Wondering how to get the best armor in Mad Max?

Upgrading your gear is a high priority in Mad Max. With all of the enemies that will be coming for you, Max is gonna need all the protection he can get.

Most of the early level gear is easily upgradeable with scrap, but you’ll have to do some grinding to level up your Legend rank to get the best stuff.

Leveling up your Legend rank is something that happens with natural progression in the game, either by completing story missions, mastering challenges, or spending Griffa tokens on the Judgement upgrades.

In this article, I’m going to discuss the top 3 pieces of armor that are going to help you get the most out of combat in the Wasteland, so you can overtake camps with style and ease.

3. Knuckledusters

Toolbox Maulers are the top-level Knuckleduster upgrade, and they are worth the effort.

Knuckledusters are really an armor/weapon hybrid, and they will really come in handy, especially early in the game.

There won’t always be melee weapons nearby, and you will have to rely on using your fists in combat.

Knuckledusters are worn on Max’s hands, and every upgrade to them adds 10% more damage to enemies when fighting with your fists. They resemble brass knuckles, except with more spikes and metal that are added with each upgrade as they become more powerful.

You will need the power of Knuckledusters to defeat enemies more easily, as you will be doing a LOT of hand-to-hand combat, and it doesn’t take much progression in the game until enemies become more powerful than you.

The Brawler Wrap knuckledusters will serve you well in the beginning, but you will want to upgrade to at least the Blender Wrenchies, which offer Max 30% increased fist damage, as soon as you can. The Blender Wrenchies will serve you well for most of the game until you are able to upgrade to the ultimate Toolbox Maulers, which do 50% more damage.

Armor Stats:
• Brawler Wrap: Fists do 10% more damage to enemies
• Ripbar Halfies: Fists do 20% more damage to enemies
• Blender Wrenches: Fists do 30% more damage to enemies
• Jawhammers: Fists do 40% more damage to enemies
• Toolbox Maulers: Fists do 50% more damage to enemies

Knuckledusters Are Great For:
• Fighting enemies when melee weapons aren’t readily available
• Making your punches count, as increased damage helps you defeat enemies faster
• Allowing you to fight larger mobs of enemies at once, as quicker takedowns make it harder for them to completely surround you, especially at Top Dog camps

How to Get Knuckledusters:
• Brawler Wrap: Automatically unlocked after completing the introduction, buy with scrap
• Ripbar Halfies: Reach Legend rank of Gas Guzzler (Tier 4), buy with scrap
• Blender Wrenchies: Reach Legend rank of Wreckage Roller (Tier 5), buy with scrap
• Jawhammers: Reach Legend rank of Sand King (Tier 7), buy with scrap
• Toolbox Maulers: Reach Legend rank of Death Walker (Tier 9), buy with scrap

Knuckledusters Details:

Mad Max - KNUCKLEDUSTERS UPGRADES 100% COMPLETE (ALL UNLOCKS)

2. Wrist Armor

Rollbar Guard is a solid level 3 wrist armor that will get you through most of the game

Wrist Armor is a dual-purpose armor that not only decreases damage Max takes when blocking or failing to parry, but also increases damage done in counter-attacks.

With every upgrade to the Wrist Armor, you get 10% decreased damage from a failed parry, and 10% increased damage with counter-attacks.

Wrist Armor is especially useful when combined with the Knuckledusters, as you will find yourself in many hand-to-hand combat situations throughout the game.

As your fighting style with Max becomes more sophisticated through skill upgrades, you will find it quite easy to land counter punches.

The more damage that you are able to do with these counter punches, the easier it will be to take your enemies down.

The decreased damage from failed parries is particularly helpful early in the game, when Max lacks any proper protection from the constant swarm of enemies.

The Rollbar Guard is a nice, middle-of-the-road wrist armor to have if you can upgrade your Legend rank to a Tier 6, and it will offer Max a decent amount of protection for most of the game.

Wrist Armor Stats:
• Wrap Guard: Decreases parry damage by 10%, increases counter damage by 10%
• Pot Bar Guard: Decreases parry damage by 20%, increases counter damage by 20%
• Rollbar Guard: Decreases parry damage by 30%, increases counter damage by 30%
• Grinder Guard: Decreases parry damage by 40%, increases counter damage by 40%
• Full Metal Guard: Decreases parry damage by 50%, increases counter damage by 50%

Wrist Armor Is Great For:
• Taking less damage from a failed parry
• Increasing damage dealt from a counter-attack
• Fighting multiple enemies at once, which is a frequent occurrence

How to Get Wrist Armor:
• Wrap Guard: Available for purchase in the pause menu after completing the introduction, buy with scrap
• Pot Bar Guard: Reach Legend rank Feral Fiend (Tier 3), buy with scrap
• Rollbar Guard: Reach Legend rank Wheeler Dealer (Tier 6), buy with scrap
• Grinder Guard: Reach Legend rank Sand King (Tier 7), buy with scrap
• Full Metal Guard: Reach Legend rank Blessed Wanderer (Tier 10), buy with scrap

Wrist Armor details:

Mad Max - Wrist Armour Upgrades 100% Unlocked (All Unlocks) 

1. Jackets

The Patrol Leather Jacket offers much more protection than going shirtless.

Jackets are the only thing keeping Max from having to fight shirtless, and they are his main defense as far as protection goes.

The level of protection a jacket offers increases by 10% with every upgrade.

Max’s iconic leather jacket is stolen in the very beginning of the game (along with his car) and you will have to fight through the very end of the game to get it back.

Once you defeat the game, Max’s Black Leather Jacket is unlocked and automatically added to your inventory on subsequent playthroughs.

In the meantime, the Skav Skivvy or Patrol Leather jackets will serve you well in combat without having to grind too much for Legend ranks.

The Militia Panel Leather jacket is the highest upgrade that you will be able to get until you beat the game, and I highly recommend it for later fight sequences with Scrotus’ gang.

Jacket Stats:
• Skav Skivvy: Take 10% less damage from fist and weapon attacks
• Patrol Leather: Take 20% less damage from fist and weapon attacks
• Shank Leather: Take 30% less damage from fist and weapon attacks
• Militia Panel Leather: Take 40% less damage from fist and weapon attacks
• Max’s Black Leather Jacket: Take 50% less damage from fist and weapon attacks

Jackets Are Great For:
• Reduces the amount of damage that Max takes in combat
• Allows you to stay in the fight longer thanks to reduced damage
• You won’t have to go through health items so quickly because of the reduced damage

How to Get Jackets:
• Skav Skivvy: Automatically unlocked after completing the introductory mission, buy with scrap
• Patrol Leather: Reach Legend rank Feral Fiend (Tier 3), buy with scrap
• Shank Leather: Reach Legend rank Sand King (Tier 7), buy with scrap
• Militia Panel Leather: Reach Legend rank Death Walker (Tier 9), buy with scrap
• Max’s Black Leather Jacket: Obtained by completing the final story mission of the game, unlocked automatically in repeat playthroughs

Jacket details:

Mad Max - Jacket Upgrades 100% Complete (ALL UNLOCKS)

For more great Mad Max articles, check these out:

• Mad Max Best Tires: Which Is Best?
• [Top 5] Mad Max Best Car Builds
• [Top 5] Mad Max Best Abilities
• [Top 5] Mad Max Best Ways to Get Scrap
• [Top 3] Mad Max Best Armor and How To Get Them
• Mad Max Gameplay: Top 5 Awesome Mechanics
• Mad Max Gameplay: 10 Interesting Facts About This Awesome Game
• Mad Max Game: Everything You Need To Know