Armor in Kenshi is extremely important. Don’t you think that you can put on some leather jacket or rag clothes and go up against some Samurai or a Shek Guardian - these encounters 100% of the time will end up badly for you unless you have extremely high stats.

And that’s what we’re gonna talk about today. Best armors that SHOULD keep you alive for longer than 10 seconds and benefit you with other cool buffs. Let’s get started

5. Mask Type III

Spooky.

These creepy masks give you about 26% blunt resistance and 41% cutting resistance and 100% protection against gas/duststorms, making this mask useful even when it’s a prototype. These kinds of masks are useful in regions such as The Great Desert, Border Zone, and any other zone that is very duststorm-friendly. It’s also a must-have if you’re going to zones such as Ashlands, for example, where gas clouds can easily take around 15 HP from your chest. 

How to get them:

You can get a blueprint from the Scraphouse or other vendors scattered across the map(it’s randomized, so hard to tell). Or from one of the nobles in The Great Desert.

Why it’s awesome:

-Gives you a huge advantage over people without duststorm protection.

-Protects you against gas.

-Despite it being light armor, masterwork grade gives you impressive protection.

-Makes you look spooky and 100% more intimidating!

More information:

https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Mask_Type_III

4. Dark Leather Shirt

I think it’s the one in the middle… I think… dark doesn’t exactly mean dark in this game!

Dark Leather Shirts are known for their stealth bonus and relatively decent body protection. It’s great for mass production and equipping your army with this piece of armor, though you can also use it if you’re playing with a single character. 

How to get them:

Vendors are usually selling them everywhere, but you could also get a blueprint and craft it yourself.

Why it’s awesome:

- x1.10 stealth bonus(gotta get dem AI cores)

- It’s decent, even at the lowest armor grade(prototype).

- Higher grades give reasonably decent stats(masterwork = 22% blunt resistance, 35% cutting resistance).

More information:

https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Leather_Shirt

3. Ninja Rags

WAA-TAAW!

Ninja Rags are for people who prefer a more sneaky sort of gameplay and dexterity bonuses. They’re pretty popular amongst weaker characters thanks to the huge list of buffs this armor has, with a well-matched shirt, you can wreak havoc upon your enemies and make them bleed to death before they can even touch you!

How to get them:

They are being sold pretty much everywhere. There will be rarely a time where a vendor won’t have them, you can purchase better grades of this armor at Shinobi Thieves, if you are their member, of course.

Why it’s awesome:

- Stealth effect x1.30, crossbow effect x1.10, dodge effect x1.20, 

dexterity effect x1.10, assassination skill x1.10 - I think this is the only piece of armor with such a huge amount of buffs in the game!

- No negative effects

- Still useful as hell at a prototype grade!

More information:

https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Ninja_Rags

2. White Plate Jacket

Issac Clarkes?

This piece of armor looks similar, maybe to the armor from the Dead Space series? Anyways, it’s pretty good - White Plate Jacket is medium armor, doesn’t slow you down, and gives you decent body protection. It also makes you and your army look completely badass while marching in the military formation!

How to get it:

Again, most vendors have this piece of armor - get it from them or craft it yourself. You can also find it on wandering Tech Hunters.

Why it’s awesome:

-Looks nice and unique.

-Weights little, only x0.95 dexterity debuff!

-Covers 100% of your body.

More information:

https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/White_Plate_Jacket

1. Samurai Armor

If you’re poor they’re gonna accuse you of having drugs and put you in jail. Pricks.

The Samurai Armor. You could wear this with low stats, making you basically a turtle - slow and tanky. It’s great for improving the stats of your characters and in mid to late game, you’ll be pretty much untouchable with this armor. With good enough stats, you’ll be able to take countless hits from multiple enemies + equipping your army with the whole set of this armor will make them unconquerable and allow you to conquer major factions, such as The Holy Nation, United Cities, etc.

Simply the best and a must-have!

How to get it:

Sold by all armor vendors in the United Cities, you can also get it at a Scraphouse. Mad Cat-Lon has a masterwork grade of this armor, good luck killing him though!

Why it’s awesome:

- Makes you extremely tanky, unbeatable in late-game.

- Equipping this armor will greatly boost your defense/toughness stats.

- Covers most of your body.

- Looks incredibly badass, more badass than the White Plate Jacket!

More information:

https://kenshi.fandom.com/wiki/Samurai_Armour

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