Embarking on the journey with Noctis to reclaim his throne, he works towards fulfilling his prophecy as the One True King. But corruption in Eos has grown bolder and more robust. To help Noctis continue his battle to cleanse the darkness, Eos has forged two new gear sets, Mercurial Exosuit and Cardinal Raiment, to continue his quest.
In this guide, we will cover:
- Cardinal Raiment Gear pieces
- Gear Set Bonus
- Upgrading, Powering Up, and Gear Set Leveling
- How does Cardinal Raiment compare to Elemental Avatar?
- What to read next?
- Latest Guides at FFXV: ANE Hub
- Join our conversation!
Firstly, let’s go over each of the pieces’ similarities before breaking down on their differences.
Cardinal Raiment Gear Pieces
(July 6th, 2021)
The Cardinal Raiment Gear Set is specifically tuned to assist your Dark Core and Elemental Troops.
Since the Exalted Crimson Set, the Gil requirements have changed when forging your pieces. The Mercurial Exosuit Gear pieces will require 15,000 Gil (T6) per piece aside from the materials needed, totaling 105,000 Gil (T6) for the complete set.
Each piece has some similarities and contains variations to make each piece stand out from one another.
The stats below are at Legendary (Lv 6) unless otherwise noted.
Cardinal Raiment Boost PER Piece
- 480,000% Royal Dark Core Troop Attack
- 240,000% Royal Dark Core Troop HP and Armor
- 320,000% Royal Dark Elemental Attack
- 160,000% Royal Dark Elemental HP along with Armor
Cardinal Raiment Helmet
The Helmet boosts your King of Lucis.
- 5.4M% King of Lucis: Royal Dark Core Troop Attack
Cardinal Raiment Body Armor
The Body Armor further supplements your Dark Core Troops by providing more Armor.
- 5.76M% Royal Dark Core Assault Armor
Cardinal Raiment Footwear
The Footwear provides Attack Resistance for Dark Core Troops.
- 3.84M% Royal Dark Core Troop Attack Resistance
Cardinal Raiment Weapon
The Weapon grants additional Attack bonuses to your Dark Core Troops.
- 7.68M% Royal Dark Core Assault Attack
Cardinal Raiment Wayfinder
The Wayfinder benefits your Realm stats when soloing.
- 2.88M% Royal Dark Realm Solo Assault Attack
- 1.44M% Royal Dark Realm Solo Assault HP
- 4.32M% Royal Dark Realm Solo Assault Armor
Realm stats apply wherever you fight in Eos, such as Crystals.
- Excludes Neutral Cities and Empire bases
8.64M% Royal Dark Realm Solo Assault Attack, 4.32M% Royal Dark Realm Solo Assault HP, 12.96M% Royal Dark Realm Solo Assault Armor when combining all three Accessories
Cardinal Raiment Guard
The Guard Accessory grants additional Dark Siege and Trap benefits.
- 5.04M% Royal Dark Siege Engine Attack Resistance
- 5.76M% Royal Dark Trap Attack
15.12M% Royal Dark Siege Engine Attack Resistance and 17.28M% Royal Dark Trap Attack when applying all three Accessories
Cardinal Raiment Oracle
The Oracle can only be acquired through events. The Accessory provides Core Assault Bonuses for the Crystal and Ice Elemental Troop benefits.
Stats will be updated soon!
Note that the Oracle is NOT required to unlock the Gear Set Bonus.
Gear Set Bonus
In the Mythic Forge, you will see a Set Gear Bonuses section (1st tab). A Set Bonus is activated as soon as you acquire every Gear Piece in the Set required in the row.
The bonus will be determined by the lowest level piece you own. If you have one Epic piece and the rest are Uncommon, you will get the Uncommon Set Bonus.
Keep in mind that you do not have to wear the Gear for the bonus to be active, as it is passive.
Cardinal Raiment Gear Set Bonus:
- 8.64M% Royal Dark Core Assault Attack
- 4.32M% Royal Dark Core Assault HP
- 13M% Royal Dark Core Assault Armor
- 96,000% Royal Dark Monster Attack Resistance
- 144,000% Royal Dark Monster Armor Piercing
- 48,000% Royal Dark Monster Cripple HP
- 1.92M% Royal Dark Mercenary Armor Piercing
- 1.28M% Royal Dark Mercenary Attack Resistance
- 640,000% Royal Dark Mercenary Cripple HP
Upgrading, Powering Up, Gear Set Leveling
Check the Mythic Forge to Upgrade, Power Up, and level your Gear further.
We have only had one type of Upgrading and Powering Up Materials to level our pieces with previous Gear Sets. Since the Attuned and Merciless Eos Gear release, new Gear Sets now require TWO different Materials for Upgrading and Powering Up.
Upgrading
When upgrading your Mercurial Exosuit Gear pieces individually from Uncommon to Gold, you will require Cardinal Raiment Sigil of Quality and Cardinal Raiment Master Sigil of Quality.
Level one (Uncommon to Common) will only need Cardinal Raiment Sigil of Quality. Then level two to six (Common to Legendary) will need both of the Sigils of Qualities.
Upgrading Chart
Find out how many Sigil and Master Sigil of Quality your gear needs to reach Legendary status!
Powering Up
You will need two different Power Up Materials to power up your gear pieces from level one to ten. Levels one to four will require Cardinal Raiment Power Up Material, while five through ten will need Cardinal Raiment Power Up Material and Cardinal Raiment Master Power Up Material.
Powering Up Chart
Find out how much Power Up and Master Power Up Materials your gear needs to max at level 20!
Gear Set Leveling
Lastly, you will need Cardinal Raiment Set Leveling Material to upgrade your Gear Set Leveling.
Set Gear Leveling benefits:
- 7.68M% Royal Dark Core Troop Attack
- 3.84M% Royal Dark Core Troop HP in addition to Armor
- 5.12M% Royal Dark Elemental Attack
- 2.56M% Royal Dark Elemental HP as well as Armor
- 3.84M% Royal Dark Mercenary Attack Resistance
- 5.76M% Royal Dark Mercenary Armor Piercing
- 1.92M% Royal Dark Mercenary Cripple HP
- 432,000% Royal Dark Monster Armor Piercing
- 288,000% Royal Dark Monster Attack Resistance
- 144,000% Royal Dark Monster Cripple HP
- 2.4M% Royal Dark Astral Attack
- 5.76M% Royal Dark Realm Assault Attack
- 8.64M% Royal Dark Realm Assault Armor
- 2.88M% Royal Dark Realm Assault HP
Gear Set Leveling Chart
Find out how many Gear Set Leveling Materials you need to max your Gear Set Level to 100!
How Does it Compare?
It all comes down to the fact, is this gear set worth it? Is it more favorable than the last release?
This section will analyze and differentiate Cardinal Raiment to Elemental Avatar based on the boost per piece since they are the same, making it easy to observe.
The stats below are Base Legendary Gear pieces before any Powering up or Gear Set Leveling unless otherwise noted.
Elemental Avatar vs. Cardinal Raiment
The sets have the same stat types per piece. Therefore this section will make it more straightforward for comparison.
Elemental Avatar Boost PER Piece
- 240,000% Royal Dark Core Troop Attack
- 120,000% Royal Dark Core Troop HP in addition to Armor
- 80,000% Royal Dark Elemental Troop Attack
- 40,000% Royal Dark Elemental Troop HP as well as Armor
Cardinal Raiment Boost PER Piece
- 480,000% Royal Dark Core Troop Attack
- 240,000% Royal Dark Core Troop HP and Armor
- 320,000% Royal Dark Elemental Attack
- 160,000% Royal Dark Elemental HP along with Armor
They both provide similar benefits. However, Cardinal Raiment boosts per piece outweigh Elemental Avatar.
In fact, the Cardinal Raiment contains:
- 2x Royal Dark Core Troop Attack, HP, as well as Armor
- 4x Royal Dark Elemental Attack, HP, in addition to Armor
The Elemental Avatar Set pieces (aside from Accessories) all contain the same benefits per piece as mentioned above. In contrast, the Cardinal Raiment pieces grant additional bonuses such as King of Lucis, Royal Dark Realm bonuses, and Attack Resistance.
What to Read Next?
The Cardinal has proven to outweigh Elemental Avatar when considering factors. Contrast the set to Mercurial Exosuit and check out the previous two released Gears and how they compare to the new sets!
Mercurial Exosuit
The Mercurial Exosuit was released along with the Cardinal Raiment. Check out the Mercurial Exosuit guide to compare and contrast the two new sets to suit your gameplay.
Mercurial Exosuit Gear Set Guide
Elemental Avatar and Alpha Dominance
Still uncertain about the Cardinal Raiment Gear Set, or has it not been released yet? Then check out the two previously released gear sets.
Elemental Avatar Gear Set Guide
Alpha Dominance Gear Set Guide
Latest Guides
Check out the latest guides and updates at FFXV: ANE Hub to stay ahead of your game!
- Hero Secrets: Dark Edition
- Corrupted Altars
- Veteran Gladio Guide to 400
- Build Up and Take Advantage of Dark Expansions
- Veteran Ignis Guide to 400
- Auxiliary Buildings 4.0
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