CS:GO’s armor system can be incredibly puzzling to understand. Here is a comprehensive breakdown of how armor works, from the damage reduction statistics to the explanations behind purchasing decisions.
Armor is a fundamental aspect of CS:GO. However, the more you look into it the more confusing it may seem. Smart economic management is essential to winning a game— as such, knowing how armor works and when you should purchase certain gear may be helpful in making informed purchases that turn the tide in a tight match.
Armor in CS:GO is split into two pieces of equipment — Kevlar Vest and Helmet. Kevlar protects your chest, stomach and arm hitboxes, while a helmet protects your head hitbox. Legs in CS:GO lack any protective gear.
Kevlar can be equipped by itself for $650, unlike a helmet which cannot be equipped without first wearing Kevlar. A helmet can be purchased for an additional $350 provided that your armor value is still at a full 100. Alternatively, Kevlar and a Helmet can be bought together for $1000.
CS:GO’s protective equipment has two main uses — damage reduction and aimpunch mitigation. Both of these benefits assist with survivability and ability to secure kills.
Wearing armor either reduces or fully nullifies aimpunch depending on which hitbox gets hit. Aimpunch is a game mechanic where getting hit in the chest, stomach, or head shakes your view upwards, disorienting your ability to shoot properly. Kevlar reduces chest and stomach aimpunch by 85%, whereas a helmet nullifies headshot aimpunch completely.
Your armor’s arguably more important function is its ability to reduce damage taken by bullets and utility.While the armor value on your HUD displays your armor out of 100, it does not reduce 100 points of damage.In reality, armor absorbs up to 200 points of damage, and your armor value on your HUD will decrease by a percentage based on how much damage was absorbed.
Wearing armor allows damage taken to be split between your HP and your armor value. Armor reduces damage taken from bullets and utility by a percentage that varies with the armor penetration of each weapon — the lower the armor penetration, the more your armor absorbs damage.
For example, a Glock shot against an unarmored opponent could deal 30 damage to your HP. With armor, the Glock’s 47% armor penetration statistic means that 47% of damage dealt will damage your HP and the other 53% will be absorbed by your armor. In this case (if you get shot at 100 HP), 14 damage to HP and 16 to your armor leaves you with 86 HP and 92 Armor. Given that armor absorbs up to 200 points of damage, your armor value on your HUD will take 8 points of damage, displaying half of what was actually dealt.
Typically, SMGs and cheap pistols have low armor penetration while rifles have higher penetration. On the opposite end, the SG553 has the unique property of 100% armor penetration, meaning that 100% of damage dealt will hurt your HP while leaving your armor spotless.
In general, it is always nicer to have Kevlar than to not have it — protecting your HP and reducing aimpunch is extremely valuable in any given round. Heading into a round with a full buy, Kevlar should be a bare minimum. On low economy rounds, buying Kevlar depends on your economic situation and how much you need to save in order to fully buy the following rounds.
Buying a helmet is slightly more complicated as it is not always required. Firstly, Terrorists should always have a helmet, economy permitting. No CT rifle can kill you in one headshot if you are armored, thus having a helmet is valuable in ensuring your survival after at least one hit.
On the opposite side, the purchase of a helmet for Counter-Terrorists depends on the strength of the Terrorist's weapons. If the Terrorists are likely able to afford an assault rifle, then the purchase of helmet is generally not required given the fact both Terrorist rifles — the AK-47 and the SG 553 — can kill the player in one shot regardless of head protection.
If the Terrorists are expected to be on a low economy round, then a helmet is highly recommended for Counter-Terrorists. Similar to why Terrorists should always purchase a helmet if possible, CTs should wear helmets to avoid low economy weapons like pistols or SMGs to one-shot headshot when they otherwise could not.
Given CS:GO’s precarious economy system, rebuying armor after every round is unnecessary. In general, the point at which rebuying armor may become useful can be found by determining the maximum damage to armor that may be sustained in a round.
In the worst-case scenario, the weapon with the lowest armor penetration — and by extension the lowest HP-to-Armor Damage ratio — is the Glock. The Glock can inflict 14 HP damage and 8 Armor damage per hit. Therefore, you could survive up to 8 hits before dying (14 HP damage * 8 hits = 112 Total). The maximum value of useful armor in this instance would be 64 (8 Armor Damage * 8 hits = 64 Total). Therefore, 64 armor would be the minimum value needed to ensure maximum safety — however this scenario is incredibly rare. Any stronger weapon would do more damage to your HP than to your armor.
Rebuying armor if you have less than 40 points would be ideal. Needing more than that is rare for a singular round and starting a round at less than 40 points would most likely mean that you survived for many rounds and have accumulated a safe amount of wealth. Lastly, if you head into a new round with untouched Kevlar, upgrading to Kevlar and Helmet for only $350 is generally always wise given the cheap cost and added benefit, economy permitting.
Knowing the benefits of wearing armor and how each weapon interacts with it can give you a valuable upper hand in a match. While wearing a helmet can save your life in a certain scenario, not buying an unnecessary helmet on CT and using that money for a clutch smoke that you would not afford otherwise could also net you a round.
In general, keep an eye out for what is needed and what smart purchases can propel you and your team to victory.
