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Elden Ring armour: Best armour sets and where to find them

Prepare for the Shadow of the Erdtree with Elden Ring’s best armour sets.

The player attacking an enemy in Elden Ring

FromSoftware

Published: Monday, 24 June 2024 at 5:00 pm

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The best armour is key to survival in Elden Ring. After all, FromSoftware games are known for their brutal difficulty and this one is no different.

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That applies twice as much now, with Elden Ring's long-awaited expansion – Shadow of the Erdtree – playable across the globe.

Every enemy in the base game is formidable, with the action RPG's bosses able to wipe out significant health with one or two attacks. The DLC only pushes this further, so you need some strong protection.

To help with this, we've rounded up all the best armour to take advantage of early on, where to buy armour as well as what armour is now available in the new DLC.

Will new Elden Ring armour be in Shadow of the Erdtree?

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Yes, new armour is available for players to obtain in Shadow of the Erdtree, alongside new weapon types, which include a hand-to-hand combat option. There are multiple sets, headgear and several other cosmetics with different effects found within.

Here's what we've discovered so far:

A handy video from Armour of Eyes shows off the complete collection of new armour that is found within the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

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How to get the best early armour in Elden Ring

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Looking for the best early armour in Elden Ring? Here's our top tip on that front! The Godrick Knight armour set should serve you very well in the opening act of the game, and it's not too tricky to pick up, either.

Head to the Site of Grace in Limgrave named Gatefront, which is just before the tough tunnel where a big beast jumps down from above to attack you as soon as you enter. Most players will get stuck here at some point in their Elden Ring adventure, we'd wager.

Instead of entering the tunnel, spin around to face the other way and you should see a group of armoured soldiers, one of which is a particularly buff-looking Godrick Knight. As the video above shows, if you keep on killing these guards and the Godrick Knight, they will eventually drop each piece of their armour.

If you kill them all and still don't have the armour piece you want, just interact with the Site of Grace and all of the knights nearby should respawn, allowing you to try again. This is a process called 'farming' and it might take you a little while to get the full armour set consisting of a helmet, chest armour, gauntlets and grieves (leg armour).

The Banished Knight armour is another goodie from early on in the game, and you should be able to get it as soon as you have access to Stormveil Castle (after you beat Margit, basically). From the Site of Grace named Rampart Tower, you should be able to farm a Banished Knight armour by following this handy video guide from DM Magician.

The best Elden Ring armour sets and how to find them

Elden Ring combat and armour

Bandai Namco

What are some of the very best Elden Ring armour sets, and how do you get them? Different people will answer that question in unique ways, but if you're talking about pure stats, the armour sets we've listed below are particularly appealing.

We've put the very best armour in terms of physical damage resistance top of this list, followed by some very tidy alternative options. Read on to see what we'd recommend, and click away on any of the guide links to learn more.

Bear in mind that many of these armour sets are quite heavy – you'll need to level up your Endurance, thereby increasing your max equip load stat, if you want to actually wear them.

Bull-Goat armour set

General Radahn armour set

Banished Knight armour set

Carian Knight armour set

Royal Remains armour set

Godrick Knight armour set

Lionel's armour set

Note: the barrel-chested Lionel armour seems to be something of a fan favourite, but you can't get it until quite late in the game. Check out this useful video to see what it looks like in action.

Malformed Dragon armour set

Raging Wolf armour set

Azur's Glintstone armour set

Where can you buy armour in Elden Ring?

Merchant Kale in Elden Ring

Merchant Kale in Elden Ring Bandai Namco

There are several merchants dotted around the map in Elden Ring, and many of them will sell you a few pieces of armour in exchange for some of your well-earned runes.

Merchant Kale, the Santa-looking chap at the Church of Elleh in Limgrave, is one of the earliest merchants you're likely to meet in the game, and he'll sell you every piece of the Chain armour set. Once you unlock Roundtable Hold, the Tarnished HQ that you'll be invited to visit fairly early in the game, you can also buy the entire Knight armour set from the Twin Maiden Husks.

There are plenty of other merchants in Elden Ring besides those, too. In general, the best way to get armour in Elden Ring is to find it out in the world. It might take longer, but the benefits will be far greater, and it'll be cheaper!

Elden Ring is available across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC.

Read more on Elden Ring:

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Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Rob Leane, smiling against a lime green background.

Rob LeaneGaming Editor

Rob Leane is the Gaming Editor at Radio Times, overseeing our coverage of the biggest games on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile and VR. Rob works across our website, social media accounts and video channels, as well as producing our weekly gaming newsletter. He has previously worked at Den of Geek, Stealth Optional and Dennis Publishing.

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