Starfield armor guide – every armor set we know about

Starfield armor was a highly-anticipated feature as soon as we knew the game existed. It wouldn’t be a Bethesda Game Studios game without armor and weapons, after all. The upcoming space exploration RPG is set to have a vast variety of armor you’ll be able to equip to keep your character defended.

We don’t know about every – or even most – of the armor that’s going to be in-game just yet. No doubt we’ll learn about some new pieces leading up to the Starfield release date as well. For now though, here’s our full breakdown of Starfield armor, how it works, where to get it, and all the armor and sets we know about so far.

All armor in Starfield

Here are all of the confirmed pieces of armor in Starfield that we know about so far:

• Explorer Space helmet
• Ground Crew Space helmet
• Mercenary Space helmet
• Navigator Space helmet
• Pirate Assault Space helmet
• Shocktroop Space helmet
• Space Trucker Space helmet
• SY-920 Pilot Space helmet
• Trackers Alliance Space helmet

We don’t currently know the stats of any of this armor, but we’ll be sure to update this as soon as that information becomes available. It’s likely that most of this armour has matching sets to go with it, and we know this to be the case for some of these helmets. While we also don’t know all full armor sets in Starfield yet, here are the sets we do know will be coming to the game.

• Calibrated Deep Recon set.
• Constellation set.
• Explorer set.
• Mercenary set.
• Navigator set.
• Space Trucker set.

Where to find armor in Starfield

We don’t have anything officially confirmed for this yet. Nevertheless, we can make some sensible predictions. It’s likely that you’ll be able to loot a limited amount of armor from fallen enemies. Stronger enemies will likely have better gear. We can expect that each major Starfield faction is probably going to have one or several unique armor sets too.

There’s a good probability that some pieces, including unique armor pieces, will be obtainable as quest rewards. With how much interaction you’ll have with the Starfield Constellation faction during the main Starfield story it’s likely that we’ll see some free bits of kit during the campaign. It’s possible that with the sheer amount of resources in the game, we’ll be able to craft armor from scratch as well. Lastly, we’ll almost certainly be able to buy armor from different vendors and NPCs across the Settled Systems. Starfield credits are going to be essential if you want to coat yourself in the best stuff available. All these possible ways of acquiring armor would align with precedents set by previous Bethesda RPGs.

How armor works in Starfield

Armor will likely be divided into several different pieces. Helmets are confirmed, but we know to expect other spacesuit components as well. It’s unclear if we’ll have chest pieces, legs, and gloves to like previous games, or if additional slots like the Jewelry slots in Skyrim will be present. A main suit and a backpack are both speculated components though.

The main function of armor is, of course, protection and damage reduction. Different pieces and sets will offer different levels of protection against various hazards and attacks. Some will likely be more mobile and lightweight, others heavier but with better defence. There may even be special bonuses for having a specific full set equipped. We also know that Starfield armor is going to offer environmental protections. Similar to the Fallout games, some armor is going to be designed to protect against radiation. But we know that there will be suits for protection against toxic gasses and extreme temperatures, too. There may well be more categories we’re currently unaware of.

We can also expect that you’ll be able to give armour to your Starfield companions to help improve their survivability. It’s unclear if this benefit will extend to your Starfield crew members as well. Given that we know you’ll be able to assign them to defensive duties at your Starfield outposts though, it seems quite likely to be the case.

Armor pieces

Going a little more specific, we know that there are four armor slots at the moment. These are:

• Helmet
• Spacesuit
• Pack
• Apparel

Helmets and Spacesuits are fairly self-explanatory. These are the two armor components that’ll have damage protection and major stats attatached to them. You’ll likely be able to mix and match, or wear full sets.

Packs meanwhile are effectively jetpacks. Since there won’t be any land or air vehicles, these packs will be crucial to travel and exploration once you’re planetside. We also know that they’ll be useful in combat though, offering aerial advantages.

Apparel, from what we know so far, refers to what you’ll wear in habitable zones. This means major areas like New Atlantis or Cydonia – cities where people don’t need life support systems to breathe. In these areas, your chosen apparel will determine what you’re wearing around the place.

Apparel will probably have the fewest stats, and packs a few more. Helmets and spacesuits meanwhile will probably have the full range of armor stats in Starfield.

Starfield armor stats

We know of three types of armor stats so far – primary, secondary, and tertiary. Let’s go through each of them.

Primary armor stats

Primary armor stats we know about include:

• PHYS – an armor rating for physical damage protection.
• ENGY – armor resistance to energy weapons and energy-based attacks.
• EM – unconfirmed, but likely armor defence rating for electromagnetic attacks.

These stats are all concerned with the main sources of damage players need to worry about in combat – that being from Starfield weapons. If you’re fighting a lot of enemies, you’ll want to pay attention to these stats.

Secondary armor stats

It seems secondary stats are mainly concerned with how well armor can handle threats presented by Starfield planets. These are being described as resistance stats, since they’ll offer damage resistances against certain types of environmental hazards. The secondary stats we know about at the moment are:

• THERMAL – armor protection from extreme heat or cold. We don’t yet know whether there will be specific cold protection armors and heat protection armors, or if armors high in this rating will protect against both.
• AIRBORNE – we know some creatures will possess a ‘diseased’ tag in Starfield. This stat likely determines how effectively armor can protect from airborne biocontaminants.
• CORROSIVE – armors high in this stat will likely protect from chemical and toxic atmospheres, and weather phenomena like acid rain.
• RADIATION – The most familiar to Fallout players, this stat will determine which armor can effectively shield players from high radiation levels.

Tertiary stats

These stats will be the miscellaneous ones, it seems. The only two tertiary stats we know about at the moment are:

• Mass – this is the stat that’ll determine how heavy your armor is to carry. It’ll likely be a big factor contributing towards your player’s carry capacity, and how much you can have in your inventory before becoming over-encumbered.
• Value – how much your armor will sell to vendors for. You might be able to barter for more by tweaking your skills and traits in the Starfield character creator.

That covers everything we know so far about Starfield armor. We’ll be sure to update this guide as we learn more about specific sets and pieces. Remember though that sometimes the best defence is a good offence. If you want a guide to all the Starfield weapons you can wield, and the starship weapons you can mount on your spacefaring vessels, we’ve got you covered.

How do I find armor in Starfield?

The best ways to find armor are likely going to be looting it from bodies, buying it, completing quests for it, or crafting it.

How many armor sets are in Starfield?

It’s not yet  known how many different sets of armor are in Starfield, but it’s likely at least several dozen different sets.

Will Starfield have armor?

Starfield will have armor, and it’ll be an important type of gear in the game.