Starfield: The 7 best spacesuits, ranked

In Starfield, there are spacesuits, and then there are spacesuits. A multitude of available armors will keep you alive, albeit barely. However, certain equipment is so exceptional that you will hardly feel its presence, even at relatively lower levels. And some of them are accessible early on, making you feel as if you've deceived the system by wearing them at level ten, just as you will.

We have included our selection for the strongest and most powerful suits overall, along with a few candidates for the most peculiar and unforgettable ones. One of them remains solid. The other one is... um, rather watery.

7 Monster Costume

If your goal is damage protection, the monster costume in Starfield is not the right choice for you. It is the only entry in this list that will not save you from a hail of bullets at the last minute. However, it is a tardigrade costume, and how cool is that? There is nothing comparable in the game, and it will certainly attract attention from many NPCs. In fact, you will occasionally trigger unique dialogues simply because you have disguised yourself as a water bear.

To find the monster costume, you must embark on a journey to New Homestead, the colony on Saturn's moon Titan, and agree to fulfill a doctor's wish of scaring a few tourists. You should probably keep your promise, but technically speaking, you can simply stroll out of New Homestead, and she won't notice a thing.

6 Mantis Spacesuit

The Mantis spacesuit offers a high degree of physical damage protection, solid energy levels, electromagnetic shielding, and a high likelihood of fantastic modifications, making it one of the best equipment sets you can acquire early on in Starfield. You must complete the side quest "The Mantis Hideout" to gain access to the Mantis helmet and backpack, not to mention the legendary Vigilante's spacecraft, the Razorleaf.

It may not be the most stylish attire in the inhabited systems, but if you acquire it with a reinforcement like the Bolstering effect, it will do a good job of keeping you alive.

5 Gran-Gran's Marine Armor

There's a lot to love about the optional feature called 'Childhood Memories', one of the more memorable features in Starfield. You get a ship (although it's not particularly impressive), you have regular conversations with your parents (although you have to send them 500 credits weekly), and you obtain Gran-Gran's Marine Armor. No strings attached this time; no questions asked. It's yours.

Well, it will ultimately be yours. Eventually, your mother will leave a note at the lodge, asking you to stop by the apartment to pick it up. It's quite impressive! The damage protection is decent, but it shines more as something you wear in hostile environments, with higher values intended to keep harmful gases, radiation, and the like at bay.

4 Mark I Spacesuit

While we hold great affection for the Mantis spacesuit and certainly regard Gran-Gran's suit with sentimental appreciation, the Mark I spacesuit makes both of them less appealing from an early-game perspective. You see, and while we may dread the day when Bethesda may patch this so it's no longer the case, you can obtain the highly defensive Mark I armor within an hour of starting Starfield.

It is locked in a display case in the basement of the lodge and is said to require a third-tier security clearance, as the case has a master lock. That's all well and good, but if you crouch down and carefully find the right spot on the edge of the glass, you can simply pop it open and grab something with over 120 defense on all three main fronts, along with excellent heat protection and radiation resistance. Yes, um, thank you for the late-game attire!

3 Bounty Hunter Spacesuit

Strangely enough, we have only confirmed sightings of the bounty hunter spacesuit within the 'Mantis Hideout' quest, well, hideout itself. This means that if it is true, there potentially is a better piece of equipment here than the highly hyped Mantis spacesuit - it really depends on how well your version of the latter is. For our money, we could have sworn we found this thing elsewhere, so we will confirm if that's the case in the future.

Regardless, the bounty hunter spacesuit forsakes traditional style points for something that looks evil and deadly, and we dare say it does a good job at that. In terms of defense, it's roughly on par with the Mark I spacesuit, but the bounty hunter spacesuit has a shared base resistance of 15 against all four environmental influences. Increase that with modifications, and you have one of the best options available.

2 Starborn Spacesuits Astra Through Avitus

Starfield has a New Game Plus. That's a statement in itself; Bethesda Game Studios' RPGs are not exactly known for encouraging you to complete the game entirely, let alone repeatedly urging you to do so. That's exactly how the NG+-exclusive spacesuits and spaceships work. You get the Starborn Astra spacesuit (and the base model of the ship) once you have completed the main quest once.

Keep going, because over time, you will reach five levels higher with this spaceship and - listen up - obtain nine more levels of spacesuits. The Astra starts with a remarkable 147 in all three primary modes of damage protection and 50 against all four environmental influences. This 50 remains constant, but it gets better and better until it eventually reaches its peak...

1 Starborn Spacesuit Venator

...Undoubtedly, the best spacesuit in Starfield, the Starborn Venator spacesuit. 246 physical protection, 246 energy, 246 EM, and a consistent 50 across everything else, not to mention some practical advantages that make killing and transporting easier. The Venator requires you to complete the main quests of Starfield a whopping ten times, and honestly, as much as we enjoy the story, we won't blame anyone for choosing not to do so.

Perhaps PC console commands are more your style here, and again, no blame. But if you want to rush through the 'MSQ' ten times - and surely, each time you will be more powerful in every way - you will carry this thing with so much pride, even if Terrormorphs can't tear you apart and galactic villains don't seem to be able to hit you for all the money in the galaxy.