A Ninja’s Guide to Non-Strength Armour
Lightweight and used by silent killers, non-strength based armour is one of the first types players come across. While not as durable as strength based armour, it has been proven that with the right build, going the non-strength armour route can result in players being able to take more total damage in the earlier levels.
This is done by taking the points you would have normally put into Strength, and instead putting them into Endurance as it is a more versatile stat.
If players are looking for a more versatile build that allows for easier stat allocation, they should build their characters around non-strength armour up until they are a higher level (Around level 120+, depending on your starting profession). By the time a player is a high enough level to support both endurance and strength, Strength Armors tend to be favored due to their higher durability and absorption, though the small speed boost from Non-Strength Armors may still be inticing for some.
Starting from June 22nd, 2020, having no armor or wearing a Non-Strength Armor in game will grant a 5% speed boost. This boost stacks with drug and implant boosts.
Most non-strength of armours will have “Mesh” in their name.
Requirements
There are no requirements to use non-strength armour. However, non-strength armours typically have lower absorption and thus only work well when Endurance is substatially leveled; if you neglect to do so, you may find yourself dying before the armor is broken.
Combat
A lot of players seem to underestimate the power of non-strength armour due to their low absorption and durability, however, this is easily fixed with using high Endurance (Which is easily possible due to not having a strength requirement). This results in players having higher base health and allows them to take much more damage than a player with a strength armour with no endurance would be able to take. For example, At 101 endurance or higher, even if your armour breaks, you will survive two hits from a Flesh Hound if you are at full health.
Putting points into endurance also allows you to sprint much longer due to it allowing you to store more energy, which makes it much easier to dodge and avoid damage in the first place, along with being able to traverse through the city or kiting bosses easier due to not having to manage energy as efficiently.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
- No equip requirements.
- Generally cheaper relative to the strength armour of the same tier.
- Allows you to spend your stats elsewhere.
- Can give you a generally higher number of hit points relative to reactive armours if you have max endurance on the mesh while having base endurance on the reactive.
- Lower absorption allows the armour to last longer.
- Small speed boost (+5%)
Disadvantages
- Due to their low absorption percentages, players usually need to carry medical supplies with them, and carrying multiple sets of armour doesn’t work well as strength based armour.
- You eventually have to max out endurance to use them optimally.
- Only high-end sets of armour are good for backups, and they can be costly.
- Having no strength means that you will be barred from using a good amount of weapons like heavy machine guns, and shotguns.
List of Non-Strength Armour
- If an armour has "Default" marked under available colors it cannot be dyed.
- If an armour has "All" marked under available colors, it can be dyed to any color in the game: White, Grey, Black, Brown, Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Cyan, Orange, Pink, Purple.
- The Apprentice Dye cost for an armour is equal to its Enhance cost.
| Sports Armour | |
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30 Durability
25% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 5+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Scrap Value: $1,050 (MC $2,100) Dismantle: Cloth Scrap Enhance Price: $2,100 |
Made for minor protection from the hazards of athletics, such as stray baseballs. In a "normal" outbreak, these lightweight pieces of plastic would have sufficed - of course, this incarnation of the undead came with mutations that could easily crush tanks and pierce metal, so sporting armour proves to be next to useless against the N4 strains. With that said, it is still cheap and commonly available for those that are just getting used to swarms of zombies assaulting the outposts.
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| Zylon Vest | |
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40 Durability
30% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 15+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵5 (GM ₵4) Scrap Value: $3,450 (MC $6,900) Dismantle: Uncommon Cloth Scrap Enhance Price: $7,590 |
Zylon, a thermoset synthetic polymer, is used in products that require high strength and good thermal stability. With that said, Zylon Meshes were proven to be somewhat unreliable due to the material's eventual degradation from age. Fairview's engineers remedied this by removing the sections of Zylon that were most exposed to wear and tear and replacing them with a specialized weave of Twaron, Dyneema, and several other ballistic UHMW polyethylene fabrics. More recently, the engineers also began adding Nomex fiber into the Zylon vests, in order to make them more flame-resistant for survivors who should encounter any Burning Zombies. |
| Kevlar Vest | |
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60 Durability
35% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 15+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵7 (GM ₵5) Scrap Value: $3,450 (MC $6,900) Dismantle: Uncommon Cloth Scrap Enhance Price: $7,590 |
Kevlar Vests are a lightweight and durable type of body armour, due to Kevlar fibers having a very high tensile strength. As such, they provide excellent protection against projectiles. While being very much bulletproof, protection against the brute strength or claws of a zombie or even the melee weapons of fellow survivors is rather limited.
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| Mesh SLX | |
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100 Durability
40% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 35+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Scrap Value: $19,450 (MC $38,900) Dismantle: Uncommon Metal Bar x 2 Enhance Price: $42,790 |
The Mesh SLX Vest provides more protection than any other previous ballistic vest could, and has twice the durability. It is also much lighter than a flak jacket, owing to the lightweight synthetic fibers that easily absorb and dispel kinetic impacts and a new type of ceramic alloy that surpasses ballistic plates by far. Further research proved that the SLX system is repairable, unlike most other ballistic vests - though it requires an experienced engineer to repair the complex web of fibers and plating. |
| Mesh RX-2 | |
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120 Durability
45% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 35+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵20 (GM ₵15) Scrap Value: $19,450 (MC $38,900) Dismantle: Uncommon Metal Bar Enhance Price: $42,790 |
An improvement to the Mesh SLX, the Mesh RX-2 affords its wearer more protection with a re-design of the fiber weave and a new chemical composition of the plates while still remaining lightweight so that anyone could wear it. Due to the high-quality materials used in its construction, only expert engineers are able to repair it.
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| Raider Mesh | |
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160 Durability
55% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 45+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Scrap Value: $40,250 (MC $80,500) Dismantle: Uncommon Metal Bar + Uncommon Metal Scrap Enhance Price: $88,550 |
Using whatever is available from the yard, engineers in central Fairview have managed to create an upgraded version of the Mesh SLX. Lightweight armor platings now cover the armor, creating an extra layer of protection that stops lighter calibers dead in their track and diffuses the impact of larger ones - although not to the degree of the Exterminator Mesh's extensive upgrade package. This variant is particularly popular amongst raiders near Fort Pastor, hence the name. |
| Exterminator Mesh | |
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190 Durability
60% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 45+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Scrap Value: $40,250 (MC $80,500) Dismantle: Uncommon Metal Bar + Uncommon Metal Scrap x 2 Enhance Price: $88,550 |
Its sleek design and light weight make this piece of mesh armour very attractive to survivors. The Exterminator Mesh is a heavily upgraded version of the Mesh SLX radically re-designed, allowing even the weakest survivor to wear it. Using synthetic fiber and highly refined polymers during the production, the engineers who created this armour have been credited with creating one of the best mesh systems available. |
| Exterminator Mesh GT | |
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220 Durability
65% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 45+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵30 (GM ₵25) Scrap Value: $40,250 (MC $80,500) Dismantle: Uncommon Metal Bar x 2 Enhance Price: $88,550 |
The same engineers who built the Exterminator Mesh overworked it once again and managed to build a slightly more expensive, but superior mesh by patching up the few existing weaknesses of the previous model-- partly by using only the newest materials, but mostly by treating it with a specialized formula of ballistics gel. This gel treatment (denoted by its suffix, GT) has drastically increased the durability and protective ability of the mesh. More effective yet similar in weight efficiency to the original, the GT version replaces several core metal parts with harder and lighter materials, creating a worthy improvement over the previous version. This specific GT set of armour is used as a crafting material for the X-Terminator Mesh.
If you happen to find a Mastercrafted set 23/23 stats or above, it may have a significantly higher market value than usual.
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| Exterminator Mesh XT | |
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250 Durability
70% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 5+ +7% Movement Speed Available colors: All Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵200 (GM ₵100) Scrap Value: $1,050 (MC $2,100) Dismantle: Uncommon Metal Bar x 3 Enhance Price: $12,000 |
A special variant of the Mesh GT, created at the behest of a particularly wealthy individual. Nearly idential in outer appearance, the XT contains a secret micro injector for adrenaline, steroids and other opiods which slightly enhances its wielder's agility and endurance.
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| Nomad Mesh | |
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280 Durability
75% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 75+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵300 (GM ₵200) Scrap Value: $128,250 (MC $256,500) Dismantle: Rare Metal Scrap Enhance Price: $282,150 |
This new variety of mesh has started seeing use primarily among those survivors who tend to be frequent travelers in the Inner City. Nomadic survivors favor this mesh over others for several reasons; It is made from lightweight materials, allowing for its user to fight and move quickly without trouble. Another is the armor's ability to carry many items and tools on the various patches of webbing and straps that cover the survivor. Being one of the newer variants of armor appearing on those around the city, it is rarely seen among the inhabitants of the outposts. Though it is relatively weak compared to other armors, its usefulness in the city cannot be denied. |
| Exile Mesh | |
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350 Durability
75% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 75+ +15% Movement Speed Available colors: All Scrap Value: $128,250 (MC $256,500) Dismantle: Rare Metal Bar Enhance Price: $282,150 |
Release: February 16th, 2024
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| Dusk Mesh (Dusk)This item belongs to the Dusk/X-Dusk set and can only be purchased from the Dusk Shops. | |
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350 Durability
80% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 45+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Ability: • Reduces Enemy Detection Radius by 15% • Reduces Enemy Sight by 15% Non-Transferable Available colors: All Scrap Value: $40,250 (MC $80,500) Enhance Price: $88,550 |
The Dusk Mesh is a rarely seen armour, made almost purely out of synthetic black fibers of an unknown yet lightweight material, which provides a lot of security while obstructing its user not much more than air itself. Being unavailable on the normal market, forbidden to trade or sell and even more of a status symbol than a highly valued piece of armour, the Dusk Mesh is sold only by AdminPwn himself to those who prove themselves worthy of being called true elite survivors. |
| Scavenger Mesh (LE)This item could only be purchased for a limited amount of time from the Credit Shop or Venditron. | |
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350 Durability
75% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 75+ +8% Movement Speed Available colors: All Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵2,000 (GM ₵1,500) Scrap Value: $128,250 (MC $256,500) Enhance Price: $67,000 |
Engineers have designed this armor to meet the needs of looters and scavengers while out finding supplies in the city. Made from heavy, dense fabric and Kevlar bands instead of steel and metal components, it allows for free, unimpeded body movement--ideal for rummaging through wreckage and debris for anything useful, and for making quick escapes should any infected draw near. Being a relatively new armor among survivors, it is an uncommon sight among those who rarely stick around the outposts in the first place. Release: November 16th, 2013 - December 10th, 2013
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| Shinobu Mesh | |
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350 Durability
75% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 75+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵500 (GM ₵400) Scrap Value: $128,250 (MC $256,500) Dismantle: Rare Metal Bar Enhance Price: $282,150 |
Composed primarily of thick layers of lacquered leather in the ancient Japanese style, the Shinobu mesh has been reinforced with various materials cannibalized from the many light armoured vehicles scattered throughout Fairview. This gives it an amazing strength-to-weight ratio, making it suitable for survivors of small stature or otherwise unable to use the heavier armours found throughout the city. The only downside to this seemingly bizarre combination of materials is that it takes an engineer of exceedingly great skill to reassemble the complex linkages should the Shinobu become damaged. Release: November 6th, 2014
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| X-Dusk Mesh (Dusk)This item belongs to the Dusk/X-Dusk set and can only be purchased from the Dusk Shops. | |
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400 Durability
80% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 75+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Ability: • Reduces Enemy Detection Radius by 30% • Reduces Enemy Sight by 30% Non-transferable Available colors: All Scrap Value: $128,250 (MC $256,500) Enhance Price: $282,150 |
The X-Dusk Mesh keeps the same classy visual aesthetic the original Dusk Mesh, but offers more durability and damage absorption as forging this piece over a great length of time has led to fewer imperfections within the material. Release: October 8th, 2015
Crafting Cost: $2,500,000    |
| Hazard Mesh (LE)This item could only be purchased for a limited amount of time from the Credit Shop or Venditron. | |
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450 Durability
80% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 75+ +8% Movement Speed Available colors: All Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵2,500 (GM ₵2,100) Scrap Value: $128,250 (MC $256,500) Dismantle: Rare Metal Bar Enhance Price: $282,150 |
The Hazard Mesh is a rubberized, steel plated suit used predominantly for the protection of Secronom scientists studying the effects of the N4 Virus. Speculation has it that each suit was equipped with a Narthecium to safely inject and withdraw fluids without compromising the wearer's safety. Recently, these meshes have been seen appearing among survivors who have discovered them in Secronom areas, though it is unclear how many of these functioning meshes are left in circulation. Release: April 16th, 2015 - May 10th, 2015
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| X-Terminator Mesh (Craft)This item can be acquired through the in-game crafting system. | |
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450 Durability
80% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 75+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Available colors: All Scrap Value: $128,250 (MC $256,500) Dismantle: Rare Metal Bar Enhance Price: $282,150 |
The new mutations in the Wastelands came with incomprehensible fears, but it also turned out to have a silver lining (more or less). Using the newly discovered N-10/2026 (which is obtained from the horrendous Volatile Leaper hide) the original Exterminator Mesh GT was further improved. By combining Fairview’s most intrepid engineers, the N-10/2026 gel treatment (nicknamed X-), the very same volatile leaper skin and a bunch of resources looted from the wastelands durability was raised to a whole new level, the X-Terminator Mesh is now capable of withstand a crude beating with minor scratches only to the paint while still maintaining the flexibility and agility of the original armour. The only downside is that now requires a expert engineer capable of repairing this beautiful mesh, worthy for those who want to traverse in fast pace the harsh conditions of the Wastelands. Release: June 26th, 2020
Crafting Cost: $5,000,000 |
| Corpse Carapace (LE)This item could only be purchased for a limited amount of time from the Credit Shop or Venditron. | |
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500 Durability
50% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 45+ Ability: • Reduces Enemy Detection Radius by 20% • Reduces Enemy Sight by 20% Available colors: Default Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵1,200 (GM ₵1,000) Scrap Value: $40,250 (MC $80,500) Enhance Price: $88,550 |
A strange, powerful suit of armour. Crafted from the bones and flesh of the infected themselves, this armour is the protective complement to the various Corpse Weapons. Those who own this armour have claimed to feel a strange, animal-like ferocity when fighting the undead-- almost as if they were zombies themselves. Whether it is the influence of the undead's fury and hatred towards the living, or simply the feeling of sheer power experienced by donning this highly durable armour, no one can say for certain. One thing is for sure, though-- even they exhibit an instant of hesitation when confronted with an attacking survivor wearing this unnerving shell of bones. Release: October 15th, 2011 - November 10th, 2011
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| Titan Hunter Mesh (LE)This item could only be purchased for a limited amount of time from the Credit Shop or Venditron. | |
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600 Durability
70% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 75+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Ability: • Reduces Enemy Detection Radius by 20% • Reduces Enemy Sight by 20% • 25% Chance to Survive Fatal Blow • 80% Extra Damage Reduction On Breaking Hit • (1) Player survives with 1HP • (2) Applies to HP damage taken for the hit that reduces armor durability to 0. Available colors: Default Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵2,000 (GM ₵1,700) Scrap Value: $128,250 (MC $256,500) Dismantle: Rare Metal Bar Enhance Price: $282,150 |
In recent times it was discovered that the mutations of the N4 virus themselves could serve in our favor and help us against the infected that proliferate in the streets of Fairview and the Titan Hunter Mesh is a living proof (literally) of what has already been said. Through a collaboration between scientists and engineers from Secronom Bunker, it was possible to create this curious and bizarre shell. Made with the hide of a recently slain Black Titan and brought back to life (again, literally) through the use of an intact heart of a Devil Hound, with this it was possible to replicate the living skin of the Behemoth himself, wich is capable of withstanding the worst of beatings, the power of the 14mm caliber and the blow of the most enormous bosses, and thanks to those feats this armor has established itself as one of the best options to take into combat. An effect observed in field tests is that at the moment of reaching its breaking point the carapace tenses and hardens more than normal, thus resulting in an absorption of kinetic impacts of 140% and on rare instances an astounding 500% more than normal, this combined with its light weight and complexity made it only available on request and it is not known how many more copies will be created until the manufacture of this mesh is discontinued. Release: August 10th, 2022 - August 31st, 2022
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| Dawn Mesh (Dusk)This item belongs to the Dusk/X-Dusk set and can only be purchased from the Dusk Shops.(Craft)This item can be acquired through the in-game crafting system. | |
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450 Durability
100% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 75+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Ability: • Reduces Enemy Detection Radius by 50% • Reduces Enemy Sight by 50% Non-transferable Available colors: All Scrap Value: $128,250 (MC $256,500) Dismantle: Experimental Parts Enhance Price: $282,150 |
Release: October 13th, 2020
Crafting Cost: $5,000,000  |
| Parasitic Husk | |
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600 Durability
80% Damage Absorption Repair by Engineer Level 75+ Light Armor: +5% Speed Ability: • 50% Chance to Reduce Incoming Damage to 1 • 99% Extra Damage Reduction On Breaking Hit Applies to HP damage taken for the hit that reduces armor durability to 0. • Reduces Enemy Detection Radius by 50% • Reduces Enemy Sight by 50% Non-Transferable Available colors: Default Credit Price: The amount of credits required to purchase the item from the Credit Shop. The value in brackets, if added, is the discounted price for Gold Members.₵10,000 (GM ₵8,000) Scrap Value: $128,250 (MC $256,500) Enhance Price: $282,150 |
A Secronom bio-engineering marvel, the Parasitic Husk is created by taming N-4 cells and weaving them over a basic kevlar mesh. The Husk offers unparalleled protection for its low weight with a form of reactive protection, by hardening in response to physical trauma and performing self-repair afterwards. The process is noted to be not very reliable, however. The Husk is also unsurprisingly delicate: It requires food just like a human being and can be fed through a "mouth" at the center, with a preference for whiskey. It requires a copious amount of N-2s to be repaired, loses effectiveness in too hot or cold conditions, and can be knocked out cold after sustaining too much injury. Thus, its exorbitant cost is just about the development cost itself as it is about the contract with SB to maintain and repair it. Release: April 21st, 2024
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