As a Viking assassin raiding and rampaging your way across England, you’ll be met with more than a few people who will want to introduce you to the sharp end of their weapon while playing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. While you’re certainly tough enough to shrug off more damage than any normal person ever could, you’ll still need protection if you hope to get far.
Aside from just, you know, saving your life, armor also comes in a bunch of different styles and designs that can give your character much more personality. As an RPG, though, it’s hard to resist those armor sets with bigger numbers and buffs. Let’s go over the best armor sets in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and how you can get them.
Further reading
How armor works in Valhalla
Armor is broken down into five pieces in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. You have your hood, torso, helmet, bracers, and pants. You will collect different pieces of armor by looting the various chests placed around the open world, marked as gold symbols on your map. While there are fewer total armor sets than we saw in Odyssey, each one in Valhalla is more defined in what type of player it works best for. Whether you’re more interested in taking the stealthy approach or taking a mob of foes head-on, there’s an armor set that will help you out. Armor falls under in three different alignments that will give you different buffs:
- Way of the Raven armor focuses on stealth.
- Way of the Bear improves melee combat.
- Way of the Wolf buffs your archery.
If you’re wearing at least two pieces that all align with one of these types, you will get an initial bonus — but wear all five for the full set bonus for an extra added buff. This means that there really isn’t one armor set that is objectively best, but rather sets that will be best for how you want to play the game.
This wouldn’t be a true RPG without an armor upgrade and tier system, would it? We have the base armor level, gray, followed by bronze for superior, blue for flawless, and gold being the best of the best: Mythical. Any piece of armor can be upgraded to new tiers if you bring them back to Gunnar, your resident blacksmith, back at the settlement, with the required resources. Not only does upgrading your armor improve their stats, but it also slightly alters their look and can add new rune slots.
Upgrading armor
You should make a decision about which armor set you want to invest in before actually spending any of your upgrade materials on them since they’re not all that easy to come by. You’re going to need a ton of the three ingots, carbide, nickel, and tungsten, plus leather and iron ore to get a full set all the way up to the Mythical tier you no doubt will want. The ingots will be picked up in chests either guarded by some random enemies or at the end of a small platforming section in the open world. Keep an eye out for their icon, three golden bars, while exploring, and take a detour whenever you spot them.
Leather and iron can both be bought from merchants if you would rather spend cash than time, but they can also be collected out in the world. Sharpen up a few arrows and spend some time hunting any animals you come across to gather up their leather, and bash on any glowing rocks you spot to pick up some loose iron.
Remember that you can hide armor
If you find a set that has all the bonuses and stats that you like, but you just can’t stand how those pants make your legs look or having a helmet cover your face, remember you have the option to hide any and all armor elements. Just head into the inventory menu, select which piece of gear you find ugly, and hit R3 on it to make it invisible. You’ll keep all the stats and bonuses associated with it, so there’s no need to worry about balancing fashion for function here.
The best Way of the Raven armor
If you’re leaning more into the stealth elements of Valhalla, the Raven Clan Set is a great set to keep your eye out for. Equip just two pieces from this set, and your armor will go up as your health goes down, which can be a lifesaver early on. Get the entire outfit, and your critical chance will be increased, making it that much easier to stealth assassinate high-level targets.
If you’re more interested in a strict stealth approach, you may want to try out the Hidden Ones Set. Be patient as you try to unlock this one because it will require you to locate all of the Hidden Ones Bureaus. That said, it’ll make you just as deadly as any previous or future assassins in the game. The first set will apply bonus damage to assassination strikes if you stay crouched and hidden for ten seconds. The complete collection will make any of your headshots with a bow cause more damage.
The best Way of the Bear armor
When it comes to a melee, it feels next to impossible to choose anything that isn’t the Berserker Set. This armor supplies players with an actual bear head hood. It’s designed to keep you in the battle until you’re the last assassin standing. The first bonus will increase your speed as you take on damage until you heal from that, at least. The complete set gives you a straight increase to your attack and armor. The Berserker Set really lives up to its name, and it’s everything you could want in a fight.
The best Way of the Wolf armor
Most players in the game don’t specialize in range. If you want to be one of the few who perfect it, look for the Huntsman Set. This armor sets you up with a damage bonus for any target you hit from over 20 meters away and gives you a speed increase. While we know that range may seem underwhelming, this armor will allow you the chance to capitalize on the distance needed for increased damage and make you tough to hit in return.
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