Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Best armor and wear to get it (Warning, Spoilers)

So, going through the game, getting armor can be a real chore. This is really frustrating considering Larion seems to want to send absurd amounts of bad guys after you, many of which have multiple attacks per round. (I STILL can't beat the Gnolls without cheasing the hell out of them what with their situational three attacks a round)

So, for those that are wondering:
Fighters and Paladins start with the Medium armor: Scale mail (14 max dex bonus +2) which is okay, especially if you equip a shield to them. Paladins even have a cool special skin on theirs.

You can get a second set of scale mail early on by killing the Halfling bandit Fighter outside Jergal's Crypt. He has a wizard with him, and two dudes in leather armor (Leather is actually an upgrade for Asterion and Wyll's Padded armors as those provide penalties to stealth checks.) More sets of scale mail appear later on in the game, but I think this is the first set you can get for free (well, killing a bandit)

If you are a fighty type (Fighter/barbarian/ranger) and don't want to take Lae'Zel with you, you can take her on to your team and then trade out her medium armor half-plate for whatever you are wearing. Or you could give it to Shadowheart, this is the only half-plate you get for a while (15+max dex bonus 2)

In the Druid's grove, there is a tiefling working a forge. he sells +1 scale mail (15+max dex 2) but it is SUPER expensive and, considering you can get a lot of gith halfplate later that has similar stats, I don't recommend grabbing it. He sells some other armor as well but IMHO, none of it is worth your limited coin, considering what is avilable further down on the list.

At the inn that is on fire (Wakeen's Rest) there is a dead drow out front on the ground that has armor equivalent to studded leather just for the taking. It even has a cool skin. Best non-magical light armor in the game. Called Faded drow armor or something.

If you rescue the Zentium from the cave of gnolls (which is quite a feat, Damn 3 attacks a round when you are like, level 3!) then you can get access to a super secret merchant that can sell +1 studded leather armor (light armor, 13+5 max dex) which is the best light armor in the game from an AC perspective, though it is SUPER expensive.

Fast forward through a LOT of the game, and when you get INSIDE the goblin hideout, this is the first time you can buy some decent heavy armor, notably Chainmail, which is 16 (No bonus from dex). This is for sale by the Halfling Zentium, and no, she doesn’t drop it on death. This is actually just as good for Lae'zel as her half plate (total 16 ac before shield) and then you can swap out Lae'Zel's gith half-plate to Shadowheart or your PC if your PC has medium armor prof.

Also in the Goblin hideout, there is a Drow Cleric Matorn. Killing her (which is part of several quests) nets you Spidersilk Drow armor, which is just studded leather armor, but it gives you advantages on stealth checks and +1 to stealth. Also unique skin.

If you are able to beat the Gith Patrol (which is NOT easy, haven't tried them in Patch 9, but in patch 8 they were a nightmare without cheesing it) then you get several sets of Githyanki 1/2 plate, allowing you to equip your PC, shadowheart, and Lae'Zel.

In the underdark, in a drow deaddrop cache chest (after beating the spectator and following that path) you can get some Drow armor, which is like the Spidersilk armor but doesn't give advantages to stealth checks. Still, good for Wyll to wear!

Also, in the decrepit village, you can fight some nasty Duregar. It can be a tough fight. But at the end you can pick up some chainmail from one of the dwarves, if you missed buying it INSIDE the Goblin camp.

In the Underdark, if you go through the whole rigamaroll to get the forge working and kill the protector, then you can get Adamantine Splint Mail armor. This is actually just normal splint mail AC wise, though it has some cool properties if people hit you with it on in melee. It is still the best armor in the game without taking dex into acount (Base AC 17, AC can spike up to 21 if you are using the Sparkywall, that armor, and you have the armored fighting style, even if your dex is 10)

That's all the best armor that I know about. I have seen rumors about that patch 9 introduced a set of 'incomplete plate mail' for paladins, but I haven't seen it and don't know where it is.