The Most Iconic Armor Sets in ‘Dark Souls’

For the last seven years, while roaming through each of the new adventures presented by all three Dark Souls games, players have always leaned towards certain armor sets that protected them from danger while also giving them enough maneuverability, elemental resistance, and style to surpass every challenge. Most of these armor sets aren’t openly placed about the world without some sort of purpose, however, meaning that they’ve almost always been tied to a specific legend or individual traveling through the Dark Souls universe you’ll encounter on your journey.

Naturally, each set of armor in Dark Souls offers plenty of benefits while simultaneously introducing a few weaknesses, which makes the best set of armor a consistent debate depending on your character build. That said, however, there have always been a few legends among the rest that are well-respected for their connections to the lore and community at the heart of the series. So, with the final chapter finally closed, we decided to look back at some of our favorites from the entire series:

Black Knight Set

The armor protecting the elite knights in service to Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, the Black Knight set remains one of the most iconic armors in Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3 due to the very high fire defense it offers players across all three games. While it doesn’t give much protection for the heavy weight it places on your character, it marks you as one of the most respected warriors in Dark Souls lore.

Catarina Set

Often referred to as the onion knight set by players in the Dark Souls community, this oddly shaped armor provides some of the best defense and poise bonuses in the original game. Naturally, there were better options, but for many, it was a way to pay homage to both Siegmeyer of Catarina and Sieglinde of Catarina, a pair of Dark Souls’s most beloved NPC characters with complete questlines present in the first game of the series.

Set of Artorias

While also available in Dark Souls 3, this set is most well-known for its appearance in Dark Souls following the release of Artorias of the Abyss. Here, players had the opportunity to finally put one of Gwyn’s greatest warriors to rest who was tainted by his endless days fighting off the darkness of the Abyss as it tried to pour out into the world and corrupt everything his master fought to defend. Knight Artorias holds the most tragic story in the series, and this armor represented everything he stood for up until his death at the hands of the player.

Havel’s Set

If you needed to sit back and absorb massive amounts of damage while whittling down your enemy, Havel’s Set was the go-to in Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2 thanks to its high elemental resistances, physical defense bonuses, and high poise. Even though you couldn’t roll wearing this rocky entourage, you were an unbreakable wall provided you had the guts to sacrifice the mobility and pair it with Havel’s massive stone shield.

Faraam Set

Made popular by the promotional material for Dark Souls 2, the Faraam armor set is worn by the protagonist of Dark Souls 2 in nearly every trailer From Software released for the game. While considered a heavy armor set due to the defense it provided, the Faraam set also remained quite light, offering great bonuses to player maneuverability compared to many of Dark Souls 2’s heavy sets like Havel’s. It may never have been the best set around, but it was easily one of the most fashionable.

Armor of the Sun

While first available in the original Dark Souls, the Armor of the Sun is a set that became more popular the longer the Dark Souls series continued due to the massive surge of players who elected to follow in Solaire of Astora’s footsteps to help others through co-operative play. This simple, but well-decorated set featured a gigantic sun-shaped crest painted on by Solaire himself, and it also represents one’s allegiance to the Warriors of Sunlight.

Dragonslayer Set

Known as Ornstein’s Set in the original Dark Souls and the Dragonslayer Set in Dark Souls 3, this gorgeous set of golden armor is closely associated with yet another knight serving in Gwyn’s inner circle, entrusted to guard the Anor Londo cathedral. While Ornstein’s true fate still remains a mystery following the conclusion of the Dark Souls series, his armor will always remain an iconic part of the game’s lore due to his staunch sense of duty and the extremely challenging boss encounter he represents.