What is the major difference between light and heavy armor?

[ProxyJames]

it feels like they both offer the same amount of defense but heavy armor makes you move slower.

also small gripe the militarily armor should me much lower defense because its just a flack jacket and a helmet the rest are just cloths >.> also flack jackets would not protect you from getting punched in the chest or bit by a bear

[𝔇ave]

heavy armor combined with perks turns the player into a tank albeit moving a little slower but that can be corrected somewhat with mods

light armor provides good resistance combined with perks but not as much as heavy armor which can be increased with mods while having the benefit of being more agile

heavy armor is for those who want to get up close and personal popping heads with sledgehammers and such

light armor is for those who prefer ranged attacks but still want to be able to tank a few hits should they get cornered or stunned

military gear seems kinda redundant imo

that's my 2 cents

[Brevan]

If you have flawless gear (steel armor with 15 defense, or miltary with 12 defense, and all modded with the +2 defense mods), then the player geared up in light armor takes twice the damage as the one in heavy armor. Aside from that, movement and stealth are harder in heavy armor even after relevant mods in gear. I don't know how the formula for the stealth meter works, and I haven't tested, but I wouldn't be surprised if after all mods and perks are considered the light armor (military) character stealths twice as well as the heavy armor character.

[ProxyJames]

ok so from what I can see: heavy armor sucks.
moving slower you will get hit ALOT more and the amount of damage you take when hit is not a huge difference, I rather duck and weave out of combat then move real slow and get wrecked

[Mardoin69]

Heavy armor is better as long as you're not trying to be a sneaky assassin. Also, if I'm remembering correctly, light armor will degrade faster than heavy armor. Not 100% on this since I play a lot of different games using armor. Personally, it depends on the game I'm in as to which armor I go with. In this game, I prefer to be able to tank melee. In Fallout, I like to be a sneaky assassin using lighter armor types.

[ProxyJames]

I mean I still don't see how it better, because it makes your much slower and you only take slightly less damage it is kind of pointless, if you can move backwards faster or close gaps faster in combat lighter armor is 100,000% better. right now I can solo a horde of zombies with a blunderbust because I can move back so fast and they just can't catch up

[𝔇ave]

Originally posted by ProxyJames:

I mean I still don't see how it better, because it makes your much slower and you only take slightly less damage it is kind of pointless, if you can move backwards faster or close gaps faster in combat lighter armor is 100,000% better. right now I can solo a horde of zombies with a blunderbust because I can move back so fast and they just can't catch up

yea but some people like to play on harder settings with zombies sprinting and not casually strolling towards you.

[ProxyJames]

I am playing on a harder setting, once you max out light armor and run and gun you FLY the only thing that can maybe catch you is zombies set to nightmare and even then you can turn around and run and leave them in the dust

[Amanoob105]

Originally posted by 𝔇ave:

Originally posted by ProxyJames:

I mean I still don't see how it better, because it makes your much slower and you only take slightly less damage it is kind of pointless, if you can move backwards faster or close gaps faster in combat lighter armor is 100,000% better. right now I can solo a horde of zombies with a blunderbust because I can move back so fast and they just can't catch up

yea but some people like to play on harder settings with zombies sprinting and not casually strolling towards you.

The longer a game goes on for the more and more runners you find either way. When the zombies are faster it helps to also be faster and wear something that while giving some protection won't also drain your stamina nearly as fast.
Personally I've always found the best defense is trying to not get hit in the first place which is far easier in light armor than heavy while still helping to protect you from those few that do get close enough.

The main uses I've found for heavy armor are melting the ones made of iron in the forge for metal and selling the steel stuff.

[𝔇ave]

Originally posted by Amanoob105:

Originally posted by 𝔇ave:

yea but some people like to play on harder settings with zombies sprinting and not casually strolling towards you.

The longer a game goes on for the more and more runners you find either way. When the zombies are faster it helps to also be faster and wear something that while giving some protection won't also drain your stamina nearly as fast.
Personally I've always found the best defense is trying to not get hit in the first place which is far easier in light armor than heavy while still helping to protect you from those few that do get close enough.

The main uses I've found for heavy armor are melting the ones made of iron in the forge for metal and selling the steel stuff.

this is true, but personally i don't see much difference in my movement with either heavy or light armor on so i just use the steel armor to be the best protected. if i need to run fast there's always the energy drink

[Peter Pan]

I can see it being useful for spider zombies. I died to them for the spider quest. Can't outrun them even during the day.

[ProxyJames]

I see alot of people using hammers too and I dislike the hell out of them because they eat up so much stam. with the batter up magazines, pummle pete and sexual trex perks you can power swing all day, stun lock everything and never run out of stam so you can run off really quick

[JimmyIowa]

Originally posted by ProxyJames:

ok so from what I can see: heavy armor sucks.

It's also okay to go ahead and say they both have a purpose, and collecting a full set of both is a good idea.

In my current game I like to mix things up on horde night by trying different things. If I am going to be kiting 32 zombies all night with explosives without any base, then I take light armor (you don't take much damage doing horde night this way anyway). If I am going to be standing my ground and tanking the horde, heavy armor is the way to go.

If I am trying to set personal bests for Tier 5 speed clears then I go light armor. If I am feeling lazy and don't want to dodge in and out during combat, I take heavy armor.

[JimmyIowa]

Originally posted by ProxyJames:

it feels like they both offer the same amount of defense but heavy armor makes you move slower.

Heavy armor is slower movement, much higher stamina regen penalty, and noisier (attracts more zombies to you from further away). But you take half the damage from physical hits when comparing optimal max light armor, to optimal max heavy.

Light armor is faster movement, much faster stamina regen, much less noisy. But You take 2x as much damage as comparable heavy armor.

[Teresa]

Also, if you get the book that gives no movement penalty while in combat, and have a vehicle for transportation, the disadvantages of heavy armor are mitigated quite a bit.

[Crater Creator]

There’s horde night to consider, when your noise/stealth meter doesn’t matter, and depending on your defense strategy, movement speed may not matter either. I’ve taken to wearing light armor six days of the week and heavy armor (for the extra protection) on the seventh.