Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Armor Ranked: What Is the Best Armor for You?

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Cody has been in the video game business as part of media and content creation for more than 10 years. During that time, he has contributed and even led some of the largest sites in the world dedicated to gaming and entertainment. He has also dabbled some in PR and was a tester for Activision in the past working on the Call of Duty series. When not playing games or writing about them, he enjoys cooking, sharpening his Japanese skills, and watching the latest anime shows.

Bottom Line Up Front

The best armor in Baldur’s Gate 3 does so much more than the basic premise of giving you defense. While that is the core and most important purpose of armor, defense is more than a stat. There are bonus traits and other elements, which can help an armor piece stand out against others.

If I were to come up with the best armor piece of all time in Baldur’s Gate 3, I would have to go with the Helldusk Armor set. While it is exceptionally challenging to unlock in the game, you’ll receive the best armor stats around, and the best part is anyone can use it, even though they aren’t proficient in heavy armor. You’ll have to wait until quite deep into the game to unlock it, but the wait is certainly worth it.

Selection Criteria

Below, you’ll find the selection criteria I used to come up with the list of the best armor in Baldur’s Gate 3. It wasn’t the easiest to come up with, especially considering how many different categories of armor exist in the game, but this is the best way I could come up with various armor pieces that you should know about in this game.

Defensive Strength: The whole point of armor is to gain defensive stat boosts, which will make the attacks you receive from enemies less intense. If these armor pieces don’t offer defense in some way, they are defeating the purpose of being armor and won’t appear on this list.
Bonus Traits: Some armor pieces like gloves don’t necessarily work as traditionally as an armor chest piece for protecting you. This is where bonus traits come in. They could give you resistance to an element or an extra bonus passive ability. Either way, the armor with the best bonus traits ended up here.
Utility: Armor has to be worth using, so it has to be a bit flexible in some areas. I tried to include armor that fits this bill.
Variety: I also tried to include different armor types for all sorts of players and at least one representation in shields, helms, gloves, and boots for players who need to equip something like that on their character. No accessories, though.
Accessibility: Finally, I tried to include a variety of armor pieces that you can find in this game across your journey. There are some early-game pieces, mid-game ones, and even late-game ones to accommodate your time in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Armor Tips

Armor is one of the most confusing parts in Baldur’s Gate 3 since you are, technically, able to equip whatever piece you want, even if it is detrimental to your overall build and character. Here are some of the tips I’ve learned during my time playing this game about armor that you need to know about before you ever start equipping the ten pieces listed below:

Carefully consider every armor piece you equip. For some reason, this game lets you equip and use armor you aren’t proficient in. This is useless to do, so read carefully, and the description will note if you aren’t proficient in it.
Use the highest-tier armor you can use as long as the armor doesn’t break your concentration or limit your spellcasting or other abilities. If you multiclass and have access to heavy armor, there is not much reason not to use it.
Make sure to equip a piece of armor in every slot. You don’t automatically get these slots taken care of by the game, and you aren’t even told what slots you have without digging deeper. You have your regular armor slot, boots slot, helm, and gloves. Plus, some accessories.
Unequip valuable armor from the characters you aren’t using in your party currently. If they’re sitting at your campsite, their armor (and weapons, for that matter) are going to waste.
You can learn new armor proficiencies through a couple of different routes. You can try this through feats or multiclassing with the class that has the armor type you want to learn how to use correctly.

Best Armor in Baldur’s Gate 3 Ranked

Without further ado, let’s dive right into the world of Dungeons & Dragons and take a look at the ten best armor pieces you’ll ever find in Baldur’s Gate 3 across the various light armor, medium armor, and heavy armor that exist in the game. You can’t go wrong with equipping at least one of these pieces for your class, no matter what you play. Let’s get started.

10. Disintegrating Night Walkers

Armor Type: Boots
Stats: N/A
Bonus Traits: Night Walker, Misty Step
Rarity: Very Rare
Recommended Classes: Any class can benefit from this. However, melee classes like Rogue, Barbarian, Paladin, and Bard especially do.

Representing the first set of boots on this list, this is an armor piece you want to wear that won’t necessarily give you extra defense in the numbers sense, but it will at least grant you some passives that will be highly valuable when it comes to surviving in fights.

For one, you get Misty Step, which is a powerful spell that lets you pretty much teleport wherever you want within reason on the battlefield. If you need to reposition away from a foe since you are a ranged character, fantastic. Or if you need to teleport into the fight, it’s also fantastic for that.

And then there is the even more valuable part of this spell, which is the Night Walker passive. With it, webs, vines, snares, grease, and ice will not affect you.

You can safely walk across them and pretty much wherever you want, minus fiery parts, without a concern in the world. This makes it even more impressive for Rogues and the like. To get these boots, slay True Soul Nere, the slave master in the Underdark Grymforge.

9. Cap of Curing

cap of curing Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Armor

Armor Type: Helmet
Stats: None
Bonus Traits: Soothing Songs
Rarity: Uncommon
Recommended Classes: Bard and only Bards

If you happen to play as a Bard, which is one of the most versatile and intriguing classes in this game, you’ll find that you have to get the Cap of Curing. This impressively powerful helmet item grants the user the ability to heal their allies as a Bard without the need for a specific healing spell.

How Soothing Songs works is whenever you use Bardic Inspiration, such as one of your many songs to boost or uplift an ally, it will not only do what it was intended to do but it will also heal them at the same time. The healing is based on a 1d6 die, so it will be between one and six healing points.

That may not seem like a lot, but that type of instantaneous healing without spending another action adds up over time. To get it, you’ll find a locked chest in the Druid Grove near the Tiefling Alfira. Picking it will get you in trouble, though, so I recommend resolving the Act 1 goblins versus Druids and Tieflings issue, and then the camp will be largely empty so you can safely pick it.

8. Graceful Cloth

Armor Type: Clothing
Stats: 10 AC
Bonus Traits: Dexterity Bonus
Rarity: Rare
Recommended Classes: Rogues, Wizards, Rangers, Warlocks, Monk, Sorcerers, Clerics, and any class that benefits from not wearing armor.

For the players out there who can’t or don’t want to wear any armor, the Graceful Cloth clothing might be for you instead. This piece of clothing doesn’t act as defensive armor, so it doesn’t do much to protect you, but that isn’t necessarily bad for players who want to be unarmed like Monks.

What it does do, instead, is grant a permanent plus two points to Dexterity while you’re wearing it. This clothing piece will be crucial if you’re a player who uses Dexterity quite a lot, like a Rogue. However, it is worth considering that it only boosts you to a max of 20 Dexterity. If you already have more than 18 Dexterity, this clothing is pretty much useless to you.

You can get the Graceful Cloth clothing piece in this game by taking it from Lady Esther at the Rosymorn Monastery in the Mountain Pass area of the game.

7. Spidersilk Armor

Armor Type: Light Armor
Stats: 12 AC
Bonus Traits: Stealth boost and Constitution advantage
Rarity: Uncommon
Recommended Classes: Rogues, Trickery Clerics, and any other class that aims to use stealth in Baldurs Gate 3.

If you are a player or have a party member on your side like Astarion, who spends most of their time sneaking around in the shadows, the Spidersilk Armor is one you should certainly consider. At a glance, this light armor doesn’t offer much in terms of defense for your character.

However, that isn’t necessary, as its light nature keeps the character nimble and lightweight on their feet, able to stay in stealth for, hopefully, longer. This is due to its bonus passive traits, which give you a permanent plus one point to Stealth and the advantage whenever there is a Constitution roll in the middle of a fight.

This makes this armor the best possible option for players who want to live in the shadows and never have to worry about someone detecting them as they go around for that highly sought-after sneak attack. You can get the Spidersilk Armor from Minthara. Either have her join your team by siding with the goblins, pickpocket her if you dare, or eliminate her.

6. Gloves of Dexterity

gloves of dexterity Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Armor

Armor Type: Gloves
Stats: None
Bonus Traits: Attack boost, Dexterity boost
Rarity: Very Rare
Recommended Classes: Any class that isn’t Dexterity-based, such as Wizard, Warlock, Sorcerer, Cleric, and so on.

Dexterity is one of the core stats in Baldurs Gate 3, but not every class will be proficient in it from the start. In fact, you don’t even need to be if you have the Gloves of Dexterity on your side. It doesn’t matter what your previous Dexterity stat was before, such as nine or ten, as it will instantly boost it all the way up to a whopping 18.

In fact, you could have a class like I did like, Sorcerer, where you purposefully put your Dexterity stat low and then wear these to allow you to do well when it comes to lockpicking and pickpocketing. Then those stat points can be better used to increase your other stats like Constitution for health and so on.

With the Gloves of Dexterity, pretty much anyone in the game can suddenly become a sneaky person or the one to open up the locked doors. If you don’t use Astarion often or don’t even have him in your party, this is a surefire way to get through the parts of the game that need lockpicking.

That is also all before including the boost to your attack you get from the gloves, which anyone can once again benefit from for fights. If you want to pick up the Gloves of Dexterity for yourself, you’ll want to head to the Githyanki Crèche at the bottom of Rosymorn Monastery and speak with Ajaknir Jeera, where you can purchase the gloves from her for 300 gold.

5. Vital Conduit Boots

Armor Type: Medium Armor Boots
Stats: None
Bonus Traits: Boost to Athletics and Vital Conduit passive
Rarity: Rare
Recommended Classes: Any spellcaster class or anyone who has spells they often use in fights.

It is easy to forget about boots, which are some of the least-interesting armor pieces you can equip in the game. But the best part about these is they usually give you some rather impressive bonus traits that will make your character much more valuable on the battlefield.

Enter the Vital Conduit Boots, which are essential for the spellcasters out there. You get an Athletics boost, which, if you are anything like me and my spellcasting characters, you probably severely lack. That is necessary for bettering your movement and some of the skill checks you’ll encounter.

In addition, the most crucial part is the Vital Conduit passive, which grants any spellcaster eight temporary hit points on top of their usual ones whenever they cast a spell they need to concentrate in. The higher your level, the more concentration spells you’ll likely use, and the more beneficial these boots become for surviving in this game.

If you want to get the Vital Conduit boots, you’ll have to buy them at the NPC Ajaknir Jeer at the Githyanki Crèche underneath Rosymorn Monastery and buy them.

4. Adamantine Shield

adamantine shield Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Armor

Armor Type: Shield
Stats: Plus two to your overall AC rating
Bonus Traits: Adamantine Shield boost and Shield Bash
Rarity: Rare
Recommended Classes: Paladin or any character and class you want to use a shield for

If you use a shield in Baldurs Gate 3, get the Adamantine Shield whenever you get the chance. There isn’t a single shield in this title that comes close to what this one offers you in terms of protection and bonuses. You get a solid boost to your overall AC rating, which is excellent on its own.

In addition, you get the Shield Bash skill, which is a reaction you can use whenever someone melee hits you to possibly knock them prone. That alone is worthy of picking up this shield, but then you get its exclusive passive.

The Adamantine Shield ensures that someone is sent reeling for two turns anytime they hit you with a melee attack. This is the prime trait you want for any tank or aggro character in your party. And if that still isn’t enough, you are also immune to critical hits from melee hits with this shield. I would argue that it is basically broken at this point.

If you want to get the Adamantine Shield, and you certainly should if you have any character who uses shields, you’ll want to do The Adamantine Forge quest in the Underdark in the Grymforge area. This will lead you to this shield, which you can also craft if you would like with a Shield Mold and Mithral Ore in your inventory.

3. Grymskull Helm

Armor Type: Heavy Armor Helmet
Stats: None
Bonus Traits: Hunter’s Mark, critical hit immunity, and fire resistance
Rarity: Very Rare
Recommended Classes: Any class with heavy armor proficiency. You can also learn this proficiency in any class through feats.

When it comes to helmets, there is no better option out there than this one. Sure, it is heavy armor, which limits the classes that can use it, but anyone can learn heavy armor through multiclassing and feats. It is worth it for the similarities it has to the Adamantine Shield while being more accessible to more players, which is why it has a higher ranking.

For instance, you also have immunity to critical hits with this helmet, which is necessary for avoiding any nasty surprises. You also get welcome fire resistance if you don’t already have it, which is arguably the most common element you’ll come across in the game, so that is also a welcome trait.

Finally, you get the Hunter’s Mark, which is a level-one spell. It isn’t the most useful for spellcasters, but any melee-focused classes should consider it. It marks the target so that any time you hit it with a weapon, you’ll get one to six additional damage for each hit. Fighters with their double hits per turn can get unbelievable use out of this. Hunter’s Mark is a bonus action, so you don’t have to waste a standard move on using it.

How you go about picking up the Grymskull Helm is by heading to The Adamantine Forge in the Grymforge area of the Underdark. When you get here, pull the lava valve and be ready for a fight against a single level eight golem, which is potentially double your party’s levels at this point. Defeat it, though, and you’ll get a ton of experience and the Grymskull Helm, so it is certainly worth the effort.

2. Adamantine Splint Armor

adamantine splint armor Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Armor

Armor Type: Heavy Armor
Stats: 18 AC
Bonus Traits: Magical Plate and Intense Adamantine Backlash
Rarity: Very Rare
Recommended Classes: Any class in the entire game that can use heavy armor and doesn’t use stealth.

This is another case of if you can afford to use heavy armor in Baldurs Gate 3 or can learn how to use it, do so for the second-best armor in the game. Though there is an armor better than this one, most players won’t be able to get the next armor until much later in the game. As such, this is your primary armor target for most of the story.

It has one of the highest AC ratings in the entire game, which is welcome enough on its own. But you also get some of the best bonus traits in the game, starting with its critical hits immunity. Furthermore, if someone is able to land a hit on you, they are guaranteed for it to do two less damage with Magical Plate, which might even render some attacks pointless.

If that still isn’t enough with this armor, you also get Intense Adamantine Backlash, which sends the attacking enemy reeling for a whopping three turns if they even manage to land a hit. This is such an overpowered armor that the developers had to nerf it with some flaws.

For one, you have a disadvantage regarding stealth checks, so no stealthy users should use this. In addition, you get no AC bonus from your Dexterity stat. Honestly, you don’t need it given the stats of this armor but still worth noting. If you want to get this must-have armor, you can find it during The Adamantine Forge quest at the Grymforge in the Underdark. You can also craft it using a Splint Mold and Mithral Ore.

1. Helldusk Armor

helldusk armor Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Armor

Armor Type: Legendary Heavy Armor
Stats: 21 AC
Bonus Traits: Helldusk Armor, Infernal Retribution, Fly, and Prime Aegis of Fire
Rarity: Legendary
Recommended Classes: Everyone and anyone. Spellcasters, melee users, Rangers, Druids, and Rogues. If you live and breathe in Baldurs Gate 3, you need this.

Legendary weapons and equipment in Baldurs Gate 3 are almost nonexistent. But the few that exist demand your attention. Enter the Helldusk Armor, the armor for every character and party member in this game.

There is not a single build and player I would not recommend this armor to. You might look at it and think, “How could I use it if I don’t have heavy armor proficiency, though?” Great question. Helldusk Armor’s first passive lets you use it even without proficiency with heavy armor.

Yes, you could even be unable to use medium armor in this game, and you will be considered proficient with heavy armor while having this equipped. Anyone can use it, and there is no penalty to even stealth while having it on, making it perfect for any build.

The only flaw is its lack of AC bonus from Dexterity. You also get the Fly spell for free, which makes you able to move anywhere around the battlefield within reason. You also have an intriguing mix of Infernal Retribution and Prime Aegis of Fire.

The former sounds bad, causing any spellcasters to gain Burning for three turns after succeeding in a saving throw. However, Prime Aegis of Fire comes in and stops you from getting burned in any way, shape, or form and gives you some fire resistance to boot. Even better, you take three less damage from all sources.

Basically, you even get more out of this armor if you are a spellcaster, but even non-magical classes can’t find any better armor anywhere else in the game. Now, you might be wondering what the catch is with this armor, and yes, there is one, given how overpowered and overwhelmingly better it is than any other armor on this list.

The unfortunate catch is most players won’t be able to use this armor until very deep into Act 3 unless you do some extraordinary grinding or use mods. This is because the only way to get it is, spoiler alert, heading to the House of Hope, typically during the Escape the Deal quest and taking down Raphael once and for all.

The problem is he’s level 12, which is the max level. Good luck doing that fight before max level yourself, which will make you have to be near the end of the game to get it for most players. It’s worth the wait, though.

FAQs

Question: What is the best full-plate armor in Baldurs Gate 3?

Answer: The best full-plate armor in Baldurs Gate 3 is the Helldusk Armor. This one is complete with everything you need, from the armor set from the gloves to the boots to the chest piece to the helm and more. It is also the single best set of armor you’ll find in the entire game.

Question: What is the best armor for Thieves in Baldurs Gate 3?

Answer: The best armor for Thieves or Rogues in Baldurs Gate 3 will be a light armor type. Of the light armor in this game, the best one for stealthy and nimble players will be the Spidersilk Armor. It gives you a decent amount of protection while also boosting your stealth mechanics.

Question: What is the best dagger in Baldurs Gate 3?

Answer: The best dagger you can use in Baldurs Gate 3 is the Sussur Dagger or Blade of the First Blood. The former is excellent for silencing enemies so they can’t use their spells on you from afar again. On the other hand, Blade of the First Blood is best for giving you a slight armor boost, True Strike, and a higher chance of landing critical hits.

Use the Best Armor to Escape the Nautiloid and More in Baldur’s Gate 3

The best armor in Baldurs Gate 3 is there to protect you from the horrors of this world. This high fantasy Dungeons & Dragons RPG universe features countless enemies and creatures you’ll come across. It is also one of the most brutal games you’ll play, depending on how well you grind, so you’ll want the best armor on your side.

When it comes to the best single piece of armor that everyone should consider owning when they get the chance, it is easily the Helldusk Armor. There is no stronger armor out there, and the best part is that any character in the game can use it, regardless of race or class. There is simply no comparison to this armor.

Unfortunately, the one downside to the Helldusk Armor is that you likely won’t get it until quite deep into the game’s story. That means it won’t serve you well until you are almost done with the game. As such, you’ll need other armor and items to help you out as you begin the game and try to escape the Nautiloid ship and so on, so beware.

Continue reading:

Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Weapons Ranked: Which is the Best Weapon for You?

Baldur’s Gate 3 Getting Started Guide: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Spells Ranked: Magic Missile, Healing Word, More