Part of the fun in Final Fantasy XVI is seeing how you can stand up against the giant, god-level bosses you face throughout the story, such as Garuda and Titan. To do this, though, you want to ensure you have the best possible armor in the game for Clive.
This will ensure your health and defensive stats are the best they can possibly be. To help with that, I’ve come up with the Final Fantasy XVI best armor you can find below. What may surprise you about the armor used in Final Fantasy XVI is that it focuses mainly on two pieces of equipment: belts and vambraces.
For better or worse, you don’t necessarily have chest armor, pants, or any of the other parts you might expect from a game like this. That said, you still have to worry about these two armor pieces. Here is the Final Fantasy XVI best armor that you should get.
Armor Tips
Before you hop into Final Fantasy XVI and start trying to find the below best armor, here are some tips that you should know about that will make everything easier for you:
Don’t forget about upgrades
You can head to Blackthorne, the Blacksmith at the Hideaway, and give him certain materials to upgrade various pieces of armor. You might not want to give up on your older pieces just yet, as they might have some value still left in them.
Do all of the optional content if you can
Hunts, side quests, and the like will give you valuable materials and sometimes even armor pieces and recipes that can give you much better stats. If you stick only to the main story, you’ll miss out on these.
Focus on the stats alone
Don’t worry too much about the rarity or color of the armor, as this generally means little compared to the pure stats.
Selection Criteria
Fortunately, coming up with the Final Fantasy XVI best armor pieces below ranked is relatively easy, given that the game makes the situation reasonably straightforward. There are no set bonuses or additional features of the armor that might make you consider one over the other.
Even still, there are some slight complications in coming up with this list. Here’s what I used to determine the best armor around:
- Stats: Above all else, stats are the most critical parts of the armor in this game. If there is a piece that has better stats than another, that one is the clear winner.
- Health vs. Defense: What’s intriguing is that some armor pieces prioritize one stat over the other, which is where the complications come into place. There are even some armor pieces that do nothing at all for HP. That said, if I had to pick one to be the most important, it would be defense.
- Variety: While the defense might be the more important stat, I still think armor pieces that include both health and defense boosts are better than those that only focus on one, so that is reflected in the list below.
- Belts vs. Vambraces: Since there are only two types of armor in Final Fantasy XVI, I chose to alternate between the two in the below list to give you the best for both armor types
Best Final Fantasy XVI Armor
Without further ado, let’s dive right in and look at the best armor you can find in Final Fantasy XVI. Valisthea has tons of armor pieces for Clive Rosfield, but these ten are the ones you should consider.
I’ll be sure to note what kind of armor it is, generally what its base stats are (though some can be upgraded), and how you can unlock it right now.
10. Drakeslayer’s Belt
- Armor Type: Belt
- Health: 23
- Defense: 74
The Drakeslayer’s Belt is one of the latter game belts you can equip on Clive. Roughly near the final act of the game, this is a belt piece that you should be using if you wish to do the best in the game. You’ll have to craft it at the blacksmith with a piece of Electrum to unlock it.
Oddly enough, this single Electrum piece is only found in a single spot in all of Valisthea. To do this, head to the hunt board and find the Severian hunt mark there.
Take on this fight and defeat the boss to earn the only Electrum piece available in the game. After completing the Blacksmith’s Blues side quest, you’ll want to save it for crafting this belt.
9. Rune Crescents
- Armor Type: Vambrace
- Health: 23
- Defense: 76
You’ll have to get really deep into the main story of Final Fantasy 16 to unlock the first vambrace on this list. You’ll want to reach the Song of Hope main scenario quest at which point you can buy this vambrace from Charon at her shop at the Hideaway.
There are some negatives to this belt; the first of which is by the time you can unlock it, there are better vambraces you can unlock below. But they are challenging to get, and this one has the ability to upgrade twice, so it makes for an acceptable stand-in until you can unlock some of the better options.
8. Rune Belt
- Armor Type: Belt
- Health: 20
- Defense: 75
At a glance, the stats of this particular belt may not seem that impressive. But it beats out the previous belt because it can be upgraded. Even after a single upgrade, it is already considerably better than the Drakeslayer’s Belt, and the best part is that it can be upgraded an additional time to be even better.
But to unlock it in the first place, players need to progress through the main story of the game until they reach A Song of Hope. This is one of the main story quests in the latter part of the game. Once you reach this point, you can buy this belt from Charon at Charon’s Toll.
7. Regal Armguards
- Armor Type: Vambrace
- Health: 25
- Defense: 84
The Regal Armguards are some of the better vambraces you can get deep in the main story of Final Fantasy XVI, and they are pretty easy to find without any ridiculous requirements. The one downside is you can’t upgrade it, unlike the last one, but its defense is much better than the Rune Crescents.
While its HP is a bit lackluster in comparison to its max stats, I still find that defense stat is much more critical in the overall scheme of things. To unlock this vambrace, reach The Shadow Coast area in the main story of the game. Near where the Pandemonium hunt is located, you’ll find a chest here where you can get this item.
6. Regal Sash
- Armor Type: Belt
- Health: 25
- Defense: 84
The Regal Sash’s one drawback is that you can’t upgrade it. It is a unique belt, so you can only use it with the base stats that it has. That said, its base stats are pretty great, being just a smidge less in the HP department than the previous belt but outpacing it well in the defense stat area if the previous entry is fully upgraded.
To get this belt, you’ll want to head to The Krozjit Echoes area in the game. This is one of the deep areas found quite far into the story, so you won’t be able to get it until then. But once you reach here, all you need to do is look for the unique chest in the southern area near a formidable Coeurl enemy.
5. Sun Bracelets
- Armor Type: Vambrace
- Health: 26
- Defense: 86
You can get the Sun Bracelets in a similar way to the next entry on this list. What you want to do is keep going in the main scenario until you reach the main story quest known as Streets of Madness. Once you reach this quest, you’ll have the opportunity to peruse Goetz’s own shop, and you can buy them from then on.
I recommend buying them as soon as you have access to them as they are marginally better than the vambraces that have come before. This is especially true if you upgrade them not once but twice to get their impressive max stats of 30 HP and 92 defense. This even rivals some of the best items in this armor category.
4. Circle of Heaven
- Armor Type: Belt
- Health: 24 (base)
- Defense: 85 (base)
At its base, there’s no denying that this second-best belt in all of Final Fantasy XVI is already impressive. Its defense is better than anything that’s come before it, while its health rivals that of the best. But the best part about all of this is that it doesn’t stop here.
It is capable of being upgraded in the game to be even better than these base stats. In fact, it can be upgraded twice and, at its max, has the stats of 30 HP and 91 defense.
That is absolutely amazing and is the second-best in all of the game. The best part is that it’s pretty easy to get once you reach a certain point in the story.
All you need to do is make it to the Streets of Madness main scenario quest. In the middle of this quest, you’ll get access to use Goetz’s Toll as a stand-in for Charon’s Toll. He’ll offer you the item from that point forward, which you can purchase and then upgrade up to two times later.
3. The Founder’s Grasp
- Armor Type: Vambrace
- Health: 50
- Defense: 94
This is where things get a bit complicated. There is an argument for two sides when it comes to the best vambrace. Unlike the clear winner in belts, as you’ll see below, there are two contenders that can make the argument for being the best vambrace around.
The first of these is The Founder’s Grasp. This vambrace can be easily unlocked in the game by doing the Where There’s a Will side quest. It is a reward for that quest, and you’ll get it at a solid point in the main story, and it can treat you well until the end of the game and even in the New Game Plus.
It has the single best HP stats out of any item in the game, and by a considerable margin. In addition, it has the second-best defense stats out of any item, and only by a slim loss. For this reason, there are players who would prefer this item over the other vambrace since its HP is so massively better.
It is hard to say, so go with whichever stat is more important to you. I, for one, think if you can dodge and parry attacks, defense will matter more, though.
2. Ouroboros
- Armor Type: Belt
- Health: 32
- Defense: 95
If you’re looking for purely the best belt armor piece in all of Final Fantasy XVI, look no further than this one. The Ouroboros piece is the single best belt; there is no comparison in this category.
Its HP and defense stats alone are already the top of its class, no matter how many times you upgrade the other armor pieces.
That said, the one drawback of this particular belt is that it doesn’t have the ability to upgrade. Even still, you don’t need to since its base stats are already number one for all belts. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to unlock this belt until you are immensely deep into the game’s main story.
You’ll need to craft it at the blacksmith using one Comet Feather, one Orichalcum, and one Stone Tongue. Thankfully, all three of these are rewards for three separate hunts, so do all of your available marks, and you’ll be good to go.
In addition, you’ll need to unlock the recipe in the first place. To do that, you’ll have to complete Blacksmith’s Blues III, which is the third in the side quest chain.
1. The Sons of Ouroboros
- Armor Type: Vambrace
- Health: 32
- Defense: 97
The Sons of Ouroboros is the best vambrace, but only by a slim margin. Its health is unbelievably smaller than the previous item in its category. I only prefer it because its defense stat is significantly better and the strongest out of any armor piece in this game.
Sadly, you can’t upgrade it, but you can unlock it after completing the Blacksmith’s Blues III side quest for Blackthorne.
Once you do this side quest, you’ll be able to craft this item using a Morbol Flower, Stained Loincloth, and one piece of Orichalcum. You’ll want to complete all of the available hunts to you to get these items and be able to craft it.
Final Fantasy XVI Best Armor: FAQs
Question: How to Get the Final Fantasy 16 Regal Armguards?
Answer: To get the Final Fantasy 16 Regal Armguards, you want to head to The Shadow Coast area in Valisthea. There, you’ll find a chest in this area near where the Pandemonium hunt is located, where you can acquire them and start using them. They are some of the best vambraces in the game.
Question: What are the Final Fantasy 16 Best Vambraces?
Answer: The best vambraces in Final Fantasy 16 include The Sons of Ouroboros, The Founder’s Grasp, Sun Bracelets, Regal Armguards, and the Rune Crescents. These are the top vambraces you can use in the game, but if you want the ultimate one, go for The Sons of Ouroboros.
Question: What are the FF16 Best Accessories?
Answer: The FF16’s best accessories depend on your playstyle. That said, ignoring the more accessibility-style accessories from Story Mode for a moment, I would have to say that the Genji Gloves, Adamantite Gauntlet, Channeler’s Whispers, and Berserker Ring are among the best accessories you can find.
Check Out the Other Equipment in the Final Fantasy Series
Final Fantasy XVI is such a strange game in the overall mainline series for a number of reasons. While I’m not saying it is terrible for doing this, it certainly is light on the RPG side of the franchise.
A considerable part of this problem comes from the overall lack of equipment players use in this game. It is honestly a shame that there are only two types of armor in this game.
My gripes about how you can’t customize the look of Clive’s armor aside, there’s no denying that the two best overall armor pieces are from the Ouroboros set.
If you want to take the lightest hits in this game from enemies, be sure to get these armor pieces, which will require you to be pretty deep into the main story.
But if you want to take a look at armor across the Final Fantasy series outside of this game alone, we have you covered with the equipment that is usually used in the series. This includes summons, magic, and other items that aren’t nearly as prevalent in Final Fantasy XVI, which is a shame.