Recon armor

Recon armor is a set of power armor that forms a full set along with the Recon helmet.

Acquisition

Recon armor can be crafted at a Fabrication bench once the Recon armor research project has been completed. They require 80 Plasteel, 10 Uranium, 3 Advanced components, 45,000 ticks (12.5 mins) of work, and a Crafting skill of 6.

Alternatively, the armor can be received as a quest reward, purchased from traders, or found on Imperial Janissaries and other Raiders.^[Which?]

Analysis

Overall, recon armor tends to be overshadowed by the flak vest + over-garment combination. Thus, many players like to skip recon armor and just build the heavier power armors instead. But if move speed is of utmost importance, such as for kiting tactics, then recon is the best for the job.

Compared to flak vests

Flak vests are the primary competitor to recon armor. They are significantly cheaper, require less research and, unlike recon armor, can be worn with duster, jacket or flak jacket to provide similar, if not superior, protection. A flak vest alone is better at protecting the torso, vital organs, neck, and shoulders against Sharp attacks - the most common type of damage, and becomes significantly better when paired with dusters of strong materials such as devilstrand or thrumbofur. When worn with any duster better than cloth, the set also offers more protection for those body parts against Heat attacks. Flak and duster is slightly inferior against Blunt attacks, but due to the relatively low armor values for both armor sets and the AP of the blunt weapons likely to be faced, the qualitative and quantitative disparity between the armor sets is small.

Due to the vest not covering the limbs, recon will always protect the arms and legs more against Blunt and Sharp attacks, regardless of duster material. Dusters of any non-patchleather leather will provide roughly equivalent Heat armor to the limbs, while devilstrand or hyperweave will offer massively more Heat protection. Note however that limbs aren't "vital" to a pawn's life, unlike the heart, liver, or neck protected by the vest. If an arm or leg happens to be shot off, then it can be replaced for 15 Plasteel, 4 Advanced components, assuming there is a surgeon with decent Medical skill available. Additionally, due to their being attached at the shoulder, the installation of prosthetic, bionic, or archotech arms allows the vest to protect the full arm as well. Installation of two such arms limits the benefits of recon to only the legs.

Note that flak vests provide a −0.12 c/s move speed, while recon does not slow the user at all.

Thus, while not necessarily outright superior, flak vests and a suitable outer layer are often a better choice for their more focused protection and significant cost effectiveness.

Compared to other power armors

Recon armor is the lightest of the three power armors, the other two being marine armor and cataphract armor. Compared to the others, it is notably cheaper, requires less research, and doesn't slow move speed, but offers the least protection. The recon armor is roughly equivalent to marine armor one quality level below (e.g. a Normal Recon armor ~= Poor Marine armor), or cataphract armor two quality levels below.

Generally speaking, if the full body protection of recon is valuable enough to warrant its use despite its cost, upgrading to at least marine armor is also worth the extra cost. Exceptions exist however, such as when recon is all that can be acquired or when a set of particularly high quality is available.

Stats table

Recon armor	Sharp	Blunt	Heat	HP	Insulation - Cold	Insulation - Heat	Market Value
Quality	Sharp	Blunt	Heat	HP	Insulation - Cold	Insulation - Heat	Market Value
Awful	55.2%	24%	27.6%	280	-25.6 °C (-46.1 °F)	+7.2 °C (13 °F)	770
Poor	73.6%	32%	36.8%	280	-28.8 °C (-51.8 °F)	+8.1 °C (14.6 °F)	1155
Normal	92%	40%	46%	280	-32 °C (-57.6 °F)	+9 °C (16.2 °F)	1540
Good	105.8%	46%	52.9%	280	-35.2 °C (-63.4 °F)	+9.9 °C (17.8 °F)	1925
Excellent	119.6%	52%	59.8%	280	-38.4 °C (-69.1 °F)	+10.8 °C (19.4 °F)	2310
Masterwork	133.4%	58%	66.7%	280	-48 °C (-86.4 °F)	+13.5 °C (24.3 °F)	3540
Legendary	165.6%	72%	82.8%	280	-57.6 °C (-103.7 °F)	+16.2 °C (29.2 °F)	4540

^{For the full effects of qualities, see Quality.}

Protection charts

Note: Lower on the graph is better.

Sharp Armor

Blunt Armor

Trivia

Every set of Recon armor found on an Imperial Janissary will be black.

Version history

1.1.0 - Added
1.1.2647 - No longer meets the clothing requirement of nobles, replaced in that role by Prestige recon armor

Torso | Clothing: Button-down shirt • T-shirt (Kid ) • Tribalwear (Kid )
: Corset • Eltex shirt • Eltex vest • Formal vest • Formal shirt
: Slave collar
: Sash • Kid romper
Armor: Flak vest
Legs | Clothing: Pants (Kid )
Armor: Flak pants
Shell | Clothing: Duster • Jacket • Parka (Kid ) • Robe
: Cape • Eltex robe • Prestige robe
: Burka • Slave body strap
: Heavy bandolier
: Lab coat
Armor: Flak jacket • Marine armor (Prestige , Grenadier ) • Plate armor • Recon armor (Prestige , Locust , Mechlord ) • Cataphract armor (Prestige , Phoenix )
Head | Clothing: Bowler hat • Cowboy hat • Hood • Psychic foil helmet • Tuque • Tribal headdress • Veil • War mask
: Beret • Coronet • Crown • Eltex helmet • Eltex skullcap • Ladies hat • Stellic crown • Top hat
: Authority cap • Blindfold • Broadwrap • Flophat • Headwrap • Shadecone • Slicecap • Tailcap • Torture crown • Visage mask
: Airwire headset • Array headset • Gas mask • Face mask
: Ceremonial hood • Ritual mask
Armor: Flak helmet • Marine helmet (Prestige/Samurai helmet ) • Recon helmet (Prestige , Mechlord ) • Simple helmet (Kid ) • Cataphract helmet (Prestige ) • Gunlink • Integrator headset • Mechcommander helmet

Recon armor

Contents