So, yeah, I’m experimenting with playing a ‘dodge tank’ (a character that survives because they are fast and dodge well, instead of fighting at range or using armor). Started a new game, currently Dodge 10.5/2 (high because dex and no encumbrance). I’m using a tanto (piercing weapon) so I don’t think it should block much (if anything).
Fighting a thorny shambler I got the “The thorny shambler shoots a dart at you, but it bounces off your armor” message.
Also later, “The zombie bites your arm, but fails to penetrate armor.”
if an enemy (or you) get a ‘glancing blow’, it will generally do little to no damage, hence the ‘off the armor’, even if you aren’t wearing any, cause technically speaking… your skin is natural armor?
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Yeah, but the message could be a little more accurate. Like “but it only grazes you.” or “but fails to penetrate your skin.”
The game keeps super detailed information on how much coverage different items of clothing and armor provide for each body part (torso, arms, eyes, whatever) so it should have some idea of what has been hit. In fact, I’ve seen messages like “glances off your hard leg guards” etc.
It could be more accurate, sure, but I’m pretty confident in saying that running around naked and dodgetanking against early game enemies is not a common test case, and likely wasn’t even noticed. Even if it was, its such an edgecase that it probably wasn’t worth the dev effort to whoever set it up at the time.
That being said, Its always fixed by someone becoming the person doing that thing, who develops and pushes the fix for the edgecase logic. A lot of nice things we got now came about because someone popped up to contribute who did care about that little edgecase thing.
You do know that two of the starting game scenarios are “Naked and afraid” and “Shower Victim”?
yeah but that doesnt mean you have to STAY naked, just that you START naked.
Don’t you kink shame my character. 
[EDIT] BTW, just killed a dissoluted devourer with a tanto. I didn’t take a single hit. My character is a bit over one month into the apocalpyse - Dodge 12.5/3.
I can’t (yet) clear big towns with melee alone, though. If you are careless and get surrounded or if something both FAST and NASTY finds you it’s tough going.