Is haveing full bear armor worth it?

[Galen_Thalheimer]

true but does it really help? or make a difference?

Weight definitely makes a difference. Based on athletics (and somewhat agility, I think) the amount of weight you carry affects you less. Shooting rate of ranged weapons is dependent on total encumbrance.

So, the more things you have, the slower you will shoot, and the slower you will run. Now, if you're playing shield wall style, the extra protection is better than the speed. Except for shoes. How often are you hit in the legs, versus chest and head. The one hit fills are usually headshots from the other ranged units. If you're kiting, then you want the speed and faster hits.

I've done lots of testing with the various armors, some in games, and some in single player doing "100m dashes". The extra armor definitely slows you down. Over my little race, naked with weapons was about 1-2s faster than with bear armor on. If you are a T4+2inf archer, you can get away with gloves, heavy inf helmet, and the sturdy spiked leather armor (weight 8) before you really start to slow down. Once you just to weight 12 armor (ringed leather), the slowdown is noticeable in both. You could probably trade off the helmet for more body armor, but then your head is unprotected. All the useable body armors already give you some leg protection, so the need for boots for "leg" armor isn't need, IMHO.

I'd rather shoot slightly faster and run faster. Try it yourself...load up your archer is no armor and see how much faster you shoot than with full kit.