What's the use of armor value?

[P34nk]

Just what the title says. I see the armor number from 1 - 8 (some armor pieces don't have any armor), but I don't particularly know what the value means, as I don't see any difference in the way the damage got mitigated/ignored, or how it works in general. I play Hard and with or without armor values, still can get one/2-shotted by volatiles.

[rpwalle]

Armor has multiple perks. Read the description. Some armor gives you better damage protection, better 2H or 1H damage, better parkour skills, better ranged damage, etc. Always upgrade to best level and perks that match what your build is. 2H heavy, stealth or ranged or combo of all. I use the crossbow so I look for armor that has perks for increased damage for ranged weapons. Pretty simple really.

[FONE]

Originally posted by rpwalle:

Armor has multiple perks. Read the description. Some armor gives you better damage protection, better 2H or 1H damage, better parkour skills, better ranged damage, etc. Always upgrade to best level and perks that match what your build is. 2H heavy, stealth or ranged or combo of all. I use the crossbow so I look for armor that has perks for increased damage for ranged weapons. Pretty simple really.

I believe OP is asking about the Gear Armor value, where Tank-based pieces grant the highest value, and Nurse-based pieces grant almost no Gear Armor. OP can correct me if I'm wrong though.

I'm not sure what this Gear Armor value represents either, or what benefit it confers.

[rpwalle]

Its levels just like your character. And then perks under each level. But could be something else. I just upgrade and find the best perk values as I go. Seemed to help as it went to higher levels.

[P34nk]

Originally posted by FONE:

Originally posted by rpwalle:

Armor has multiple perks. Read the description. Some armor gives you better damage protection, better 2H or 1H damage, better parkour skills, better ranged damage, etc. Always upgrade to best level and perks that match what your build is. 2H heavy, stealth or ranged or combo of all. I use the crossbow so I look for armor that has perks for increased damage for ranged weapons. Pretty simple really.

I believe OP is asking about the Gear Armor value, where Tank-based pieces grant the highest value, and Nurse-based pieces grant almost no Gear Armor. OP can correct me if I'm wrong though.

I'm not sure what this Gear Armor value represents either, or what benefit it confers.

You're right, I'm asking about the values/numbers in the armor, not the benefit. I can read the benefit and my feeling is a bit mixed about it (I see +10% in survivor sense or 5.8% in detection range, but rarely feel any difference).

Besides the benefit, the only thing I can think about is what @shiv said (mitigate damage), but then again I'm on hard, and it really doesn't make much difference in fighting wearing Medic or Tank armor pieces. It will still hurt and either one-hit or two-hit killed by volatile or any of the special infected when hit. In addition for range damage bonus, does this also apply to throwing knives?

[Shiki Yui]

Originally posted by P34nk:

In addition for range damage bonus, does this also apply to throwing knives?

I'd assume so since throwing knives also shares some skills with bows

[nabbed]

Probably straight up damage reduction?
Add those values up, subtract from original damage to get received damage.
Not sure if before or after the damage mitigation in percent from armor perks.

[PocketYoda]

I've got rank 8 pieces that have better stats than rank 9 lol.

[QueenlyVenomous]

Originally posted by DanteYoda:

I've got rank 8 pieces that have better stats than rank 9 lol.

RIGHT !!!!