Equipment guide

Bannerlord v1.4.8 · checked 2026-11-10 · updated 2026-11-12

This guide explains how armor turns a hit into damage, which armor slots are worth the weight, what the best head, body, glove, boot and cape pieces are in each weight class, and which items you can actually get in a campaign. The game rules here were read out of the game's own code (v1.4.8), and the tables are computed from the game's item files: the base game (SandBoxCore, SandBox and StoryMode) plus NavalDLC. NavalDLC adds its own items and troop outfits and uses the same rules; it only adds a Mariner perk bonus to armor penetration, which the numbers here leave out. The official BirthAndDeath module was not checked for these pages. The item scores add a model on top of those rules (an 80-strength hit, a fixed spread of hits over the body, typical items in the other slots), described in Ratings and results.

Each rule is written in words with a worked example. If you want the exact formulas, every edge case and links to the game code, see the two deep dives: Armor and damage and Ratings and results.

What unlocks what

What you see	What changes it
Damage a hit does through your armor	the armor of the body part that is hit
Extra armor penetration (NavalDLC)	the Mariner perk
How much your armor weight counts	the Form Fitting Armor perk (Athletics)
How much weight slows you, and your top speed	your Athletics skill
Your stealth bonus	the stealth factor of what you wear; armor plays no part
Items you can loot	enemy troops and lords wearing them in a battle outfit

None of these perks and skills is part of the item scores in this guide.

How armor works

Every hit has a strength (the game calls it magnitude) and a damage type: cut, pierce or blunt. Only the armor of the body part that is hit counts. The game works out the damage in two steps.

Step 1. Reduced hit = hit strength × 50 ÷ (50 + armor)

Hit strength: how hard the blow is, before armor.
Armor: the armor of the body part that is hit (more on that below).

Every point of armor shrinks the hit a little, and the effect gets weaker as armor grows.

Step 2. Damage = fixed share × reduced hit + (1 − fixed share) × (reduced hit − slope × armor), with the second part never below 0

Type	Fixed share that always gets through	Slope
cut	0.10	0.50
pierce	0.25	0.33
blunt	0.60	0.20

Fixed share: this part of the reduced hit ignores the second armor check. For blunt it is 0.60 of the hit, for cut only 0.10.
The rest: the other part, (1 − fixed share), counts only by how much the reduced hit exceeds slope × armor. Once the reduced hit is no bigger than slope × armor, the rest does nothing and only the fixed share gets through.
Slope: how hard armor bites in that second check. Cut has the steepest slope (0.50), blunt the flattest (0.20).

So armor is great against cuts, decent against pierce and weak against blunt. The table shows what a hit of 80 does through each amount of armor:

Damage that gets through armor from a hit of 80.

Armor	Cut	Pierce	Blunt
0	80.0	80.0	80.0
10	62.2	64.2	65.9
20	48.1	52.2	55.5
40	26.4	34.5	41.2
60	9.4	21.5	31.6
80	3.1	11.0	24.4

Worked example. A hit of 80 lands on a body part with 40 armor. At armor 40, an 80 cut does 26.4 while an 80 blunt hit still does 41.2; a pierce lands in between at 34.5. At armor 80 the cut is down to 3.1, but blunt still does 24.4.

Which armor counts for which body part

Each body part reads one armor value, and that value is added up over everything you wear (helmet, body armor, boots, gloves and cape):

head and neck use head armor
chest, abdomen and shoulders use body armor
arms use arm armor
legs use leg armor

A single item can add to several of these. A cape, for example, can carry body armor and arm armor, so it protects your chest as well as your arms.

Worked example. A character in the heavy kit from the table further down has 77 body armor. A cut of 80 hits the chest, which uses body armor. Step 1: the hit shrinks to 80 × 50 ÷ (50 + 77). Step 2: that reduced hit is smaller than 0.50 × 77, so the "rest" part is 0 and only the fixed share of 0.10 gets through: 3.1 damage (the Heavy Torso Cut cell in the kit table). The full calculation is in Armor and damage.

Which slots matter

To compare items, each piece gets a damage saved score: the percent of an average hit of 80 that the item removes, when you wear it together with typical (median) items of the same weight class in the other slots. "Average hit" means cut, pierce and blunt counted equally, landing on the head 15% of the time, torso 55%, arms 15% and legs 15%.

Damage saved = damage of an average hit with typical items in the other slots − damage of the same hit once this item is added, as a percent of the hit

Average hit: the 80-strength hit above, spread over the three damage types and the four body parts.
Typical items: in each other slot, the median armor of the items in the same weight class.

Bar chart of damage saved by the best item in each armor slot per weight third (naval scope, battle mode), light, medium and heavy: head 8.89%, 9.68%, 10.53%; body 15.97%, 29.21%, 38.52%; hands 4.46%, 4.57%, 4.50%; legs 2.57%, 4.61%, 4.65%; cape 16.26%, 15.06%, 10.35%.

Body armor matters most. In the scoring's average hit the torso takes 55% of hits, and the best heavy body armor saves 38.52% of an average hit.
Capes punch above their weight. The best light cape, Scale Shoulderguards, saves 16.26%, a little more than the best light body armor (15.97%).
Helmets come next: 8.89% to 10.53%.
Gloves and boots matter least: the best ones save between 2.57% and 4.65%.

Worked example. The best light piece in each slot saves: cape 16.26% (Scale Shoulderguards), body 15.97% (Woodland Garments), head 8.89% (Berserker Helmet), gloves 4.46% (Fian Bracers) and boots 2.57% (Folded Leather Boots). Each number is that one piece added to an otherwise typical light outfit.

Weight classes

Armor weight slows you down, and every kilogram costs the same no matter which slot it is in. The Athletics skill and the Form Fitting Armor perk change how much it slows you; the formulas are in Armor and damage.

Armor weight = the weights of your helmet, body armor, gloves, boots and cape added up

Weight: each item's weight in kg.

Worked example. The heavy kit in the table below weighs 4.4 + 21.4 + 1.7 + 2.6 + 3.8 = 33.9 kg (helmet, body armor, gloves, boots, cape). The body armor alone is 21.4 kg of it.

Light, medium and heavy

To compare like with like, every list of items is split by weight into three classes: the lightest third (light), the middle third (medium) and the heaviest third (heavy). The cuts are at the 33rd and 67th weight percentile of that list, so they differ from slot to slot. An item that weighs exactly as much as a cut goes to the lighter class.

Worked example. Body armor (battle outfits, NavalDLC items included) is cut at 1.2 kg and 8.3 kg. Woodland Garments weighs exactly 1.2 kg, so it is light, and it is the best light body armor.

Putting the best item of each slot together gives one kit per weight class:

Best kit per weight third (naval items, battle mode, all cultures, ranked by damage saved).

Slot	Light	Medium	Heavy
Head	Berserker Helmet	Heavy Nasalhelm over Padding	Closed Huscarl Helmet
Body	Woodland Garments	Heavy Lamellar Vest	Heavy Scale Armor over Mail Hauberk
Hands	Fian Bracers	Bronze Bracers	Reinforced Northern Mail Mittens
Legs	Folded Leather Boots	Reinforced Suede Boots	Scaled Boots
Cape	Scale Shoulderguards	Northmen Raider Heavy Fur Cape	Berserker Cloak
Weight (kg)	6.4	15.9	33.9

Armor per body part and damage that gets through from a hit of 80.

Kit	Part	Armor	Cut	Pierce	Blunt
Light	Head	42	24.6	33.1	40.1
Light	Torso	30	36.5	42.6	47.6
Light	Arms	30	36.5	42.6	47.6
Light	Legs	15	54.8	57.8	60.3
Medium	Head	48	19.2	28.9	37.0
Medium	Torso	54	14.2	25.1	34.1
Medium	Arms	34	32.3	39.2	44.9
Medium	Legs	38	28.4	36.0	42.4
Heavy	Head	55	13.3	24.5	33.7
Heavy	Torso	77	3.1	12.4	25.3
Heavy	Arms	49	18.4	28.3	36.5
Heavy	Legs	46	21.0	30.3	38.0

Expected damage of a hit of 80, averaged over cut, pierce and blunt; hits land head 15%, torso 55%, arms 15%, legs 15%.

Kit	Expected damage
Naked	80.0
Light	43.1
Medium	28.9
Heavy	19.7

Worked example. The light kit weighs 6.4 kg and lets an average hit of 80 do 43.1 damage. The heavy kit weighs 33.9 kg and cuts that to 19.7. With no armor at all, the full 80.0 gets through.

Best picks

The best item per slot and weight class, for battle, civilian and stealth outfits, with NavalDLC items included and all cultures counted:

Best item per mode, slot and weight third (naval items, all cultures). Damage saved: percent of an average hit of 80 the item removes, worn with median items of its third in the other slots. Stealth: the item's stealth factor.

Mode	Slot	Third	Item	Weight	Score
Battle	Head	Light	Berserker Helmet	2	8.89
Battle	Head	Medium	Heavy Nasalhelm over Padding	3	9.68
Battle	Head	Heavy	Closed Huscarl Helmet	4.4	10.53
Battle	Body	Light	Woodland Garments	1.2	15.97
Battle	Body	Medium	Heavy Lamellar Vest	8.3	29.21
Battle	Body	Heavy	Heavy Scale Armor over Mail Hauberk	21.4	38.52
Battle	Hands	Light	Fian Bracers	0.6	4.46
Battle	Hands	Medium	Bronze Bracers	1.3	4.57
Battle	Hands	Heavy	Reinforced Northern Mail Mittens	1.7	4.50
Battle	Legs	Light	Folded Leather Boots	0.9	2.57
Battle	Legs	Medium	Reinforced Suede Boots	1	4.61
Battle	Legs	Heavy	Scaled Boots	2.6	4.65
Battle	Cape	Light	Scale Shoulderguards	1.7	16.26
Battle	Cape	Medium	Northmen Raider Heavy Fur Cape	2.3	15.06
Battle	Cape	Heavy	Berserker Cloak	3.8	10.35
Civilian	Head	Light	Padded Cap	0.2	3.24
Civilian	Head	Medium	Lightweight Padded Coif	0.5	3.96
Civilian	Head	Heavy	Luxury Turban Over Helmet	2.8	8.89
Civilian	Body	Light	Sleeveless Studded Fur Armor	0.4	12.61
Civilian	Body	Medium	Light Long Padded Armor	1.3	17.95
Civilian	Body	Heavy	Norse Chainmail	16	30.70
Civilian	Hands	Light	Leather Vambraces	0.5	3.38
Civilian	Hands	Medium	Fian Bracers	0.6	4.35
Civilian	Hands	Heavy	Northmen Raider Wrist Guards	1.2	3.47
Civilian	Legs	Light	Northern Raider Boots	0.4	2.05
Civilian	Legs	Medium	Reinforced Suede Boots	1	4.85
Civilian	Legs	Heavy	Majestic Iron Boots	2	4.85
Civilian	Cape	Light	Woven Shoulder Pad	0.3	3.51
Civilian	Cape	Medium	Northern Majestic Shoulder	1	10.17
Civilian	Cape	Heavy	Northmen Raider Heavy Fur Cape	2.3	15.34
Stealth	Head	Light	Blackened Hood	0.4	25
Stealth	Head	Medium	Thick Fur Hood	0.6	10
Stealth	Head	Heavy	Raider Fur Helmet	0.8	15
Stealth	Body	Light	Leather Armor over Heavy Cloth	1.8	20
Stealth	Body	Medium	Sloven Leather	2.9	20
Stealth	Body	Heavy	Blackened Armor	5	30
Stealth	Hands	Light	Padded Vambraces	0.1	10
Stealth	Hands	Medium	Guarded Armwraps	0.4	5
Stealth	Hands	Heavy	Plated Leather Vambraces	1.7	10
Stealth	Legs	Light	Wrapped Shoes	0.8	15
Stealth	Legs	Medium	Blackened Boots	1	20
Stealth	Legs	Heavy	Tied Leather Boots	1.8	15
Stealth	Cape	Light	Fringed Cape	0.25	10
Stealth	Cape	Medium	Leather Shoulder Guard	0.6	10
Stealth	Cape	Heavy	Blackened Cape	0.85	15

Weight is in kg. Battle and civilian picks are ranked by damage saved; stealth picks by stealth (next section). When two items have the same score, the one with the higher stat total (armor, plus stealth in stealth outfits) wins, then the lighter one.

Worked example. Long Sleeved Bronze Scale Shoulder Guards saves 16.26% as a light cape, exactly as much as Scale Shoulderguards. The tie-break puts Scale Shoulderguards in the table.

Stealth and civilian outfits

Civilian

The civilian list only holds items the game flags as civilian. They are ranked the same way as battle gear, by damage saved, with typical civilian items in the other slots.

Worked example. The best heavy civilian body armor, Norse Chainmail, saves 30.70%. It weighs 16 kg. The best medium one, Light Long Padded Armor, weighs 1.3 kg and saves 17.95%.

Stealth

The stealth list only holds items the game flags as stealth items. Armor plays no part in your stealth bonus.

Stealth bonus = stealth factor of your head + cape + body + glove + leg items

Stealth factor: a number on the item; it is the only thing that counts.

The best stealth factor per slot in the game is head 25, cape 15, body 30, gloves 10 and legs 20, and the best picks above reach each of them: Blackened Hood (25), Blackened Cape (15), Blackened Armor (30), Padded Vambraces or Plated Leather Vambraces (10) and Blackened Boots (20).

Worked example. Wearing the best stealth piece in every slot gives a stealth bonus of 25 + 15 + 30 + 10 + 20 = 100.

What you can actually get

The ratings only count gear you can get in a campaign:

Shop items: anything the game marks as merchandise.
Loot: when you win a battle, each looted item is a random piece of the battle equipment of an enemy casualty, dead or wounded, lords included. So an item counts as loot if some troop or hero wears it in a battle outfit.

Left out:

multiplayer items and tournament items
items that only appear in civilian or stealth outfits (you cannot loot them)
items in equipment sets that no character uses, or that only multiplayer characters use

With NavalDLC, its new items and troop outfits are added. NavalDLC also redefines 8 base-game items; they keep their base armor stats.

Worked example. Counting only gear you can get, there are 242 body armors in the base game and 268 with NavalDLC.

How to use the armory

The Armory shows the best pieces for every slot and weight class, including shields and horse harness:

Content: base game only, or with NavalDLC items.
Outfit: battle, civilian or stealth.
Ranked by: Protection is damage saved; Protection per kg divides it by weight; Stats per kg (classic) is total stats divided by weight; Stats vs. slot median compares each stat with the typical item of the slot.
Culture: all cultures, or one culture's items.
Show: how many items per slot and weight class.

The kit cards at the top put the best pieces of each weight class together.

Practical tips

Upgrade body armor first. The torso takes most hits, and in the medium and heavy classes the best body armor saves more than any other piece.
Do not skip the cape. In the light class the best cape saves more than the best body armor, and a cape can cover chest and arms at once.
Gloves and boots come last. Their best pieces save the least of any slot.
Armor does little against blunt. A blunt hit always keeps 0.60 of the reduced hit, so stacking armor pays off far more against cuts.
A kilogram is a kilogram. Weight slows you the same in every slot. Athletics and Form Fitting Armor change how much.
For stealth, ignore armor. Only the stealth factor counts: Blackened Hood has 4 head armor and a stealth factor of 25, Raider Fur Helmet has 13 head armor and a stealth factor of 15, so the hood adds more stealth.
Loot only comes from battle outfits. An item worn only in civilian or stealth outfits never drops.
Check your own culture in the Armory. The tables here count all cultures.