You can wear armour in many places on your character, such as the head, chest, legs, wrists, hands, and even feet. It is the armour type, however, that determines whether or not you can wear a piece of armour. Each class can only wear certain armour types. The armour types are: 

Some classes are able to wear more than one armour type. You can inspect armour pieces to see if you are able to wear them or not. You can also look at the icon of the item to determine if a piece of armour is able to be used by your class. If the armour’s icon is red, then you do not meet the prerequisites to wear the armour. All item prerequisites, such as class, level, race, or any other restrictions, can be found by inspecting the item and looking for red text. Any red text indicates a requirement that you do not meet to wear or use the armour.
 

Any armour that is “cosmetic only” means that it offers no armor class or other benefits, and is intended for looks only.

Remember that like all items, some armour pieces can bind to your character on equip or bind to you when you acquire them in your inventory, so check armour descriptions carefully before wearing or looting armours! Armours also have durability, and will need to be repaired as they are damaged from wear and tear.
 

There are a variety of benefits you can receive as a result of wearing armour items. These include, but are not limited to: 

In addition, some items provide special abilities, short term boosts, or short term buffs for using or equipping them. These are known as “activate on use” and “activate on equip.” If an item is activate on use, then you will receive the ability whenever you wear the item. If an item is activate on equip, you will receive the ability by clicking the item’s icon to activate it.
 

Armour can be acquired in different ways in the game, including: 

You can compare armour with your current equipment by inspecting the armour. You will be shown a side-by-side comparison of what the benefits of the new armour are against the armour you’re already wearing.

Using the crafting system, it is possible to craft armour for yourself or others! By taking a vocation, you can acquire the skills you need to forge platemail, sew robes, and more. Learn more about the crafting system by visiting our other articles or the Lorebook!

You can customize the look and benefits of your armour in many ways! You can choose which armour to display by clicking the “show” button in your character panel. Show all, some, or none of the armour you’re wearing, the choice is yours! As you gain levels, you’ll be able to access the social clothing system.

Using the cosmetic clothing system, you can choose to wear a set of armour, but visually display a different one! This feature is disabled in the Ettenmoors, LOTRO's player versus player zone. Armour that is “cosmetic only” can be displayed to others using the cosmetic clothing system while you wear and enjoy the benefits of your normal armour behind the scenes!

Through some crafting recipes, you can even increase some aspects of your armour’s benefits. To learn more about how you can use the crafting system to enhance your armour, read our other game play articles or visit the Lorebook!