Starbound was released in 2016 and is considered to be one of the best Terraria clones ever. Though the game takes clear inspiration from Terraria, it distinguishes itself in plenty of ways. Starbound tries to put the narrative front and center and has unique RPG elements that lend themselves to second and third playthroughs.
As players progress through the many biomes and missions of Starbound, they will find that not every planet is peaceful. There will be plenty of resistance awaiting the player, including many tense boss fights. In order to survive these encounters, the player will need to suit up in the best possible armor. Starbound’s armor system is fairly simple, so grinding out the best gear won’t be a complete puzzle!
7 First, Equip Any Armor At All
This point may seem obvious to some, but Starbound has tons of cosmetic items. Many of these items don’t offer any defensive value whatsoever. As a result, some newer players may find themselves taking tons of damage when they think they’ve equipped a full armor set.
There is a notable difference between cosmetic armor and actual defensive armor. Players can check to see the difference easily by opening their menu and looking for numbers next to their equipment. Lots of zeroes usually indicate a cosmetic piece. Don’t worry though, these cosmetic pieces can be equipped over the defensive armors in the player’s menu!
6 How Armor Works
Once players find (or craft) some actual defensive armor, it’s time to learn what all the numbers and symbols mean. Each armor piece in Starbound will have four improvements. They are:
- Sword: Attack Bonus
- Shield: Defense/Armor Bonus
- Lighting Bolt: Energy/Mana Bonus
- Heart: Increased Health
Per the official Starbound wiki, armor boosts defense which, “For every 10 defense, damage is reduced by 10 percent. This means the best armor in the game reduces damage by 80 percent.” With this in mind, players should shoot for the highest tier armor (tiers 5 and 6) which is available in the mid to late game.
5 Best Offensive Armor: Manipulator Armor
At high tiers, players will need one of three different crafting stations. These stations are called the Accelerator, Manipulator, and Separator. Each station creates tiers five and six armor, but with different bonuses.
Each playable race has unique armor in Starbound, but the stats for every tier are the same across sets. Although this may seem confusing, it's actually fairly simple. Players should aim to get tier five or six armor with any playable race. The names and appearances are different, but the stats are consistent across all the different racial armors. The highest tier Manipulator armor has the following stats:
- Attack Bonus: 360
- Defense: 80
- Energy Bonus: 60
- Health Bonus: 60
4 Best Tank Armor: Separator Armor
For players looking to have the highest health and defense possible, look no further than the highest tier armor made at the Separator station. Players will need plenty of Refined Violium and Solarium Stars to craft this Replicator upgrade, so be prepared for a bit of a grind.
The tier six Separator armor has a pretty low energy bonus, so players using guns and magic may want to stray away from using it. Otherwise, this armor offers good damage bonuses and massive defense and health bonuses. The full list of stats is:
- Attack Bonus: 300
- Defense: 80
- Energy Bonus: 60
- Health Bonus: 120
3 Best Mage Armor: Accelerator Armor
Players using guns, magic, and weapon abilities will probably want to prioritize upgrading their Replicators into Accelerators. This crafting station creates high-tier armor with the highest energy bonus. It doesn’t offer the same bonuses to attack or health, but the high defense stat of 80 remains.
- Attack Bonus: 300
- Defense: 80
- Energy Bonus: 150
- Health Bonus: 60
2 Best Early Game Armor: Tier One
Once players land on the first planet of the game, they will not be able to leave until a certain number of quest items are gathered. These items can be found in abundance in a mine that is a guaranteed story spawn on every starting planet. This mine offers plenty of other resources, including plenty of iron.
Patient players will be able to gather more than enough iron to craft an anvil alongside the basic starting set of armor (tier one). While this armor is the first ever and lowest tier in the game, it is a good early build. It will get players past the first boss easily which allows players to fix their ship and explore the galaxy. Thus, it is worth the extra mining time to craft this armor!
1 Best Midgame Armor: Tier Four
By the midgame, most players should have upgraded their anvils to Replicators. These advanced crafting stations can be subsequently upgraded to either an Accelerator, Manipulator, or Separator. Before this is done though, players should try to create the tier four armor using Durasteel Bars.
Durasteel will be plentiful in the midgame and must be refined in an advanced forge or an atomic forge. Players will need Durasteel for a lot of things, so gathering some extra for tier four armor is a good idea. It can carry players to the end of the game, although it will be a little more challenging than using high tier armor. Tier four armor has the following stats:
- Attack Bonus: 200
- Defense: 70
- Energy Bonus: 40
- Health Bonus: 40
Starbound is available on Playstation 4, Xbox One, Playstation Vita, Steam, and Linux.