I got the info from various sources, nothing quite as thorough or as well explained as I tried to put it. The broken English I've had to read through or non-English sites I've had to babelfish haven't been so fun to sift through for information. Still, I read it, I test it. The info on Attack Rating versus Parry Ratio is correct as it stands.
Also, don't be fooled when people say Dodge isn't implemented. It's just more broken English from too many people trying to translate. Anything that adds to dodge or subtracts fomr it is adding or subtracting from the parry ratio.
Oh, and while I haven't been playing long.. I'm a number crunching whore
I do this for any video game I play. I have about 6 RL friends who have characters right now from 30-60. So I can glean quite a bit of info. Espcially for certain strats and powers in pvp. Like how shields and the knockdown skills of Bicheon tree can seem overpowered when 1 on 1 pvping. Especially if the person you are fighting that has a shield is higher level then you. They block and TON of attacks. But there are some skills that aren't effected by shields for the Heuskal and Pacheon lines. Like the Flying Dragon line for Heuskal. It's one of the most powerful skills in the game as it makes you throw your spear/glaive and penetrate. Which means it can hit up to 3 targets in a row and the hit can't be stopped by shields. Also, you will want to open the last form of the Flying Dragon Skill. If you are new, you'll notice it has only 2 tiers: Flying Dragon Flow and Flying Dragon Fly. There is actually a third tier called Flying Dragon Bite, but it has to be unlocked.
Anyhow, I'm starting to digress from the orginal post of armor. Here's how I break it down. If you are going pure Str or hybrid builds then start with Garments of Protector. Don't use Heavy Armor until after level 20. You are going to be hurting badly on mana and potions otherwise and the difference in damage taken in doesnt seem to be that great in my experience. After level 20 move up to Heavy Armor if you wish, but be aware that many more monsters in the game start doing a few magic based attacks in which case a 4/2 or 3/3 option after 20 to 40ish is recommended. This means 4 Heavy Armor pieces and 2 Protector pieces or half/half, so you can get a tad more magical resistance. It's hard to judge but it's easy to play with. Just try out different armor combos when you get pieces you can wear and see how it works for yourself.
Now if you are a pure Int user and using Bows.. stick with Garments or Protector the entire life of your Char. If you are an Int char and using Spears then go full Protector in my opinion. If you are using Swords as an Int user.. hrmm that's a tough call. All 3 options work for certain skill chains as a Sword user. Actually Sword users make the best hyrbids in the game in my opinion. Swords+Shields with a 1:2 build with Protector and chain knockdowns is tough to beat at higher levels. Real tough.
Also, in a game like this being beta, this guide may be correct as of today, but tomorrow is always uncertain. Things could change in the blink of an eye. So what my be best today or FoTM (flavor of the month) could be tomorrows Gimp. That's for builds and skills mostly as usually basic game mechanics don't change to drastically unless we are talking about Star Wars Galaxies
That game can't make up it's mind on anything!