Elden Ring stole our hearts with its vast open world and hundreds of hours of engaging gameplay. Elden Ring is one of the most diverse games to come out in recent years with a plethora of weapons, armor, and styles at the player’s disposal.
Players can don extravagant suits of armor as they battle their way through The Lands Between. However, knowing FromSoftware’s ‘Fashion-Souls’ trend in previous games, does Armor matter in Elden Ring?
Armor does and does not matter in Elden Ring. Sometimes, the damage reduction between unappealing and appealing armor is negligible, and players can wear whatever they like the most. The Poise factor is trivial in a lot of cases. However, certain areas or bosses may require specific resistances to survive, and an appropriate suit of Armor makes a night-and-day difference.
Curious to learn more? Keep reading to find out what you should have in mind when selecting your next Armor in Elden Ring. We will be looking at what Armor does in Elden Ring and how important of a role it plays in your playthrough. Without further ado, let us answer the question: Does Armor matter in Elden Ring?
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Does Armor Matter?
The importance of Armor in Elden Ring is quite situational. Players have different experiences and views on the topic so there is no one right answer here. However, Armor is not some useless addition to the game to be ignored. Let us see how:
Armor
Armor includes those protective garments which offer damage protection and resistance to certain elemental damage and status ailments. Elden Ring has a total of 559 pieces of Armor in the base game, many of which have special effects which can modify your stats accordingly.
A full set of Armor in Elden Ring consists of a Helm, Chest Armor, Gauntlets, and Leg Armor. Players can find and wear the pieces of the same set of Armor or have their fun playing Mix’n’Match. Wearing a complete set of Armor does not grant any additional buff so players are encouraged to discover various sets of Armor and wear parts of whichever Armor they like.
Poise
Poise is similar to Posture in Sekiro. It is a base stat in Elden Ring which determines how much damage a player can sustain before they are staggered. Being staggered leaves a player open to a devastating riposte which can chip away a major part of your health.
Armor is one factor that affects Poise. Wearing a suit of Armor will increase a player’s Poise which consequently means that they are not constantly being knocked off their feet. This is probably the most important use of Armor in Elden Ring. Better Armor will increase your Poise more.
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Resistance
On top of increasing your Poise in the game, certain sets of Armor offer resistance to various types of elemental damage and Status Ailments in Elden Ring. For example, a set of Armor may offer higher resistance to Scarlet Rot in comparison to a set of Armor that offers high resistance to Frostbite.
Both of these would work well in different situations i.e in an area where enemies tend to inflict that Status Ailment. Choosing a good set of Armor in these cases will make certain areas and bosses much easier.
Elden Bling
Following the Fashion Souls trend from the previous games, players have chosen to prioritize looks over effectiveness in Elden Ring. This means that players would rather wear a fashionable and appealing set of Armor even if it costs them a few extra damage reduction points.
Your character’s stats and build play a bigger role in deciding your damage reduction and overall defense in Elden Ring. Therefore, sacrificing some extra resistance for the sake of looking like a badass is not out of the question. Plus, with the amount of Armor variety available, the developers would have wanted us to have fun playing Dressup.
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Does It Matter or Not?
Having laid out all of the points above, it is safe to say that Amore may or may not be important in Elden Ring depending on the situation at hand. If you are wielding a heavy weapon and wearing heavy Armor, your Poise will shoot up considerably.
Moreover, if you are struggling with an area and a resistive Armor makes it easier, the importance cannot be denied. Most importantly, dying to a boss in three hits compared to two makes a night-and-day difference.
On the contrary, if none of the aforementioned situations apply to you or do not seem that big of a threat, go for something that looks cool. Elden Ring is so much more fun when you are donning that sweet Elden Bling. Dress to impress… or kill things, I guess.
Conclusion
Does Armor matter in Elden Ring? This has been our guide on the topic and we hope that this helps clear any confusion you might have had.
Armor is a handy piece of equipment and you are going to be dying a lot in this game; so you might as well look pretty when doing it. Dress to impress as you make your way through this phenomenal game. Good luck, Tarnished!
