Howdy, we’re gonna quickly discuss a few builds, explain how they work, what armor they consist of, and why they’re gonna be great for your journey of cutting people limb from limb, watching them bleed to death, and locking them in place with the frequency of your attacks. I’ll mention all types of armors, their positive effects and yadi-yada. Anyways, let’s roll!
5. Light Armor Build
The thin boyz.
Light armor builds are for those who prioritize agility during combat, little to no penalties, and extra mobility during long journeys to distant zones. Although light armor provides less blunt/cutting damage resistance, it won’t hinder your combat speed effect and will prove to be effective in later stages of the game, when your toughness is at higher levels.
Summary of the build:
- Fog Mask provides you with necessary duststorm resistance and decent cutting/blunt damage resistance
- Dark Leather Shirt provides an extra layer of protection and increases your stealth
- Ninja Rags provides some armor, a nice bonus to dexterity and stealth.
- Samurai Clothpants don’t provide any cool buffs, but they cover 100% of your legs and 50% of your stomach.
- Wooden Sandals are all about mobility and increasing your combat speed effect.
4. The Medium Armor Build
Ying-yang.
Perhaps light armor is not cutting it for you anymore, you’re sick of getting your chest/stomach destroyed every time and want to withstand damage for at least a minute without dying. This is the build that should be used by players with toughness at least somewhere between 30-40.
Summary of the build:
- Fogmask is considered to be light armor, but it’s so good that you can use it in pretty much every build!
- Blackened Chain Shirt provides decent cutting/blunt damage resistance and a meaningless penalty to dexterity.
- White Plate Jacket weighs only 5 kilograms and a masterwork-grade can benefit you with 34% blunt resistance/58% cutting resistance.
- Plated Drifter's Leather Pants are pretty dope, they cover most of your legs and offer fair resists when it comes to damage.
- Plated Longboots cover 40% of your legs and combining these boots with the previously mentioned pants makes your legs extremely durable. Unless you’re fighting Leviathans!
3. Heavy Armor Build
Heavy armors guy.
Katanas are nice, but they’re even nicer if you don’t die within 20 seconds. Combining toughness with heavy armor will keep you in a fight for at least a good IRL minute or two, depending on what enemies you’re fighting. The most fitting katana blade for this class is either Topper or Nodachi, as it allows you to hit multiple enemies at once and that’s usually what heavy armor is made for - either fighting multiple enemies at once or single targets.
Summary of the build:
- Samurai Helmet provides you with 100% coverage of your head and excellent cutting/blunt damage resistance. The helmet also provides you with great cutting/blunt damage resistance.
- Samurai Armor is the key part of defending your stomach and chest, it provides 85% coverage for your arms and stomach and 100% for your chest. This armor will keep you going for a long time!
- Blackened Chain Shirt adds an extra layer of protection to your stomach and chest. This makes your primary body armor more powerful.
- Samurai Legplates are pretty strong, they cover 100% of your legs and 50% of your stomach.
- Wooden Sandals negate the combat speed effect debuff from the Samurai Armor pieces and make you a tiny bit faster. Normal boots are not needed in this build as your Samurai Legplates already cover 100% of your legs.
2. Mixed Armor Build
Mixed stuff!
In this build, you equip armor of any type - lightweight, medium, and heavy armor. These builds are for those who are too lazy to level up strength and want to carry more, or for those who are too bothered by negative penalties for wearing the armor.
Summary of the build:
- Fog Mask…. don’t blame me, this is probably the best armor for your head!
- White Plate Jacket has a minimal amount of dexterity penalty and protects 100% of your body above the belt. The blunt/cutting damage resistance is also pretty high for medium armor.
- Leather Turtleneck is a pretty common shirt to get in most armor/clothing shops and it provides you with decent coverage and damage resistance.
- Samurai Legplates are considered heavy armor and they make your tummy extra bulky.
- Wooden Sandals completely negate the negative combat speed effect and make your character more agile during combat/running.
1. My Custom Armor Build
And the effects of my build…
I felt like including my own build here that I’m currently using in Kenshi, cuz why not. I think it’s pretty dope and does a great job at withstanding damage for a long amount of time and giving your character a few positive buffs!
Summary of the build:
- Fog Mask… you guessed it!
- Assassin’s Rags give you a nice 1.20x dexterity buff and give you a massive advantage in pretty much every stage of the game!
- Dark Leather Shirt gives you more coverage and armor than the rags and makes sure you don’t die too fast. Also gives you a small stealth bonus!
- Samurai Legplates cover 100% of your legs and your 50% of your stomach - this is essential, as Assassin’s Rags give you very little coverage/damage resistance!
- Wooden Sandals to negate the combat speed effect penalty and make your character even more agile.
