I’ll mention a few shirts in this article that will either reduce the amount of damage that your chest, stomach, and both arms(not always) will take from enemy attacks. They can also be useful for your martial arts and other beneficial buffs. Let’s start with the most useful shirts in the world of Kenshi:

5. Martial Artist Bindings

Kung-fu fighting!

These bindings protect your hands from punching things such as Skeletons and other robots, make you deal more damage, and also give you a slight bonus in terms of martial arts. You won’t find it in the shops, but you can loot it off the Grass Bandits and Band of Bones fellers!

Why the Martial Artist Bindings are awesome:

- 70% fist protection(gets further improved by your toughness skill)

- You get a bonus +4 damage while fighting in martial arts

- Attack damage multiplier 1.05x

More information:

https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Martial_Artist_Bindings

4. Blackened Chain Hive Shirt

You can still wear it as a human.

This shirt was made by Hivers for Hivers, but if foreigners are stubborn enough to wear this shirt, they can. You can find it rarely on traders and more often in Hive Villages, blueprints, and actual shirts. You mass produce this thing if your army consists of Hivers and you want them to be extra protected!

Why this shirt is awesome:

- One out of not so many shirts that protect the chest/stomach of Hivers!

- Decent cutting/blunt damage resistance

- Low dexterity debuff

More info:

https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Blackened_Chain_Hive_Shirt

3. Dark Leather Shirt

Sneakity-sneak!

The perfect shirt for those who wish to sneak around in places such as ancient labs or abandoned outposts, where plenty of dangerous creatures reside, such as robot spiders and other ugly things. It gives you decent armor, despite being lightweight, and also gives you a nice sneaking bonus!

Why this shirt is awesome:

- Common in shops

- Decent resistances

- It looks green, despite being called “dark”.

More information:

https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Leather_Shirt

2. Chain Shirt

A chain shirt. What else do you want me to say?

Chain Shirts are also very common in shops and they’re perfect for protecting your body and your arms to a smaller extent. If you’re somebody who fancies melee combat, you don’t have to worry about this thing slowing you down too much and you should feel confident fighting off multiple bandits at once. Excellent armor that provides a great, secondary layer of protection for your vital organs!

Why this shirt is awesome

- Costs 10k cats each, which can be mass-produced for profit!

- Provides a fairly decent coverage of your body

- Common to find in armor shops

More info:

https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Chain_Shirt

1. Chainmail

Oh yeah!

Chainmail is hands-down the best shirt for you to wear, it provides you excellent coverage and the highest amount of armor when it comes to shirts. It messes a little bit with your dexterity, but to a reasonable extent. Blueprints for this shirt can be found in Holy Nation territories, Mongrel, and some clothing shops scattered around the world of Kenshi. 

The last thing that I’d like to add is that this piece of armor is excellent for making money - each piece of armor costs over 10k cats. You’ll be a millionaire in a matter of days with these shirts!

Why this shirt is amazing:

- Costs a lot, excellent for selling if you have a skilled armorsmith

- Highest armor protection

- Covers your whole upper body(that includes arms!)

More info:

https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Chainmail

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