So what armor weight should I be looking at to stay in the "medium" range? Or can I go and get the biggest armor?
Well I'm not really sure what's exactly considered medium. Not sure if there is a set mark. Personally, I think it starts with the Byrnie, which is 8.6 weight. And the reason I say this is because, the next armor weight below it is the 6.9 of the Light Strange Armor. That's a span of 1.5 weight... pretty significant gap (also a pretty decent jump in body armor from 30 to 36).
So if the 8.6 weight (the Byrnie) is the start... I'm not really sure where medium ends and heavy starts. Personally I say it's at 13 weight. Some may say 14 or 15... some may say lower.
Here's why I say 13 weight is the cut off. Because at 12.9 weight, you have the Light Kuyak (with 42 body armor). It's a very popular and (in my opinion) a very stylish armor. But this is all just my thoughts on it. And in truth, I don't think there's anything set in stone among the community concerning this.
But here's why you need to be concerned about weight.... it's because of your back-pedal (walking backwards) speed. And here's why. And here's why it's not about your forward running speed.
So with just 5 Athletics you won't be fast at running (forward). You won't be slow either... 5 Ath is about average. But having a shield also makes you run slower (even if the shield is on your back). So even with light armor, you'll not have a great forward running speed. It's definitely fine... there'll be no issue with your run speed... you don't necessarily need to be fast at running.
What you do need is... you need your back-pedal to be enough so folks can't constantly get in behind you. This mainly comes into play when you are attack by 2 or 3 opponets (when you start getting 4 or 5 around you, it'll be tough no matter what). You'll want to have enough speed in your back-pedal (backwards walk) to be able to keep your opponents in front of you.
So what armor (or armor weight) should be your max... I'm not sure? Hate to say, but you'll probably have to experiment!
But I will say this... I'm 99% sure that the 3 armors I mention in an earlier post... the medium armored... Byrnie, Lamellar, & Byrnja... will definitely be fine. You won't have any issue with these.
And there reason I say these over something like the Light Kuyak. It's because the Light Kuyak is 3.7k more than the Byrnie... and you only get 6 more armor.
Hopefully someone else you has a similar build (5 Athletics & a Shielder) can chime in and help us out with better info!
UpkeepAnd the issue with more expensive items is not the buying price. It's the upkeep. I'm sure you know about upkeep. If not, you can easily read about it in the beginners guides (sticky post) that are around.
But as a general rule... to make "ok" money... meaning taking in more than you have to pay out in upkeep... you'll want to keep your total cost of your equipment under 20k. You can still make money with 25k. Of course... you can make more money by wearing only 15k worth. You can even go peasant mode and go with only 5k. But you'll be wearing pretty suck weapons and armor.
And being a shielder and carrying at least a set of HTAs, you'll definitely be near the 10k mark with just those two items.
Let me give you a break down of what your build could cost. I'm not certain what percentage your upkeep is... but I'm pretty sure it's 7% of the shop price. Also, I'm going to start you with the Huscarl shield which runs about 6.5k. Obviously you can go cheaper... but with it being the best... I'm starting you there. Being a Shielder... why not have the best shield.
EquipmentHuscarl Shield = 6.5k
Set of HTAs = 4.5k
Byrnie = 3k
Helmet = 1.5k
Rus Cav Boots = .4k (412 gold)
Leather Gloves = .1k (92 gold)
Weapon = 4k
Total = 20k
To keep cost down, just go with Leather Gloves (for 92 gold). And I personally like the look of the Rus Cav Boots, which cost 412. But you can definitely co cheaper (and I wouldn't go more expesive). And the main reason I put them is because coupled with the Leather Gloves, together they cost right at .5k (504 gold to be exact).
As for a weapon... 4k is ok... but not great. I'd say 5k is medium because the most expensive is 10k. But honestly... not a crazy amount of difference between the 4k & 5k one-handers. Now up at 6k, there seems to be some nice 1-handers.
As for a helmet, I just hit you at 1.5k. You can certainly go less. You can certainly go more. You can go with no helmet. Having shield will block all direction... meaning it blocks the overhead swings that hit you and then head... and 1-hit kills you. But a nice helm can help a head shot with a thrown weapon or arrow (a bolt will probably kill in 1-shot).
And if you go cheaper with one item... whether helmet or shield... then you can buff your armor or your weapon.
Hope this helps!
