A Bulletproof vest in reality
Body armor encompasses any material that can be added to a soldier's uniform that provides extra protection against certain weapons. Though body armor can increase a soldier's durability, the extra weight can limit mobility and increase fatigue.
Battlefield 2[]
In Battlefield 2, the Assault, Support and Anti-Tank classes carry Body armor. Soldiers with body armor are known as "heavy" soldiers, and those without are known as "light" soldiers. The body armor is not part of the kit, but part of the soldier depending on the kit chosen during spawning, and remains the same throughout the soldier's lifetime. Therefore, as an example, if a player spawned as Assault but later picked up a Special Forces kit, he will retain the body armor, while if he started as Special Forces but later picked up an Assault kit, he will not get new body armor.
Whether a kit spawns as a heavy or light soldier is defined by map, in the map's Init.con. However, it is always the aforementioned three kits that spawn as heavy soldiers. On the kit selection menu, these kits will show a 
icon in the place of the kit's gadgets.
Body armor reduces damage to the torso area by lowering the received damage multiplier to 0.66 compared to the standard 1.0 against small arms. This allows the user to survive 1-2 extra shots if they aren’t hit in the limbs or head. This ability comes at the cost of reduced mobility compared to kits without the armor – specifically, a shorter sprint, reduced from 10 to 8 seconds, a longer sprint recovery time at 20 seconds, up from 17 seconds, and a larger penalty to stamina when jumping. .50 cal rounds used by such weapons as the M2 Browning HMGs on top of the M1A2 Abrams and M95 are not affected, as they already have a lower 0.50 multiplier against infantry. Shotguns suffer a more significant pellet damage reduction of 0.52 against body armor. In effect, semi-automatic shotguns may require additional rounds to kill a target, although pump shotguns are still capable of one-hit kills at close range.
For example: a shot from the SVD (45 damage) to the torso of a Support will do 29.7 damage (45 x 0.66 = 29.7), thus making the Sniper require an additional shot to kill him. A headshot, however, will still be an instant kill regardless of whether or not the player has body armor.
In the Special Forces expansion, the Engineer is also given body armor. However, due to an oversight, on the kit selection menu, it is still shown as a light soldier, with the icon missing.
Gallery[]
Light and heavy soldiers are identifiable by appearance, even when the kit is separated from the soldier, such as when the soldier is critically wounded and waiting to be revived.
 United States Marine Corps
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| Desert | Woodland | ||
| Light | Heavy | Light | Heavy |
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 Middle Eastern Coalition
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 People's Liberation Army
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| Light | Heavy | Light | Heavy |
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| U.S. Navy SEAL
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 British SAS
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| Light | Heavy | Light | Heavy |
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 Russian Spetsnaz
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MEC Special Forces
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| Light | Heavy | Light | Heavy |
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 Rebels
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 Insurgent Forces
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| Light | Heavy | Light | Heavy |
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 European Union
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| Desert | Woodland | ||
| Light | Heavy | Light | Heavy |
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Battlefield 2142[]
In Battlefield 2142, all classes can use Body Armor if the player wishes to do so.
In terms of multipliers, Body Armor still decreases damage from weapons to the torso. However, the multiplier is higher at 0.8 compared to 0.66 from Battlefield 2 for all infantry firearms except for shotguns (Herzog AR-Shotgun and the Clark 15B), which have 0.85x against Body armor. While this decreases the effectiveness of Body Armor at close range compared to Battlefield 2, it can benefit from longer-range engagements due to damage drop-off being near universal for weapons in Battlefield 2142. Users are still affected by stamina, with it taking longer to recharge from sprinting alongside penalties from jumping with Body armor, although it can be somewhat remedied from Sprintcor 20 Enhanced Endurance and Staminar 9 Recovery System Player Abilities.
Players who use Body Armor have an appearance change: Both teams have additional armor plating on their arms and legs; with the European Union having orange and black armor plates on both their Base game and Northern Strike appearances; In contrast, the Pan-Asian Coalition has black armor on their base game appearance and a greyish-white appearance for their Northern Strike appearance.
Gallery[]
 European Union
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 Pan-Asian Coalition
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| Light | Heavy | Light | Heavy | |
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Battlefield: Bad Company 2[]
— In-game description
Ceramic Body Armor is a specialization featured in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and is unlocked at rank 14. Increasing health by 25 points, it protects players from what would be a fatal hits from weapons. However, it won't protect players from Knife strikes.
In Hardcore, it is much less effective due to the player's health already being 60 by default, and the fact that weapons remain unchanged in the mode, leading to only a slight increase of 15 health points rather than 25.
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Battlefield 4[]
ARMOR is a specialization in Battlefield 4 and is the first specialization of the Defensive upgrade path. As this is the first specialization available to new players, it is one of the most common specs carried.
Armor reduces any incoming damage taken to the torso area by 10%. Most primary weapon types will require an extra bullet to kill if the body armor absorbs the damage. This also prevents standard sniper rifles from earning close-range kills to the chest. Designated marksman rifles are excluded by their damage models, allowing them to remain consistent.
After the 2014-09-30 patch most of the automatic weapons had a damage nerf making the defensive perk less effective against these guns, as their damage model would at most ranges deal enough damage that 10% less would no longer matter. Only sniper rifles and the Phantom with broadhead arrow will require one extra shot to the chest to kill a heavily armored player.
As of the 2014-01-30 patch, handguns now generally inflict enough damage to not require an extra chest hit.
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Battlefield Hardline[]
— In-game description
The Armored Insert is a gadget available in Battlefield Hardline for the Mechanic. It functions similarly to the ARMOR specialization in Battlefield 4, allowing to the player to take half as much damage from bullets to the torso. Unlike its predecessor, however, it is equipped as a gadget instead of functioning as a specialization, forcing the user to sacrifice another gadget for the extra armor.
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Battlefield 1[]
World War I-era metal plate armor are worn by special classes in Battlefield 1 to give them extra protection against firearms and grenades. The Cavalry and all Elite kits wear armor. The Sentry receives the greatest damage reduction and coverage, as well as immunity to non-takedown melee attacks. Other elites have more exposed areas, with Cavalry taking standard bonus damage from headshots.
Battlefield V[]
Armor Vests and Armor Plates are a series of gadgets featured in Battlefield V, usable only in the Firestorm gamemode. Armor Plates can be looted from the ground throughout Halvøy, and can be applied to the player to grant an additional, non-regenerative 50 point health boost. Armor plates can be damaged or destroyed by receiving damage - these can be discarded and replaced with a fresh plate if one is available. Up to five Armor Plates can be carried at once.
The amount of armor a player can apply is based on their current level of Armor Vest. By default a player is equipped with a level 1 vest that can hold one plate. Level 2 and 3 vests can be found in the game world and can hold a total of two and three plates, respectively. A full level three vest gives the player a 150hp boost - when fully healed, this gives them their maximum attainable health of 300hp.
Gallery[]
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Battlefield 2042[]
— In-game Description
The IBA Armor Plate is a gadget featured in Battlefield 2042 for the Assault class. Each plate provides a 20 point armor bonus, with every player having a 20 point armor cap. Plates equipped in the Open Gadget slot cannot be given to other players.
Only one plate may be worn at a time (similar to a Level 1 vest in Battlefield V Firestorm). Players may carry up to two spare plates at once. The plate must be manually applied after spawning or taking damage to a worn plate. They may be resupplied from Ammunition Boxes, or from Loadout Crates should it be selected on the players loadout.
Armour will only provide armour to the body region.
Players attacking a target wearing armor will see a distinctive hit confirmation with blue dots. Players wearing armor will see a light blue flash indicating when their armor has been depleted, With both sides receiving a distinctive crack sound. As of yet, there is no other indication of which players may be using an armor plate.
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Trivia[]
- In Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam, this specialization is not displayed in the Weapons & Gadgets menu that displays all available specializations, but may still be used in the game.
- In Battlefield 2142, the player models change depending on armor level. EU light-armored soldiers appear European, while heavy-armored soldiers appear African. PAC light-armored solders appear East Asian, and heavy-armored soldiers more Central European. Light-armored soldiers have one shoulder plate, while heavy-armored soldiers have both shoulders plated and carry more leg armor.
- The Armored Insert in Battlefield Hardline was originally exclusive to the Enforcer class but this was later changed to become available to all classes. Since the game became less vehicle-focused than past installments, the Armored Insert was later made exclusive to the Mechanic class.[1]
- In the campaign, some enemy targets visibly wear tactical vests, plate carriers, or load bearing vests. These targets are armoured, and are significantly tougher to take down.
- Constantin Anghel originally had the feature to distribute armour via revive and ammo pack, But however, Was removed fairly early on due to balancing concerns.
- Kimble Graves would originally spawn with 10 points of armour, With him being able to scavenge pieces through ammo packs scattered amongst the Battlefield, This was however removed when he was turned into a Support unit.