Here two worlds collide, the game gamer and the historical gamer.
For the competitive game gamer everything he pays for must pay a dividend in game.
—
Historically a helmet gave good protection. In close fight the head has to go outside the shield cover. So a helmet is a good add.
A leather body armor was no such big improvement, esp. for a mid – big shield armed man. It is good against slashing arms and arrows from a bigger distance but bad against a pointed arm (Lance, Gladius and similar) or an arrow from short distance.
Making a fitting boiled leather armor is thought cheaper than metal by many but still expensive. In TYW time finest quality buff coats were often more expensive than an iron cuirass. Harquebusiers wore back and breast metal armor, more or less bullet proof, and the buffcoat against the slashes from the sword. Often adding a gauntlet for the bridle arm.
So in fact the leather armor is much more expensive than a helmet but adds little to protection for the shield using ancient warrior
Having a leather body armor but no helmet…… It happened. But only pays if you have no shield.
We find leather armor among horse archers as protection against long distance arrow shots. But it was very rare among foot javelin throwers, archers or slingers. Restricting movement, expensive …….
—
The game designer did a good work from the historical view. Not so from the game gamer one.
.
