Medieval Armor

Armor items

The term Armor describes items that can be equipped to provide defence (and many times, other) bonuses during combat. Defence bonuses decrease a player's chance of being hit, in addition to reducing the amount of damage taken. Armour comes in many shapes and forms for all classes, giving the player a variety of bonuses to choose from. To wear armor of different metal types, certain defence levels are required. Good armor is recommended when attacking enemies of a higher level, as the higher defences give the opponent less opportunity to do damage. Players should always have the best armor they can afford and equip, though 'best' may differ from player to player.

Armor has been used throughout recorded history. It has been made from a variety of materials; from rudimentary leather protection, personal armor evolved to mail and full plated suits of armor. For much of military history the manufacture of metal armour in Europe has dominated the technology and employment of armor. Armor drove the development of many important technologies of the Ancient World, including wood lamination, mining, metal refining, vehicle manufacture, leather processing, and later decorative metal working. Its production was influential in the industrial revolution, and influenced commercial development of metallurgy and engineering. Armour was the single most influential factor in the development of firearms that revolutionized warfare

Plate armour is a historical type of personal armour made from iron or steel plates. While there are early predecessors such the Roman-era lorica segmentata, full plate armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Year’ War, from the coat of plates worn over mail suits during the 13th century. In Europe plate armour reached its peak in the late 15th and 16th centuries, with the full suits of Gothic plate armour worn on the battlefields of the Burgundian and Italian Wars. The landsknechts also took to wearing lighter suits of "three quarters" plate armour, leaving the lower legs unprotected. The use of plate armour declined in the 17th century, but remained common both among the nobility and for the cuirassiers throughout the European wars of religion. After 1650, plate armour was mostly reduced to the simple breastplate worn by dragoons. For infantry, the breastplate gained renewed importance with the development of sharpnel in the late 18th century. The use of steel plates sown into flak jacket dates to world war II, replaced by more modern materials such as fiber-reinforced plastic since the 1950s.