Every piece of armour in the game is defined by two things: its tier (how advanced it is) and its weight class (how it plays). Get these straight and the named sets in the next guide fall into place. For how armour behaves in a fight, see the Combat wiki's Armour & Shields.
The five tiers
| Tier | Outline colour |
|---|---|
| 1 | Gray |
| 2 | Green |
| 3 | Blue |
| 4 | Purple |
| 5 | Orange (also called "gold") |
Higher tiers have better stats and demand more advanced crafting materials. Each nation has its own gear in each tier, but any player can craft and wear any nation's gear, and within a tier the stats are standardised — nations differ in looks, not numbers. You climb tiers through the Armour branch of Character Development (covered in Armour & Shields).
The three weight classes
| Class | Made by | Trades | Weakest to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light | Tailoring + Leatherworking | Lowest stamina drain & highest damage output; least protection | Slashing |
| Medium | + Armoursmithing | A balanced middle — fair protection, moderate damage | Piercing |
| Heavy | Mostly Armoursmithing | Best protection; highest stamina drain & lowest damage output | Bludgeoning |
The damage trade-off is real and large: a full heavy set gives the lowest damage output (archery in heavy is especially hard), while a full top-tier light set gives the highest. This is the same reason archers and duelists run light and the frontline runs heavy.
The six slots
A full set is six pieces (plus a shield)
- Helm
- Shoulders
- Chest
- Legs
- Gloves
- Boots
A shield is a separate, masterable slot for light and heavy builds. Each tier-5 piece is mastered independently by wearing it.
The set bonus (read this carefully)
Wearing 4 pieces of the same weight class grants a flat +10% to all damage-reduction values (your reductions turn green when it's active). The crucial detail: the bonus keys off weight class, not a matching named set — four heavy pieces from four different sets still earn it. There's no extra bonus for wearing 5 or 6.
Your attributes also reduce damage: Strength cuts slashing, Constitution cuts bludgeoning, Dexterity cuts piercing — each point is −0.25 of that damage type. Plan the whole picture in the Build Maker.