Armor

In comparison to weapons, armor is considerably simpler, though it’s no less important to your success! You have four types of armor in Destiny: helm, gauntlets, chest armor, and leg armor. You also have one cosmetic Class Armor slot.

Armor is Class-specific, and you almost always find armor for your Class in the wild. It is rare but possible to find an armor item for another Class. Don’t worry: you can store it in your Vault and access it on that Class when you want to use it!

Armor has three basic effects. First, it provides your basic level of Defense, protecting you in PvE and PvP where Level Advantages are enabled. Armor also boosts your three Armor stats: Discipline, Intellect, and Strength. And finally, armor provides you with access to armor-only mods.

Armor mods can provide boosts to your melee, grenade, and super abilities, as well as a reload speed increase to one weapon type, inventory ammo bonuses, and add effects when you pick up an Orb of Light.

Once you reach Level 20, armor can boost your Light level, which is the only way to achieve an effective level higher than 20. Experience earned at 20 gains you Motes of Light whenever you would have normally gained a level instead. Raising your Light level is necessary for accessing activities that have level requirements beyond 20. Once you first hit Level 20, expect to spend some time hunting down Legendary gear to raise your Light level.

Armor Stats

Armor stats are a simple numeric bonus, such as “+5 to Discipline” or “+30 to Discipline and Strength” on higher-level armor. However, what the number actually does for you depends on your level. At Level 5, 20 points of Strength can give you a bigger boost than at Level 10 or Level 15.

All stats are translated to a percentage boost to one of your recharge timers: grenades, melee, or super. To see this bonus in the game, move your cursor over the stat on your Inventory screen. The takeaway here is pretty simple: to keep your bonuses strong (and growing), you must upgrade your gear as you level.

Armor can boost a single stat, or it may boost two. This gives you the option to focus your armor toward maximizing one recharge timer or splitting it between a few. Choose whichever option best suits your build and your personal preference.

Discipline

Reduces grenade cooldown time.

A high Discipline value is helpful if you use grenades frequently, especially if your Class build is focused on grenade usage. Grenades are extremely useful in both PvE and PvP, making Discipline a safe choice if you aren’t sure where to focus.

Intellect

Reduces super cooldown time.

Your super is a very powerful tool in more difficult PvE missions, and always in PvP. Whether you choose to boost your super recharge rate over your grenades or melee depends largely on how your Class spec is configured. Some supers, like a Void Titan’s Ward of Dawn or a Warlock’s Radiance, can be incredibly powerful support tools. Other supers, like a Hunter’s Golden Gun or Arc Blade, can inflict lethal burst damage in PvP.

Strength

Reduces melee cooldown time.

For the brawlers among you, a high Strength score can give you access to extremely fast full-power melee strikes. This is very powerful in PvP for close-range combat. However, it is riskier in difficult PvE missions, as point-blank range is one of the least safe places to be.

Note that a Bladedancer Hunter has a mod that cuts her melee recharge time down to almost nothing. In that specific case, your points are generally better invested elsewhere for greater returns.

Hunter Armor Progression

Your progression in Destiny is more than just numbers in the background, of course: you also get to flaunt your style.

Titan Armor Progression

Your progression in Destiny is more than just numbers in the background, of course: you also get to flaunt your style.

Warlock Armor Progression

Your progression in Destiny is more than just numbers in the background, of course: you also get to flaunt your style.