The one thing players need in Starfield is a trusty armor set to keep themselves safe from the many dangers of the Settled Systems. Spacesuits in Starfield are more than just stylish outerwear; they're essential for survival in extreme environments. Tracking down the game's best armor sets isn't always easy, but having a sturdy spacesuit with a good mix of stats gives you a crucial advantage in combat and exploration.

Armor sets generally come in three pieces: a Helmet, a Spacesuit, and one of the various Boost Packs in Starfield. These pieces all have different defensive stats: Physical, Energy, and EM Damage Resistance, as well as Thermal, Corrosive, Radiation, and Airborne Environmental Resistance. These stats tell you how well your spacesuit resists damage from weapons and the environment.

During deep space exploration, the best armor sets have a good mix of both protection against weapons and defenses against environmental hazards you might come across.

17 Monster Costume

Starfield's Best Armor Set For Undeniable Comic Value

The Monster Costume isn't exactly stellar, but it's easily the silliest and, quite possibly, one of the coolest-looking armor sets in Starfield. You receive this costume by completing Tourists Go Home at New Homestead's Living History Colony on Titan (Sol System). Players must help out Dr. Giuliana Lakota of the Living History Colony on Titan with a small but hilarious side quest.

The good doctor is rather tired of tourists and enlists your help in scaring them off while disguised as a gigantic tardigrade. Scare off enough tourists, and you'll get the Monster Costume as a quest reward.

One quick look at the stats will tell you it's nothing special. The costume's damage resistance is minimal, and it has absolutely no environmental resistance to speak of. As such, it's best thought of as a futuristic update of the inflatable T-Rex costume: poor in battle but extraordinarily high-quality comic relief.

16 Striker Spacesuit

Adopt A Sleek Look

One of the coolest-looking armor sets in Starfield is the Striker Spacesuit and Streetwear, which both are not really designed for combat. With fewer physical defenses than even the Monster Costume, the only real reason to wear this gear is for how visually impressive it is. Thankfully, where this armor lacks in damage reduction, it makes up for this weakness in good environmental protection.

The Striker effect from both pieces of this armor set raises your Critical damage by 5%, allowing you to deal more damage against your enemies.

This armor should only be used when exploring worlds or moving through populated settlements on various planets. You can get this gear by completing "The Audition" side quest in Neon in the Volii star system. Those looking to embark on a challenge run through Starfield may find a suitable level of difficulty trying to survive by only wearing the Striker set.

15 UC Vanguard Spacesuit

A Well-Rounded Armor Set For Early-Game Grunt Work

The UC Vanguard Spacesuit armor set is a few steps above the basic Deep Mining Spacesuit you receive in Starfield's opening chapter. To get it, you must complete the "Grunt Work" quest by g up to the United Colonies Vanguard: the UC's fleet of volunteers and captains-for-hire. The rewards for your first mission include the UC Vanguard Spacesuit, the UC Vanguard Space Helmet, and the UC Vanguard Pilot Pack.

It's a solid, well-rounded armor set for the early game, with a good balance of defensive stats. The set's physical, energy, and EM damage resistance will keep you alive as you work to protect and save the United Colonies. However, avoiding any corrosive gas vents while exploring new worlds is highly recommended, as the set lacks any resistance to corrosive damage.

14 Gran-Gran's Spacesuit

A Nice Armor Set From Your Parents

The Kid Stuff Trait is one of the best Traits in Starfield. If chosen during character creation, your parents will still be alive, and you must visit your parents in New Atlantis three times. They'll often send you big gifts, including your high-school backpack (for additional carrying capacity), Sir Livingstone's Pistol, and even the unique Wanderwell ship, available nowhere else in the game.

In return, you'll automatically send them 2% of your credits every week, although this is capped.

One of the best gifts your parents can offer is Gran-Gran's Spacesuit, which also comes with Gran-Gran's Helmet as part of a two-piece armor set. It turns out that your grandmother served in the UC Marines, and now it's up to you to make the most of her unique armor.

Overall, the set has excellent defensive stats for Starfield's early and mid-game portions, and with the right skills, you can upgrade it even further. You will have to clip on a Boost Pack from another armor set. Finally, as a nice bonus, Gran-Gran's Spacesuit also comes with the Pocketed mod, which increases your carrying capacity.

13 Peacemaker Spacesuit

Resist More Environmental Dangers

The Peacemaker armor set provides above-average protection against Starfield's three main damage types, but this suit specializes in better resistance against harmful atmospheres. To obtain every piece of this armor, you have to complete the "Dead Stop" quest on Ixyll. You can find this mission right when you land at the Eleos Retreat area, so be sure to finish it fast for this gear.

When combining everything together, you get at least some resistance to every type of environmental effect you could come across on your journey through the stars. The Peacemaker effect for this armor allows you to deal more damage with Rifle weapons as well, giving you offense with defense. Those who use long-range builds may use this armor for their whole playthrough due to this innate trait.

12 Ranger Spacesuit

The Perfect Armor Set For A Freestar Ranger

The Freestar Rangers are wandering lawmen and women tasked with maintaining safety and security in the Freestar Collective space. They're a ragtag bunch, and you can the Freestar Rangers to uncover a sinister conspiracy with far-reaching implications for the Collective.

Once you've completed The Hammer Falls final mission, the Rangers will more than hold up their end of the bargain, gifting you Starfield's Star Eagle spaceship and the Ranger Spacesuit set.

The Ranger Spacesuit is plain and rugged, with none of the fancy add-ons that other armor sets have. It's no-nonsense, with excellent defensive stats across the board. In short, it's perfect for anyone looking to enforce the law in the farthest reaches of Freestar Collective space.

The high damage resistance ensures that you'll be able to shrug off most fire from weapons in Starfield, and you've also got decent resistance to environmental damage.

11 Shocktroop Spacesuit

Steal The Look Of Spacer Enemies

One of the best armor sets to get early in Starfield is the Shocktroop set, which can easily be looted off of Spacer pirates you defeat. This armor set is balanced with damage reduction and environmental resistance, making it a strong choice for those who didn't get armor with their Trait. You can also buy it from several vendors in the populated worlds you visit.

This armor is very good against Radiation, a hazard that may have you struggling at early points in your adventure. More than anything, the Shocktroop armor set is versatile, allowing you to overcome three out of the four environmental damage types with relative ease. This gives you more freedom to explore dangerous worlds and pick up better gear from places you normally couldn't reach.

10 UC Antixeno Spacesuit

A Sturdy Armor Set For Hunting Aliens

The UC Antixeno Spacesuit set is essentially a mid-game the UC Vanguard Spacesuit set, obtained by completing Hostile Intelligence, another Faction mission for the United Colonies. Unlike some of Starfield's armor sets, the UC Antixeno Spacesuit also excels against one specific enemy type: alien wildlife.

Both the Spacesuit and the Helmet can come with the Beast Hunter Perk, which reduces the damage you take from aliens by 15%. It also comes with the Analyzer (10% extra damage against scanned targets) and Incendiary (10% chance to ignite attackers) perks.

Coupled with a combat-focused Starfield character background, you'll be the bane of any hostile alien lifeforms. By scanning hostile animals when you encounter them, you can guarantee that you'll receive the 10% damage bonus, and any enemy that gets within melee range might spontaneously catch fire when attacking you. It's a tough set of armor, perfect for exploring and setting up new outposts on dangerous new planets.

9 Bounty Hunter Spacesuit

A Well-Rounded Armor Set For Explorers

The Bounty Hunter Spacesuit set is one of the best armor sets for the mid to late-game, thanks to its well-rounded, solid stats. By equipping this set, you'll have broad resistance to all types of damage and a well-balanced set of environmental resistances.

This suit is only available if you or infiltrate the Crimson Fleet for UC SysDef. You can either loot it from dead Spacers in the Mantis' Lair or purchase it from Zuri's Essentials at The Key.

Unfortunately, it doesn't come with any special perks, but it's flexible and easily upgraded if you have the right skills. There are other, more unusual armor sets, but the Bounty Hunter set is durable and reliable in a pitched firefight.

You can also equip several different Bounty Hunter Boost Packs, but their stats will all differ slightly, so make sure to compare to find the best variant for your build.

8 Mercury Spacesuit

The Best Armor Set For Fans Of Old-School Sci-Fi

The Mercury Spacesuit set is a nice throwback to the early days of space exploration and is essentially a faithful recreation of space suits once used by NASA in Starfield. In-game, the armor set has stats to match the Bounty Hunter Spacesuit set but also boasts additional environmental resistance.

Picked up during the Unearthed main mission, it's the perfect choice for explorers and outpost builders who benefit most from resistance to a wide variety of environmental hazards.

However, although the set comes with the Mercury Pack, you'll have to swap in a different pack to get Boost Pack functionality. The Mercury Pack has some potent stats but isn't a boost pack, so you'll need to decide whether you'd like additional armor or extra mobility.

Unlike other armor sets, the Mercury Spacesuit set can be missed, as the area it's found in becomes inaccessible after your mission is complete. Make sure to grab it from the display cases before progressing.