Protecting yourself from enemies in the early game can be a little tough as the default armor will not do much of the protection. While slashing enemies, having upgraded armor can really save your day.
While upgrading, defense is the first thing you need to look for in armor. The first armor upgrade; Fresh Fern will fill the much-needed gap in terms of defense stats.
In Wild Hearts, some armors like Young Samurai have weaknesses towards some elements such as fire and earth. This information can really come in handy when you are choosing to fight a certain enemy later on.
The following are the best early-game and late-game armor in Wild Hearts. Since the game was just released, we’ll be updating with the late-game armor soon.
Best early-game armor
Fresh Fern armor set
In order to unlock the Fresh Fern armor set you will have to set out to defeat Ragetail. This monstrosity comes in the form of a giant rat. Once you kill it, the next objective for you will be to craft a forge for Natsume in Wild Hearts.
| Armor | Crafting Materials Required |
|---|---|
| Fresh Fern Headgear | 2x Ancient Lumber |
| Fresh Fern Gauntlets | 2x Ancient Lumber, 1x Lizard Bloom |
| Fresh Fern Body Armor | 2x Ancient Lumber, 1x Small Kemono Skin |
| Fresh Fern Kusazuri | 1x Small Crystal Ore |
| Fresh Fern Sune-ate | 1x Small Scale |
This armor set is easy and cheap to craft as you can obtain the materials for it around the region surrounding the Giant Tree Trunk Camp. This armor set will serve as an upgrade for you if you are using the Hunters Grab set and will significantly boost some of your stats as well. These include:
| Stats | Points |
|---|---|
| Defense | 35 |
| Affinity | 0 |
| Wood | 10 |
| Fire | 0 |
| Water | 0 |
| Wind | 0 |
| Earth | 5 |
Young Samurai armor set
The second early-game armor set that you can unlock in Wild Hearts is the Young Samurai armor set. However, to craft, this armor set you will have to resort to hunting the two Kemonos “Ragetail” and “Sapscourge”.
Once you defeat these you can use their parts like “Sapscourge Horn, Tail, Ragetail Fang, Claw, etc…” and go to the forge that you crafted for Natsume. There you can use these materials to craft the Young Samurai Armor set
| Armor | Crafting Materials Required |
|---|---|
| Young Samurai Headgear (Helmet) | 1x Sapscourge Horn, 1x Sapscourge Leafbeard, 3x Small Scale, 50x Gold |
| Young Samurai Gauntlets | 1x Ragetail Fang, 50x Gold |
| Young Samurai Body Armor | 1x Ragetail Pelt, 1x Sapscourge Tail, 2x Sapscourge Leaf Beard, 2x Ancient Lumber, 50x Gold |
| Young Samurai Haidate | 1x Sapscourge Horn, 1x Sapscourge Tail, 50x Gold |
| Young Samurai Sune-ate | 1x Ragetail Fang, 1x Ragetail Claw, 2x Small Crystal Ore, 50x Gold |
Once you equip this armor set you will be able to defeat the first three Kemono with relative ease. The Young Samurai Armor set will benefit you by providing you with a good health boost increase during the fight with these monsters.
Furthermore, your evasion techniques in terms of Sidestep capability will also tend to increase by 6 percent when you are equipped in this particular armor set.
| Stats | Points |
|---|---|
| Defense | 40 |
| Affinity | 0 |
| Wood | 20 |
| Fire | -15 |
| Water | 0 |
| Wind | 20 |
| Earth | -10 |
| Health Boost | +3 |
Roaming Bard armor set
If you value high defense stats then the Roaming Bard Armor should be an ideal choice for you as a Wild Hearts best armor set. The reason is that once you are equipped with this armor set; you can easily deal heavy damage.
To craft the Roaming Bard armor set you will have to hunt the Spineglider and Dreadclaw for supplies. These will include parts like Spineglider hides, Dreadclaw skin, etc.”
Once you gather the required materials make your way to Minato’s Forge where you can craft the armor set itself. If you are unable to find or defeat these monsters then you can forage these items from Blossom Trail and the Natsukodachi Isle as well.
| Armor | Crafting Materials Required |
|---|---|
| Roaming Bard Mengu (Headgear) | 5x Ancient Lumber, 3x Dreadclaw Talon, 2x Dreadclaw Corona, 170 Gold |
| Roaming Bard Teko | 2x Spineglider Horn, 5x Coral Fragment, 2x Bluestone, 170 Gold |
| Roaming Bard Uwagi | 2x Spineglider Claw,1x Spineglider Dripstone, 3x Dreadclaw Sicklefeather, 170 Gold |
| Roaming Bard Hakama (Small) | 2x Dreadclaw Skin, 2x Small Kemono Carpace, 5x Bluestone, 170 Gold |
| Roaming Bard Sune-ate | 2x Spineglider Hide, 5x Coral Fragment, 170 Gold |
Other than the basic stats, Roaming Bard also has additional innate abilities such as Presence of mind, Savage, and Recovery Boost. All of these abilities will help you protect yourself from different types of enemies.
It has good all-rounder elemental protection other than a little weakness towards element fire. In terms of stats the Roaming Bard Armor produces the following results:
| Stats | Points |
|---|---|
| Defense | 55 |
| Affinity | 50 |
| Wood | -15 |
| Fire | 20 |
| Water | 10 |
| Wind | 10 |
| Earth | -10 |
Ocean Wave armor set
The Ocean Wave armor set is an excellent choice in terms of best early-game armor as it provides you with a high defense rating.
Moreover, after equipping yourself with this armor you can also use the Stealth Art Skill as well in Wild Hearts. This allows you to perform stealth attacks on the monsters without alerting them of your presence.
| Armor | Crafting Materials Required |
|---|---|
| Ocean Wave Hachimaki (Headgear) | 2x Small Kemono Carapace, 2x Serpent Slough, 100 Gold |
| Ocean Wave Uwagi (Gauntlets) | 5x Ancient Lumber, 4x Coral Fragment, 3x Crustaceous Moss, 100 Gold |
| Ocean Wave Gloves | 5x Coral Fragment, 5x Bluestone, 100 Gold |
| Ocean Wave Momohiki | 4x Ancient Lumber, 4x Small Scale, 4x Coral Fragment, 100 Gold |
| Ocean Wave Sune-ate | 5x Ancient Lumber, 4x Snapspine Cotton, 100 Gold |
This armor is perfect for players that want to play stealthily and attack without knocking. The benefit of Stealth Art is that you can easily knock out more than half of the enemy’s health before the fight.
| Stats | Points |
|---|---|
| Defense | 45 |
| Affinity | 200 |
| Wood | 0 |
| Fire | 10 |
| Water | 0 |
| Wind | 0 |
| Earth | 5 |
Best mid-game armor in Wild Hearts
Bandit armor set
The Bandit armor set is one of the best Wild Hearts armor sets you can find mid-game. This armor set can be unlocked after you defeat Icetusk or Cobalt Lavaback. These beasts will provide you with the required material in terms of crafting this particular armor set in Wild Hearts.
| Armor | Crafting Materials Required |
|---|---|
| Bandit Mengu (Headgear) | 3x Cobalt Lavaback Hide, 2x Cobalt Lavaback Molten Rock, 420 Gold |
| Bandit Uwagi (Gauntlets) | 1x Cobalt Lavaback Tail, 1x Icetusk Tail, 2x Icetusk Frost Limb, 420 Gold |
| Bandit Tekko | 4x Icetusk Horn, 2x Peculiar Cocoon, 420 Gold |
| Bandit Loincloth | 3x Strigine Flight Bone, 3x Cobalt Lavaback Fang, 2x Lightstone, 420 Gold |
| Bandit Boots | 1x Icetusk Ivory, 2x Lightstone, 420 Gold |
The reason for preferring this mid-game armor set is because it provides you with a core boost of 10 percent along with additional perks like freezing recovery of 22 percent. In terms of Armor Stats, the Bandit Armor set has the following ratings:
| Stats | Points |
| Defense | 105 |
| Affinity | 50 |
| Wood | -10 |
| Fire | 20 |
| Water | 20 |
| Wind | -15 |
| Earth | 0 |
Argent armor set
The Argent armor set is also a great pick in terms of best mid-game armor sets. This armor set can be unlocked after defeating the Kemono “Death Stalker” during the second chapter of Wild Hearts. After that, you can salvage its parts to craft the Argent armor set. It consists of:
| Armor | Crafting Materials Required |
|---|---|
| Argent Hemet | 2x Lightstone, 2x Deathstalker Claw, 560 Gold |
| Argent Breastplate | 3x Simian Yin Organ Gem, 2x Deathstalker Ice Tail, 2x Deathstalker Hide, 560 Gold |
| Argent Vambraces | 2x Deathstalker Pelt, 1x Deathstalker Hide, 560 Gold |
| Argent Faulds | 2x Deathstalker Pelt, 1x Deathstalker Icicle, 3x Peculiar Cocoon, 560Gold |
| Argent Sabatons | 2x Lightstone, 2x Deathstalker Pelt, 2x Deathstalker Fang, 560 Gold |
On the defensive side, the Argent armor set provides you with a Health boost of +3 along with the Dodge boost of +2. These can help you in dangerous situations as they increase your mobility altogether as well.
| Stats | Points |
| Defense | 175 |
| Affinity | 0 |
| Wood | 15 |
| Fire | -25 |
| Water | 25 |
| Wind | 0 |
| Earth | -1 |
Brighteye armor set
The Brighteye is also considered the best mid-game armor set in Wild Hearts. You can unlock this specific armor set just by defeating the Kemono “Ripclaw” or “Pearlbreak” during the game. As usual, you can salvage their parts to craft the Brighteye Armor Set. The armor set consists of:
| Armor | Crafting Materials Required |
|---|---|
| Brighteye Archer Straw Hat (Headgear) | 3x Giant Kemono Petal, 2x Ripclaw Corona Spray, 3x Ripclaw Sickle Feather, 4x Long Pearl Break Tail Feather, 700 Gold |
| Brighteye Archer Body Armor (Gauntlets) | 4x Sharp Ripclaw Talon, 2x Ripclaw Bloom Break, 1x Pearlbeak Light Orb, 3x Sharp Pearlbreak Talon, 700 Gold |
| Brighteye Archer Tekko | 4x Sharp Pearlbeak Bill, 2x Pearlbeak Razor Wing, 3x Blue Columnar Ore, 700 Gold |
| Brighteye Archer Hakama | 4x Ripclaw Petal Derm, 2x Sharp Pearlbeak Talon, 4x Blue Columnar Ore, 3x Small Kemono Shell Skin, 700 Gold |
| Brighteye Archer Tabi | 4x Ancient Lumber, 4x Corestone, 3x Ripclaw Petal Derm, 5x Demon Rock, 700 Gold |
The reason the Brighteye armor set is considered the best Wild Hearts armor set is that it provides you with different aspects. These include fatigue recovery, fatigue resilience, gallantry, and resurrection recovery which can turn the tide of the battle in your favor quite easily. In terms of Armor Stats, the Brighteye Armor set has the following ratings:
| Stats | Points |
| Defense | 200 |
| Affinity | 5 |
| Wood | 10 |
| Fire | -25 |
| Water | 25 |
| Wind | 20 |
| Earth | -20 |
