The Kevlar Vest and Helmet, often referred to as Kevlar + Helmet, are essential pieces of protective gear in the Counter-Strike series. Players can purchase the Kevlar Vest alone, but the helmet is only available in combination with the vest.
Overview
In all classic game modes across the Counter-Strike series (except Casual in Global Offensive), players start without any armor or helmet. The Kevlar Vest is priced at $650 and provides damage reduction from bullets and grenades, with the effectiveness varying based on the weapon's armor penetration. The vest shields the chest, stomach, and arms, while the helmet protects the head. However, the legs remain unprotected.
Players can monitor their current armor status via a numerical value and a bar displayed next to their health on the HUD. This display also indicates whether the player has a helmet. When armor absorbs damage, its value decreases proportionally to the damage taken. Armor becomes ineffective once its value reaches zero. A vest can reduce torso damage and mitigate aimpunch by 95%.
Kevlar also offers 50% damage reduction from environmental hazards like fire and toxic substances in some custom maps. Players can purchase an "assault suit" (vest and helmet) for $1000 or add a helmet to existing armor for $350, provided the armor value is still at 100. Helmets can protect against most headshots, except from sniper rifles, the Desert Eagle, the SG 553, and the AK-47. Both the vest and helmet significantly reduce aimpunch.
As long as the armor value is above zero, damage reduction remains constant regardless of the exact value. However, when armor value drops to zero, the helmet is discarded, leaving the player vulnerable to full damage from headshots.
Properties
In Assassination scenarios, the VIP has 200 armor, reducing damage by 50% after initial absorption. Despite this, the VIP must rely on teammates for protection due to the high priority placed on them by the opposing team. Kevlar and helmets are generally less effective in Counter-Strike: Source and Global Offensive due to increased armor penetration of most weapons.
In Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Deleted Scenes, Kevlar offers significantly better protection than in multiplayer modes and can be found throughout missions, although helmets are not available. Each Kevlar pickup restores the armor value to 100%, making it advisable to collect armor only when it is low.
When a player with non-zero armor is hit in an armored area, the damage is modified by the weapon's armor penetration value. For instance, an AK-47 shot deals 35 base damage but is reduced to 27 damage against armor due to a 77.5% penetration value. Weapons with 100% armor penetration bypass armor completely, dealing full damage without reducing the armor value.
C4 explosions are also mitigated by armor, with damage halved at most ranges, and the armor absorbing half of the damage.
Tactics
Rebuying Armor Determining when to rebuy armor depends on the maximum damage armor can sustain before lethal damage occurs. For example, the Glock deals 12 HP damage and 8 armor damage per shot, allowing a player to survive up to 8 hits. In contrast, the P2000 deals 15 HP and 8 armor damage, with a player surviving up to 6 hits. Therefore, the useful armor value is calculated based on these damage ratios.
When considering armor rebuy, it is important to factor in the team's economy and potential future purchases. In early rounds, opponents are likely to use pistols and SMGs, which reduce armor more effectively than rifles. In later rounds, rifles with better armor penetration are more common, making it less likely for armor to fall below half value unless the player survives multiple rounds.
Buying a Helmet Helmet purchases depend on the team and economic situation. Terrorists should always buy a helmet if affordable, as Counter-Terrorist rifles cannot kill with a single headshot except at very close range. Counter-Terrorists, on the other hand, should consider the Terrorists' economy. If Terrorists can afford AK-47s or SG 553s, a helmet is less necessary. However, if Terrorists are on an eco round, purchasing a helmet is recommended to protect against pistols and SMGs.
Identifying Enemy Armor Enemies hit in the head without a helmet produce a splash sound, while helmeted enemies make a "dink" sound. In earlier Counter-Strike versions, a headshot on an unhelmeted player results in a large blood splash, whereas Source and Global Offensive show normal blood effects. Helmeted headshots produce a white spark.
Bugs & Trivia
- In GoldSrc games, spawning armor not placed by the map creator results in a precache error.
- In Counter-Strike 1.6, a headshot reducing armor to 0% plays the headshot sound but shows helmet impact.
- Players do not visually appear different when wearing armor or a helmet, though some CT models seem to have them equipped.
- The world model file names for Kevlar and helmet are "w_kevlar" and "w_assault," respectively.
- Kevlar + Helmet is termed "assault suit" in game files.
- Dynamic Weapon Pricing once labeled the Kevlar + Helmet combo as the "assault suit."
- Using Half-Life content in custom maps can grant players armor points or HEV suit properties.
- Kevlar models in training missions function as HEV suits or provide armor without helmets.
When armor value drops to zero, players cannot pick up new armor by walking over it; they must buy new Kevlar or die to reset. If a player already owns Kevlar, they cannot pick up another one.
