The Lands Between inElden Ringare not for the faint of heart. It’s full of vicious monsters, undead ferrymen transporting lost souls, and massive ancient dragons ready to strike and devour any Tarnished who wanders from their path. For many,having strong armoris the only way to survive the arduous pilgrimage to the Erdtree.
Several great (and not-so-great) armor sets in the game are guaranteed drops from certain NPCs, or can be easily obtained by completing side quests and exploring the world. However, others will demand time and unparalleled dedication from players wishing to wear them. Here are the hardest armor sets to unlock in the game.
Weight
41.6
The Banished Knight Armor Setis a heavyweight armor consisting of a Helm, Chest Plates, Gauntlets, and Greaves. Banished Knights are well known amongElden Ringplayers as some of the most challenging enemies in their area. With their swift Halberd swings and confusing attack moveset, they’ve been responsible for the numerous deaths of several Tarnished.
The altered versions of this armor set’s Helm and Chest Plate are much easier to obtain than the unaltered ones. The latter’s drop rate is much lower than the former’s, and only a few Banished Knights carry them. For starters, the Banished Knights at Stormveil Castle will only drop the altered versions of the Helm and the Chest Plate, but they can also drop their Gauntlets and the Greaves. Players' best bet for getting the unaltered Helm and Chest Plate is to kill the Banished Knights in the Cathedral of Dragon Communion, inCrumbling Farum Azula, or in Castle Sol. (Only two knights in this last area will drop the Unaltered Chest piece.)
This Armor Set offers decent resistance against most types of damage, including piercing and slashing. However, this high level of protection comes at a cost, as it has a whopping weight of 41.6. Players might find themselves over-encumbered sooner rather than later.
5.8
The Dancers of Dominula, Windmill Village are creepy, to say the least. They are unsettling with their ceaseless dancing, witchlike cackling,senseless devotion to the Godskin apostles, and overall worn-down appearance. There are very few reasons to justify approaching them, and one of them is theBlue Festive Set.
This colorful piece of garment is worn only by a few of the dancers, setting them apart from the rest of the people in the village. While its significance is still a mystery, many players are drawn to this set, motivating them to do whatever it takes to obtain it. Similar to other Armor Sets inElden Ring, this one is composed of a Helm, Chest Armor, Gauntlets, and Greaves. As opposed to the Banished Knight Set, the Blue Festive Set doesn’t have altered pieces, so players won’t have to worry about that when farming this outfit.
The set pieces necessary to obtain the Blue Festive Set are dropped by the dancers wearing blue in Dominula. However, there are only a couple of them in the entire village, and their drop rate is excruciatingly low. Players will have to kill them and have them respawn as many times as needed by resting ata nearby Site of Grace. This armor set is not only one of the hardest to unlock in the game, but it’s also not worth the trouble. It offers a fraction of the protection that other sets on this list do.
28.1
While the secret area of Miquella’s Haligtree is completely optional, most players who get far enough into the game to unlock it usually follow through. This area is the home of Malenia, arguably the hardest boss in the entirety ofElden Ring.Not only that, but it also holds numerous other enemies that can drop rare weapons, powerful spells, and neat-looking armor. One of these is theHaligtree Knight Set,which offers considerable damage resistance.
Every set piece except for the Haligtree Knight Helm (which can be looted from a corpse near the Elphael Inner Wall Site of Grace) must be obtained through a mind-numbing process. The player myst Haligtree Knights over and over until their low drop rate works in the player’s favor. Secondly, accessing Miquella’s Haligtree is a chore in and of itself. It not only requires players to thoroughly explore the world, but alsodefeat a challenging bossin the late areas of the game.
TheHalightree Knight Armor Setlooks great and should instill pride in every player disciplined enough to farm and complete it. However, there are other armor sets with far better stats (such as the Banished Knight Armor Set) that require a lot less effort and offer much more protection from almost every type of damage.
