Tears of the Kingdom Armor Upgrade Materials: Which Sets To Upgrade First

Upgrade Principle

Do not upgrade every set evenly. Tears of the Kingdom rewards purpose-based upgrades: your common defensive set, environmental resistance gear, movement gear, and combat-focused sets should come before collection-only outfits.

Priority Table

Priority	Gear direction	Why
High	Everyday defense	More comfort in field fights and main quests
High	Cold, heat, and flame protection	Determines whether regions are comfortable to enter
Medium	Climbing, gliding, and travel gear	Makes map unlocks and cleanup faster
Medium	Combat damage sets	Better before strong enemies, Depths routes, and final prep
Low	Fashion / collection sets	Save for later when materials and rupees are stable

Material Planning

Material type	Collection advice
Ore	Caves, Depths, and volcanic routes support upgrades and rupees
Monster parts	Do not sell everything; keep common upgrade materials
Plants and insects	Gather by environment, then target-farm missing pieces
Dragon materials	Farm once you know what you need
Rupees	Mix ore, meals, and quest rewards instead of selling rare parts blindly

Beginner Rhythm

1. Start with baseline defense and environmental resistance.
2. Before Rito, desert, or Eldin routes, check cold, heat, and flame needs.
3. Midgame, improve travel gear for map and shrine cleanup.
4. Before late bosses, focus combat and survivability sets.
5. Leave collection-only sets for post-story cleanup.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Better move
Selling every material	Check whether it upgrades a set you use
Upgrading all sets equally	Prioritize the gear you actually wear
Running across the map for one outfit	Pick up gear while routing towers and shrines
Farming rare materials too early	Build fast travel first, farm later

Related Guides

• Regional Phenomena order
• Shrine and lightroot checklist
• Zonai device builds