Your essential guide to Body Armour in Dragon Quest VIII. Discover stats, locations, buy prices, and best uses for every piece of armour to maximize your party's defense.
Alright, let's talk about body armour in Dragon Quest VIII. This is a super important part of gearing up your crew, as it directly impacts how much damage they can take. Think of it as your main line of defense against all those nasty monsters out there. We'll go through the different types, where to find them, and who can wear them. Don't worry, it's not as complicated as it sounds!
The table below breaks down every single piece of body armour available in the game. We've got its defensive stat (Def), where you can get it (Location), how much it costs if you buy it (Buy), if it's a reward for turning in Mini Medals (Mini Medal), if you can win it at the casino (Casino), if it's dropped by enemies (Drop), and which party members can equip it (Hero, Yangus, Jessica, Angelo, Morrie, Red). Keep an eye on that last part, because not everyone can wear everything!
| Name | Def | LocationType | Location | Buy | Mini Medal | Casino | Codex | Drop | Hero | Yangus | Jessica | Angelo | Morrie | Red | Description |
| Dangerous Bustier | 1 | Mini Medal | Princess Minnie's Castle | 99 | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Jessica's Outfit | 3 | Found | Alexandria | Yes | |||||||||||
| Plain Clothes | 4 | Buy | Farebury | 30 | Satyr, Bag o' Laughs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Bandit's Grass Skirt | 5 | Buy | Farebury | 35 | Candy Cat, Dancing Flame, Sea Urchin | Yes | |||||||||
| Wayfarer's Clothes | 7 | Buy | Farebury | 70 | Satyr, Fencing Fox, Toxic Zombie | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Boxer Shorts | 8 | Found | Farebury Region | Dancing Devil | Yes | ||||||||||
| Silk Robe | 10 | Buy | Pereguin Quay | 420 | Puppeteer, Bodkin Bowyer | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Leather Armour | 11 | Buy | Farebury | 180 | Mum | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Leather Kilt | 12 | Buy | Alexandria, Port Prospect | 220 | Pan Piper | Yes | |||||||||
| Templar's Uniform | 13 | Start | Angelo | Skeleton | Yes | ||||||||||
| Leather Dress | 15 | Buy | Ascantha | 380 | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Scale Armour | 17 | Buy | Alexandria, Port Prospect, Pereguin Quay | 350 | Heligator, Darkodile, Merman | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Chain Mail | 20 | Buy | Pereguin Quay, Simpleton | 500 | Walking Corpse | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| Leather Cape | 22 | Buy | Pickham, Trodain Chapel | 1,100 | Hood, Phantom Fencer, Tap Devil, Volpone, Dark Minister, Dark Sea-diva, Dullahan | Yes | Yes | ||||||||
| Dancer's Costume | 23 | Buy | Pickham, Baccarat | 1,300 | Puppet Master, Squid Kid | Yes | (Change's Jessica's appearance) | ||||||||
| Bronze Armour | 24 | Buy | Ascantha, Pickham | 840 | Yes | ||||||||||
| Iron Cuirass | 25 | Buy | Ascantha | 1,000 | Mars Rover, Robo-robin, Killing Machine, Buffalogre | Yes | Yes | ||||||||
| Cloak of Evasion | 29 | Buy | Peddler's Tent, Arcadia | 3,000 | Hellspawn | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Increases wearer's evade | |||||
| Fur Poncho | 29 | Found | Empycchu | Yes | Reduces Fire & Ice damage by 20pts | ||||||||||
| Iron Armour | 32 | Buy | Baccarat | 1,800 | Restless Armour, Infernal Armour, Ber | Yes | Yes | ||||||||
| Robe of Serenity | 34 | Alchemy | Yes | Yes | Damage reduced by 50% when character is Sleeping | ||||||||||
| Tortoise Shell | 37 | Buy | Peddler's Tent | 2,300 | Boh, Crayzee | Yes | Yes | ||||||||
| Bunny Suit | 38 | Arena | Monster Arena, F-Rank | Yes | |||||||||||
| Full Plate Armour | 39 | Buy | Neos, Savella Cathedral | 2,300 | Yes | ||||||||||
| Magic Vestment | 39 | Buy | Savella Cathedral, Argonia | 4,400 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Reduces magic damage by 67% from: Bang, Crack, Frizz, Sizz, Woosh | ||||||
| Zombie Mail | 42 | Found | Northwest Isle | Dark Dullahan | Cursed | Cursed | Cursed: Take damage for every step you take | ||||||||
| Silk Bustier | 44 | Buy | Argonia Bazaar | 5,500 | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Silver Cuirass | 44 | Buy | Neos | 3,200 | Yes | Yes | |||||||||
| Spangled Dress | 46 | Casino | Baccarat | 3,000 | Swingin' Hipster, Unholy Bishop | Yes | Yes | ||||||||
| Posh Waistcoat | 48 | Mini Medal | Princess Minnie's Castle | 36 | Yes | ||||||||||
| Magic Bikini | 50 | Buy | Arcadia | 13,800 | Merking | Yes | Yes | Reduces magic damage by 15pts from: Bang, Frizz, Sizz | |||||||
| Silver Mail | 50 | Buy | Savella Cathedral, Argonia | 4,300 | Yes | Yes | Reduces magic damage by 20pts from: Bang, Crack, Frizz, Sizz, Woosh | ||||||||
| Nitid Tutu | 52 | Alchemy | Yes | Recover HP when walking (Changes Jessica's Appearance) | |||||||||||
| Heavy Armour | 52 | Buy | Argonia Bazaar | 5,000 | Lethal Armour | Yes | Reduces Fire & Ice spell damage by 15pts | ||||||||
| Magic Armour | 55 | Buy | Argonia Bazaar, Arcadia | 6,100 | Body Politic | Yes | Yes | Yes | Reduces magic damage by 15pts from: Bang, Crack, Frizz, Sizz, Woosh | ||||||
| Magical Skirt | 55 | Alchemy | Yes | Yes | Reduces magic damage by 67% from: Bang, Crack, Frizz, Sizz, Woosh | ||||||||||
| Sage's Robe | 55 | Found | Lord High Priest's Residence | Yes | Reduces magic damage by 25pts from: Bang, Crack, Frizz, Sizz | ||||||||||
| Dancer's Mail | 57 | Alchemy | Yes | Yes | Increases wearer's evade | ||||||||||
| Flowing Dress | 59 | Buy | Tryan Gully | 14,800 | Yes | Yes | Reduces Fire & Ice damage by 33% | ||||||||
| Dragon Mail | 60 | Buy | Orkutsk | 12,000 | Yes |
- Early Game: Focus on whatever gives you the best Defense stat for the price. Plain Clothes, Bandit's Grass Skirt, and Wayfarer's Clothes are your bread and butter early on.
- Jessica's Speciality: Jessica gets access to a lot of unique and powerful armour, especially robes that boost her magical defense. Keep an eye out for things like the Silk Robe, Leather Dress, and later on, the Magic Vestment or Robe of Serenity.
- Defense vs. Resistances: Sometimes, an armour piece might have slightly lower Defense but offer valuable resistances to elements like Fire, Ice, or magic. Weigh these benefits against the raw Defense number. For example, the Fur Poncho might not have the highest Def, but reducing Fire and Ice damage can be a lifesaver in certain areas.
- Mini Medals and Casinos: Don't forget about Princess Minnie and the Casino! Some of the best armour pieces are rewards for collecting Mini Medals (like the Dangerous Bustier or Posh Waistcoat) or can be won at the Casino (like the Spangled Dress). It's worth saving up casino tokens or hunting down those medals.
- Alchemy: Keep an eye on the Alchemy Pot! Items like the Robe of Serenity, Nitid Tutu, and Magical Skirt are created through alchemy and offer unique benefits beyond just Defense.
- Cursed Armour: Be very careful with items like the Zombie Mail. While it offers high defense, the curse effect can be detrimental. You'll usually want to avoid cursed equipment unless you know exactly what you're doing or have a way to remove the curse.
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