Equipping the best armor is key to raising your party’s strength in Persona 5. Some armor can be obtained haphazardly by playing this JRPG, but some of the best armor requires some careful planning and foresight to obtain.
If you’re looking to equip your team with the best armor they can wear then here are some of the items the fan base considers the best right now. It also bears mentioning that most of these items are only found in the Royal DLC.
Updated by Michael Connor Smith on April 30th, 2020: Anyone with even a small experience in JRPGs knows that equipping armor and weapons with the bigger numbers likely brings forth better results, and Persona 5 Royal is no different with its lengthy armor list and a multitude of ways to acquire them.
This list was updated to accommodate for Persona 5 Royal’s release, adding in some exclusive armor pieces only seen in the newer game, as well as to add in some additional armor that we felt had the defensive prowess to stand out from the rest.
15 Killer Collar
The Killer Collar can be obtained either through exploring Mementos or bought for 34,000 Yen and is the only armor for Morgana that activates an auto skill. It comes equipped with Attack Master, meaning that Morgana will have an Auto-Tarukaja activated upon entering a battle.
While it may not have as high of an armor rating as some of the other available armors like the Nekomata Coat+ or the Cats Make Foot, but 193 defense is still a decent rating. It does have 20 evasion, however, which makes it one of the armors for Morgana with the highest evasion.
14 Captain’s Vest
The Captain’s Vest is an armor that can only be worn by male characters. It provides a decent 258 points of defense with 19 points in evade. The reason it ranks low on this list is that it doesn’t come with any special effects or perks.
If you want the Captain’s Vest for yourself you’ll need to wash Classified Armor at the coin-operated laundromat. Only a handful of these that can be acquired in Tanaka’s Shady Commodities shop, and it’s entirely randomized as to whether or not the Captain’s Vest will appear, so you may or may not get it on this playthrough.
13 Black Wing Robe
The Black Wing Robe is one of few armors given from sending a Persona to the electric chair, specifically Yatagarasu. Combining this mythical crow with a Black Robe will give an armor piece with 220 defense and 20 evasion, along with a medium reduction of Nuclear damage.
This is the only armor in the game that reduces Nuclear damage, making it essential for effectively fighting endgame bosses and enemies with a Nuclear affinity.
12 Archangel Bra
This is one of the latest itemized armors available in the game, as Sraosha cannot be used until level 80. This is a women’s exclusive armor that has 178 defense and 18 evasion, but this is another case where its additional effect makes up for its sub-par stats.
It has a high reduction of Electric damage which can be a godsend for bosses who love to spam electrical skills. While none of the female party members have a weakness to Electric, it will still help mitigate the damage from a pesky Maziodyne.
11 Soul Vest +
The Soul Vest + is a Unisex item which makes it very useful for outfitting your team, as anyone other than Morganna can wear it. It has a defense rating of 263 and comes with 16 evade. In addition to having better stats than the Captain’s Vest it also has the special effect of raising the wearer’s SP by 40.
The only way to obtain this item is to wash Unholy Armor at the laundromat. Like Classified Armor, only a handful of these can be found at Tanaka’s Shady Commodities and it’s entirely random as to whether the Soul Vest + will appear.
10 National Clothes
If you’re willing to sacrifice defensive potential and give up your soul to lady luck, then the National Clothes will be right up your alley. This is another armor piece made by itemizing a Persona, where Okuninushi and a Black Robe combine to make it.
It only has 178 defense and 18 evasion, which is considered to be on the lower side when looking at late-game armor, but its additional effect is what makes it really stand out. It greatly increases the evasion rate of Masukukaja, giving your entire party a hefty boost of accuracy and evasion.
9 Over Guard
The Over Guard has impressive stats, such as 284 defense and 15 evasion. The reason it ranks low is that like the Captain’s Vest it doesn’t come with any special effects. This item is also only worn by males.
The Over Guard is located in the Qliphoth World. You’ll have to venture into the Depths of Momentos on the Path to the Holy Grail. This can be a tough fight so make sure your party is well equipped. The good news is that you can farm enough of these to equip every male in your group.
8 Demon’s Jacket +
The Demon’s Jacket + is a males-only item that has 266 defense, 15 evasion and the handy special effect of raising the wearer’s Strength by three. While it’s not the strongest armor in the game there’s a case to be made that it’s the most useful, as it’s the only one on this list that can be purchased from a store.
The store you can buy it from is Untouchable and it comes in at a whopping ¥51,600. But if you have enough funds you can equip every male member of your team without having to farm drops or cross your fingers at the laundromat.
7 Karna’s Robe +
Karna’s Robe + is another male-only item that has some really good stats. It has 273 defense, 25 evasion (which is the second-highest evasion stat on this list), and it has the special effect of reducing Physical Damage, making it really handy for certain fights and bosses in the game.
Karna’s Robe + is acquired by washing Desecrated Gear at the laundromat, which puts it on par with the Soul Vest + in terms of how many you can acquire and the odds of it appearing. Grab these at Tanaka’s Shady Commodities.
6 Haten Robe +
The Haten Robe + is the only female-only item on this list, making it the most powerful armor your ladies can equip. It comes with 275 defense, 25 evasion, and it raises Magic by five. This is a great set to put on someone like Ann that can really benefit from the Magic boost.
To get the Haten Robe + you’ll have to wash Unholy Armor in the laundromat. Once again, it’s one of many items that can appear so it’ll take a few tries.
5 Immortal Vest
The Immortal Vest is the best armor in the game if you look exclusively at the whopping defense stat of 304, the highest of any item. It also comes with a 16 to evasion and provides a boost of 30 HP to any male that wears it.
This armor is acquired by completing The Head Honcho in Showbiz request located on the Path of Sheriruth in Area 14. It’ll take some grinding to get enough for your team so make sure your team deals Nuclear damage.
4 Nekomata Coat +
The Nekomata Coat + is the only armor that can be worn exclusively by Morganna. If you like him on your team this makes it a powerful set of armor, if you don’t use Morganna then it wouldn’t rank on this list at all as it’s utterly useless. It has 287 defense, 29 evasion, and the powerful special effect of Evade Psy attacks.
This is yet another item that is acquired by washing Unholy Armor and the last one to make an appearance on this list. Randomly acquiring two of these is one of the most frustrating moments in the game as only one character can wear it.
3 Tantric Oath
The second strongest armor in the game is Tantric Oath, another outfit that is only wearable by males. Its stats are a bit lower than some of the others, with 272 defense and 18 evasion, but its special effect of reducing magic damage more than makes up for it.
To acquire this armor you need to complete the Electric Chair Execution or Itemization of the Satan persona. It’ll take some fusing to get the Satan persona to do this, but it’s definitely worth it.
2 Hiroko’s Armor
This is essentially the female version of the Tantric Oath, as its made in the same fashion by Itemizing the Satan Persona. It has 272 defense and 21 evasion, making it the female armor with the second-highest stats in the game. But, its additional effect likely puts it at the very top above all other female armors.
Hiroko’s Armor drastically reduces any type of magical damage, meaning that the wearer will be tanking through every other attack that an enemy throws out. It’ll be difficult for any enemy to take down the wearer of this armor without any damaging physical skills, made even better with skills like Rakukaja or Tetrakarn.
1 Lucifer Guard
Arguably the best armor in the game is the Lucifer Guard. It has 250 defense and 10 evasion, which is lower than some of the others, but it makes up for it by reducing magic damage and being a unisex item that anyone in your party can wear.
This item is similar to Tantric Oath in that you need to perform an Electric Chair Execution, but on Messiah this time. The catch with this is that the only way to obtain the Messiah persona is by buying the Messiah and Messiah Picaro DLC.
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