NCR Ranger combat armor

The NCR Ranger combat armor, also known as the Black Armor, and the matching Ranger helmet are pieces of armor in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background
The distinctive Ranger armor has been termed the Black Armor after the riot gear, and is traditionally worn with the Desert Rangers' brown duster, modified to incorporate the NCR Rangers' insignia on the left flap, and a set of durable jeans. The style draws on the legacy of the Desert Ranger combat armor, itself inspired by the pre-War riot gears, and was adopted as a standard uniform of the NCR Ranger Veterans after the Ranger Unification Treaty of 2271. It is often referred to as the Black Armor and is considered to be one of the most valuable and awe-inspiring items in the entire Republic.

Characteristics
This iconic set of Veteran Ranger armor provides the most protection of any armor at the New California Republic's disposal, although the black armor is also the heaviest. It provides a Damage threshold of 20 in exchange for a hefty 30 pounds. This medium armor is also an NCR disguise, allowing those with less than optimal reputation with the Republic to freely wander Republic facilities. It will cause the Brotherhood to go hostile, however, regardless of any truces with the NCR (the game never alters the disguise coding). As with other NCR armor, Veronica will remark on it, if present, stating that the Brotherhood has flaws, but she doesn't like the Courier fighting them.

The combat armor is also significantly more durable than any other NCR apparel. The drawback is that the armor is extremely expensive to repair with vendors (to the tune of 15 000 caps to repair major damage), making Jury Rigging mandatory for avoiding bankruptcy.

Finally, the armor is used as the game's iconic element, visible on its cover and the All Roads graphic novel.

Variants

 * NCR Ranger combat armor: Iconic armor of the veteran Rangers.
 * Desert Ranger combat armor: Desert Rangers' ensemble.
 * Riot gear: Standard riot gear issued to soldiers in Hopeville and Ashton.
 * Advanced riot gear: Advanced riot gear used by an NCR riot control officer in the Divide.
 * Elite riot gear: Unique armor belonging to an NCR officer in the Divide.

Locations

 * Loot
 * NCR Ranger safehouse: Inside, together with NCR salvaged power armor, NCR Ranger patrol armor, a hunting revolver, assault carbine, and trail carbine. The key is received from Colonel James Hsu at Camp McCarran with a high positive reputation.
 * Long 15: Found on dead Rangers, if the player nukes the Long 15.
 * Characters
 * Found on NCR Ranger veterans who appear once the player returns from the Fort after meeting Caesar. They spawn at various NCR areas across the Mojave, including Ranger stations, Camp Golf, Camp Forlorn Hope etc. They will also spawn if the player draws the ire of the NCR and Ranger kill teams are sent after them.

Behind the scenes

 * The armor's design was inspired by Tycho's description in Fallout. The helmet and mask combo take inspiration from Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade and the symbol on the left breast of the body armor is inspired by the logo for the BPRD from the Hellboy series.
 * The armor is covered in distinctive markings, including a [7] tactical marking on the left side, a throat protector with the number 08, and NCR insignia on the duster flaps. High resolution renders such as the ones used on the cover and in promotional materials, show H3RM35 on the antennae, potentially a reference to Hermes, an armor development project from the canceled game Van Buren.
 * There are several differences between the high resolution promotional model and the one in the released game. The game model is simplified and streamlined (lacking the wrist pouches and the air supply hose on the mask), most likely to conserve memory, and has a long, rigid coat (as the cloth physics in the Gamebryo engine were too primitive to make it render properly). The helmet also lacks the aforementioned Hermes signage, instead having a variety of markings: L(2) above the facemask lock, and numerous markings on the communications and illumination module: The T Power logo, W3, HV57, TH22-A, and what appears to be a serial number: 24-201-WN.

Bugs

 * The coding of the armor causes several clipping issues. The helmet does not replace the head, meaning hair and even body parts can be visible protruding from the back, while rifles will holster at a varying distance from the body, as pistol-grip and rifle-grip rifles holster differently. The former holster to armor, while the latter to the character's body, resulting in visual glitches. Switching to other armors may temporarily resolve the bug.