The best Zelda Tears of the Kingdom armor sets are found all across Hyrule, but while some armor is definitely better than others, the idea of a definitive best set doesn't really apply when it's more about having the right armor for the right situation. Not to mention that if you're planning on upgrading armor in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, some sets are certainly a lot easier to upgrade than others.
With that in mind, we've formed this list of the best armor in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, including locations, benefits and more besides. If you want the best protection possible, here's where to start hunting...
Best Zelda Tears of the Kingdom armor locations
There's no one best armor set in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, as different costumes will allow for different buffs that'll come useful in different times. Below, we've listed multiple outfits and pieces of armor that everybody should have. With all these in your inventory, you'll be ready for anything. Note that downwards arrows on the map represent that you need to go to the Depths in the marked area, and upwards arrows into the Sky.
- Champion's Leathers (Torso): High defense.
- Climbing Gear (Set): Increases climbing speed.
- Desert Voe Headband (Head): Increases Heat resistance.
- Fierce Deity Mask (Head): Increases attack.
- Flamebreaker Armor (Set): Flame proofing.
- Majora's Mask (Head): Increases stealth.
- Midna's Helmet (Head): Increases Gloom resistance, high defense.
- Snowquill Armor (Set): Increases Cold resistance.
- Zora Armor (Torso): Allows Link to swim up waterfalls.
- Ancient Hero's Aspect (Full Body piece): Best protection when fully upgraded
You can scroll down or use the tags at the side to find more details on how to get that armor, or find out why it's so good! Otherwise there's a few things to remember: when it comes to the best armor in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, the first thing to note is that you don't always need the full outfit. Armor is broken up into three categories in this game, depending on whether you wear it on your torso, head or legs. Some armor comes in sets of three that cover all parts of the body, while other armor is unique to a single part of the body (such as a lot of unique helmets). However, when sets do exist, there's often a bonus that comes with wearing the full ensemble, even more than the individual perks given by each piece.
However, wearing a full set isn't always a great idea - there's no need to wear the full Snowquill armor to battle back the cold, for example, if it's only slightly chilly and a single piece of clothing will keep Link warm. Better to just wear that piece and put other armor with different perks in the other two slots.
Of course, this is advice for those in the mid-to-late game stages who are hunting down the best armor in TOTK. For those who are starting off in the early sections of the tutorial, our page on how to get clothes and a shirt in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom might be more what you're looking for.
Champion's Leathers
- Location: Hyrule Castle Throne Room
- Body Part: Torso
- Effect: None
- Starting Defense: 5
- Upgradeable: Yes
How to get: Go into Hyrule Castle itself and head to the highest point, where you'll find the Throne Room. On either side of the Throne itself is an unlit torch - set both of them alight with either a fire weapon, or anything burning you have to hand. Once both lit, the throne will move to reveal a chest with the Champion's Leathers inside.
Why it's worth getting: Aside from being an updated version of Link's costume from Breath of the Wild, the Champion's Leathers is one of the best Zelda Tears of the Kingdom armor pieces because of its high defensive buffs. Even the soldier's plate armor you can find isn't as good as this blue summer shirt, so be sure to pick it up early.
Climbing Gear
Unlike other TOTK best armor suggestions on this list, we recommend getting the full set of Climbing gear thanks to its speedy buffs while scaling even the highest peaks. Here's where to find each piece:
- Location: North Hyrule Plain Cave (body), Upland Zorana Byroad (legs), Ploymus Mountain Cave (head)
- Body Part: Full Set
- Effect: Climbing Speed Up
- Starting Defense: 9 total (3 per piece worn)
- Upgradeable: Yes
How to get: Spread across Hyrule, this set is found in both the Zora's Domain and West of the Castle.
- Climber's Bandanna (head): For this one, head to Ploymus Mountain Cave, just west of Zora's Domain and down the cliffs from Lulu Lake. Inside you'll see a lot of rocks jutting out - the challenge is to climb all the way up them to the highest point of the cave. We recommend making some sticky elixirs (it's wet in here), but at the top you'll find the bandanna in a shrine.
- Climbing Gear (body): Near the first of the Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Geoglyphs in North Hyrule Plain is the little New Serenne Stable. Across from that to the East is North Hyrule Plain Cave, with the entrance facing South. Fight your way through the LIke Likes and Horriblins to find the shrine with the Body armor inside.
- Climbing Boots (legs): The most annoying of the set to reach, head to the Upland Zorana Skyview Tower (found at our Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Skyview Towers guide), then glide South down the cliffs. Just North of Ralis Pond is the Upland Zorana Byroad Cave - go inside and fight through the Like Likes, but halfway you'll find a pool. Turn Northeast at the pool to see a partially-hidden route - fight through that until you reach a flooded room full of ruins. Using Ultrahand to lift the gate at the far end of the room will lower the water level - allowing you to duck under the stairs to the right of that gate. A cave leads to the last shrine with the Climbing Boots located inside.
Why it's worth getting: It should be obvious, but moving faster while you climb means you're far less likely to run out of stamina halfway up a cliff, building or mountainside. If you're on the edge of a wall, swapping immediately to this set will massively increase your chances of making it to the top.
Desert Voe Headband
- Location: Kara Kara Bazaar, Northeast of Gerudo Town
- Body Part: Head
- Effect: Heat Resistance
- Starting Defense: 3
- Upgradeable: Yes
How to get: This headpiece is sold by a Gerudo merchant at Kara Kara Bazaar, halfway on the path through the Desert to Gerudo Town. It'll cost you 450 rupees - not cheap, but definitely worth it if you don't have any heat resistant clothing. It's one of the best TOTK armor pieces thanks to its ability to keep you cool without chugging loads of heat resistant elixirs or meals, especially if your vitality isn't in need of a top-up.
Why it's worth getting: Heat Resistance is essential to exploring the desert, as you'll take damage if you're too warm, but most areas of the desert aren't so warm that you'll need the full Desert Voe armor set. Just throw on this headband and most of your desert wanderings will be safe.
Fierce Deity Mask
- Location: Skull Lake Cave, North Akkala
- Body Part: Head
- Effect: Attack up, looks cool
- Starting Defense: 3
- Upgradeable: Yes
How to get: The Fierce Deity Mask is arguably the best piece of head armor in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, found inside the "right eye" of Skull Lake in North Akkala. One eye is a Chasm to the Depths, but you want the other one. Drop down - inside are numerous deadly monsters, but also a chest with the Fierce Deity Mask inside.
Why it's worth getting: Part of a larger set, this very snazzy reference to Majora's Mask increases attack damage on all weapons, a great buff. The reason we don't suggest the full set is because it's pretty lacking in defense, so better to pair this with the Champion's Leathers or similar gear.
Flamebreaker Armor
- Location: Goron City, Death Mountain
- Body Part: Full Set
- Effect: Flame Breaker/Fire Immunity
- Starting Defense: 9 total (3 per piece worn)
- Upgradeable: Yes
How to get: Simply buy it from Goron City Armor Shop. You can buy a full set here, with the cheapest part being the torso for 700 Rupees, but we actually only recommend getting a single piece - it's pretty expensive to buy the whole thing, and a single layer of fire immunity will protect you while exploring across Death Mountain and even within it.
Why it's worth getting: Basically for the easy exploration. You can do without it if you make some Fireproof Elixirs, but it's easier just to have this in your backpack whenever you want to dive into a volcano.
Majora's Mask
- Location: Floating Coliseum, the Depths
- Body Part: Head
- Effect: Stealth increase
- Starting Defense: 1
- Upgradeable: No
How to get: Southwest of Hyrule Field are the "Coliseum Ruins", in which you'll find a horrible Gleeok. Don't worry, you don't need to kill that - you need to go down beneath it. Directly under the Coliseum Ruins, in the Depths, is the Floating Coliseum, which challenges you to fight a boss rush of five, increasingly deadly Lynels, which also have the Gloom effect on them to make things worse. Kill them all and the chest in the arena will unlock - with the original Majora's Mask inside!.
Why it's worth getting: Majora's Mask has rubbish defense, but it's one of the best armor pieces in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom thanks to its huge stealth bonus. Can be great for slipping through dangerous areas if you don't want a fight, since the enemies simply won't know you're there.
Midna's Helmet
- Location: Lone Island Coliseum, the Depths
- Body Part: Head
- Effect: Gloom Resistance
- Starting Defense: 7
- Upgradeable: No
How to get: Head to Eventide Island, East of Lurelin in the very bottom right corner of the map. On Eventide's North side is a Chasm that'll lead to the Depths, and the Lone Island Coliseum beneath. Climb into the Coliseum and defeat all the waves of Gloom-covered Bokoblins to unlock the chest and get Midna's Helmet.
Why it's worth getting: Midna's Helmet not only provides Gloom protection and resistance - which is excellent when you're in the Depths and against Ganon's forces - but it's got a very good defensive stat for a starting bit of gear.
Snowquill Armor
- Location: Rito Village, Hebra Mountains
- Body Part: Full Set
- Effect: Cold Resistance
- Starting Defense: 9 total (3 per piece worn)
- Upgradeable: Yes
How to get it: Once you reach Rito Village in the Hebra Mountains, their Armor Shop will sell the full Snowquill armor set. The Snowquill Tunic is the cheapest piece at 500 Rupees, and we suggest buying only that - once you've also got the Archaic Warm Greaves from Great Sky Island, pairing them together will render you immune to practically any sort of cold in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. If you haven't found the Greaves yet, the attached guide will show you how.
Why it's worth getting: Snowquill armor allows you to survive cold weather without taking damage, and that's essential to exploring across practically half the map in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, whether it's the Hebra Mountains, Tabantha Tundra, Gerudo Desert at night and Mount Lanayru, to name a few. You can survive by cooking up spicy peppers, but much easier to just put on a feathery jacket.
Zora Armor
- Location: Mipha Court, Zora's Domain
- Body Part: Torso
- Effect: Allows Link to swim up waterfalls
- Starting Defense: 3
- Upgradeable: Yes
How to get it: The Zora Armor chestplate is given to you simply as part of the main questline for the Zora and Prince Sidon. Progress as instructed, and Yona will ask you to bring her an Ancient Arowana fish. That's easy enough - they're swimming around Mipha's statue. Bring her one for this armor piece.
Why it's worth getting: Though somewhat situational, the ability to swim up waterfalls can be incredibly helpful when trying to reach places like Toto Lake in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, where waterfalls provide a very handy shortcut. It can even allow you to access some of the Sky Islands by moving up the water that spills off them. There are two other pieces of Zora Armor to complete the set, but they're far less essential than this one.
Ancient Hero's Aspect
- Location: Temple of Time, Great Sky Islands
- Body Part: Full body
- Effect: Makes Link look like a Zonai / enhances Master Sword / unrivalled defense when upgraded
- Starting Defense: 12
- Upgradeable: Yes
How to get it: The Ancient Hero's Aspect is the reward for beating every single Shrine. If you're wondering how long that'll take, we've actually written a piece on how many Shrines there are in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, but you'll need to beat them all. Once you do, head to the Temple of Time in the tutorial area Great Sky Island, where there'll be a chest with this unique armor piece inside.
Why it's worth getting: The Ancient Hero's Aspect has the best armor rating in the game, hands down - if you can upgrade it. Though it covers the full body, when fully upgraded it has a staggering 84 defense rating, meaning that even the toughest Zelda Tears of the Kingdom King Gleeok boss fight will only do minor blows. Only problem is, you'll have to beat a lot of tough boss fights to get the materials to upgrade it, or make use of an existing Dupe Glitch that still works in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
It's also worth noting that it increases the power of the Master Sword's ranged attack, and makes Link look like a Zonai! It's purely a cosmetic effect and NPCs won't treat you any differently, but it's a fun addition to the game nonetheless.
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