ARMOR TYPES
Distinct armor categories — light/medium/heavy, elemental resistances, damage-type interactions — that make defense a build choice rather than a single number to maximize.
- SOLO-DEV COST LOW
- TIMING REAL-TIME / TURN
- COMMON IN RPG · ARPG · ACTION-RPG · SURVIVAL
Monster Hunter: World crafts each armor set from specific monsters with skills and elemental resistances that players match to the next hunt, and Fallout: New Vegas distinguishes damage threshold armor that shrugs off small rounds but yields to armor-piercing ammo, making weapon and armor choice a rock-paper-scissors negotiation. Designers use armor types to create loadout decisions with real trade-offs (protection versus mobility, versus stealth, versus stamina), to give enemy variety a defensive dimension, and to make gearing-up-for-the-target a preparation ritual that extends engagement beyond the fight itself. Key decisions: how many meaningful axes armor varies on (one number is boring; six is opaque), whether the type system is legible in-fight (players should feel the difference, not just read it), and how armor interacts with damage types on both sides. Pitfall: a dominant strategy — if heavy armor has no real cost, the type system collapses into a tier list and every other category becomes newbie-trap loot.