Body Armor

In Quake 2, Body Armor is the strongest armor available. It absorbs 80% damage and gives you 100 armor points, with a maximum of 200. It also provides a hefty 60% absorb rate against energy weapons like BFG10k, Hyperblaster and Blaster. It is Quake 2's equivalent of Red Armor, right down to its appearance.

If you grab any other type of armor while you have Body Armor, it will not replace it.

Single Player
In single player, the Body Armor starts to appear in the Reactor hub. After that, it can be found out in the open or in secrets, though it is pretty uncommon. You'll need it against the tougher enemies, such as Tanks, Tank Commanders and Tank Guardians.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, areas that have Body Armor are frequently fought over. Try to gain control of the area that has it to deny it to others and to give you a frequent armor supply. If the area is already controlled when you get to it, you can either try and take control of it yourself, or just ignore it. If you do try to take on the controller, remember that he probably has around 200 armor points, so you'll have to be pretty careful. It's a good idea to grab any type of armor and/or a Megahealth to even the odds before you go in.

Trivia

 * Despite having what looks like a gas mask attached to the helmet, body armor will not provide the same effects as the Rebreather or Enviro-suit while underwater or standing in hazardous materials.