Armor Resistances, Penetration & Weapon Types

Table of contents

Table of contents

• Armor Resistances, Penetration & Weapon Types
  • Armor & Physical Resistance
    • How Armor Rating Works
    • Why Armor Above Cap Matters
    • Armor Penetration (AP)
  • Resistances by Type
  • Elemental & Magic Resistance
    • Magic Resistance
    • Elemental Resistances (Fire, Frost, Shock)
    • Poison Resistance
  • Weapon Damage Types
    • The Four Damage Types
    • Enemy Damage Type Resistances
  • Damage Reductions
    • Examples
  • Material Protection & Vulnerabilities
    • Common Examples
  • Strategic Application
    • Choosing Your Weapons
  • Next Steps

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Armor Resistances, Penetration & Weapon Types

Damage is not just about weapon power—it’s about armor, resistance, and penetration. In Wildlander, every enemy has defenses, and every weapon has different ways to overcome them. Understanding these mechanics will transform you from a frustrated novice into an effective combatant.

Key principle: Not all weapons work equally against all enemies. Choose the right tool for the job.

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Armor & Physical Resistance

How Armor Rating Works

• 1 point of Armor Rating (AR) reduces incoming physical damage by 0.1%
• Maximum AR effectiveness cap: 80% damage reduction
• 800 AR = 80% damage reduction (reaching the cap)
• Example: Heavy Daedric armor gives ~800 AR = 80% damage reduction

Important: Having armor above the 80% cap is NOT wasted—penetration is applied BEFORE the cap takes effect.

Why Armor Above Cap Matters

• Enemy armor penetration reduces your AR by a percentage BEFORE the 80% cap applies
• Example: You have 800 AR (at cap). An archer with 50 AP hits you:
  • Archer’s 50 AP bypasses 50% of your AR
  • Your effective AR becomes 400 (50% of 800)
  • You now receive 40% damage instead of the full 80% protection
  • Solution: Having extra armor above cap means penetration still leaves you protected
• Extra armor acts as a buffer against armor penetration

Armor Penetration (AP)

Armor penetration bypasses enemy defenses based on attack type:

• Ranged attacks & melee power attacks: 1 AP bypasses 1% of target’s AR
• Standard melee attacks: 1 AP bypasses 0.5% of target’s AR
• Maximum bypass: Can never bypass more than 80% of target’s AR
• Example: Striking an enemy with 500 AR using 10 AP makes effective AR 450 (not 500)

Practical application:

• Use power attacks against heavily armored enemies
• Ranged weapons are more effective at armor penetration
• Different weapons have different penetration values
• Heavy armor gives you protection buffer against penetration

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Resistances by Type

All resistances have a 90% cap (except physical damage at 80%), meaning resistances over that threshold don’t provide additional protection.

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Elemental & Magic Resistance

Magic Resistance

• Protects against all magic damage, including elemental magic (fire, frost, shock)
• Protects against shouts, fears, and non-elemental spells (illusion, etc.)
• NPCs can have both elemental and magic resistances simultaneously (unlike vanilla)
• Multiplicative effect: Resistances stack multiplicatively, not additively
  • Example: 90% magic resistance + 90% fire resistance = 99% total fire resistance (10% × 10% = 1% unresisted)
  • At high values, your effective resistance increases exponentially

Elemental Resistances (Fire, Frost, Shock)

• These combine multiplicatively with magic resistance
• Higher individual resistances create dramatically higher combined protection
• Combined with magic resistance, becomes very powerful

Poison Resistance

• Reduces poison damage by the stated percentage (up to 90% cap)
• Must be active before poison damage is applied (including DoT effects)
• Taking a Resist Poison potion only protects from new poison attacks, not active damage-over-time effects
• Paralyze protection: High poison resistance (45%+) prevents most paralyze attacks
  • 45% is enough to stop all but the strongest creatures (large frostbite spiders, falmer)
• Poison shouts (poison dragons, afflicted) ignore initial poison resistance but are still affected by DoT resistance

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Weapon Damage Types

In Wildlander (using Requiem), all weapons deal one specific damage type. Creatures often have special resistances or vulnerabilities to specific damage types.

The Four Damage Types

Enemy Damage Type Resistances

Some creatures have damage type resistances as bonus armor rating against specific weapon types:

Impact: A creature with Tier 3 blunt resistance takes an additional 180 AR worth of protection against maces and warhammers, making them nearly immune unless you have high armor penetration.

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Damage Reductions

Many creatures have percentage-based damage reductions against specific weapon types. This multiplies on top of armor ratings.

How it works: A 75% damage reduction means a weapon deals only 75% of its stated damage.

Examples

• Warhammer (100 damage) vs. 75% blunt reduction enemy: 100 × 0.75 = 75 damage dealt
• Sword (100 damage) vs. 85% slashing reduction enemy: 100 × 0.85 = 85 damage dealt

Practical impact: Some weapon types are dramatically less effective against specific enemies, even with high base damage.

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Material Protection & Vulnerabilities

Certain enemies have material-based resistances or vulnerabilities based on weapon material:

Common Examples

Undead creatures:

• Vulnerable to silver weapons (take additional damage)
• Especially susceptible to silver melee weapons

Draugr:

• Immune to conventional metal arrows (iron, steel, etc.)
• Arrow damage reduced to 10% of stated damage against them
• With weak metals: effectively 3-5 damage per arrow
• Solution: Use silver arrows or other higher-quality materials with the silver keyword (see Ammunition page for options) or switch to melee

Other material vulnerabilities:

• Daedric creatures resist certain materials
• Specific creature types have specific protections

Key takeaway: If a weapon type isn’t working, try a different material.

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Strategic Application

Choosing Your Weapons

1. Against heavy armor:
   • Melee: Use blunt weapons to bypass slashing-resistant enemies, dodge and wear enemies down
   • Mages and Archers: Keep at maximum range; let heavily armored enemies struggle to reach you while you attack from safety
2. Against magic users:
   • All classes: Build magic resistance through enchantments, perks, potions, and race selection to reduce spell damage
   • Melee: Use cover to get close and prioritize killing them before they cast
   • Archers and Mages: Target magic users as top priority from range, preferably from stealth
3. Against specific creatures:
   • Research creature resistances before engaging
   • Carry multiple weapon types for different situations
   • Don’t rely on only one damage type
4. Armor choice:
   • Heavy armor reaches 80% damage reduction cap
   • Evasion (light armor) provides mobility
   • Certain creatures have resistances based on weapon materials—research enemy vulnerabilities before engaging (see Material Protection section above)

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Next Steps

You now understand how to calculate damage and armor effectiveness. Continue learning:

1. Read Magic Analysis - Understand magical damage types and how resistances apply to spells
2. Read Needs & Survival - Consider how survival needs interact with your combat readiness
3. Read Derived Attributes - Learn how your base attributes affect damage resistances

Remember: Armor doesn’t stop damage—it reduces it. Understanding resistances means better survival.

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