New God of War Ragnarok armor includes the cloak from the intro, as well as new Zeus armor, Spartan armor, Ares Armor and new options for appearances as a whole. With them all offering different bonuses and being obtained in different ways, we'll cover how to get all the new armor sets in God of War Ragnarok New Game Plus here, what they do, and also how you can transmog your armor into the new forms available.
All new armor sets in God of War Ragnarok New Game Plus
New game plus in God of War Ragnarok adds four new armor sets for players to obtain, that we've laid out below:
These are all obtained in different ways, and you can click on any of them or scroll down to see them all laid out. It's useful to remember that while some of these armor sets are good - even worthy of being considered for the God of War Ragnarok Best Armor list - the Spartan Armor and Zeus Armor are a little different, and specifically are designed to be worse than standard armor to offer a more challenging gameplay experience - but let's get into the nitty-gritty.
New Game Plus Cloak / Armor of the Black Bear
The famous cloak from the intro sequence, also known as the Armor of the Black Bear, is now its own armor set that players can get in New Game Plus. Rather than something that has to be found or earned, players will simply have the cloak from the start of God of War Ragnarok (assuming you've started New Game Plus).
The Armor of the Black Bear is a strength and defense-focused armor set that rewards close evades by unleashing Bifrost Shards at the enemy. Rather than one of the gimmick or challenge-increasing sets, it's simply a good, solid option for protection.
Spartan Armor
The Spartan Armor is not really worthy of the name, as it's just Kratos wearing some trousers and going bare-chested. You can buy it from the Huldra Brothers' shop with Hacksilver the first time you reach any of their stores.
The Spartan Armor is simply designed to make the game much, much harder. It offers no stat bonuses, no perks, and cannot go above level 1. Its sole existence is to make the game more challenging, which would explain why it's effectively little more than a pair of Greek slacks.
Zeus Armor
The grey-and-white Zeus Armor set is found after defeating Gna the Valkyrie Queen in new game plus, as well as completing specific Remnants of Asgard along with it (both of these are only doable after reaching the God of War Ragnarok ending).
The Zeus Armor is designed for risk/reward gameplay - it massively increases the damage you deal by boosting Kratos' strength and runic power, but also massively increases the damage you take, to the point where certain attacks will kill you in a single blow, no matter your health.
Ares Armor
Returning from the previous game to God of War Ragnarok, the red-tinted Ares Armor can also be bought from the Huldra Brothers' Shop with Hacksiliver the first time you reach it in the New Game Plus.
The Ares Armor isn't a weird one like the previous two armor sets, but it's got a solid perk - there's a chance every time you take damage for it to drop a health stone, based on your Luck stat. Not only that, but stomping on a Health Stone in this armor refills some of Kratos' rage meter, and creates a bigger explosion to throw back the enemies nearby.
New armor appearances and cosmetics
Alongside the new armor sets, there are 13 new cosmetic appearances for armor that can be bought from the Huldra Brothers, each one costing 20,000 Hacksilver. To apply them, players have to use the Transmog system, and while they can drastically change the look of the armor, this change is purely cosmetic, and won't affect how it works.
How to transmog armor in God of War Ragnarok
To transmog armor in God of War Ragnarok, either in New Game Plus or the standard playthrough, players need to upgrade that armor piece to level 9, then go to that armor piece in your equipment menu. Then you just hit Square to transmog it, whereupon you'll be able to choose an armor piece for it to look like. This won't change how the armor works, it's just the look of the thing - which means you can always do things like apply the bare-chested Spartan Armor without having to deal with the higher difficulty it enforces on you.
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