[quote=“Pandromidal, post:4, topic:12246”]Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like the item browser is very out of date. Clothing protection has changed significantly since it was updated. Items have very different protection values relative to each other. It’s hard to cross reference if I"m making the best choices, but right now my character is wearing this armor:
Light Survivor Suit
MBR vest (Kevlar plates) <- only 85% coverage
Chitin arm guards <- only 90% coverage
Survivor cargo Pants
Survivor helmet[/quote]
If you open up the debug menu in game followed by the wish menu, you can see current stats for the items in question.
If you’re going low encumbrance, I would recommend looking into a kevlar vest. Additionally, use the best most protective helm that you can find, as head encumbrance does nothing. If I was really afraid of getting my character’s brains splayed out across the pavement, I would go heavy survivor helmet + survivor hood. I looked into the arm and leg guards, too. Chitin, Metal, and hard (plastic) all stood out as viable options when I perused them. I am more drawn to metal for factors that I list in regards to the benefits of heavy armor in the following paragraph. The survivor suit + cargo pants is going to have same layer encumbrance incompatibility, and it may cause it to shoot through the roof. I know that survivor trenchcoat/duster are two great options for layering torso + arm defense as they occupy the outer layer while the suit occupies normal.
For me, personally, I go heavy everything. In ice labs, I go winter everything + thermal electric. In hospitals, I go firesuit (acid protection). I don’t go fishing, but I would with survivor wetsuit. I don’t have experience with radiation resistant armor. From my own experience, heavy armor has been the best for me. Light gets destroyed if you catch on fire. Leather is less plentiful than metal, so repairs are more difficult. 9mm mostly bounce off of the heavy suit, while the (normal) survivor armor takes damage (I think). To repair the metal suit, you need a soldering iron, which can easily be outfitted with a ups comp. mod, so that you never have to worry about batteries/thread again (for the major source of armor, anyway).