Objectively speaking, Light Armor is superior to Heavy Armor in terms of practicality. While Heavy Armor outperforms Light Armor by a landslide in terms of protection, it’s not worth the sacrifice of mobility, stamina, and weight load for what can be accomplished using a shield or Restoration spells.
Not to mention that both kinds of armor cap at the same level of protection, so you can always upgrade and customize your light armor to be on par with some of the best heavy armor sets in the game.
With that said, there are a lot of reasons why you’d choose to wear heavy armor, especially early in the game when you’re more vulnerable to attacks.
It is not until you level up that you can upgrade your Health and spend some perks on Restoration. It may even take a while before you find a decent shield! So it is more than likely that most players would want to wear heavy armor right away.
That may not be the best option, however. Depending on your play style, you might benefit a lot more by sticking with light armor. There are downsides to each choice, of course, so let me help you figure out what might be best for you.
Is Light Or Heavy Armor Better In Skyrim?
While light armor is more practical and flexible when customizing your character, the look and protection that heavy armor offers can’t be overlooked. Whatever kind of armor you prefer will greatly depend on your play style and personal preferences.
For stealth, light armor will always be a better alternative than heavy armor because you’d have to obtain certain spells, enchantments, or perks for heavy armor to be on the same level as light armor.
With heavy armor, however, you can arguably use the least amount of perks in order to reach maximum defense by spending them in the Juggernaut skill, then up to Conditioning once you reach Heavy Armor 70, so that the armor worn by the player will become weightless. Add upgrades and enchantments to the mix. And you can reach the 500+ armor cap without having to spend more perks.
Both skill trees have parallels with each other when it comes to perks. For instance, Reflect Blows is a perk available for the Heavy Armor tree, and it has a 10% chance of reflecting damage, whereas the Light Armor tree has Deft Movement, which gives you a 10% chance of avoiding damage. Functionally, these two are the same skill save for enemy taking damage.
And then, there’s Tower of Strength that offers a 50% less chance to stagger compared to Wind Walker, which gives you a 50% boost in stamina regeneration rate. These are for Heavy and Light armor skill trees, respectively.
So, if you’d rather be a tank, then Heavy Armor is right for you, but if you prefer to attack from afar and engage with enemies in more creative ways, then Light Armor is right up your alley.
Is Light Armor Worth It Skyrim?
Light armor weighs a lot less than the average heavy armor, which is especially useful for looting since you’re able to carry a lot more items and weapons than you’d normally be able to with heavy armor.
This also affects what kinds of weapons you can carry. Ironically, builds focused on light armor have more flexibility when it comes to the weapons since you can carry heavier weapons like mazes, axes, and greatswords thanks to the extra free real state in your inventory load. I say ironically because players who prefer light armor usually go for builds focused on lighter weapons like archers with bows and assassins with knives.
Light armor allows you to have unique yet effective builds like an assassin with a two-handed weapon. This allows you to kill your opponent in a couple of blows even if he catches you sneaking behind him. This gives close combat and stealth a whole new and exciting dynamic.
That’s not to say you can’t do the same with heavy armor, but things get trickier with stealth when you have a full set of iron armor on you.
But if you’re open to experimenting with your build early in the game, wearing light armor will allow you to do so in a less restricted manner.
Leather armor is incredibly easy to find and upgrade early in the game. Not to mention it is usually cheaper. So it’s no wonder that light armor is such a tempting option when starting a new game.
Whereas heavy armor not only hinders movement but also has a negative impact on stamina regeneration, Magicka regeneration, and even Magicka cost.
For most players, including myself, this sacrifice is too much to bear for the benefit of increased defense.
Also, keep in mind that in order to get the most out of your build, you’d have to spend eight perk points for Light Armor, whereas Heavy Armor would require eleven perk points, which could’ve been spent on a more valuable perk more suited to your play style.
Is Heavy Armor Worth It Skyrim?
The truth is that not only does heavy armor outperforms light armor in their base stats, but also most of the best looking armors in the game are heavy armor sets.
While practicality seems to favor light armor builds, especially in the lower levels, there’s no denying two very important aspects that, while they don’t affect gameplay, they do affect your enjoyment of the game. And those are aesthetics and roleplay.
When it comes to aesthetics, there’s no denying that heavy armor sets are usually the most badass-looking ones. Dragon, Ebony, and Daedric armor are some of the fan favorites among the community. And they all happen to be heavy armor sets. So, if you love to see how badass and empowered your character looks, then this is something to keep in consideration.
While I’m more of a Light Armor player, I understand the struggle of having your character look just the way you want them to. Way too often, I’ve discarded or sold objectively better armor because I don’t like the way it looks. And this serves as a good segway to my second point, and that is roleplay.
If you’re like most RPG gamers, then you’re the type to love to be immersed in the world around you. You like to feel like you’re living there and that the world you inhabit is a real place. So, not only do you enjoy just roaming around to admire the scenery and talk to random NPCs just to hear what they have to say, but you also love to assign a ‘role’ to your character.
Maybe you’re a rogue mage who’s disillusioned with the way magic is taught or a failed merchant who came across the thieves’ guild and found their calling; or maybe you’re an ex-con who used to slaughter people for the fun of it but found it your duty to serve for a greater purpose when you joined the Imperials.
Whatever role you play, your character’s skills, background, and appearance are going to have an impact on how invested you are. So, even if light armor is easier to get behind in the beginning and max out to compete with the best heavy armor sets, it’s still a hard pill to swallow if your no-nonsense, hit-first-ask-questions-later knight is wearing wolf hide or if the Nord berserker that could give Thor a run for his money has a mismatched set of a weird-looking helmet, boots and what looks like a skirt. Granted, you can have your way around it, but the truth is you’re going to have a better time if your character looks the part.
Can You Sneak With Heavy Armor In Skyrim?
You can sneak around with heavy armor, but keep in mind that your armor will make more noise, making it more likely for an enemy to spot you.
Light armor is more appropriate for a stealth build. Especially considering that some good perks such as Muffled Movement, with which the noise produced by armor is reduced 50%, are behind the Light Armor skill tree. Heavy armor is very noisy even when crouched. Not to mention it drains stamina way faster than Light Armor.
There are ways to circumvent this, but they all have their issues.
First is with the Muffle enchantment, which reduces noise produced by movement by 50%. Then, there’s the Muffled Movement perk, which virtually does the same thing. And last, there’s the Silence perk that quiets any noise made by your character by 100%.
But then you run into a tight spot. What if you don’t want to level up sneak and use those perk points elsewhere? You certainly can. You can customize the enchantments on your boots to muffle the noise just enough so that it wouldn’t make a difference between having Heavy or Light armor.
You can also use the Muffle spell, which is an Apprentice level spell from the Illusion skill tree.
You can also gain a perk to make your armor weight nothing at all. This, however, comes at level 70 for Heavy Armor, which is near endgame level. So, it’s understandable that some player would not want their movement, speed, and weight capacity to be hindered throughout most of their playthrough, especially if those players want to specialize in the use of stealth, archery, restoration spells, or shields.
Since you would not be getting hit as often in those situations or, if you were, the damage you’d take would be pretty negligible, it’s safe to say that light armor would be way more beneficial to you.
If you want to spend the least amount of perks, however, I would highly recommend Heavy Armor.
When it comes to protection, heavy armor is the way to go, to the point where you can avoid using shields altogether. There’s nothing like being able to shrug off blows like a tank. Not to mention that you can unlock the Reflect Blows perk on the Heavy Armor skill tree. This perk allows you to reflect damage, and the enemies will take some damage too with every strike.
How Do You Increase Heavy Armor Fast In Skyrim?
A little tip for those of you who love the look/feeling of the heavy armors and want to use them on your playthrough, I would highly recommend you to take a trip to the Steed Stone.
The Steed Stone not only gives you a boost of 100 to your carrying capacity but also removes the movement penalty and drops the weight of equipped armor (keyword there being equipped) to zero. It is located northwest of Solitude, north of the Statue of Meridia.
Late on the game, with all necessary upgrades and the right perks, protections come to be about the same, so the choice mainly depends on what you want your experience in the early-mid game to be like, the build that benefits your play style the most, the perks you want and the overall appearance you prefer for your character.
All the downsides of each armor type can be countered once you reach the higher levels, so it really all comes down to personal preference during the climb there that will affect your enjoyment out of the game.
How Do You Improve Light Armor Fast In Skyrim?
To level up Light armor faster, the best you can do is go to the Thief Stone. You’ll find it next to the other Guardian Stones, Warrior, and Mage, northwest of Helgen. You know, where you were almost beheaded and attacked by a dragon.
There’s also an item called Diadem of the Savant, which increases Light armor when worn in battle. It can be found in Shalidor’s Maze and next to Froki’s Shack.
You can also brawl with drunken people and take a few hits before defeating them. A drunken fella in Windhelm is always looking for someone to fight.
What Is The Best Light Armor?
While there are a lot of contestants to this question, the title for best light armor in Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has to go to the Deathbrand Armor. It has the highest base defense out of all light armor sets, and its pieces can be found throughout the “Deathbrand” quest that came with the Dragonborn DLC.
But, of course, let’s not forget that most armor can be upgraded through Smithing, Enchanting, and Alchemy to the point of reaching max defense. So there are a few alternatives for high-level armor that can compete with Deathbrand.
The Ancient Shrouded armor, for example, has a unique deadly assassin’s look, which is fitting considering that you obtain it by completing a side quest for the Dark Brotherhood.
And I can’t talk about amazing light armor sets without mentioning the Nightingale armor. Personally, my favorite looking armor, this one can be obtained through a side quest of the Thieves’ Guild. A unique armor worn by the shadowy Nightingales, this one is easily one of the best-looking sets in the game and one you won’t be able to take your eyes off even if you prefer to play in first-person.
What Is The Best Heavy Armor?
The Daedric Armor has the highest base armor rating overall. That fact, combined with the jaw-dropping design, make it a fan favorite as endgame heavy armor and the one players aspire the most to get.
Dragonplate Armor is another fan favorite. While it has a lower base armor rating, it can be increased to reach the same cap as the Daedric armor. A lot of people also opt for this one not only because they may prefer this design, let’s admit it, the whole evil overlord vibe the Daedric armor gives is not everyone’s cup of tea, but also because the base damage of the Dragonbone weapons is higher. You can mix and match, of course, but it’s understandable that some players will want some sort of harmony between their armor sets and their weapons.
And last but not least, the Ebony armor not only has a slick and elegant design that’s pleasing to look at, but it also has the strongest base armor rating right behind Daedric and Dragon. Of course, that rating can be increased, so this is an amazing alternative for those players who can’t get enough of this armor’s badass design.
Is Deathbrand Armor Better Than Daedric?
Now, let’s compare the best heavy armor set against the best light armor set.
While Deathbrand armor might be weaker than the Daedric armor in their individual pieces, the whole set overall armor rating can be raised over that of any Heavy Armor. Not only through upgrades but also with the very nice bonus you get when wearing all the pieces of the whole set. Meaning that while Deathbrand armor might have a lower armor rating than Daedric, with the bonus that it’s actually stronger than the heavy armor set.
In the late game, both Heavy and Light armor behave similarly, and they both have the same armor cap, which is 567, so it’s really a matter of preference.
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