Armor

''This article is about pieces of equipment worn by characters. For skill and equipment effects mentioning the word "armor", see armor level.''

Armor is the gear that a character wears to protect them from attacks.

''Note: Shields are considered as secondary weapons, not armor.

Basics
Sometimes the difference between a few intense seconds of near-death in combat and a -15% Death Penalty is just in the kind of armor you wrap around yourself. Your primary profession determines what sorts of armor you can wear. Listed here are the types of armor available to each class, as well as where to get it, how much it costs, and what it does. Note that, with a few exceptions, most armor effects do NOT stack. Wearing a super sturdy helm is not going to help you much when an attacker stabs you in the chest. Below are the percentages for the probablities of attacks/skills hitting a specific piece of armor:
 * Head - 12.5% of physical attacks (this goes up if the enemy is on higher ground than you.)
 * Chest - 37.5% of physical attacks, as well as all direct damage spells.
 * Hands/Feet - 12.5% of physical attacks (each) or 25% total.
 * Legs - 25% of physical attacks.

Note: There is a common misconception that certain spells always hit the chest (or some other fixed location). Currently there are no actual verified reports of this rumor. However, initial investigation suggests that Lightning Orb never hits the hands. See Talk:Lightning Orb for discussion.

For details on how armor reduces damage, see Damage.

Each profession has access to "Basic" Armors, which provide standard modifications. For example, the Ranger's Basic Armor is the Leather Armor, which provides +30 AL against elemental attacks. Other armor sets usually provide additional bonuses. For example, a Ranger can purchase a Drakescale Vest, Gloves, Leggings, and Boots, known collectively as Drakescale Armor (or the Drakescale Set). This Armor provides bonus against fire damage, in addition to the +30 AL against elemental attacks that is standard for all ranger armors. The bonuses for a few armor sets are global, meaning only one piece of armor is needed for the bonus to be applied to the whole body, and equipping more than one piece will not increase the bonus effect. A few other armor sets have various penalities as a trade-off for their bonuses. Thus, the standard armor isn't always the worst armor in terms of bonuses (or the lack thereof), depending on what you value.

Most armor sets do not have a corresponding headgear. Typically, each class has a "standard" piece of headgear that has the same armor characteristics of their Standard Armor. In place of set headgear that provides various bonuses (such as +AL against piercing, +AL against lightning damage, etc.), each character has a selection of headgear that provides a +1 to a single attribute. For example, there are five pieces of Mesmer Headgear available: The standard mask, and a mask for each of the four Mesmer attributes: +1 Domination Magic, +1 Fast Casting, +1 Illusion Magic, and +1 Inspiration Magic. The sole exception is the warriors, who have both attribute headgears and set headgears for most sets (which also provide attribute boosts on top of the set bonuses).

Finally, there are some independent armor items available for Necromancers and Warriors. Necromancers can purchase Bloodstained Boots, which decrease the casting time of corpse-exploitation skills. Warriors can purchase Stonefist Gauntlets, which increase knockdown time.

If you're interested in what a particular set of armor looks like, a good way to check is by creating a PvP character and playing with the equipment selection available. This won't have nearly all the armors available, but it will have at least six varieties to check out. Pictures are also generally available here within the articles for each armor type.

Obtaining Armor
All armor is customized for their owners, thus traded armor cannot be equipped (unless you trade it away and trade the same one back).

PvE

 * New PvE characters received starter armor that cannot be salvaged or sold to a merchant.
 * Armor Crafters
 * Collectors

PvP
PvP characters only have access to one armor piece per body location, chosen at character creation. The good news is, the armor is free and all armor types (except the basic armor) are available at max armor level. For armor variants that have the same bonus stats, only one of those sets is available for PvP characters. The art for each PvP armor type is fixed.

Special Events
Certain special in-game events (usually as reference to real world celebrations) may provide players with fun-looking armors. They typically come pre-customized, cannot be dyed, have 0 armor level, but can be upgraded with runes and Infused.