Armor cuts incoming damage hard, and early on it is one of the cheapest ways to survive fights you would otherwise lose. The first decent set is free, the strongest sets are tied to the faction you join, and only faction armor can be upgraded later. This page covers the best early pickups by camp, how the upgrade system works, and how protection values stack up across the game.
The free starter: Digger's Dress
The best armor you can grab without joining anyone is the 
Digger's Dress, given free by the foreman 
Swiney at the Free Mine south of the New Camp. Choose 'I want to become a digger', then answer 'Yes' when he asks 'You ever worked a vein?' and he hands it over immediately.
It has stats close to the 
Digger's Light Trousers that 
Fisk sells in the Old Camp marketplace for a chunk of Ore, so it is effectively a free alternative. Reaching the Free Mine takes an escort to the New Camp from 
Drax (near the Old Camp north gate and bridge) or 
Mordrag (near the south gate), then a path past the tavern and waterfall and through a dark cave, so bring a torch and avoid the 
Scavengers and 
Molerats inside.
Faction armor by camp
Joining one of the three camps in Chapter 1 grants that faction's starter armor as a reward for finishing its admission quest. These sets are the foundation of the upgrade system, since they are the only armors you can later improve.
- Old Camp:
Shadow's Dress, given by 
Raven after Admission to The Old Camp (Edge 10 / Blunt 10). - New Camp:
Bandit's Dress, given by the Rice Lord after Admission to The New Camp (Edge 10 / Blunt 10). - Swamp Camp:
Novice's Armor, given by 
Cor Kalom after Admission to The Swamp Camp, which requires reaching Level 5 and the favor of at least four Gurus (Edge 5 / Blunt 5).
Each camp also has a higher-tier set unlocked after Chapter 2: the 
Warder's Armor (Old Camp, from Stone), 
Mercenary's Armor (New Camp, from Lee), and 
Templar's Armor (Swamp Camp, from 
Gor Na Toth). These tier-2 sets carry better elemental resistances and far longer upgrade lists.
How armor upgrades work
Only faction armor can be upgraded, and only after you have joined a camp and equipped the set. To start, talk to your faction's armor NPC and pick the improve-armor dialogue ('Could you improve my armor?' or 'I need a better armor') to open the Armor Alterations menu.
| Camp | Armor | Upgrade NPC |
|---|---|---|
| Old Camp | Shadow's Dress | Fisk |
| New Camp | Bandit's Dress | Wolf |
| Swamp Camp | Novice's Armor |  Baal Namib |
Each alteration costs Ore and changes resistance values, raising protection against some damage types while others may stay the same. Upgraded armor can also look visibly different from the base version. Each NPC only works on their own faction's armor.
Do not pour Ore into maxing armor early. Stronger armor arrives later, so a single upgrade is usually enough if you are struggling; save the rest of your nuggets.
Protection comparison
Base protection values across the dataset, from early starters to endgame sets. Physical resistance (Edge and Blunt) carries most fights; elemental columns matter more for specific enemies and mage builds.
| Armor | Edge | Blunt | Point | Fire | Wind / Ice / Energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novice's Armor | 5 | 5 | - | 3 | 3 / 3 / 3 |
| Digger's Dress | 10 | 10 | - | 5 | - / - / - |
| Shadow's Dress | 10 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 / 2 / 2 |
| Bandit's Dress | 10 | 10 | - | 2 | 2 / 2 / 2 |
| Warder's Armor | 10 | 10 | - | 4 | 4 / 4 / 4 |
| Mercenary's Armor | 20 | 20 | - | 5 | 5 / 5 / 5 |
| Templar's Armor | 20 | 20 | - | 6 | 6 / 6 / 6 |
 Fire Robe | 20 | 20 | 5 | 40 | 10 / 10 / 10 |
 Water Robe | 40 | 40 | 5 | 30 | 20 / 20 / 20 |
 Robe of the Dark Arts | 45 | 45 | 20 | 60 | 30 / 30 / 30 |
 Royal Guard Armor | 48 | 48 | 12 | 8 | 5 / 5 / 5 |
 Crawler Plate Armor | 80 | 80 | 15 | 10 | 10 / 10 / 10 |
 Ancient Ore Armor | 90 | 90 | 25 | 25 | 15 / 15 / 15 |
 Improved Ore Armor | 100 | 100 | 30 | 40 | 20 / 20 / 20 |
Improved Ore Armor (Edge 100 / Blunt 100) is the strongest in the game. You first loot the Ancient Ore Armor from 
Gomez's bedroom chest, then have Stone upgrade it after completing Between a Rock and a Hard Place. For casters, the Robe of the Dark Arts from 
Xardas's tower has the best all-round magic resistance, while the Crawler Plate Armor crafted by Wolf is the strongest base set you can reach without taking down Gomez.
When a faction set is upgraded, its torso piece climbs well past the base numbers above. A fully upgraded Shadow's Dress torso, for example, can reach Edge and Blunt around 30, which is why investing in faction armor pays off more than buying generic merchant armor.