Mixed Sets #3: Bodyrock (Patreon)

Previous Entries:

Part 1: General Principles, Limitations and Foundations 

Part 2: Head Piece Choices

Now we've completed our look at head gear, we're onto the other super important part of armor - the body. The body is similar to the head in that it requires more protection than most other  locations. In the case of the head, it's because severe injuries are twice as likely to kill your survivor, in the case of the body, it's because the location dice hits the body twice as often as any other location. Meaning that on average the body will take twice as much damage as anywhere else.

In most armor sets, this is kind of a meaningless fact because armor sets are rarely designed with extra body armor (though they kind of should be). However, with mixed sets we have the advantage of looking for extra armor on the body in order to compensate for the way that monsters tend to go for body shots more than most other areas (with the exception of targeted stuff, like the Butcher's head shots and the Dung Beetle Knight's relentless assault on your legs). So, bare that in mind as we move forward.

That aside, the body location is  one of the most powerful in the game, generally body pieces of gear are the centerpiece of an armor set, giving a large amount of affinities.

Rawhide Vest

I'm putting this one on the list not because it's good, but because it's a bit of a trap that you may fall into. Yes rawhide is amazing, yes evasion is amazing, but this is not the Dancer Armor set where you get 3 armor. The Rawhide vest is a single armor point in a mixed set and that means outside of playing People of the Stars, where this is a thing:

You just do not get a good trade off - losing the body armor in exchange for +1 evasion is absolutely not decent value proposition.  

However, this does not mean that the vest is not viable, it is absolutely one of the few body locations that gives out evasion and with sufficient support from other pieces of gear to give armor points and evasion you can use it. But you can't just mindlessly slam it into a mixed set stacking evasion and call it good. Because some monsters will absolutely bypass your evasion and decimate your body, especially with reactions.

White Lion Coat & Gauntlets

I've included the Gauntlets here because there is absolutely no reason to use them without the body piece as well (an issue I discuss in the Brawler set), and to be honest, most of the time this duo are not worth crafting at all. However, in People of the Lantern the Twilight Sword turning up when you get your 5th innovation (and remember language counts as one) means that someone is always going to get saddled with a wildly inaccurate, cumbersome piece of shite.  Having these two pieces of gear is one way of getting over the hump and starting to gain those important weapon proficiency points for whoever is unfortunate enough to have the twilight sword forced on them (wouldn't it be better if you chose who got the twilight sword the way that Katana proficiency is given out? It would make it a bonus rather than a punish.)

However, on the whole this isn't something you want to bother with because there is a better option for move + attack abilities that bypass cumbersome in the Screaming Coat.

Gorment Suit & Gorment Sleeves

(Again I'm mentioning the sleeves here because they do nothing at all without the body piece. So you're either having both parts in your build or just the body.)

There are a number of reasons why you'd take this duo into your mixed set build, for a start it is three locations (arms, body, waist) covered by just two pieces of gear. This is a very powerful choice for a survivor when you are trying to be slot efficient. Your armor will take up just 4 slots instead of the usual 5. That's an increase of available flexibility by around 11%. Additionally, Guard is one of the most powerful abilities in the game, allowing you to do a whole host of defensive and kiting tricks.  We've discussed it before in the past, guard is very strong and only begins to fall off in the late game because it can't scale to Block 2. 

Also, I think it is worth mentioning that the Feather Shield is very, very powerful when combined with the Gorment Suit and an Immortal.

Screaming Coat

This is the superior option for the cumbersome melee weapon wielder (do not forget that the Bone Club matters). It not only gives you an effective +1 strength, but it gives everyone on your hunt party +1 strength (-1 monster toughness = +1 strength for everyone).  

In addition it has a bunch of very desirable affinities, however its armor points are a bit low for a body piece, so you're going to want to support it with some extra armor via shields, Gloom Mhendi, Silk Sash etc etc.

It is not the best body piece in the game, but it is very flexible, useful for the entire team and cheap to make.

Silk Robes

You're going to see most of the Silk set turn up on this list, this is because it is a good set for build mixed sets, it is just a bad set when put together because of the lack of focus the gear has and the honestly useless set bonus (I know some people like it, but I don't have time for a set with that much anti-synergy with its set bonus). If they wanted it to work, they should have had the Silk Armor spawn acanthus, not the Screaming Armor.

So that aside, the Silk Robes tick a lot of boxes for body armor, they give a reasonable amount of affinities (slightly crap locations/colours, but it could be worse) and the ability helps fix one of the weaknesses that mixed sets have. It provides a pseudo-set bonus at the cost of 1 activation at the start of the showdown.  

It's a solid, uninspiring gear piece, but it is a decent workhorse for a mixed set.

Phoenix Plackart

As reigning king of mixed sets, the Phoenix Plackart's ability remains one of the strongest in the entire game. This is an absolute must have for Immortal Mixed sets and it's really strong for everyone else when combined with the Screaming Horns. This is absolutely the quintessential damage mitigation item (apart from the Silk Body Suit) and it's hard to say no to this in a mixed set.  

However, it's worth noting that Warlord Armor is a thing, and that build is hard to beat regardless of how you want to play.

Cycloid Scale Jacket & Cycloid Scale Sleeves

Yet another body + arms combo, I'm listing this one here because the Cycloid Scale Sleeves (CSS) are the single most powerful offensive piece of gear in the game, but they do nothing at all without the jacket (CSJ). 

Just like the hood, the truth is that if you're building some of the Cycloid Scale Armor (CSA), you may as well build all of it - because it's the best late game armor in the game for close range one handed/blood paint damage dealers (DPS). However, you might want to make use of the CSJ and CSS in a mixed set while you're saving up for the full set of CSA. 

The duo have a solid set of affinities that combo well with the Lucky Charm and work well with many other pieces of gear. This is the top tier of body + arm pieces for any DPS mixed armor set. With the only real issue being the relatively low armor points.

I'm still staggered into stupor about Poots' proposed buff to this armor set, because you're going to see every single piece of this gear appear in the mixed armor set lists - it's that damn good.

Dragon Mantle

This one is a solid 'glue' piece. It gives a desirable set of affinities (apart from the up red, but eh what can you do?) and a relevant ability that is a lot stronger than it seems because of how the hunt seeks to batter your survival away at every opportunity.

It's one of two good pieces in the Dragon set (there are two borderline ones), but all pieces of the Dragon set make for solid 'glue' pieces because they have high armor at 4 and a decent amount of affinities.

Regeneration Suit

While the Regeneration Suit is an accessory (and therefore can be worn over other body pieces). It makes for being a reasonable body piece in a mixed set if you can overcome the issue of the low armor points.  Additionally, the ability on the piece means that anything which is not death doesn't stick, so that's a large boost in sustainability for your survivor. Adding Unbreakable, Survival of the Fittest, Tough and Crossarm Block into this equation makes it even stronger.

It also gives a reasonable amount of green affinities and that can be strong for anyone looking to leverage Monster Grease. However, it is missing the key right green and the cost of getting this piece (kill an L3 Gorm) means that it's harder to get than most other Gorm options.

Lantern Cuirass

You are only going to be using this cureass when you are wearing entirely metal armor, because there is no benefit to doing otherwise. However, that -2 movement might make you feel a little queasy about using it. You shouldn't, it turns out that every single piece of metal leg armor provides movement bonuses and while the Phoenix Greaves are not really suited because of their need for insanity and bad affinity design, the Dragon Boots are a very solid choice as they give you +2 movement during your act (this only impacts on your ability to Dash, but if you're going mixed metal, you're probably playing tank).

It's a staggering amount of armor to have access too, especially when combined with a bacon or cheese shield. But it is absolutely worse than the Dragon Mantle/Screaming Coat if you're not going pure metal.

Despite this, it is worth acknowledging that like Dragon Armor, the set bonus on Lantern Armor is one of the primary reasons for building its parts. The set bonus is where it's at, turning a starting weapon like the Bone Club or a mid game one like the Skullcap Hammer into a top tier end game weapon.

We've already looked at a few of them here, but next time we'll punch our way through the arm options. It's got some interesting pieces scattered amongst a bunch of glue items - especially ones which are not parts of armor sets at all.