Which is the best AC Valhalla armor? Well, that depends entirely on you and your playing style, amongst a variety of other factors. No more do you have to look for the hardest side-quest or drudge through the toughest battles to gain access to armor pieces, as was the case with Odyssey where every other slain guard would drop off the loot.

AC Valhalla‘s armor system is a much more simplified system that provides unique bonuses depending on your skillset. Let’s figure out how this system works and where you can find the required materials for the armor set that suits your style.

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AC Valhalla Armor System

Armor doesn’t just fortify Eivor against damage, it also serves the function of looking like a true Viking capable of engendering terror in the heart of the enemy.  The number of armor sets are fewer in this iteration than they were in Odyssey, and are much more focused as well.

Each armor set is comprised of 5 pieces:

  • Cloak
  • Helmet
  • Torso
  • Gauntlets
  • Greeves

Although each piece will augment your stats, a complete set will provide a boost that is more than the sum of their parts. All these pieces are scattered across the map and, if not for the sheer fun of hunting them down in an open-world, the epic skill boosts that a complete set provides make all the running about well worth the trouble.

Exactly which skill sets you to upgrade and which boosts you unlock depends heavily upon the set that you’re looking to complete. There are 3 major types of Armor sets in AC Valhalla that complement the skill-tree (or focus) with which they are aligned. These are:

  • Way of the Raven (focus: Stealth)
  • Way of the Wolf (focus: Archery)
  • Way of the Bear (focus: Melee Combat)

Within these three broad archetypal categories are a variety of armor sets that you can discover. Whenever two or all five pieces are found, Eivor will receive additional bonuses that will further buff up the stats. Let’s go through each archetype individually and find out what sets are contained within them.

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Way of the Raven

This is the largest group of armor sets, containing a total of 6 different sets that come with their own unique skill upgrades. Here are the additional skills that will be unlocked when you gather (1) two pieces; and (2) all five pieces.

Mentor Set

  1. Increased Attack when dealt Critical hits; can pile them up five times with each one lasting for 35 seconds.
  2. Increased Speed

Huldufolk Set

  1. Increased Attack upon completing an Assassination; can be stacked up to five times
  2. Improved Armor and Speed

Draugr Set

  1. Increased Attack when attacking a poisoned foe
  2. Improved Stun and Speed

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Hidden One’s Set

  1. Increased Assassination Damage when crouched and remaining undiscovered for 10 seconds
  2. Increased Headshot Damage

Raven Clan Set

  1. Increased Armor when Healing is low (at 75%, 50%, and 25%)
  2. Extra Critical Chance

Magister’s Set

  1. Increased Melee Damage during Night-time
  2.  Increased Ranged Damage

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Way of the Wolf

This group of armor sets has its focus on Archery, so if you prefer getting the better of your enemy from afar, look for the following sets. Here are the skills that will unlock when you have (1) two pieces; and (2) all five pieces:

Huntsman Set

  1. Increased Range Damage when striking enemies that are more than 20 meters away; can pile up five times.
  2. Improves Speed

Galloglach Set

  1. Increased Resistance to Melee when hitting foes with finishers; can stack up to five times with each one lasting 45 seconds.
  2. Extra Melee Damage

Related: AC Valhalla One Handed Sword: Everything You Need to Know

Way of the Bear

Lastly, we have the Bear armor sets focusing on the brute strength Melee Combat. Here are the skills that will unlock when you have (1) two pieces; and (2) all five pieces:

Berserker Set

  1. Additional Speed when being assaulted until fully healed; can pile up to 5 times with each one lasting 40 seconds.
  2. Improved Armor and Attack

Valkyrie Set

  1. Increased Speed upon activating the Dive of the Valkyries power.
  2. Improved Attack and Armor

Thor’s Set

  1. Improved Speed when Stunning a foe
  2. Extra Stun increase

Thegn’s Set

  1. Critical Chance increase when parrying attacks (lost when attacking foe from behind or attacking a foe on the ground)
  2. Additional Critical Damage increase

Brigandine Set

  1. Receive increased Armor when hemmed in by more than two foes
  2. Extra Melee Damage Increase

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Finding Armor Upgrade Material

The quality of the equipment can further be improved by collecting resources for crafting such as nickel, tungsten, and carbide ingots. This allows you to increase the number of times you can improve the pieces and get the most out of the stats while also opening up slots for an additional boost to stats.

All of the ingots are found by wandering the map and making side excursions. Whenever an ingot is around, you’ll be able to discover it as the light that takes the shape of three gold bars. More often than not, you’ll have to get rid of some guards or solve a puzzle to get to the chest.

Hunting and looting animals provide the best way for you to stock up on leather. Also, keep an eye out for rock formations that are aglow since mashing them will get you iron units. The same can also be bought at a local merchant but you’d have to be sitting on a big pile of coins. If your pockets run deep, you may end up buying out the merchant’s entire stock.

Top tips to get the Best Armor

There has to be a good balance between the form and function of the armor. Don’t just think of what looks best (though that does play a definite role) nor should you sweat over maximizing your build. Just play as you naturally would and commit to the armor set along the way.

If you find yourself playing an aggressive game, you could look into the Bear sets. If a good mix of light weaponry and archery is your style, the Wolf class might be just what you need. If you like quiet, stealthy operations, Raven armors should do the trick. Once you find the armor class you think suits your playing style the best – both in form and function – start investing in its upgrades.

To get the most juice out of your armor stats, don’t forget to invest points into the nodes of the skill tree to increase your bonuses for the different alignments.

Also, AC Valhalla has made it easy for players to buff up their armor-like there’s no tomorrow. You don’t have to worry about dumping all your skill points into the Raven skill tree section only to find out later that you’d rather prefer the Bear armor. The skill points can be moved around for free any time you want, so experiment a little and find out what best suits your play-style.

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