Armor

Armor in Tears of the Kingdom is sold in pieces, and the real price of a set is not the rupees but the number of separate places you have to stand before all three pieces are yours. Some sets are one conversation. Some are one quest chain that hands the pieces over in order. Most of the rest are three caves at three ends of a region, and a few make you go down into the Depths or up onto the sky islands for every piece. That count of stops is how our 19 armor pages are arranged here. Base defense on nearly every piece is 3, and the upgrade guide covers the four Great Fairy stars that take a piece from 3 to 20.

One counter: sets you can buy in a single visit

The Flamebreaker set is the fastest complete set in the game: every piece is on the shelf of the armor shop north of Goron City near Darunia Lake, it grants Flame Guard against Death Mountain's air, and each piece climbs from 3 to 20 defense with Moblin horns, Fireproof Lizards and Smotherwing Butterflies. The Snowquill set at the Brazen Beak in Rito Village is the cold-weather twin: 650 for the headdress, 500 for the tunic and 1,000 for the trousers, 2,150 in total for 9 base defense and cold resistance. The Radiant set is one counter with a catch: Claree in Kakariko asks 5,000 rupees a piece, 15,000 for the set, until the Gloom-Borne Illness quest drops her price to 800 a piece and 2,400 for all three, after which two stars on every piece makes Stal enemies ignore you and bone weapons hit harder.

The two masks are single pieces from single counters. The Bokoblin Mask is Koltin's payment for the first Bubbul Gem you bring him outside Pico Pond Cave, and the Moblin Mask is bought from his stall afterwards for a couple of Bubbul Gems; our page gives the price as two in one paragraph and three in another, so budget three. Neither mask can be upgraded or dyed, but each lets you walk through a camp of its monster unnoticed.

One quest chain: sets that arrive in order

Four sets cost a story rather than a search. The Champion's Leathers is a single piece: read Zelda's diary in Hateno, then light the two torches before the Hyrule Castle throne and the arch behind it opens on the chest. The Vah Ruta Divine Helm waits behind the waterfall in the cave under Zora's Domain, adds swim speed, and can be bought again from Cece's shop for 4,000 rupees once you have owned it and settled the Mayoral Election; Mipha's amiibo is the shortcut. The Fierce Deity set is the whole Misko's Treasure chain: befriend the dog at Cephla Lake Cave for the Ember Trousers, read Misko's note, then find the boots, the chest armor and the mask in three caves including Skull Lake and the Akkala Citadel Ruins Summit Cave, which together open the hidden shrine holding the sword. The Tingle set starts at the same cave: Domidak and Prissen sell three more manuscripts at 100 rupees each, and the shirt, hood and tights are in the caves the manuscripts describe, beginning with the twin peaks of West Necluda. Both chains are also tracked from the quest side in our quests guide.

Three caves: one piece per hole in the ground

This is the game's default pattern and our pages give every cave. The Barbarian set is spread over Necluda: the chest piece in Crenel Hills Cave behind glowing stones a Bomb Flower clears, the helm in Robred Dropoff Cave on an altar you Ascend to, and the leg wraps under ice that any fire weapon thaws. Each piece is 3 defense and plus 1 attack, and the four upgrade ranks run 5, 8, 12 and 20 defense for Lynel horns and a total of 760 rupees per piece. The Ember set starts with the trousers in Cephla Lake Cave, continues to the shirt at the far end of Goronbi River Cave, and finishes with the headdress in a third; it is the fire-resistant set you can assemble before you can afford Flamebreaker. The Frostbite set is three Hebra caves, the Hebra Headspring Cave for the trousers and the Brightcap Cave east of Rito Village for the shirt among them, 2 base defense a piece, and once all three are at two stars a charged attack fires ice. The Rubber set is the only armor with shock resistance: the chest piece in Whistling Hill Cave past a Shock Like, the tights in Horon Lagoon Cave past a Silver Horriblin, and the helm in a third, for full immunity to lightning when all three are worn.

The Depths: sets you collect in the dark

The Miner's set is the Depths' own armor, three pieces around the Great Abandoned Central Mine, with the mask in the Abandoned Kara Kara Mine near Tatayam Lightroot; wear all three and the Shining Steps bonus leaves a trail of glowing petals behind you, and the upgrades are paid in Brightbloom Seeds and Deep Fireflies. Two single pieces live down there too. The Tunic of Time is in a chest in the middle of the Lindor Canyon Mine, reached from the Hyrule Ridge chasm, and upgrades with Amber and a Star Fragment per rank. The Trousers of Twilight are the one set here that begins in the sky: an Old Map on the North Akkala Sky Archipelago points at a chest in the Ancient Underground Fortress below, and once found the trousers can be bought again from a Bargainer Statue for 400 Poes. Both single pieces also drop from a Link amiibo. The Depths lighting guide is the right companion for all three.

The sky: sets scattered across the islands

The Archaic set is the first armor in the game and never leaves the Great Sky Island: the legwear in the opening minutes, the tunic in the Pondside Cave to the southwest, and the Warm Greaves near Gutanbac Shrine, the piece that lets you survive the snowy peak. The Glide set is three sky islands and three dive mini-games, starting at Valor Island reached from the Mount Lanayru tower, and the payoff is gliding between islands without watching the stamina wheel. The Zonaite set is the most spread out: the shin guards under the rotating globe on the Sokkala Sky Archipelago past Gikaku Shrine, the waistguard at the end of a long glide west from the Mount Lanayru tower, and the helm in a shrine chest, for the Energy Up bonus that stretches every Zonai battery. The sky is also where the Sage's Wills are, so a Glide or Zonaite hunt doubles as a Will hunt.

Before any of these: the early options

Our early armor roundup picks the pieces worth wearing before you have finished a single set above, and two standalone pages cover things that are worn but are not armor in the game's sense: Majora's Mask, which is found rather than bought, and the Grizzlemaw-Bear Fabric for the paraglider. When you are ready to upgrade, the four fountains are the counters that take the materials, and the items guide lists which monster parts they want.

Frequently asked questions

Which armor set is quickest to complete?

Flamebreaker, from the Goron City armor shop in one purchase, followed by Snowquill at the Brazen Beak for 2,150 rupees. Every other set on our pages needs at least one quest or three caves.

Which sets cannot be upgraded?

The Bokoblin Mask and the Moblin Mask. Neither takes Great Fairy upgrades or dye. Everything else on our pages goes to 20 defense at four stars, except the Vah Ruta Divine Helm, which tops out at 16.

Is the Radiant set worth 15,000 rupees?

No. Finish Gloom-Borne Illness first and Claree sells each piece for 800, so the full set is 2,400.