Mass Effect 3 armor guide and where to find all of the protection

Mass Effect 3 armor
(Image credit: EA)

Picking your Mass Effect 3 armor is much more than just a cosmetic decision, as each element you select will also provide certain buffs to your stats, though they will of course make your Shepard look good too. These boosts can take the form of dishing out additional damage when using your weapon, melee, or power attack, giving you a higher health and shields level, or many other handy bolsters depending on what you're wearing in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Some of them can be bought from the in-game vendors, while others have to be discovered during specific missions, so we've got this complete guide covering every piece of Mass Effect 3 armor.

ME3 Planet Scanning

Mass Effect 3 Planet Scanning

(Image credit: EA)

Follow our Mass Effect 3 planet scanning guide to maximize Total Military Strength and unlock the full choice of Mass Effect 3 endings.

As you'll see in the list below, a lot of these protective plates can be picked up during a specific mission, or purchased later from a vendor, and on the second page of this guide we have a complete Mass Effect 3 armor walkthrough to show exactly where you can find them. Pay particular attention to items that only have a mission listed by them as, like the similar Mass Effect 3 weapons, if you miss them during your playthrough they'll be lost forever. You should also bear in mind that individual Mass Effect 3 armor pieces only become available from vendors after a certain point in the story, so if you try to buy an element and find it isn't available, make some further progress before looking again.

Mass Effect 3 armor

(Image credit: BioWare)

Mass Effect 3 Armor - Headgear

  • N7: Health +10%
  • N7 Breather Helmet: Health +10%
  • Death Mask: Melee Damage +10% (Priority: Tuchanka or Cipritine Armory)
  • Kuwashii Visor: Weapon Damage +5%, Headshot Damage +10% (Aegohr Munitions)
  • Sentry Interface: Shields +10% (Priority: Sur’Kesh or Cipritine Armory)
  • Kestrel Helmet: Ammo Capacity +10% (Batarian State Arms)
  • Capacitor Helmet: Shield Regen Speed +10% (N7: Cerberus Abductions or Aegohr Munitions)
  • Archon Visor: Power Recharge Speed +10% (Priority: Geth Dreadnought or Nos Astra Sporting Goods)
  • Umbra Visor: Power Damage +10% (Priority: Thessia or Nos Astra Sporting Goods)
  • Recon Hood: Weapon Damage +10% (Priority: Citadel or Kanala Exports)
  • Mnemonic Visor: Power Recharge Speed +5%, Power Damage +5% (Grissom Academy or Aegohr Munitions)
  • Delumcore Overlay: Headshot Damage +5%, Weapon Damage +10% (Priority: Cerberus Headquarters or Spectre Requisitions)
  • Securitel Helmet: Shields +5%, Health +5% (Priority: Citadel or Kassa Fabrication)

Mass Effect 3 Armor - N7 Set

All pieces are automatically acquired

  • Chestplate: Health +10%
  • Shoulders: Health +10%
  • Gauntlets: Health +10%
  • Greaves: Health +10%

Mass Effect 3 Armor - Hahne-Kedar Set

Each piece adds 10% to weapon damage

  • Chestplate: Found during Tuchanka: Extract Turian Survivors mission or Cipritine Armory
  • Shoulders: Elkoss Combine Arsenal Supplies
  • Gauntlets: Kanala Exports
  • Greaves: Found during Priority: Palaven mission or Batarian State Arms

Mass Effect 3 Armor - Armax Arsenal Set

Each piece adds 5% to weapon damage and 10% to melee damage

  • Chestplate: Found during Rannoch: Admiral Koris mission or Batarian State Arms
  • Shoulders: Found during Priority: Palaven mission or Cipritine Armory
  • Gauntlets: Found during N7: Cerberus Attack mission or Spectre Requisitions
  • Greaves: Found during Priority: Sur’Kesh mission

Mass Effect 3 armor

(Image credit: EA)

Mass Effect 3 Armor - Serrice Council Set

Each piece adds 10% to power damage

  • Chestplate: Found during Grissom Academy mission or Aegohr Munitions
  • Shoulders: Found during Lesuss: Investigate Asari Colony mission or Nos Astra Sporting Goods or Aegohr Munitions
  • Gauntlets: Nos Astra Sporting Goods
  • Greaves: Found during Priority: Cerberus Headquarters mission or Nos Astra Sporting Goods

Mass Effect 3 Armor - Kassa Fabrication Set

Each piece adds 10% to shields

  • Chestplate: Found during Priority: Mars mission or Spectre Requisitions
  • Shoulders: Cipritine Armory
  • Gauntlets: Found during Priority: Rannoch mission
  • Greaves: Found during Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists mission or Elkoss Combine Arsenal Supplies

Mass Effect 3 Armor - Ariake Technologies Set

Each piece adds 10% to melee damage

  • Chestplate: Kassa Fabrication
  • Shoulders: Found during Attican Traverse: Krogan Team mission or Kassa Fabrication
  • Gauntlets: Found during Priority: Mars mission or Batarian State Arms
  • Greaves: Found during N7: Communication Hub mission or Batarian State Arms

Mass Effect 3 Armor - Rosenkov Materials Set

Each piece adds 10% to power recharge speed

  • Chestplate: Found during N7: Fuel Reactors mission or Nos Astra Sporting Goods
  • Shoulders: Found during Priority: Horizon mission
  • Gauntlets: Found during Tuchanka: Bomb mission or Kassa Fabrication
  • Greaves: Spectre Requisitions

Mass Effect 3 Armor - Special Sets (all available at Citadel shops)

Mass Effect 3 armor

  • Cerberus Armor: Ammo Capacity +10%, Weapon Damage +20%, Shields +10%, Health +10%
  • Terminus Armor: Melee Damage +15%, Ammo Capacity +15%, Shields +30%
  • Inferno Armor: Power recharge speed 30%, Power Damage +30%
  • Blood Dragon Armor: Power Recharge Speed +10%, Power Damage + 30%, Shields +20%
  • Collector Armor: Shield Regen Speed +20%, Shields +20%, Health +20%
Iain Wilson
Guides Editor

Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 500 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.

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