Attacking: A Guide to Armor + the Player Model
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Thread created on 19:00:16 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago)|Last replied 03:23:35 - 13/05/25 (1 year ago)
Welcome, welcome. Today's thread will cover the Player Model, Body Parts, and the effectiveness of different Armor. Once again there will be a smidge of maths for those interested, but I will keep it at the bottom in case you don't care about the process.
The information regarding body hit chances was compiled from a mix of NPC logs, as well as 2-300 attacks by myself. The damage multipliers for each body part (used in the maths at the bottom) were deduced from these 2-300 attacks by myself also. If you have data that may support slight amendments to these, do mail me!
Note: I won't be using this guide to inform you about costs of armor or anything like that. Trader prices are stupid and I'm not wading into that, so I'll just give you some general advice up front: Motorcycle Helmets and Full Body Armors are very cheap all things considered, if you want some decent armor for a reasonable price I'd take a gander at something like that.
Note 2: At some point I will get round to making a calculator to cross examine different quality armors. Today is not that day.
The Player Model
The body is divided up into 14 parts (in red are critical hit locations):Body Part Damage Multiplier Head 3.5 Throat 3.5 Heart 3.5 Chest 2 Stomach 2 Arms * 2 1 Hands * 2 0.7 Groin 2 Legs * 2 1 Feet * 2 0.7
Your critical hit rate begins at 12%, and can be modified by merit upgrades (+0.5% each), education (+3%) and weapon mods (+2/3/4/5%) up to a maximum of 25%. Since your critical hit rate can fluctuate, the probability of hitting each body part will also change. This diagram can hopefully provide some clarity on the relative probabilities:
Armor Effectiveness1.0 Armor is obsolete, I'll leave it here until I replace it with some simulations for Armor 2.0, but for now please ignore anything below this message. It's not wrong per se, but basically irrelevant.
Below I provide a series of tables comparing the relative effectiveness of each armor from a particular slot. "Mitigation" values can be used purely as a comparison amongst armor of the same type (e.g. between Helmets OR between Gloves), and nothing much more. Bigger number = better!
Simply put, "Mitigation" is calculated using:
- Coverage percentages for each body part (you can see a full list of these here)
- Probabilities of hitting each body part (comparisons made between 12% and 25% CR where necessary)
Helmets
Winner: Welding Helmet
There isn't much comparison to be made here - Welding stomps the rest of the competition on average. A slightly lower armour rating is more than made up for with much better overall coverage of the head and throat, in addition to the temp-blocking effects.
What is worth noting, is that on average you will mitigate more damage with a Motorcycle Helmet than with a Combat Helmet despite the Combat's higher armor, with the added benefit of some temp-blocking.Welding Motor Combat Medieval WWII Construct Leather Armor 34.00 - 39.00 30.00 - 35.00 38.00 - 43.00 25.00 - 30.00 34.00 - 39.00 30.00 - 35.00 20.00 - 25.00 Mitigation 36.11 - 41.41 26.47 - 30.89 25.65 - 29.02 24.71 - 29.65 22.05 - 25.29 11.90 - 13.89 7.25 - 9.06
I haven't included the Hazmat Suit here because the same kind of comparison becomes a little silly; although its a Helmet-slot piece, it covers 70% of the Head and 100% of the rest of the body. Additionally, overlapping armor defaults to the highest armor available (it does not add together), which means the Hazmat does very little across the rest of your body.
Body Armor
Winner: Flexible Body Armour
With the finalised coverage values, there is a clear winner in the Flexible Body Armor (Flex) vs Full Body Armor (FBA) debate - and the Flex comes out nicely on top. The additional coverage of the FBA simply can't beat the higher armor rating of the Flex.
At low critical hit rates (CR), in fact the Combat, Liquid and Outer Tactical armor pieces are even slightly better than the FBA. However as merit upgrades, education and weapon mods are added, the FBA starts to shine as a result of its throat protection.Flex Combat Liquid Outer FBA Armor 42.00 - 47.00 38.00 - 43.00 40.00 - 45.00 36.00 - 41.00 31.00 - 36.00 Mitigation (12% CR) 36.87 - 41.26 35.00 - 39.60 34.99 - 39.37 33.17 - 37.78 32.87 - 38.17 Mitigation (25% CR) 35.10 - 39.28 33.21 - 37.58 33.32 - 37.48 31.48 - 35.85 32.50 - 37.74 Bullet Police Flak Chain Leather Armor 34.00 - 39.00 32.00 - 37.00 30.00 - 35.00 23.00 - 28.00 20.00 - 25.00 Mitigation (12% CR) 32.64 - 37.44 28.31 - 32.74 26.54 - 30.96 23.09 - 28.11 16.15 - 20.18 Mitigation (25% CR) 30.89 - 35.43 26.94 - 31.15 25.25 - 29.45 21.80 - 26.54 15.43 - 19.29
Pants
Winner: Combat Pants
Much like Gloves and Boots, there are no interesting comparisons to draw between the limited options in the Pants slot. Combat is victorious.Combat Leather Armor 38.00 - 43.00 20.00 - 25.00 Mitigation 43.30 - 49.00 22.72 - 28.40
Gloves
Winner: Combat GlovesCombat Kevlar Leather Armor 38.00 - 43.00 32.00 - 37.00 20.00 - 25.00 Mitigation 38.17 - 43.20 32.15 - 37.17 20.00 - 25.00
Boots
Winner: Combat BootsCombat Safety Hiking Leather Armor 38.00 - 43.00 30.00 - 35.00 24.00 - 29.00 20.00 - 25.00 Mitigation 46.60 - 52.73 34.06 - 39.74 27.58 - 33.33 25.01 - 31.26
Note:
An important thing to note here is that these numbers are only accurate when comparing "wearing only this piece of armour" vs "wearing absolute no armour". More realistic comparisons would consider other armor that can be worn (such as Welding and Full Body Armor), where there is some overlap in coverage. I decided to omit these considerations from this thread as it gets quite complicated and subjective.
The Maths
For those interested...
How do we consider how effective a piece of armour is in combat? There are probably a few ways, but this is my take.
- I decided on a set of rules governing which body parts were "supposed" to be covered by each armor slot. By "slot" I mean the five areas you can equip armor; Head, Body, Hands, Legs, Feet. The breakdown I came up with was this:Slot Body Part Helmet Head Body Armor Throat, Heart, Chest, Stomach, Arms Pants Groin, Legs Gloves Hands Boots Feet
- I assume hits of 1000 damage. Using the probability of hitting each body part, as well as the relative damage multipliers for each body part, I calculate the expectation value, or average, damage received per hit. An over simplified example:
If the Chest is hit 20% of the time, with a damage multiplier of 2, then the average damage received per hit would be 1000 * 20% * 2 = 400 damage.
- For a given armor, I do the above calculation for every body part covered by said armor. These are dmg_naked values. I then run a similar calculation where the armor is now taken into account. Extending the example above, the calculation becomes:
1000 * (% chance to hit) * (DMG multiplier) * [(100 - Armour %) * (Coverage %) + (100 - Coverage %)]
- These values are dmg_covered. For body parts I have decided are supposed to be covered by this armor, I sum dmg_covered into covered_total and sum dmg_naked into naked_total. For body parts that are "extra coverage", I sum the differences between dmg_covered and dmg_naked into extra_total.
- The final calculation is:
mitigation = (1 - [covered_total - extra_total]/naked_total) * 100
with the multiplier of 100 giving a nice percentage for comparison.
- Another example is given below:
For the body part supposed to be covered (the head), dmg_covered is 184.80 and dmg_naked is 280.00. For the extra coverage body part (the throat) dmg_covered is 29.11 and dmg_naked is 35.00, giving a difference of 5.89. Subtracting this from the covered_total gives 178.91. Performing the final calculation:
mitigation = (1 - [184.80 - 5.89] / 280) * 100 = 36.11*
*some rounding may apply :p
Previous Works
Attacking: A Guide to Weapon Damage
Attacking: A Guide to Battle Stats InterplayLast edited by Proxima on 18:25:49 - 25/04/25 (1 year ago)
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Posted on 19:04:00 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkPour one out FBA. End of an era.
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Posted on 19:11:14 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkKeep in mind +1% defense from Boxing Gloves is almost always going to be better in battle than a small incremental increase in 0.0x armor rating... so use caution when paying big $$$ for armor after like 80% quality.
(defense applies to ALL body parts, armor only applies to the specific body part(s) being covered)Last edited by Andyman on 10:32:57 - 12/02/21 (5 years ago) -
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Posted on 19:14:26 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkYep I think unless you're facing an opponent you lose to 100% of the time anyway, a boxing glove will always be better than the equivalent armor upgrade you can get for the same cost. Even when you have 40 total stats.
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Posted on 19:17:12 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkNice job! Quality info as usual.
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Posted on 20:19:22 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkYou have too much time on your hands, quality work and easy to understand too.
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Posted on 20:31:39 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkGreat, now I'm stuck here looking at my FBA and my Flex and my Welding Helm and I still don't know how to dress myself.
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Posted on 20:47:46 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkIf you have 40 stats wouldn't it be better to buy a high tier armor piece and sell it to use gloves when it actually makes sense to be using SE?
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Posted on 21:18:17 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkToo much math for midnight, but, seems like if we got a budget of 100mil, the FBA(~35.5) is still better then Flex ~45? Or at a budget of 10mil, 35FBA is better than <43 flex?
Disclaimer: I sell FBAs.Last edited by Kafia on 21:29:33 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago) -
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Posted on 21:19:58 - 11/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkAlso worth nothing that since many temps (HEG) always hit your chest, the flex will be a big winner there.
You realize the sun don't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round -
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Posted on 00:30:10 - 12/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post link40+ Combat Pants, boots, and gloves (5-10m a piece 15-30m total)
Flex FBA Armor 42.00 - 47.00 31.00 - 36.00 Mitigation (12% CR) 36.87 - 41.26 32.87 - 38.17 Mitigation (25% CR) 35.10 - 39.28 32.50 - 37.74
Well if flex is 35.10 - 39.28 and FBA is 32.50 - 37.74
Flex has a 2.6 - 1.54 advantage across values.
So say I am comparing a top end FBA of 35+ versus a shitty flex of 42....
FBA would be 37 mitigated vs the 35 mitigated of flex.
So from what I can see flex of 44+ should be even, flex of 45+ can arguably be close but slightly better, and 46+ is better overall.
However, 45+ flex is easily 100m+, and 46+ fetches close to 1 bil.....
Meaning most affordable flex is going to be 44+ @50mil..... Whereas full body armor 35+ starts around 15 mil....
So just to be even with FBA flex costs 35mil more.
For your average player 35+ full body armor for 15mil is still a winner from the way I read it.
I have some suggested armor layouts and relative pricing as of today... 2/11/2020
For your "Average" player:
Moto Helm (5-50m)
Full Body Armor 35+ (15-50m)
35-130 mil total and you have excellent coverage and bang for your buck.
For your "High Energy Player":
33+ moto (2-600m)
35.4+ FBA (80m+) 45+ flex (100m+)
41+ Combat (20m a piece/60m total a set of pants boots gloves)
360+ mil with increased damage reduction and same coverage.
For your "Competitive" Player:
1/532 Welding Helmets in the game (5B+)
46+ flex (800m-1b+)
42+ Combat Armor (200m-1b+) (600m+ a set of pants boots gloves)
I disagree with the sentiment of someone being better off using an SE at 40 stats than buying a good piece of armor. A good piece of armor is a static multiplier while stats performance are based on log graphs (32X to cancel all etc). A good piece of armor will always be good, whereas gains from an SE are really only good if you can afford to consistently use them. Casually using SE's is one of the worst decisions you can make, especially since Ched likes to manually adjust stock prices to remove trillions from the game.... Spending 450mil on in my case 20mil of a stat is a terrible plan... I would rather have the cash to trade, invest in benefit blocks, start companies, etc. Not to mention should I grow tired of my gear I can sell it for minimal loss and/or profit. I have over 10B+ in high stat weapons and armor, and I continue to invest. From my eyes it is a much safer investment than the stock market, and provides active protection to me.
Say I sell all my gear for 10B, and I take 25 SE's. I would gain 630 million defense, and solidify my position in the top 1K players. So I would get 6 months worth of training in exchange for years worth of NW buildup. In my eyes that is not a great trade, I would much rather keep my unicorn armor. The extra 30% defense just does not entice me more than blocking 1% extra damage forever on that body part. The people I fight are close to me in stats, and that extra few percent adds up in every battle. There will always be a bigger fish, so I would rather be able to bite the ones my size a little harder. -
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Posted on 01:12:19 - 12/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkThe 40 BS thing was an exaggeration of course. I don't know the actual cutoff, it's pretty low but it is higher than that. Either way even at this cutoff I wouldn't actually be suggesting to buy BGs at that low a stat, that would be ridiculous. It was more a comment on how stupid trader prices are for certain equipment.
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Posted on 01:21:53 - 12/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkVery nicely written. Bonus points for the use of pretty colors as well. R+ will save for future usage.
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Posted on 01:46:08 - 12/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkI know it was more a figure of speech at 40 battle stats, why I used my own defense of 2 billion as an example.
In wars I generally get punched from high above my weight class, and the extra 25% defense is not going to save me in those attacks. Even on books that add +100% in those stats I cannot survive. Which makes any armor or handful of SE's worth $0 xD
However, when I am chaining I attack a bit above, nearby, and below. My armor directly helps me in these instances. It would help in battle too depending on my opponents strength and stat totals. While if I had an extra +25% defense it would do a lot for me, my targets would change, and it would never be a true +25% damage reduction but still greater than the 2-4% in armor upgrades... But I could never sell the stats, and it really would not make a gigantic improvement on my battle performance...
I would also take being top 500 total networth over being top 1000 battle stats any day....
To me SE's are a metagame goal for the gamebreakers. Those that crushed 100B NW+ and can reliably take at least 1 SE a week while still making a profit.... For everyone else telling them not to spend 1B on that 46+ flex that will always be close to 1B in value and to instead use an SE I disagree with. Invest in that armor people!
I am not trying to argue about it. I just don't like the gain 1% def with SE vs spend on quality armor argument at all. Wanted to put a different opinion out there, because at level 100, 40B+ NW, 2B+ def, and 10B worth of armor on.... I am happy with my investment and would not trade it for defense stats any day. -
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Posted on 14:06:14 - 12/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkdeleted smhLast edited by Lance0 on 13:34:00 - 09/11/22 (3 years ago)
Some of my better works (make sure to return to the OP since links not working)
https://www.torn.com/forums.php#/p=threads&f=2&t=16191693&b=0&a=0&start=0&to=20879548
https://www.torn.com/forums.php#/p=threads&f=2&t=16203555&b=0&a=0&start=0&to=2109006
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Posted on 14:14:51 - 12/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkNot being funny but what am I supposed to do with that sheet lol, there's no totals or anything?
And I don't know what you mean by "CR at 12% is done, start testing 12.5%".
As far as the data I have goes, you either crit (ratio 8/1/1 - head/throat/heart) or you don't (25/20/20/10/10/10/5 - chest/stomach/legs/arms/hands/feet/groin). Beyond that working out how often you hit a body part at different CR is just a general formula, not something random for each crit rate. Its trivial. Unless you have data to the contrary? -
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Posted on 07:30:26 - 13/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkGreat guide overall, as is the entire series. R+
Can I ask about why you include the extra_total term in your mitigation calculation. I believe you wrote that only the highest armor for a body part applies (by the way is this literally armor or is it coverage or the combination that minimizes received damage?), so I don't see why you should reward armor with extra mitigation from this term.
Specifically regarding FBA vs. Flex, the full body armor has more coverage of the legs and groin, but does this actually translate in to any combat effectiveness? I can also see the throat being a bit of a judgement call between being assigned to helmet or body, but full body armor is also benefitting from its throat coverage. As a (former?) full body armor user, I'm worried it's being over rated here. -
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Posted on 09:02:42 - 13/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkThat's cool :o
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Posted on 11:47:31 - 13/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkYes as I said in my note below, these values only account for the armor itself being the only thing you wear. Beyond that there were simply too many degrees of freedom to include in a realistically digestible guide. But yes, when considering the pieces of armor worn with the FBA, actually it's relative effectiveness is even worse. If the Flex / FBA had been a lot closer I probably would have dived into this a bit, but as it stands the Flex wins by a mile anyway.
In terms of the throat, it could have gone either way obviously. I did a little googling of throat protection and it seems gorgets most often come attached to vests (now at least). Doesn't matter too much, slightly over-values the FBA. Again if the FBA had been anywhere closely comparable with the Flex it would have deserved a bit more consideration in this thread. -
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Posted on 23:42:37 - 13/02/21 (5 years ago)Post link copied to clipboard Copy post linkHelpful and informative guide, glad you cleared up the Full Body/Flexible Armor question. (R+)
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