Elden Ring offers players an expansive open world full of dangers around every corner. Having a decent set of armor early on is crucial for survival. The right armor provides protection, attribute bonuses, and useful effects that give you an edge over enemies.
In this guide, I‘ll highlight the top armor sets you can acquire within the first 10-20 hours in Elden Ring without significant progression gates. I‘ll share how to obtain them, their stats, appearance, and recommended character builds.
What Makes Good Early Game Armor?
When choosing early game armor in Elden Ring, you want to prioritize the following:
- Accessibility: Armor that can be obtained without reaching end-game areas or defeating much higher level enemies.
- Defenses: Strong physical and elemental damage negation. Heavier sets tend to have higher defense.
- Weight: Ensure your Endurance attributes can support the armor weight without fat rolling.
- Effects: Useful attribute boosts, damage bonuses, or other special effects.
Keeping these factors in mind, below are the 12 best armor sets for early and mid-game Elden Ring characters.
12. Leather Armor Set
Where to Find It: Purchased from Merchant Kalé at Church of Elleh
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 10
- High Mobility
- Very Light Weight
Overview: This lightweight armor provides beginners with basic protection against early enemies without sacrificing mobility. As the cheapest armor set available, it‘s perfect for new characters still low on runes.
11. Page Garb Set
Where to Find: Defeat Page in northwest Liurnia
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 14
- Magic Damage Negation: 46
- Immunity: 92
- Focus: 92
Overview: This cloth robe offers mages defensive stats aligned with an Intelligence build. It has strong magic protection and boosts focus, allowing more frequent spell casting. The Page Trousers offer the best magic defense in their slot.
10. Depraved Perfumer Set
Where to Find It: Outside boss room in Abandoned Cave, Caelid
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 15-25
- Robustness: 77
- Immunity: 107
Overview: With its high immunity and robustness, this armor gives decent elemental and status effect protection. The robe provides strong magic defense, while the hood boosts focus. The full set works for mage builds.
9. Banished Knight Armor (Unaltered)
Where to Find: Dropped by Banished Knight enemies in Stormveil Castle
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 35
- Immunity: 149
- Robustness: 197
- Weight: 41.6
Overview: This heavy early game armor has the highest defense in its class. With excellent damage negation and poise, it offers tanky strength builds great protection for challenging areas ahead. Farm the full set off Banished Knights.
8. Scaled Armor Set
Where to Find: Castle Morne Ramparts in Weeping Peninsula
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 24
- Robustness: 120
- Immunity: 66
- Weight: 23
Overview: Found early in Weeping Peninsula, this medium armor has standard balanced defenses. It has good robustness and fire damage negation. The scaled helm boosts strength, endurance, vitality and poise.
7. Tree Sentinel Armor
Where to Find It: Auriza Hero‘s Grave dungeon in Altus Plateau
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 35
- Robustness: 90
- Immunity: 67
- Lightning Damage Negation: 12
Overview: This golden heavy armor offers the best early game damage mitigation. Get it ASAP by completing Auriza Hero‘s Grave with co-op summons. Use weapons with strike damage against skeletons.
6. Spellsword Armor Set
Where to Find: Farm Night‘s Cavalry boss in Dragonbarrow
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 24
- Immunity: 71
- Robustness: 113
- Magic Damage Negation: 30
Overview: This medium set has sorcerer vibes while providing strong magical protections. It boosts intelligence, endurance and focus. Perfect for battle mage builds as it balances damage dealing with resilience.
5. Marais Executioner Armor Set
Where to Find: Defeat Marais Executioner in ordinances of the Sleeping Villages, Mountaintops of the Giants.
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 27
- Robustness: 120
- Poise: 57
Overview: This striking set offers strong physical defense, along with high poise and frost damage negation. Fighting the lone executioner may require some skill. Utilize spirit summons to distract it.
4. Rotten Gravekeeper Cloak
Where to Find: Dropped by Putrid Corpses in Abandoned Cave, Caelid
Stats:
- Immunity: 153
- Robustness: 110
- Magic Damage Negation: 23
Overview: This tattered cloak has the highest immunity in the early game, offering poison, scarlet rot and other status resistance. Pair with high-damage weapons for challenging Caelid encounters.
3. Raging Wolf Armor Set
Where to Find: Complete Volcano Manor assassination quests
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 25
- Poise: 42
- Robustness: 131
- Immunity: 75
Overview: This knightly armor excels in robustness while having decent poise. The chest piece boosts dexterity by 5 points. Questline takes several hours but provides nice upgrades along the way.
2. Carian Knight Armor Set
Where to Find: In a tomb behind Caria Manor
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 23
- Magic Damage Negation: 24
- Poise: 40
- Weight: 25
Overview: This ornate blue armor nicely complements battle mage builds with balanced magic damage negation alongside physical. It‘s easy to grab during Ranni‘s questline and outclasses earlier mage gear.
1. Banished Knight Armor (Altered)
Where to Find: Dropped by Banished Knight enemies around Dragon Communion Cathedral in Caelid.
Stats:
- Physical Damage Negation: 35
- Robustness: 197
- Immunity: 149
- Poise: 72
Overview: This is the best early game armor statistically, with mighty defense stats similar to lategame sets. Farm the full Banished Knight armor set and twin with a greatshield for a tank build.
How to Decide on Early Game Armor
When starting Elden Ring, your class and style of play determine what armor is ideal. Prioritize heavier sets for tank builds and lighter ones for casters. Mixing and matching can optimize your attribute bonuses too.
Upgrading armor raises damage negation. Collect Smithing Stones and take armor to the Roundtable Hold blacksmith. Try keeping multiple sets at similar levels to switch between.
Experiment with new armor pieces dropped by major enemies. Their visual design often hints at special qualities. Useful effects include self-healing, stamina regen, or increasing attack power against certain foes.
Elden Ring throws deadly challenges your way early on. Having some tanky armor keeps you competitive as the difficulty ramps up traversing new zones. Hopefully the armor locations revealed here help you discover protection to ease your Tarnished journey through the Lands Between!
