In the hostile world of Fallout 76, your very survival is dependant on your weaponry, your resourcefulness, and lastly, your armor.

It’s not just a fashion statement and something to show off at the pre-event gatherings before a nuke goes off. It’s that fine layer of protection that helps you ensure that your enemies' health bar depletes before yours does.

However, the wise Wastelander understands armor isn’t just a sheer bulwark against damage. Scattered across Appalachia there are armors that bestow incredible advantages to those who would use them. Today we are showcasing the Top 10 Best armors in Fallout 76 to keep your hide in one piece.

Please note: All armor stats presented in his article are an estimation based on collected data, the player's build, level and perks taken may affect your result.

10. Metal Armor (best early)

When in doubt, slap on some scrap metal to your body.

In the early game, you will be making do with whatever armor you can come across, more than likely starting with leather pieces and working your way upward. Optimizing players will strive to attain metal armor pieces and their plans for crafting as soon as they can, roughly around level 10.  When in doubt, a shell of metal always comes in handy. For the time being anyway.

Armor Stats: 

•     Damage Resistance: 52
•     Energy Resistance: 7

What makes the Metal Armor awesome:

•     You may not be the prettiest belle at the ball but at least you’re not drinking through your stim packs at the early stages of the game.
•     It can be found in abundance in loot drops, allowing you ample material to break down to learn the plans to upgrade as you go.
•     It’s not a nuclear apocalypse survival game until you look like a Transformer had a bad run-in with a can opener. Personal protection, Wasteland style.

How to get Metal Armor:

•     A common loot item and plans can be found early on from vendors at various train depots as well as the Whitespring Resort.

9. Urban Operative Underarmor (Best underwear)

The official longjohns of the Enclave forces.

Most clothing in Fallout 76 is purely cosmetic. Underarmor is merely clothes that are worn under your armor pieces and typically offer no defensive stats. The Urban Operative Underarmor, however, is not your typical set of long johns as it can be modded for defense equal to early game armor. 

Armor Stats:

•     Damage Resistance: +9 with Shielded Lining
•     Energy Resistance: +13 with Shielded Lining
•     Rad Resistance: +5 with Shielded Lining
•     Bonus to Strength and Perception

What makes the Urban Operative Underarmor awesome:

•     I heard you like armor, so we put some armor under your armor.
•     A sleek minimalistic design to accentuate most other armors in the game.
•     The benefits of armor without taking an arm, leg, or body slot, great for those who don’t feel like dressing up in Fallout 76’s more outlandish costumes for a more serious outing.

How to get Urban Operative Underarmor:

•     Gifted to the player by MODUS during the quest “One of Us” as a possible reward after having their picture taken. It is also available for sale in the Whitesprings Bunker in the Production Wing.

8. Marine Armor (Best at second-best defense)

If you're going to go to war, you may as well dress the part, soldier.

What you can’t get in perks and qualities, you can make up for in encasing yourself in military-grade body armor. Marine Armor is a mid-to-late game armor set that starts appearing in loot and event rewards around level 35-40 and up.

Armor Stats:

•     Damage Resistance: 57
•     Energy Resistance: 19
•     Rad Resistance: 19

What makes the Marine Armor awesome:

•     Adequate late-game gear to run around in as you enter the late-game quest for bigger and better Legendary armor.
•     Enter the fray looking like a true military hero ready to bring down whatever dares enter your crosshairs.
•     Highly moddable to enhance its protective qualities to keep you going.

How to get Marine Armor:

•     Plans for pieces can often be found in Harpers Ferry in a house with several display cases and in a damaged train car west of Watoga station. Vendors also occasionally stock the plans.

7. Legendary Armor (Best to keep a lookout for)

I just love Randomly Distributed Loot, don't you?

Legendary weapons and armor become a driving goal for most Fallout 76 players. While lacking in a unique appearance, these stock model armors come with highly unique properties to compliment one's playstyle. Some specific types of Legendary armor are so highly prized by players acquiring them becomes a quest in and of themselves.

Armor Stats:

•     Damage Resistance: Varies by Player Level
•     Damage Resistance: Varies by Player Level

What makes Legendary Armor awesome:

•     There are effects on Legendary Armor that can complement a wide variety of personal playstyles.
•     The effects offer game-changing benefits like becoming invisible when standing still to using a health refilling stim pack automatically when your health is low.
•     The more stars there are by a Legendary Armors name, the more effect they offer you.

How to get Legendary Armors:

•     Legendaries are not a guarantee and they can be found in end-dungeon loot or off the corpse of a powerful foe. They can even be rewarded to the player for completing random events. There is also the Legendary Vendor who will help you trade in the Legendaries you don’t want for a chance at a better and more powerful one. It is, however, a bit of a gamble.

6. The Garb of Mystery (best bonuses)

Just because the world is trying to kill you doesn't mean you can't dress well.

The Mistress of Mystery, the femme fatale ally to the Silver Shroud. Her attire speaks of sophistication and disarming charm, belying the highly trained weapon of justice it is worn. A fictional character brought to life in the wake of the end of the world, her raiment now waits for someone to claim her mantle, but to do so, is to know the story of survival, family, and betrayal.

Armor Stats:

•     Damage Resistance: 15
•     Energy Resistance:  15
•     Bonus: +1 Perception

What makes the Garb of Mystery awesome:

•     A part of a very potent set once all the pieces come together
•     Enhances a player's stealth ability, more so when paired with the Eye of Ra.
•     A unisex dress that can be worn by both men and women, so no one is left out of feeling absolutely fabulous.

How to get the Garb of Mystery:

•     The Garb of Mystery is part of the chain of quests that make up the Order of Mysteries, who make their home in Riverside Manor.

5. The Eye of Ra (best paired with the set)

My eyes are up here, John.

All heroes have a symbol of which they are identified. For the Mistress of Mystery, it was her ever-present brooch, the Eye of Ra. When Shannon Rivers brought the Mistress to life in post-war West Virginia, she recreated the Eye of Ra as a symbol of her status within the Order of Mysteries. A unique oddity amongst Fallout accessories.

Armor Stats:

•     None
•     Bonus: Enhances the effects of the rest of the Order of Mysteries set, including the Garb of Mystery, the Voice of Set, and the Blade of Bastet.

What makes the Eye of Ra awesome:

•     When worn with the Garb of Mystery, it adds a 20% boost to player stealth and increases the dresses damage resistance and energy resistance.
•     When worn with the Garb of Mystery, it improves the effects of the Voice of Set and Blade of Bastet's weapon qualities.
•     Just really compliments that dress, let’s not kid ourselves.

How to get the Eye of Ra:

• The Eye of Ra can be found at the finale of the Order of Mysteries' questline on the remains of a woman at Seneca Rocks who are best left unspoiled for those who haven’t completed the questline.

4. T-51 Power Armor (Best well-rounded power armor)

The original is back, baby.

The T-51 model of Power Armor is synonymous with the Fallout franchise, the first ever seen by players when the series debuted in 1997 and is iconic to the series. In Fallout 76, the T-51 series is lauded by players as far superior to some other models and can be acquired with a degree less headache than late-game Ultracite Armor.

Armor Stats: 

•     Damage Resistance: 374
•     Energy Resistance: 374
•     Rad Resistance: 220

What makes the T-51 Power Armor awesome:

•     The old school Fallout Power Armor returns, in full glorious detail, enough to make the veterans of the franchise shed a tear of joy.
•     Vastly superior to the T-45 model, with stats that make it a perfect all-around Power Armor.
•     Parts can be found in a variety of locations across the world, and chances are you will have yourself a full set of T-51 before you are even close to completing the quest for the next Power Armor on this list.

How to get T-51 Power Armor:

•     Various locations have a chance to spawn a dormant set of power armor with random Power Armor pieces on them. It boils down to luck from there. The Youtube link provided below will help you in your search.

3. Excavator Power Armor (Best at carrying your burdens)

Made for construction, excels at destruction.

A creation by Garrahan Mining Company in collaboration with West Tek, the Excavator Power Armor plays into the local lore of Appalachia, and it’s mining-fueled communities and culture. Designed to protect miners from the dangers of their work, only five were ever known to be produced before the inevitable hellfire of the nuclear apocalypse.

Armor Stats: 

•     Damage Resistance: 163
•     Energy Resistance: 163
•     Rad Resistance: 234
•     Bonus: Increases Carry weight by 100 when wearing a full set
•     Bonus+: Increases ore mined by four times as many while wearing the set. 

What makes the Excavator Power Armor awesome:

•     Carry weight can make you or break, and this suit of Power Armor’s bonus to that makes it a perfect pack mule armor to lessen the chance of having to choose what to keep and what to ditch to lighten your load.
•     Ores are raw material, and raw materials can be used to make weapons, armor, and even C.A.M.P. furniture, and getting more is always better.
•     While not the most powerful in defense, this suit offers nod-worthy rad resistance when needing to venture into irradiated zones for salvage.

How to get Excavator Power Armor:

•     A full set must be crafted by the player in the quest “Miner Miracles”, with schematics acquired from Garrahan Mining HQ. Alternatively, a Vendorbot named Greg may have the plans in his stock.

2. Strangler Heart Power Armor (Best legendary raid armor)

Considering what they went through, they have earned the right to gloat.

In a mid-2019 update, Fallout 76 introduced its first raid, which tasks the players with delving into the hazardous depths of Vault 94 and hopefully come back with plans and material to craft the parts of this particularly formidable shell of mossy Power Armor.

Armor Stats:

•     Damage Resistance: 453
•     Energy Resistance: 393
•     Rad Resistance: 300

What makes the Strangler Heart Power Armor awesome:

•     It offers superior radiation resistance compared to the T-51b power armor.
•     It causes all your armed attacks to inflict acidic damage.
•     A legendary Power Armor set with a stealth buff. I want you to think about that a little.

How to get the Strangler Heart Power Armor:

•     Bring plenty of ammo and friends because at the moment the only way to attain this juggernaut of pre-war ingenuity is to brave the terrors of Vault 94 multiple times in hopes of acquiring the plans as loot.

1. Urban Scout Armor (Best for sheer defense without Power Armor)

Working for shady government types has it's perks.

A Post-War armor utilized by the operatives of the nefarious Enclave, the Urban Scout Armor is a perfect representation of absolute protection on top of protecting its wearer from the dangers of the wilds of Appalachia. A medium armor sporting heavy armor style protection, making it valuable for those who enjoy decent protection when not in a suit of Power Armor.

Armor Stats:

•     •Damage Resistance: 134 (at 40), 160 (at 50)
•     •Energy Resistance: 101 (at 40), 120 (at 50)

What makes the Urban Scout Armor awesome:

•     Fusion Cores necessary to deploy Power Armor can run out, but the Urban Scout Armor is a powerless form of protection that rivals most heavy grade armors in the game.
•     Highly moddable, the Urban Scout Armor can be fitted to support the base stats as well as enhance a player's stealth, and more to support a variety of combat scenarios.
•     Statistically by the numbers, you cannot do better than the Urban Scout Armor in terms of protection and survivability when it comes to non-Power Armor vestments.

How to Get the Urban Scout Armor:

•     You will first need to ingratiate yourself with the Enclave faction, in which you will be introduced to a lovely chap named MODUS. Acquirable at Level 40 and up, MODUS will sell pieces of the armor in the Enclave Bunker (not always a guarantee), as well as reward the player with pieces for completing Enclave Events out in the world. There is also a chance pieces can be procured from a vendor at the Whitespring Resort. Provided is a link to get started with your joining of the Enclave to get started...

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