Armor smithy and AR

[Cado]

As an aspiring armor and weapons crafter (eventually), it seems that the same armor type (chain, ring, plate) made of different ores produce different grades of protection. What I'm wondering are the key factors for the differences in AR assuming they are the same armor type, made as a GM and produced as "exceptional." Is it truly the different ore? Is it luck? Is it the tools used? It seems that not all "exceptional" armor of the same type are created equal

I've looked under stratics and the guides here. Stratics seems more geared toward current UO armor system where there are different bonuses due to different ores. And the SA blacksmithy guide seems more about skill gains. The armor sections in SA provided make no distinctions between types of ore used.

If I've missed something in the SA guides, please let me know.

[Pirul]

As far as I know, and I might be wrong here, in this era crafting armour out of different ores did not provide any special advantage in terms of AR. I also believe that exceptional armour created at under GM provides the same AR as GM made exceptional armour, the only difference is the name stamp on GM made exceptional.

I have not yet tested this, so I can say I am only 99% sure that's the case, but until I test it I can confirm it to be true.

I don't know if Cattie having a crafter can confirm this.

[Astinus]

Is it truly the different ore? Is it luck? Is it the tools used? It seems that not all "exceptional" armor of the same type are created equal

My understanding is that GM-quality gives a bonus to AR and the potential bonus is a range, and where a given piece of armor falls into that range is luck-based.

[Cado]

Yeah...i put on a set of chain/ring armor with shield that is "exceptional" GM quality made of normal ore but gave a total AR of 36.
I usually wear a set of chain/ring armor with shield that is also "exceptional" GM quality made of shadow ore and gave a total AR of 41. I then wanted to see what the higher end ores provided, so I bought a set of GM exceptional Valorite armor and it gave an AR of 42.

So, it could be that it just happened to be better AR as a random thing even though they were "higher grade" ores...by that I mean, ores that you can not acquire except with higher mining skill. But it would makes sense that rare ores would provide some advantage for the armor. However, if Astinus is correct, then it may not have as much to do with the ore used as it was just random. I'm guessing that Astinus is probably right, that GM grade "exceptional" armor falls within a range for each set made and it's mostly random within that range. If so, then Pirul is also correct as it's not really the ore type that matters. Perhaps the higher grade ores give i better probability of giving AR's at the higher end of the range ???

The other thing I notices is the wear and tear of the different armor. The Valorite(sp?) seems to not wear down nearly as fast as the ordinary ore armor does. I don't know if that is because of the ore, or just a random thing because it's "exceptional" GM as well.

The reason I ask is because of pricing. It seems that the price of exceptional armor sets of higher grade ore is higher...not sure why if there's not an advantage to it. I mean..it's purdy and all, but when you churn through the armor like I do...lol.

[Pirul]

I cannot stay with this issue based upon speculation, and have made it a personal quest to figure this out.

Tonight I'm going to make two exceptional sets of chain tunic, legs, coif, and ring arms, gloves with a heater; one in regular and one in copper, or another mid-high ore (don't want to waste my high end ores, just in case ) at 96.4 skill, and I'm gonna store them until I GM (should be by next week), and then will make two identical sets at GM, to see if any provides any bonuses over the other.

From what I have read, and again, I might be wrong, my hypothesis is that all 4 sets should provide the same AR.

[Cado]

Very nice

i'll double check the armor sets I have, I do know they are all GM crafted, and exceptional quality. I'm also certain the regular ore set w/shield is AR 36 and the Valorite is 42 (now 40 after a few trips out). I had not worn either set, and both were received/tried on after GM'ing Parry (different parry skill level will change shown AR on shields).

I'm curious to see what happens with your test Pirul I'm also curious to see if we can tell if perhaps Ore type provides a difference in terms of armor longevity. I'm already liking how the Valorite has held up so far, the regular sets really do seem to wear out pretty fast.

As far a my smithy and dexxer go, my hope is that the ore does make a difference more than just looks, at least with longevity, if not consistently with AR.

[Pirul]

Done first 2 sets, and can confirm:

Chain tunic, legs, coif, and ring arms, gloves with a heater in regular iron vs. bronze yield the exact same AR on my miner with 0 combat skills (parry).

Will do the next 2 sets when I GM, and will have to figure out a way to test HPs.

[benny-]

Pretty sure here....

Ore type does not affect the quality or AR of armor...it is for looks alone.

When an item is created exceptional, I believe there is some chance of add ar points applied to the item. Not positive about this, but I know it existed in later eras.

[Cado]

That's cool.
I just couldn't figure out why 2 sets of exceptional armor made by GM crafters using different types of ore had a difference like that in AR.

[Astinus]

Yeah, benny and I are on the same page -- the bonus AR for exceptional items is probably somewhat randomized; the fact that those two sets were made from different ore is probably just happenstance.

Of course, I could just be remembering wrong or be making stuff up entirely. You could make a thread in the General Questions forum if you're overly curious.

[Pirul]

Expanding a bit:

Light Archer suit: Chain Tuninc & Legs, Ring arms and gloves, Plate gorg and Close helm, with Heater: 31 AR for both regular iron and bronze at 96.5 skill.

[Cattie B]

I have a GM smith, and enough of each type of ingot to test fully. I will make this set as Pirul said and post my results.

Light Archer suit: Chain Tuninc & Legs, Ring arms and gloves, Plate gorg and Close helm

I will do shields as well.

[Cattie B]

Results : all "exeptional" pieces used

Iron: 29 armor
Dull Copper: 29 armor
Copper: 29 armor
Bronze: 29 armor
Gold: 29 armor
shadow: 29 armor
Agapite: 29 armor
Verite: 29 armor
Valorite: 29 armor

So it looks like it consistant at least, and only for looks
Heres an armor base on shields, made exepetional all with iron ingots as it doesnt seem to make a difference

Buckler: 1 armor
Bronze shield: 1 armor
Heater: 2 armor
Metal: 1 armor
Metal Kite: 2 armor
Tear Kite: 2 armor

Hope this answered some of your questions

[Cado]

Awesome, thanks so much for all the input!

I shall stick with the shadow ore armor then cause it just looks better and tends to be cheaper!