There isn't a shortage of stunning-looking armor sets for the Tarnished to wear in Elden Ring, but they take a long time to be discovered and some even have to be farmed, meaning players will potentially spend longer than expected wearing starting cosmetics. Elden Ring is FromSoftware's biggest game yet, and part of its charm is that it rewards players who explore off the beaten path. Every area of the Lands Between is teeming with secrets and bosses to fight, which can make discovering unique weapons and armor more rewarding than they otherwise would've been had they been presented more easily. However, weapons drop more frequently than armor, meaning that it can take a long time for a given Tarnished to find an armor set in Elden Ring they truly desire, which is often the case with other RPGs.
At the beginning of Elden Ring, players can choose between several starting classes, each with their own unique aesthetic and starting armor set, although this isn't a barrier to customization. Armor sets can be acquired by defeating enemies, accomplishing quests, or even by looting chests, with full sets sometimes being assembled from individually dropped armor pieces. Armor can also be purchased from the different merchants scattered across the Lands Between, as well as from the Twin Maiden husks in the Roundtable Hold. The most exotic sets in the game, though, can't be found in the starting areas of Limgrave or the Weeping Peninsula, and many need to be farmed, meaning it can take hours of playing to assemble a full set of armor.
In some ways, the fact it takes so long to acquire some of the best armor sets in Elden Ring actually works to its benefit. In much the same way felling a particularly difficult boss or enemy can bring great satisfaction, so too can the moment when a Tarnished eventually gets their hands on the armor they've been searching for most. That said, players can spend a potentially inordinate amount of time in their base armor that they receive at the start of the game, with most armor drops at the beginning of Elden Ring arguably lacking both visual appeal and practical value.
Why Are Elden Ring's Good Armor Sets So Hard To Find?
Elden Ring's best armor sets can't be found in the early stages of the game, which is to be expected. It doesn't necessarily make sense to equip players with the strongest weapons and armor early on, and slowly introducing more exotic armor the more they progress should provide a better sense of progression and accomplishment - particularly for armor tied to a given quest. The main issue, though, is that players can spend over 10 hours in the opening sections of Elden Ring - like Stormveil Castle - as well as that some armor sets, such as the Cleanrot set, have to be slowly assembled by farming certain enemy types. This can lead a Tarnished to a longer than expected time wearing their base armor. This may not be an issue for everyone, but for those who may be struggling in the early sections of Elden Ring and wish to see more of the cosmetics the game has to offer, it has the potential to feel like quite a wait.
Ultimately, the long wait to acquire new armor in Elden Ring is both a blessing and a curse. The sense of reward and accomplishment upon finding a particularly impressive-looking armor set can be great, but this also means that long hours can be spent without getting to see the range of looks present in the Lands Between. Exciting weapons in Elden Ring, meanwhile, tend to drop a lot more regularly in the early stages of the game. This may alleviate the wait for more visually striking and better-leveled armor sets - at least for a time - but Elden Ring could be more generous when it comes to dishing them out.