Just like in Remake, you only have one valuable armor slot per character in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Deciding on what you want to put there is more complicated than you think, since each piece of armor has multiple factors that determine how effective it will be, and you may want to prioritize different things for different characters. New armor will become available as you go deeper into the world of Gaia, and you can even make some yourself with the new Transmutation system, so comparing and contrasting them all can be a major chore. We get it, you’re just a merc looking to get the job done, so let us worry about figuring out the best armors so you can just put them on and get back to the action.
The best armor in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Armor in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth have three major factors to consider when you’re equipping some: the physical defense rating, magic defense rating, and Materia slots. The best armor will either focus heavily on one of these or have a strong balance of them all. Here are our picks.
Garm Bangle
The Garm Bangle is an amazing piece of physical-focused armor that becomes available once you hit the Nibel region. It has a fantastic 59 rating for regular defense, aplus a decent 28 for magic defense to keep you from being totally vulnerable to spells. Offensively, it has two pairs of linked Materia slots plus a spare, so you can still make plenty of killer magic combos for your mages.
Hades Armlet
If you want a straight-up jack-of-all-trades armor, the Hades Armlet is about as balanced as they come. It has a 32 score in regular and magic defense, but is even more impressive for Materia. This time you get three pairs of linked slots, plus a leftover. If you want to make one member capable of doing ALL your spellcasting, give them this.
Chocobo Armband
Hold on and hear us out here. Yes, the stats on this look terrible for both regular AND magic defense, plus it even lowers some other stats as well. Add in just two linked Materia slots and we wouldn’t blame you for thinking we’re crazy. But look at the fine print. Any Materia you have slotted into this armor will triple the amount of AP earned, making it by far the most efficient way to grind Materia levels. Just don’t wear it to your next boss fight.
Resplendent Bracer
If you level up your Transmuting skills high enough, the Resplendent Bracer can replace your Hades Armlet since it is basically just a better version. The only issue is grinding up enough materials and levels, which will be very late in the game.
Cetran Armband
Another late-game armor you will find if you explore a decent amount is the Cetran Armband. This one is one of the best magic defense-specific armors there is. If you know you’ve got a tough boss or miniboss ahead that will be slamming you with powerful spells, this baby will keep you alive and kicking.