Starting your journey as Atsu in Ghost of Yotei means making smart gear choices that will shape your entire playstyle. While you could stumble through the early regions with basic equipment, securing the right armor sets transforms you from a struggling ronin into an unstoppable force. These five exceptional armor pieces aren't just cosmetic upgrades—they fundamentally change how you approach combat, stealth, and exploration.
What Makes These Armor Sets Essential?
Each armor set in Ghost of Yotei offers unique perks that cater to different combat approaches. Unlike basic gear, these specialized sets provide meaningful gameplay modifications that stack with your skill development. You'll want to prioritize these early acquisitions because they remain viable throughout your entire playthrough.
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important
All five armor sets can be obtained within the first few hours of gameplay, regardless of your story progression speed.
Spider Lily Armor
The Spider Lily Armor transforms aggressive players into unstoppable forces through its focus on stagger damage and crowd control. This striking set, adorned with its signature floral helmet design, excels in open combat scenarios where you face multiple opponents.
Core Benefits
The standout feature involves enemy weapon drops upon elimination. When wearing this armor, defeated foes have a significant chance to leave behind their weapons as throwables. These projectiles deal massive damage, cannot be blocked, and often result in instant eliminations.
tip
Throwable weapons work exceptionally well against heavily armored enemies who normally require multiple strikes to defeat.
How to Get Spider Lily Armor
Head to the mysterious gate in the first region to meet Ugettsu, the storyteller who initiates this mythic tale. You'll explore a haunted estate searching for four specific keys:
- Garden Key: Located near the main courtyard
- Chamber Key: Hidden within the estate's interior
- Cellar Key: Found in the underground passages
- Labyrinth Key: Requires navigating the bamboo maze by following spider lily trails
The labyrinth presents the trickiest challenge. Follow the flower trail, and each correct path adds bamboo pieces to the central stand—your visual confirmation of progress.
Bounty Master Armor
For players who thrive on precise combat timing, the Bounty Master Armor offers a high-risk, high-reward playstyle. This set disables regular parries while dramatically enhancing perfect parry and dodge windows.
Combat Mechanics
This armor fundamentally changes your defensive approach:
- Regular parries: Completely disabled
- Perfect parries: Window increased by 60%
- Perfect dodges: Enhanced timing forgiveness
- Follow-up attacks: Bypass enemy defenses entirely
- Spirit generation: Doubled from assassination kills
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Blue-gray glint attacks can only be countered with perfect parries, making timing absolutely critical with this set.
The follow-up attacks after successful perfect parries can chain between multiple enemies, creating devastating combo opportunities. However, the chain breaks if no additional targets remain within range.
How to Get Bounty Master Armor
Visit Kojiro's bounty board (accessible via fast travel to Yote Shadow) and complete multiple contracts. After approximately four bounties, Kojiro presents a special target whose armor becomes your reward.
The final mission includes a cave door puzzle—simply equip your Shamisen and play the special song that appears in your interface.
Crimson Kimono
Stealth enthusiasts will find no better companion than the Crimson Kimono. This elegant armor transforms you into a nearly invisible predator capable of eliminating entire enemy camps without detection.
Stealth Enhancements
The kunai chain assassination feature stands as this armor's crown jewel. Instead of replacing your normal assassination chains, kunai strikes add two additional eliminations to your sequence. This means a single stealth approach can neutralize five enemies consecutively.
How to Get Crimson Kimono
Access Dashio Ridge through the early story path, then locate Ugettsu in the Sakura Forest. The mythic tale involves:
- Finding snow sculptures throughout the area
- Following insect swarms to key locations
- Using guiding winds for navigation assistance
tip
Ensure you have kunai ammunition before attempting chain assassinations, as the extended chains consume throwing weapons.
Armor of the Undying
Players seeking maximum survivability will appreciate the Armor of the Undying and its weapon alignment system. This set rewards tactical weapon switching with health restoration and enhanced defensive capabilities.
Weapon Alignment System
The armor's core mechanic revolves around matching your weapon type to your opponent's:
- Katana vs. Katana: Optimal alignment
- Dual Blades vs. Spears: Strategic counter
- Proper alignment: Triggers health restoration on stagger
Successfully staggering an aligned enemy restores health equivalent to half a spirit orb usage. While not as potent as direct healing, this effect can trigger multiple times per encounter.
The armor also enhances perfect parry and dodge windows during weapon alignment, making defensive maneuvers more forgiving. Focus attacks (charged heavy strikes) gain bonus stagger damage, though this effect triggers inconsistently.
How to Get Armor of the Undying
Travel to the Ishikari Plains region and meet Ugettsu at his designated location. The quest requires collecting four windchimes scattered throughout the area:
- Grab the obvious chime hanging from the nearby tree
- Use guiding winds to locate remaining chimes
- Listen for chime sounds and watch for cloth movement
- Follow wind patterns to complete the collection
Dragonfly Armor
Ranged combat specialists will find their perfect match in the Dragonfly Armor. This set enhances bow effectiveness through empowered shots and improved concentration management.
Archery Enhancements
When you fully draw your bowstring, arrows display a distinctive blue glint. Firing during this empowered state provides:
- Damage increase: 100% boost for short bow shots
- Range extension: Reduced arrow drop-off
- Concentration restoration: Faster ability cooldown
- Reload speed: Noticeable improvement
The damage boost proves most valuable with short bows, allowing two-shot eliminations of heavily armored enemies instead of the usual four strikes required.
Empowered arrow hits restore concentration meter progress, creating a feedback loop for extended archery sessions. This mechanic allows you to maintain concentration longer while active and reduces cooldown periods between uses.
How to Get Dragonfly Armor
Head to Karen Forks in Tekkashi Range and listen for NPC conversations. Joining their discussion initiates the straightforward quest leading to this armor set. The mission involves minimal puzzle-solving and focuses primarily on exploration and combat encounters.
Choosing Your Early Priorities
Your preferred playstyle should guide your acquisition order:
Aggressive Players: Start with Spider Lily for enhanced stagger damage Stealth Focused: Prioritize Crimson Kimono for assassination chains Defensive Minded: Grab Armor of the Undying for survivability Ranged Specialists: Secure Dragonfly Armor for bow enhancements Timing Masters: Challenge yourself with Bounty Master's precision requirements
For more Ghost of Yotei, check out our Weapon Tier List.