Armor Rating to Damage Reduction Formula

[Ludic]

I've done a bit of investigation on just how exactly armor rating works in this game and figured others might find my findings helpful.

There are breakpoints based on your level. Below those breakpoints (a given number based on your level), you will have a mere 1% damage reduction against enemies of equal level. After those breakpoints, each point of armor gives a flat bonus to your damage reduction % (about 0.6-0.7%) against enemies of equal level. So, for example, here are some numbers at level 1 (Numbers gained by switching around items on starting characters in-game on Tactician mode):

Armor Rating 6 = 1% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 7 = 1% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 12 = 4% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 13 = 5% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 14 = 5% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 20 = 10% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 27 = 14% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 32 = 17% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 34 = 18% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 39 = 22% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 44 = 25% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 46 = 26% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 51 = 29% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 54 = 30% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 58 = 33% Damage Reduction

Some examples at level 2:
Armor Rating 14 = 1% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 20 = 3% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 21 = 3% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 28 = 8% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 32 = 11% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 39 = 15% Damage Reduction
Armor Rating 46 = 20% Damage Reduction

So, for instance 20 armor at level 2 will only grant you 3% damage reduction against an equal-level enemy, rather than 10% damage reduction. Note that 39 Armor Rating will grant you 12% more than 20 Armor Rating whether you're level 2 or level 1. The change in breakpoints just means that 39 Armor boosts you from 3% to 15% instead of from 10% to 22%.

The practical upshot of this is that having 3 points of armor over the breakpoint will be just as valuable at level 11 as it is at level 1.

Also, note that this means you get *increasing* (not linear) returns to your effective durability from armor investments. The more armor you already have, the better adding an extra point of armor is. I know this is counterintuitive for a lot of people but to get a quick idea of why this is, imagine you have 50% damage reduction. This effectively doubles your health (because you take half as much damage, and thus can take twice as many hits). Add another 25% damage reduction and your health doubles again. That 25% boost from 50%-75% is worth exactly as much in terms of effective durability as the 50% boost from 0-50%. The 1% increase from 99% to 100% gives you infinite durability and is clearly much more valuable than the 1% increase from 0% to 1% damage reduction. This is further compounded by the fact that the slower damage is coming in, the more efficiently it can be healed off.

Mind, I haven't reverse engineered the *exact* formula down to the decimal point. Has anyone done so yet? Or have the devs revealed the formula? The formula given on the wiki is incorrect (presumably because the armor formula was changed for Enhanced Edition, according to the changelist).

[hetroc]

You mention the durability of an armor influencing the damage reduction, if yes are there any "steps" when its most usefull to repair an armor?

Overall why did they create such a strange armor system any guess? For the Players its very chaotic to understand the value of armor ratings compared to a linear system... why should armor be influenced by the enemys level? Its the Strengh, atack skill and quality of the weapon not the level of an enemy that should influence the value of an armor in my view ...

And while im at damage reduction is there something similar with elemental damage reductions or does the % worth there work as a max and not each piece seperatelive? meaning

100 Fire Damage 1 Armor with -10 % fire and helmet with 5 %

simple - 100 -15 % = 85
seperately - 100 -10 % = 90, 90 - 5 % = 85,5 etc ...

[baardvaark]

He's using durability in the sense of your longevity or overall defense, not the durability stat of armor.

They probably made armor work like this so it's easier to balance, though I agree it's pretty unintuitive. The straight up 1 to 1 damage reduction in the original (if I recall that's how it was) made armor way too good against low-damage enemies.

I'm pretty sure elemental resist is additive, not multiplied separately, but not positive.

[hetroc]

ah k thanks for the answer .. overall this is a totaly unlogical armor system to me and clearly thought up game related to automaticaly cause a balancing that doesnt relate to reality and that isnt understandable for casual players ...

A Piece of armor should always offer the same protection no matter who wears is and what level it is unless its either damaged (holes inside armor) or doesnt fit well.

With Lariants system the level becomes the major factor. a Level 1 armored person would withstand the atack of a level 1 swordfighter while a level 10 magician with the same strentgh as the level 1 sword fighter and the same weapon would cause damage only because of its level even though the leve 1 sword fighter would be way more expirienced with swords ...

And regarding the low level monsters, its all a question of proper balancing and in my view dos1 isnt very good in this. An armor should protect thats its purpose and of the low level monsters are weak the armor should protect it BUT normaly in lower levels the characters shouldnt have the oportunity to have big armors or when they carry those have massive disadvantages due to movement/initiative/to hit reductions cause by a armor like it would be in reallife ... Plate armor and stuff was expensive and no commoner wore them but when you wore them you were protected like hell