Image: Nintendo via HGG / Tyler Locke
Tyler is a psych graduate turned freelance writer and one of the newest additions to the HGG team. They currently write guides for a variety of gam... Read more
Reviewed by Jeffrey Hsu
For The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, there is only one thing more important than what weapons you use – your armor. In Tears of the Kingdom, armor has multiple benefits especially for early game when you have few hearts and fewer resources.
First, each armor piece has its own defensive value with some being higher than others. The higher the value the less damage you’ll take. Second, some armor pieces grant bonuses like attack up or faster climbing which can make all the difference. Lastly, some of them just look really cool.
So get ready and pay attention, because some of these armor pieces are a bit tricky to find.
7 Best Early Game Armor Pieces in Tears of the Kingdom
As a side note, these are individual armor pieces. Getting the full set of each armor can be a bit more difficult and more suited for the mid-game. While the following pieces will clash a bit aesthetically, they’ll definitely function well in keeping Link alive!
Barbarian Chest
The first armor piece you should get is the Barbarian Chest. This is a pretty decent armor piece to have early on and is something I used for most of my playthrough for both Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild.
While its defensive power is nothing to brag about, the Barbarian Chest has Attack Up as its bonus, which increases the damage you deal. This is amazing to have in the early game, as you won’t have an abundance of high damage weapons.
With the Barbarian Chest equipped, regular Bokoblins won’t be a match, and you can deal serious damage to more dangerous enemies.
Where to Find
You can find the Barbarian Chest in the Crenel Hills Cave north-east of Lookout Landing. You’ll know when you see it by the glowing ore outside its entrance. Inside there will be a Stone Talus and behind that a big Luminescent Ore vein. Defeat the Talus, break the ore vein and the chest will be waiting for you.
Fierce Deity Leggings
The second armor piece we recommend grabbing is the Fierce Deity Leggings. Much like the Barbarian Chest, the Fierce Deity Leggings has a defensive power of 3 and Attack Up as its armor bonus.
Now you might be wondering, if I have the Barbarian Chest then why should I grab this? Well equipping both the Barbarian Chest and the Fierce Deity Leggings stacks the Attack Up bonus for more damage. Additionally, if you ever need to switch out your chest piece, you can keep the Attack Up by equipping these pants.
Where to Find
You can find the Fierce Deity Leggings south-west of Lookout Landing near Mount Daphnes at the Ancient Tree Stump. There you’ll find a big tree stump with a hole at the top. Jump all the way to the bottom and search for this tunnel marked by the pole with tattered cloth.
Head along the tunnel until you reach a tree root, then climb to the very top. There you’ll see the chest containing the leggings. There are also two other pieces of the Fierce Deity set to find but we won’t spoil where they are.
Climbing Chest
This next armor piece is not only great for early game but remains incredibly useful throughout your entire Tears of the Kingdom playthrough. Climbing gear increases your climbing speed, making scaling mountains quicker and easier. While this may sound lackluster, it’s actually really useful.
With the extra climbing speed, Link will use less stamina climbing and the difference it makes its crazy. Once we equipped just the Climbing Chest piece alone, heights that were previously unreachable became super simple to reach.
We highly recommend grabbing it, especially if you haven’t upgraded stamina yet. Luckily, its super easy to get.
Where to Find
Head north-west from Lookout Landing and head towards the North Hyrule Plain. Near the stable you’ll find the North Hyrule Plain Cave. Head into the cave, past the Like Likes and Horroblin until you see a waterfall.
Jump through the waterfall (pictured above) to find a secret area with the chest containing the Climbing Gear.
Ember Headdress
The Ember Headdress is a great armor piece to grab early on. Its special bonus is Hot Weather Attack, which grants Link’s last attack and spin attacks a fiery flourish while he’s in hot environments. This is a great way to get in a little bit extra damage while you’re exploring places like Death Mountain or the Gerudo Desert.
There are also two other pieces of the Ember set to find. However, you really only need one piece and the Ember Headdress is the easiest to find.
Where to Find
You can find the Headdress in the South Yunobo HQ Cave just north of Goron City. Unfortunately, it’ll be blocked by one of those huge red boulders you’ve seen around Death Mountain. We won’t spoil how to break it, but the one hint we will give you is to start the Goron Main Quest.
Once you’ve attained that ability, break the rock and head inside. Don’t forget to bring some Heat Resistance armor or potions! The chest you want is across a lake of lava. Luckily in the side room there is enough parts to make a 4-wheeler to be able to cross safely.
Simply drive on over and grab your prize.
Frostbite Chest
Like the Ember Headdress, the Frostbite Chest has a weather attack bonus. This time Cold Weather Attack gives Link’s last hit and spin attacks a freezing finish when in cold weather, leaving enemies frozen and vulnerable. With so many cold areas to explore, this armor will be a great addition.
And the best part, its super easy to find.
Where to Find
You’ll find the Frostbite Chest in Brightcap Cave far to the north-west and just east of the Rito Village. Luckily, this cave system is super simple. All you have to do is follow the path, past the horroblin and the Like Like, then take the first right.
The chest will sitting right out in the open but surrounded by thorns. Apply some fire, and the Frostbite Armor will be yours for the taking.
Rubber Chest
Next, we have the Rubber Chest piece. The Rubber armor’s bonus is some nice Electric Resistance. While we wouldn’t say this is mandatory to get, it’ll be nice to have whenever you run into a lot of Electric damage… like all those lightning storms.
Where to Find
Finding the Rubber Chest is super easy, and you can find it south-east of Lookout Landing at the Whistling Hill Cave. The entrance will be right next to the Shrine. All you have to do is run through the cave and the chest will be behind an Electric Like Like.
Climb up and receive the Rubber Chest.
Soldier’s Set
Finally, the Soldier’s Set is best early game armor you can get in Tears of the Kingdom. While it doesn’t have any special bonuses, each pieces gives 4 defensive power – which is the best defense you can have at this point in the game. With the full set, you’ll take significantly less damage.
Luckily, you can find this set from the very beginning. However, it’s a bit of a long journeym and you’ll need plenty of bombs or weapons that can break rocks.
Where to Find
The easiest way to get this armor is by heading back to Hyrule Castle after the search party has left. Make your way past the gate and up the path to the first side entrance. Previously, a guard would have prevented you from entering.
Follow the path inside, make two rights, and you’ll find yourself in the Observation Room. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see Nobiro. Find the grate in the middle of the room, lift it up with the Ultrahand then jump down.
You’ll find yourself at a big stairwell. Either clear each floor or jump all the way to the bottom. Follow the tunnel down, past the Like Like, and break through your first rock wall. Continue down the path until you see another rock pile and break through that to reach an abandoned storeroom, where you’ll find the first piece of the set.
Further in the tunnel, you’ll enter a huge cavern with a rock pile in the middle. Break it for a surprise and look to your left for the second storeroom. Break through the rocks, and you’ll find the second piece.
Coming out of the storeroom, look to your left and head through the tunnel. Continue up the path, past the bridge with skeletons, and into a room with two mini Talus and a huge rock pile.
Break the pile, head into the storeroom, and finally grab the last piece of the Soldier’s Set.
Join the High Ground!
And that wraps up our list of the best early game armor you can get in Tears of the Kingdom. Thanks for reading! Comment down below if you found some armor you think deserves to be on this list, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for new weekly content!
And as always, take the High Ground!
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