General[]
Armours are to the Gear chassis in Ace Online (the equivalent of "equip able armour" in other RPGs).
They are available in 4 main types, corresponding to each Gear type: B-Gear (Veils), I-Gear (Binders), A-Gear (Guarders) and M-Gear (Defenders). A character may only pilot an armour within his own Gear class (ex. a B-Gear class character may only use B-Gear armours, etc).
All new players start with a default armour of their Gear Class, but may purchase better armours throughout the course of the game. In addition to purchasing new armours, armours may also be acquired from certain monsters or bosses or from playing Starlight Slots in the Aquarium.
Armor stats[]
With the exception of the default armours, most armours come with built-in stat bonuses - generally in energy and shield capacity (though some may come with other stat bonuses, such as Evasion or damage reduction against standard or advanced weapons).
Any statistical bonuses which an armour has will be listed under "function" in green font when the armour is highlighted in the inventory.
Varieties of armours[]
Within the 4 main classes of armour, there are many different individual versions, acquired through different means:
Parts Shop armours[]
These armours are purchasable from the Parts Shop - they essentially fall into three "tiers".
"Tier 0" armours are the default armours. All new players start out with with a default armour of their Gear class (ex. a generic "Binder", etc). These armours offer no energy, shield, or other stat bonuses (unless upgraded) - a player must have an armour equipped in their inventory in order to take off from the city. A player can recover a default armour by purchasing a Beginner's Supply Box from the Parts Shop.
"Tier 1" armours are inexpensive armours available at lower levels, suitable for a beginning player, The three armours available are known as Round, Raven, and Panzer regardless of Gear type (ex. a "Raven Binder"), and all share the same appearance.
"Tier 2" armours are the best armours available in the Parts Shop (but are pricier and have higher level requirements to use). A player will want to purchase one of these armours once they meet the level requirement (if they opt not to purchase a WP Shop Armor or Zodiac Armor), as the "Tier 1" armours will not be suitable later in the game. There are four of these armours available for each Gear type. All "Tier 2" armours share the same appearance regardless of name.
Legendary armours[]
Legendary armours are powerful upgraded versions of Parts Shop Armours, which can only be created at the Factory by combining specific armours with special materials. They are comparable in strength to the War Point Shop and Cash Shop Armours. For more information, see Legendary items. Legendary armours' names are displayed in purple font in the inventory.
War Point Shop armours[]
War Point Shop armours are armours purchasable from with war points from the War Point Shop. These armours are statistically superior to the Parts Shop armours, and are comparable to the Cash Shop Armours. Currently each Gear type has 1 War Point armour available - the Tackle Veil, the Rapid Binder, the Revival Guarder, and the Rigid Defender.
War Point armours are acquired in one of two ways. Either by purchasing one for 10,000 War Points, or by receiving it randomly from a War Supply Box.
Armours gained from a War Supply box may be changed to D, E, or R type using WP Armor Rebuild Cards. However the armours purchased directly with WP are in a class of their own, and cannot be changed to a different type.
Cash Shop armours[]
Also known as Zodiac Armours, there are also a series of unique armours for each Gear type purchasable from the Cash Shop with Suba Points, available in a variety of styles. These armours offer better stats than any of the Parts Shop armours or War Point Shop armours. Despite the diversity in appearance, all Cash Shop armours of a certain Gear type begin with identical stats. These armours are also non-tradable.
There are several series of Cash Shop Armours, each named after a constellation or Zodiac sign (ex. Ares, Taurus, etc). Each series includes one armour of each Gear Type.
Cash Shop armours may also be acquired by playing Starlight Slots (and are therefore sometimes referred to as "slot armours" in game jargon).
Boss armours[]
Boss armours are rare armours acquired only from defeating certain bosses - such as the Valkyrie Veil, or the Exorcist Binder (not to be confused with the Cash Shop Exorcist Binder - which is a separate armour).
Infinity Field armours[]
Infinity Field armours are rare armours which can only be acquired in Survival Abyss in the Infinity Field. There is currently 1 armour for each Gear - the Caim Veil, the Andras Binder, the Eligor Guarder, and the Berith Defender. These armours require a minimum level of 90 to use, though they currently lack the ability to be upgraded.
Other[]
Unique armours[]
Unique armours are rare or unusual armours squired only under unique circumstances (their names are displayed in gold font in the inventory). See unique items for more information.
Event armours[]
These are unusual armours released for special or holiday events, such as the Watermelon Veil, Binder, etc
Upgrading armours[]
There are several different means of upgrading armours
Factory[]
Players may upgrade the base armour at the Factory (ex. upgrade a Rapid Binder V3 to a Rapid Binder V4, etc). The method of upgrading differs depending on the type of armour.
- Parts Shop Armours may be upgraded by combining the armour with the required materials (the recipe varies from armour to armour) and paying the required SPI fee. Players may also choose to upgrade their armour into a Legendary Armour (and perform subsequent Legendary upgrades) by combining their armour with special Legendary materials instead.
- War Point Shop Armours may be upgraded by combining the armour with a WP Armour Power-up Card (which are purchasable at the War Point Shop)
- Cash Shop Armours may be upgraded by combining the armour with a Cash Shop Armour Power up Card (which are purchasable at the Cash Shop)
Armours still retain any Fix or Enchant upgrades they already possess after being upgraded at the Factory.
Armor rebuilds[]
WP Shop and Cash Shop Armours can also be "rebuilt" using Armor Rebuild Cards. Armours which are rebuilt have their stats redistributed, or receive stat bonuses which focus on a certain ability (Energy, Defence, or Evasion).
Armours purchased from the WP Shop or Cash Shop begin as the "R-type" (which focuses on high energy and shield stats). Alternatively armours may be converted to the "D-type" (which has lower defence and energy base stats, but receives a defence % bonus against attacks), or the "E-type (which has lower defence and energy base stats, but receives an evasion % bonus against attacks).
These "converted" types also retain the same 'base levels' as the standard R-type armours (ex. a Rapid Binder R-Type V3 will be rebuilt into a Rapid Binder E-Type V3 - and can be upgraded to an E-Type V4 using a Powerup card).
Downgrading[]
Armours may also be downgraded to a lower type (ex. downgrade a Sonic Binder V4 to a Sonic Binder V3) by combining the armour with a Power down card at the factory. Downgrading an Armour is useful if a player acquires and armour but doesn't not yet meet the level requirement to use (because lower versions of armours typically have lower level requirements).
Laboratory[]
At the Laboratory, players may apply "micro-upgrades" known as enchantments to their armour by combining it with Enchant cards, and paying an SPI fee. For each consecutive enchantment, the total number of enchantments applied to the armour (regardless of enchantment type) will be displayed in orange on the armour's icon (ex. Enchant:3). Players may safely enchant their armour up to number 5 ("E5"), however enchanting the armour past E5 risks destroying it in the process.
Armours which have at least 1 enchantment applied will have their names displayed in orange font in the inventory - and enchantment stat bonuses will be displayed in orange text.
Gamble Machine[]
Using the Gamble Machine (in the Aquarium), players may apply Armour Prefix and Suffix upgrades to their armours by using Armour Gamble Cards. Only one Suffix and one Prefix upgrade may be applied at a time.
The names of any Suffix or Prefix applied will be displayed in Green font to the left/right of the armour's name when the armour is highlighted in the inventory.