You're running through the trees, the sun is setting, and you hear that weird, rhythmic clicking. It’s a finger-mutant. Or maybe a group of those muddy cannibals that just won't leave you alone. You look at your health bar. It's low. You look at your gear. Is it enough? Honestly, in Sons of the Forest armor isn't just about looking cool—it’s the thin line between making it back to your base or seeing that "You are dead" screen for the tenth time today.
Survival is brutal. Endnight Games didn't make this easy.
Most people just slap on whatever they find first. That’s a mistake. Some sets are literally just there to buy you half a second of reaction time, while others turn you into a tank that can trade blows with a Brute. But it isn't just about the damage reduction; it’s about the resource cost. Why waste high-tier materials on something that’s going to shatter the moment a baby mutant jumps on your face?
The Low-Tier Reality: Leaf and Hide
Let's talk about Leaf Armor. It’s basically useless for protection. You’re essentially wearing a salad. If a cannibal sneezes on you, those leaves are gone. However, it has a niche. If you’re trying to stay hidden in the bushes, it actually helps with your stealth meter. It’s cheap—just some leaves and cloth. Use it early game when you have nothing else, but don’t expect it to save your life in a real fight.
Then there’s Hide Armor.
You get this from skinning deer or moose. It’s okay. Better than leaves, sure. It provides a tiny bit of protection and some cold resistance, which is nice when the winter cycle hits and you’re freezing your toes off. But let’s be real: if you’re at the point where you can reliably hunt deer, you should probably be looking for something better. It’s a bridge. A temporary solution.
Why Bone Armor is the Mid-Game King
Bone Armor is where the game actually starts. It’s the bread and butter for most players. You get bones by burning cannibal corpses on a campfire. Dark? Yeah. Efficient? Absolutely.
- Cost: 4 Bones, 1 Rope, 1 Duct Tape per piece.
- Durability: It takes a decent hit before breaking.
- Availability: Cannibals are everywhere. Your "armor source" literally walks right up to your front door and screams at you.
Here’s the thing people get wrong: they try to save their Bone Armor. Don’t. Use it. Abuse it. Since duct tape is fairly easy to find in crates and rope is everywhere near camps, you can mass-produce this stuff. It’s noisy, though. If you’re wearing a full suit of bones, don't expect to sneak up on anyone. You clatter like a skeleton in a dryer.
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Creepy Armor: The High-Stakes Choice
You’ve seen them. The pale, multi-limbed monstrosities in the caves. The Twins. The Fingers. If you kill them and use your combat knife, you get Creepy Armor.
It’s weird. It looks like you’re wearing a suit made of raw chicken breasts.
But man, it works. It’s significantly stronger than Bone Armor. The catch? You can’t craft it. You have to hunt mutants to get it. This creates a "risk vs. reward" loop. To get the best protection, you have to go into the most dangerous places (caves) and fight the hardest enemies. If you lose a piece of Creepy Armor during the fight to get more, were you even moving forward? It’s a constant gamble.
The Tech Armor Grind
Tech Armor is the flashy, high-tech option. You need a 3D printer for this. It requires Tech Mesh (printed), Wire, Circuit Boards, Duct Tape, and Batteries.
It’s incredibly strong.
It’s also a massive pain in the butt to maintain. If a piece breaks, it’s gone. You can’t repair it; you have to print more mesh and find more electronics. In the late game, when you have chests full of circuit boards, it’s great. But for a casual playthrough? It feels like a chore. You spend more time looking for batteries than actually exploring the island.
The Gold Armor Myth
Let’s clear this up right now: the Golden Armor is not "armor" in the traditional sense.
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A lot of players find it in the late-game bunkers and think they’ve become invincible. They put it on, go fight a cannibal, and die in three hits. Why? Because the Golden Armor has zero damage reduction against physical hits from cannibals or mutants.
It’s a key. It’s used to open the final door in the Magma Caverns.
Wait, that’s not entirely true anymore. Endnight patched it so that Golden Armor actually reduces damage from demons in the end-game areas. If you’re fighting those fiery, crawling things in the hell-caves, wear the gold. If you’re fighting a guy with a boat motor on a stick? Put your bones back on.
Managing Your Armor Bar
In Sons of the Forest armor isn't a "percentage" of damage reduced. It’s extra health bars.
You have ten slots. Each piece of armor you equip fills one slot. When you get hit, the armor takes the damage first. Once that piece "breaks," it’s deleted from your inventory. This is why you see your armor bar (the yellow segments next to your health) flickering and disappearing.
Pro tip: Always keep "spare" pieces in your quick-select or right at the top of your bag. If you’re in a big fight and lose three pieces of Bone Armor, back off for five seconds, slap three more on, and get back in there. It’s faster than healing.
The Solafite Upgrade
If you really want to be the apex predator, you need to look into the Solafite coating.
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Late in the game, you find the Ore Refiner. You can put certain pieces of gear in there—including the Golden Armor—and use Solafite (the glowing orange ore) to upgrade them. This makes the Golden Armor significantly more viable. It increases the durability and adds a layer of protection that wasn't there before. It’s a late-game luxury, but it’s how you prepare for the final boss encounters.
What Most People Get Wrong About Armor
The biggest misconception is that you need a "full set."
You don't. You can mix and match. You can have three pieces of Creepy, two pieces of Tech, and five pieces of Bone. The game doesn't give you a "set bonus" for wearing all of one type. Mix it based on what you have. If you’re low on tech mesh, don't wait until you have ten pieces to wear it. Put on what you have.
Also, watch your temperature.
Some armor types affect your insulation. While the game doesn't explicitly display a "warmth stat" for Bone Armor, wearing heavy gear can sometimes trick players into thinking they're safe from the environment. They aren't. If you're wet and cold, your stamina regen will tank regardless of how much Tech Armor you're wearing.
Practical Steps for Staying Protected
Don't overcomplicate it. Follow this progression to stay alive:
- Early Game: Kill every deer you see. Get a full set of Hide Armor immediately. It’s not great, but it’s better than skin.
- The Bone Phase: As soon as you have a spear or a bow, start taking out small cannibal patrols. Build a fire, burn them, and stock up on Bone Armor. Aim to have 10 pieces on your body and 10 in your inventory at all times.
- Cave Diving: When you head into caves, don't wear your best armor initially. Use Bone Armor for the "trash mobs" (the basic cannibals). Switch to your Creepy Armor only when you encounter the big mutants like the Fingers or the Twins.
- Late Game Logistics: Set up a base near a 3D printer (like the one in the Maintenance A bunker). This allows you to cycle Tech Armor easily.
- The Demon Buff: Keep your Golden Armor in your inventory. Never wear it outside. Only put it on when you enter the final bunkers or the magma areas to mitigate demon damage.
Armor is a consumable resource. Treat it like ammo. You’re going to lose it, you’re going to break it, and you’re going to need more. Once you stop fearing the loss of your armor, you start playing a lot more aggressively, which is usually the best way to survive the forest anyway. Keep your bones stocked and your duct tape ready.