User:Jdavis/Armor

This armor guide is a work in progress. Many features need to be added, refined, removed, etc.

This guide helps you plan armor loadouts for play in the Clockworks. The advice here applies equally well to free-to-play and pay-to-play players.

What Does Armor Do?

Armor does four things: It gives you health, protects you from damage, resists status effects, and grants you abilities. The contributions from your helmet and suit add to produce your total health, damage protection, status resistance, and abilities. Note well that your shield does not contribute in the same way. A shield's defenses protect only the shield itself. (For more detail, see the Shieldbearer Guide.)

Health

Armor gives you health, which greatly improves your survivability. A suit or helmet gains one extra health when it reaches heat level 5. Except for Ancient Plate Mail/Helm, all 5-star armor grants the same amount of health. Therefore health is rarely a consideration in choosing armor.

Damage

There are four kinds of damage: normal, piercing, elemental, and shadow. Each kind of monster attack contains a specific mixture of these types. Roughly speaking, beasts and slimes inflict piercing, gremlins and constructs inflict elemental, and fiends and undead inflict shadow. However, in shallow levels monsters inflict mostly normal damage, and even in Tier 3 there is a fair amount of normal. For example, in Firestorm Citadel normal damage is inflicted by Lord Vanaduke, slag guards, and trojans.

Almost all armor protects against normal damage and one other damage type. The exceptions are Ancient Plate Mail/Helm, Dragon Scale Mail/Helm, Radiant Silvermail, and Divine Veil/Mantle. When an attack hits you, your armor's protections are subtracted from the attack's gross damage to yield the net damage that you incur. (For more detail, see Defense.)

The overall importance of damage protection is not as big as you might think. Highly protective armor might let you survive one or two more hits than weakly protective armor. Consequently heat and damage unique variants have only a slight effect.

Status

Shock, freeze, and fire can absolutely wreck you, regardless of your damage protection. Stun, poison, and curse are less threatening. Sleep is almost absent from the game, and should not be considered.

thresholds

Abilities

Armor can grant four kinds of abilities: movement speed increase, attack speed increase, charge time reduction, and damage bonus.

four kinds of damage bonus granted by armor: one weapon type against one monster family, one monster family, one weapon type, or blanket

Armor by Class

Because offensive bonuses are a crucial consideration in choosing armor, I group armors into four categories: Swords, Handguns, for Bombs, and Other. Two armor sets — Black Kat and Chaos — are listed in every category, for ease of comparison.

Overall, there are 72 5-star armors. In almost all cases the suit and helmet are obtained identically and enjoy identical statistics. The seven exceptions, marked with * below, are: Radiant Silvermail has no matching helmet, Perfect Mask of Seerus has no matching suit, Divine Veil has a fiend bonus while Divine Mantle does not, and the four Kat armor lines have unusual and asymmetric alchemy paths.

Swords

Wolver; see also Black Kat and Chaos

Name	Damage	Bonuses	Fi	Fr	Sh	Po	St	Cu	Sl
Heavenly Iron	norm+shad	sword dam+1, fiend dam+1			sh-4			cu+4
Skolver	norm+pier	sword dam+2		fr+4
Snarbolax	norm+shad	sword dam+2		fr+3		po+3
Vog Cub	norm+elem	sword ASI+2	fi+4
Kat Claw*	norm+shad	sword ASI+1, sword dam+1		fr+4	sh-2			cu-1
Chaos	norm+elem	all dam+2, all CTR+2	fi-2	fr-2	sh-2	po-2		cu-2
Black Kat*	norm+shad	MSI+1, all dam+3	fi-2	fr+4	sh-2	po-2		cu-4

Handguns

Gunslinger, Padded; see also Black Kat and Chaos

Then there are 36 Padded armor lines, organized as nine variants in four status flavors: Falcon (sh+4, fr-3), Firefly (fi+4, sh-3), Grizzly (fr+4, po-3), and Snakebite (po+4, fi-3). These armors are marked with ? in the status columns below. Each armor's official name begins with "Sacred", which simply means "5-star".

Name	Damage	Bonuses	Fi	Fr	Sh	Po	St	Cu	Sl
Deadshot	norm+shad	gun ASI+1, undead dam+2						cu+4
Justifier	norm+pier	gun ASI+2					st+4
Nameless	norm+elem	gun ASI+2		fr+4
Seerus*	norm+elem	gun CTR+2, gun ASI+1	fi+4	fr-2	sh+4	po-2
Shadowsun	norm+shad	gun dam+2				po+4
Kat Eye*	norm+shad	gun ASI+1, gun dam+1		fr+4	sh-2			cu-1
FaFiGrSn Pathfinder	norm+pier	gun ASI+1, gun CTR+1, gun dam+1	fi?	fr?	sh?	po?
FaFiGrSn Guerrilla	norm+pier	gun ASI+1, gun CTR+1, gun bst dam+2	fi?	fr?	sh?	po?
FaFiGrSn Hazard	norm+pier	gun ASI+1, gun CTR+1, gun slm dam+2	fi?	fr?	sh?	po?
FaFiGrSn Sentinel	norm+elem	gun ASI+1, gun CTR+1, gun dam+1	fi?	fr?	sh?	po?
FaFiGrSn Keeper	norm+elem	gun ASI+1, gun CTR+1, gun cnst dam+2	fi?	fr?	sh?	po?
FaFiGrSn Wraith	norm+elem	gun ASI+1, gun CTR+1, gun grm dam+2	fi?	fr?	sh?	po?
FaFiGrSn Shade	norm+shad	gun ASI+1, gun CTR+1, gun dam+1	fi?	fr?	sh?	po?
FaFiGrSn Ghost	norm+shad	gun ASI+1, gun CTR+1, gun und dam+2	fi?	fr?	sh?	po?
FaFiGrSn Hex	norm+shad	gun ASI+1, gun CTR+1, gun fnd dam+2	fi?	fr?	sh?	po?
Chaos	norm+elem	all dam+2, all CTR+2	fi-2	fr-2	sh-2	po-2		cu-2
Black Kat*	norm+shad	MSI+1, all dam+3	fi-2	fr+4	sh-2	po-2		cu-4

Bombs

Demo; see also Black Kat and Chaos; ignore Mad Bomber

Name	Damage	Bonuses	Fi	Fr	Sh	Po	St	Cu	Sl
Bombastic Demo	norm+elem	bomb dam+2		fr+4
Mad Bomber	norm+elem	bomb dam+2, bomb CTR+2	fi-2	fr-2	sh-2	po-2
Mercurial Demo	norm+elem	bomb dam+1, MSI+1			sh+4
Volcanic Demo	norm+elem	bomb CTR+2	fi+4
Kat Hiss*	norm+shad	bomb CTR+1, bomb dam+1		fr+4	sh-2			cu-1
Chaos	norm+elem	all dam+2, all CTR+2	fi-2	fr-2	sh-2	po-2		cu-2
Black Kat*	norm+shad	MSI+1, all dam+3	fi-2	fr+4	sh-2	po-2		cu-4

Other

Name	Damage	Bonuses	Fi	Fr	Sh	Po	St	Cu	Sl
Almirian Crusader	norm+shad		fi-2					cu+2
Azure Guardian	norm+pier
Dread Skelly	norm+shad			fr+4		po+4
Grey Feather	norm+elem		fi+4		sh+4
Ice Queen	norm+pier			fr+4			st+4
Royal Jelly	norm+pier						st+4		sl+4
Arcane Salamander	norm+elem	slime dam+1, beast dam+1	fi+4
Deadly Virulisk	norm+pier	slime dam+2				po+4
Dragon Scale	pier+elem	beast dam+2	fi+4			po+4
Radiant Silvermail*	pier+shad	undead dam+2				po+4		cu+4
Divine*	elem+shad	fiend dam+2 (Veil only)	fi+4		sh+4			cu+4
Valkyrie	norm+shad	fiend dam+2	fi-4			po+4		cu+4
Volcanic Salamander	norm+elem	slime dam+2	fi+4
Volcanic Plate	norm+elem	all ASI-1	fi+4				st+4		sl-4
Ironmight Plate	norm+pier	all ASI-1					st+4		sl-4
Ancient Plate	normal	health+3, MSI-1, all ASI-1					st+4		sl-4
Mercurial	norm+pier	MSI+1			sh+4
Fallen	norm+shad	all ASI+1, fiend dam-2	fi+4			po+4		cu-4
Chaos	norm+elem	all dam+2, all CTR+2	fi-2	fr-2	sh-2	po-2		cu-2
Black Kat*	norm+shad	MSI+1, all dam+3	fi-2	fr+4	sh-2	po-2		cu-4

How Do I Decide?

Chaos. Black Kat.

If not that, then class armor. If you're hybrid, then mix and match as you see fit. Break ties in favor of which weapon you use the most, or the shock, fire, and freeze resistance.

If not that, then some of the better defensive armors, such as Divine, Grey Feather, Dread Skelly.

General Goals

Hybrid?

Just mix and match from the sword, handgun, and bomb classes above. Or just use Black Kat and Chaos.

One Set for All Purposes?

new players, frugal players just wanting to get 5-star clearance quickly

Black Kat and Chaos.

Can you resist shock, fire, and freeze all at once? Shock and fire come together on several armor pieces: Seerus, Divine, and Grey Feather. You could combine one of these with some freeze armor such as Skolver. That's not a bad idea for a first set. Eventually you could acquire additional armors to make specialized shock, fire, and freeze sets. Specialization is desirable, because it lets you achieve immunity against certain levels of status.

Can you protect against all four damage types at once? Yes, using either Radiant Silvermail, Divine Veil/Mantle, or Dragon Scale Helm/Mail. But this is not a great idea, because damage protection is not the main concern in choosing armor. A slightly better idea is to protect against normal, elemental, and shadow, because piercing monsters are generally the least threatening.

Most Powerful Set?

Black Kat lets you achieve maximum abilities. But hard to obtain. But consider the 3-star helmet especially.

Chaos is nearly as powerful and much easier to obtain.

Specific Situations

Bosses

The Gloaming Wildwoods are three levels of beasts, with some constructs. There is no status, other than lumber stun. Hazards include spikes, exploding blocks, and briars. You want normal and piercing armor. There may not actually be much piercing damage in there, as it's only Stratum 2.

The Royal Jelly Palace is three levels of slimes, some constructs, and some silkwings. There is no status, other than lumber stun. The only hazards are spikes and exploding blocks. You want normal and piercing armor. Elemental and stun armor are slightly useful.

Ironclaw Munitions Factory is three levels of constructs and gremlins, with a shock theme. Hazards are plentiful, including missiles, shock grates, exploding rockets, exploding blocks, and lasers. You want normal, elemental, and shock armor.

Firestorm Citadel is five levels of zombies and trojans, with some constructs and silkwings, and very few beasts and slimes. The theme is fire, but keep in mind that trojans can stun and shock. Hazards include wheel throwers, spikes, fire grates, shadow fire, exploding blocks, and revolving balls. You want normal, elemental, shadow, and fire armor. Of these, shadow is arguably the least important, because zombies are easy to dodge.

Shadow Lairs

The Shadow Gloaming Wildwoods are similar to the regular Gloaming Wildwoods, but with many additional undead. The gun puppies have been replaced with howlitzers. There is a strong poison theme. You want normal, piercing, shadow, and poison armor.

The Shadow Royal Jelly Palace is much like the ordinary Royal jelly Palace, but with a freeze theme. Also, the gun puppies have been replaced with polyps. You want normal, piercing, and freeze armor.

The Shadow Ironclaw Munitions Factory is much like the usual Ironclaw Munitions Factory, but with a fire theme in addition to the regular shock theme. You want normal, elemental, shock, and fire armor.

The Shadow Firestorm Citadel resembles the Firestorm Citadel, but with a curse theme in addition to the usual fire theme. Also, the gun puppies have been replaced with howlitzers. You want normal, elemental, shadow, fire, and curse armor.

The Unknown Passage is an extra level that comes after every Shadow Lair boss. It is the same for all Shadow Lairs; it has nothing to do with any of their themes. Normal damage is most prevalent, but piercing, elemental, and shadow damage are all present. Status is not a major consideration, but poison and stun can occur.

Missions

Operation Crimson Hammer is about five levels, filled with gremlins and constructs. Hazards include briars, exploding rockets, missiles, and shadow fire. You want normal and elemental armor. Do you also want fire? I don't remember.

Legion of Almire is two undead-stuffed levels, like an amped-up graveyard where the phantoms have been replaced by worse monsters. There is no status, except for lumber stun. Hazards include exploding blocks, briars, and spikes. You want normal and shadow armor.

Compound 42 is two levels filled with slimes, gremlins, poison, and fire. Hazards include poison grates, fire grates, flamethrowers, and shadow fire. You want normal, piercing, elemental, fire, and poison armor.

Heart of Ice consists of two freeze-themed levels filled with fiends and beasts, and scattered howlitzers. Hazards include freeze grates, spikes, exploding blocks, and revolving balls. You want normal, piercing, shadow, and freeze armor. Of these, piercing is probably least important, because beasts are easy to dodge these days.

Ghost in the Machine consists of two shock-filled levels filled with constructs and undead. Hazards include shock grates, revolving shock balls, and lots of drones. You want normal, elemental, shadow, and shock armor. Of these, shadow is arguably least important.

Final Thoughts

Weapons are fun. Armor is boring. If you're frustrated with your survivability, then think about armor. But otherwise think about weapons.