So the armor cap in Skyrim made many top armors have the same defense but more weight. I understand and agree with the reasoning behind this (max armor absorbtion was 80%) but still found it annoying and thought there could be another way

The solution seemed to be to add a perk that counters the weight. Instead, I have a few ideas for alternative armor mechanics

Before I continue, I have not played ESO so there may be things like this already in effect there, I wouldn't know.

1. Armor adds health points instead of reducing damage. This allows armor rating to continue growing with damage output. The magic side of this would be a spell that blocks a certain number of health points and then has to be re-cast (think energy shields from the KoTOR series). And maybe wears off after a certain amount of time.

you could find more powerful versions of this spell. I'm sure the devs could figure out a good way to scale it to level if they decided to do something like this.

The only downside is that it wouldn't really make since for healing potions to also heal armor.

2. Another idea would be dependent on ratios. If your armor point to max health ratio was say 3:1, the armor would absorb 75% of the damage and you would take 25% of it. Notice that this is based on max health and therefor could be easily exploited by not upgrading health (assuming the skyrim leveling system), but I still put it out here to spark other ideas.

I would like this forum to be a place for people to post their ideas about armor mechanics or to piggy back ideas off of mine. I don't claim to have the best idea, but would like to see the best idea put into the game, so please post.

Devs, if you are reading this, I (and probably the community viewing this) would like to know what you are thinking so far for armor mechanics in the next game.

Thanks

Please use the official beyond TESVI thread for stuff like this.

That said here's my two pence.

I always looked at the fact that you could hit the max armor with both light and heavy armor as being more about skill than the armor itself. You get good enough with armor that you can absorb most of the damage with the type of armor you specialize in. At lower skill levels heavy armor is better with a weight disadvantage but at higher skill levels, the masters of the skill don't really have to worry about that. Something they might be able to do to differentiate between light and heavy armor is having two things.

One is an armor piercing stat on weapons and a piercing resistance on armors. Heavier armors are less likely to be pierced while light armors will be pierced easier. To even it out a bit heavy armor could make you move slower so you take the straight resistance over mobility. Lighter armors will restrict your movement less so you are more likely to dodge but if you get hit you won't be as protected. This could also affect the weaponry you choose in battle. Whether you need a heavy weapon to pierce armor or a lighter faster weapon to keep up with the movements of the more agile warrior. The lighter faster weapons wouldn't be able to pierce heavier armor without luck or skill leading to a well placed blow. The heavier weapons wouldn't be able to hit the faster warriors without either stupidity on your opponents part, fatigue slowing them down, or sheer strength letting you swing faster.

The second thing could be durability. Heavy armor could degrade slower than lighter armor. Heavy steel plate will obviously be able to take more hits than a light chainmail. Different weapons could inflict more damage or less damage (or no damage if they are too fragile, possibly breaking in the attempt which would mean weapons also have a durability)

Yes, please use http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1517499-official-beyond-skyrim-tes-vi-57/ thread.