X's armors

Armors used by X in the Mega Man X series.

X's standard armor
This is the body X was created with. It is blue, with lighter blue at the joints. In Mega Man X4, if players use the Ultimate Armor code, X's joint areas will be purple, rather than light blue.

New Armor
The New Armor allows X to equip the Booster Parts he finds in the mines, as well as multiple Busters. It is a stockier armor than X's original. The most notable difference are the openings in the back, which, while X is moving, produce energy trails referred to in-game as a "scarf" ("Beam Muffler" in Japan). While this armor isn't traditionally exchangeable (excluding X Fire and Ultimate Armor), the scarf's color can be replaced with different colors.

Clear Armor

 * Note: Japanese names will be used for best effect, with English names in brackets, due to the Japan-only release.

During the first Rockman X Mega Mission, upon defeating the first Irregular (Maverick), Wire Hetimarl Limited, (Wire Sponge L), a Limited parasite was released, and infected X, giving him the very powerful Clear Buster (クリアバスター). Later on, after defeating all eight Irregulars, the Clear Buster evolved to the Clear High Buster (クリアハイバスター) during the fight against Schmitt. During fighting the unleashed iX (named so to differentiate 'Ikusu' pronunciation from Rockman X's 'Ekkusu'), X gains the full Clear Armor (クリアアーマー). The armor is then destroyed by iX's final attack before him perishing.

Replicapture

 * Note: Japanese names will be used for best effect, with English names in brackets, due to the Japan-only release. Even though its not an armor, it is similar to one.

After defeating four of the Irregulars (Mavericks), and then passing out, X is captured by the Order Breakers. When the remaining four Irregulars are defeated by Zero, Zero verses X. The reason behind this is that Tackione had used a Limited created by him to control X and make him fight (and kill) Zero. The Limited resembles an armor with tubes connecting to X's arms and legs. It was destroyed by Zero and X returned to normal.

Giga Armor
The Giga Armor (ギガアーマー) was used by X in the fight against Tackione's final form. As Zero was tired because of his previous battles, he gave all his remaining energy to X, along with the Neo Armor and Neo Buster. The armor became the Giga Armor, a powerful armor equipped with the Giga Buster and Giga Saber (Tackione's Saber Grap). With it, X is able to use the Giga Crush attack, which destroyed both Tackione and the Giga Armor itself by using all of its energy.

EX Armor / All-X Armor
The EX Armor (イクスアーマー) was obtained by X when Return X decided to suspend their fight and temporarily join with X and Zero to become the two EX Armors. After defeating the Hyper Limited Irregulars when formed together as Mix Forte, Enemice used his Sigma Chip to turn into Sigma Limited, and knocked down Zero. When Zero got unconscious, the part of Return X that was on him attached to X, becoming the All-X Armor (アルイクスアーマー). X and Return X combined their busters into a powerful attack that defeated Sigma Limited, but the armor vanished because of the amount energy used, presumably destroying Return X.

Trivia

 * Armors have always had one red, triangular or diamond-shaped crystal situated in the forehead. The first and only armor to not have this is the Neutral Armor and its variations. It appears to be situated on the front of the collar instead and changes color depending on the version of this armor, however a glowing triangle is visible on his forehead.


 * In Mega Man X8, due to design changes, X's armor was slimmed down in the arms and legs, to give him a more streamlined appearance. Also, his head crystal was increased in size.


 * Excluding X8, there is always at least one armor that has a white base with blue, yellow and red details. This includes the special armors from X1-4 and the Falcon, Blade, and Glide armors.


 * The Plasma Shot, besides the regular charged shot, is the most used special charge attack in the games (mostly due to it being in the Ultimate Armor). It existed in X4-6, and then again in X8.


 * Like the Plasma Shot, the Nova Strike is also the most used Giga Attack.


 * The Armor from X1 is sometimes referred to as the Light Armor by fans, due to it being the first special armor created by Dr Light; setting the standard for nearly every armor afterwards.
 * Similarly, the X2 Armor is sometimes called the Giga Armor in reference to the Giga Crush provided by the Body Part. However, this conflicts with the Giga Armor from the Mega Mission 2 trading card story.
 * Likewise, fans sometimes refer to the X3 armor as the Max Armor, and it's gold version as the Gold Max Armor.