The large sprawling cyberpunk areas of The Surge 2 are far from safe. Cyborgs and robots of varying size and complexity routinely patrol or lurk around every dark corner waiting to smash you into a sparking pile of broken servos and pasted body parts.
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Surviving through it all and getting to the end is quite the Herculean task and having whatever edge you can with armor, drones, and weapons is sometimes just enough to squeeze through some of the more difficult sections and brutal boss fights. There are quite a lot of different armor sets in the game, with each one having its own unique buffs for wearing the whole set. Some armor parts are harder to acquire than others and sometimes the effort put in to get it might not always be worth it, so to make things easier, here are the best armors in The Surge 2 ranked in order of strength.
The Lynx
A holdover from the first game and arguably one of the strongest starter sets, The Lynx armor can comfortably carry you through most of the game, if not the entire thing.
Despite it not having the highest defense stats, the Lynx more than makes up for it with a Glass Cannon approach. What's meant by that is that it lets you hit hard quickly but you can't take too many hits in return. This is thanks to an attack speed buff for each kill that applies when you wear a complete set, which also stacks.
Pairing this with a fast and strong-hitting melee weapon turns any battle into a brutal blur of a DPS race, but one that you're consistently going to win.
Scarab
If you're looking for a tanky set of armor, you can't go wrong with the Scarab. Picked up early on in the game from performing finishers on the goons around the Downtown Jericho City Area, it's an easy armor set to craft that comes with some surprisingly high defense stats.
For example, partial completion of three parts boosts your defense when three or more batteries are filled as its baseline, and these stats only increase further if you have five or more battery packs charged up. Plus, a full set substantially reduces the duration of elemental afflictions. So if you're soaking up a bit too much damage, try getting your hands on the Scarab.
Proteus
The Proteus set is a bit of an odd one, it's one of the rarest outfits in the game and it can often go easily unnoticed as you only really have one chance at completing it. Plus, the way you obtain it involves very precise finisher cuts that can easily be messed up.
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Obtained from the androids in Jonah Guttenberg's CIT lab, it provides some pretty helpful bonuses to health, regen, and healing items. For example, a partial set of this armor regens your health when it's low, whilst a full set substantially boosts healing injectables, allowing you to save battery power for other bonuses or finishers instead.
VULTR
Found relatively early on in the game as a drop from enemies in the Downtown Jericho City location, the VULTR set is the perfect scavenger armor that can fill your pockets with scrap and your inventory with loot in no time at all.
Composed of six different parts, the VULTR comes with a decent armor defense stat of 205, and a partial set completion boost to the amount of Tech Scrap dropped by enemies. But its real selling point is that it removes the battery cost for finishers when you complete the outfit. Since finishers drain your cells and are the only real way to get loot drops, it makes the VULTR perfect for grinding in certain parts of the game.
Spark Fanatic
A high-defense set that's absolutely perfect for crowd control, the Spark Fanatic set is a lightning-spewing, damage-boosting powerhouse that's easy to acquire and suits those who have a more defensive playstyle.
Acquired as a drop from ripping apart the spear-using acolytes in the Cathedral of The Spark. The Spark Fanatic is not just an armor set that looks awesome and oddly otherworldly, but it also provides an increase in damage as a partial set bonus and a huge electrical damage AOE ground slam for wearing the full set, which can easily stun-lock most enemies.
The Wraith
If you prefer to hang back from the fight and let your drones cause most of the havoc, then the Wraith set may be just what you need. This set not only boosts your Omni-cell limit, but it also makes it so you never really need to rest at a Med-Bay ever again.
The first piece of this gear drops from a finisher on Captain Cervantes, and the rest can be bought from Highball and Lowball, so it's not too hard to get. But, its main selling point is that a partial set completion lets you carry 10 extra Omnicells, whilst a full set rewards an additional two Omnicells every time you recharge your batteries. In a game where the more cells you have means the longer your drone can be used for, the Wraith set seems like the perfect fit for those that like to do damage from a distance.
Chrysalis
This crustal-covered outfit is an Operator Class armor set that is significantly better at crowd control than the others mentioned previously. Everything in this outfit is geared towards maximizing your killing potential, and in the right hands, it can be absolutely devastating.
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Acquired from most enemies in the game post-Ezra Shields fight, the Chrysalis armor applies +20 Nano damage to any weapon in the game, meaning you can double stack elemental damage. Plus, its full set ability increases your damage significantly for a relatively moderate length of time after every kill — so enjoy tearing through groups of enemies with ease when you wear this crystal-covered set.
Nano Ward
The Nano Ward set is a sturdy Goliath Class set of armor that's all about boosting your ability to block and brutally punishing whoever swings at you. Found spread out across four chests in the AID Command area before the boss fight, the Nano Ward is extremely specialized but worth the investment.
This is thanks to its ability to reduce the stamina cost of blocks for a partial set completion, which makes it a strong piece of gear to mix into other builds. Plus, a full outfit deploys a large nano explosion for successfully blocking an enemy attack — making anyone who comes close immediately regret their decision.
Angel VI
Sold by Molly Fox in Seaside Court or Highball and Lowball in the Cloud 9 Bar, the Angel VI set is one of the coolest looking armor sets in the game. Resembling a huge astronaut suit, it's more The Fury boss from Metal Gear Solid 3 than anything, as it's all about high damage and shock and awe.
A partial set bonus nets you a tidy boost to energy gain when using CREO weapons, which themselves already have incredibly high base damage. Completing the set provides a buff that boosts attack speed and impact for your weapons, turning you into an absolute monster of big damage and high elemental resistance.
AID Centauri
Considered by many in the Surge Community to be the best armor in the game, the AID Centauri set is an Operator Class that may have a slightly lower than average defense stat, but it compensates for this by having some pretty beefy benefits in the form of DPS buffs.
Acquired by performing a finisher on Major General Ezra Shields and buying the rest from Dr. Sorensen, this set boosts your damage over time for continued drone or melee attacks. It actively encourages and rewards an aggressive playstyle, so if you like getting stuck into the carnage then The AID Centauri is highly recommended.
NEXT: The Surge 2: Every Weapon Type, Ranked
