Gear up for the ultimate survival challenge in Starfield, where the right armor can mean the difference between life and death in the vast, hostile Settled Systems. From the rugged UC Vanguard early-game set to the legendary Mantis Armor with its customizable perks, and the elite Starborn Spacesuit unlocked through New Game Plus mastery, discover the armor that will protect you against deadly weapons and environmental hazards alike. Whether you’re hunting aliens, enforcing law in the Freestar Collective, or exploring uncharted worlds, the best armor sets in Starfield offer crucial advantages to keep you alive and dominating the cosmos.
The only problem is Starfield is littered with armor to loot, most of which is simply a bit naff. Who wants to don some dead Spacer’s sweaty spacesuit when you could be finding some pristine armor with top class stats? That’s where we come in. Without further ado, here best suits in Starfield and how to get them.
The Best Armor in Starfield
The best armor in Starfield combines high damage resistance with strong environmental protections, essential for surviving the dangers of the Settled Systems. Top-tier sets like the Legendary UC Antixeno, the Starborn Spacesuit, and the Bounty Hunter Spacesuit offer excellent stats across physical, energy, and electromagnetic damage, as well as thermal, corrosive, radiation, and airborne resistances. These armors often come in three parts-helmet, spacesuit, and boost pack-allowing for customization to suit different playstyles. Whether you prefer the rugged reliability of the Freestar Ranger set or the versatile Shocktroop armor, equipping the right armor significantly enhances both combat survivability and exploration capabilities in Starfield.
If you know where to look, you can find the best armor in Starfield, and some of it is actually quite easy to obtain early on in your spacefaring career. At a glance, here are the best spacesuits in the game, many of which also come with accompanying packs and helmets:
- Mark I Spacesuit
- Gran-Gran’s Spacesuit
- Mercury Spacesuit
- Mantis Spacesuit
- Starborn Spacesuit
Unlike the best ships and the best weapons, there are far fewer skills related to the best armor – the only one you should consider investing in is Spacesuit Design, in the second tier of Science, as it will allow you to craft better mods if any of these choices don’t come with everything you desire.
Mark I Spacesuit, Helmet, and Pack
The Mark I Spacesuit, Helmet, and Pack form a distinctive early-game armor set in Starfield, found locked inside a glass case in the basement of The Lodge in New Atlantis. Players gain access to The Lodge during the main quest “One Small Step,” and while the display case is secured with a Master-level lock requiring a high Security skill to pick, there is a known exploit that allows players to obtain the entire set by interacting with the mannequin through a small gap in the glass. This armor set offers impressive physical, energy, and electromagnetic damage resistance for early explorers, making it highly valuable despite its basic rarity. Each piece-the spacesuit, helmet, and pack-can also be customized with mods to enhance damage resistance, carrying capacity, and other defensive stats, providing a solid foundation for survival in the harsh environments of Starfield.
How to get it: Loot in the basement of The Lodge, in New Atlantis
Kicking things off is a spacesuit, helmet, and pack you can actually get from within The Lodge itself. The powerful Mark I spacesuit is available without needing to kill anyone or complete any quests. Now you’re meant to require a Master knowledge of digipicking to be able to get this armor, but at the time of writing, there is a cheeky exploit you can use without needing to pick any locks at all.
The armor is found in the basement of The Lodge, in the room at the far end that also contains a framed painting and some storage boxes. Look to the left and you’ll see a mannequin inside a glass case. If you position your cursor in the gap between the door and the case, you’ll be able to loot the mannequin from inside.
If the exploit doesn’t work, level up your Security skill to rank three. Then, you’ll be able to hack the Master-level lock and get the Mark I spacesuit in the glass case. Its stats are top-of-the-line, especially for something you can get so early in the game. Since it’s classed as common, it doesn’t come with any perks, but that means you can add whichever mods you like via the workbench.
Gran-Gran’s Spacesuit and Space Helmet
Gran-Gran’s Spacesuit and Space Helmet are a unique two-piece armor set in Starfield, available exclusively to players who choose the Kid Stuff trait during character creation. This set is a gift from your grandmother, a former member of the United Colonies Marines, and offers excellent defensive stats suitable for early to mid-game play. The spacesuit provides strong resistance against physical, energy, and electromagnetic damage, as well as solid environmental protections including thermal and corrosive resistance. The helmet complements the suit with additional defenses and comes equipped with a Sensor Array mod, while the spacesuit includes a Pocketed mod to increase carrying capacity. Although the set lacks a pack, it can be paired with other boost packs for enhanced performance. This armor not only offers practical benefits but also carries sentimental value, connecting players to their character’s family history in the game.
How to get it: Gift from parents
This one is exclusively for the folks who picked the Kid Stuff trait at the start of the game, which means your parents are alive. They live in New Atlantis, which means you can visit them whenever you like. After you’ve been to visit a few times, your mom will tell you a tale of how your grandma was in the UC Marines.
Once you’ve entertained her captivating story about your fictional grandma, she’ll give you Gran-Gran’s Spacesuit and Space Helmet. This is a very bulky spacesuit, but it comes with the Pocketed mod, which increases your carrying capacity, and its stats are nothing to be sniffed at either, as it’s approximately on par with the Mark 1 Spacesuit. If you want to speed up receiving Gran-Gran’s armor, just sleep for a few days, ensuring you visit your parents every 24 hours.
Mercury Spacesuit
The Mercury Spacesuit in Starfield is a well-rounded armor set that pays homage to classic NASA space suits, offering strong protection with balanced stats across physical, energy, and electromagnetic damage resistances. It also provides solid environmental resistances including thermal, corrosive, airborne, and radiation, making it ideal for explorers facing diverse hazards. The suit is found at the NASA Launch Facility on Earth and includes a helmet and pack, though the pack is not a boost pack, so players may want to swap it for additional functionality. Its distinctive retro design and reliable defenses make it a favorite among players who appreciate both style and substance in their armor.
How to get it: Loot during the main mission, “Unearthed”
If you thought Gran-Gran’s Spacesuit was unflattering, get a load of this 1950s attire. The Mercury Spacesuit can be found on a mannequin during the “Unearthed” main quest. In the room full of museum pieces – including the Spirit Rover exhibit, which can show you where to look on Mars in order to find its cousin, the Opportunity Rover – is the Mercury Spacesuit.
This chunky silver outfit may look like you’ve wrapped yourself up in aluminum foil, but it has very impressive stats, and it also comes with the Pocketed mod, like Gran-Gran’s does. This is the closest alternative to Gran-Gran’s armor if you didn’t pick the Kid Stuff trait, but you’ll need to get a fair way through the main story to find it.
Mantis Spacesuit
The Mantis Spacesuit in Starfield stands out as one of the best early-game armor sets due to its consistently Legendary status and strong base stats, offering excellent protection with 116 Physical, 84 Energy, and 100 Electromagnetic resistance, along with solid environmental resistances like 15 Thermal and 30 Airborne. This suit is part of the Mantis Set, which is tied to a quest that can be completed early, ensuring players can reliably obtain powerful gear without heavy grinding. While the suit is relatively heavy at 16.2 mass, its perks and defensive capabilities make it a valuable choice for surviving combat and harsh environments in the Settled Systems.
How to get it: Complete the “Mantis” sidequest
The “Mantis” side quest sends you to a secret base on a remote planet. Short version: You can essentially become a superhero vigilante with the Mantis armor. (“Mantis” also rewards one of the best ships in Starfield.)
The Mantis Spacesuit (and the helmet and pack that come with it) is legendary-tier, which means it comes with three perks built in, although these perks randomized. This means you can reload and try the quest again for a fresh set of perks, if you don’t like the ones it gives you to begin with. The stats on this armor are the best thing though, coming in better than the above Mark I, but it’s not quite as easy to acquire.
[Ed. note: Spoilers follow for the end of Starfield.]
Starborn Spacesuit
The Starborn Spacesuit in Starfield is a legendary armor set that players unlock by completing the main story and entering New Game Plus. The initial version, Starborn Spacesuit Astra, offers strong protection across physical, energy, and electromagnetic damage types, along with solid environmental resistances such as thermal, airborne, corrosive, and radiation. Each subsequent New Game Plus completion upgrades the spacesuit to a more powerful variant, culminating in the Starborn Spacesuit Venator after ten playthroughs. This progression makes the Starborn Spacesuit not only a symbol of achievement but also one of the best defensive armors available in the game, ideal for surviving the harshest conditions and toughest battles.
How to get it: Enter The Unity
Finally, we have the Starborn Spacesuit, which you receive automatically upon completing the game and entering The Unity, also known as starting New Game Plus. The first time you become Starborn, you will wake up aboard your new Starborn Guardian ship with the Starborn Spacesuit Astra, which immediately becomes one of the best spacesuits in the game thanks to its high defense and resistance stats.
However, once you enter New Game Plus again? The Starborn Spacesuit becomes even better, and so on, with the final suit being the Starborn Spacesuit Venator, after the 10th time you enter The Unity. It’s a lot of effort for some better armor, but if you want to be the best Starborn in the galaxy, it’s worth doing. And it’s also quite cool-looking, unlike some of the other spacesuits on offer here.
Which armor set offers the best balance of protection and environmental resistance in Starfield
The Peacemaker Spacesuit set offers the best balance of protection and environmental resistance in Starfield. It provides above-average defense against the game’s three main damage types-physical, energy, and electromagnetic-while also delivering resistance to every type of environmental hazard, including thermal, corrosive, airborne, and radiation effects. Additionally, it grants a damage boost with rifle weapons, making it an excellent choice for players seeking both offense and defense in hazardous environments.
Which armor set provides the best environmental resistance for harsh planets in Starfield
The Mercury Spacesuit set provides the best environmental resistance for harsh planets in Starfield. It offers strong protection across all environmental damage types-thermal, corrosive, airborne, and radiation-each with 25 resistance on the spacesuit piece alone, plus additional resistance on the helmet and pack. Alongside high physical, energy, and EM damage resistance, this set is ideal for explorers facing extreme planetary conditions. However, the Mercury Pack itself is not a boost pack, so players often swap it for one that provides additional functionality. This armor is found during the Unearthed main mission and can be missed if not collected in time.
