The best Valheim armor and how to craft it

valheim guides — (Image credit: Iron Gate)

The best Valheim armor can protect you against all the biggest threats. Find the right crafting materials and you’ll be well-protected against any hostile environment, from the Meadows to the Plains.

Some Valheim armor sets are more efficient than others, however. Especially when you take into account the various special bonuses some of them add - if you know what you're looking for you can get armor with frost protection, a sneak bonus, a bow skill buff and more. (You can take look at our best Valheim weapons as well if you want to think about pairings.)

Here’s a list of the best Valheim armor and how to obtain it.

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Valheim Troll armor

valheim best armor tier list — (Image credit: Iron Gate AB)

The Valheim Troll Armor set is the best light armor set you can wear, with a base protection that offers more than enough cover for the Meadows and Black Forest biomes. It also doesn’t come with any movement penalty, meaning you can take damage without sacrificing any mobility.

The biggest advantage to the Valheim Troll Armor set though is the sneak bonus. This bonus is very useful for gathering resources in dangerous biomes or dealing backstab damage.

Valheim Troll armor stats (full set):

19 armor
+ 25% sneak (if wearing all four pieces)

Unsurprisingly, you need to hunt Trolls in order to get Troll Armor. With a decent bow you could actually get this armor set even before defeating the first Valheim boss - just take out the Trolls walking around in the Black Forest biome, or inside the Troll caves. They're not as common as Greydwarfs, but quite easy to spot thanks to their size. You also need some Skeletons for the bone fragments.

Valheim Troll Armor crafting recipe:

25 troll hide
13 bone fragments

Valheim Bronze armor

The Valheim Bronze Armor set isn't the best in the game but it will give you better protection than the Troll Armor set. It's also relatively easy to make once you defeat the first boss.

Here are the Valheim Bronze Armor base stats (full set):

24 armor
-10% movement speed
No cape

You can start on this armor set immediately after defeating Eikthyr. You won't have the recipe yet right away but it will show up when you create bronze for the first time. You need 2 pieces of copper and 1 piece of tin to craft 1 piece of bronze.

To find copper and tin just walk through the Black Forest until you find one of the large chunks of copper ore. Tin ore is found in the same biome, but in smaller chunks and usually close to the water. You will need a Smelter to process the raw resources.

Valheim Bronze Armor crafting recipe:

15 bronze (30 copper and 15 tin)
6 deer hide

Valheim Root armor

valheim armor — (Image credit: Iron Gate)

The Valheim Root Armor has the same base stats as the Bronze Armor but is much better if you’re using a bow and aren’t up against enemies using fire damage. Overall the movement penalty is less, and you get several useful bonuses. Although this armor is a lot more situational.

Here are the Root Armor stats and effects:

24 armor
+15 bow skill (if wearing full set)
Increased resistance against pierce damage (harnesk only)
Increased resistance against poison damage (mask only)
-4% movement speed
Weak against fire damage
No cape

While Root Armor is better than Bronze Armor taking into account its bonuses, it’s much harder to craft. You need plenty of Roots, which are dropped by Abominations - the giant tree monsters in the Swamp added in the Hearth and Home update. The other materials, ancient bark (Swamp trees) and leather, shouldn’t take too long.

Here’s the Valheim Root Armor crafting recipe:

30 root
30 ancient bark
4 deer hide
4 leather scraps

Valheim Iron armor

After defeating the Valheim Bonemass boss, it’s time to craft a new armor set: Valheim Iron Armor. This is much like the Bronze armor, but stronger.

Here are the Valheim Iron Armor stats:

42 armor
-10% movement speed
No cape

The recipes for Iron Armor are automatically unlocked by crafting Iron for the first time. You just need Scrap Iron and a Smelter. Scrap iron is found in ‘Muddy Scrap Piles’ inside the Sunken Crypts in the Swamp biome. You can gain access to these crypts using the Swamp Key, which is dropped by the second Valheim Elder boss.

For those who are a bit further in the game; iron is not that hard to find in the wild if you have a Wishbone, which is dropped by Bonemass. This Wishbone will notify you when you are close to buried Muddy Scrap Piles.

Here's the Valheim Iron Armor crafting recipe:

60 iron
6 deer hide

Valheim Wolf armor

The Valheim Wolf Armor set is both one of the best looking armors and one of the most useful, as it allows you to stay in the snowy Mountain biome without getting Frost damage.

The Wolf Armor may look weaker than Iron Armor but keep in mind that the 41 base armor stat is without a helmet. When wearing the full armor set plus a separate helmet, the Wolf Armor set is actually a bit stronger.

Here are the Valheim Wolf Armor stats:

41 armor
Resistant vs. Frost
-20% movement speed
No helmet

Crafting Wolf Armor is going to take a lot of Wolves and silver. Both are only found in the Mountain biome so you'll need some Frost Resistance Mead first. This only protects you against the cold for 10 minutes so it’s best to bring more than one. The chain is the only resource which can be found in the Swamp biome, dropped by Wraiths, the blue ghost-like creatures.

Here’s the Valheim Wolf Armor crafting recipe:

44 silver
16 wolf pelts
4 fangs
1 chain
1 wolf trophy

Valheim Drake helmet

The Wolf Armor looks great but, as we mentioned, it's missing a helmet. The Valheim Drake Helmet is the perfect headgear here. It's the second-best helmet in the game - only surpassed by the Padded Helmet.

Here are the Valheim Drake Helmet stats:

20 armor
Not part of a set

To get the Drake Helmet, go to the Mountain biome and start hunting Drakes. Because they're flying creatures you'll need a ranged weapon - the Abyssal Harpoon is a great help if you want to keep them from flying away.

Here’s the Valheim Drake Helmet crafting recipe:

2 Drake trophies
20 silver
2 wolf pelts

Valheim Padded Armor

The Valheim Padded Armor is by far the strongest armor set in Valheim, despite the soft sounding name. It doesn’t have a high movement penalty at all.

Here are the Valheim Padded Armor stats:

78 armor
-10% movement speed
No cape

The recipes for Valheim’s Padded Armor set are surprisingly simple. You can get iron as described under the Iron Armor set, by exploring Sunken Crypts or using the Wishbone. The only hard part is getting the linen you need. You need a Spinning Wheel first, which is obtained by defeating Valheim’s fourth boss, Moder. Then collect Flax from the Plains biome to create Linen Thread.

Here's the Valheim Padded Armor crafting recipe:

30 iron
55 linen thread

Valheim Dverger Circlet

This piece isn't about protection but it's incredibly useful and basically essential - the Valheim Dverger Circlet shines a light ahead of you, which is perfect for nighttime exploring and dungeons. You can buy it from Haldor the Valheim merchant (a blue-skinned dwarf with a red beard) for 620 Gold. Haldor only appears in the Black Forest biome.

Now you just need to pick the best Valheim armor currently available to you, and start crafting!