Super-heavy armor (Or: Powered Armor in D&D) [PEACH]

[BlackScarPaladin]

So, I've been considering a few things regarding magic items, golems, and armor. Specifically, what would stop a wizard, if properly motivated, from combining the three to make a new type of advanced armor. Assuming that magical invention hasn't hit its peak and that mages are still developing their arts, I'm not finding any, particularly in a world where dragons and such exist. As such, I've been trying to figure out what that would look like. Right now, I have it running off of the aura of the user, and it has tiered activation (requiring to be attuned multiple times to fully unlock its potential), and since it's a new invention, needing special training no matter what class is obtaining it. So, here's what it currently looks like:
AC: As plate
Rank 1: Wearable, Damage Resistance against physical damage (Slash, pierce, crush)
Rank 2: Damage Resistance against elemental damage (Fire, ice, acid, thunder, force)
Rank 3: Gives STR 22, doubled land movement speed

As for aesthetics, I'm still trying to decide based on what kind of mage invented the stuff (Necromancer armor could look very different from abjurer armor, for example). I'm also not sure on the exact numbers on the final rank of the armor, as I'm not sure if the strength and run speed bonuses are sufficient to make up for investing so heavily in a single piece of equipment (although if you're going full Turtle Mode, it could very well be). I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter! What say you?

 

[Duan'duliir]

This seems interesting. What if the final tier gave a benefit based on the specialisation of the mage who created it (Higher AC from an abjurer's suit for example)

 

[SkidAce]

Neat idea.

The item seems like it would fall into the artifact or legendary item category, and so would be very rare.

If you are looking for it to be more prevalent, then I think it is overpowered.

 

[BlackScarPaladin]

It *is* intended to be rare, but later in the setting, something similar descended from this armor might become more prevalent. Do you have any ideas as to how to better balance it?

 

[BlackScarPaladin]

This seems interesting. What if the final tier gave a benefit based on the specialisation of the mage who created it (Higher AC from an abjurer's suit for example)

That could be cool! I might use this if multiple mages develop this armor (one stealing research notes, someone else with the same idea, etc.)