Armor is the blue bar. It protects health, but not completely, and it is repaired differently from health. This page covers how it works in a fight and how to get it back. For the damage side see Damage types.
How armor works#
Armor tries to absorb 70% of each hit (exosuits: 100%). Each armor point absorbs 2 damage, so armor is worth twice its number. When armor runs out, everything goes to health.
A fresh marine has 100 health and 30 armor: 160 effective HP against normal damage. Here is a skulk biting one, hit by hit:
The first bite mostly hits armor. By the second, armor is nearly gone and almost all of it lands on health. That is why a cheap hit first (parasite + 2 bites) can save a whole bite.
How much of each class is armor#
Health and armor at their real worth (armor counts 2 damage per point), fresh and fully upgraded:
| Target | Health and armor (armor drawn at its worth, 2 damage per point) |
|---|---|
| Marine A0 | 10030160 effective HP · 38% of it is armor |
| Marine A3 | 10090280 effective HP · 64% of it is armor |
 Exo A0 | 100320740 effective HP · 86% of it is armor |
| Exo A3 | 100410920 effective HP · 89% of it is armor |
 Skulk fresh | 7595 effective HP · 21% of it is armor |
| Skulk biomass 9, 3 Shells | 9924147 effective HP · 33% of it is armor |
 Gorge fresh | 16050260 effective HP · 38% of it is armor |
| Gorge biomass 9, 3 Shells | 17680336 effective HP · 48% of it is armor |
 Lerk fresh | 18030240 effective HP · 25% of it is armor |
| Lerk biomass 9, 3 Shells | 19651298 effective HP · 34% of it is armor |
 Fade fresh | 25080410 effective HP · 39% of it is armor |
| Fade biomass 9, 3 Shells | 290122.5535 effective HP · 46% of it is armor |
 Onos fresh | 7004501600 effective HP · 56% of it is armor |
| Onos biomass 9, 3 Shells | 11006802460 effective HP · 55% of it is armor |
What this shows:
- Marines become armor-heavy with upgrades. A fresh marine is mostly health; at A3 most of the marine's toughness is armor. Armor upgrades are what make a marine hard to bite down.
- Exosuits are almost pure armor, and exo armor absorbs every point of damage until it runs out (armor use 100%), so only welders and MACs can keep an exo alive.
- Small lifeforms are health: a skulk is mostly health even with Carapace, so Carapace matters less to a skulk than biomass health does to an onos. The onos is the most armored alien by far.
Effective HP#
How much damage each class takes to kill:
Skulk75Gorge160Lerk180Fade250Onos700Skulk10Gorge50Lerk30Fade80Onos450Skulk95Gorge260Lerk240Fade410Onos1600Skulk162Gorge354Lerk310Fade565Onos2730Skulk0Gorge10Lerk21Fade35Onos55Skulk3Gorge7Lerk15Fade25Onos30Marine100
Jetpack100Exo100Marine30Jetpack30Exo320Marine160Jetpack160Exo740Marine280Jetpack280Exo920Marine0Jetpack15Exo55The full table, with biomass and Carapace, is on Hits to kill.
Armor upgrades#
Marine armor (Arms Lab)#
Each level adds 20 armor (30 for exos), 40 effective HP. A1 breaks parasite + 2 bites, A2 makes skulks need 4 bites; see what each level breaks.
Exosuits#
An exo has 100 health and 320 armor, plus 30 armor per armor level. Because exo armor takes the whole hit, it is a 740-point wall at A0. Crush adds 7% damage per Spur against exos.
Alien armor: Carapace#
Carapace adds armor that grows with biomass and the number of Shells: bonus = (base + per-biomass × biomass) × shells ÷ 3. The charts on Hits to kill show what it does to every lifeform's effective HP.
Crush against marines#
Each armor point still absorbs 2 damage, so the total damage needed to kill a marine doesn't change and Crush almost never changes a bite or swipe count (compare the Crush columns in Hits to kill). What it changes is where the damage goes: more of it lands on armor, which med packs and the Armory can't restore (they heal health only); only welders and MACs repair armor. So Crush makes marines that survive a fight need a welder, but it is not a damage upgrade against them.
Healed by#
What restores health and armor, at a glance. Exact rules are on Health and healing.
Marines#
Aliens#
Structures#
Fire halves alien healing (×0.5) while it burns.
See also#
Damage types · Health and healing · Hits to kill · Kill combos · Welder