Armor

Armor is protective body covering intended to prevent injury in combat, and is differentiated by species. Turians, krogan, quarians and humans all have specific types of armor; asari use human armor. There are, however, three general armor categories. These rate armor based on the protection it provides. Armor can be customised with upgrades to give better shields or health regeneration, improve cooldown times for tech abilities, or protect against melee attacks depending on individual preference.

Medium to heavy armor - and almost all turian and krogan armor - is classified as 'hardsuit' because it uses thick ceramic plating to protect non-flexible parts of the body. Each set of armor, regardless of its weight, has a kinetic barrier generator and an onboard computer that can give readouts on the environment, liaise with terminals to download data, and check local wildlife against the xenobiology database. Presumably this computer is also what gives Shepard readouts on the squad's current health and shield status, and helps differentiate between friend and foe during combat.

Light Armor
Light Armor offers a basic level of protection from enemy attacks and minimizes the movement penalties that affect weapon accuracy. All classes have the ability to use light armor from the start. Adept, Engineer, and Quarian Machinist classes will always be limited to light armor but can increase the effectiveness of armor with the Basic Armor talent. The Asari Scientist and Sentinel classes are limited to light armor and have no talents to improve armor use. Infiltrator, Vanguard, and Turian Agent classes can only use light armor unless they have invested enough points in Tactical Armor to unlock Medium Armor.

See Also
 * Human Light Armor
 * Quarian Light Armor
 * Turian Light Armor
 * Basic Armor
 * Tactical Armor

Medium Armor
Medium Armor offers an increased level of protection, but also increases the movement penalties that affect weapon accuracy. The Soldier and Krogan Battlemaster classes have the ability to use medium armor from the start and will rely on it until they have invested enough points in Combat Armor to use Heavy Armor. The Infiltrator, Vanguard, and Turian Agent classes can use medium armor once they have invested enough points in Tactical Armor to unlock it.

See Also
 * Human Medium Armor
 * Turian Medium Armor
 * Krogan Medium Armor
 * Combat Armor

Heavy Armor
Heavy armor offers the highest level of protection from enemy fire, but also has the highest movement penalties affecting weapon accuracy. The Soldier and Krogan Battlemaster classes are the only ones who can gain access to Heavy Armor, but only after acquiring 7 points in Combat Armor.

Heavy armor usually offers best damage protection and shields, but the most basic models offer very low protection against tech and biotic talents. Heavy armors that offer an acceptable amount of this protection are available only later on and are usually hard to find; heavy armor is rarely seen on non-combatants.

See Also
 * Human Heavy Armor
 * Krogan Heavy Armor

Armor Summary
Armor ratings can be calculated from a base value, plus an increase per level (I=1, II=2, III=3, etc).


 * Light: Base value, plus increase * level (i.e. I=1, II=2, III=3, etc), round down.


 * Medium: Damage +6 ranks, Shields +1 rank, Tech/Biotic -5 ranks.


 * Heavy: Damage +14 ranks, Shields +2.5 ranks, Tech/Biotic -10 ranks.

Example

 * Scorpion IV – Medium (Hahne-Kedar) has the following stats:
 * Damage Protection = 10 + 2 * (4 + 6) = 30
 * Shields = 60 + 24 * (4 + 1) = 180
 * Tech/Biotic Protection = 18 + 2 * (4 – 5) = 16

Hidden Properties
Some armors have certain properties not shown in the inventory screen. Armor manufactured by Devlon Industries provides immunity to environmental hazards on dangerous worlds. Phoenix Armor, made by the Sirta Foundation, regenerates health when worn.

Recommendations
The best shields (and great armor overall) is Predator L/M/H Armor, while the highest damage protection comes from Colossus Armor (Kassa Fabrication); both are found at level 7+ versions. The various Geth Armory armors (krogan) and the Phantom (turian), both 7+ versions, along with Mercenary Armor (Ariake Technologies), also have a slight edge over HK.

Generally, the various Hahne-Kedar armors (all models have the same stats), are the best in class of common armor, usually 1-2 levels better than the remaining manufacturers. The only other armor worth looking at is Titan Armor (Rosenkov Materials), which has higher damage protection than HK, but lower shields.

Other manufacturers are usually worse, even if a higher level or weight category, and once you outfit with HK you will probably stick with it until you find a higher level HK or one of the premium armors (Predator X/Colossus or Geth/Phantom/Mercenary).

Equip Any Armor Glitch
This glitch results in equipping any armor you have on any character in the party, regardless of restrictions. In the equipment menu, on armor selection, find the armor you wish to equip (greyed out or not). Count from that armor down to the bottom of the list of armor. Press X to enter upgrade selection. Select any upgrade, and hit Y to convert to Omnigel, but almost simultaneously press and hold A, and don't release. Once the prompt to confirm conversion to Omnigel appears, release A and press B. The selection screen will appear different - as if selecting armor, but with upgrades in the selection list, and the Icons describing the selection will appear strange (1 icon, then 3 other repeating icons) if done correctly. Scroll to the bottom of the list of upgrades, then scroll up the number you previously counted down from armors. Equip the 'upgrade', and the armor you previously picked will be equipped instead.

Note: This glitch does not appear to be able to forcibly give any armor with less than 3 upgrade slots, additional slots through upgrade-transferring.

Also Note: To be able to select all armors from the list, you need to have an equal or greater number of upgrades to armor.

Mass Effect 2
In Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard starts with the default N7 Armor. The N7 Armor can be customized or swapped out for the other armor sets: Blood Dragon Armor, Terminus Assault Armor, Collector Armor, Inferno Armor, and Cerberus Assault Armor, which are available as DLC. While the bonus stats for the DLC armors are relatively high, these armor sets cannot be customized in the same way as the N7 Armor.

Armors sets for your squadmates are pre-determined in stats and appearance, and alternate appearances can be unlocked from the completing the squadmate's loyalty mission.