Armour

RSCOS

For boxed armour sets, see Item set.

Armour is the term for items that can be equipped to provide defensive bonuses during combat. Most armour sets require a certain Defence level to equip; the higher level an item requires, the greater bonuses it will provide. A player's total Armour stat can be seen in the Loadout screen, under the Hero tab.

Most armour is classed under a melee, magic, or ranged combat style. An armour piece's combat style dictates which styles it defends strongly and weakly against according to the combat triangle; this can be seen in-game as Style Bonus, which is added or subtracted from your Armour stat. Armour not matching the style of your weapon will also penalise your accuracy, this being viewable by mousing over your Accuracy stat. Lastly, some armour sets are classed as hybrid, meaning they have no specific weakness and will not penalise accuracy under any style.

Aside from raising one's defence, a player might wear armour sets that sacrifice defence in return for more damage dealt, or one might wear hybrid armour for easy switching of combat styles.

Armour and the combat triangle

Main article: Combat triangle

The combat triangle is a figure that demonstrates how each combat style relates to another.

The combat triangle

• Melee fighters overcome rangers because their weapons can cut through leather armour with ease. Melee armour is also effective at protecting against Ranged attacks, as their projectiles have difficulty piercing the thick, metal armour.
• Ranged fighters overcome mages because their projectiles easily penetrate their robes. Ranged armour is usually crafted from tough animal hides with poor energy conductivity, which is highly resistant to Magic attacks.
• Magic users overcome warriors because their spells conduct in their metal armour, effectively cooking them. Effective mages can also bind warriors while attacking from afar, and their magical robes resist Melee attacks.

As can be seen above, armour plays a defining role in the combat triangle. Depending on an enemy's attacks, an item's Armour stat is used in varying amounts: 110% against the style it is strong against (eg. Melee > Ranged), 100% against the same style (eg. Melee = Melee), and 90% against the style it is weak to (eg. Melee < Magic). This is represented in the Loadout screen by your Armour stat plus or minus your Style bonus.

To simplify, the mystic robe top and blue dragonhide body have equal Armour bonuses, but the former is classed Magic and the latter classed Ranged, so both armours will defend differently.

Also, not every armour set has a combat class. Some armour is class Hybrid (or class All on particular items), and can be used by any combat style without penalty. Details on Hybrid armour can be found here.

Wearing an item of the wrong class in any slot except the cape will penalise your accuracy. A percentage of the item's Armour bonus is subtracted from your Accuracy stat: 150% if it is strong against your class's weakness, 80% if not.

Melee armour

Main article: Armour/Melee armour

• Melee armour is usually made from metal and is typically the heaviest gear.
• Melee armour defends best against Ranged attacks and is weak to Magic attacks.
• Some Melee armour may be created with the Smithing skill.

Ranged armour

Main article: Armour/Ranged armour

• Ranged armour is usually crafted from animal skins, commonly dragonhide.
• Ranged armour defends well against Magic attacks and is weak to Melee attacks.
• Some Ranged armour may be produced with the Crafting skill.

Magic armour

Main article: Armour/Magic armour

• Magic armour is not armour as commonly envisioned, but instead robes and similar garments.
• Magic armour defends well against Melee attacks and is vulnerable to Ranged attacks.
• Some Magic armour may be produced with the Crafting skill, or Runecrafting for higher-end sets.

Armour types

A player wearing tetsu Tank-type melee armour.

A player wearing Sirenic Power-type ranged armour.

A player wearing Battle robes PvP-type mage armour.

A player wearing warpriest Hybrid-type armour.

A player wearing Dragon Rider All-type armour.

There are five types of armour one may find, most with different stats and purposes.

Tank

Tank armour provides the largest Armour bonuses. Aside from Nex armour, it is the only armour type to provide a life point bonus. Tank armour also reduces damage in PvM. Most armour in the game is of this type.

Power

Power armour gives less Armour bonus than Tank armour, but it has a damage bonus similar to jewellery. The damage bonus increases with the required level of the armour. Nex armour is unique among high-level power armour because it has a life point boost.

• Elite black armour (level 40)
• Dagon'hai robes (level 40)
• Penance armour (level 40 various)
• Fremennik armour (level 50)
  • Rock-shell armour
  • Spined armour 
  • Skeletal armour 
• Demon slayer equipment (level 60) 
• Lunar equipment (level 60)
• God Wars Dungeon armour (level 70)
  • Bandos armour
  • Armadyl armour 
  • Robes of subjugation 
• Nex armour (level 80)
  • Torva armour
  • Pernix armour
  • Virtus armour
• Heart of Gielinor armour (level 80, level 85 when refined)
  • Anima Core of Zaros
  • Anima Core of Zamorak
  • Anima Core of Seren
• Superior Ancient Warriors' equipment (level 88)
• Malevolent armour (level 90)
• Sirenic armour (level 90) 
• Tectonic armour (level 90) 
• Elite sirenic armour (level 92)
• Elite tectonic armour (level 92)

PvP

PvP armour is especially good in PvP circumstances, or even in PvE. It offers the Armour bonus of Tank armour and the damage bonus of Power armour. It also reduces as much damage in PvP as Tank armour.

• Combat robes (level 20)
• Druidic mage robes (level 35)
• Corrupt Ancient Warriors' equipment (level 40)
  • Corrupt Statius's equipment
  • Corrupt Vesta's equipment
  • Corrupt Morrigan's equipment
  • Corrupt Zuriel's equipment
• Battle robes (level 50)
• Ancient Warriors' equipment (level 78)
  • Statius's equipment
  • Vesta's equipment
  • Morrigan's equipment
  • Zuriel's equipment

Hybrid

True to its name, Hybrid armour can be used by all combat styles without accuracy penalty. Hybrid armour carries lower defence than the above armours and provides no PvE Damage Reduction, but it defends equally well against all combat styles. It is useful when frequently changing attack style, or if fighting a monster that uses multiple attack styles. The following armour sets are Hybrid:

• Pathfinder armour (level 1)
• Dragonstone armour (level 50)
• Tasks set (levels 30, 40, 50, and 60)
• Akrisae the Doomed's equipment (level 70)
• House Drakan outfit (level 70)
• Ghost hunter equipment (levels 20, 50, and 70)
• High Armour of Hanto (level 70)
• Warpriest armour (levels 25, 50, and 75)
  • Golden warpriest armour (level 75)
• Attuned crystal armour (Level 80)
• Sliske's Parody (levels 80 and 85)
• Hybrid armour (level 85) (Only in certain PvP minigames: Castle Wars, Soul Wars, Fist of Guthix, TzHaar Fight Pit)
  • Vanguard Armour
  • Battlemage armour
  • Trickster armour

All

This armour works identically to Hybrid armour. The following armour sets or items are classed as All:

• Void Knight equipment (level 45, 55 superior)
• Elite Void Knight equipment (level 50, 60 superior)
• Obsidian armour (level 60)
• Relic helms (level 60)
• Dragon Rider armour (level 70)
• Gemstone armour (level 80)

Hybrid power

Hybrid power armour is a small subset of items that are hybrid (or all) class but also provide damage bonuses, like power armour.

• Culinaromancer's gloves (levels 1 to 70)
• Silverhawk boots (levels 1 to 60)
• Rogue gloves (levels 60 to 80)
• Cinderbane gloves (level 85)

There is much debate on exactly how to provide a tier for these items, as their stats do not quite fit the models below. For example:

Item	Wield req.	Armour		Damage		Overall tier
		Value	Tier	Value	Tier
Culinaromancer's gloves 10	None	49.1	55	8.5	55	70 or 75?
Silverhawk boots (level 60)	60 Defence	31.4	40	6.9	45	60
Atrocious rogue gloves	80 Defence	56	60	10.0	65	80
Cinderbane gloves	85 Defence	74.3	70	11.0	75	90

Certainly, with these three we see two ways of applying the tier penalties:

• -15 to both armour and damage due to being hybrid, then -5 to just armour for being power (silverhawks, rogue gloves, cinderbane gloves)
• -15 to both for being hybrid(culinaromancer's gloves)

Bonuses

Power, Hybrid and All armour have lower defensive bonuses than Tank or PvP gear of the same required level. Using Tank as a base, their bonuses are derived as follows:

Armour type	Armour bonus	Traits
Tank	Base	PvM damage reduction
Power	-5 levels	Buffs damage
Hybrid and All	-15 levels	No combat class

To demonstrate, here are the bonuses of level 60 torso armour for each type:

Armour type	Armour bonus	Damage bonus	Damage reduction (PvM)	Damage reduction (PvP)
Tank	260	0	1.2%	3.6%
Power	226	22	None	1.8%
PvP	260	22	None	3.6%
Hybrid and All	168	0	None	1.8%

Damage bonus

The damage bonus from Power armour exists as Strength Bonus, Ranged Bonus, and Magic Bonus — the same bonuses as on jewellery. They are added to the player's main-hand damage bonus if they match the class of the wielded weapon. For example, if one wields an abyssal whip, the Strength Bonus from Bandos armour would affect their damage and the Ranged Bonus from Armadyl armour would not.

Should an off-hand be wielded, 50% of any damage bonus will also be added to the off-hand slot. If a two-handed weapon is wielded, the main-hand slot receives this 50% bonus.

The damage bonuses from Power armour rise with the required level of the armour. A full set provides an approximate 13% increase to a weapon's damage, assuming the armour and weapon are of equal level. Should a Fast or Average speed weapon be wielded, any damage bonuses will be multiplied to compensate for the player's larger damage stat.

The total damage bonus from a set of Power armour is distributed as follows:

Armour slot	Damage distribution
Head	20%
Body	30%
Legs	25%
Gloves	12.5%
Boots	12.5%
Total	100%

Damage reduction

Damage reduction is available on all armour types in PvP, and only on Tank armour in PvM. It comes as two percentages that may be observed on the Loadout screen.

Damage reduction can also come from prayers, abilities, and set effects. All reduction modifiers are multiplicative.

Gloves, boots, and shields of all armour types do not reduce damage in PvP.

Armour type	Damage reduction (PvM)	Damage reduction (PvP)
Tank	PvM base	PvP base
Power	None	½ PvP base
PvP	None	PvP base
Hybrid and All	None	½ PvP base

The damage reduction from an item is determined by its required level, slot, and armour type, and functions as a percentage.

PvM reduction from Tank armour

• Head: $0.02 \times level$
• Body: $0.02 \times level$
• Legs: $0.02 \times level$
• Gloves: $0.02 \times level$
• Boots: $0.02 \times level$

PvP reduction from Tank and PvP armour

• Head: $0.0375 \times level$
• Body: $0.06 \times level$
• Legs: $0.0525 \times level$

PvP reduction from Power, Hybrid and All armour

• Head: $0.01875 \times level$
• Body: $0.03 \times level$
• Legs: $0.02625 \times level$

PvM reduction from shields

• Shield: $0.1 \times level$

Attributes

There are three attributes an armour piece may have: Armour, Life and Damage.

• Armour raises the chance to block attacks from a creature or player.
• Life raises the player's maximum life points. It is found on head, body, and leg Tank armour of levels 80 and above, shields of levels 70 and above, and on Nex armour.
• Damage raises the strength of your hits. It is seen as Strength Bonus, Ranged Bonus, and Magic Bonus. Armour-wise, only capes, Power armour and PvP armour have this attribute.

The bonuses on armour are set via formula, and thus it is possible to determine or approximate the stats of non-existent gear. All armour sets of the same level and type will have identical bonuses.

As mentioned previously, some armour may also have a Prayer bonus. A Prayer bonus does not help defensively, but lowers the drain rate of active prayers.

Calculating Armour bonus

The formulas for calculating Armour bonus are derived from a base defensive value:

$\mbox{Base} = \frac{\mbox{level}^3}{500} + (10 \times \mbox{level}) + 100$

Using this base, the Armour bonus of each equipment slot is as follows:

• Head: $0.2 \times \mbox{Base}$
• Body: $0.23 \times \mbox{Base}$
• Legs: $0.22 \times \mbox{Base}$
• Shield: $0.2 \times \mbox{Base}$
• Gloves: $0.05 \times \mbox{Base}$
• Boots: $0.05 \times \mbox{Base}$
• Cape: $0.03 \times \mbox{Base}$
• Ring: $0.02 \times \mbox{Base}$

One may find charts with the bonuses of many armour levels here.

Calculating Life bonus

Note that Life bonus is only found on shields at levels 70 and above, or Tank armour at levels 80 and above in the head, body, and leg slots.

The results for certain armour levels may be seen here.

• Head: $(level - 69) \times 20$
• Body: $(level - 69) \times 40$
• Legs: $(level - 69) \times 30$
• Shield: $(level - 69) \times 35$

Calculating Damage bonus

The results for certain armour levels may be seen here.

• Head: $level \times 0.258$
• Body: $level \times 0.387$
• Legs: $level \times 0.3225$
• Gloves: $level \times 0.16125$
• Boots: $level \times 0.16125$
• Cape: $?$

Prayer bonus

Main article: Armour/Prayer armour

Equipment can also have a Prayer bonus which reduces the drain rate of Prayers. Prayer bonuses aren't related to tier; however, higher prayer bonuses are generally on higher tiered equipment.

Set effects

Main article: Passive effects

Some armour sets have passive effects when every item of the set is worn, potentially allowing greater use for a set. Some passives boost damage like Power armour, but others may increase accuracy, heal the player, drain enemies' stats or adrenaline, and more. Nearly every armour set with an effect is available to members only.

An example of these are the Barrows sets, which have unique passives and are commonly seen. Another set used is the Void Knight equipment, which boosts both damage and accuracy. There are also other sets with effects, such as PvP minigame armour and robes from the Fist of Guthix minigame.