How would I know if I am wearing all-heavy armor?

Question

The Heavy Armor skill perks Well Fitted, Tower of Strength, Matching Set and Reflect Blows rely on the prerequisite that the character must have equipped all-heavy armor.

How do I know a body armor part is heavy armor? Are they identified as such or does it depend on the material used?

Answer

The description will tell you if the item is heavy or light armour. Refer to the image below. (The small, dark grey text just above and to the left of the item name)

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Are shields useful in Final Fantasy 3?

Question

Like in Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III (for Nintendo DS and iOS) allows you to choose between equipping a weapon and a shield, or to equip two weapons. Is it ever worth it to choose a shield?

In FF2, it was often better to equip a shield than to equip two weapons, since your non-dominant hand did less damage anyway, and enemy attacks in the end-game often caused deadly side-effects, putting a premium on the extra evasion a shield provided.

In FF3, however, there's no concept of 'dominant hand', so dual-wielding does double your damage. Furthermore, there doesn't seem to be an "evasion" stat at all, though I guess it could be a hidden stat. I'm about halfway through the game (just got the fire crystal), and have never seen any "shield-block" animation that indicates that the character dodged an attack thanks to his shield.

So, is dual-wielding usually the better route in FF3? If so, are there exceptions?

Answer

The main purpose of a shield is to just improve your defense (and maybe also get extra benefits for specific shields). In the majority of cases, the best defense is a good offense. So wielding two weapons will kill off enemies faster than they can kill you.

Shields then serve to reduce damage when damage is inevitable. And to that end, it's best on defensively minded classes that will be protecting all your allies who do have two weapons. These would be the Knight, and in the DS/iOS remake the Viking. All mention of Viking beyond this point refers to the remakes, as the original Vikings did not get a special skill.

The Knight's Cover ability lets it take damage in place of weak allies. Meanwhile, in the remakes, the Viking gains the Provoke ability which expends its turn to attract attacks. Since this means they'll be the ones taking damage, equipping them with shields is usually a good idea so that they can take more damage.

Vikings in particular, an actual common strategy is dual wielding shields. Since Provoke takes up your turn, you won't be attacking. Two shields gives you a whole lot more defense, your axes and hammers tend to miss anyway and you don't have nearly as strong an offense as the more attack-geared classes. So, you could have a powerful party of attackers that can safely attack while one dual-shielded Viking takes all the hits. This is especially helpful for those bosses who throw in an extra physical attack on their turns.

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Are there any drawbacks to mixing my armor?

Question

I am wondering if it is okay to mix armors in the game? I mainly use heavy with a hood instead of a helmet but when doing Dark brotherhood missions I like to wear the light armor from them. Is that okay to do? Does anyone else do this? Do I need to spec into a certain armor type or can I continue to use both?

Answer

While it is perfectly fine to mix armor types, there are some elements in the game intented to make you identify with one type over the other.

1. Armor perks - Light armor perks only apply to light armor. Heavy armor perks only apply to heavy armor. Some perks farther up these trees require full four-piece sets (head, chest, hands, feet). If you are wearing armor pieces for armor rating - you'll probably get some of these perks. It's more point-efficient to focus on one tree instead of two.

2. Levels - when wearing mixed armor types, you'll get skill points toward both. These skill points can help you level faster. However, it's questionable whether these extra points help you survive fights better. You run a small risk of out-leveling your ability to survive (but there are many mechanisms in the game to counter this possibility).

3. Armorsmithing perks - These perks increase the amount of addition armor rating you get when improving your gear at the workbench. This additional armor can add up to 100 points (20 per piece with 4 pieces + shield). It's more point-efficient to go up one side of the tree or the other. By choosing one side of the tree, you're choosing which armors you want to be better at improving.

To make a good armor selection decision, there is much to consider:

Consider the primary attributes of armor: armor rating and weight. Rating is why you want armor. It reduces physical damage taken. Weight is a big obstacle (less loot, less weapons, less potions). If you go without a helmet, you don't get armor rating from that slot. How much armor rating do you lose by that choice? Does the weight reduction (and magic bonus) make up for that? Can you compensate for the armor rating loss with an alteration spell?

Consider the secondary effects of armor: reduced movement, increased staggering, increased noise. Do you have ways to compensate for those problems? Are you prepared to trade away armor rating to solve those problems instead?

A good player can see the three paths (caster, light, heavy), see how the perks lead into those paths, and discern the tradeoffs when straying from those paths. It's fun to leave the obvious paths, but it's not fun to feel ineffective.

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Melee Combat: Heavy Armor vs. Light Armor

Question

My character is a melee type, and is currently using Light Armor.

Do the perks that light armor provides (extra stamina regen mainly) outweigh the perks and higher armor value that heavy armor provides?

Answer

From the looks of things the only differences between the two skill trees are,

• Tower of Strength (Heavy) 50% less stagger vs Wind Walker (Light) 50% Stamina regen rate
• Reflect Blows (Heavy) 10% chance reflect dmg vs Deft Movement (Light) 10% chance avoid dmg

I don't know if you reflect 100% of the damage, thus negating it, but I would assume so, otherwise the light armour would be much better in that respect.

Personally I've been stacking Stamina a little to get around this as I use heavy armour, but then again I can tank much more than my follower who is in Elvan armour. Don't forget that you can move quicker and quieter in lighter armour also. I think it's more about your playstyle. Also extra Stamina points increase your carry capacity.

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Can you buy Daedric / Dragon Bone armour?

Question

Is it possible to buy these armours or is smithing the only way to get them?

Answer

No, smithing is currently the only way to obtain these sets of armor.

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How do I get Power Armor training in Fallout New Vegas?

Question

I've found some power armor, but I can't use it yet without training. I assumed that the Brotherhood of Steel would train me, if they like me enough.

I've completed the Brotherhood of Steel quest series for the overseer (the original one, I did not overthrow him), but I did not get any Power Armor training. What do I have to do to be able to wear Power Armor?

Answer

Power Armor Training in FO:NV is available at the end of a few different quest chains in order to provide access for a variety of paths.

From the Brotherhood: After completing Eyesight to the Blind or Still in the Dark, wait 24 hours for the lockdown to end, and the Elder will offer you PA:Training, whether McNamara, or Hardin. (Hardin may ask you to go blow up the Silver Rush before offering training.)

Alternately, you can complete Arcade Gannon's follower quest, For Auld Lang Syne - in addition to rewarding you with the unique Tesla Power Armor, you'll receive the necessary training to use it.

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