Best Light Armor in Dune Awakening

Best light armor in Dune Awakening: which sets to take for melee, gunplay, PvP and travel, what to avoid, and the stats of every piece.

8 November 20263 min read Share

Contents

What to pick Tips Ranking Torso Legs Feet Head Hands

Light armor doesn't slow you down or eat your stamina: scouts and anyone who runs a lot across the desert wear it. The most armor isn't automatically the best; what matters is what the set protects you from. Here is what to take and why.

What to pick

For PvE: 6The Forge Chestpiece — The best all-round pick for melee and PvE: the full set gives 50% fire, 30% poison, 25% energy and 40% blade mitigation. Fire and poison are exactly what gets through a Holtzman shield, so with your shield up this set covers the damage that actually reaches you.
For PvP: 6Pincushion Chestpiece — A set for fights against gunners: the full set gives 25% light dart, 25% heavy dart and 40% blade mitigation. Take it for Deep Desert PvP and whenever you fight without a shield, because then most of your damage comes from darts.
All-round pick: 6Ix-core Leggings — They cut the stamina cost of dashing much more than regular light legs. Swap them in for the legs of any set when you need to keep dodging: in PvP and against bosses.
For crossing the desert on foot: 6Tabr Softstep Boots — They dampen your footsteps, so the worm notices you later. A must for walking across open sand and harvesting spice, and you still keep blade mitigation and a cheaper dash.
Early game: 5Syndicate Chestplate — The Forge set one tier lower: the same fire, poison, energy and blade mitigation with less armor. A good stopgap until you have the Forge schematics.
For climbing: 6Hook-claw Gloves — They make climbing easier and less stamina-draining. Handy for exploring and reaching hidden spots, but you need them less once you fly an ornithopter.

Tips

Light armor mitigates blades and lowers dash stamina cost; heavy armor does the opposite and weakens your blade protection. For melee, go light.
Melee loadout: the Forge set, Ix-core Leggings in place of the Forge legs and Circuit Gauntlets in place of the Forge gloves. For more damage, the Combat Exoskeleton Chestpiece gives +10% melee damage.
Forge or Pincushion: with a shield and against NPCs take the Forge, since the shield already stops darts; without a shield, against gunners and in PvP take the Pincushion.
The radiation mitigation on the Pincushion and Chosen sets is small and won't make radiation zones safe: you need a radiation suit there.
Travel and gathering loadout: Tabr Softstep Boots, the Desert Garb chest against the heat, the Wayfinder Helm for longer hand-scanner range, and Yueh's Reaper Gloves if you collect dew.
Stealth loadout: the Phantom Whisper Helm and Chestpiece each slow how fast you are detected by 5%. The effect is small, so fill the other slots from the Forge or Pincushion sets.
Idaho's Charge lowers suspensor belt power drain, which is worth it if you fly a lot on a Full Suspensor Belt.

Ranking

Each group lists the best options from best to worst: what each one is for and its in-game numbers. If something isn’t listed, it isn’t worth taking.

Torso

1
6The Forge Chestpiece ★Melee build
Armor
291
Blades
12%
Energy
8%
Heat
15%
Poison
9%
This Unique armor set is reinforced during the fabrication process - attaching minor heat dissipating components to every molecule within the plasmeld mass. This delivers increased heat resistance and a hard armor.
Blueprints →
2
6Pincushion Chestpiece ★PvP
Armor
291
Blades
12%
Darts
8%
Heavy darts
8%
Radiation
8%
This Unique armor set uses an experimental plasmeld layer to absorb dart impacts. In the earliest versions, the darts would stick in the gel-like outer layer, leaving the wearer bristling with darts like a pincushion.
Blueprints →
3
6Desert Garb ★Against the sun
Armor
291
Blades
12%
This Unique light chest armor is made with breathable material which allows House forces to better survive harsh desert climates.
Blueprints →
4
6Phantom Whisper Chestpiece ★Stealth
Armor
291
Blades
12%
In addition to its base stats, this Unique chestpiece grants a 5% detection speed reduction. A protracted, never-ending War of Assassins makes a fertile ground for those who slay by stealth.
Blueprints →
5
6Idaho's Charge ★Power
Armor
291
Blades
12%
This Unique jacket features a series of specially designed capacitors to optimize the flow of energy through power pack and suspensor belt.
Blueprints →
6
5Syndicate Chestplate ★Early game
Armor
236
Blades
12%
Energy
8%
Heat
15%
Poison
9%
This Unique armor is designed to keep environmental hazards at bay.
Blueprints →

Legs

1
6Ix-core Leggings ★Stamina
Armor
194
Blades
8%
These Unique light leggings are equipped with a compression triggered mechanism which stimulates the leg muscles, reducing the stamina drain of dashing.
Blueprints →
2
6The Forge Pants ★Against fire
Armor
194
Blades
8%
Energy
5%
Heat
10%
Poison
6%
This Unique armor set is reinforced during the fabrication process - attaching minor heat dissipating components to every molecule within the plasmeld mass. This delivers increased heat resistance and a hard armor.
Blueprints →
3
6Pincushion Pants ★PvP
Armor
194
Blades
8%
Darts
5%
Heavy darts
5%
Radiation
5%
This Unique armor set uses an experimental plasmeld layer to absorb dart impacts. In the earliest versions, the darts would stick in the gel-like outer layer, leaving the wearer bristling with darts like a pincushion.
Blueprints →
4
5Syndicate Pants ★Early game
Armor
157
Blades
8%
Energy
5%
Heat
10%
Poison
6%
This Unique armor is designed to keep environmental hazards at bay.
Blueprints →

Feet

1
6The Forge Boots ★Melee build
Armor
146
Blades
6%
Energy
4%
Heat
8%
Poison
5%
This Unique armor set is reinforced during the fabrication process - attaching minor heat dissipating components to every molecule within the plasmeld mass. This delivers increased heat resistance and a hard armor.
Blueprints →
2
6Tabr Softstep Boots ★Crossing on foot
Armor
146
Blades
6%
Found abandoned throughout the former territories of the Fremen, these Unique boots are made of a strange type of soft leather. Each step in these boots seems to melt into the sand, reducing the vibrations that attract the worm.
Blueprints →
3
6Pincushion Boots ★PvP
Armor
146
Blades
6%
Darts
4%
Heavy darts
4%
Radiation
4%
This Unique armor set uses an experimental plasmeld layer to absorb dart impacts. In the earliest versions, the darts would stick in the gel-like outer layer, leaving the wearer bristling with darts like a pincushion.
Blueprints →
4
5Syndicate Boots ★Early game
Armor
118
Blades
6%
Energy
4%
Heat
8%
Poison
5%
This Unique armor is designed to keep environmental hazards at bay.
Blueprints →

Head

1
6The Forge Helmet ★Melee build
Armor
194
Blades
8%
Energy
5%
Heat
10%
Poison
6%
This Unique armor set is reinforced during the fabrication process - attaching minor heat dissipating components to every molecule within the plasmeld mass. This delivers increased heat resistance and a hard armor.
Blueprints →
2
6Pincushion Helmet ★PvP
Armor
194
Blades
8%
Darts
5%
Heavy darts
5%
Radiation
5%
This Unique armor set uses an experimental plasmeld layer to absorb dart impacts. In the earliest versions, the darts would stick in the gel-like outer layer, leaving the wearer bristling with darts like a pincushion.
Blueprints →
3
6Wayfinder Helm ★Finding resources
Armor
194
Blades
8%
The electronics in this Unique helmet connect to hand-held scanners, boosting their scanning range.
Blueprints →
4
6Phantom Whisper Helm ★Stealth
Armor
194
Blades
8%
In addition to its base stats, this Unique headpiece grants a 5% detection speed reduction. A protracted, never-ending War of Assassins makes a fertile ground for those who slay by stealth.
Blueprints →
5
4Spice MaskSpice
Armor
83
Blades
8%
6
5Syndicate Helmet ★Early game
Armor
157
Blades
8%
Energy
5%
Heat
10%
Poison
6%
This Unique armor is designed to keep environmental hazards at bay.
Blueprints →

Hands

1
6The Forge Gloves ★Melee build
Armor
146
Blades
6%
Energy
4%
Heat
8%
Poison
5%
This Unique armor set is reinforced during the fabrication process - attaching minor heat dissipating components to every molecule within the plasmeld mass. This delivers increased heat resistance and a hard armor.
Blueprints →
2
6Pincushion Gauntlets ★PvP
Armor
146
Blades
6%
Darts
4%
Heavy darts
4%
Radiation
4%
This Unique armor set uses an experimental plasmeld layer to absorb dart impacts. In the earliest versions, the darts would stick in the gel-like outer layer, leaving the wearer bristling with darts like a pincushion.
Blueprints →
3
6Hook-claw Gloves ★Climbing
Armor
146
Blades
6%
These Unique light armor gloves assist House troops in climbing, making it less arduous and stamina draining.
Blueprints →
4
6Yueh's Reaper Gloves ★Water
Armor
146
Blades
6%
Treated with a small amount of huf-huf oil, these Unique gloves repel water and prevent any additional dew from escaping while harvesting.
Blueprints →
5
5Syndicate Gauntlets ★Early game
Armor
118
Blades
6%
Energy
4%
Heat
8%
Poison
5%
This Unique armor is designed to keep environmental hazards at bay.
Blueprints →

Armor is overall protection; the percentages show how much less damage of each type you take.

★ marks a unique item. Unique blueprints often turn up in the Deep Desert — see what's where this week on the Deep Desert this week page.

The calculator will work out how many resources a craft needs.

What is the best light armor in Dune Awakening?

For melee and PvE the best light armor is the Forge set (fire, poison, blades); for PvP and fights against gunners, the Pincushion set (darts and blades). Add Ix-core Leggings to either, and Tabr Softstep Boots for the open desert.