Armor sets have been a touchy subject for Destiny 2 fans for some time now. Many haven’t been terribly impressed by the aesthetics of the armor and each new season is a guarantee that any old favorites are now useless.

That being said there have been some armor sets that have been very useful and aesthetically pleasing. No set can truly compete with carefully coordinated mixed sets, but there are some that do really well and look great, while others aren’t all that useful or visually appealing.

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10 Best: Escalation Protocol

This armor is old, but still holds up relatively well in some PVE situations. Many fans consider this armor to be the point when the developers turned things around and started delivering some quality armor.

Part of the Warmind DLC, the Escalation Protocol set gave players a militaristic looking set of armor with darker colors and more of a gritty feel. With all the shiny plastic-looking set piece it was nice to have something solid and metallic. It’s been quickly outclassed and can’t compete stat-wise, but it’s not uncommon for solo players to roll with it now and then.

9 Worst: The Dawning

Holiday sets in any game are usually a gimmick and Destiny 2 was no exception. Released during the Christmas season, The Dawning set made the characters look like silver ornaments with blue fringe and animal heads. The promotional material even had the characters riding futuristic looking sleighs.

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Stats-wise these sets didn’t make up for the goofy appearance so there was no reason whatsoever for players to play the game with this unless their Christmas spirit was really, really strong that year.

8 Best: Black Armory

Admittedly this armor set isn’t the greatest stat-wise anymore, but it’s good enough and it’s easily one of the best-looking sets in the entire game. With the dark black armor and red accents this armor set is wicked looking and a great inclusion to the Black Armory expansion.

Obtained after a grueling grind with the forges, this set was powerful in its day and can hold up even now. Many players knowingly wear this set even though there are better sets just because of how good it looks. The developers really hit it out of the ballpark with this set.

7 Worst: Omega Mechanos

Released in early 2018, the Omega Mechanos was not a popular set and wasn’t all that great in combat. The developers went with an Asian warrior style armor and it just wasn’t a great look. Part of the problem was that the set was released in a drab gray and the added ornaments to give color and texture, didn’t really help.

The boots are clunky-looking, the shoulder pads are intrusive, and it just doesn’t look cool or practical. Sure it’s a legendary set, but unless you’re looking to collect all the armor sets in the game there’s really not a great reason to own this one.

6 Best: Reverie Dawn

The Reverie Dawn set of armor was one of the first times players felt like the futuristic knights they were. Found inside the Dreaming City this armor was sleek, stylish, and looked impenetrable. Stat wise they were great and visually they were stunning.

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Even now this armor holds up against newer sets and is definitely a set players like to put on their characters for visual purposes alone. If you’re planning on wandering through the hauntingly beautiful halls of the Dreaming City then this is a solid set of armor to wear.

5 Worst: Optimacy

An Optimacy is a form of government run by the nobility, but honestly, this armor set won’t make you look like a noble. The color schemes are just strange and it looks like a blend between royal attire and semi-practical armor in a weird mismatch. It’s as if these nobles have never seen battle and their armor was made for show.

To be fair this might be the exact point as the stats weren’t all that great and survivability wasn’t a guarantee when wearing an Optimacy set. There are honestly more optimal armor sets for the player to wear.

4 Best: Menagerie

Released during the season of Opulence players were more than happy to wear something a little more extravagant during this interesting season revolved around looting. The golden tinted armor managed to look both intimidating and luxurious as players gunned down bosses searching for treasure.

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Being a more recent inclusion in the game this armor set is still fairly powerful and sees a lot of use. For those players looking to tap into their inner treasure hunter or just want a bit of that Midas touch, then this is a great armor set to choose.

3 Worst: Mercury

Known infamously as the cyclops armor set, the Mercury set was released during the Curse of Osiris event to little fanfare. To be fair to the developers it might have done better under a different event as players were hoping for Egyptian style armor that they never got.

Even then it’s hard to see this armor set winning any popularity contests with its simple style and odd light placement. Given how old this set is it’s been long outclassed by other armor sets and rarely if ever sees any use these days.

2 Best: Masterwork Solstice Of Heroes

This is the newest armor in the game and easily takes the number one spot as the strongest armor set in Destiny 2. There is a significant grind involved in getting these sets, especially the green one, and players will be ripping their hair out trying to get the entire set.

For those who pull it off and grind its upgrades to the max Masterwork level, they’ll be rewarded with a powerful set of armor with great stats and perks. Not to mention you’ll look like a celestial Paladin ready to take on all enemies of the Traveler.

1 Worst:  Faction Rally

Faction Rally armor sets were an attempt by Destiny 2 developers to introduce a fun mechanic to the game and give players a sense of belonging to one of the game’s powerful organizations. Unfortunately, it proved very unpopular and was something that would be rolled back significantly.

Part of the problem is that the armor itself was nothing terribly special. Some of it does look great, but combat-wise it was a liability and faction pride wasn’t strong enough for players to keep it on.

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