does armor matter?

How much does armor really matter in this game. I see people running around naked, i see people running around in cloth, and other just putting on what looks good. I have been using mostly smough on my old character and am getting really tempted to try it naked, or with some armor that doesnt require a havels ring or extra end over 40.

Would love to know more experienced opinions on this.

Well armor gives poise which determine sif you'll be stunned so yes it does matter.

And appart from poise armour has the types of resistances that determine how much damage you take.

This can be especially helpful against elemental weapon types where the damage is split up into two fields. AKA fire longasword splits damage into fire damage and Phyical Damage.

Thus an armour with strong fire res could easily negate the fire damage and also some of the physical damage essentially nullifying the opponents weapon.

Armor is very important depending on your build. If you focus on a strenght/end/dex build than you might want to have medium-heavy armor for poise and protection. If you are using a pyro/mage build than you should stick to light armor so you can avoid attacks. If you are being random with your leveling than the armor will depend on your fighting style. If you like to be speedy like a ninja than use light armor. If you want to act all macho than use heavy armor.

i thought speed didnt matter with the ninja flip ring, and yes sorry i did mean aside from poise. i think it maybe time for me to take off my smough armor and try out other to seem just how much of a difference it actually makes

"i thought speed didnt matter with the ninja flip ring"

Sad, but true.....

You basically got it, armor is basically all about poise and physical defense. There's a reason why so many people wear heavy armor sets and use dwgr. I dont run into many nekkid players xD

I always rock the Wanderer coat and boots with steel or black iron gauntlets and wolf ring with most of my builds. Not optimal at all, but it gives pretty good defense and looks oh so stylish.

Yes, extremely. Usually thought, since I don't use DWGR, and I don't care about poise (which are 2 things that most players should and do care about), I usually choose my weapons, ask myself if the character should be fast-medium-fat rolling, and fill the gaps up as effectively as possible. I strive for 100% EL (of 25%/50%/100%). Most players wear Giant's, its amazingly good, if you want poise, then go for Havel parts. If you need poise and have a low weight requirement, use some Hollow Solider/Warrior stuff.

FruitPunchNinja wrote:You basically got it, armor is basically all about poise and physical defense. There's a reason why so many people wear heavy armor sets and use dwgr. I dont run into many nekkid players xD

I'm going skins from now on, man. Just love the way it looks. Heavy boots, Iron Bracelets, Dusk Crown/no helm, and bare chest. Lookin' all Bruce Lee and shiz. Haha.

On the topic, SOME people will say that defense doesn't really matter, and in my experience, that's bullsh*t. I mean, it's not like you're taking double damage or anything, but an extra 50-100 damage per hit adds up fast. Ultimately though, I go pretty much exclusively for looks now. If I can hit the GS breakpoint while still lookin' bomb as hell, that's great. If I have to Wolf ring it, I'm into that too.

After the last few days of PvP with fastroll, I'm really starting to understand how much more difficult it is than flipping. You actually have to dodge properly and all that jazz. I recommend PvPing with fastroll. IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, THE PURPOSE OF WHICH IS NOT TO CONDEMN DWGR USERS, it will make you a better player.

As others have said, beyond Poise and physical defense, most armor is just flavor. However, there are several pieces of headgear that bear mentioning. There's the always hated Family Masks, for huge stat boost, the Dusk Crown for magic mastery, or the Dark Sun Crown for Faithy stuff. You also have the Big Hat for huge magic defense, and the Pharis Hat for looking beyond cool. Other than that though, just poise it up.

That about sums it up, I think. Right? Umm, did anyone mention light armors generally having better elemental defense to make up for lower physical defense. Sh*t, probably, but I've already started typing this comment. No turning back now. That's how I do shiz.

Armor matters and I can say this with lots of experience since I PvP 90% of the time completely naked. Usually people just state something like this: "Only thing about armor that matters is the poise!" this is not true. When playing without armor there are some things you have to keep an eye on:

1. Poison and toxin
You get poisoned or toxin in ONE hit without armor.

2. Bleed
With non existant bleed resistance you bleed out 2-3 hits (depends on a weapon) just fight against Chaos blade or Lifehunt Scythe naked and you are in for some challenge.

3. The damage (duh)
The damage you take is near double (about triple dmg if opponent uses buff) you would take in good armor.

Seriously? It's actually double? Sh*t, man. That's nuts. I go skins, but I've never gone straight up nekkid. My Bruce Lee gear looks too good.

DamageCK wrote:Seriously? It's actually double? Sh*t, man. That's nuts. I go skins, but I've never gone straight up nekkid. My Bruce Lee gear looks too good.

It's ALMOST double compared to dmg you would take in havel's, paladin, black iron or giant etc. So yeah...the challenge of nakedness is mentionable.

I don't mind the low defense anymore. After a while, you just get used to taking that much damage.

Yeah I can't help but want to look good while I'm playing. I think I've taken off the Crown of Dusk maybe like once in the past week, even if I only have a single attunment slot for GC I'll probably still end up wearing the crown.

Like Damage recently I've been trying to learn to fast roll rather than flip, and for a few minutes it felt really comfortable. Then I was mildly bothered that Havel's + FaP doesn't increase burden as much as DWGR by itself so my favoritest armor set requires me to go up to 124 if I want to keep wearing it. =/ I guess people don't mind a few levels here and there for duels but I really liked that particular build as it took me days to get it to exactly 120.

Also for the record Dusk / Painted chest / Dark Gauntlets / Painted Waist is where it's at, so stylish.

The average "duel" range is 120-125, so you're good.

Yeah, it's definatly rewarding and tons of fun when you don't have chance to get sloppy.
Every saturday I wear my armor and I wreck almost everyone because of my training of naked playing, it's like a break for me I still prefer dueling naked and with my special rules over armor though.

Yeah, unless you plan on Fight Clubbing, just go to 124. You'll still get a ton of good duels, wherever you care to look. Good luck!