Armor Skeleton

Based on game build 714001 | Last updated: 2026-03-04

Overview

armor_skeleton is a wearable equipment prefab that activates resistance to specific damage types when equipped and fueled. It dynamically spawns visual shield effects upon taking damage and relies on the resistance, fueled, equippable, cooldown, and shadowlevel components to manage its state. The armor degrades using nightmare fuel and enforces a recharge delay between shield activations. It integrates with DST’s equipped-item skinning system and supports dedicated server/client separation for sound playback.

Usage example

-- The prefab is typically used as a crafted or found item and equipped directly
-- Example usage within mod code (not typical for end users):

local inst = SpawnPrefab("armorskeleton")
inst.components.equippable:Equip(player)
-- Automatic behavior: On damage, a shield shield effect spawns and resistance is added
-- Fuel is consumed and cooldown begins after each shield activation

Dependencies & tags

Components used: resistance, fueled, equippable, cooldown, shadowlevel, inventoryitem, inspectable
Tags added: fossil, shadowlevel
Tags checked: None directly via HasTag, but EquipHasTag("forcefield") is used for logic exclusion.

Properties

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
SHIELD_DURATION	number	10 * FRAMES	Duration (in seconds) a shield effect remains active after damage.
SHIELD_VARIATIONS	number	3	Number of visual shield variants per shield group.
MAIN_SHIELD_CD	number	1.2	Minimum cooldown (in seconds) before the main shield (variation 3) can be selected again.
RESISTANCES	table	Array of 7 strings	List of damage tags the armor grants resistance to.
inst.lastmainshield	number	0	Timestamp of last main shield usage (client/server sync via behavior).
inst.task	task	nil	Task handle managing shield expiry timer.
inst.playfuelsound	net_event	—	Client-side network event to trigger fuel-add sound.

Main functions

PickShield(inst)

• Description: Selects a visual shield variant based on cooldown timing and randomness. Prefers the main shield (variation 3) after MAIN_SHIELD_CD or probabilistically based on elapsed time.
• Parameters: inst (entity) — the armor instance.
• Returns: number — shield variant index (1–6).
• Error states: None.

OnShieldOver(inst, OnResistDamage)

• Description: Cleanup callback executed when the shield duration ends. Removes all resistance tags and restores the original damage handler.
• Parameters: inst (entity), OnResistDamage (function) — the previous damage handler to restore.
• Returns: None.

OnResistDamage(inst)

• Description: Called when the armor-wearer takes damage. Spawns a shadow shield effect parented to the owner, cancels any existing expiry task, starts a new one, disables damage resistance temporarily, consumes fuel, and initiates cooldown charging if needed.
• Parameters: inst (entity).
• Returns: None.

ShouldResistFn(inst)

• Description: Determines if the armor should currently resist damage. Only active when equipped and if the owner isn’t wearing another forcefield-style item.
• Parameters: inst (entity).
• Returns: boolean — true only if equipped and no other forcefield is active.

OnChargedFn(inst)

• Description: Fired when cooldown finishes (recharge complete). Restores resistance tags and re-enables OnResistDamage as the active damage handler.
• Parameters: inst (entity).
• Returns: None.

nofuel(inst)

• Description: Called when fuel is depleted. Clears the charged callback and forces cooldown completion.
• Parameters: inst (entity).
• Returns: None.

ontakefuel(inst)

• Description: Starts the cooldown if the armor is fueled and not already recharging; plays fuel sound; handles server/client sound logic.
• Parameters: inst (entity).
• Returns: None.

onequip(inst, owner)

• Description: Executed when the armor is equipped. Applies skin overrides (if skinned), resets last-main-shield time, and begins cooldown if fueled.
• Parameters: inst (entity), owner (entity) — the equipper.
• Returns: None.

onunequip(inst, owner)

• Description: Executed when unequipped. Clears skin overrides, cancels shield task, restores resistance handler, and removes resistance tags.
• Parameters: inst (entity), owner (entity).
• Returns: None.

onequiptomodel(inst, owner, from_ground)

• Description: Executed when picked up from the ground (before equipping). Clears any active shield and resistance.
• Parameters: inst (entity), owner (entity), from_ground (boolean).
• Returns: None.

GetShadowLevel(inst)

• Description: Provides dynamic shadow level for lighting effects: returns TUNING.ARMOR_SKELETON_SHADOW_LEVEL when fueled, otherwise 0.
• Parameters: inst (entity).
• Returns: number — shadow level value.

Events & listeners

• Listens to: armorskeleton.playfuelsound (client-only) — triggers fuel sound when player opens the container with this item.
• Pushes: None directly (events are handled via component hooks).