Light armor should have more viability.

[Shehriazad]

Currently if you just skill the anti-encumbrance armor perk...there's no reason not to wear even the heaviest sets of armor.

But I feel like this should change to give all armor types and combos some viability. Here are some ideas of mine:


Going all cloth on all layers:
- Will not need to counter encumbrance (exists)
- Will make it significantly easier to stay undetected
- Multi-layered cloth receive bonus against impact damage (areas covered in 3 cloth layers or more receive an extra point of impact resistance
- No negative impact on future skill lines like thaumaturgy

Going leather and cloth
- Low encumbrance (exists)
- Easier to stay undetected than plate, harder than cloth
- Multi-layered leather grants pierce resist
- none to minor negative impacts depending on future skill line

Using Chain armor with leather/cloth
- Medium encumbrance (exists)
- Hard to stay undetected vs non-hearing impaired units
- Multi-layers leather/cloth + chain grants bonus resist against thrust attacks
- negative impacts on thaumaturgy.

Going "as heavy as possible"
- High encumbrance (exists)
- Nearly impossible to stay undetected...not only can they hear you coming from a mile away...you're also shiny as hell!
- Going as "heavy as possible" will grant a bonus point of slash resist on areas that are covered by at least 2 layers of metal
- Magic or Bows? You better be sticking to melee and maybe crossbows if heavy armor is what you want

Going naked
- I like your way of thinking...but you shouldn't.

 

[Bobob]

Not liking this idea at all tbh

 

[Scarecrow]

Stealth being affected by different armor types is planned, and will probably be a key point in picking lighter armor over heavier ones. However, as been pointed out several times by certain members on the forum (Elrik comes to mind), leather armor actually creaks and makes a lot of sound when you move in it, and thus isn't particularly stealthy. I think cloth will be the way to go here. Another thing to consider is that you have to invest skill points to be able to wear heavy armor efficiently(is that how u spell it?), and once all skills are introduced then thats a big investment. You might not have skill points enough to fit it into your build, so you are forced to wear light armor or move poorly in heavy armor.

Full helmets should also impair your ability to shoot accurate with ranged weapons imo, but other than that I don't think there should be any direct downsides to wearing heavy armor. Wearing heavy armor should always be the best bet in a close combat fight, as long as you have the skills to wear it. I don't think thaumathurgy should be impaired by wearing heavy armor, unless there are lore specific reasons for this(which I don't imagine there is).