Chest gear is equipped in the body slot and is the single largest source of defensive stats on your character. Every base falls into one of two defensive families:
Energy Shield from the head, chest and leg slots is summed into a single pool, so a chest piece is usually the deciding factor in whether an Energy Shield build is viable — it carries roughly twice the shield of a helmet at the same tier.
| Defense bases | Defense scales with Item Level. An item dropped at the bottom of the base's item level range rolls the minimum value; one dropped at the top rolls the maximum. There is no randomness. |
| Energy Shield bases | Energy Shield is rolled randomly anywhere within the base's range, regardless of item level. Two identical bases from the same area can have very different shield values. |
Because a base's item level range is also the range of Area Levels it can drop in, the ranges below double as a progression guide.
Energy Shield acts as a buffer in front of your life total.
| Name | Energy Shield | Item Level Range |
|---|---|---|
| Apprentice Robe | 7 – 21 | 1 – 35 |
| Acolyte Vestment | 19 – 39 | 25 – 50 |
| Mystic Garb | 38 – 58 | 40 – 65 |
| Spectral Shroud | 58 – 83 | 55 – 80 |
| Ethereal Mantle | 85 – 110 | 71 – 85 |
| Name | Defense (low → high item level) | Item Level Range |
|---|---|---|
| Battered Mail | 2 → 7 | 1 – 35 |
| Ironbound Cuirass | 8 → 15 | 25 – 50 |
| Hallowforged Cuirass | 16 → 23 | 40 – 65 |
| Astralforged Aegis | 25 → 33 | 55 – 80 |
| Eternalforged Aegis | 35 → 43 | 71 – 85 |
These older bases have no item level restriction and can drop at any area level. Their defense is derived from item level rather than a fixed range.
| Name | Defense | Item Level Range |
|---|---|---|
| Body Armor | Item Level ÷ 6, +1 | Any |
| Breastplate | Item Level ÷ 6, +1 | Any |
Chest gear can roll the shared armour affix pool (life, mana, potion, movement speed and defensive modifiers) plus a couple of Modifiers exclusive to the chest slot:
| Affix | Notes |
|---|---|
| Added life regeneration | Chest only |
| Maximum minions | Chest only, available from item level 1 |
Energy Shield chest pieces additionally have access to the Energy Shield affix pool listed above; defense chest pieces do not.
| Name | Base Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Heart of Pyralis | Chestplate | 30 defense, +150 max life, +20% fire resistance, -5% movement speed. Drops from Pyralis The Fallen. |