Military vs steel armor

[Thastertyn]

Which is better? I think that the more protection the better, but in later game you can easily recover using some meds and if it gets really bad you can use fortbites. Is steel still superior in protection, or military wins this time?

[strask]

Most of the people (experienced 7d vets) who play on my server tend to prefer military, and when discussing that choice, people talk mostly about the mobility/stamina as the reason why.

However two of us are into the stealth gameplay, and thus prefer military for a different reason than the others.

But, it seems like we all come down on the side of military.

I do tend to keep a backup set of steel armor for horde nights and wearing to go fetch my things, if the military armor didn't keep me alive. :)

[Nimbull]

I wear armor to keep mobile and military fits the bill. The idea is not to get hit in the first place by zombies so having light armor makes that a thing while still giving you protection. I do wish armor was more flexible in that you can have top tier protection on any look you want. Be nice to have a mix/match set that offers military or even steel protection but lets you be more customized in appearance. Like having armor slots that you can slap heavy or light armor mods to instead of classifying the armors like they do.

[Tea Time]

I'm ashamed to say I just wear what I find and gives more protection. I never really crafted any proper armor stuff. So I would probably wear steel armor. I don't even know how much of a stamina difference there is between those two.

I curse about my stamina and broken legs starting day 1.

[Maddermax]

Steel armour gives far more damage reduction. If I recall, beyond basic armour ratings, light armour maxes out at 65% damage reduction, while steel armour maxes out at 85%. It makes a real difference.

Light armour perks also require you to skill into Agility, which is fine if you’re going a stealth build, but any other build will get Way more out of Fortitude generally, which has the Heavy Armour perk. Heavy armour perk, plus custom fittings in all armour pieces and maybe some Cardio means the extra stamina drain is minimal, and if you learn to make blackstrap coffee or yucca smoothies (especially with some iron gut perks also in Fortitude), stamina becomes a non-issue.

[Geck0]

引用自 Thastertyn：

Which is better? I think that the more protection the better, but in later game you can easily recover using some meds and if it gets really bad you can use fortbites. Is steel still superior in protection, or military wins this time?

Once you've fully mechanised, you're better off in heavy armour, since the mobility and stamina don't matter if you're not using melee weapons or running.

[SiEgE]

引用自 Thastertyn：

Which is better? I think that the more protection the better, but in later game you can easily recover using some meds and if it gets really bad you can use fortbites. Is steel still superior in protection, or military wins this time?

military = decent armor, small movement speed penalty
steel = super armor, several movement speed penalty

In some cases, mobility converts into ability to evade hits, which works almost the same as bonus armor. I'd definitely recomment military, as I'm a mobility freak.

[Brevan]

Military armor tops out at 73 I think, while Steel tops out at 87 for sure. I know those numbers aren't simple multiples of 5 ((12+2)*5 or (15+2)*5), but somewhere along the way the game adds 2-3 extra points of defense. I'm not sure if that's a bug or feature. Even though Steel is just 14 points more than Military, it ends up being slightly more than twice as effective (if 1000 damage comes at you, the Military guy loses 270 health and dies, while the Steel guy loses 130 health and might live).

I think the extra damage reduction of Moonshine or Painkillers affects the health lost rather than influencing your armor rating directly like Fortbites do, but it's been a while since I tested (I harvested landmines with a wrench at Trader Jen's recommendation).

With regards to stamina loss, I agree that late game (all armor pieces being rank 5 with mods for Pockets, Customized Fittings, and Banded Armor), the stamina loss is very low. In the very early game (unable to make rank 3-5 armor, and no mods at all) the stamina can be a issue to the point where I'll just remove the armor while I run to some distant POI. I'll use the College Jacket overcoat (+10% Run) as well. Once you've got a bicycle, you can still remove the armor without dismounting, but it just seems to drain your stamina faster rather than affecting your movement, so it's up to you. If you're actually in a POI, I don't notice a stamina or movement issue, since the stamina is recovering while I loot.

My main play style is 80% melee with a gun for emergencies.

[Khissi]

Honestly, in the very beginning, it's whatever you can find. Later, though, as you develop your unique style of gaming, you will begin to gravitate to the one that suits you better. If you like stealth, or like being able to move quickly and keep your stamina fairly high, you'll be drawn to Military. However, at higher game difficulties, you'll find the zombies tend to hit harder, you take more damage. That's when you'll really have the decision to make and that will not always be an easy decision. If you're into Melee, and you love standing toe to toe with the nasties, heavy will always suit you better. If you're into sneaky shots, clearing POIs without raising a zillion zombies at once, you'll go with Military OR, you will find that spending the time to fully modify some tier 6 heavy armor with the mods that give you better stamina/sneak/less movement penalty, AND filling out that Heavy armor perk will be just tremendous.

Me... I suck fairly badly at Melee, but really really enjoy doing the stealth thing with bow, early game and silenced pistol late game. So, I prefer Military, again, Tier 6 fully modded with my perks all the way up. Either way is great! Both styles of play are fun for the people who enjoy them.

Best armor of all... the one that gives you the most fun.

[strask]

引用自 Khissi：

Honestly, in the very beginning, it's whatever you can find.
...
Best armor of all... the one that gives you the most fun.

True about early game, and true about the bottom line. :)

And in that spirit, anyone who hasn't developed their own opinion based on experimentation, should experiment. Reading other people's opinions in a forum thread is good entertainment sometimes, and maybe tells you what to watch out for and observe during your own experimentation, but you won't know what YOU enjoy until you try all the various things. :)

[Zoltan]

I think it boils down to your experience. if your new to the game your not going to have all the moves and you might end up in situation more often where you get pommeled. So steel armor is the best for new players. But once you get enough experience to keep your self out of close combat and have the game skills to keep a social distance from the zombies then Military armor will be better off.

[Gene R]

I find military armor + military stealth boots, all modded for maximum stealth, most useful 90% of the time. POIs can be cleared with a silenced pistol pretty much without anyone waking up - and if someone does, your armor will provide decent protection.
For day 7 hordes or sheer Rambo-style brute force gameplay, steel armor modded for maximum protection is the best. It can take hits like nothing else and basically makes you into a walking tank.

[strask]

引用自 Gene R：

military stealth boots

OMFSM, how I love those things. Stealth playthroughs when I don't find the recipe for them are disappointing. :)

[ilikedingo]

nah, padded armor for the win
no movement penalties