And heavy armor is some of the most protective you’ll get. So let’s delve into the massive collection of heavy armor & headgear, to organize the best stuff and help you get as formidable as possible to deal with even the toughest enemies. Note: headgear generally provides Magick resist instead of Defense, but it combos well with the heavy armor, which provides Defense.
Best Heavy Headgear in FFXII
Combining powerful headgear with the right armor can be very beneficial if you’re looking for the best gear for your builds. Here’s the best stuff for your head on the heavier side.
5. Giant’s Helmet
As the name suggests, the Giant’s Helmet makes you a giant… by increasing your HP by 150. This helmet has a Magick resist of 38 and Strength of 8. It’s a very powerful head piece that you get around mid-game. But it will definitely cost you a bit to purchase – although you can obtain it in other ways, if you’ve got the time. License needed: Heavy Armor 9 How to get: – Purchased in Balfonheim Port for 11,000 gil – Found in the Ice Field of Clearsight area of Feywood and in the Hall of the Ivory Covenant area of Necrohol of Nabudis – Stolen from Behemoth – Reward from Roblon hunt
4. Dragon Helm
What the Dragon Helm lacks in HP, it makes up for in other stats. But for the health side, this headgear increases the wearer’s HP by 70. As a small upgrade over the Giant’s Helmet, this item has Magick resist of 41 and Strength of 9. Unfortunately, moving forward, there aren’t any pieces of heavy headgear that you can purchase (this is a list of “the best”, after all). So you’ll have to rely on luck to get these powerful pieces of armor. License needed: Heavy Armor 10 How to get: – Found in the North Liavell Hills area of Cerobi Steppe and the Wellspring Ravel – 1st Flight area of Pharos – First Ascent – Drops from Aeronite
3. Genji Helm
The Genji Helm is a decent upgrade, especially for a magick user, due to the increased magick power. This helm comes with a Magick resist 46, a Strength stat of 9, and a Magick power of 4. You can really benefit from that additional power as a caster. This helm obviously works incredibly well with the heavy armor by the same name too (the Genji Armor). They also share a license slot. License needed: Genji Armor How to get: – During the second encounter with Gilgamesh, in the Lhusu Mines, after he switches his weapon twice you’ll be able to steal this new item from him.
2. Magepower Shishak
So this next helm is a sizeable upgrade from the rest – and potentially easier to acquire. The Magepower Shishak is obviously valuable for mages, as the name suggests. It has a Magick resist stat of 47, increased Magick power of 5, and a massive Strength stat of 11. If you’re feeling lucky then you can go searching for this helm, otherwise your best bet is to try the bazaar system. License needed: Heavy Armor 11 How to get: – Found in the Site 6 South area of Lhusu Mines and the Northsward area of Cerobi Steppe – Stolen from Doctor Cid in Pharos – Acquired from the bazaar through Magepower Helm
1. Grand Helm
Here it is: the ultimate heavy helm in FFXII. This untouchable helm has Magick resist of 50, a massive Strength boost of 12, and a Vitality of 10. If you’re using this helm on a Foebreaker, that Vitality gain will be amazing at contributing to your weapon’s total damage. Acquiring this outstanding helm will not be easy, much like other ultimate gear. So if you’re looking to collect then try to be patient. License needed: Heavy Armor 12 How to get: – Found in the Phase 2 Dig area of Henne Mines and the Feddik River area of Cerobi Steppe – Drops from Tower – Reward from the Hunt Club
Best Heavy Armor in FFXII
Armor is the main defense against enemies in this game. And if you’re going heavy, you’ll want to go after the strongest defensive armor for each of your builds.
10. Demon Mail
Our first entry for armor is the Demon Mail. This armor has a Defense stat of 30, Strength stat of 5, and a Vitality of 3. This is a fairly mid-level entry for armor, and is easily acquired from a shop or treasure. You’ll gain vitality with this gear which means your Foebreaker can benefit with increased damage from their weapon types. License needed: Heavy Armor 5 How to get: – Purchased in Mt Bur-Omisace for 4,700 gil – Found in the Zeviah Span area of Barheim Passage and the Cape Uahuk area of Phon Coast – Drops from Darkmane and Bull Croc
9. Bone Mail
The Bone Mail is a slight upgrade to the Demon Mail, but with some added abilities. For stats, it offers a Defense of 35 and Strength of 6. What makes it most interesting is that it’ll cut damage in half from all Dark attacks. Keep in mind that this armor will make you weak to Holy attacks as well… but they’re uncommon enough to see from enemies that you won’t have to worry much. License needed: Heavy Armor 5 How to get: – Purchased in Mt Bur-Omisace for 5,700 gil after Vinuskar and in Mosphoran Highwaste after Judge Bergan – Found in the Yoma area of Dalmasca Estersand – Drops from Wild Saurian
8. Diamond Armor
Here’s one of the better upgrades so far. Diamond Armor is yet another armor piece that offers a boost in Vitality too. It has a Defense of 40, Strength 7, and Vitality of 5. The Strength increase is particularly good for more tank-like fighters. This is purchasable from a shop, or can be acquired from treasure and drops if you’re feeling lucky. License needed: Heavy Armor 6 How to get: – Purchased in Mosphoran Highwaste after Judge Bergan and in Phon Coast, for 6,600 gil – Found in the Trail of Sky-flung Stone area of Mosphoran Highwaste and The Uplands area of Tchita Uplands – Drops from Baknamy
7. Mirror Mail
For stats on this one, you’ll get a Defense boost with 44, but a lower Strength stat of 6. But this armor gives the wearer the Reflect status effect – as you may have guessed from the name. Having Reflect built into your armor can be very useful and it makes up for the lower Strength stat. Plus it helps that you can still purchase this gear for your party instead of relying on luck to find it. License needed: Heavy Armor 7 How to get: – Purchased in Phon Coast and Archades, for 7,500 gil – Found in the Caima Hills area of Phon Coast and in the Sundered Earth area of Tchita Uplands – Drops from Mirrorknights
6. Platinum Armor
The Platinum Armor has a huge Defense boost over the previous entries, with +49 Defense, as well as a healthy +7 Strength stat. It is a high-ranked heavy armor for sure – and this can easily be used right up into endgame content. If you’re persistent, then you can acquire this item from the bazaar before it becomes available in shops. License needed: Heavy Armor 8 How to get: – Purchased in Archades and Balfonheim Port, for 8,500 gil – Found in the Fields of Eternity area of Tchita Uplands – Acquired from the bazaar through Platinum Gear – Reward through the Hunt Club
5. Carabineer Mail
Here’s the final purchasable armor set on this list. The Carabineer Mail has a Defense of 53, a Strength 8, and a Magick power of 2. This heavy set is potentially useful for a caster due to the Magick power, but more likely a better fit for a Katana-wielder due to the Strength increase. Similar to the Platinum Armor, you can acquire this gear earlier than waiting on shops – mostly by finding it in the Necrohol of Nabudis. License needed: Heavy Armor 9 How to get: – Purchased in Balfonheim Port for 9,600 gil – Found in the Ice Field of Clearsight area of Feywood and the Cloister of the Highborn area of Necrohol of Nabudis – Stolen from Giruveganus
4. Dragon Mail
The Dragon Mail one more powerful piece of gear, and it’s the only heavy armor that provides HP bonus. Yes really, the only one! It has a Defense of 57, HP increase of 100, and Strength of 8. The slight boost to stats (as well as the HP bonus) makes it a huge benefit to tank-role fighters. It won’t be easy to acquire, though. But it could be worth the effort depending on your build and preferences. License needed: Heavy Armor 10 How to get: – Found in the Old Elanise road area of Cerobi Steppe and the Station of Ascension area of Pharos – Second Ascent – Stolen from Dark Lord
3. Genji Armor
Genji Armor has been around in most FF games, and FFXII is no different. It requires its own license slot here. And as expected, it combos well with the Genji Helm. For stats, this heavy armor has Defense of 63, Strength 9, and Magick power of 3. This makes it a solid choice for katana-users because Magick power is used in damage calculations there. And similar to the Genji Helm, you have to steal this item from Gilgamesh to acquire it. License needed: Genji Armor How to get: – During the second encounter with Gilgamesh, in the Lhusu Mines, after he switches his weapon three times you’ll be able to steal this new item from him
2. Maximillian
The Maximillian is a top-tier heavy armor which offers a Defense of 64, Magick resist 1, a Strength 9, and a Speed boost of 6. It’s the only heavy armor that increases the Speed stat of the wearer. Bows, Ninja swords, and Daggers all use Speed for damage calculations. So keep that in mind. This armor is the ultimate choice for those weapon users due to the Speed stat. This is actually better for those weapons than the top-ranked heavy armor for this list (coming up!) It will take a bit of luck and persistence to find the Maximillian armor, but the benefits outweigh all the effort you’d have to put in. License needed: Heavy Armor 11 How to get: – Found in the Site 6 South area of Lhusu Mines and in the Feddik River area of Cerobi Steppe – Drops from Elvoret – Acquired from the bazaar through Sturdy Battle Gear – Reward through the Hunt Club
1. Grand Armor
Grand Armor is the ultimate heavy armor for most jobs in The Zodiac Age. It has a massive Defense of 67, and a huge Strength stat of 12. It’s by far the strongest armor for any tank or frontline fighter in your party. Luckily it isn’t the most difficult item to acquire, either. This definitely makes it worth looking for as soon as possible. Combining the Grand Armor and the Grand Helm is the obvious choice to maximize defense and magick defense for the tank in the party. License needed: Heavy Armor 12 How to get: – Found in the Special Charter Shaft area of the Henne Mines and the Northsward area of Cerobi Steppe – Drops from Helvinek – Reward through the Hunt Club
