Depictions of dimachaeri and their equipment vary in pictorial sources, so it is difficult to say exactly how, and how uniformly, they were equipped. Some pictorial sources depict wearing extremely minimal such as a
balteus and leather wrappings or none at all, save a
subligaculum (loin cloth). Other show a slightly more heavily armored dimachaerus, variously equipped with
scale armor,
mail shirts,
visored helmets in the fashion of
murmillones,
greaves and leg wrappings, both barefoot and in sandals. It is a mistake to suppose that dimachaeri were always identically equipped, or even similarly equipped, apart from wielding two blades. It is also entirely possible that the dimachaerus was not a separate class of gladiator at all, but a sub-discipline within a class, or even a cross-discipline practiced by multiple classes. In the late Roman Empire, when references to dimachaeri first appear, many novelties and new gladiator types were being introduced to the arena, and sub-classes had appeared within many gladiator types. ==Fighting style==