The best Elden Ring armor sets and their locations

The best Elden Ring armor sets offer serious protection and poise, and are found in secret locations across the whole of the Lands Between. Radahn's armor, the Bull-Goat set, the Banished Knight or the Veteran set, these 

locations are all over the map, letting you find some really powerful gear, in some cases, just for knowing where it is. The Banished Knight armor, for example can just be picked off a basic enemy. While things like the Radahn armor or Raging Wolf armor involves taking on some tough boss battles, but the armor you get might make it worth the effort. We've got 12 sets of Elden Ring armor here, that we think are the best, along with where and how to get them. 

Choosing from what we have here will depend on how you play Elden Ring. There are armor sets here built for speed, some really heavy tanky stuff that can really take a beating, and so on. Be honest about how you're going to play - there's no point playing a magic focused, intelligence/dexterity build and then spend ages trying to get some strength focused armor. Although there's is an Elden Ring respec system that will let you change you build if you really want to. Whatever your plan, it's probably best to spend some points on Endurance. This stat governs what you can carry and almost all the armor you can find will need some extra lifting power to use without affecting your speed. 

Below we have the best Elden Ring armor locations marked on a map so you can find them easily (just make sure you've been collecting all the Elden Ring map fragments). There's also some additional info on what it is or why you might want it. It's definitely worth checking out sooner rather than later, as there's definitely some great stuff you can get surprisingly quickly. And, to help you get a good loadout fast, we've also got the best Elden Ring early game weapons laid out here!

Table of contents

• Banished Knight armor 
• Radahn armor 
• Bull-Goat armor
• Veteran armor
• Raging Wolf armor 
• Knight armor 
• Queen's Crescent Crown 
• Vagabond armor 
• Scale armor 
• Land of Reeds Samurai armor 
• Greathelm 
• Karolus and Olivinus Glintstone Crowns 
• What's the best armor in Elden Ring?' 
• Can you upgrade armor in Elden Ring?

Elden Ring armor locations

While some armor in Elden Ring can be dropped randomly by specific enemies, most of the best armor sets aren't, and we've narrowed down the armors that'll help players who are feeling a bit naked. What we've put above and below are some of the best armor locations, taking into consideration the needs of multiple kinds of player. If these armor sets are bought back at the Roundtable Hold, we've instead marked the location of the boss you need to kill to unlock them.

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Banished Knight armor

A rather common armor that is surprisingly some of the game's best, though pretty heavy. All pieces have a very small chance to drop from Banished Knights, the tall, tough knights that can occasionally be found wandering the later areas of Stormveil Castle (such as the room with the mimic veil).

Radahn armor

The Radahn armor set is definitely one for those with great Endurance and Equip Load as it's a heavy set. It offers great protection though as long as you're levelled up enough to move in it. You will also have to actually beat Radahn at Redmane Castle first as well, which isn't exactly a walk in the park (check out guide in the boxout for help there), 

Once he's vanquished however you buy the set from Enia at the Roundtable Hold. As long as you have the runes the helmet, arms, legs, and chest armor can all be bought separately from Enia for Runes at the Roundtable Hold. Given the weight of the full set, buying the bits one at a time to enhance your protection while you increase your Endurance stat to carry it all isn't a bad strategy. 

Bull-Goat armor

This heavier set provides unmatched poise, making it incredibly hard to knock you down or cancel out your animations - which can be vital if you're working on some Elden Ring PvP builds. You get this armor set as part of the Elden Ring Patches questline, where he'll give you an assassination contract to kill Great Horned Tragoth at Volcano Manor. Killing Tragoth will get your the Bull-Goat armor set, and make you near-impossible to knock down.

Veteran armor

This stalwart set is simply good for its stats - it's pretty heavy, but offers a robust mix of protective stats that easily make up for it. Unfortunately, it's not easy to get - you'll need to know how to beat Commander Niall in Elden Ring, one of the game's most brutal optional bosses, hidden in the fortress at the top of the Consecrated Snowfields. Once you do beat him though, you can head back to the Roundtable Hold and buy his armor set.

Raging Wolf armor

Looks cool, but also provides very good defense without being too heavy. Complete two assassination contracts for Lady Tanith at Volcano Manor and then go hunting with her goon Bernahl in Leyndell. You'll also get the Scaled Armor along the way, which is a serviceable substitute for Radahn's armor and looks quite cool.

Knight armor

This is a heavy, but solid mid-game armor sold by the Twin Husks at Roundtable Hold after beating Godrick. He's a tough boss though when you first met him so if you're struggling to defeat him we've got a guide on how to beat Godrick in Elden Ring that should make things a touch more manageable.

Queen's Crescent Crown

Part of the Queen's set, this helmet boosts intelligence when worn. It's unlocked by beating the boss Rennala, once you've worked out how to get the Elden Ring Raya Lucaria Academy Glintstone Key, to reach her. Once she's defeated you can then buy the crown from Enia at the Roundtable Hold as long as you have the Runes.

Vagabond armor

Another heavy, but robust option that can't be obtained organically until the mid-to-late game. Vagabond starts with it, or sold by one of the Elden Ring merchants in central Mountaintops of the Giants, next to the Ancient Snow Valley Ruins Site of Grace.

Scale armor

Light but protective armor that works well in the early game. Sold by the merchant next to the Castle Morne Rampart Site of Grace.

Land of Reeds Samurai armor

Decent protection and surprisingly light. The Samurai starts with it, or it's sold by the merchant in North Caelid, next to the Isolated Merchant's Shack Site of Grace.

Greathelm

Though just a helmet, this provides incredibly high defense and is worth pursuing. Sold by the merchant in Southern Caelid along with the less remarkable Champion armor set.

Karolus and Olivinus Glintstone Crowns

If you can't get the Queen's Crescent Crown, these helmets boost your intelligence at the cost of either Stamina or HP, depending on which one you use - a very solid choice for Sorcerers. Both found in Raya Lucaria Academy, they both require detours to find:

1. (a) Olivunus is found South of the Schoolhouse Classroom Site of Grace. Head left and hit the bookshelf to reveal a hidden balcony. Jump down to the left, follow it around and climb up the rocks to find the crown on a corpse.
2. (b) Karolus is just after the Debate Parlour Site of Grace, where you fought the Red Wolf of Radagon boss. Head outside, then go to the Northwest corner of the courtyard and hug the left path along the cliff edge to find a glowing crab in the shrubbery. Kill it for the Karolus Crown.

What's the best armor set in Elden Ring?

The best armor sets for us are the Banished Knight set, Radahn armor set, and the Bull-Goat set, the first three options in the list above. All offer fantastic protection and poise - however, they're also very heavy. so you'll want to be careful about how much of them you wear, in case you end up weighing yourself down. Overall we recommend bolstering your Endurance a lot if armor is important to you. Wearing too much armor and equipment will trigger a "Heavy Load" status, causing you to move and roll much more slowly and at the cost of more stamina - a bad effect we don't recommend, no matter how protected you are. Keep your total equipment weight below 70% of your Equip Load to avoid the slow roll.

As for the rest, the best armor in Elden Ring will vary according to what kind of character build you're making, but also what kind of enemy you're going up against. Armor doesn't just have a single protective stat, instead how much you're protected varies depending on what hits you - some will resist magic attacks better, others will help you against physical strikes more. Keep this in mind while considering boss fights and what you're up against, as well as your own weaknesses and strength.

Can you upgrade armor at the Blacksmith? 

No, armor cannot be upgraded or enhanced in Elden Ring, with the minor exception of altering garments at Sites of Grace, which slightly alters the stats of certain sets without necessarily improving them - usually it removes certain parts of the armor, such as capes, to reduced weight but it also lowers overall protection. Unlike weapons and armaments, Hewg and other blacksmiths will not upgrade your armor, no matter how many Elden Ring Smithing Stones you offer up - it's up to you to simply find a better set. 

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