See Weapon#Superior metal rule for further discussion. For bludgeoning weapons, "weight" is the guiding rule, and all combat metals have roughly the same weight. A "better" metal will defeat a "lesser" armor, while a weapon of a lesser metal will be stopped more easily.
weapon" results are very dependent on the metal of each. See the weapon article for more specific information.Īlso, for slashing and piercing weapons (but not bludgeoning), the "armor vs. "Solid" pieces (breastplates, greaves, gauntlets) are rigid, so they are more widely effective as protection against all weapons but are heavier. "Chain" pieces are flexible, and while good against slashing weapons (axes), they don't do much to stop the crushing force of blunt weapons (maces and hammers). The actual effectiveness of a given piece of armor depends largely on the weapon(s) being used against it. (All this is explained below in more detail.) Note that breastplates only protect upper/lower torso areas, while mail shirts also cover the neck, the upper arms, and the upper legs. However, this page will concentrate mostly just on combat-quality armor. In the z- stocks menu, each piece of armor is listed under the location where it is worn - "armor" being with other torso pieces, headwear, handwear, legwear, and footwear. Loosely speaking, anything worn provides some protection, so it is considered "armor". The purpose of each piece is pretty much self-explanatory. Each armor piece protects a certain area or areas of a dwarf, and different pieces might cover a different collection of areas (see coverage chart below). It comes in a variety of individual pieces that work together to cover a dwarf - there is no "suit of armor" in the sense of a single piece of equipment. Armor is protective equipment used to reduce/deflect damage during combat.