drops at around level 36. For more info check out the armour page. (Link: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Armour) — Unsigned comment by 82.73.34.182 (talk) at 12:26 on 12 December 2011

1200 armor?

It's kinda sucky to hear about an armor cap. So is there a damage cap too!!? My onehand does 500 no enchants.

There is no cap on damage in 1.3.7.0. Kastagir 19:32, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

Light Armor and Magic Use?

I've heard a rumor that casting spells while wearing any armor is not nearly as proficient as casting them without armor. In Oblivion that was made very apparent, but in Skyrim I've yet to see this. Regardless if I'm stark naked or wandering around in a full suit of Light Armor, my spells cost the same, do the same magnitude for the same duration, and my Magicka replenishes at the same rate. Is this just a rumor or is there any hard evidence to support this claim either way? I'm posting this under the Heavy Armor discussion page as well (Under the title "Heavy Armor and Magic Use?"), so feel free to copy / paste answers there to, to keep facts and evidence clear. Thank you. 6:44 AM 18, DEc 2011, (CST).

From my experience neither heavy nor light armor have any effect on you magical abilities. Your regen rate is the same and using the enchanting skill you can add cost reduction enchantments to further lower the cost of spells.

There is no proficiency difference when casting magic with or without armour. The distinction is simply in what you can wear; a mage will get great benefits from a robe which bestows high magicka regeneration and cost reduction, than from a piece of armour which gives neither. --139.153.52.44 06:35, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

Recent Edit

I just removed a point from the 'Advantages' section, as it implied that Glass Armor is better than Dragon Armor. According to the info available on this very site, Dragonscale Armor has better protection than Glass Armor. In other words, the site was contradicting itself. I removed the bullet point. If there's some other reason that Glass Armor is considered the best Light Armor, then it needs to be explained. Swk3000 22:01, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

Glass armor is the best light armor that can be found - Dragonscale armor must be forged. The same could be said about Ebony armor being the best heavy armor that can be found whereas Dragonplate must be forged and Daedric must be forged or acquired through other means. Kastagir 18:56, 23 December 2011 (UTC)
That's not true. I have found a lot of dragon armor with and without enchantment. --Quozar 11:54, 27 December 2011 (UTC)
Dragonscale unquestionably drops in loot. Obviously it's not common for it to, and you need to be pretty high level for it to even be a possibility, but it does happen. It may even show up in shops from level 46 onwards: I can't confirm or deny that personally, but I'm sure someone can. Aliana 22:06, 30 December 2011 (UTC)
At level 61, I've managed to loot an entire ensemble of Dragon Scale armour from loot boxes in ruins and Bandit hide outs, but have yet to see any show up in shops. Though of course, I haven't gone out of my way looking for it in shops, since I craft all my own goodies and already know all the effects. 109.193.121.249 19:26, 4 January 2012 (UTC)
I can also confirm that I have found dragonscale loot in chests, although only one piece so far. I think I was around level 55 at the time. DeeLow 20:59, 4 January 2012 (UTC)
I can also confirm finding both dragonscale and dragonplate armor as loot in chests, and I do believe I've seen one of them in a shop, as well. Every time I've found it, it has come with decent enchantments. I've never seen any without enchantments. P.S. I deleted that extraordinarily unprofessional and completely useless remark of "I certainly don't believe this." Maniclurker 15:20, 5 January 2012 (UTC)
Well I can confirm that I found Daedric armor in dungeons, although I'm level 55 so I guess it can't be found before this. — Unsigned comment by 79.175.120.66 (talk) on January 15, 2012 07:06
Ditto, both types in loot. Level was mid-upper-40's. Never seen in shops and never on BG's as of yet. Philbert 22:54, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

Wind Walker

Does Wind Walker work with light armor and clothes? Like Arch-mage robe?Dragonalumni 12:16, 26 December 2011 (UTC)

"Stamina regenerates 50% faster in all Light Armor: head, chest, hands, feet" Without light armor chest it doesn't work. But maybe there some mod solutions for PC version.

What the perk says and what the perk does are often two different things. I loaded up my light armor assassin and indeed she regenerates stanima fastedr in light armor then naked or in clothes. --Vukodlak 01:20, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

Unhindered

Can anyone else confirm that the unhindered perk applies to Dragonplate as well as Dragon scale armour? I am on the 360 and this is the case for me Gugugan 01:13, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

Levelling off at the Marakesh Inn

Not sure who's been smoking what but what the heck is a Marakesh Inn doing in this wiki. I'm changing it to Markarth's Silver Blood Inn for now, if whoever wrote that comes down from their rush please verify the rest of what you wrote made sense. And don't smoke and wiki... 109.193.121.249 18:30, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

Deft Movement works on arrows

The entry point on Deft Movement is the same one used by things like Berserker Rage and Dragonhide. I know the entry point works on all combat damage, yet Deft Movement has no conditional for the attacker's weapon. I tested it in-game, and sure enough, Deft Movement will occasionally negate damage taken from arrows. This is contrary to its description, which claims to only work on melee attacks, so I've added it into the Bugs section for now. If people think this belongs somewhere else, feel free to move it, but certainly don't delete it. It's useful information to know that Deft Movement covers all combat attacks.--SushiSquid 11:03, 15 January 2012 (UTC)

I've also now changed the notes on Deft Movement vs. Reflect Blows. The note said there was a dispute on how it works, but I'll just settle the dispute right here: Deft Movement provides a 10% chance to negate combat damage from any source, while Reflect Blows provides a 10% chance to share melee damage with an attacker, but does not reduce your damage taken. The Reflect Damage spell effect does not work exactly the same way it did in Oblivion, i.e. it no longer reduces damage in addition to reflecting it. It only shares it now. It still only works on melee attacks, so you can't share arrow damage with an attacker.--SushiSquid 11:21, 15 January 2012 (UTC)
I'm not 100% comfortable with the Skyrim CK yet, but as far as I can tell it agrees with your in-game testing: it's just "combat damage", with no reference to the Attacker Weapon. Aliana 00:26, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

GetRandomPercent

When called, the GetRandomPercent function returns a whole number value from 0 to 99. It does not return from 1 to 100. It has always worked this way in past games, and Bethesda has never seemed to realize this in past games. They've done it in Skyrim too. Deft Movement has the conditional GetRandomPercent <= 10. This means if the function returns 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10, the effect will activate. You'll notice this is an 11% chance, not a 10% chance as the perk description reports. The same problem exists with Reflect Blows (11% chance), Bullseye (16% chance), Paralyzing Strike (26% chance), and Warmaster (26% chance). I've added this information to all of their pages with a link to this talk page to explain it. --SushiSquid 12:43, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Matching Set

it should probably be noted that this bonus does only seem to apply to armour sets that can be crafted by the player (maybe some other exceptions exist?). eg neither my light imperial set nor my dark brotherhood set(s) nor the penitus oculatus set do give me this bonus. only the plain leather gives it from the leathern armour kinds. alternatively it would be cool if someone could create a list of all light armour sets to whom this bonus applies to :D (maybe best some PC player to fast cheat the way through testing phase ... ps3 here) --84.227.225.116 01:49, 22 January 2012 (UTC)


The bonus does seem to apply to my dark brotherhood set, but when this perk was added, it seems the custom fit perk was lost. So it still it seems that one perk is wasted. 152.23.16.203 14:58, 28 January 2012 (UTC)


I don't know what either of you are doing to make you think that these perks don't work on unique light armor sets but a simple test shows that both Matching Set and Custom Fit are working on Nightingale and Ancient Shrouded sets of armor. If I substitute the Guild Master's Hood for either of the Nightingale Hood or the Ancient Shrouded Cowl there is an appreciable drop in the displayed armor rating of each piece of armor and if I simply take the hood off there is an additional drop in the displayed armor rating of each piece of armor. Neither should happen if either perk bonus is not being applied.--DagmarH 09:01, 18 February 2012 (UTC)

I was able to mix-n-match Linwe Armor and Guildmaster Armor and get the Matching Set bonus. Does matching set include all leather armors including special leather armors? 71.41.153.154 21:18, 16 November 2012 (GMT)

I had elven boots, gloves and helmet, with elven gilded armor. Selecting this perk didn't improve my armour rating. I went back to a previous save, crafted a piece of elven armor and donned it, and the perk then made a difference. So elven gilded armor isn't considered part of an elven armor set, which seems wrong to me. I've added this to the notes. Peterguard (talk) 21:32, 7 April 2013 (GMT)

Well, wouldn't you know it, patch 1.9 was downloaded to my Xbox today and it fixes this. I can now resume using the gilded armor. I'll fix the comment. Peterguard (talk) 18:05, 8 April 2013 (GMT)

Silence: heavy armour vs light armour

Under the Skill Usage section, a point listed in heavy armour's favour is as follows:

Sneak's Silence perk muffles heavy armor (though it also muffles light armor).

Seeing as Silence applies equally to both light and heavy armour types, it seems to be neither an advantage nor disadvantage to either armour type. Unless I've misunderstood this, and until someone can provide clarification, I've removed this line. --Reka 10:53, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

The advantage of light armour is that it is good for Thief players as it makes less noise but with this perk Thief players can wear heavy armour without penalty while getting more protection. Since it negates a disadvantage of heavy armour it is technically an advantage, although I see your point. RIM 11:44, 17 February 2012 (UTC)
Having re-read what I wrote above, I've realised I wasn't as clear as I could have been; although Silence might be seen as more of an advantage to users of heavy armour than to those of light armour, the entire Skill Usage section is phrased as reasons why you would and wouldn't choose to use light armour. In that context it's definitely not a reason not to use light armour.
Perhaps the sentence should be rephrased to explain that using light armour lessens the perceived value of the Silence perk, since light armour is by definition quieter than heavy armour (i.e. you get more bang for your Silence buck by using heavy armour). --Reka 12:32, 17 February 2012 (UTC)
I think that would be ok, I thought the perk reduced the noise from armour to zero but if it only reduces it then I suppose it would wouldn't be a huge deal. RIM 12:54, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

Damage/XP

Since "Armor skill increases are based on incoming damage", can we conclude that better armor will raise one's Light Armor skill a bit slower? As would using the Mage Armor spells while wearing armor? 76.185.41.201 21:49, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

Never mind - "incoming damage", not damage received. Got it. 76.185.41.201 21:26, 19 June 2012 (UTC)
Request for further clarification - Light Armor XP description says "Armor skill increases are based on 'incoming' damage," while Block XP description says "Block skill gains are based on the amount of damage blocked". As "incoming" is slightly ambiguous, based on testing or game code, can we definitively clarify Light Armor XP is based on:
• enemy base damage output (no modifier)
• damage absorbed by armor (better armor increases skill faster)
• damage received (weaker armor levels faster)
• does having a shield equipped affect XP
• does blocking reduce XP
• does difficulty level have any effect? S1D3WYZ (talk) 02:00, 12 January 2013 (GMT)

Silence's Effect on armor with the Conditioning or Unhindered Perk

Does the silence perk in the sneak tree have an effect on armor that weighs nothing when worn?

Benefit if at Cap?

If I'm at the armor cap already from improving the armor with Smithing, is there any benefit to be gained from levelling this skill or from selecting the perks which enhance armor rating (Agile Defender, Custom Fit, Matching Set)? Do the skill or the perks mitigate damage in any way other than raising the armor rating, which cannot be effectively raised above 567? --SDShannonS 16:15, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

Is experience gained affected by difficulty?

I would assume the answer is no, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Since experience is apparently gained based on the damage the enemy can mete out, does changing the difficulty change your experience gain? Would playing on Master double the rate at which you gain experience? 108.204.57.35 11:07, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

Erm, nevermind, I derped. Difficulty modifies the player, not NPCS, so of course it doesn't change your experience gain. 108.204.57.35 11:15, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
Answer: Not directly, but indirectly. For instance, I have a bow that does mad damage. If I attack a dragon on novice, I get minimal xp. If I attack the same dragon on master, I get more xp bc I am using more shots, and hence dealing more damage. Damage done is the element that determines xp for most attributes that deal damage (i.e. Destruction, Archery, 1Handed...) Similarly, I had let a bear attack me on novice while I taped down my triggers and cast the "Healing" spell (the one that is a continuous heal). On novice, I found myself leveling up very slowly (bc I was only healing a few health points at a time). On expert, I was healing much more health points per second. Therefore, my restoration was leveling MUCH quicker. All of these types of leveling works the same. But something like Alteration is not affected by the difficulty at all. Im actually not sure what governs how your alteration advances - probably by number of spells cast, which again, has no effect on different difficulties. — Unsigned comment by 216.227.21.9 (talk) at 02:42 on 21 September 2012‎

Armor Cap? What Armor Cap? Source please!

I currently have a level 49 character with 4 pieces of Glass and the Amulet of Articulation. The Light Armor is 86. With smithing at 100%, a fortify 105% smithing potion and enchanted smithing equipment providing an additonal 67% so that all four pieces are tempered at high level Legendary. Additionally, the character has the Lord stone for +50 armor. This is all on a PC. The game shows 707 for armor and the console command - Player.getavinfo damageresist - shows 657 base, 50 permanent and 707 total. So where does this Armor Cap show up? What is the source or basis for asserting that there is an armor cap? Could someone provide a link? Kalevala 05:39, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Here is the link to the section explaining the armor cap http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Armor#Armor_Cap Lord EydvarTalk 05:43, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
Also as a note however using a shield to block reduces the damage you take BEFORE your armor rating comes into play which makes it possible to block 85% of damage and then resist 80% of the 15% you didn't block. Making the total damage you take be about 3% of the original. Ex. (100-85%)-80%=3! Lord EydvarTalk 05:50, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Does Unhindered improve sneak?

Since how much noise an armour makes is determined by its weight, does the "Unhindered" perk improve your sneaking any? Thanks. --Irrevenant (talk) 12:16, 28 December 2012 (GMT)

I cannot answer with certainty, but based upon my experience with the heavy armor perk, I'd have to say yes it does. Sneaking ability goes up drastically in heavy armor once you take the perk; of course, it's pretty bad to begin with using heavy armor, which probably makes the difference more noticeable. Quillan (talk) 18:35, 8 April 2013 (GMT)

Fast Way to Level this skill.

I have admittedly used the Restoration glitch to make myself have some awesome armour. However I have noticed I get very little exp with high smithed armour with most enemies including Draugr. However, if one has access to Dragonborn they can utilize the Mudcrabs including Old Salty. What you need to do is go to the dock area where Old Salty is, attract all the mudcrabs around and then gather them near the ebony ore vein nearby and stand there. Eventually the Mudcrabs will push you into the ice wall so you will not move anywhere and they will continue to claw and hit at you. Even if you're invulnerable, you will still get very fast experience even if you have the mage stone selected instead of the theif stone. I've never seen this skill go up so fast without oghma infinium glitch, now patched. --67.168.37.164 03:00, 21 June 2013 (GMT)


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