Looking for the best Island 3 Armor Recipes to tackle all the challenges in The Forge Winter Update? This update introduced over 40 new ores to The Forge, many of which are significantly stronger than what we had before, both in terms of multipliers and passives. That’s why you’ll want to use them to craft the best armor available in The Forge this winter.
The Forge Island 3 Armor Recipes - Best Sets
The second part of the Winter Update introduced a new region, the Raven Cave, which comes with its own set of Raven Cave ores and traits, bringing the total number of new ores to 40. With so many additions, it can be overwhelming to figure out which armor recipes are currently the best in The Forge. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the best Island 3 armor recipes to use in the Forge Winter Update.
NOTE: These armor recipes are based our on hands-on testing in-game, combined with optimized builds shared by prominent members of the Forge Discord community, most notably zach.08ll. Huge thanks to them for contributing valuable insights to the community.
Health Buff Armor Set
If you want to play a fully defensive style, then this set is a perfect fit for you. It brings an overwhelming boost to your Health with 165% Vitality, while also reducing any damage you take by a quarter for 3 out of every 4 damage instances, on average. It will create an ultimate tank out of you, especially if you combine it with the Drain Edge rune and put the Stolen Heart Ore in your Island 3 weapon recipe.
When it comes to alternatives, you can replace all Duranite with Gargantuan, which will slightly improve the set, but it’s much more expensive and not worth the investment. You’ll gain slight improvements at a much higher cost, meaning it will take you significantly more time and effort, which you could spend elsewhere.
| Armor & Recipe | Multiplier | Set Stats & Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Health Helmet x10 Gargantuan x8 Etherealite x8 Duranite | 16.72x |
|
| Health Chestplate x16 Gargantuan x12 Etherealite x12 Duranite | 16.93x | |
| Health Leggings x12 Gargantuan x9 Etherealite x9 Duranite | 16.93x |
Best Speed Buff Armor Set
Want to jump around and be as fast as Sonic the Hedgehog? This speed armor set is the way to go. It more than doubles your movement speed while also providing a solid +90% Vitality bonus and a 25% damage reduction on every fourth hit, on average. It’s a well-rounded build that’s perfect for players who like to dance around their enemies and rely on a kiting strategy.
Alternatively, if you want to go all-in on speed, you can squeeze in Aetherit Ore from the Frostpire Expanse for an extra 5% Swiftness. However, that will make you significantly more vulnerable due to the lack of health buff Ores, so it’s not really recommended. That said, if you enjoy playing risky builds, don’t let my recommendation stop you - by all means, go for it!
| Armor & Recipe | Multiplier | Set Stats & Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Speed Helmet x8 Duranite x8 Lightite x8 Velchire x2 Gargantuan | 8.72x |
|
| Speed Chestplate x12 Etherealite x12 Lightite x12 Velchire x4 Gargantuan | 8.86x | |
| Speed Leggings x9 Etherealite x9 Lightite x9 Velchire x3 Gargantuan | 8.86x |
Best Raw Damage Armor Set
Like smashing things and watching them melt under the sheer damage you deal? You can do that even with your armor. This build takes advantage of the Eye Ore’s unique trait, which works on both weapons and armor, letting you nearly double your raw damage (+97.5% Lethality) just by wearing this set. On top of that, it still offers solid defense, with +90% Vitality and a 25% chance to reduce incoming damage by 25%.
If you manage to acquire the incredibly rare Heart of the Island, you can swap it in instead of Gargantuan, but this build works perfectly fine even without this unique ore.
| Armor & Recipe | Multiplier | Set Stats & Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Damage Helmet x8 Duranite x8 Frost Fossil x8 Eye Ore x2 Gargantuan | 8.23x |
|
| Damage Chestplate x12 Etherealite x12 Frost Fossil x12 Eye Ore x4 Gargantuan | 8.38x | |
| Damage Leggings x9 Etherealite x9 Frost Fossil x9 Eye Ore x3 Gargantuan | 8.38x |
Best Early Game Island 3 Armor Set
Have you just landed on Island 3 and are looking to work toward your first armor set in the new zone? The early-game Island 3 set below is exactly what you need. While it doesn’t offer much defense, it provides solid speed and damage boosts, helping you breeze through early quests and progress faster - which is exactly what you want when entering a new zone.
| Armor & Recipe | Multiplier | Set Stats & Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Early Island Helmet x10 Snowite x8 Frost Fossil x8 Velchire | 6.15x |
|
| Early Island Chestplate x16 Snowite x12 Frost Fossil x12 Velchire | 6.20x | |
| Early Island Leggings x12 Snowite x9 Frost Fossil x9 Velchire | 6.20x |
Best Mid Game Island 3 Armor Set
As enemies become harder to beat, you’ll want to replace the early set with the one below. This one provides more protection, raising your total health by more than double with +105% Vitality, while still offering solid speed and damage buffs through Swiftness and Lethality traits.
| Armor & Recipe | Multiplier | Set Stats & Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Mid Island Helmet x10 Etherealite x8 Frost Fossil x8 Velchire | 7.35x |
|
| Mid Island Chestplate x16 Etherealite x12 Frost Fossil x12 Velchire | 7.44x | |
| Mid Island Leggings x12 Etherealite x9 Frost Fossil x9 Velchire | 7.44x |
Best Late Game Island 3 Armor Set
For the late game, we go for a rather bulky build, which offers a lot of tankiness at the cost of speed and agility. It is definitely among the slowest Island 3 armor recipes, designed to take damage rather than avoid it, focusing on going against enemies head-first. If that’s not your cup of coffee, you can try other builds, but this one is, in our opinion, the safest option for late-game needs on Island 3.
| Armor & Recipe | Multiplier | Set Stats & Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Late Island Helmet x8 Duranite x8 Frost Fossil x8 Etherealite x2 Gargantuan | 10.42x |
|
| Late Island Chestplate x12 Duranite x12 Frost Fossil x12 Etherealite x4 Gargantuan | 10.78x | |
| Late Island Leggings x9 Duranite x9 Frost Fossil x9 Etherealite x3 Gargantuan | 10.78x |
Island 3 Armor Recipes FAQ
The best ores for crafting armor on Island 3 are Frost Fossil, Etherealite, Duranite, and Gargantuan, excluding extremely rare ores.
Yes, the new ores offer much stronger traits and multipliers, making them necessary for dealing with enemies on Island 3.
Heart of the Island has by far the best defensive passive for armor, but it is incredibly rare to obtain.
You can, but it will make things much harder for you, ultimately slowing your progression.
So there you have it, a complete list of all the best armor sets in The Forge Island 3 Winter update. And if you want to learn more about The Forge XMAS Update, be sure to check out our Roblox The Forge hub for the latest guides, tier lists, tips, and tricks.
Nikola is a Senior Staff Writer at Pro Game Guides with over 13 years of experience in gaming journalism. He has been playing video games since his father bought him an NES and a Sega Mega Drive in the early 1990s. Over the years, he has mainly become a PC gamer with a love for narrative-driven RPGs, real-time strategy games, and psychological/survival horror titles. Still, he enjoys any game that’s worth his time.