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Types of Armor in World of Warcraft

There are four different types of armor in the "World of Warcraft" online game, categorized by the material they are made of. These categories are used throughout the game, including in the search interface used to purchase armor on the game's auction house. The category an item belongs to is clearly indicated on the item's tooltip. You can see which types of armor your character can wear by pressing the "P" key to display your spell book and hovering over the icon labeled "Armor Skills."

Cloth
- Cloth armor generally has the lowest armor value of all armor items in the game. Although all character classes can equip this type of armor, it is intended for use by the three character classes that can only equip cloth armor: warlocks, priests and mages. As a result, all cloth offers intellect as a primary stat. Cloaks of all types also count as cloth armor and are classified as such in the auction house interface; however, cloaks are intended for use by all character classes and offer a much wider variety of stats. Characters with the tailoring profession can craft cloth armor.
Leather
- Leather armor has the second lowest armor value in the game. This type of armor is intended for use by druids and rogues; low-level hunters and shamans also use leather armor exclusively, although mail armor becomes available to them once they reach a level above 40. Leather armor offers either agility or intellect as a primary stat; agility is used by rogues and feral druids, while intellect is used by balance and restoration druids. Characters with the leatherworking profession can craft leather armor.
Mail
- Mail armor has the second highest armor value in the game. This type of armor is intended for use by shamans and hunters; low-level warriors and paladins also use mail armor exclusively, although plate armor becomes available to them once they reach a level above 40. Mail armor offers either strength, agility or intellect as a primary stat; strength is used by protection and retribution paladins as well as warriors of all specs at low level, while agility is used by hunters and enhancement shamans and intellect by low-level holy paladins and restoration and elemental shamans. Characters with the blacksmithing profession can craft low-level mail intended for warriors and paladins, while characters with the leatherworking profession can craft high-level mail intended for shamans and hunters.
Plate
- Plate armor has the highest armor value in the game and can be equipped by the least amount of classes. This type of armor is intended for use by warriors, paladins and death knights; no class in the game can equip plate armor before reaching level 40. Plate armor offers either strength or intellect as a primary stat; strength is used by warriors and death knights of all specs as well as protection and retribution paladins, while intellect is used exclusively by holy paladins. Characters with the blacksmithing profession can craft plate armor.

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