Key Takeaway
There are a ton of incredible armor sets in Elden Ring, and the best one for you solely depends on your preference, build, and play style. However, in terms of stats and defense rating, no other armor set in the game is sturdier than the Bull-Goat Set.
There are a ton of armor sets for you to choose from in Elden Ring. Knowing the right armor set to utilize makes your builds more effective. You’ll need this level of effectiveness for the challenges to come.
This list is ranked based on the level of effectiveness of the following armor sets. Although, what will matter to you in the end, is whether or not an armor set fits your build.
That said, when an armor set is mentioned here, the build they’re most suitable for will also be considered and mentioned.
Snow Witch Armor Set
The Snow Witch set is the same outfit Ranni the Witch wears. It is aesthetically one of the best armor sets in the game for mages. Its headpiece also offers a 10% boost to cold sorceries.
You can find this armor set in Renna’s Rise. To get inside this tower, you’ll first need to progress Ranni’s questline.
Black Knife Armor Set
The Black Knife set has a unique perk. When its chest piece is worn and unaltered, your footsteps become muffled. This means you can easily sneak on enemies without aggroing them.
On top of that perk, it also has a mystifying appearance. Those who consider the visuals and aesthetics of an armor set will definitely want to try this one out.
You can find this set in Ordina, Liturgical Town in Consecrated Snowfields. It is on a corpse that’s under an archway in the northern outer section of the town.
Briar Set
The Briar Set offers decent physical and magical defenses. However, the best thing about this armor set is that it damages enemies when you roll into them.
It is also relatively light, which means you won’t have to worry about wonky dodges when you equip all of the pieces to this armor.
To get the Briar Set, you’ll first need to defeat Elemer of the Briar in The Shaded Castle. You can then purchase it from Enia at the Roundtable Hold afterwards.
Fire Prelate Set
This armor set has the highest fire damage negation in the game. Other than that, its other resistances are also nothing to scoff at.
In terms of design, a lot of players find the head and chest pieces silly-looking. If this is the case for you, you can switch that up and just take advantage of the gauntlets and the grieves.
This is dropped by the Prelate enemies that are scattered around the Lands Between. They’re more prominent in Mt. Gelmir and the Mountaintops of the Giants.
Mushroom Set
The Mushroom Set is by far the most bizarre-looking armor set in the game. It also has the highest immunity in the game. This means with this armor, you’re more resistant to poison and scarlet rot. There are quite a lot of areas in Elden Ring that are plagued with poison and scarlet rot swamps, making this armor set highly useful.
You can find the set in Seethewater Cave in Mt. Gelmir. An alternative headpiece for this set can be found in the southeastern section of the Lake of Rot.
Malenia’s Set
Malenia’s Set is a light armor set. Its weight is very low, yet its physical attacks resistance is comparable to that of medium armor sets. This makes it perfect for those who wish to keep their equipment load low but still want a fair amount of defense for physical attacks.
As a bonus, it is one of the best-looking armor sets for B (Female) Body Type characters.
You can purchase this set from Enia at the Roundtable Hold after defeating Malenia, Blade of Miquella.
War Surgeon Set
The War Surgeon Set is well-suited for those who are using bleed weapons. The set’s headpiece has a buff that increases your attack power by 10% for 20 seconds whenever there’s blood loss in the vicinity. The interesting thing is that you don’t need to be the one to inflict the blood loss. Whether you’re the one inflicting or you’re the inflicted, this buff will activate.
This armor set is dropped by an NPC invader in Mohgwyn Palace. There are three NPCs that spawn in this region. You’ll need to find and defeat the one behind the giant crow northwest of the Palace Approach Ledge-Road Site of Grace.
General Radahn Set
The General Radahn set has high defense stats across the board. It provides substantial resistance, whether from physical, magical, or elemental damage. It also has the highest Robustness resistance of any armor set in the game. This means those wearing this armor are more resistant to bleed and frostbite.
You can purchase the whole set from Enia in the Roundtable Hold after you defeat Starscourge Radahn.
Godskin Noble Set
The Godskin Noble set offers very high protection against magic and holy attacks. In fact, it has the highest protection rating against holy attacks in any armor sets in the game. This makes this set perfect for fighting the game’s final boss since Radagon and the Elden Beast’s attacks are classified as holy.
You can obtain this armor set by defeating the Godskin Noble on the bridge leading to the Divine Tower of Liurnia.
White Reed Armor Set
The White Reed Armor Set is perfect for Dex and Samurai builds. Aside from being a perfect aesthetic option, the White Reed Set is extremely light, allowing for better mobility. The headpiece of the set also increases your Dexterity stat by 3. However, it also reduces your focus by 44.
You can find the chest piece, the gauntlets, and the grieves in the Spiritcaller’s Cave in the Mountaintops of the Giants. The headpiece is dropped by Bloody Finger Okina. This NPC invades you outside the Church of Repose in the same region.
He also drops the Rivers of Blood katana, which is a fantastic weapon to go along with this armor set.
Blaidd’s Set
Blaidd’s set is the perfect armor for builds that don’t have too much equip load. It is relatively light in terms of weight, but it reaches the 50 poise threshold. Reaching 50 poise guarantees you won’t be staggered by smaller enemies.
Its damage negation and resistances are also impressive, matching and even beating the stats of some heavy armor sets.
On top of that, it has a really sleek design, altered or unaltered.
You obtain it by defeating Blaidd. He fights you when you return to Ranni’s Rise after you complete her questline.
Lusat’s Set
Lusat’s Set is as eye-catching as it is resistant to magic. It has the highest magic defense in the game. On top of that, it also boosts star sorceries such as Stars of Ruin and Glintstone Stars. Sorcery builds can equip this armor set to look the part, fire powerful star spells, and stand strong against enemies that use magic.
You can loot this set from Lusat’s corpse. His cell is located in Sellia Hideaway in Caelid. You’ll first need to speak to Sellen in Waypoint Ruins. Later on in the game, she’ll then ask you to find this sorcerer and she’ll give you a key to his cell.
Go to Sellia Hideaway to find Lusat and you’ll get the Stars of Ruin sorcery. Return to Sellen after this, then return to Lusat once more to loot the armor set.
Crucible Armor Set
There are two types of Crucible Armor Sets in Elden Ring. One is the Crucible Axe set, and the other is the Crucible Tree set. They only differ slightly in head and chest piece designs. Their stats remain closely identical.
The Crucible Set is one of the “lighter” heavy armor sets in the game. It offers 58 poise while only having a 36.9 weight rating. Its defense stats and resistances are also some of the highest in the game.
On top of that, wearing the full armor sets increases Aspect of the Crucible Incantations by 15%.
You can find the Crucible Axe Set by defeating Crucible Knight Ordovis in Auriza Hero’s Grave in Leyndell. The Crucible Tree Set, on the other hand, can be looted from a chest in the northwestern section of the Deeproot Depths. The structure that houses the chest is guarded by Crucible Knight Siluria.
Lionel Armor Set
The Lionel Armor Set is one of the best armor sets for those who prefer heavy armor. Its iconic look is one that’s recognizable by those who are veterans of Souls titles, making it highly sought after.
Its damage negation and resistance are very high. The slash and pierce damage negation, in particular, are some of the highest in the game. Its poise rating stands at 79, which is more than enough for you to withstand normal attacks without flinching.
You can find the Lionel Armor Set in Leyndell, Royal Capital. It is on the bed next to the Lower Capital Church Site of Grace.
Bull-Goat Set
The Bull-Goat Set is arguably the sturdiest armor set in the game. It offers the highest physical defense negation, lightning resistance, and poise rating in the game. The other resistances are remarkably high as well.
The downside to this beast of an armor set is its heavy weight. It has a 63 weight rating, making it the heaviest armor in Elden Ring.
You get this armor set by defeating Great Horned Tragoth as a part of Patches’ Volcano Manor questline.
