Terraria Armor Guide: Best Armor Sets and How to Get Them

Equipping your character with the best Terraria armor set can give you the power you need to take on the many dangerous challenges you'll face on your adventures. Here in our Terraria armor guide, we’ll look to rank the best Terraria armor sets across different categories of in-game progress and go over their stats and benefits along the way. So what are the best armors in Terraria?

Best Early-Game Armor Sets in Terraria

Starting a new game in Terraria means braving the hazards of the map with a practically naked character. The following armor sets can help you survive slimes, bats, and other dangers that await you as you begin your Terraria adventures.

Cactus Armor

You can start a new game by crafting the Wood Armor set by chopping trees when you spawn in, but it's best to save your time and effort for a slightly better armor set – Cactus Armor. The Cactus Armor set has three components: the Cactus Helmet, Cactus Breastplate, and Cactus Leggings. Wearing the complete armor set gives the following stats and effects:

• 3 base defense
• Enemies take damage upon hitting the wearer (set effect)

To get this set quickly, travel to the Desert biome to gather 75x Cactus using an axe. The Wooden Axe is strong enough to cut the Cacti, and you should obtain several Cactus items per cut plant. With this method, you can get the set together in just a few minutes.

Platinum Armor

As you move to the underground areas of the map, you’ll meet enemies that deal more damage than the Cactus Armor can handle. At this point, you can upgrade to the Platinum Armor. The set’s three components are the Platinum Helmet, Platinum Chainmail, and Platinum Greaves. Wearing the Platinum Armor set doesn’t give the user a set bonus. Instead, it gives a decent overall 20-base defense, which should suffice for earlygame characters. Crafting the Platinum Armor requires 90x Platinum Bars, which themselves require 300x Platinum Ore to forge. You’ll find the ores in many different underground locations.

Ancient Shadow Armor

The Ancient Shadow Armor set has a lesser base defense than the Platinum Armor. Still, some players might prefer this armor set if they’re confident with their manual dodging abilities, thanks to the increased mobility. Players need to craft each piece of the armor set to enjoy its benefits. These components are the Ancient Shadow Helmet, Ancient Shadow Scalemail, and Ancient Shadow Greaves. Wearing the entire Shadow Armor set supplies the wearer with the following stats and effects:

• 19 base defense
• Increased acceleration and movement speed

You can’t craft the Ancient Shadow armor’s pieces. Instead, travel to the Corruption biome in your world to kill the Eater of Souls. Each armor component has a small chance of dropping after killing that enemy.

Best Pre-Hardmode Armor Sets in Terraria

At this point, perhaps you encountered some bosses and defeated them. But certain enemies are starting to hit harder than before. So, it’s time to upgrade your Platinum or Ancient Shadow Armor to one of the following armor sets:

Molten Armor

The Molten Armor set is a step above the Platinum and Ancient Armor sets when looking at the components’ base defense. It also gives the user a good boost to melee speed, damage, and critical hit chance. In particular, the stats and effects received by the character when wearing the full Molten Armor set are:

• 25 base defense
• +17% melee damage
• +7% melee speed
• +7% melee critical hit chance
• Immunity to the On Fire! debuff (set effect)
• Moving will leave a fire trail (set effect)

Crafting the pieces for the Molten Armor set requires players to gather 45x Hellstone Bar and 45x Obsidian. Make the Hellstone Bars by combining Hellstone, which you can mine in The Underworld with at least a Deathbringer or Nightmare Pickaxe. You can gather the Obsidian for this set by mining the surface of the same biome, or by mixing water and lava.

Necro Armor

Although it doesn’t provide as much defense as the Molten Armor, the Necro Armor set makes up for its shortcoming with its ranged class-focused effects. Wearing the three components (the Necro Helmet, Necro Breastplate, and Necro Greaves) will give the wearer the following stats and effects:

• 19 base defense
• +10% ranged critical hit chance
• 20% chance of not consuming ammo (set effect)
• Moving with the armor leaves an afterimage (set effect)

Making the entire set requires 150x Bone and 150x Cobweb. The Dungeon is where to gather Bone, which drops from Angry Bones, Dark Casters, and Cursed Skulls. As for the Cobweb, you can find it in different underground areas.

Meteor Armor

Think of the Meteor Armor set as the magic build counterpart of the Molten Armor. Despite its lower defense than its Molten counterpart, the Meteor Armor improves the wearer’s magic damage. The stats and effects of this set are:

• 16 base defense
• +27% magic damage
• Using the Space Gun has no mana cost (set effect)

The three components of this armor are the Meteor Helmet, Meteor Suit, and Meteor Leggings. Players must find 135x Meteorite Ore and combine them into 45x Meteorite Bar to craft it.

Obsidian Armor

If you’re a Summoner class in Terraria, and you’re in the late stages of the game, but you have yet to encounter the Moon Lord, the Obsidian Armor can be your next armor set. As with other Terraria armor sets, the full set has three components: Obsidian Outlaw Hat, Obsidian Longcoat, and Obsidian Pants. Wearing all the pieces will give the user the following stats and effects:

• 15 base defense
• +31% minion damage
• +1 minion slot
• +15% whip speed
• +30% whip range

Players must also combine 60x Obsidian, 30x Silk, and 20x Shadow Scales or Tissue Samples. Each piece of Silk requires 2x Cobweb to make. The Shadow Scale drops from the enemy Eater of Worlds, whereas you can get the Tissue Sample from Creepers in a Crimson biome.

Best Early Hardmode Armor Sets in Terraria

Now that you killed the Moon Lord, the game greets you with tougher enemies than before. But Terraria also rewards your hard work by giving you better drops from when you played the game in pre-Hardmode. Also, consider upgrading your armor to one of the following sets because you might need the improved benefits.

Frost Armor

Don’t forget to prioritize offense while paying attention to your defense in Hardmode Terraria. With that in mind, think about upgrading your previous armor set to the Frost Armor. This armor set’s components are the Frost Helmet, Frost Breastplate, and Frost Leggings. With all the pieces of the armor set equipped, you can inflict a frost debuff on hit enemies, dealing damage over time. Wearing this armor set grants the following stats and effects:

• 43 base defense
• +26% melee and ranged damage
• +11% melee and ranged critical hit chance
• +8% movement speed
• +10% melee speed
• 100% chance to inflict the Frostbite debuff on enemies on hit

Crafting all the pieces of the Frost Armor set requires players to gather 46x Adamantite Bar and 3x Frost Core. The Adamantite Ore to create its bar version is only obtainable after every third Altar you destroy in Hardmode. As for the Frost Core, you must kill Ice Golems to get it.

Titanium Armor

Considered to be an alternative to the Adamantite Armor, the Titanium Armor is a Hardmode armor set that prioritizes defense. With all the pieces equipped, defensive shards surround the character and will disappear if they hit an enemy. But the enemy will also take damage from the hit. The three components for this set are the Titanium Breastplate, Titanium Leggings, and either the Titanium Headgear, Titanium Mask, or Titanium Helmet. The total defense and the effects obtained from wearing the set depend on the chosen helmet. Here are the stats and effects of the Titanium Armor if you choose the Titanium Headgear:

• 30 base defense
• +7% damage
• +6% critical hit chance
• +6% movement speed
• +16% magic damage
• +7% magic critical hit chance
• +100 to maximum mana
• Generates a defensive barrier upon attacking that lasts for 10 seconds (set effect)

If you choose the Titanium Mask, the stats and effects gained are:

• 49 base defense
• +7% damage
• +6% critical hit chance
• +6% movement speed
• +9% melee damage, critical hit chance, and speed
• Generates a defensive barrier upon attacking that lasts for 10 seconds (set effect)

Last, choosing the Titanium helmet will give your character the following bonuses:

• 34 base defense
• +7% damage
• +6% critical hit chance
• +6% movement speed
• +16% ranged damage
• +7% ranged critical hit chance
• Generates a defensive barrier upon attacking that lasts for 10 seconds (set effect)

Crafting all three pieces of the Titanium Armor requires players to gather 236x Titanium Ore and combine those materials into 59x Titanium Bar. The amount and type of materials needed to craft the three components are the same regardless of the chosen helmet.

Best End-Game Armor Sets in Terraria

After besting most or all of the game’s toughest challenges, you’d want to show off your spoils by crafting the best armor the game can give you. The following armor sets are the best for the specific character builds in Terraria.

Solar Flare Armor

The Solar Flare Armor is arguably the best armor set in the game for the Melee class. It’s a high-defense armor set with bonuses focusing on attack and protection for optimal flexibility. Players must craft the Solar Flare Helmet, Solar Flare Breastplate, and Solar Flare Leggings to complete the armor set. Wearing all the pieces will grant the user with the following stats and effects:

• 78 base defense
• +26% melee critical hit chance
• +29% melee damage
• +15% melee speed
• +15% movement speed
• Increased life regeneration (+3 HP per sec)
• A solar shield protects the user with 30% extra defense (set effect)
• The player can expend the solar shield to dash and damage enemies (set effect)

However, wearing this armor set also has a debuff wherein enemies will most likely target the wearer more than other nearby characters. Nonetheless, the benefits heavily outweigh this one drawback. Crafting the Solar Flare Armor set requires players to gather 36x Luminite Bar and 45x Solar Fragment. The Solar Fragment is only obtainable by defeating the Solar Pillar from the Lunar Events. Get the Luminite Bar by combining Luminite and a drop from the Moon Lord at an Ancient Manipulator.

Vortex Armor

If you picked the Ranged class in Terraria, and you’re now enjoying the endgame, then it’s time to craft the Vortex Armor. With this armor set, you can enter Stealth mode, which grants you almost undetected when near enemies. This armor set’s three pieces are the Vortex Helmet, Vortex Breastplate, and Vortex Leggings. Wearing all the components gives the wearer the following stats and effects:

• +62 defense
• +36% ranged damage
• +27% ranged critical strike chance
• +25% chance of not consuming ammo
• +10% movement speed
• Near-invisibility (set effect and while in stealth mode)
• −1200 aggro (set effect and while in stealth mode)
• +80% ranged damage (set effect and while in stealth mode)
• +20% ranged critical strike chance (set effect and while in stealth mode)
• +50% knockback (set effect and while in stealth mode)
• −33% movement speed (set effect and while in stealth mode)

Much like the Solar Flare Armor set, the materials needed to craft the Vortex Armor aren’t laughing matters. Players must gather 36x Luminite Bar and 45x Vortex Fragment to make all the pieces. The Vortex Fragment is the counterpart of the Solar Fragment, wherein players should kill the Vortex Pillar from the Lunar Evets to get the item.

Nebula Armor

If you’re into magic in Terraria, then the Nebula Armor set can be the endgame armor for you. It’s a post-Moon Lord armor that’ll drop special booster items when hitting enemies with magical weapons. Picking up these items will give additional benefits. The three components of this magic-focused armor set are the Nebula Helmet, Nebula Breastplate, and Nebula Leggings. Wearing the full set gives the following stats and effects:

• 46 base defense
• +60 maximum mana
• +26% magic damage
• +16% magic critical strike chance
• −15% mana usage
• +10% movement speed
• Attacking with a magic weapon has a chance of spawning booster items (set effect)

Each booster item provides different benefits. These bonuses are:

• Damage Booster: 8-second buff that increases all damage output by 15%
• Life Booster: Increase life regeneration by 3 HP per second for 8 seconds
• Mana Booster: Increase mana regeneration by approximately 10 mana for 8 seconds

Crafting all the pieces of the Nebula Armor set also requires 36x Luminite Bar, but this time you need 45x Nebula Fragment. The Nebula Fragment is only obtainable by killing the Nebula Pillar from the Lunar Events.

Stardust Armor

Arguably the best armor in Terraria for the Summoner class, the Stardust Armor has both defensive and offensive benefits. But first, players need to craft the three components, which are the Stardust Helmet, Stardust Plate, and Stardust Leggings. Wearing each piece will give the user the following stats and effects:

• +38 defense
• +66% minion damage
• +5 minion capacity
• +1 sentry capacity
• +30% whip range
• Summon a special Stardust Guardian minion that automatically charges at nearby enemies (set effect)

Crafting the Stardust Armor has similar materials needed with the other best endgame armor sets. In particular, you must gather 36x Luminite Bar and 45x Stardust Fragment. The latter material is only obtainable by defeating the Stardust Pillar during the Lunar Events. Make and wear the best armor in Terraria with one of our dedicated servers here.