Powered Armor

Written by Jackson Jewell Edited by Zach Batson

The usage of powered armor has seen tremendous development within the last few decades. While early versions of powered suits can be found in the mid 19th century, widespread adoption has only happened within the last decade. The breakthroughs in Balfour circuit miniaturization that took place in the late 1920s have allowed for the creation of much heavier and more powerful suits of armor. Today even some infantry battleplate have small circuits run through them as a way to lighten the load. Along with this, advancements in ceramics, metallurgy, and the adoption of energy weaponry has led to a revival of armor on the whole.

Custom suits of powered armor are common in Europe, notably Britain, the HRE, and Russia, where the aristocracy have embraced the return of armor with vigor. Numerous master armorers workshops are in operation now, crafting finely tuned battlesuits for the Old World’s elites. The current court armorer of the Kaiser is Friedrich Helmschmied of Augsburg, whose neo-gothic style heavily influenced the Empire’s rearmament efforts during the late 20s and early 30s.

The increased use of battlesuits and hardsuits for military application has caused a tremendous amount of development. The United States and the Japanese Empire have pioneered the mass production of hardsuits. In contrast to the masterpieces of artifice found in Europe, these hardsuits tend to be cruder, more utilitarian, and therefore far more numerous. The United States in particular has passed an ordinance calling for every infantry squad to be issued at least one hardsuit by 1945.

The most common type of powered armor are exo-skeletons mated with armored plates. Similar in effect to a hardsuit, exo-skeleton armor enhances the user's strength and durability to a considerable degree, however, it does far less than its bulkier cousin. The experience of operating this type of armor is far closer to how a person actually moves though, and so training takes far less time. Every major military power in the world uses exo-skeletons, and they are also common in the civilian world. They often see use in industrial settings, where their strength enhancing abilities are put to good use, making one worker do the job of ten.