Is leather armor inherently stealthier than combat armor?

[JohnJSal]

Just wondering if the type of armor itself matters for being detecting while sneaking or if it's solely based on the weight of the armor.

I noticed when I replaced all of my leather armor with combat armor, the total weight was nearly identical.

So does that mean the combat armor doesn't hurt stealth any more than the leather, or does the actual material come into play as well, and not just the weight?

Also, does any of this matter at Stealth rank 4, or does that negate all penalties?

Thanks.

[darkdisciple1313]

If you have a high enough stealth rank, you could be wearing a rack of wind chimes, hubcaps and squeaky dog toys, and you wouldn't make a sound. I just wear the leather because I like it, even if I do get pounded into paste sometimes.

The game is not realistic at all where real stealth is concerned, so after awhile, it really doesn't matter what you wear (early game may require more care in what you wear, though). Depends on your playstyle, really.

[JohnJSal]

Thanks. Just seems weird that the weight difference between leather and combat armor was literally one pound for me. It made me wonder why everyone kept recommending leather for stealth builds.

Usually when I am sneaking, I will sometimes hear enemies say things like "What the hell was that?", even though I'm still "Hidden" and have Stealth 4. I figured this might have been because of my combat armor, but now that I've ditched my companions and it didn't happen anymore (granted, I switched back to leather armor at the time, so this was definitely not a controlled experiment) I realized it was probably the companion that made enemies suspicious all along!

[darkdisciple1313]

Originally posted by JohnJSal:

Thanks. Just seems weird that the weight difference between leather and combat armor was literally one pound for me. It made me wonder why everyone kept recommending leather for stealth builds.

For me, it's a matter of aesthetics when I role-play. I just can't imagine going full ninja in power armor. It would be like trying to drive a tank through a golf course during a PGA event.

[JohnJSal]

Originally posted by darkdisciple1313:

Originally posted by JohnJSal:

Thanks. Just seems weird that the weight difference between leather and combat armor was literally one pound for me. It made me wonder why everyone kept recommending leather for stealth builds.

For me, it's a matter of aesthetics when I role-play. I just can't imagine going full ninja in power armor. It would be like trying to drive a tank through a golf course during a PGA event.

Leather armor definitely does look cool.

[darkdisciple1313]

Originally posted by JohnJSal:

Originally posted by darkdisciple1313:

For me, it's a matter of aesthetics when I role-play. I just can't imagine going full ninja in power armor. It would be like trying to drive a tank through a golf course during a PGA event.

Leather armor definitely does look cool.

It always has, for the most part, even in games where the graphical quality leaves a lot to be desired. It's that whole fantasy motif that bleeds over into other genres. Granted, I like spiky ebony armor, too, just not for stealth builds.

[AbsynthMinded]

As with all Bethesda games in the creation engine, theres a point shortly after level 25 where your design path reaches a power level that rapidly approaches broken and OP as fk.

[jonnan.west]

Light Combat armor is stealthier than leather and has the best DR/weight ratio in the game until Ballistic Fiber. Shadowed for bonuses of course.

Literally everything else is way worse than either of them.

[JohnJSal]

Originally posted by jonnan.west:

Light Combat armor is stealthier than leather and has the best DR/weight ratio in the game until Ballistic Fiber. Shadowed for bonuses of course.

Literally everything else is way worse than either of them.

Why is it stealthier than leather?

[Thomastronaut]

The lighter it is, the stealthier is it.

[JohnJSal]

Originally posted by Thomastronaut:

The lighter it is, the stealthier is it.

But isn't leather lighter, even if just by a slight margin? I mean, I see the point that with the DR/ER of combat armor, it just seems better than leather by any measure, since the weight difference is trivial, but still, I would think leather is still "stealthier," strictly speaking. Just in no way that really matters. :)

[Flippy]

Originally posted by JohnJSal:

Originally posted by darkdisciple1313:

For me, it's a matter of aesthetics when I role-play. I just can't imagine going full ninja in power armor. It would be like trying to drive a tank through a golf course during a PGA event.

Leather armor definitely does look cool.

If you dont want to put to many points into stealth then yes its better.

[Thomastronaut]

Originally posted by JohnJSal:

Originally posted by Thomastronaut:

The lighter it is, the stealthier is it.

But isn't leather lighter, even if just by a slight margin? I mean, I see the point that with the DR/ER of combat armor, it just seems better than leather by any measure, since the weight difference is trivial, but still, I would think leather is still "stealthier," strictly speaking. Just in no way that really matters. :)

If we only consider effectiveness in stealth, then leather is the best. Specifically the normal variant with the shadowed and ultra-light mods.

[JohnJSal]

Originally posted by Thomastronaut:

Originally posted by JohnJSal:

But isn't leather lighter, even if just by a slight margin? I mean, I see the point that with the DR/ER of combat armor, it just seems better than leather by any measure, since the weight difference is trivial, but still, I would think leather is still "stealthier," strictly speaking. Just in no way that really matters. :)

If we only consider effectiveness in stealth, then leather is the best. Specifically the normal variant with the shadowed and ultra-light mods.

But why? If combat armor has the same weight with those same mods, isn't it completely better?

[Thomastronaut]

Originally posted by JohnJSal:

Originally posted by Thomastronaut:

If we only consider effectiveness in stealth, then leather is the best. Specifically the normal variant with the shadowed and ultra-light mods.

But why? If combat armor has the same weight with those same mods, isn't it completely better?

I don't remember the exact weight of all the armor in the game, but if combat armor weighs the same as leather, then sure, it's better.

[JohnJSal]

Originally posted by Thomastronaut:

Originally posted by JohnJSal:

But why? If combat armor has the same weight with those same mods, isn't it completely better?

I don't remember the exact weight of all the armor in the game, but if combat armor weighs the same as leather, then sure, it's better. :lunar2019piginablanket:

For me the difference came out to be about one pound. But as we've said, the leather does look better.