Harrowed Hunter Set – The Best Armour in Bloodborne

If you‘ve played through Bloodborne and especially the Old Hunters DLC, you likely know the Harrowed Hunter Set provides the highest physical defense in the game. After extensive testing across NG and NG+ cycles, I can definitively say it has the best overall protection.

But armor choice involves more nuance – resistances, weight, and specialized effects also play key roles. In this guide, I‘ll break down the Harrowed Set and other top options, so you can optimize your hunter‘s survival.

Why the Harrowed Set Stands Above the Rest

Let‘s dig into why I and many top players consider the Harrowed Hunter Set the #1 armour pick:

Defense & Resistances

As you can see, the Harrowed Set‘s physical defense is in a tier of its own at 310, significantly higher than other heavy sets. This allows you to absorb more hits from the dangerous late game enemies and bosses.

It also has very solid resistances across the board, with a standout 200 arcane defense that really helps against magic wielding foes like the Bloodlickers in the DLC.

Poise & Weight

In addition to defense, the Harrowed Set has one of the highest poise ratings in the game at 128.

This keeps you from getting staggered in trades against enemies. Combined with its defenses, you can tank through attacks that lighter armor would falter to.

All that protection does come at a cost though. The Harrowed Set is exceptionally heavy, requiring high Strength, Skill and Endurance stats.

If you‘re running a glass cannon build, you likely can‘t equip it without fat rolling. But for most quality builds in NG+ cycles, it‘s perfectly viable.

Special Effects

There are no fancy special effects on the Harrowed Set, but honestly you don‘t need them. It already does its main job providing best-in-class physical protection extremely well. Some players even do "naked runs" against certain bosses where high resistances matter more!

Optimizing for Other Damage Types

While I believe the Harrowed Set is hands down the best well-rounded armor for late NG cycles, other sets do stand out when optimizing against specific damage types:

Highest Fire Defense – Charred Hunter Set (260)

The Charred Hunter Set beats all other sets in fire defense at a massive 260, while providing decent arcane resist as well.

This is by far your best pick against fiery foes like the Blood Starved Beast. The high fire defense allows you to withstand its incendiary attacks much better.

Fun fact: Henryk and Yamamura also wear this set specifically when hunting the fiery beast!

Highest Bolt Defense – Decorative Old Hunter Set (220)

For lightning defense, the Decorative Old Hunter legs and chest provide best-in-class protection at 220.

Wearing this set makes facing Darkbeast Paarl and other electrified enemies much more manageable.

Highest Arcane Defense – Harrowed Hunter Set (200)

As mentioned before, the Harrowed Hunter set has a suitably high 200 arcane defense, perfect for magic attacks.

The Loch Shield actually beats it slightly at 202 arcane defense when used alongside a 1-handed weapon.

But the Harrowed set allows that protection while still using your primary 2-handed weapon, making it the top choice.

Best Armour for Different Builds

While the Harrowed Hunter set is the statistically best overall, optimized armour choices do vary based on your build and playstyle:

Strength Builds – Prioritize high poise heavy sets like Harrowed, Yharnam Hunter, and Knights sets to trade blows.

Skill Builds – Favor lighter sets like Gascoigne‘s and Hunter set allowing faster dodges. The 15% visceral attack rune makes up damage.

Arcane Builds – Ashen Hunter set or Decorative Old Hunter glove/leg pieces to boost hunter tool damage. Executioner gloves work well here.

Bloodtinge Builds – Knight or Decorative Old Hunter sets offer solid gun damage boosts. The Evelyn pistol is already powerful enough.

Quality Builds – Balanced stats allow wearing the heavy Harrowed set while still using quality weapons like the Holy Moonlight Sword to devastating effect.

Check out the armor set comparison tables below to see defense and resistance ratings tailored to different builds:

Where to Find the Top Armour Sets

Here are some of my best tips for acquiring these top-tier armour sets:

• Harrowed Hunter Set – Found on a body in Fishing Hamlet near the Lighthouse Hut lamp after beating Lady Maria in the Astral Clocktower. One of the last DLC items.

• Charred Hunter Set – Sold by Insight Bath Messengers after obtaining the Old Hunter Badge (beat Cleric Beast). I buy it as soon as available.

• Decorative Old Hunter Set – Found scattered around Old Hunter Badge locations. Can also rarely drop from the Wheelchair Huntsman.

• Yharnam Hunter Set – Looted from Yharnam Hunter enemies. The red lantern ones in Yahargul and Hunter‘s Nightmare drop it most often.

I recommend equipping Eye runes when farming to boost drop rates. Also save scum with USB backups or PS+ cloud saves if you want to brute force a full armour set.

Closing Thoughts

The Harrowed Set stands above the rest providing stellar physical defense, resistances and poise to carry you through the most grueling areas of the game.

Of course armour choice ultimately comes down to your preferred playstyle and build. This guide covers specialized alternatives too.

I‘m planning on publishing attack rating comparisons next for the best Bloodborne weapons. Stay tuned!

Feel free to let me know if you have any other armour topics you‘d like covered. May the good blood guide your way.

Takedown request: according to gamerant.com