defensive armor calculation

[PhysWiz]

I would like to know how to choose armor for a particular battle. Let's say for example I am up against Chitracks who use both physical attacks and poison.

Does strong armor (chain mail or breastplate for example) have any poison resistance?

Am I better off equipping characters with my strongest armor (with no specific poison resistance) on the theory they have some poison resistance as a byproduct of the armor OR equip with weaker armor with specific poison resistance??

Is there a formula for comparing specific armor pieces?

[Randomizer]

I don't remember any armor or shields with poison resistance, but there are pants and rings that do. In general if you have enough endurance (6-8) you can combine it with any armor to have enough resistance to acid and poison. This means not having to swap items all the time. It's only in the beginning of the game when you are weak that you have to think about it.

 

Armors are not additive, but they are multiplicative. So you can't just add the values but instead have to do:

 

armor = 1 - (1-armor fraction1)(1-armor fraction2)...

 

so 2 pieces that give 50% armor don't add up to 100%, but multiply to 75%.

 

Also it seems that each point of armor has a percentage chance of blocking damage so that this is only the average amount of damage that gets blocked.

[ex post slarto]

I think this is the answer you are looking for: All armor automatically protects against fire, cold, and energy attacks at half the percent of its armor rating. It does not offer that kind of protection against acid, poison, or anything else.

 

If you're looking for something else, maybe you can be more specific?

[PhysWiz]

I think I was considering pants and leather clothing as armor.

 

Yes, I think the above two posts answer my question. I suspect that endurance is probably a better investment than hanging on to a lot of acid and poison resistant gear. Also, it's good to know how armor combines. Thanks