Best Armor Sets In ARK: Survival Ascended, Ranked

Highlights

• Different armor sets in ARK: Survival Ascended provide various benefits, such as damage resistance and unique traits for specific biomes or situations.
• Cloth armor is the earliest available set, providing a small amount of insulation. Hide armor is better for cave exploration but decreases heat resistance. SCUBA armor is useful for underwater exploration but offers little protection. Fur armor is great for cold resistance but is less effective in warmer climates.
• Ghillie armor is stealthy and blends into the environment, providing good armor and heat resistance. Chitin armor is a mid-game set with high defense but weak durability. Flak armor has exceptional damage resistance but no special buffs. Riot armor is a late-game set with high defense and reduced torpidity. Tek armor is the ultimate armor set with super-human abilities but requires defeating boss arenas to unlock.

ARK: Survival Ascended’s hostile climates and dangerous itinerary of dinosaurs make wearing armor essential for survival. In both PvE and PvP, specific armor sets are more viable than others, either due to superior damage resistance, or unique traits that aid players in certain biomes or situations.

As well as different sets of armor, ARK: Survival Ascended also provides players with a variety of loot tiers that offer improved stats compared to the base, primitive tier. Ascended-tier loot is the best loot tier players can access, most often found in Red Beacons. Furthermore, beacons located at the bottom of the sea, or found within caves, give players the best loot. With so many factors to consider, deciding which set of armor is best for which situation can be tricky.

9 Cloth Armor

Simple, Early-Game Gear

• Cloth Helmet: 10 Armor
• Cloth Chestpiece: 10 Armor
• Cloth Leggings: 10 Armor
• Cloth Gloves: 10 Armor
• Cloth Boots: 10 Armor

Cloth Armor is the very first set of armor available to the player unlocked at level 3. Early game equipment, the cloth armor is extremely easy to craft, costing only Fiber and Hide. A full set of cloth armor at the primitive tier will give the player 50 armor, each piece providing 10.

As well as being able to benefit from the 50 extra defense while wearing a full set of primitive cloth armor, the player will receive a small amount of insulation. While not as strong as other sets of armor, the small benefit players receive while wearing cloth gear is better than nothing.

8 Hide Armor

Great Gear For Cave Explorers

• Hide Helmet: 20 Armor
• Hide Chestpiece: 20 Armor
• Hide Leggings: 20 Armor
• Hide Gloves: 20 Armor
• Hide Boots: 20 Armor

Unlocked at level 15, Hide Armor is the second set of clothing available to players, and only costs Fiber and Hide to craft. A complete set of primitive Hide Armor will provide the player with 100 total armor, double the amount that cloth armor provides, as well as moderate protection from cold weather.

The downside to wearing Hide Armor is that hot weather will be harder to deal with, as a full set of hide armor decreases heat resistance. Hide armor, especially at higher tiers, can be perfect armor to wear into caves, as it can be repaired on the go, unlike most other armor sets.

7 SCUBA Armor

Useful For Underwater Exploration

• SCUBA Mask: 0 Armor
• SCUBA Tank: 0 Armor
• SCUBA Leggings: 5 Armor
• SCUBA Flippers: 0 Armor

Like Fur Armor, SCUBA gear is designed to excel in one area. Allowing players to breathe underwater, SCUBA gear is essential for the two underwater caverns, as well as any deep-sea exploring players wish to indulge in. Unfortunately, SCUBA gear gives almost no protection when worn. However, the set does provide incredible cold resistance, helping to protect players while exploring The Island’s frigid oceans.

Additionally, players can choose to equip a pair of high-armor gloves alongside SCUBA gear, as the set does not come with its own. Equipping a set of Chitin Gloves, for example, will provide the player with at least 50 additional armor. If players are traversing the seas on an ocean mount, the SCUBA Flippers also won’t be necessary to wear, opening another slot for a different piece of armor to increase defenses while still being able to benefit from the underwater breathing provided by the chestpiece, and the increased insulation provided by the leggings.

6 Fur Armor

Provides Excellent Cold Resistance

• Fur Helmet: 40 Armor
• Fur Chestpiece: 40 Armor
• Fur Leggings: 40 Armor
• Fur Gloves: 40 Armor
• Fur Boots: 40 Armor

Fur Armor is designed specifically to protect the wearer from harsh, frozen climates, making the gear somewhat useless in warmer parts of the map. However, a full set of fur gear will provide 200 armor to the player, making it much more effective than hide gear.

While Fur Armor does especially well in the snow biome, providing fantastic insulation against the cold, one or two pieces can be worn in warmer climates to help increase the player’s armor without making the player overheat. For example, wearing a pair of Fur Boots on their own provides 40 defense, just 10 less armor than a full set of cloth gear.

5 Ghillie Armor

Easily Hide From Enemies

• Ghillie Mask: 32 Armor
• Ghillie Chestpiece: 32 Armor
• Ghillie Leggings: 32 Armor
• Ghillie Gloves: 32 Armor
• Ghillie Boots: 32 Armor

Ghillie Armor is a stealthy set of armor that helps the wearer blend into their environment. After upgrading to Unreal Engine 5, ARK: Survival Ascended’s biomes are overrun with thick foliage, making Ghillie Armor even stronger than it was before, as players will find hiding within the undergrowth a lot easier. This camouflage can also be effective against wild dinos, helping to decrease aggro ranges, and giving players an easier time with passive tames.

Additionally, a full set of Ghillie Armor grants a total of 160 defense, with each piece providing 32 armor. As well as providing a decent amount of armor and camouflage from enemies, Ghillie Armor offers fantastic heat resistance, making it the perfect set to wear into the Lava Cave.

4 Chitin Armor

A Great Mid-Game Armor Set

• Chitin Hat: 50 Armor
• Chitin Chestpiece: 50 Armor
• Chitin Leggings: 50 Armor
• Chitin Gloves: 50 Armor
• Chitin Boots: 50 Armor

Chitin Gear is a fantastic mid-game gear that provides a minimum of 250 armor for players in a full set at the primitive tier. Requiring Chitin, Fiber, and Hide to craft, Chitin Armor can only be crafted and repaired at the smithy. Unable to craft Chitin Armor on the go can make wearing it a little risky if the player has no backup, especially as Chitin Armor has relatively weak durability.

Each piece of Chitin Armor has only 50 durability, which is only 5 points more than Hide Armor. Still, the sheer amount of defense that Chitin Armor provides its wearer makes it one of the best armor sets in the game, especially if found and looted at higher tiers from beacons.

3 Flak Armor

Provides Brilliant Damage Resistance

• Flak Helmet: 100 Armor
• Flak Chestpiece: 100 Armor
• Flak Leggings: 100 Armor
• Flak Gloves: 100 Armor
• Flak Boots: 100 Armor

A great mid-to-late-game set of gear that provides an enormous base of 500 armor to the wearer while equipped as a full set, Flak Armor is one of the best armor sets in the game for raw damage resistance. Though the set does not apply any special buffs, such as the camouflage from Ghillie, or the underwater breathing from SCUBA gear, Flak Armor is brilliant at shielding the player from incoming damage.

Moreover, each piece in the set has 120 durability, meaning the player won’t have to worry about the set breaking too early into combat. Craftable at the Smithy for Iron Ingots, Fiber, and Hide, Flak gear can be mixed and matched with specialty gear, such as Fur, to help provide increased armor as well as utility.

2 Riot Armor

Fantastic Late-Game Gear

• Riot Helmet: 115 Armor
• Riot Chestpiece: 115 Armor
• Riot Leggings: 115 Armor
• Riot Gloves: 115 Armor
• Riot Boots: 115 Armor

Riot Armor is a late-game set of equipment that the player unlocks at level 98. Each piece provides 115 armor at the primitive tier, granting the player a minimum of 575 armor if wearing a full set. Costing Polymer, Hide, Silica Pearls, Crystal, and Fiber, Riot Armor is a little expensive to craft. Still, the price is worth it for the brilliant physical protection the gear provides.

In addition to being one of the best sets of armor to wear for damage resistance, Riot gear will also reduce the amount of torpidity a player receives while wearing it. Like Flak Armor, Riot gear can make resisting the elements a little more difficult. However, Riot gear can be mixed and matched with the other armor sets, enabling players to benefit from good armor as well as solid utility. A pair of Riot Gloves alone provides the wearer 115 armor, which is just under half the amount provided by a full set of Chitin Armor.

1 Tek Armor

ARK: Survival Ascended’s Best Armor Set

• Tek Helmet: 180 Armor
• Tek Chestpiece: 180 Armor
• Tek Leggings: 180 Armor
• Tek Gloves: 180 Armor
• Tek Boots: 180 Armor

The ultimate late-game armor set, Tek Armor is a special set of gear that can only be acquired by defeating certain boss arenas to unlock the engrams. Additionally, each piece requires a huge number of materials to craft. However, once crafted, a full set of Tek Armor will provide 900 defense for its wearer, as well as additional effects per piece.

Each piece of Tek Armor grants the wearer super-human abilities, such as night vision, complete resistance to fall damage, and the ability to fly using an advanced jetpack. As well as granting the player an enormous amount of damage resistance, Tek Armor also provides fantastic cold and heat protection. The only downside to Tek Armor is that it will periodically need to recharge, which can be achieved by sacrificing Element. All-in-all, Tek Armor is an extremely overpowered set of gear.