Is light armor pointless/useless? What are the pros of it? : V - Skyrim

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:30 am

an armor weightless perk thats much lower down the tree (only 3 points in)

50% stamina regen for mucho power attacks (4 points in)

higher run speed

the carrying of mutiple gear for mutiple situations (i carry 100% resist sets for fire, frost and shock dmg that weight 1.3 per set)

i can use a decent guardian stone (rather that one that refers to me being a horse...)

and ye you can hit the cap in light armor. hitting the cap is pretty easy tbh. im more than halfway there with a single point in the base of the tree.

Dragonscale Armor actually looks decent

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:53 pm

I'd like to see where it's confirmed. I can only speculate that the effect may have mirrored Oblivion's, which did negate as well as reflect.

Well I have the perk myself, and it reflects it back to the atacker without harming me, I would assume its a sort of "bouncing off armor" kind of effect, which is no different than avoiding it, unless ofcourse if theres a small fraction of damage that goes through im not noticing

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:20 am

The perk that removes the weight of heavy armor only comes at level 70. Light weighs next to nothing from level one. So unless you are grinding your heavy armor skill, it should take you quite a while to get to the point where heavy armor gets all of the benefits of light.

This. Just because there's a "weightless" perk (and muffled boots) doesn't mean you have them instantly. Or even quickly - I know it took me a long time to get to that high a Light Armor skill level on my current character.

there's a couple of unique light armors in the game for stealth characters, and also, there's a big difference in appearance if you care about that kind of stuff

And this.

There's also the encumbrance factor. My first character wore heavy armor. Personally, I got really sick of getting over-encumbered in every dungeon. My current character wears light armor and it's such a relief to not have to go into the inventory every five minutes to drop items.

And this.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 4:51 am

nothing at all

nothing at all

nothing at all

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 9:03 pm

There's a lot of misinformation around so here's kind of the basics -

There is an armor cap. It is 567. Both light and heavy armors can hit the cap.
You will hit the cap earlier with heavy, and/or can save a few perks in smithing or heavy armor since 5/5 Juggernaut+Well Fitted and Daedric Armor is overkill.
Heavy Armor requires more perks OR a certain stone sign to be on par with light armor's sprinting effectiveness. Could potentially use the stone until you can pick up the perk.
Light Armor has(arguably) better perks that are more convenient to reach. 10% dodge is > 10% reflect for most people. Heavy's stagger protection is less useful than faster stam regen in light. Heavy's hand to hand bonus, and reduced fall damage are not very desirable and required to be on par with light's mobility unless you want to use a stone instead, which is still a loss as light armor users can choose a stronger, combat oriented stone.
The heavy side of the smithing tree has better weapons. However, a light armor user can still take that side of the tree and eventually get the best light armor(dragon scale).

In short, they end up being no different at all when it comes to mitigation and mobility, but with end game light armor coming out slightly ahead overall due to it's superior perks /perk tree layout, while heavy will be better mitigation early on and has an early game advantage when it comes to smithing.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:05 pm

Well I have the perk myself, and it reflects it back to the atacker without harming me, I would assume its a sort of "bouncing off armor" kind of effect, which is no different than avoiding it, unless ofcourse if theres a small fraction of damage that goes through im not noticing

Damn... A really bad omen that TES is seeking to merge even more skills together.

Wouldn't be surprised if in TES VI, there was simply an "Armor" skill.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 11:10 pm

an armor weightless perk thats much lower down the tree (only 3 points in)

50% stamina regen for mucho power attacks (4 points in)

higher run speed

the carrying of mutiple gear for mutiple situations (i carry 100% resist sets for fire, frost and shock dmg that weight 1.3 per set)

i can use a decent guardian stone (rather that one that refers to me being a horse)

and ye you can hit the cap in light armor. hitting the cap is pretty easy tbh. im more than halfway there with a single point in the base of the tree.

light dragon armor actually looks decent

I see, so stamina regen + weightlessness

But are you sure light armor increases your speed? I dont see why it would do that. The heavy armor perk makes it weigh nothing, so unless light armor has an effect of speeding you up im not aware of, it should go at the same speed

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 6:39 pm

I dont care about the pros or cons of light armor. I am playing a sneaky archer character so running around in heavy armor would feel silly.

The game has enough room for roleplaying. Stop worrying abount min/maxing.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 6:32 am

There is a difference between light and heavy in the form of the actual armour you get. Sure, you can enchant/smith your armour, but if your character isn't into that, getting light or heavy armour from quests is a pretty big deciding factor.

Another benefit is that you get light armour from the start, are able to sneak easier and get more items with you, due to it's weight.

The armour (overall) is pretty much the same at level 100, the only difference being in the perks. It is therefore, pretty much the same as it was in oblivion, making it rather cosmetic at level 100. Up until then, however, it changes your game substantially. I have a level 35 close combat sword and board character, and i am yet to get to 70 heavy armour (currently at 67). It's not so easy to level it up, and the speed makes an incredible difference at early levels.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:12 am

One reason and one reason only for me. You can swing your weapon faster and dodge attacks batter. Oh and for me I'm a bit of a Mage and the spells work better with light armor. Maybe you can do all this with heavy armor later on the perk tree but that takes time and i didn't want to wait so I chose light armor.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 6:52 am

Damn... A really bad omen that TES is seeking to merge even more skills together.

Wouldn't be surprised if in TES VI, there was simply an "Armor" skill.

A single armor skill or no armor skill, would actually make more sense and be better for game play. There's barely any difference when it comes to heavy vs. light in Skyrim currently, they might as well be the same skill right now. Both end up weightless w/out mobility loss, both will hit the armor cap.

TES' armor system needs a revamp, % based mitigation is poor design, as is passive skill gain. The player should be trying to avoid getting hit intuitively, but the more you get hit, the higher your mitigation gets for some reason.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 10:54 pm

@Breton123

i'll quote from one of the wikis:

Pros and Cons

Advantages (Over Heavy)

Lighter and less movement penalties
Less noisy and easier for sneaking
Perk Unhindered (weightless) is available 20 levels earlier than Conditioning.
Uses less stamina when sprinting
Stamina recovers faster with Wind Walker
Can be faster than the enemy i.e. easier to run from a fight to recover from damage
The lighter weight allows for the carrying of multiple suits of armour, each fine tuned for specific enemies and situations, without drastically taking up encumbrance. Trying the same with heavy armour would leave little to no extra carry weight.

Disadvantages

Much less protective in the early game, however later on with high support skills both armours are able to reach the protection cap.
Bare fist attacks are less powerful without Fists of Steel, though at this time the Fist of Steel perk does not work properly.
Weight and movement penalties from Heavy may be compensated through the Steed Stone, though bear in mind the opportunity cost: a person in Heavy Armor using the Steed Stone wouldn't be equal in the sense that a person using Light Armor would still have a free choice of stone.
Sneak perk Silence muffles Heavy Armor (though it also muffles Light Armor).
Deft Movement only negates melee damage, whereas Reflect Blows reflects it, and the magnitude is the same for both. (NOTE: Mechanics for Reflect Blows is in dispute, see talk page for the discussion).

you may be right about speed but it is available much earlier on (if you power the skill...which i did because i know how important carry weight is in any RPG) also note the point from the wiki about sprint.

another thing to not given all the people saying you can stealth in heavy (and you can...to an extent) is that its not just weight. armor makes noise. light armor make less. even if you enchant both with muffle light armor is still ahead.

tbth tho you can wear pretty much anything you want and still hit the armor cap even if you go for the shirtless Conan look. there are skills and perks that can make that entirely feasible.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 6:27 am

I see, so stamina regen + weightlessness

But are you sure light armor increases your speed? I dont see why it would do that. The heavy armor perk makes it weigh nothing, so unless light armor has an effect of speeding you up im not aware of, it should go at the same speed

Spoiler

How fast your character moves depends on several factors. I was curious how equipment affects movement speed, so I timed my running speed. (More specifically I wanted to know if the Conditioning perk for heavy armor is worth getting)

All the numbers will be based off your normal running speed with no armor and unencumbered.

Heavy Armor: 10% penalty
Two Handed Sword: 25% penalty
Magic in both hands: 15% penalty
Magic and dagger: 18% (or maybe 17.5%) penalty
Backpedaling: 80% penalty
At but not over weight limit: 5% penalty
Sprinting: 75% faster

Also, the penalties seem to stack additively: Heavy Armor and 2H weapon drawn makes you 35% slower.

Also, by 35% slower I mean that it takes 35% longer to cover the same distance. You'd be running at 1/1.35 = about 74.1% your normal speed. Backpedaling is only 1/1.8 = about 55.6% your normal speed.

The Conditioning perk I mentioned above removes the 10% speed penalty for Heavy Armor and makes it weigh nothing when worn. Seems like it's worth it.

http://www.reddit.com/r/skyrim/comments/mgv36/running_and_walking_speeds_numbers_inside/

Turns out you run the same speed after perks.

Though, I find some things about the source page suspicious and lacking in inclusiveness.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:56 am

I see. Well since so many say light armor rating equals heavy armor rating endgame, guess that makes things quite the reverse, given that the rest of the heavy armor perks are quite useless (fist fighting and stagger resistance) and 50% stamina regeneration is very good. Thanks for the info, I just thought light armor was much weaker than heavy armor

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:11 am

fist fighting is kinda fun tbh especially if a mob disarms you and you have the special unarmed enchant on your gloves...

honestly man just pick a look

my first guy runs around in heavy steel plate looking a bit like Boromir....just because he looks a bit like Boromir...

there really isn't all that much in it and at the end of the day the cap is easy (if you figure out your approach angle) and magical resists pay much bigger damage reduction dividends with most important mobs.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:25 pm

I wear armor for aesthetics, light armor looks better on me. I don't want to be sneaking around looking like a glowing Daedric tackle-box. Heavy armor is cool and all but it isn't for me, armor rating doesn't mean squat to me either. I'd wear robes if they looked good, so I'll stick with my Forsworn gear thank you very much. :3

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:48 am

light armor is sixier

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 7:21 am

- Well, it is kind of silly for my high elf mage to run around in heavy armour, don't you think?

- I do not need a high armour rating, as I rarely get touched by any enemy.

- As a mage I would rather spend my perk points in magic, than in heavy armour

If you play the game to max out your character, I can understand your arguments, but as I see this as a RPG, I would rather play a role than just find the best way to beat the game, but that is just me. :shrug:

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:06 pm

- Well, it is kind of silly for my high elf mage to run around in heavy armour, don't you think?

- I do not need a high armour rating, as I rarely get touched by any enemy.

- As a mage I would rather spend my perk points in magic, than in heavy armour

If you play the game to max out your character, I can understand your arguments, but as I see this as a RPG, I would rather play a role than just find the best way to beat the game, but that is just me. :shrug:

Battlemages and Sorcerers use heavy armor in TES series, if your high elf thinks himself to be either one of those, it would be silly for him to run around with robes

. Plus Daedric Armor + Mages = Awesome.

If you're playing to RP, you can ALWAYS find a reason for why your character does what it does. It doesn't matter if you like minmaxing. Maybe your character does that too huh?

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 10:17 pm

I see, so stamina regen + weightlessness

But are you sure light armor increases your speed? I dont see why it would do that. The heavy armor perk makes it weigh nothing, so unless light armor has an effect of speeding you up im not aware of, it should go at the same speed

It doesn't INCREASE, but when you're wearing heavy your speed is greatly reduced,when light you are slowed down much less.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 9:46 pm

In my opinion mages are frail, robe wearing characters that can take down entire mobs with their bare hands (using their magic) - this is my current character.

In my character was a battlemage he/she would definately wear armour.

If you're playing to RP, you can ALWAYS find a reason for why your character does what it does. It doesn't matter if you like minmaxing. Maybe your character does that too huh?

Exactly, and therefore light armour (incl. robes) are not pointless, as they allow you to roleplay.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 4:38 am

The word "pointless" or "useless" doesn't really apply to RPG's.

I will use a "worse" piece of armor or weapon (GASP!!!

hmy: ) just because that's what my character WOULD wear or use. It's about the immersion for me. I keep my spreadsheets and min/maxing for MMO's.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 12:28 am

I honestly dont see why anyone would get light armor, with the heavy armor perk it makes heavy armor weigh nothing, same as light armor, and with muffled boots, well you are well off without any sort of light armor. What the hell is the point of it? Same goes for food, never even have to bother doing any of that when you have potions at hand, I have found I have never had to eat a single thing in all my playtime of Skyrim.

So go ahead, tell me any pros of light armor over heavy armor?

Edit: Not to mention the light armor perks are all for increasing the armor rating of light armor (what the heck for? might as well use heavy armor if your looking for armor rating).

Style.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 5:27 am

Style and Aesthetics, still got my Leather Armour in a drawer as i like the look, just smthed and upgraded some Scaled for a bit more protection.

Playing as Wood Elf Stealthy Archer, the Leather stuff still looks marginally better.

Tried a set of Elven Armour but looked like an olde worlde Knight and i did not like it.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:23 am

At the end of the day you have to reach 100 skill in both of them, unless you plan on sticking with one gameplan and never even coming close to level cap.

What I did was wear a heavy armor chest piece, and light armor boots/gloves/helmet. The chest piece usually gives the most armor rating so it's best to keep it heavy and smithed at all times. Swap out the other pieces for loot you find that provides stat bonuses.

Then when your light armor reaches 70 or so you can swap the chest out for light and have enough skill to put perks into. And if you ever want to switch to heavy then you won't be at a low gimped skill level later on...

I made the mistake of choosing heavy armor, at around 70 skill level. They say the armor cap is 567 or something, and my guy runs around with 1200+ without a shield, when I have my shield equipped it's at 1440. I don't even need to hold my shield up, it's already over kill. And mind you I got to this high value without all the smithing/enchanting exploits you see on these forums. I just played the game normally and smithed my pieces without the exploits.