Elden Ring is a game that provides hundreds of equipment options to the player, ranging from weapons to spells and talismans to shields. None is more important than the armor that protects the tarnished player from the countless enemies and bosses that lurk around every corner of the open-world map.
With nearly 100 armor sets in the game, the choices can be daunting. Nearly every set and piece of armor has its own unique benefits and drawbacks – as well as style. Players have ample opportunity to discover what set suits them and their playstyle, but some of the best are hidden in the world.
Royal Remains set
For players who find themselves constantly using their Flask of Crimson Tears for healing, the Royal Remains set might provide a bit of extra healing that will keep them from wasting too many resources. This set gives the tarnished a small bit of constant health regeneration that could give some respite to the injured.
This set is found in the Roundtable Hold, and is fairly hard to miss during the game’s playthrough. Ensha of the Royal Remains is one of many great characters in the Hold, but he eventually turns on the player, attacking when they return. After defeating Ensha, visit his original haunt outside of Gideon Ofnir’s room to get this set.
Black Knife Set
The Black Knife set is one of the best in the game for confident and dex-focused players. This set increases stealth by softening footsteps, and it provides a nice bit of dex bonus. This set can provide players with easier set-ups for surprise attacks and backstab, at the cost of giving up better protection that other armor offers.
The Black Knife set can be found in the Consecrated Snowfield area, which is one of the hardest areas to access, requiring players to defeat Malenia and collect two pieces of the Secret Haligree Medallion, found in Liurnia of the Lakes and Mountaintop of the Giants. Once in the snowfield, this set is found under an archway in Ordina.
Raging Wolf Set
For players who are interested in a balanced playstyle, medium armor sets are largely the idea. The Raging Wolf set is the best among these, boasting good defenses for a reasonable weight load that won’t have the tarnished slow-rolling across the battlefield. It’s also one of the neater-looking sets to boot.
Vargram the Raging Wolf can be found in the Royal Capital of Leyndell, which is a fairly large and central area of the map. The area that he is in cannot be accessed until the Volcano Manor is cleared, including Rykard and the God-devouring Serpent. Though if players beat those two, Vargram should be a breeze.
Lionel’s Set
The Lionel set is one of the silliest looking sets in the game and could be considered a call-back to the rounded Onion-Knight armor from the Dark Souls series. The chunky-looking set boasts the heaviest defenses available, but also a fairly high weight. This set is tailor-made for those who tend to block and eat damage.
This set can be found in the Royal Capital Leyndell, west of the Lower Capital Church. The area is crawling with enemies and field bosses such as Black Knife Assassins and Crucible Knights, so players should take care while working their way towards the bedroom in the city which contains this set.
Bull Goat Set
The Bull Goat set features the highest poise possible for avoiding stagger when struck. This can make the player almost unstoppable in battle, which works well for a more berserker-style way of fighting. This set is perfect for players who are willing to trade blows and want to make the most of their damage.
The drawback to this set is that it is one of the heaviest in the game, meaning dodge-rolling is more of a detriment than an aid. This set is found in the Magma Wyrm Makar’s boss room in Ruin-Strewn Precipice Overlook – after the boss is defeated players can invade the NPC Great Horned Tragoth and defeat him for this set.
Mushroom Set
This set provides absurd amounts of immunity to poison, rot, and blight. These three status effects are among the most common in the game and are a core mechanic that players must avoid in several areas. The Mushroom set makes dealing with several bosses and areas much more simple and clean.
This set is found in Seethewater Cave in Mount Gelmir, in a room full of Miranda Sprouts – the poisonous flower enemies found all over the Lands Between. Note that this set is relatively lacking in general defenses both physical and magical. Its light weight provides players with a good dodge-roll load, though.
Spellblade Set
This set is made for builds centering around glintstone sorceries and provides a 1% damage buff to these spells for each piece of the set. A 4% buff is not a massive increase, but it can add up very quickly, particularly against long and drawn-out boss fights. Milania beware.
This set is a reward from Rogier’s Elden Ring side-quest, who can be found in the chapel ruins north of Stormveil Castle – or in the Roundtable Hold after Godrick the Grafted is defeated. This questline cannot finish if Ranni is met before finishing because meeting her is one of the steps – so interested players should take this detour.
White Reeds Set
This set is largely a balanced outfit that suits dex-focused builds very well, but the mask itself provides a very nice additional 3 dexterity. For a ‘quality build’ – a build revolving around dexterity and strength – this set is ideal. The only drawback to the set is lowered madness and sleep immunity, but those are rarer status effects.
The White Reeds Set is found in the Mountian of Giants, in two different sections. The mask can be found by defeating an NPC invader named Bloody Finger Okina, who is found in the south, while the rest of the set is in Spirit Caller’s Cave next to the large lake in the mountains.
Haligtree Knight Set
Faith builds are fairly flexible in the armor that they can utilize, but the Halgitree set is one of the best in the game for these builds. The helm provides a two-point bonus to the faith stat, and the armor itself provides very good defenses. The weight class is fairly middling, so there is some flexibility in building around it.
While one piece of the set can be found near the Elphael Inner Wall site of grace, the rest of it will have to be farmed by defeating Haligtree knights in the area. The Haligtree Knights are not the easiest to take down, so take note that they can cast glintstone pebble, and have a flask of their own to use.
Blaidd’s Set
Blaidd’s armor is not the set with the highest defenses, poise, or immunities, but it is one of the coolest-looking sets in the game. This set is most suited to players who want to look cool while invading other players. The set is of middling weight, with well-balanced resistances and defenses.
Most of the armor can be earned after defeating Blaidd as a part of Ranni’s questline – with the added bonus of also getting the Royal Greatsword weapon, one of the best in Elden Ring. The helmet of the set must be found elsewhere. A corpse can be found behind the large crumbling wall behind Seluvis’ Rise. Climb and jump behind where the wall is crumbling to complete the set.