# Body armor
Body armor is armor worn on the body. The two most valued varieties are the mithril-coat in the early game and dragon scale mail as part of an ascension kit. Neither of these can be corroded or otherwise damaged, and they provide an excellent AC reduction for their weight. The only problem with the mithril-coat is that it impedes spellcasting.

Name

Cost

Weight

AC

Weight/AC

Material

MC

Appearance

leather jacket
10
30
1
30
leather
0
—

leather armor
5
150
2
75
leather
1
—

orcish ring mail
80
250
2
125
iron
1
crude ring mail

studded leather armor
15
200
3
66.7
leather
1
—

ring mail
100
250
3
83.3
iron
1
—

scale mail
45
250
4
62.5
iron
1
—

orcish chain mail
75
300
4
75
iron
1
crude chain mail

chain mail
75
300
5
60
iron
1
—

elven mithril-coat
240
150
5
30
mithril
2
—

splint mail
80
400
6
66.7
iron
1
—

banded mail
90
350
6
58.3
iron
1
—

dwarvish mithril-coat
240
150
6
25
mithril
2
—

bronze plate mail
400
450
6
75
bronze
1
—

plate mail (tanko)
600
450
7
64.3
iron
2
—

crystal plate mail
820
450
7
64.3
glass
2
—

dragon scales
500
40
3
13.3
dragon hide
0
—

dragon scale mail
900
40
9
4.4
dragon hide
0
—

Dragon scale mail
The single most valued item of body armor is dragon scale mail. For 40 weight, it reduces your AC by 9, provides a useful extrinsic property (depending on the color of dragon it came from), and does not corrode or impede spellcasting. The two most coveted varieties of dragon scale mail are gray, which provides magic resistance, and silver, which gives reflection.

Strategy
While body armor is often heavy, it can provide a significant boost to your AC. The most desirable body armor in the early game is a mithril-coat, which is relatively light and gives a good AC bonus.

Variants
In variants that derive from NetHack 3.4.3, mithril coats provide an MC of 3.