Any way to save your armor from degrading?

[maestro4202]

I think I'm missing some big obvious thing about armor because my very nice ebony boots I found for example went from a armor rating of 3 to 1. I have gloves that boost critical attributes but they are now at a rating of 0.

 

I looked all over the wiki all they seem to mention is the repair health of the armor, not the decreasing rating. Tried to google for it too.

 

Is there no way to save armor from having its rating go down? Do only certain types of armor degrade? It seems like my Chorrol Sheild never goes down in rating, and infact, my damage rating for my sword (Dynamo sword from Blackwood leader) seemed to go from 10 to 13. Can someone plz sort this all out? Thanks.

[freddycashmercury]

Unless I am mistaken, the health of a weapon directly affects it's damage. Just repair it, and you should be fine. Same goes for armor.

[WoogieMonster]

As you use your weapon more and more, it becomes more and more "worn" and will soon need to be repaired. Armor becomes damaged when you are hit in battle or fall a great distance. Broken weapons usually can not be equipped, but broken armor can, although it provides no protection.

You can view how worn and/or damaged your items are on the menu screen (tab button), it is represented by a number under a heart. When the number reaches zero, the item will be "broken" and useless. You can take them to an armorer or a blacksmith to be repaired for a price, or you can purchase repair hammers and do the work yourself. In the long run, it is best to learn this skill yourself because when you become a master armorer, you can repair items beyond 100% and your hammer will never break.

[GenghisKhanIT]

I have to add to WoogieMonster's precise informations that the shield has a bit different mechanics: in fact if you are Journeyman in Block, blocking attacks will not degrade your shield. This is probably why your Escutecheon of Chorrol never gets damaged.

[worm82075]

Yes all true, and to answer your final question, The defense rating of armor at full health increases very slowly as your skill with it's class increases, maxing out at 85 I believe. Your weapons damage rating at full health will steadily climb as you gain skill in that weapons class up to the max damage of the weapon.