How does armor work?

It sounds like an odd question, but hear me out before you start to comment or deem me a noob. Consider this....

If I have all but 1 piece of my armor infused, I might as well not be infused b/c Spectral Agony will almost always hit for the full damage ammount. Knowing this, I got to thinking. Some people put armor togather based on stats while others put armor togather based on looks.

So.... here is a very specific question of what I'm trying to find out. How does armor stack against your stats?

Suppose I have an elementalist with one of each different elemental armor equipped. Do I technically get the 15% defense against all elements, or is it based on a probability of where I might get hit as to how much damage I'll take from (say) Fire.

Also, if my necro has a combination of scars and bonelace, do I get a guarenteed bonus against piercing, or is it probability again?

Consider also....
Some armors have a 60 and others a 70 (thinking necro). If I have a mixture of 60 and 70 armor, I know my armor won't be 130, but will it be more of a mean or will it be a chance of defence... meaning if I have 1 armor that's 70 defense and the rest is 60 defense, do I have a 20% of defending an attack at a 70 armor class.

Anything y'all can offer for info on this would be very helpful.

Thanks

Armor is for where you get hit. Most hits are directed to the Chest area, where if you move it might hit you in the feet, legs, head, or hands. Which is why most warriors get full glads armor and ascalon or knights of hands or feet, which are most unlikely to get hit.

It's better to have one piece infused than none at all. (Chart at GuildWiki for Spectral Agony)

Elementalist armor bonuses are local; if you wear a piece of Pyromancer's gloves (+15AL, not +15%AL), you only get that +15AL for that piece. Same goes for the necromancer example.

Other question: it's all locational. (Percentages at GuildWiki) Having higher AL for a piece just means that if you happen to get hit in that area you'll be hurt for less.

Interesting. That makes alot of sense now. So, if the chest is where most hits are directed, hmm.... it gives me ideas on how to build new armors when I mix and match for later characters.

Thanks for the help.

Can't wait to see the A & Rt equivalent of Cit Armors.

It's worth noting that that are TWO sets of armor in the game that give global and non-stacking effects.
First is the Knight's Armor (Warrior) No matter where an attack hits, you will receive the damage reduction even if you have only piece equipped.
The same applies to the Mesmer's Virtuoso Armor. You will receive the armor bonus while casting if you have only one piece, no matter where you get hit.

For this reason, it's never to your benefit to equip an entire set of Knight's Armor or Virtuoso. Just equip the gloves or boots, and pick another armor type for the rest

Oh joy, how pleased I am 15k Ascalon is the only set that looks good to me.

On a side note, all spells that take armour into account hit the chest, whereas only attacks (like bows, wands or melee) have a chance to hit other parts - and the chance of hitting someones headpiece rises the higher above them you are.

That's only true of spells which are not projectiles. (e.g., Lightning Strike, but not Lightning Orb.)

I've also heard that they've been adding hit locations to some of the non-projectile spells too, so that, for instance, Fire Storm will often hit the head. I don't know if that's true and I'm too lazy to test it, though.

Conversely, I've heard that if you are above someone the chance that you will be hit in the legs/feet increases and attacks from the sides are more likely to hit the arms as well. In general though, I beleive the chest has the highest hit ratio, followed by the legs. Hands and feet equally have the second-to-lowest hit ratio and the head is hit least often. Also, if running from a foe and using either the forward or 'w' keys, the hit is automatically upgraded to a critical, so you might want to watch out next time you decide to try and kite that warrior or ranger.

Was anything I said true?

Yes, I was just saying that besides what I quoted, there are other factors in addition to what you said that effects the hit probability on certian pieces of armor.

Another side note - When using a shield, I believe the armor bonus is only applied to attacks coming from the front of the character. Just something else I thought you might find interesting

Not quite true. They get the Knight's boots because it's global, and they'd rather get Gladiators Chest (a lot more energy). Not because they are more likely to get hit in the feet.

hmm...
Basically, you could have ascalonian armor and just the Knight's boots(drok, I assume) and still have the same def then? You'd only spend like 2k on armor (assuming you already have the materials) and that's it?

No. Everywhere has a chance to get hit, and buying one piece of droks armour (especially the boots, its like a 12.5% hit chance there) will not 'plump' the entire set to droks stats.

So, what makes the aforementioned "Knight's Boots" so special?

Knight's (and Ascalon) Armors, regardless of where you buy them, have a -2 damage received built into them. This effect, unlike almost all the other effects of armors, affects the entire body. This effect also does not stack with itself. So it only takes one piece of this armor to get the -2 damage on all of you, but putting on more than one piece of it leaves it at -2. Since the rest of the stats on these armors are inferior, you only want one piece. Since it will have lower stats than everything else, you want to make it a location that gets hit less. These are head, hands, and feet. You want your headpiece to be for the +1 attribute boost. Your hands will want the Stonefist Gauntlets if you are using a hammer. However, nothing varies with your feet armor, so you can just stick it there and never have to worry about it again.