Grounded is not a game for the faint of heart... or those who are scared of bugs. It can be a dangerous world to roam, especially without any friends to watch your back. You'll need to build up the best defenses and collect armor with powerful set bonuses to survive. So what is the best armor you should use? We compiled a list ranking each set from least to most helpful.
All Grounded Armor Sets, Ranked
Before we start this guide, know that each set can be beneficial in its own way, allowing for various attributes and stats that you may find helpful for specific circumstances you come across in your experience. Determining what armor sets are better than others can be up to each individual's preference, which means this list varies based on opinion.
For us though, we ranked them based on defensive and protection skills as armor and what stats they provide while in battle.
16. Clover Armor
Clover Armor is probably the most starter set you will get in the game. It is a tier-one, easy recipe to make that will provide a tiny bit of padding against enemies but is more beneficial for basic survival overall. This sets effects to help you stand longer without eating and drinking and will allow you to regenerate your health when your hunger bar is completely filled. It won't block much damage or help you deal extra damage in battle, so you'll definitely want to upgrade to something better as soon as possible.
15. Grub Armor
The Grub Armor is another one of the very basic sets that will only be useful for beginning characters and only as a use to escape. Its effects are concentrated entirely on boosting your stamina and making you faster so you can escape risky situations and adventure around the map as quickly as possible. It won't help in many other aspects, and it will definitely want to be switched out for something better down the road.
14. Red Ant Armor
The Rent Ant Armor is toward the bottom of the list because it will offer a bit of padding at the start of the game but is more geared toward base building and harvesting than battles. The effects of the set allow players to haul more items and harvest grass more quickly. The set bonus will make ants entirely ignore the player and not attack unless the player attacks first or steals an egg. This makes it easy to get materials and build up your base, which is why it is always a good idea to have a set to use, but you'll want to change to a different set when you head off to adventure or battle enemies.
13. Acorn Armor
The Acorn Armor is a first-tier armor set, evident from its lower stats overall. However, if you're a beginner player, this is your go-to if you're working on a tank build. This Acorn Armor is all about setting you up defensively, allowing you to have increased health and stun enemies with successful blocks. Its Major Threat effect will draw enemies to you, which can come in handy when playing with friends, allowing you to absorb all the incoming damage and keep your group alive. Being heavy armor, this set has some of the best damage reduction, but defensive and resistance-wise, you'll want to upgrade to the Roly Poly or Black Ox eventually.
12. Black Ant Armor
The Black Ant Armor is a unique set that uses the enemies' strength against them despite lacking defense and resistance. Its set bonus, Pincushion, has a chance to reflect enemies' attacks back at them, and the effect of Crit After Block allows you to return heavy-hitting damage after a successful block. You can also gain extra stamina as you perform critically. These effects are significant for countering your opponents and taking them out efficiently, but you'll have to work extra hard not to dodge and block as many incoming attacks for these to be worthwhile.
11. Koi Scale Armor
The Koi Scale Armor is probably one of the most visually stunning sets with its bright orange and marbled black and white colors. This second-tier set focuses more on defensive aspects but has some unique parry abilities that will also help you return some damage. You'll want to utilize a shield with this set at all times since its effects rely heavily on blocking your enemies' attacks and creating the perfect moment to strike. It increases your window for an excellent block and can lower your opponents' defense when you do, leaving them vulnerable to your returning blow. However, this set has some of the lowest resistance and won't protect you as much as the above options.
10. Bee Armor
The Bee Armor is another set that focuses primarily on ranged attacks, allowing you to maintain a distance from your enemies and avoid taking lots of damage. What makes it unique is its effect of slowing enemies down, which helps your ranged attacks to wipe them out before they even reach you. However, when deciding on the perfect ranged build, the Antlion and the Moth still outrank this with their fast-firing methods and better overall stats, which is why it sits lower on the list and might only work well for more beginning players.
9. Spider Armor
The Spider Armor is very similar to the Widow Armor but certainly in a lower tier. Much like the Widow set, it is all about increased stamina and speed and the ability to poison your enemies with each hit. Both its Hasty Regen and Hunter's Prowess allow you to move and fight at more extraordinary lengths without running out of stamina. However, its all-around stats are lower than the Widows and won't be as beneficial. It can still be an excellent option for more beginner-speed builds.
8. Ladybug Armor
Although the Ladybug Armor is only a second-tier armor set, it is one of the best to utilize if you're going solo and perhaps might be the best tank armor under the Black Ox. The Ladybug set has well-rounded defensive stats, including 30% and 25% damage reduction and stamina usage. What makes it so great, however, is its block strength, the ability to increase your healing, and grant regeneration on successful blocks. This allows you to stay alive longer in dangerous situations and outlive your opponents, even if you go solo. This sits lower on the list because you'll still need a pretty high-tier weapon to deal out some damage since all of its effects are purely for defense.
7. Moth Armor
If you're looking for an armor set about speed and ranged attacks, the Moth Armor is the best one for you. These abilities are all about utilizing your ranged attacks, such as from bows or crossbows, to increase your movement speeds and inflict heavy damage that leaves bleeding. This is perfect for keeping your distance and taking out your enemies from a safe location, which you'll want to utilize as much as possible due to the armor's more negative stats, like its lack of damage reduction and resistance.
6. Widow Armor
The venomous Widow armor is a damage-forward set that allows you to poison your enemies and gain some speed as you do. However, even with its ability to poison enemies with each blow and parry also lacks resistance stats and damage reduction that the similar Fire Ant Armor has. Its best quality is its set bonus which allows you to gain 20% speed after killing an enemy. You can quickly get away or lunge at your next target with speedy elegance.
Related: How to easily kill Antlions in Grounded - Antlion Weakness
5. Assassin Armor
The Assassin Armor is another one of the top damage-based armor sets made from the parts of the Mantis bug. Its Cutman effect, paired perfectly with its Crit Stun and Critical Chain effects, allows you to hit multiple critical hits in a row and cause the opponent to bleed. If pulled off successfully, this is a deadly combo, but it will also require you to act fast since the Assassin armor lacks the total defense you might get with the armor sets above. Like a true Assassin, you'll want to perform stealthily and swiftly, catch your opponents off guard, and hit them where it counts.
4. Antlion Armor
The Antlion Armor is still a top-tier set that shares in the mid-defensive stats of 10s and 20s and has a decent damage reduction of 20%. However, this set's effects are based solely on survival more than anything else, which is what warrants it being ranked a bit further down on the list. Its Sizzle Protection allows you to delve into more steamy locations on the map and pairs nicely with the Thirst Rate effect, allowing you to go longer without needing a drink. The best bonus of this armor is its Quickdraw set bonus which enables you to reload bows and crossbows 40% faster. You can quickly take out your opponents from a distance and potentially avoid any damage in return.
3. Fire Ant Armor
The Fire Ant Armor is up at the top of the list due to its powerful offensive skills of acid, although while it goes full force on the offensive side, it lacks some of those more defensive qualities that the Black Ox and Roly Poly have. You'll need to be quick and decisive to utilize the Fire Ant to its full potential since it is the very best offensive armor set you can get. Its Acidic Splash can hit opponents at a distance, ignoring all their defensive and resistant qualities. Hit true with its corrosive and acid effects, and you'll drain your opponents' health in no time.
2. Roly Poly Armor
The Roly Poly Armor is just under the Black Ox Armor, and that is because it is solely for defense. If you're looking for the best tank armor, this set is the best you can get. However, it is better used while playing with a group since players wearing this will draw enemies toward them with its Taunting Gaze effect. But no worries, the high defensive and resistance stats, block stun, increased block strength, and its whopping 30% damage reduction will keep you alive long enough to take out any opponent who threatens you.
1. Black Ox Armor
the Black Ox Armor is one of the strongest armors you can craft in the game, mainly because it is a well-rounded set that focuses on the defensive while enhancing your offense. Because of the high-tier ingredients and level three recipe, you can expect high stats of defense and resistance, up to 10 and 20s for defense and 5 to 10% for resistance. With the set altogether, it can also give the set bonus of the Stunning Charger, which allows your charged hits to stun enemies, on top of its Quickcharge effect that will enable you to charge more quickly. While it also has the chance to lower enemies' attacks with its Overbearing effect.
What is the best armor set in Grounded?
If you're looking for a well-rounded armor set that will give you plenty of protection against predators around the world and provide powerful set bonuses and attributes, then the Black Ox Armor is the best one for you. As we said above, this armor has some of the best defense and resistance and provides beneficial attributes that enhance your charged attacks, so they charge more quickly and can stun your opponents.
Deciding which set you want to use is entirely up to you. We've ranked them based on their overall stats and effects, but you might find one more effective based on your experiences. Let us know your favorites in the comments below!
Looking for more Pro Game Guides Grounded content? Check out our guides on All 74 Milk Molar Locations in Grounded or Grounded Cheats & Console Commands!
Abby Smith is a super nerd and video game fanatic and grew up playing games on a variety of platforms. She likes to spend her free time binge-watching Netflix, reading all genres of novels, and playing all the best new video games. She is currently a full-time Staff Writer for Pro Game Guides, and as an alumni from Full Sail University, also enjoys dabbling in creative writing such as short stories, scripts, and comics on the side.