The role of armor in Final Fantasy 2 has some controversial aspects.
Armor reduces the damage inflicted to a character, and this sounds good. On the other hand, a character who receives lots of damage improves his/her maximum HP, stamina, basic defense and basic evasion.
Therefore, it could be advisable not to buy armor. In the earliest parts of the game, the characters will not only suffer damage, thus increasing the aforementioned attributes, but also will have to use often the Cure spell, thus some of them will increase their maximum MP, magic and wisdom.
Later in the game, several good armor parts can be found for free in the dungeons, and some of them have special properties (elemental protection, status ailment prevention, attributes improvement).
Armor parts with special effects
The following two tables list armor parts with special effects: attribute bonuses, prevention of status ailments, elemental protection. The number before every item is its physical defense value; the percentage before a shield name is its evasion bonus. Items that appear in more than one cell are highlighted in bold.
| Attributes | Body armors | Helms | Gloves | Shields |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength plus | 25: Power sash | 06: Giants helm 12: Twist headband |
15: Giants gloves 19: Power armlet |
- |
| Agility plus | 40: Black garb | 11: Gold hairpin | 15: Thief's gloves | - |
| Magic plus | 30: White robe 35: Black robe |
- | - | - |
| Status prevention | 30: White robe | 10: Ribbon | - | - |
| Elements | Body armors | Helms | Gloves | Shields |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning | 43: Diamond armor | 17: Diamond helm 11: Gold hairpin |
25: Diamond gloves | 14%: Diamond shield |
| Fire | 36: Ice armor | - | 20: Ice gloves | 14%: Ice shield |
| Ice | 29: Flame armor | 13: Flame helm | - | 14%: Flame shield |
| Poison | 15: Golden armor | - | - | 14%: Golden shield |
| Mind | - | 12: Twist headband | - | - |
| Matter | - | 30: Genji helm | - | - |
| Death | - | - | 18: Protection ring | - |
| Body | - | - | - | - |
| Several | 50: Dragon armor | 10: Ribbon | - | 18%: Dragon shield 20%: Aegis shield |
Armor list
Armor parts can be grouped in equipment sets with similar properties, as in the table below. Armor parts in the same set can generally be found in the same part of the game.
Unless stated otherwise, armor parts can be found for free in the corresponding missions.
Nine more body armors are not part of any equipment set.
| Equipment set | Parts | Special Effect | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | Clothes | - | Start |
| - | Copper cuirass | - | Mission 2 (in shops) |
| - | Silver cuirass | - | Mission 4 |
| - | Knight's armor | - | Mission 6 |
| - | Gold cuirass | - | Mission 9 |
| - | Ruby cuirass | - | Mission 9 |
| - | Diamond cuirass | - | Mission 13 |
| Leather equipment | Leather armor Buckler Leather cap Leather gloves |
- | Mission 1 (in shops) |
| Bronze equipment | Bronze armor Bronze shield Bronze helm Bronze gloves |
- | Mission 2 (in shops) |
| Mythril equipment | Mythril armor Mythril shield Mythril helm Mythril gloves |
- | Mission 3 (in shops) |
| Golden equipment | Golden armor Golden shield |
All parts resist Poison. | Mission 5 |
| Agility equipment | Black garb Gold hairpin Thief's gloves |
Each part gives Agi+10; Headgear also resists Lightning. |
Mission 5, Mission 6 & Mission 9 |
| Giant's equipment | Giant's helm Giant's gloves |
Each part gives: Str+10, Atk+5, Atk%+10. | Mission 5 & Mission 8 |
| Flame equipment | Flame armor Flame shield Flame helm |
All parts resist Ice. | Mission 9 & Mission 10 |
| Power equipment | Power sash Twist headband Power armlet |
Each part gives: Str+10, Atk+5, Atk%+10; Headgear also resists Mind. |
Mission 10 |
| Ice equipment | Ice armor Ice shield Ice gloves |
All parts resist Fire. | Mission 10 |
| - | Black robe | Int+10, resists all statuses | Mission 10 |
| - | White robe | Spi+10, resists all statuses | Mission 10 |
| Diamond equipment | Diamond armor Diamond shield Diamond helm Diamond gloves |
All parts resist Lightning. | Mission 10 & Mission 11 |
| Status-quo equipment | Dragon armor Dragon shield Ribbon Protect ring |
Armor resists all elements; Shield resists all elements; Headgear resists all statuses; Ring resists instant-defeat. |
Mission 13 |
| Genji equipment | Genji armor Aegis shield Genji helm Genji gloves |
Shield resists Mind, Body, Matter, Death; Helm resists Matter. |
Mission 13 |