Brave explorers and adventurers of the galaxy are bound to get into a scrape or two along the way. Several types of durable and dependable armor are out there to take the brunt of the dents and scratches so you don't have to. Learn how to best protect yourself against the dangers of the galaxy as we explore the facts about armor.

The Basics

In general, armor absorbs damage from attacks to specific areas of your body. Some species can't wear certain armor pieces, so be aware of all restrictions before purchasing a new piece of armor. For example, Wookiees wear race-specific armor.

You can begin wearing armor when you reach level 22.

Armor Types

Every piece of armor in Star Wars Galaxies falls into one of four categories, each with specific traits and resistances. In general, you will be able to wear one type of armor without noticeable penalties, and the quality of the armor you can wear without penalty improves as your abilities improve.

Different armor types also add an increased resistance to certain damage over time effects based on the number of slots covered by that armor type. The effect becomes most pronounced when wearing a similar type of armor over all slots that normally offer protection. The more matching armor pieces you wear, the resistance is increased as shown in the graph below.

Assault armor, usually worn by Bounty Hunters and Commandos, protects against kinetic damage well. However, this armor is more susceptible to energy damage. Assault armor also has an increased resistance to fire and acid damage over time.

Battle armor provides an even protection against all damage types. Battle armor is typically worn by officers and spies, who benefit from the lack of penalties as well as the increased resistance to poison and energy damage over time effects.

Reconnaissance armor, commonly donned by medics and smugglers, offers the best protection against energy damage with a small bonus to energy protection and a minor penalty to kinetic damage protection. Bleeding and disease damage over time effects are also reduced by this armor type.

The Jedi wear no armor, instead choosing to be clothed in simple robes. Traders and entertainers typically do not wear armor but seasoned professionals have the ability to equip it. These entrepreneurs tend to hire bodyguards during their travels across the galaxy, although the bravest choose to receive special training that will improve their expertise in combat and defense.

Armor Values

When you examine your armor, you will see various statistics for the piece. A piece of armor has values for statistics such as protection against kinetic and energy damage, protection against specific elemental damage, and the species that can equip the piece.

The protection against the different damage types is listed as a number which indicates a percentage that damage is reduced by. A chart of increasing armor values and the percentage of mitigated damage is shown below.

Aside from reducing the amount of elemental damage you take, elemental protection reduces the chance of being hit with a special elemental critical effect. Generally when an opponent scores a critical hit on you, you take an additional 50% more damage from that attack. If the attack was elemental in nature, it also applies a short but potentially nasty "Elemental Critical" effect as listed below:

However, wearing armor with elemental protections will increase your chances of avoiding these special elemental effects though you'll still take increased damage from the attack. The chance to resist is the protection value divided by 100, so a Heat Protection value of 6000 means you'll avoid getting set on fire by critical hits from heat weapons 60% of the time.

Available Armor

A wide variety of armor exists in Star Wars Galaxies, each with its own unique look and properties. Some of the available armor is shown in the table below.