Heavy Armor is one of the three types of armor a character may wear in the game for protection. This type of armor generally provides the best protection in combat and is preferred by melee-type champions. Players can obtain this type of armor in a variety of ways.

First, you may simply buy the armor from a merchant - one can be found in every major city. If you are on a budget and cannot afford to splurge on a protective metal helm you do have the option to craft heavy armor using the blacksmithing skill. Crafting your own armor allows you to customize the trait, style and material of the armor and is highly recommended for those who desire specific armor styles and traits.

If crafting isn't your style or too time consuming you can turn to picking locks. A master thief (or master adventurer, depending on how you look at it) may be able to loot chests using the lockpicking skill. Note: chests are not guaranteed to provide armor drops every time you open one.

Lastly, as in most mmorpgs you may simply take to slaying enemy NPCs and looting their bodies or attempt to trade with a stranger. There is also the viable option of modestly ravaging through storage containers, which can be found throughout the land of Tamriel. While optimistic, the last three options will typically yield random armor and not specific sets that you may desire.

Heavy Armor Abilities
The heavy armor skill line is a bit limited in active abilities, but makes up for it with its protection-oriented passive abilities. Most abilities within this skill line are dependent upon the number of heavy armor pieces the player is wearing; consequently, players should wear as much heavy armor as possible if they want to get the most out of these abilites .

Players still looking to get the most from this skill line should look to the racial section of character creation. Orcs possess a racial passive ability that allows the player to increase their experience gained within the heavy armor skill line by 15%. Incentives such as this one are found throughout the game so if you have not already created a character it could be helpful to study up on some of the racial skills. (see races, to learn more about each of the 10 playable races and their abilities).

It is important to note that triggering the active ability within this skill line will consume stamina. Stamina is also used for running, dodging and blocking; so, a player who favors melee-weapon skills should max their stamina when leveling or find a way to reduce costs (some passive abilities reduce the cost of stamina).

The following abilities are available in the heavy armor skill line:
Active Abilities:
Immovable:Temporarily increases armor and spell resistance. Player becomes immune to knockback and disabling effects for duration

Passive Abilities
Juggernaut:Increases attack power based off the amount of heavy armor pieces equipped
Rapid Mending:Increases healing received based off the amount of heavy armor pieces equipped
Resolve:Reduces incoming damage based off the amount of heavy armor pieces equipped
Constitution:Increases health regeneration based off the amount of heavy armor pieces equipped
Bracing:Reduces the cost of blocking when 5 or more heavy armor pieces are equipped