Up to 83% Off VPN
There's a lot of different armor choices in Dune Awakening so it can be hard to know which set is best for you, or if you should mix and match different pieces with different unique effects.
We've structured this Tier List based on which armor pieces and sets are most useful/powerful across all content, rather than creating a separate list for both PVP and PVE. However, in the discussion we do note the key strengths & weaknesses of each. With the release of Chapter Three, PVP strength is determined more by the weapons you carry rather than the armor you wear.
Hopefully this Tier List can help you think about which Schematics are worth pushing for in the Deep Desert, Landsraad, or Overland Testing Stations.
Note: This Tier List will be a living Tier List, updated as new Chapters of content are released and balance patches change the meta.
Quick Links:
Dune Awakening Best Armor - Tier List
This Tier List is focused on Mk6 Unique armor, the highest tier obtainable in the Deep Desert and Graded Mk6 Unique armor, the most powerful armor in the game, only obtainable in high difficulty Overland Testing Stations.
S-Tier Discussion
Circuit Gauntlets
Source, stats & crafting info available at our Circuit Gauntlets database page.
Circuit Gauntlets are comfortably at the top of S-tier due to the versatility of their unique effect. They are highly sought after and can be worn in almost all loadouts with little to no downside.
Circuit Gauntlets decrease power costs by 10% for all your equipment, affecting your shield, suspensor belt, tools, and energy weapons. This type of bonus is very rare and even surpasses the Conservation of Energy Technique, which only gives 9% at level 3.
Power Harness
Source, stats & crafting info available at our Power Harness database page.
To understand how strong Power Harness is you can compare it to Bulwark Chest, which provides the same total armor. By comparison, Power Harness loses only 1.5% Dart and Concussive Mitigation to gain 50 extra Power Capacity. Power capacity directly corresponds to shield capacity, which means that with more power, we can take more hits before our shield breaks. If you were using a Young Sparky Mk6, this would equate to a 7% increase in shields. Of course, power is also used by your other pieces of equipment, like Suspensor Belts, tools, and energy weapons, all of which will work for longer periods of time.
That's why the Power Harness' unique effect of increasing Maximum Power by +50 is so valuable. The Power Harness' strong unique effect earns it a place in S tier, but it's not perfectly suited for every occasion. In certain situations, you might prefer to run a chest piece with Blade Mitigation, like the Forge Chestpiece.
The Forge Set
The Forge Set moves up to S tier for its versatility, finally being able to shine fully after the introduction of elemental damage in Testing Stations. It is light armor, which comes with the standard Blade Mitigation and Dash Stamina Cost Reduction, but more importantly the Forge Set provides elemental resistances (Fire, Energy, and Poison).
The fire mitigation helps survivability in Testing Station 136 (Fire) and the poison mitigation helps likewise in Testing Station 195 (Poison). Poison is also very common in PVP because of its ability to deal damage through shields, although time-to-kill has dropped significantly with other methods. Equipping the full set gives you 50% Fire and 30% Poison Mitigation. As a light armor set, the Forge also gives significant blade mitigation, allowing you to survive more hits from other players and Testing Station bosses.
Tabr Softstep Boots
Source, stats & crafting info available at our Tabr Softstep Boots database page.
Tabr Softstep Boots are widely considered to be an essential armor piece for farming on the desert sands once you reach the late game. This is because they have a unique effect granted by no other item in the game (other than lower tier Softstep boots), which is worm threat reduction.
Wearing these Boots will reduce your worm threat, meaning it will take longer before the worm is alerted to your presence. This is incredibly useful, of course, when it comes to farming Spice or Flour Sand. Outside of that, the boots have decent light armor stats, providing blade mitigation and lowering your Dash Stamina Cost.
A-Tier Discussion
Pincushion Set
The Pincushion Set remains incredibly good, however the focus on Testing Stations in Chapter 3 has seen the Pincushion Set edged out of the top position. The three attributes it provides are valued in PVP and Testing Stations.
Pincushion is an exceptional set that provides three desirable armor attributes:
- Dart (Light & Heavy) Mitigation
- Blade Mitigation
- Dash Stamina Cost Reduction
As a light armor set, Pincushion has lower overall armor when compared to heavy armor alternatives like Bulwark. The Blade Mitigation and Dash Stamina Cost Reduction go a long way in making up for its reduced armor, providing you with a set which has greater versatility than its heavier counterparts. Whether you're doing PVP or PVE, Pincushion remains a solid choice.
Bulwark Set
The Bulwark Set has high Armor Values and high Dart Mitigation, which can enable certain playstyles or boss strategies. In Chapter 3 the extreme damage scaling of ranged weapons in PVP and damage of bosses and enemies in Testing Stations makes maximising your armor more important than ever. The difference between living and dying can be the difference between wearing light and heavy armor, so the Bulwark Set finds a place next to Pincushion in A tier.
When the Bulwark Set is good, it's very good, making ranged playstyles that force you to drop your shields much more viable. It allows you to take more risks when engaging ranged targets without the fear of instant death.
Ix-core Leggings
Source, stats & crafting info available at our Ix-core Leggings database page.
Ix-core Leggings are great for occasions where you'll benefit from the extra Dash Stamina Cost Reduction. You could wear them as a part of your core equipment loadout, although there are times when the extra mitigation of alternative armor pieces will outweigh the benefit you gain from Dash Stamina Cost Reduction.
Ix-core Leggings reduce your Dash Stamina Cost by 10%, 2.5x more than the standard Mk6 light armor piece, which only reduces it by 4%. Like all light armors, Ix-core Leggings provide Blade Mitigation, however alternatives like Pincushion Leggings might be a better fit, depending on your needs.
B-Tier Discussion
Idaho's Charge
Source, stats & crafting info available at our Idaho's Charge database page.
Suspensor Belts that have high power drain, like the Full Suspensor Belt, will see the most benefit from Idaho's Charge unique effect. Being allowed to float for several more seconds in the air allows Idaho's Charge to outclass alternatives like the Power Harness when it comes to Suspensor Belt efficiency.
Idaho's Charge reduces power drain from suspensor use by 20%, allowing you to stay airborne for much longer. The effect is substantial but is only useful in specific circumstances, such as against the boss in Testing Station 136 (Fire), once the scaling difficulty makes Fire Mitigation ineffective.
Executor's Set
The Executor Set has similar stats to Bulwark, gaining increased Concussive Mitigation by sacrificing some Dart Mitigation. Concussive damage is a rarer damage type than Dart, primarily being inflicted by explosives, so if you're running heavy armor you'd be better off having higher Dart Mitigation. The heavy armor penalty to Blade Mitigation is lessened in the Executor set, however, heavy armor is most valuable when it's used to tank ranged attacks, so this stat exchange is not very valuable.
The high armor and Dart Mitigation of the Executor Set are valuable, but its stat distribution is inferior to the Bulwark Set. If you like heavy armor and don't want to have as large a penalty to Blade Mitigation, the Executor Set might still be for you.
C-Tier Discussion
Yueh's Reaper Gloves
Source, stats & crafting info available at our Yueh's Reaper Gloves Database Page.
Yueh's Reaper Gloves are a light armor piece that sacrifices useful damage mitigation stats for 10% Increased Dew Reaper Yield. If you can afford to make these, you probably already have Wind Traps set up and have moved past the need for dew collection.
Wayfinder Helm
Source, stats & crafting info available at our Wayfinder's Helm Database Page.
Wayfinder's Helm is a light armor piece that loses extra mitigation stats for a bonus of 15% Increased Scanner (Handheld) Range. Most of the time you will not even have a Scanner on you to make use of this effect and even in the very niche case where it would benefit you, 15% is too small a bonus to bother with.
Hook-claw Gloves
Source, stats & crafting info available at our Hook-claw Gloves Database Page.
Hook-claw Gloves are another piece of niche armor providing a bonus you no longer need in the late game. Draining less Stamina while climbing is a bonus you won't need, because you're already flying around in an Ornithopter by the time you can craft these.
Imperial Stillsuit & Villari Stillsuit
Stillsuits have low armor values, a lack of mitigation, and useless bonuses, making them a poor choice in almost any situation. Stillsuits can be very helpful in the early game when water is scarce, but in the late game they are made obsolete by carrying a filled Literjon.
Pardot's Hood, Shaddam's Bladder, Desert Garb & Crew Chief's Stillsuit
Pardot's Hood, Shaddam's Bladder, Desert Garb, and Crew Chief's Stillsuit, all share the same problem as the Imperial and Villari Stillsuit. The bonuses to heat resistance and water conservation are not valuable enough to be worth sacrificing armor and damage mitigation. Crew Chief's Stillsuit reduction to Dash Stamina Cost is still outclassed by light armor alternatives.