Few warriors venture onto the battlefield without some measure of protection, be it only a padded leather jerkin or battered shield. Of course, the more elite or better funded a warrior is, the quality of his armor is likely to be better, so some troops wear chain-, scale- or plate mail, dramatically increasing their chances of survival. The level of this physical protection is represented by the armor save – the more armor a model is wearing, the higher his armor save becomes.

The value of a model's armor save is determined by the equipment it carries, as detailed in its entry in the relevant Warhammer army book. Light armor provides a 6+ armor save, meaning that a 6 must be rolled to save a wound, whilst heavy armor bestows a 5+ armor save. Some special types of armor, such as Chaos armor or the Gromril armor of the Dwarfs, grant a formidable 4+ armor save.