Combat armor (Fallout 4)

Combat armor was issued within the United States Armed Forces during the Great War and appears as armor in Fallout 4. Its appearance is radically different from previous games, largely due to the modular nature of the primary armor sets. This armor provides balanced Damage Resistance and Energy Resistance.

Combat armor
Combat armor is considered "Tier 3" and becomes more common as one enters into the middle levels (15-35). Combat armor offers roughly equal ballistic protection to metal armor and equal energy protection to leather armor. The combination of protection makes it generally a better choice than equivalently modded other armor types, although combat armor becomes available at slightly higher levels than the corresponding tiers of leather and metal armor. Combat armor provides no latent protection from radiation, though through an exclusive mod it can result in the highest radiation resistance available to conventional armor (at the sacrifice of some ballistic and energy protection). The basic, light model was most common, issued widely to troops on the battlefield. It consisted of a pair of plates covering the chest and upper back, attached to standard load-bearing equipment, axillary protectors, and a pair of plates covering the thighs. 

The superior, sturdy combat armor variant was the baseline model. The torso assembly is enhanced with the inclusion of soft body armor from ballistic fiber, overlaid with enlarged hard armor plates providing superior coverage and protection. A groin protector is included by default. Limbs incorporate the axillary and thigh protectors of the lighter model, with the addition of plating on forearms, knees, and lower legs. The entire assembly was intended for units engaged in heavy fighting on the most contested fronts. 

The heaviest model of combat armor is a radical departure from the principle of balance that guided the design of combat armor. Emphasizing durability and protection, the heavy variant encloses the entire body in a layer of soft body armor enclosing it almost entirely, with the characteristic armored plates worn on top. The torso assembly incorporates the medium variant upgraded with armor plating enclosing the entire torso, including a characteristic hump that protects the upper back. Arms are sheathed in segmented armor that incorporates additional protection for hands, elbows, and shoulders (heavy axillary protectors include a pair of characteristic pauldrons). More of the legs' surface area is protected, with armor plating enclosing the thighs, lower legs, and covering feet. 

The standard combat armor was designed to accept numerous modifications, allowing for it to be tailored for specific purposes. Common material included additional reinforcement, “shadowing” (reducing its profile and signature, with a characteristic black finish), and an optional polymer upgrade that replaced the standard combat armor alloy with advanced combat polymers. Functional upgrades were numerous, tailoring the armor's functionality to the mission profile and included special linings (fire-retardant asbestos, radiation-resistant lead, or the unique BioCommMesh enhancing combat drug duration), lightened construction, upgraded combat webbing, melee modifications, weapon stabilization, and various customizations of the armor profile and silhouette to improve performance in close combat. After the Great War, some factions developed their own modifications. For example, the Brotherhood of Steel armors incorporate a special coating that provides additional protection from background radiation. 

The model for combat armor in Fallout 4 appears to have a basic harness worn underneath in which a modular system of ballistic plates is attached. Sturdy armor replaces the harness with a more encompassing leather under-liner to the torso plates, along with added elbow and knee pads, shin guards and forearm guards. While heavy armor adds a large collar, additional plating (now resembling a Cuirass-style breastplate), large pauldrons to the shoulder guards and utilizes larger thigh and shin guards.-->

Combat armor helmet
The combat armor helmet is the corresponding armor piece to the combat armor set. This model displays what is possibly a headlamp, attached to the left side above the brow line. The helmet does not utilize the lamp like the mining helmet. It can be modified, similarly to the metal helmet, with the same types of material mods as other pieces of combat armor. It does not have a sturdy or heavy variant. The combat armor helmet only occupies the hat slot, allowing eyewear and masks to be worn.

Crafting
In the Contraptions Workshop add-on, combat armor can be crafted at an armor forge:


 * The armor part generated (i.e. arm, leg, chest) is randomized.

Heavy
Multiple variants of combat armor can be found, including sturdy and heavy armor. However, the combat armor helmet does not exist as either of these variants (although the similar army helmet can be found separately) and all variants share the same form ID. A full set of sturdy combat armor, including the regular helmet, yields a damage resistance to both ballistic and energy of 85 and a radiation resistance of 0. A full set of heavy combat armor, including the regular helmet, yields a damage resistance to both ballistic and energy of 111 and a radiation resistance of 0.

Because all variants share the same ID, using the console to spawn any of the pieces will result in a random, level-dependent variant of the armor to spawn (either regular, sturdy, or heavy).

Variants

 * Black Ops armor
 * Commando armor
 * Destroyer's armor
 * Freefall Legs
 * Overseer's armor
 * Steadfast BOS combat armor chest piece

Locations

 * One full set of unmodified combat armor can be found on a hostile character by the name of Absalom. He can be found at several random locations throughout the Commonwealth.
 * Left arm, left leg, right leg and chest piece of heavy combat armor can be found within the Quincy ruins on a named character or, if the character has already been killed, a Gunner sergeant found on the church roof.
 * A partial set of heavy or sturdy combat armor, minus the right arm and helmet, can be found on Captain Bridget on the highway above Hub City Auto Wreckers, close to Saugus Ironworks.
 * A full set of unmodified armor, minus the helmet, can be found on a dead Sal, in Jamaica Plain, on the second floor city hall, where the 2076 World Series baseball bat is in the basement.
 * A varying number of pieces of combat armor can be found worn by higher ranked Gunners (often private or higher).
 * Edward Deegan wears a partial set of light combat armor, without the helmet or left arm. Deegan is essential until after The Secret of Cabot House
 * Helmet found on a dead raider in The Secret of Cabot House.
 * Several mercenaries at Parsons State Insane Asylum are wearing different armor parts including helmets.
 * A combat armor helmet found as a placed item, in the central building of Hub City Auto Wreckers, on a desk adjacent to the crane control terminal. Respawns every 3 days.
 * Proctor Teagan sells full sets of Brotherhood combat armor aboard the Prydwen.
 * Brotherhood of Steel variants are commonly worn by Brotherhood soldiers.
 * At higher levels, they are mostly sold by either Arturo Rodriguez in Diamond City or by KL-E-0 in Goodneighbor.