How to Choose the Right Armor in Elden Ring: A Tarnished’s Guide

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So, you’ve embarked on your journey as a Tarnished, and the Lands Between are proving as treacherous as everyone said. You’re probably wondering, “What armor should I even be wearing?!” It’s a question that plagues every Elden Ring player, from fresh-faced beginners to veteran Soulsborne conquerors. The answer, while seemingly simple, requires a bit of nuanced understanding.

The key to choosing the right armor in Elden Ring comes down to a delicate balancing act between three crucial factors: protection, poise, and equip load. You want armor that mitigates as much damage as possible while providing enough poise to prevent you from being constantly staggered by enemy attacks. However, all that protection comes at a cost: weight. Go too heavy, and you’ll be fat-rolling, rendering your dodges slow and ineffective, which is a death sentence in Elden Ring.

Understanding the Core Stats

Before diving into specific armor sets, let’s break down the stats that matter most:

• Physical Defense: This reduces incoming physical damage, encompassing standard, striking, slashing, and piercing damage types. Higher is generally better, but diminishing returns exist. Don’t obsess over min-maxing tiny differences.

• Magic, Fire, Lightning, and Holy Defense: These reduce incoming elemental damage. Which you prioritize depends on the enemies you’re facing. Knowing your enemy is half the battle!

• Poise: This determines your resistance to being staggered. Higher poise means you can withstand more hits before your attacks are interrupted. This is especially important for builds that rely on trading blows, such as strength builds using heavy weapons.

• Equip Load: This dictates your movement speed and dodge roll effectiveness. There are three categories:

  • Light Load: Allows for the fastest rolls and the most invincibility frames. Ideal for nimble builds that prioritize dodging.
  • Medium Load: The sweet spot for most builds. Provides a good balance of protection, poise, and mobility.
  • Heavy Load: Results in slow, cumbersome rolls with very few invincibility frames (also known as fat-rolling). Generally undesirable unless you’re specifically building a super-tanky character.

Finding the Right Balance

The ideal armor setup is the one that allows you to maintain a medium equip load while maximizing your protection and poise. This requires experimentation and careful consideration of your build and playstyle.

Here’s a general guideline:

1. Determine your Build: Are you a strength build, a dexterity build, a mage, or something else entirely? Your build will influence the weapons you use, which in turn will affect your equip load capacity.

2. Prioritize Medium Load: This is the sweet spot. Use talismans like the Erdtree’s Favor, Arsenal Charm, and Great-Jar’s Arsenal to increase your equip load limit, allowing you to wear heavier armor while staying within the medium load threshold.

3. Optimize for Damage Type: If you know you’re heading into an area filled with fire-breathing dragons, prioritize fire resistance. Similarly, if you’re facing magic-wielding enemies, boost your magic resistance.

4. Don’t Neglect Poise: Especially for strength builds using colossal weapons, poise is crucial. Certain armor sets, like the Bull-Goat Set, provide exceptional poise, allowing you to withstand staggering attacks.

5. Fashion Souls is Real: While stats are important, don’t underestimate the psychological benefits of wearing armor that looks cool. Confidence can be a powerful weapon in Elden Ring.

Specific Armor Set Recommendations

While the “best” armor set is subjective and depends on your build, here are a few strong options for different stages of the game:

• Early Game: The Godrick Soldier Set is a solid early-game choice, offering good protection for its weight. It can be farmed from Godrick Soldiers in the Limgrave region.

• Strength Builds: The Bull-Goat Set is arguably the best option for pure strength builds, providing the highest poise and physical defense in the game. Be warned, it’s very heavy.

• Dexterity Builds: The White Reed Set offers a good balance of protection and weight for dexterity builds. It also looks incredibly stylish.

• Mages: The Azur’s Glintstone Set boosts the power of sorceries, making it a strong choice for mages.

• Faith Builds: The Cleanrot Set provides good protection and resistance to various damage types, making it a versatile option for faith builds.

FAQs: Armor Edition

Here are some frequently asked questions to further illuminate the complexities of armor in Elden Ring:

1. Does armor weight matter in Elden Ring? Absolutely. Your equip load directly affects your movement speed and dodge roll effectiveness. Stay below 70% of your maximum equip load to maintain a medium roll. Exceeding 70% results in a heavy (fat) roll, which is generally undesirable.

2. What is poise, and why is it important? Poise determines your resistance to being staggered. Higher poise allows you to withstand more hits before your attacks are interrupted. It’s crucial for builds that rely on trading blows, especially strength builds using heavy weapons.

3. What is the best starting armor in Elden Ring? The Godrick Soldier Set is a readily available and relatively effective starting armor set, providing a good balance of protection and weight early in the game.

4. What is the best armor set for a strength build in Elden Ring? The Bull-Goat Set is widely considered the best armor set for strength builds due to its exceptional poise and physical defense. However, its heavy weight requires careful equip load management.

5. Can you upgrade armor in Elden Ring? No, unlike weapons and spirit ashes, armor cannot be upgraded in Elden Ring. The stats of an armor piece remain constant throughout the game.

6. What is the benefit of wearing a full armor set in Elden Ring? While wearing a full armor set doesn’t provide any inherent stat bonuses beyond the individual pieces, it does offer a consistent aesthetic and can contribute to role-playing immersion.

7. How do I know if my armor is good? Your armor is “good” if it allows you to maintain a medium equip load while providing adequate protection and poise for your playstyle. Experiment and adjust as needed.

8. What is the highest physical damage armor in Elden Ring? The Bull-Goat Armor Set boasts the highest physical defense of any armor set in Elden Ring.

9. What damage type is best for armor in Elden Ring? There isn’t a single “best” damage type against armor. Magic damage is generally effective against heavily armored enemies resistant to physical attacks. Lightning damage is often effective against heavily armored enemies, dragons and other draconic or serpentine creatures.

10. Is Bull-Goat Armor worth it? For strength builds that prioritize poise and survivability, the Bull-Goat Armor is definitely worth it. However, its heavy weight requires a significant investment in equip load-increasing talismans.

11. Does killing Goldmask drop his armor? No, you don’t have to kill Goldmask to get his armor. His mask is found early in his questline, and the rest of his set is found at the end of the questline.

12. Why do people wear robes in Elden Ring? Robes typically offer high magic resistance and are often favored by mage builds. They may also provide stat bonuses to specific spells or sorceries.

13. What is the 0 weight weapon in Elden Ring? The Cipher Pata is the only weapon in Elden Ring with a weight of zero.

14. How much vigor should I have in Elden Ring? Aim for at least 40 vigor by the mid-game and 55+ vigor by the late game. This will help you survive encounters with powerful enemies.

15. What is Black Ox armor good for? Black Ox Armor is a medium-weight armor set that buffs charge attacks. It can lower enemy attack and has faster charge attacks.

Choosing the right armor in Elden Ring is a journey of experimentation and discovery. Don’t be afraid to try different sets, mix and match pieces, and find what works best for you. Remember, fashion souls is a valid strategy, but always prioritize survivability and poise. And for more insights into the fascinating world of game-based learning, be sure to visit the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org. Now go forth, Tarnished, and find your perfect armor! This game can be used for Games Learning Society purposes.