I am currently playing a Swashbuckler/Duelist type of character in Skyrim. I only use a one handed sword, carry no shield, and rely on quick reflexes to dodge enemies rather than block them. I have a few questions about armor effects.

1. I know that heavier armor more negatively effects your stamina, but does it actually affect your mobility? Do you move around more slowly when wearing heavier armor?
2. Does wearing no armor at all (just regular clothing) have a benefit over light armor? Namely, does it give you maximum mobility and the lowest stamina hit?
3. Is there any benefit to not wearing a shield? I know in Oblivion and Morrowind, there didn't seem any benefit to NOT having a shield. I thought that was pretty lame.

I want to play the best Finesse fighter as possible, so if going without armor and a shield helps me, I'd like to know.

Yes, it will benefit your enemies who will have an easier time killing you.

But seriously you will need some kind of protection either from armor or from the alteration school of magic.

Its a challenge. Do it. You'll need to use wards.

1. The heavier your equipped armor, the slower you move. (there are Perks to change this, in some cases)

2. Wearing enchanted robes will help be better than armor if the enchantments help your character. (Robes that boost your Magicka will help a mage better than a few AR)

3. Blocking with a shield in OB and MW (although both done differently) make a huge difference. Same with Skyrim, but also... you can Dual-Wield two weapons without a shield now.

Yeah all armour slows you done. Well so does clothes but unless you wanna run around in only a well placed cloth to protect from the cold then by my guest.

I generally don't use a shield because running away retreating is more my style.

Alteration has a perk for double Armor from spells that provide it.
The armor skills themselves have perks to keep weight down.

As for no shield, it wouldn't hurt to dual wield.
That type of character would probably use a sword and a parrying blade (although it'd just be damage in this case). Dual wielding has a faster attack perk.

This is somewhat disappointing. I have waited my whole life for a game that grants benefit to those who simply want to wear clothing and go without a shield.

I mean, come on, it's obvious to anyone that carrying a shield around encumbers you in one way or another. It's far easier to jump, dodge, and stay vigilant when you are simply holding a one-handed weapon with your other hand free.

Clothing alone should also further free you up to greater movement. Even leather armor restricts your joints somewhat. Other than pure role-play and playing "dress-up", there doesn't seem to be any reason to wear pure clothing in this game.

Find a copy of Morrowind and enjoy

Have it. Put over 1000 hours into it. Unarmored stinks.

I've been rolling with my mage who wears robes and hoods with no shielding (unless meat shields from conjuration count). I do wear light armor gloves and boots but I rarely seem to take damage to these parts as my light armor skill rarely ever levels up. I've not really had any trouble so far, I'm level 28 and I've killed around 25 dragons in the game ranging from the basic type, named, frost and now blood dragons.

The biggest benefit is ROLE PLAYING, you get to look the part you imagine in your head. I say go for it!

But we told you the benefits of using clothing. Faster, less fatigue usage and makes you quicker. This applies to shields aswell.

You did? What post? Can someone else confirm this is true?

I have always thought that light armor and clothing were equally beneficial in terms of lessening fatigue and increasing mobility. And I haven't seen anything that says that no shield helps as well.

Hmmm, guess nobody knows for sure. Suppose I'll have to test this myself and get back to you.

So meanwhile at me posting the same thing in a different thread...

I did say the "all armours slows you down" though.

I tested the shield thing during the Horn mission in the main quest.

If not wearing armor was more beneficial than wearing armor, why would they have armor at all?

This thread baffles me. It seems lately all the complaint threads are about these people who have unrealistic expectations on what games (both in general and this specifi one) do. I gues that bodes well for Skyrim though if these are the kinds of complaints people have that they think are valid.

I think you're missing the point. Wearing armor becomes more beneficial if you become skilled at doing so. Wearing no armor at all should be beneficial to those who become skilled at it as well.

It's the same argument as wearing light armor instead of heavy armor. There are pros and cons to both. Why not extend the pros and cons to clothing and going shieldless? Why shouldn't my character get some kind of movement bonus if he is completely unburdened even at the expense of some defense rating?

I guess one way to change this would be to change perks... "with this perk 25% of your heavy armor's weight will be removed", rather than all of it. I mean, sometimes we overrate the weight of armor and swords, they weren't as heavy as we think nowadays, but still, you shouldn't be able to hop about with heavy armor on.

***EDIT: What I mean is, there should be tradeoffs to balance the different approaches of the game, while at the same time keeping it realistic. Right now the system works like this: you are free to wear heavy armor or light armor. Or you can even go unarmored if you'd like.

But heavy armor is clearly the best option, because by using perks, you'll actually end up being more encumbered by a tunic than by full plate.

Oh, I didn't see your other thread. Sorry.

And if you've tested going without a shield - cool. I'm going to have to test this myself, but I'll be a really happy camper if you're right.

That would be a good idea. I could envision a stealth perk that grants you a natural armor bonus when going without any armor at all.

There is no 'unarmored' skill in this game. You might find you have some success (perhaps even a lot) at dodging melee attacks but sooner or later you will get hit or shot and you're going to feel the lack of having some form of protection if you're not a spellcaster.

No need to apologise that was me forgetting where I post things.

Also I am right (my ego can't handle being wrong ?_?)

Yes it slows you down but there is a perk to remove this weakness.
You don't lose mobility or take a stam hit sprinting and it does provide very mage oriented benefits with robes(+magicka, +magicka regen, -spell cost). You can also take "Mage Armor" perk in Alteration to boost mage armor buffs by 3x.
Dual wielding, it's the highest DPS in the game in fact it nearly doubles the damage of 2h. The downside being that you can't block obviously, although 2x 1h swords have enough reach that you can manually dodge most attacks.

If you plan on going this route smithing and enchanting are MUSTS and I'd also very strongly recommend alchemy as well(mostly to get you the hilariously crazy smithing and enchanting potions).

Heavier armor also makes more sound then light, and I suppose no armor, so you should get noticed less easy too. I don't know if you do any sneaking. If you just jump around shouting ahaaa have at ya! then the sound thing won't help much of course.

Haha!

Well, it does make logical sense that wearing no armor and no shield at all would make even less noise. I guess I'm just looking for verifiable proof that this is, in fact, true. Is this confirmed in a wiki or guide somewhere?

It would be a shame if so many nice pieces of clothing served no purpose other than decoration.

To answer your question OP, manliness. That is the only benefit.