Gonna post my exotic armor/headgear discoveries in this post for now, but as info comes out I'll probably compile a proper post on all the different armor types. For now:
Medi-fiber Armor
Protection: 3 (6 vs. slash, 2 vs. pierce/plasma)
Durability: 1000
Dodge: -10%
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Medi-fiber (heals the wearer up to half health by spending its durability)
Not an especially strong armor for shrugging off hits entirely (it ranks somewhere between basic and marine armor), but it's also got one of the most active forms of regen in the game, which is worth a LOT. To get the most out of this, I heavily recommend getting some headgear with Tech Monitor and either a surplus of multitools or enough bulk mods and Whizkid ranks to jack this thing up with some auto-repair.
Necrotic Armor
Protection: 8 (16 vs. slash, 4 vs. pierce/plasma)
Durability: 200
Dodge: -20%
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Necrotic (repairs itself by draining your health)
This one's a tricky beast. The defense offered is unparalleled, beating even the combat armor, with a significant-but-not-unmanageable dodge penalty. The low durability combined with the unique perk is the real killer here. Anything that damages the armor will eventually come back to damage you in turn, and that sky-high defense won't save you on its own. Fortunately (?), the armor can't be outright destroyed. It's a great fit for a Survivor Marine, since you'll be able to keep the lifedrain from being a problem and can just enjoy the benefits.
Duramesh Scout Armor
Protection: 4 (8 vs. slash, 2 vs. pierce/plasma)
Dodge: -10%
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Duramesh (cannot be destroyed)
Indestructible, slightly lighter marine armor. Says it all, honestly. In a previous game this would've been known as onyx armor, which is certainly a handy thing to have, but it's less critical with the wider options available to you for armor repairs in Jupiter Hell. Still, there's a lot to be said for not having to waste multitools on that at all. As such, I can safely call this a nailgun user's best friend.
Protection: 3 (6 vs. slash, 2 vs. pierce/plasma)
Durability: 1000
Dodge: -10%
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Medi-fiber (heals the wearer up to half health by spending its durability)
Not an especially strong armor for shrugging off hits entirely (it ranks somewhere between basic and marine armor), but it's also got one of the most active forms of regen in the game, which is worth a LOT. To get the most out of this, I heavily recommend getting some headgear with Tech Monitor and either a surplus of multitools or enough bulk mods and Whizkid ranks to jack this thing up with some auto-repair.
Necrotic Armor
Protection: 8 (16 vs. slash, 4 vs. pierce/plasma)
Durability: 200
Dodge: -20%
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Necrotic (repairs itself by draining your health)
This one's a tricky beast. The defense offered is unparalleled, beating even the combat armor, with a significant-but-not-unmanageable dodge penalty. The low durability combined with the unique perk is the real killer here. Anything that damages the armor will eventually come back to damage you in turn, and that sky-high defense won't save you on its own. Fortunately (?), the armor can't be outright destroyed. It's a great fit for a Survivor Marine, since you'll be able to keep the lifedrain from being a problem and can just enjoy the benefits.
Duramesh Scout Armor
Protection: 4 (8 vs. slash, 2 vs. pierce/plasma)
Dodge: -10%
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Duramesh (cannot be destroyed)
Indestructible, slightly lighter marine armor. Says it all, honestly. In a previous game this would've been known as onyx armor, which is certainly a handy thing to have, but it's less critical with the wider options available to you for armor repairs in Jupiter Hell. Still, there's a lot to be said for not having to waste multitools on that at all. As such, I can safely call this a nailgun user's best friend.
Analytic Visor
Durability: 1000
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Tactical Computer (+20% experience gained)
Now that's rare. Personally, I like my headgear full of mods that give me loads of information about whatever I'm dealing with, or to just make my crits really mean. But if you don't care for most of that fiddly stuff, bonus XP is great. I shouldn't even have to try to sell a person on that, so I won't! You already want this!
Command Visor
Durability: 1000
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Red Access (opens doors like a red keycard, +1 hacking strength)
This is a very silly piece of headgear. Would I recommend using it all the time? No, of course not. Hacking and keycards both fall off hard in endgame. But not having to dedicate a full inventory slot to inedible stuff just to loot the Black Site is great, to say nothing of having a hacking rig installed on there for free.
Vaporscan Helmet
Protection: 1
Durability: 1000
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Smoke Screamer (+50% damage to enemies in Smoke)
This Technician-exclusive helmet definitely sounds like a worthy selection, that damage boost is immense. That said, you still need to be able to see enemies in the smoke to hit them, which is, uh... kind of opposite of the point, y'know? Still, it's good for shotgun and melee Technician builds, or just for someone who finds themselves using smoke a bit too late and wants to punish enemies that pursue them in (and that don't want to take Toxicologist for some reason).
Durability: 1000
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Tactical Computer (+20% experience gained)
Now that's rare. Personally, I like my headgear full of mods that give me loads of information about whatever I'm dealing with, or to just make my crits really mean. But if you don't care for most of that fiddly stuff, bonus XP is great. I shouldn't even have to try to sell a person on that, so I won't! You already want this!
Command Visor
Durability: 1000
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Red Access (opens doors like a red keycard, +1 hacking strength)
This is a very silly piece of headgear. Would I recommend using it all the time? No, of course not. Hacking and keycards both fall off hard in endgame. But not having to dedicate a full inventory slot to inedible stuff just to loot the Black Site is great, to say nothing of having a hacking rig installed on there for free.
Vaporscan Helmet
Protection: 1
Durability: 1000
Mod capacity: 1
Guaranteed perk: Smoke Screamer (+50% damage to enemies in Smoke)
This Technician-exclusive helmet definitely sounds like a worthy selection, that damage boost is immense. That said, you still need to be able to see enemies in the smoke to hit them, which is, uh... kind of opposite of the point, y'know? Still, it's good for shotgun and melee Technician builds, or just for someone who finds themselves using smoke a bit too late and wants to punish enemies that pursue them in (and that don't want to take Toxicologist for some reason).
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