Archives of Nethys


Armor | Shields | Weapons

Light Armor | Heavy Armor | Powered Armor
Armor Upgrades

Armor Upgrades

Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 204
A creature can personalize armor by purchasing and installing armor upgrades, described below, which add bonuses or customized abilities to armor. Some individuals keep a collection of upgrades at hand, swapping them out as needed (requiring 10 minutes to replace the unit and resecure all connections). Explanations of entries for upgrades’ statistics follow.


For a technological armor upgrade that requires charges to function, this entry lists the maximum size battery the upgrade can hold. The batteries that upgrades hold can be recharged as normal using either a generator or a recharging station (see page 234). A magic armor upgrade that can be used a certain number of times runs on magical charges; these charges are integral to the construction of the item and can’t be replenished with generators or batteries. Charges for a magic item either refresh each day or never refresh.


This entry lists how many charges are consumed when the armor upgrade is used. This might be per activation or a certain duration. If an armor upgrade uses a certain number of charges over an interval, the upgrade’s abilities can be shut off before that amount of time has passed, but it still uses charges for the full interval. For instance, an upgrade that uses charges at a rate of 2 per round would still use 2 charges if activated for half a round.

Upgrade Slots

Each suit of armor contains a certain number of upgrade slots. This represents the maximum number of times the armor can be modified while still functioning. If you install upgrades beyond the maximum, the armor and all upgrades attached to it cease to function until you remove enough upgrades to bring the armor down to its maximum number of upgrade slots or fewer.

Some upgrades use more than one upgrade slot, as noted in the Armor Slots entry in Table 7–17: Armor Upgrades.

Magic Upgrades

Some armor upgrades are magic or a hybrid of magic and technology. This is indicated next to the upgrade’s name. If neither magic nor hybrid is listed after an item, it’s a technological item.