Which is better? Daedric or Dragonplate armor?
Last month, Skyrim Fansite contributor Par-Kajarl wrote an outstanding article on how to get Daedric armor in Skyrim (if you missed the article, check it out here). Not surprisingly, just publishing an article about Daedric gear raised some questions with some of our readers regarding heavy armor in Skyrim: namely which is better — Daedric or Dragonplate?
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Daedric or Dragonplate Armor?
On the surface, the answer to the question seems fairly obvious. Just looking at the stats, Daedric appears to be better:
Daedric Armor
Name | Armor | Weight | Value |
|---|
Daedric Armor | 49 | 50 | 3200 |
Daedric Boots | 18 | 10 | 625 |
Daedric Gauntlets | 18 | 6 | 625 |
Daedric Helmet | 23 | 15 | 1600 |
Daedric Shield | 36 | 15 | 1600 |
Dragonplate Armor
Name | Armor | Weight | Value |
|---|
Dragonplate Armor | 46 | 40 | 2125 |
Dragonplate Boots | 17 | 8 | 425 |
Dragonplate Gauntlets | 17 | 8 | 425 |
Dragonplate Helmet | 22 | 8 | 1050 |
Dragonplate Shield | 34 | 15 | 1050 |
As a whole, a complete set of Daedric armor has a total armor rating of 144 compared to Dragonplate’s 136. Daedric is worth more too: a complete set of gear is valued at 7,650 as opposed to Dragonplate’s 5,075.
Is It Really That Settled?
When it comes to Daedric or Dragonplate, it’s hard to argue against the numbers. Daedric clearly has higher stats when it comes to armor rating and value. That being said, some may argue against Daedric being “better.” Like many things in Skyrim it comes down to playing style and personal preference.
Here are four reasons why Dragonplate may be considered better than Daedric:
1. Dragonplate is lighter than Daedric armor (88 vs. 108), thus taking up less of a player’s available carry weight.
2. Dragonplate takes more skill to craft (Smithing Level 100) as opposed to Daedric (Smithing Level 90).
2. Some like the look and feel of Dragonplate more than the dark, sinister look of Daedric for their character.
3. The acquisition of Dragonplate is more “story friendly” in the sense that the Dragonborn spends a good deal of time killing Dragons and absorbing their souls. It only seems fitting (no pun intended) that the Dragonborn is ultimately decked out in gear fashioned from Dragon Bone as opposed to Daedra hearts and black soul gems.
RELATED: Raise Your Smithing Skill To 100 Easily In Skyrim
Final Thoughts
One of the great things about Skyrim is the openess of the game. Players are given a lot of freedom to build a character and explore Skyrim as they best see fit. In that spirit, the question of “better” boils down to personal preference when contemplating Daedric or Dragonplate. Stats be danged.
So fellow travelers, what’s your opinion? Do you prefer Daedric or Dragonplate? Is armor rating and value the best gauge of determining which is better, or do other factors need to be taken into consideration? Share your opinions in the Speak Your Mind section below.
Why Daedric is better
1. Your stamina can be increased so that helps with weight
2. You get it sooner
3. I like the sinister look of daedric(just my opinion)
4. And of course stats
In my opinion both armors are too close to really call. There are perks in the heavy armor skill tree that makes things like weight irrelevant (conditioning level 70 heavy armor skill tree perk) and a SINGLE piece of dwarven (4/5 juggernaut) armor better then the base stats your saying if crafted by your own hand and improved properly. You want good armor? Spend your points wisely and legendary skills wisely. Don’t put one point into every skill. Specialize. Be smart 😉
Me at level 270+ with a point in every skill.
( 👀 💧 )
I’m on my 5th or 6th play-through and I’m just now coming across this article from 5vyears ago! The random is REAL!
But all my armor at this point is at (my Smithing tree is full and at) Legendary level, but I haven’t seen Legendary stats for Daedric armor just yet as my player level is currently 38.
Dragonplate Armor (Legendary) is 79
Dragonplate Boots (Legendary) is 33
Dragonplate Gauntlets (Legendary) is 33
Dragonplate Helmet (Legendary) is 39
Which is a whopping 184 Armor Rating!
Soooo…Since this site (although 5 years old) doesn’t have the answer for this part of which is truly better…the numbers don’t lie.
My name’s Rudy Alarcon, been gaming since 1989 and a casual gamer aficionado and Domestic Violence Survivors Advocate with Project C.A.R.E. in Ohio.
My smithing is maxed and I am level 37.
Daedric Armour (Legendary) is 129
Daedric Boots (Legendary) is 54
Daedric Gauntlets (Legendary) is 54
Daedric Helmet (Legendary) is 62
298 Armour Rating
I’m level 51 and my daedric is as follows:
Daedric armor legendary: 231
Daedric helmet legendary: 111
Daedric gauntlets legendary: 94
Daedric boots legendary: 94
I know I’m a bit late to the party, but this is what I have.
You can use the alchemy-enchanting loop to have a potion that further increases the improvement of your weapons. My level 131 character had something like 1200+ armor with the daedric set after making the loop reach its limits.
and with the dragon priest heavy masks you get 90 defence
my armor gives me 433 defence without the shield
I tend to play a less sinister character, as well as a character who does quite a bit of sneaking. So while I would probably prefer glass armor to either of these options, I think the lighter, more story-based theme and the lighter carry weight of dragonbone armor would make it the better option for me.
I personally prefer using Daedric for 2 main reasons. The first one is dragonplate armor seems pretty ugly to me, especially the helmet because it lets my characters face be seen. On the other hand Daedric looks kick ass. And the second reason is because I am roleplaying a dragonborn that does everything he can in order to become more powerful so it makes sense that he would want to use the strongest of the two armor sets
If you’re not worried about wearing a full set, both the Daedric Gauntlets and the Daedric Shield are actually better, all around, than their Dragonplate counter parts. Higher armor rating, higher value, lower weight. If you prefer Dragonplate, you may want to consider at least swapping the shield/gauntlets to further decrease your carry weight.