The best Elden Ring armor sets

Searching for the best Elden Ring armor sets? If we’re being completely honest, there’s no point in being good at something unless you look good while you’re doing it. The best Elden Ring armor sets can separate you from the rest of the Tarnished out there, providing you with an outfit that can strike fear into the hearts of your enemies.

In this RPG game, upgrading your armaments using Elden Ring smithing stones and Ashes of War is just as important as leveling up your character. There are some armor sets imbued with powerful abilities, though their use largely depends on what type of character you’re building. If you’ve got a fashion-conscious Tarnished, Elden Ring makes it difficult to find armor that is both protective and stylish, but it certainly can be done if you know where to look.

The best Elden Ring armor sets

Here’s our list of the best Elden Ring armor sets, organized by how easily you can acquire them as soon as you start the game. If you’d rather get on with your main objectives and ignore having to think about the type of armor you’re wearing, the first five armor sets will help you achieve your goal. They can all be found within the early hours of the game, allowing you to get on with your important tasks.

As for the endgame, the final six armor sets are more than capable of taking you through all the PvE content Elden Ring has to offer. If you’re preparing for the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree release date, don’t worry, these armor sets should be good enough to get you started.

Here are the best Elden Ring armor sets:

• Twinned
• Beast Champion
• Leyndell Knight
• Fire Monk
• Cleanrot
• General Radahn
• Blaidd’s Set
• Azur’s Glintstone
• Lusat’s Glintstone
• Crucible Axe
• Bull-Goat

Twinned

Armor weight class: Medium (30 weight)
Total poise: 50
Damage negation: 27.4 (Physical)

One of the drippiest sets of armor in the entire game, D’s Twinned set is a piece of art depicting intertwined twins molded into a set of armor. You can obtain this armor set right away, though you have to commit a mortal sin almost immediately after starting your playthrough. Though he’s not the easiest person to take down, killing him when you meet him in Limgrave rewards you with his armor and bell bearing.

Remember, you can’t revive dead NPCs, you can only seek forgiveness if you happened to make them mad. The only way to bring D back to life if you kill him is to start a brand-new playthrough. Sadly, the Twinned set doesn’t have the magic 51 poise needed to avoid awkward staggered hits, but you can easily fix this by swapping out one of the armor pieces for something else.

Beast Champion

Armor weight class: Heavy (41.6 weight)
Total poise: 72
Damage negation: 33.5 (Physical)

Just like D’s Twinned armor set, you can obtain the Beast Champion set at the beginning of the game at the expense of a quest line later on. This is the heaviest early game armor set we’ve listed, and it’s not that bad if you can adapt to a heavy roll. Bernahl is the NPC wearing the armor – he can be found at the Warmaster’s Shack Site of Grace, right between the Stormhill Shack and Saintsbridge.

You can acquire Bernahl’s full armor set, along with the Devourer’s Scepter. At this early stage in the game, you might find the Beast Champion set to be too heavy – be sure to put many stats into endurance if you want to be able to roll normally. Just like D, Bernahl is involved in a late game quest line with plenty of fun twists and turns, in addition to plenty of quest rewards on offer. We think it’s worth keeping both NPCs alive, unless you’re trying to reach the late game content right away, anticipating the expansion.

Leyndell Knight

Armor weight class: Medium (28.1 weight)
Total poise: 51
Damage negation: 26.5 (Physical)

Aside from the rather obnoxious helmet, the Leyndell Knight armor is one of the nicest early game sets you can get your hands on. It doesn’t have the best damage negation stats, nor does it have brilliant resistance stats, but you can’t complain too much when you consider how much the whole set weighs. It’s worth pointing out that the main armor piece can be altered to remove the cape, just in case you want to avoid any wind resistance on your travels.

Any Leyndell Knight has a chance to drop a piece of armor from this set, and the earliest enemy can be found south of the Artist’s Shack in Liurnia East. All you need to do is follow the road to find a Leyndell Knight — kill it for a chance to drop one of the four armor pieces you need.

Fire Monk

Armor weight class: Medium (27 weight)
Total poise: 27
Damage negation: 26 (Fire)

As the name implies, the Fire Monk set is perfect for spell-casters looking to take less damage from fire. Until this point, we haven’t had too much for Mages and Sorcerers, but this armor set can definitely do a decent job, especially when coupled with different pieces of armor to obtain that coveted 51 poise mark. That being said, this is a great set that can utilize the fast roll if you trust in your dodging ability rather than your armor’s poise stat.

Teleport to the Eastern Tableland, north of the Artist’s Shack from the Leyndell Knight set. Head to the south-east and you will find a Fire Monk with two similar looking lackeys behind it. Kill the Fire Monk for a chance to earn its armor, and if you don’t get a piece here, turn around and head south-west to the Fire Monk camp.

Cleanrot

Armor weight class: Medium (35.7 weight)
Total poise: 58
Damage negation: 28.5 (Physical)

The Cleanrot armor has all the attributes needed to take you to the end of the game if you really want, but we’re sure the other options on this list may take your fancy as you approach the end game. There are four pieces of the Cleanrot armor set, with each piece dropped by Lesser Cleanrot Knights located in Caelid’s Aeonia Swamp. The knights aren’t particularly difficult to kill, but there are plenty of swampy areas that can induce the Scarlet Rot status effect if you aren’t careful.

As is the case with a lot of the armor sets in our guide, farming for each piece can be a tiresome experience, as you aren’t guaranteed to receive anything. To make your farming runs as efficient as possible, stay close to a Site of Grace and create a route that ensures you hit up the most number of knights in the shortest amount of time.

General Radahn

Armor weight class: Heavy (41.6 weight)
Total poise: 72
Damage negation: 35.5 (Physical)

If you’ve ever been invaded by rival players, there’s a good chance you have seen the General Radahn armor set before. It’s one of the most popular sets in the game due to its unquestionable drip, and the fact that it can be easily purchased once you finish the Radahn boss fight. Of course, this is easier said than done, but you’re going to need to do it if you want to get to the endgame content.

Defeat Starscourge Radahn in Caelid to unlock the General Radahn armor set, it’s available at Roundtable Hold from Enia. The whole set costs 36,000 Runes, but that won’t be a problem as you earn 70,000 Runes when you take down Starscourge Radahn.

Blaidd’s Set

Armor weight class: Medium (32.7 weight)
Total poise: 60
Damage negation: 29.7 (Pierce)

After looking at the General Radahn set which makes you look like a modern-day Super Saiyan, wearing Blaidd’s armor definitely feels like a step-down from a fashion sense. Of course, fashion is subjective, so you might like dressing up as a human wolf. This armor is a great all-rounder set, featuring the right amount of poise needed to get through all the PvE content.

Most of the Blaidd’s Set is available once you complete Ranni’s quest line, so refer to our best quest guide as we have this one listed. The final part of the set is a replica of Blaidd’s head, the Black Wolf Mask. To acquire this mask, ride Torrent and head to the top of the wall behind Seluvis’s Rise.

Azur’s Glintstone

Armor weight class: Light (14.3 weight)
Total poise: 21
Damage negation: 29.2 (Magic)

This is the type of drip we were expecting when we envisioned top-tier Elden Ring armor sets. The cloak made from black silk, adorned with sparkling turquoise Glintstone on the shoulders for maximum swag, and a large Glintstone as a helmet for added measure.

Does it get any better than this as a Mage? Well, it actually does. This armor set provides the wearer with the highest Magic damage negation in the game, perfect against certain deadly Elden Ring bosses with their tricky sorceries. The helmet also boosts the damage of three sorceries: Comet Azur (15%), Glintstone Cometshard (10%), and Comet (10%). Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of the FP increasing for all sorceries by 15%.

This armor set requires you to complete Professor Sellen’s quest which can be found relatively early in the game. Check out our Elden Ring best quests guide to find out every step required to acquire this armor set and another fancy one for spell slingers.

Lusat’s Glintstone

Armor weight class: Light (14.3 weight)
Total poise: 21
Damage negation: 29.2 (Magic)

Check out the big brain on Brad! If you aren’t feeling the turquoise gear, maybe Lusat’s dark blue Glintstones suit you better. The helmets on both sets are awfully obnoxious, with Lusat’s gigantic Glintstone taking the cake as the most absurd-looking helmet in the entire game.

Featuring almost identical stats to Azur’s Glintstone, both armor sets are acquired in the same way, so picking between the two depends mostly on what your favorite spells are. The helmet on Lusat’s Glintstone buffs the damage of three sorceries: Stars of Ruin (15%), Star Shower (10%), and Glintstone Stars (10%). Again, just like Azur’s gear, this also increases the FP cost of all sorceries by 15%.

Crucible Axe

Armor weight class: Heavy (36.9 weight)
Total poise: 71
Damage negation: 33.8 (Physical)

The Crucible Axe set is for knights worthy of protecting the Godfrey, the first Elden Lord. As the newest Elden Lord, it seems fitting that get a chance to don this armor set. Another late game option, you won’t be able to find these armor pieces until you reach the end game content. Not only does this armor set look menacing, it also comes with a 4% damage bonus to the Aspects of the Crucible Incantations, providing you with a 16% increase when using specific Elden Ring incantations!

This armor set is the best in the game for Crucible Incantation users, and it has shown itself to be one of the better endgame sets. To find the Crucible Axe armor set, you must defeat Crucible Knight Siluria, an optional boss located near The Nameless Eternal City Site of Grace. Touch the Site and head directly towards the west, keep going until you reach a Spirit Sprint — use it and the first enemy you meet on the new platform is the boss. Kill the Crucible Knight Siluria and head to the back of the tree to find a chest with the full armor set.

Bull-Goat

Armor weight class: Heavy (63 weight)
Total poise: 99
Damage negation: 38.5 (Physical)

Become an unstoppable force with the Bull-Goat armor set, the equipment with the highest poise and physical defense values in the entire game. The trade-off, unsurprisingly, is that you become the heaviest person alive. Enemies will struggle to knock you down, as your incredible amount of poise should keep you standing, giving you plenty of time to wind up your attacks. With the right build, You can withstand attacks while dishing out damage that will end your enemies to the grave in a matter of seconds.

Considering how powerful this armor set is, you might think you’d have to jump through several hoops to get it, but the requirements are fairly low. You need to start the Volcano Manor quest line, a series of missions where you’re sent to kill fellow Tarnished players. Once you’ve accepted the quest, Patches will ask you to kill the Great Horned Tragoth on his behalf. As soon as you kill the target, you’re rewarded with their items and sent straight back to your world.

Best Elden Ring DLC armor

Here are the best Elden Ring DLC armor sets we’ve found so far:

Solitude

Armor weight class: Heavy (52 weight)
Total poise: 96
Damage negation: 35 (Physical)

If you desperately want to get your hands on a new armor set right away, head to the Gravesite Plain Site of Grace on the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree map and ride to the west. Keep on going until you find a building with stairs leading downwards. Once you enter the building, a notification will pop up stating that you’ve ended Western Nameless Mausoleum. Head through the golden fog to fight against the Blackgaol Knight.

It has very slow attacks, so try to keep your distance and wait for it to complete its attack patterns before you decide to swoop in. If you stay too far away, the Blackgaol Knight will pull out a crossbow and fire several bolts at you, but you can simply strafe out of the way to dodge every shot with ease. Defeating this boss will earn you its entire armor set, as well as the Greatsword of Solitude. You need to be a big, strong, beefy person to equip this armor set. Sure, your dodge roll will be slow, but you’re going to negate so much damage.

How to obtain Elden Ring armor sets

There are three ways to earn armor sets in Elden Ring: repeatedly kill the same enemies until they drop their entire set, kill a specific enemy to earn all of their items, or find the equipment in a hidden chest. It’s worth noting that you can increase your chance of discovering items from fallen enemies by using a Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot, equipping the Silver Scarab talisman, and wearing the Silver Tear Mask helmet.

How important is Elden Ring armor?

There’s quite a lot of chatter when it comes to discussing whether the armor sets in Elden Ring have a transformative effect on builds. There are three vital factors you need to consider: poise, damage negation, and equip load. Your poise needs to be a minimum of 51 to avoid getting staggered randomly. Keep an eye on how much damage negation your armor set provides, and manage your equip load to ensure you’re as agile as you want to be.

These factors are all unique to your Elden Ring build, so you have to watch out depending on what type of class you’re focusing on. If your stats happen to be lacking in one of the areas we’ve pointed out, you may have to reconsider the type of Elden Ring talismans and general equipment you have to wear your favorite clothes.

Those are the best armor sets in Elden Ring. Once you’ve picked out a great outfit, it’s time to go crush some Elden Ring bosses. If you need a hand in battle, definitely check out our best Elden Ring summons and spirit ash locations guide to call for some help. To complete your armor set, you should find out what the best Elden Ring weapons are to create the perfect character.