Armor provides crucial protection for your heroes, reducing incoming damage and offering resistances to status effects. Unlike previous titles, equipment in Age of Wonders 4 does not impose movement penalties; weight categories (Light, Medium, Heavy) primarily dictate the balance between Defense and Resistance. Headgear, body armor, and shields all contribute to your hero's overall survivability. In the late-game, the Item Forge becomes your primary source of gear, allowing you to spend Binding Essence to craft equipment tailored to your specific build.

Defensive Gear Considerations:
- Defense: Specifically reduces incoming physical damage. Higher tiers of Heavy armor prioritize this stat for frontline brawlers.
- Resistance: Reduces damage from Magical sources (Fire, Frost, Blight, Shock, and Spirit) and increases the chance to resist negative status effects.
- Item Forge: Accessible via the hero inventory screen, this mechanic allows you to disenchant unwanted loot and craft custom artifacts with specific properties like Status Effect Immunity or specialized Ward traits.