The best armor in Starfield

By James On Sep 14, 2023

The best armor in Starfield pretty much comes down to one thing: whatever space suit you wear. Yes, helmets and packs give defensive bonuses – and often go with your spacesuits in a set – but it’s your spacesuits that determine the bulk of your armor rating. In other words, if you’re looking for the best armor in the game, you’re also looking for the best spacesuits.

The only problem is that Starfield is littered with armor to loot, most of which is just a bit boring. Who wants to don the sweaty spacesuit of a dead Spacer when you could find impeccable armor with top-tier stats? That’s where we come in. Without further ado, here best fits in Starfield and how to get them.

The best armor 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 in your space 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
Grandma’s space suit
Mercury spacesuit
Praying mantis spacesuit
Starborn spacesuit

Unlike the best ships and the best weapons, there are far fewer skills associated with the best armor. The only thing you should consider investing in is Spacesuit Design, in the second level of science, as it will allow you to make better mods if there are any. of these choices do not offer everything you want.

Mark I spacesuit, helmet and backpack

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

How to get it: Loot the basement of The Lodge, in New Atlantis

The start is a spacesuit, helmet and backpack that you can actually get from The Lodge itself. The mighty I mark spacesuit is available without having to kill anyone or complete quests. You’re supposed to need a Master’s knowledge of digipicking to get your hands on this armor, but at the time of writing there’s a cheeky exploit you can use without having to pick a lock.

The armor can be found in the basement of The Lodge, in the room on the other side where there is also a framed painting and some storage boxes. Look to the left and you will see a mannequin in a glass case. If you place your cursor in the gap between the door and the trunk, you can loot the mannequin from the inside.

If the exploit doesn’t work, level up Security skill to come in third place. Then you can hack the lock at Master level and get the Mark I space suit in the glass case. The stats are top notch, especially for something you can get so early in the game. Since it is classified as common, it has no advantages, but that means you can add any mods you want via the workbench.

Gran-Gran’s spacesuit and space helmet

A Starfield menu shows Gran-Gran's spacesuit, one of the best armors in Starfield.

How to get it: Gift from parents

This is exclusive to the people who selected the Children’s things character trait at the beginning of the game, which means your parents are still alive. They live in New Atlantis, which means you can visit them whenever you want. After you visit a few times, your mother will tell you a story about how your grandmother was in the UC Marines.

Once you’ve entertained her compelling story about your fictional grandmother, she’ll give it to you Grandma’s space suit And Space helmet. This is a very bulky space suit, but it comes with the Pocketed mod, which increases your carrying capacity, and the stats are nothing to sniff at either, as it’s about on par with the Mark 1 Spacesuit. If you want to receive the granny gran armor faster, sleep for a few days and make sure you visit your parents every 24 hours.

Mercury spacesuit

How to get it: Loot during the main mission ‘Unearthed’

If you thought Gran-Gran’s spacesuit was unflattering, buy these 1950s clothes. The Mercury spacesuit can be found on a mannequin during the main mission ‘Unearthed’. In the room full of museum exhibits – including the Spirit Rover exhibit, which can show you where to look on Mars to find its cousin, the Opportunity Rover – is the Mercury Spacesuit.

This chunky silver outfit may look like you wrapped yourself in aluminum foil, but it has very impressive stats and also comes with the Pocketed mod, like Gran-Gran’s. This is the closest alternative to Gran-Gran’s armor if you haven’t chosen the Kid Stuff trait, but you’ll have to go quite a way through the main story to find it.

Praying mantis spacesuit

A Starfield menu shows the stats and design of the Mantis spacesuit, one of the best armors in Starfield.

How to get it: Complete the side quest ‘Mantis’

The side quest ‘Mantis’ sends you to a secret base on a remote planet. Short version: You can essentially become a superhero citizen with the praying mantis shield. (“Mantis” also rewards one of the best ships in the world Starfield.)

The Praying mantis spacesuit (and the helmet and pack that comes with it) is legendary, meaning there are three built-in benefits, although these benefits are random. This means you can reload the quest and try again for a new set of perks, if you don’t like the benefits it gives you at first. This armor’s stats are the best though, coming in better than the Mark I above, but it’s not as easy to obtain.

(Ed. remark: Spoilers follow for the end of Starfield.)

Starborn spacesuit

How to get it: Enter the Unity

Finally, we have the Starborn spacesuit, which you automatically receive when you complete the game and enter The Unity, also known as starting New Game Plus. The first time you become a Starborn, you’ll wake up aboard your new Starborn Guardian ship with the Starborn spacesuit Astrawhich instantly becomes one of the best spacesuits in the game thanks to its high defense and resistance stats.

However, once you open New Game Plus again? The Starborn spacesuit gets even better, and so on, with the last suit being the Starborn spacesuit Venator, after the 10th time you enter The Unity. It is a lot of effort for better armor, but if you want to be the best Starborn in the galaxy, it’s worth it. And it looks pretty cool too, unlike some of the other space suits on offer here.