Dark Souls: 8 Best Armor Sets, Ranked
Players of Dark Souls don’t need to look any further than this list of the best and strongest gear sets in the game.
If Dark Souls players asked the Dark Souls community which armor they should put on their Chosen Undead, most of the answers would probably be something like “it doesn’t matter.” And that’s kind of true. How a player is built and how they play will have a big impact on what set of gear will work best for them. In fact, many people do fine without any armor at all.
If players want to get the most out of each piece of equipment, their best armor setup probably won’t be a single set of matched armor, but rather a mix of pieces from different sets. But that usually looks bad, and for style points, some Dark Souls players like to wear a full set of armor.
Iron Golem Set
The Iron Golem is a boss who stands between the player and Anor Londo’s beautiful castle. The fight itself is pretty easy. Players have to hit the Iron Golem’s feet to knock it down, and then they can either make it fall to its death or put it in a position where they can beat on it until the boss’s health bar is gone.
When players beat this boss, they can buy and wear the Iron Golem suit, which looks pretty cool, except for the weird-looking head. But the weight of the armor makes it less useful, and most people would just choose Havel’s Armor instead if they really wanted to find a good mix between good defenses and being able to get away.
Smough’s Set
One of the two legendary bosses that players have to fight in the legendary castle of Anor Londo is Smough. Even getting to this boss is hard, and fighting the two of them without taking a lot of damage is one of the hardest things to do in the game.
But players can get this executioner’s armor set if they can beat Ornstein first and then take on the super-powered version of Smough. It has great defenses, but the equip load of the whole set is so high that most people don’t think it’s worth it, unless players don’t mind fat-rolling until the kingdom comes to an end.
Elite Knight’s Set
Even though the Elite Knight’s set isn’t the best armor in Dark Souls, there are a lot of things that make it better than many others. It’s easy to get to, has a lot of balance, and has one of the best weight-to-defense ratios in the game.
It’s not exactly light in weight, but it’s easy to get over for people who want to keep their movement but don’t want to put too much effort into it. It has well-rounded stats, low needs, and shows up early in the game, which makes it a great go-to for new players.
Paladin Set
The Paladin set is one of the bigger “medium” armor sets in the game, but it has a lot going for it to make up for how heavy it is. It has good defensive stats and a little more balance than the Elite Knight’s set, which is similar. Most importantly, it has great resistance to curses, which can save a lot of trouble when meeting enemies who can put them on you.
To get it, the player will have to beat the red ghost of Paladin Leeroy. This can be a little tricky, since this fight happens in the Tomb of Giants after the Lord Vessel has been placed. This means that most people won’t be able to get it right away, but it’s worth the wait and the work.
Black Iron Set
The Black Iron set is the most well-rounded of the big boy armor sets. It has a surprising low weight value and a lot of extra benefits. It has good physical defenses, good balance, the best fire resistance of any set of armor in Dark Souls, and a little bit of curse resistance for good measure.
It is also one of only two sets of heavy armor that can be improved by getting reinforcements. It has some of the best physical defenses in the game once it’s fully improved. Only the upgraded Giant’s set is better. It can be found just outside of the picture in Anor Londo that leads to the Painted World of Ariamis.
Catarina Set
Even though the Catarina Set has great resistances all around, most players would be shocked to learn that it doesn’t weigh that much. This makes it great for players who want to wear heavy armor without being forced to fat roll. It helps that this armor has a special look that makes it a must-have for players who want their characters to look the best.
Siegmeyer of Catarina, one of the most popular characters in Dark Souls history, wears this set of armor. Players who want to be best friends with this character will enjoy playing the game with him.
Havel’s Armor
It’s big, stupid, and it used to be the worst thing in Dark Souls PVP. With great defensive stats and the best poise rating in Snake Game, an invader in full Havel’s armor is sure to make you groan.
As you might expect, the biggest problem with Havel’s armor is that it is heavy. In fact, calling it heavy is an underestimate, and it will take a lot of work to get past it. The set is in Anor Londo behind a fake wall, if you can get past the Silver Knight shooters who keep the area locked down.
Giant Set
Once upon a time, before a certain patch, Havel’s set would have been on top because it used to be a popular build. But the Giant’s Set is now the most wanted (and probably overdone) set in Dark Souls. It gives you better defense at the cost of some poise, but it’s worth it.
Even though the Giant Set’s poise rating isn’t quite as huge as Havel’s, it still has a good amount of it and, when upgraded, better defense stats. It can be bought from the Giant Blacksmith for 26,000 souls. Even though this list is about full armor sets, swapping the helmet for a fatherly-looking mask and adding a few other good accessories might make one unstoppable.
Dark Souls can be played on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.
