Every Armor Tier in Palworld: 15 Defence to 1,092, and Where the Legendary Bonus Halves
Palworld's body armour runs from the Cloth Outfit at 15 defence to Ancient Armor at 800 — a 53-fold climb across 64 technology levels. Every piece also carries Health, which climbs from 70 to 2,400 on the same ladder and is the stat people overlook.
And the rarity bonus is not constant. It is x1.6 through Plasteel, then x1.3 from Hexolite upward — one clean break, unlike weapons, where the multiplier scatters.
The Eight Body Tiers
| Armor | Tech | Defence | Health | Legendary defence | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloth Outfit | 4 | 15 | 70 | 24 | x1.6 |
| Pelt Armor | 12 | 35 | 140 | 56 | x1.6 |
| Metal Armor | 23 | 70 | 250 | 112 | x1.6 |
| Refined Metal Armor | 37 | 150 | 500 | 240 | x1.6 |
| Pal Metal Armor | 46 | 220 | 750 | 352 | x1.6 |
| Plasteel Armor | 51 | 385 | 1,300 | 616 | x1.6 |
| Hexolite Armor | 59 | 580 | 1,750 | 754 | x1.3 |
| Ancient Armor | 68 | 800 | 2,400 | 1,040 | x1.3 |
The health column matters more than it looks. Ancient Armor's 2,400 health is 34 times the Cloth Outfit's 70 — a bigger multiple than the defence climb — and health is what actually keeps you alive against burst damage.
The rarity break sits between Plasteel and Hexolite. Everything up to and including Plasteel Armor pays x1.6; Hexolite and Ancient pay x1.3. That means a Legendary Plasteel Armor at 616 defence is only 36 defence short of a Common Hexolite Armor's 580 — it actually beats it.
A Legendary Plasteel Armor out-defends a Common Hexolite Armor. 616 against 580, at eight technology levels earlier and on far cheaper materials.
The Helmets
| Helmet | Tech | Defence | Health | Legendary | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metal Helm | 23 | 50 | 100 | 80 | x1.6 |
| Refined Metal Helm | 37 | 100 | 250 | 160 | x1.6 |
| Pal Metal Helm | 46 | 150 | 350 | 240 | x1.6 |
| Plasteel Helmet | 51 | 260 | 600 | 390 | x1.5 |
| Hexolite Helmet | 60 | 350 | 800 | 455 | x1.3 |
| Ancient Helm | 68 | 500 | 1,200 | 650 | x1.3 |
Helmets track their body armour at roughly 60 to 71 per cent of its defence, and 40 to 50 per cent of its health.
The Plasteel Helmet is the one break in the pattern at x1.5, where its body armour pays x1.6. It is a small anomaly, but it means a legendary Plasteel Helmet is fractionally less valuable than a legendary Plasteel Armor.
Helmets carry no heat or cold resistance at all — every one of the six publishes neither. Climate protection is entirely a body-armour job.
Cosmetic Hats Scale Better Than Real Armor
Here is the oddity in Palworld's armour data: cosmetic hats scale at x4.0.
| Hat | Common | Legendary | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowler Hat | 20 | 80 | x4.0 |
| Explorer Cap | 25 | 100 | x4.0 |
| Golden Crown | 30 | 120 | x4.0 |
| Graduation Cap | 30 | 120 | x4.0 |
| Farming Hat | 10 | 40 | x4.0 |
That is more than three times the rate real armour gets, and more than any weapon in the game except the Meteor Launcher's x5.25.
It does not make hats good — but it makes them less bad than expected. A Legendary Golden Crown reaches 120 defence, which is actually above a Common Refined Metal Helm's 100 at technology 37, and only falls behind once you reach a Pal Metal Helm at 150.
Not every hat scales. The Dazzi Hat sits at 20 defence across all five rarities — x1.0, and many Pal-themed caps publish only a Common entry.
What to Build, and When
- Technology 12: Pelt Armor at 35. The first armour worth the materials.
- Technology 37: Refined Metal Armor at 150 and 500 health. More than doubles Metal Armor on both stats.
- Technology 51: Plasteel Armor at 385 and 1,300 health. The last tier on the x1.6 rarity bonus, and the one to chase a legendary schematic for — 616 defence beats a Common Hexolite.
- Technology 68: Ancient Armor at 800 and 2,400 health. Soralite Ingot 30 and AI Core 3, and the end of the ladder.
- Skip Hexolite if you have a Legendary Plasteel. 616 against 580 makes the intermediate tier optional.
Never wear the plain version of a tier if a variant exists. From Pelt upward, the heat, cold and lightweight variants have strictly higher defence than the base armour at the same tier — that is covered in full in our armour-variants article.
For the endgame set, see Best Endgame Gear in Palworld 1.0.
Running your own Palworld 1.0 server
Armour is the one system where the whole group benefits from a shared Plasteel and Soralite line, which is base work measured in days. A gamever Palworld server keeps it persistent with full crossplay, automatic updates and one-click backups.
Conclusion
Palworld's body armour climbs from the Cloth Outfit's 15 defence and 70 health to Ancient Armor's 800 and 2,400 — a 53-fold defence climb and a 34-fold health climb across 64 technology levels, with health the stat people overlook. The rarity bonus breaks exactly once: x1.6 through Plasteel, then x1.3 for Hexolite and Ancient — which has a concrete consequence, since a Legendary Plasteel Armor at 616 defence beats a Common Hexolite Armor at 580 from eight technology levels earlier and far cheaper materials. Helmets track their body tier at roughly 60–71% of defence and 40–50% of health, carry no climate resistance whatsoever, and include one anomaly in the Plasteel Helmet's x1.5 where its body armour pays x1.6. The strangest number in the data belongs to cosmetics: hats scale at x4.0 — Bowler Hat 20 to 80, Golden Crown 30 to 120 — a better rate than any real armour and any weapon except the Meteor Launcher.
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