The best armor in God of War Ragnarök

The Ghost of Sparta is in damn decent shape, but there’s only so much his pecs and abs can withstand on their own. Like its predecessor, God of War Ragnarök features a slew of armor that Kratos can wear into combat. It is tough to choose the best; there are, quite frankly, too many options to choose from — Kratos can be a slow-ass fortress, a speedy warrior, or a jack-of-all-trades depending on what you pick.

There’s also another wrinkle to armor in God of War Ragnarök: As we noted in our beginner’s guide, all sets of armor can be leveled up entirely. This stuff is supposed to stick with you for the entire game. It’s up to you to prioritize what you want to max out based on the stats and perks that fit your playstyle.

What follows is a guide to the best armor in God of War Ragnarök. For now, this only covers the early game (ranks 2 to 4), but we’ll be updating this guide over the coming days with the best builds for pivotal points in the narrative. This way, Atreus won’t have to do all the heavy lifting while his father rushes to pick up healthstones around the battlefield every two seconds.

God of War Ragnarök Best Armor Build (Ranks 2 to 4)

The first armor build we recommend for God of War Ragnarök consists of two different sets. The purpose of the combination is to grant Kratos as much healing as often as possible. At the same time, the build also increases the strength, defense, luck, and vitality stats — at the early stage of the game, building a solid foundation that targets the basics of the character is key.

Here are the armor pieces you’ll need, their starting stats, and where to find them:

Image: SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

Nidavellir’s Finest Plackart (Chest Armor)

• Skill: The “Stunning Restoration” skill grants a health burst (which restores Kratos’ health for a few seconds) whenever you stun grab an enemy with R3.
• Starting stats: The armor starts at rank 2 with 10 strength, 10 defense, and 10 vitality points.
• How to get: You can get the Nidavellir’s Finest Plackart chest armor from storefronts in Svartalfheim. This is around the time when the armor set is going to become available at the shop. You’ll need Forged Iron and Dwarven Steel to craft and upgrade it later, for which I recommend tackling the “In Service of Asgard” favor, which can be started with the dwarf playing the instrument in the tavern as you’re looking for Durlin.

Image: SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

Bracers of Raven Tears (Wrist Armor)

• Skill: The “Healing Efficacy II” skill increases the healing from all sources, whether it’s picking up healthstones, using rage abilities, or relying on an armor perk. You’ll get a 15% increase if you wear one piece of the set (either wrist or waist), and 30% if you wear both.
• Starting stats: The armor starts at rank 3 with 19 strength, 10 defense, and 9 luck points.
• How to get: You can get the Bracers of Raven Tears wrist armor as a reward for eliminating six of Odin’s Ravens. Once that’s done, head over to Niflheim and open the first chest on the left side of the tree.

Image: SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

Girdle of Raven Tears (Waist Armor)

• Skill: The “Healing Efficacy II” skill increases the healing from all sources, whether it’s picking up healthstones, using rage abilities, or relying on an armor perk. You’ll get a 15% increase if you wear one piece of the set (either wrist or waist), and 30% if you wear both.
• Starting stats: The armor starts at Rank 3 with 29 Defense and 9 Luck points.
• How to get: You can get the Girdle of Raven Tears waist armor as a reward for eliminating 12 of Odin’s Ravens. Once that’s done, head over to Niflheim and open the second chest on the left side of the tree.

As you can see, combining the Bracers of Raven Tears with the Girdle of Raven Tears is a no-brainer, as we want to aim for that 30% increase to your healing. As for Nidavellir’s Finest Plackart, the boost to vitality is more than welcome in the early stages of the game. Plus, Stun-Grabbing is an action you’ll be doing often against early-game enemies, so the health burst is a great pair.

The chest armor’s skill acts similarly to Doom’s glory kills, in a way, leading you to always stay in movement without having to stop to grab healthstones all the time. But yet again, whenever you do need a pick-me-up from the ground, you’ll have increased healing from it — the same goes with using your rage whenever it’s available.

This armor build should have you covered from rank 2 to at least rank 4 which, depending on where you’re in the main story, should be the stage to start looking for a new set. But in the meantime, focus on upgrading the pieces above when you can.