Best Armor in Starfield: Legendary and Unique sets

Solar wind, extreme radiation and hostile alien lifeforms are just a few of the nightmarish phenomena trying to melt your vulnerable body in Starfield.

To stand up to the dangers of deep space exploration, your spacesuit needs to be up to the task. That’s why it’s imperative that you seek out some of the best armor in Starfield early on in your adventure.

Without the right equipment, not only will you end up in a puddle on the floor before long, but you will also miss out on tons of handy buffs that can make your journey a whole lot easier.

Here’s where to look for the best armor and spacesuits in Starfield!

How to get the best armor in Starfield

As you scour the galaxy in Starfield, you can find golden armor pieces packed with extra perks and bonuses. These are legendary armor pieces - rare and powerful items with abilities over and above their base stats.

To have the best chance of getting your hands on legendary armor, you need to defeat “legendary enemies”. These are the extra-tough versions of regular enemies you fight throughout the game who have a much higher health total.

There are two ways to maximise your chance of getting legendary armor from legendary enemies:

• Play on the hardest difficulty so more legendary enemies appear.
• Make a save as you enter an area so you can repeatedly farm the legendary enemies inside until a piece of legendary armor you like drops.

Personally, I like to hoard items and resources. This means that the resource hauler perk is a must, since it reduces the carry weight of all resources. Alternatively, pretty much every damage reduction perk is great, since they’re scaled against the damage you receive rather than just your defences.

Best Starfield armor sets

Just like with the best weapons in Starfield, as well as legendary items, you can also find unique pieces of equipment. These super-cool one offs help to add personality to your character, while also often providing upgraded stats on the base versions of powerful armor archetypes.

These are some of our most-used finds:

Mantis Armor

One of the best armor sets in Starfield is completely free: the Mantis Armor.

As you fight spacers around the galaxy, you will receive a note that points you towards a secret base on Denebola I-b in the Denebola system. While it’s described as a level 30 system, you can muddle through pretty much whenever you want.

Land on the planet and you will find the Mantis quest. Progress through the lair and you will eventually reach an underground bunker containing your prize.

The Mantis Armor is a brilliant set with good resistances and pieces loaded with legendary perks. A full set of legendary armor is nothing to sniff at, but there’s a way to make it even better.

Each of the legendary perks on the Mantis armor set are randomly assigned. Make a save just before you enter the Lair of the Mantis and you can re-roll any useless, lesser or unwanted perks that you don’t like - hopefully into something better.

A nice bonus to completing the Mantis quest is you can also grab one of the best free ships in Starfield too, the Razorleaf.

Mark 1 Constellation set

In the basement of Constellation headquarters in New Atlantis, you can find a high-quality - and not to mention cool-looking - armor set that you can wear and enjoy almost immediately.

The Mark 1 Constellation set boasts very solid stats, and is a fantastic platform for modding once you’ve got the invested skills in spacesuit design. However, because it lacks legendary perks, you might find yourself gravitating towards loot drops before you reach that point. The resource hauler and pocketed perks are just too good.

If you can look past that though, or create a mixed set with great perks on a single armor piece (because they don’t stack), the Mark 1 armor is an excellent choice throughout the early and mid game thanks to its powerful resistances.

To get it, make your way down into The Lodge’s basement via the staircase to the right of the entrance. You find the Mark 1 armor set in a display case in the back right corner of the basement.

The display case is locked, but on PC (and sometimes on Xbox too) you can grab it through a crack in it. Line your character up with the edge of the door panel on the opposite side to the hinges. Then run your reticle up the door opening until the interaction prompt changes from the door to the mannequin inside.

It’s finicky, but try walking softly towards the door to really press yourself up against it - this seems to force the issue. If you’re struggling to line it up, but can see the mannequin icon flash up quickly, try mashing the A button to interact with it.

If you want to snag it early, you’re probably best to do so soon - this is probably a bug that will get patched shortly. Obviously, you could also just pick the lock and gain access to the armor set that way.

Gran-Gran’s Marine armor

Just one of the many incredible gifts you’re given by your parents if you choose the Kid Stuff trait in character creation, Gran-Gran’s Marine armor is a unique, upgraded UC Marine suit with improved damage resistance.

So not only is it free, it’s better than most of the loot you pick up too.

Like the Mark 1 set, it lacks legendary perks. However, again, this makes it a good base for modding outside of its solid resistances.

Chameleon Deepcore Spacesuit (or any spacesuit with a Chameleon modifier)

During our time playing Starfield, not every piece of armor we equip is to protect us from combat or the elements. In some instances, such as the Ryujin Industries questline, you'll find yourself stealthing through offices.

It was during segments like these that the Chameleon Deepcore Spacesuit came in handy. That said, the 'Chameleon' part is a modifier that you can find on other spacesuits too, but as a modifier, it can't be changed or added to other pieces of gear. Instead, you need to naturally and randomly find a spacesuit with the modifier already attached.

We found the Chameleon Deepcore Spacesuit on one of the many Spacers and Ecliptics we've fought with. Though, you might get even luckier and find a legendary bit of kit with the modifier, and more! Either way, this spacesuit can be great for very slowly sneaking up on people and pickpocketing them, or tampering with computers and all of the other mischief Starfield asks that you get up to. You'll be invisible whenever you're crouched and not moving, making life as a thief - or a plain criminal - a little easier. This is especially good if you'd rather put your skill points into something other than stealth, too!

Starborn spacesuit

The Starborn spacesuit is one of the best in Starfield, but you won't get your hands on this during the early-game, or even the late-game for that matter. Spoilers ahead.

You'll be in possession of the Starborn Spacesuit after entering The Unity during Starfield's end-game. This is Starfield's way of kicking off New Game Plus, and will also grant you the Starborn ship. So, if you want your hands on this fancy-looking suit, you'll need to complete Starfield's main story at least once.

What's better? The Starborn spacesuit will improve in stats with each NG+ you start.

That's it for armour sets, but do check out our other Starfield guides for more tips, including on farming titanium, curing addictions and upgrading ships.