Armor is the backbone of every strong build in Solo Hunters. It’s where a large share of your damage multipliers and survivability comes from, and unlike weapons or powers, armor bonuses are always on as long as you have the right number of pieces equipped. With only nine sets in Early Access, it’s possible to map out the entire meta and see exactly where each one lands.
Armor sets overview and how drops work
Solo Hunters currently has nine armor sets. Each one has three pieces — Helmet, Chestplate, and Leggings — and each piece contributes flat health. On top of that, every set has conditional bonuses that unlock when you equip multiple pieces from the same set:
- A 2‑piece bonus (when the set has one) that usually boosts health.
- A 3‑piece bonus that always affects damage or adds a passive effect.
Armor pieces drop as random loot from dungeon Gates. Some sets are tied to specific locations, while a few can drop from any Gate. As you move into higher Gates, you start to see the Mythic sets that define late‑game builds.
Tier list snapshot
At a high level, sets fall into four power bands:
| Tier | Sets | Role |
|---|---|---|
| S – best | Serpent, Astral, Venomspike (Iron used to be here before its nerf) | Meta melee and magic builds |
| A – strong | Sunforge, Bloodsteel | Great melee alternatives with solid health |
| B – niche | Oathkeeper, Iron (post‑nerf) | Tanky or beginner‑friendly, but less DPS |
| C – early game | Bronze, Wooden | Starter gear you replace quickly |
The key split is simple: melee builds want the biggest “M1 damage” (melee damage) multiplier they can get, and magic builds want the largest magic damage bonus without giving up too much survivability.
S‑tier armor sets (current best in slot)
| Set | 2‑piece bonus | 3‑piece bonus | Drop location | Primary use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serpent Armor Set | +12% Health | +25% Melee Damage | Subway | Top melee DPS with extra HP |
| Astral Armor Set | +14% Health | +20% Magic Damage | Snow Forest | Best magic/power armor |
| Venomspike Armor Set | +10% Health | +25% Melee Damage | Caves | Serpent‑level melee DPS, slightly less HP |
Serpent Armor Set is the standard for weapon builds. Fully equipped, it delivers a 25 percent melee damage boost and a 12 percent health bump. Melee damage (often referred to as M1 damage) scales your normal weapon swings, so this single bonus pushes both boss damage and general clearing speed. The extra health makes it more forgiving than raw‑DPS options.
Venomspike Armor Set is functionally the same damage profile with a slightly weaker health bonus — 10 percent instead of 12. In practice, that places it just behind Serpent for min‑max players, but for pure DPS, it is effectively tied. If you can farm Caves more efficiently than Subway, Venomspike is an easy way to hit the 25 percent melee bonus without feeling like you’re settling.
Astral Armor Set defines late‑game magic builds. The 20 percent magic damage bonus applies to your powers and runes, and the 14 percent health boost is the highest 2‑piece health bonus on any set. That combination makes Astral ideal for Divine Blade, Goliath, Darkness, Light, and other Magic Power‑scaling options. It does very little for weapon M1s, so it is best left to dedicated magic builds rather than hybrids.
A‑tier armor sets (strong alternatives)
| Set | 2‑piece bonus | 3‑piece bonus | Drop location | Primary use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunforge Armor Set | +15% Health | +20% Melee Damage | Spider Cave | Very balanced melee set |
| Bloodsteel Armor Set | +8% Health | +20% Melee Damage | Jungle | DPS‑leaning melee set |
Sunforge Armor Set is the most balanced melee armor. It trades the 25 percent melee bonus from Serpent/Venomspike for 20 percent, but raises the health bonus to 15 percent. That tradeoff makes sense if you’re pushing content where getting one‑shot is a real risk or you simply prefer a more defensive stat line.
Bloodsteel Armor Set sits slightly closer to a glass‑cannon profile than Sunforge. The 20 percent melee damage bonus is the same, but the health bonus drops to 8 percent. As a result, Bloodsteel is usually the second choice behind Sunforge when you have access to both, but it’s still a meaningful upgrade over starter and mid‑tier sets if you’re farming Jungle.
Both Sunforge and Bloodsteel become strong placeholders while you work toward Serpent, Venomspike, or Astral. If you already have a top‑tier weapon and class, the loss of 5 percent melee damage against S‑tier sets is noticeable but not run‑breaking.
B‑tier armor sets (niche picks and beginner options)
| Set | 2‑piece bonus | 3‑piece bonus | Drop location | Primary use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oathkeeper Armor Set | +18% Health | Burn passive | Desert | High HP, weak damage |
| Iron Armor Set (current) | — | +20% Melee Damage | Any Gate | Generic melee starter set |
Oathkeeper Armor Set is the purest defensive set in the game. The 2‑piece bonus gives 18 percent extra health, the single largest health boost on any armor set. The 3‑piece bonus adds a Burn passive that applies small damage over time to enemies. Right now, that passive damage is negligible compared with the large melee or magic multipliers on other sets, so Oathkeeper is mostly a comfort pick for tank builds or players learning boss patterns.
Iron Armor Set has had a significant shift. It originally provided a 50 percent melee damage increase, which made it the uncontested best armor in early balance. After a shadow nerf, the 3‑piece bonus now grants 20 percent melee damage with no health bonus. That reclassifies Iron as a decent beginner or fallback set rather than a long‑term goal. It still drops from any Gate, so it’s easy to complete early on, but it is quickly overtaken by Serpent, Venomspike, Sunforge, and Bloodsteel once you can access their dungeons.
C‑tier armor sets (early game only)
| Set | 2‑piece bonus | 3‑piece bonus | Drop location | Primary use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze Armor Set | — | +15% Melee Damage | Any Gate | Serviceable starter melee set |
| Wooden Armor Set | — | +10% Melee Damage | Any Gate | Very first armor, replace ASAP |
Bronze Armor Set gives a modest 15 percent melee damage boost when you run all three pieces. That’s completely fine for your first hours in the game, and it will feel like a real power spike if you’re coming from Wooden. The problem is scaling — it adds no health, and the damage bonus falls behind quickly once you start seeing Epic and Mythic sets.
Wooden Armor Set is easy to recognize as the tutorial armor. Its full‑set bonus is a 10 percent melee damage increase with no health or utility. Treat it as a stopgap: wear it if you happen to get all three pieces immediately, but don’t think twice about breaking the set as soon as you pick up anything better.
Best armor by build type
The right set depends on whether your damage comes from weapons or powers and how risky you want your playstyle to be.
| Build type | Primary choice | Secondary / fallback |
|---|---|---|
| Max melee DPS | Serpent or Venomspike | Sunforge, Bloodsteel, Iron (early) |
| Balanced melee bruiser | Sunforge | Serpent (if you’re comfortable losing some HP) |
| Pure magic / power | Astral | Any melee set until Astral drops, then fully switch |
| Full tank / learning bosses | Oathkeeper | Sunforge for more damage, Astral for magic tanks |
| Fresh account | Bronze, Iron | Wooden only until anything else drops |
For weapon‑centric builds (Thunder Axe, Shadow Scythe, Dual Dagger), the standard setup is a 25 percent melee damage armor set plus a high‑Strength stat line and an offensive class. Serpent and Venomspike fit that role perfectly. For magic builds anchored on Divine Blade, Goliath, Darkness, or Light, Astral plus heavy Magic Power investment and a magic‑oriented class gives the best results.
How armor interacts with classes, weapons, and powers
Armor doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The same set can feel very different depending on the rest of your build.
Classes are permanent stat packages. A Tank class, for example, adds 40 percent Health and 20 percent M1 Damage, which stacks multiplicatively with armor set bonuses like Serpent or Venomspike. A Mage class adds 40 percent Magic Damage, which pairs naturally with Astral. Hybrid classes like Assassin mix smaller buffs across attack stats and health, so they benefit from both melee and magic‑focused armor but won’t outperform the dedicated combinations in raw numbers.
Weapons determine how much value you get from melee bonuses. Thunder Axe and Shadow Scythe both rely heavily on M1s and weapon skills, so a 25 percent melee bonus meaningfully shifts their DPS curves. If you’re leaning into ranged weapon skills or a slower playstyle, Sunforge’s extra health can be more impactful than the last 5 percent of damage.
Powers and runes scale on Magic Power and any global magic damage modifiers. Astral’s 20 percent magic damage bonus and 14 percent health bonus are designed to support these builds. When paired with a Mage class and maxed Magic Power, high‑tier powers like Divine Blade and Goliath can delete bosses in a few well‑timed casts.
Choosing and farming your next armor set
Step 1: Decide if your main stat is Strength or Magic Power. If you’re spending most of your time swinging weapons, you’re a Strength build. If most of your damage comes from powers, you’re a Magic build.
Step 2: Pick the armor family that matches that decision. Aim for Serpent or Venomspike if you’re Strength‑focused, or Astral if you’re Magic‑focused. If those sets are out of reach for now, target Sunforge or Bloodsteel as stepping stones.
Step 3: Focus your dungeon runs on the correct Gate. Run Subway for Serpent, Caves for Venomspike, Snow Forest for Astral, Spider Cave for Sunforge, and Jungle for Bloodsteel. Running random Gates slows gear progression dramatically.
Step 4: Stop caring about set bonuses on Wooden and Bronze once you see Epic and Mythic pieces drop. It’s better to break a weak starter set than cling to a low multiplier while higher‑rarity gear sits unused in your inventory.
Step 5: Once you complete a high‑tier set, respec your stat points and class if needed. Swapping from Iron to Astral, for example, is the right time to shift your build from Strength to Magic and pick a magic‑oriented class to match.
Armor in Solo Hunters is simple on paper — equip two or three pieces and gain a bonus — but those numbers shape every serious build. A few sets now stand clearly ahead for melee and magic, with Serpent, Venomspike, and Astral forming the core of most late‑game loadouts. Everything else either bridges the gap on the way there or supports specific tank‑style play. Once you know which stat you want to scale and which Gate drops your target set, your armor progression path becomes straightforward.
