Gaming Roundup

Best Early Legendary Armor in The Blood of Dawnwalker: Ambrus’s Cuirass and Isbrand’s Greaves

Two legendary pieces you can secure in the opening hours, with exact locations, triggers, and full stat numbers.

Two legendary pieces you can secure in the opening hours, with exact locations, triggers, and full stat numbers.

Legendary gear in The Blood of Dawnwalker is usually gated behind long questlines, but two pieces land in Coen’s hands far earlier than the rest. Ambrus’s Cuirass comes off a vampire boss, and Isbrand’s Greaves sit in a chest you can walk to and open with a short fight. Together they cover the chest and trousers slots, which is most of your armour value in the early game.

Quick answer: Ambrus’s Cuirass drops from Ambrus at the end of the Gilded Gauntlet mission, which only unlocks after you complete his court side quests. Isbrand’s Greaves are in a chest at the Kobold’s Nest southwest of Rockfall, and opening that chest costs one day segment.


Isbrand’s Greaves location: Kobold’s Nest chest near Rockfall

Start here if you want a legendary piece with no questline attached. The greaves are pure exploration loot, and at Level 16 with 166 Armour they are the stronger of the two pieces by a wide margin.

Open the world map and find the Kobold’s Nest marker, which sits southwest of Rockfall. Set a marker and travel there directly; there is no quest prerequisite and nothing you need to unlock first.
Coen travelling across the map with an active quest objective tracked on the right side of the screen
Travelling toward the objective with a quest still tracked in the corner. Image: Rebel Wolves
Clear the small enemies patrolling the area around the nest. They are individually weak, so the fight is short, and you can pick them off as they approach rather than pulling the whole group.
Coen closing in on a small green enemy in a snowy clearing outside the Kobold's Nest
Small enemies guard the ground around the Kobold’s Nest before you can climb. Image: Rebel Wolves
Climb up to the nest itself once the ground is clear. The chest is at the top, and interacting with it consumes one day segment, so budget the time before you commit.

Isbrand’s Greaves come out of that chest alongside odds and ends like a Green-Gilled Mushroom and the Herbal Remedies I Manual. Note that the greaves take the trousers slot, so they stack cleanly with any chestpiece you are already wearing.


Ambrus’s Cuirass: How to unlock and finish the Gilded Gauntlet

Ambrus, the Right Fist of the Knyaz, does not simply hand over his armour. You have to work through his court activities first, and the way you handle them is what pushes him into a duel.

Open the Court menu and take on Ambrus’s branching side quests. These cover his Leech Collectors, Prisoner Transports, Blood Transports, and Draining Dungeons activities.
Resolve those quests in the ways that work against him. Angering Ambrus is the trigger that makes his personal mission, the Gilded Gauntlet, available.
Start the Gilded Gauntlet and beat Ambrus in the duel it ends on. Defeating him also unlocks the Scarlet Shield ability, which is a reliable confirmation that the fight went the way it needed to.
Loot his body when the loot prompt appears. Ambrus’s Cuirass is in there along with a Note for Ambrus, Denarius, a Ruby Brooch, Song of Valour, and Darksteel Bracers.
The on-screen Loot prompt appearing as Coen stands over a lootable body after the duel
The Loot prompt appears once you stand over the body after the duel. Image: Rebel Wolves

Note: the cuirass is a Level 12 heavy breastplate, so it will fall behind faster than the greaves. Treat it as a bridge piece rather than a permanent chest slot.


Ambrus’s Cuirass and Isbrand’s Greaves stats compared

Both pieces list several bonuses at 0%, which are inactive lines rather than hidden extras, and both carry a penalty that trims their overall numbers. The cuirass is docked by 30%, the greaves by only 10%.

StatAmbrus’s CuirassIsbrand’s Greaves
TypeLegendary Heavy BreastplateLegendary Medium Trousers
Level1216
Armour141 (+59)166 (+82)
Vampiric Ability Cooldown-3.9%-5%
Claw Damage+0%+7.6%
Claw Critical Hit Damage+7.6%
Damage against Mortals+0%+7.6%
Attack Stamina Cost+11.8%
Charge Restoration from Attack+11.8%
Charge Restoration from Perfect Block+11.8%+0%
Charge Restoration from Block+0%
Blood Drinking Restoration+0%
Witchcraft Ability Damage+0%
Stat penaltyLowered by 30%Lowered by 10%
Weight10.203.70
Value372351

Neither piece has to be retired the moment you out-level it. Blacksmiths, armourers, and even some witchcraft vendors will raise the level of equipped gear for Denarii, though the cost climbs steeply as your own level and the item’s rarity go up.


How to confirm both pieces are equipped

Looting alone does not put armour on Coen. Open the radial menu, go into your inventory, and equip each piece from its slot.

The radial menu open in-game with the Journal option highlighted at the top of the wheel
The radial menu, where you jump into the inventory to equip new armour. Image: Rebel Wolves

The bracketed numbers on each item are the giveaway. Ambrus’s Cuirass shows +59 armour and Isbrand’s Greaves show +82 compared to what you currently have on, and those figures update the moment a better piece is in the slot. If the item card still shows a plus value, you have not equipped it yet.


Common reasons the armour does not show up

  • The Gilded Gauntlet is missing from your quest log because Ambrus’s court side quests are still unfinished. His mission only appears once you have worked through them and turned him against you.
  • You left the duel area without looting Ambrus. The cuirass comes from his body, not from a cutscene reward.
  • You reached the Kobold’s Nest but never climbed. The chest is up in the nest itself, not on the ground where the enemies are.
  • You backed out of the chest prompt because of the one day segment cost. Nothing is stored for later, so you have to spend the segment to take the greaves.

If you only have time for one of them, take the trip to the Kobold’s Nest. The greaves cost a single day segment and a brief scrap, and their armour value and claw bonuses carry further into the mid-game than a Level 12 breastplate does. The cuirass is still worth grabbing on the way through Ambrus’s court, if only because the Scarlet Shield ability arrives with it.