Armor sets have been an interesting discussion point in FromSoftware titles over the years. Their usability has gone from occasionally useful in Dark Souls titles to outright not a factor in Bloodborne. That’s probably what makes the design change to give them situational usage in Elden Ring that much more interesting. Acquiring full sets of armor is often difficult, as pieces are spread throughout the whole map, with some not being obtainable until the very end of the game.
With that in mind, this list largely ignores ease of access, presuming you are looking for an armor set to strive for — or are entering into a new game plus playthrough with all of your collected loot in tow. While total stats and resistances on armor sets are still not overly important, the biggest factor considered for these sets are the additional bonuses for having the complete set.
10 Banished Knight
The Banished Knight set is a heavyweight armor set that sees the best balance between weight management and the strong resistances and defenses of heavyweight armors. The biggest problem with using heavyweight armors is balancing them between how okay you are with gimping your movement as a result. While any heavyweight armor makes this a concern, the Banished Knight set is one of the more realistic ones to balance out with something like the great jar talisman, which reduces your weight load.
The armor set is difficult to obtain, dropping from Banished Knight enemies scattered all over the game.
9 Bull Goat
The absolute heaviest armor in the game is the Bull Goat armor. At a whopping 63 weight in total, the Bull Goat armor also sports the best poise and physical defense in the entire game as well. Attempting to balance out gear this heavy is a fruitless endeavor and is best left for builds entirely centered around using it along with impaired movement. This strategy is best paired with an equally heavy weapon like the Greatsword.
The Bull Goat armor set can be obtained by completing a request from Patches in the Volcano Manor questline.
8 Blackflame Monk
The Blackflame Monk armor set is a lightweight armor that offers good magic resistance. Those running magic builds are likely relying on range and mobility to keep distance from enemies.
Parts of the set can be dropped from Blackflame Monk enemies, making it one of the more frustrating armor sets to put together.
If you are running an Intelligence build, there is an armor set later in the list that is both easier to obtain and better for you, but something like Faith or Arcane builds would do well with the Blackflame Monk set.
7 Malenia’s Armor
In addition to strong defenses, Malenia’s armor boasts great immunities and defenses for lightweight armor. While most lightweight armors are limited to minimal physical resistances and maybe the occasional magic defense, Malenia’s is surprisingly adept at everything. Its 108 Immunity stat will make a big difference when traversing areas and enemies where Rot and Poison are a big problem, including some long optional areas.
All that said, this armor set is primarily for showing off that you managed to beat the most frustrating boss in the entire game.
6 Twinned Armor
The twinned armor set has the dual significance of having a strong Robustness stat of 135, which helps counter Bleeding, but also being found quite early on. Enemies that force Bleeding status afflictions are not so common that you will be running into them all over the map, but there are a handful of stronger regular enemies and bosses that could become frustrating without it.
Its real benefit is helping counter Bleed builds in PVP against weapons like the Rivers of Blood with how easily obtained it is.
The Twinned armor set can be found by killing D, Lord of the Dead, or by simply advancing Fia’s questline once unlocking the Roundtable Hold.
5 Royal Remains
One of the harder to trigger effects on an armor set, but also one of the most abusable, is the Royal Remains armor set. While its defenses are solid, its real benefit is its passive ability to restore health over time. This only triggers when you have been knocked down to 18% of your total health, which can be frustrating if you are trying to manipulate its bonus to your advantage.The armor set can theoretically be abused into running through harder bosses by using summons and waiting out fights by attacking from range and letting the armor restore your health for you.
The set can be found early on after killing Ensha in the Roundtable Hold after picking up one of the Haligtree medallion halves.
4 Mushroom Armor
The Mushroom armor set offers little protection, but it can heavily counter status effects such as Rot, Poison, and Blight. Areas such as the Lake of Rot — which was a nightmare to navigate through before due to the games’ stinginess when it comes to Preserving Boluses — now become significantly easier because of how much slower Rot sets in with this armor set equipped.
The Mushroom armor set can be found in the Seethewater Cave, with the head piece being found in the Lake of Rot itself.
3 Briar Set
Possibly the most fun effect can be found on the full Briar set. The Briar set will deal a small amount of damage and stagger to enemies when they are rolled into. This alone is a nice bonus for a regular playthrough, but it also has the added benefit of becoming a weapon in itself for a gimmick playthrough. In theory, the entire game can be beaten just by rolling with this armor set.
The full Briar armor set can be purchased from Finger Reader Enia in the Roundtable Hold after defeating Elemer of the Briar in the Shaded Castle.
2 Black Knife
Running through dungeons stealthily is no easy task in Elden Ring, with not much in the way of making sneaking around any easier aside from simple crouching. One of the few exceptions to that is the Black Knife armor set. Wearing the full armor set not only keeps your regular walking movement quiet, but also your jumps and dodge rolls. This completely eliminates the need to crouch walk through areas you are trying to sneak through — not to mention it won’t gimp you with bad resistances either.
The Black Knife armor set can be found under a staircase in Ordina, Liturgical Town.
1 Queen Of The Full Moon
Armor sets without bonuses either lean heavily toward physical boosts with heavy armor or magic defense with lighter armor. In addition to being one of the lightest full sets in the entire game, the Queen of the Full Moon set boasts a stellar +3 to your Intelligence stat, which makes a big difference in magic builds relying on your Int stat.
Better yet, the armor itself can be easily obtained.
The armor can be purchased from Finger Reader Enia in the Roundtable Hold after defeating Queen Rennala in the Academy of Raya Lucaria.
