Is no helm viable?

[Meow]

In DS3 you "need" to use something in all 4 outfit slots, is this game the same? Do you get a big penalty to your defense if you don't?

[Jouni]

In Elden Ring armor doesn't add physical defense unlike in DS3. It only comes from your character's level and your strength stat.

[Meow]

Originally posted by Jouni:

In Elden Ring armor doesn't add physical defense unlike in DS3. It only comes from your character's level and your strength stat.

Armour only adds dmg negation and immunity? That's what I thought aswell.

[Twisty]

Each piece has separate damage negation stats so mix and match as you like!

[DamZe]

Just go full Fashion Souls.

[FuNb0Y86]

Pretty much all that. Your core stats are a degree of protection, then they calculate the damage immunity from gear. You can potentially have a high strength Conan build with little to no armor, and then be "tankier" than a full armor wearing knight build that only has mediocre strength with it's vigor / stamina /poise. It's just the difference between reaction time and attrition game play.

If you're lazy, you might consider heavy armor in all the slots except the head, or wearing a trinket to cover the head slot. If you are great at reaction timing, you can wear a dress, and sip a cup of tea while running circles around your enemies due to higher endurance. I would build your character stats around what kind of gear you want, and what style you want.

[Holmgäng]

You will always want to wear a helmet since some of them have actual buffs or just poise

[FuNb0Y86]

Originally posted by Gravity Prankster:

You will always want to wear a helmet since some of them have actual buffs or just poise

Normally I would agree, but I have experience wearing no helmet and the poise level is negligible next to the other core stats that matter more. If you don't care about poise, you can sink stat points into more vigor and endurance to overcome heavy blows. dodging is incredibly easy after endurance gets to a respectable level.

Poise is for people who run tank specs with heavy load armor and need it for blocks on boss heavy attacks. You can accomplish this by simply getting out of the way with a barbarian build. And IF the hit still connects, Conan has an insane health pool to draw from.

Finally, for any buffs like fire protections or magic protections, you can eat food to cover the loss.

[Ash]

It doesn't seem to matter as much in this one as in other souls games. It's more cosmetic as the buffs aren't nuts. I just always keep a light to med load so I don't fat roll since fat roll = death.

[Lenox]

The penalty for not having all 4 armor slots equipped does not exist in Elden Ring.

However, as a frequent helmet-less user, I can tell you that you'll usually have better defenses using 4 lighter pieces instead of 3 heavier pieces. I've done this math quite often and it's always the same result.

But I go helmet-less often anyway. Sometimes I even go with just a chest and leg armor and exclude the helm and gloves.

Originally posted by Jouni:

In Elden Ring armor doesn't add physical defense unlike in DS3. It only comes from your character's level and your strength stat.

This is factually incorrect.

[Coin]

Originally posted by Lenox:

This is factually incorrect.

That is actually correct, armor doesn't add defense, it adds damage negation.

[FuNb0Y86]

Again, your core stats are a "degree" or factor, and armor adds negation (flat negation) bonuses to the CORE factor. This is why people can get away with naked play and actually beat the game.

[Lenox]

Originally posted by Coin:

Originally posted by Lenox:

This is factually incorrect.

That is actually correct, armor doesn't add defense, it adds damage negation.

I’m not in game right now. This the left side vs right side stuff?

[FuNb0Y86]

Originally posted by Lenox:

Originally posted by Coin:

That is actually correct, armor doesn't add defense, it adds damage negation.

I’m not in game right now. This the left side vs right side stuff?

The left side of "protection" are factors derived from your core stats, and right side is flat negation added to your core factors or "degrees." In the case of resistances vs. poisons etc. the left is a tally of total resistance factors, and the right just shows what's being derived from gear.

[Lenox]

Originally posted by FuNb0Y86:

Originally posted by Lenox:

I’m not in game right now. This the left side vs right side stuff?

The left side is factors derived from your core stats, and right side is flat negation added to your core factors or "degrees."

Ah, ok. Then yeah.

[FuNb0Y86]

Sorry I edited my above post.

Edit: Also, you can test this theory with a shield that is roughly 80 percent negation during a block, and if you have armor that covers the other 20 percent, and IF you aren't fighting a boss with armor penetration skills, you will cover 100 percent during a block.

Edit 2: I tried this when I needed to bock magic attacks, but I was on my barbarian character. I had a magic shield that covered 50 percent magic attacks, and with my barbarian armor, and trinkets I covered the other 50 percent. When I went to block glint-stone magic from some of the more annoying enemies, I blocked 100 percent of the damage.