Silver Vest

A Silver Vest is a Clothing-class armor available throughout the Golden Sun series.

Basic Description
In all its appearances, a Silver Vest increases the wearer's base Defense by 28 points. As a common item, it can be bought repeatedly from vendors for 3200 coins each and sold for 2400 coins each.

In Golden Sun, it is sold in the town Tolbi, while in Golden Sun: The Lost Age, it is sold at Izumo and Contigo. In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, it is sold in Port Rago, Harun Village, Yamata, and Tonfon. Being a Clothing-class piece of body protection, a Silver Vest can be equipped on all Adepts in all games.

Analysis
In Golden Sun, Silver Vests can first be bought at Tolbi; however, the player should wait before buying one. Tolbi is the site of Tolbi Spring, the mini-game where the player can redeem Lucky Medals, often being rewarded with equipment artifacts superior to what can be bought in the town's vendors. All three of the bodywear Artifacts at the spring - the clothing-class Kimono, the robe-class Cocktail Dress, and especially the armor-class Spirit Armor - are considered to be superior to Silver Vests. Thus, Silver Vests should only be bought for an Adept in situations where the player cannot gain the superior Artifacts.

In Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Silver Vests can first be bought at Izumo once the player gains the Lemurian Ship and starts sailing the Great Eastern Sea. At that point, a Silver Vest would provide a viable defense boost for an Adept still equipped with Adept's Clothes, but be sure to also consider the Blessed Robe artifact sold at Champa. Note that if this game is being played without any data transfer or with a Password that's either Bronze or Silver-level, when Isaac's party joins Felix, Ivan and Mia will both be equipped with Silver Vests, which are of course far inferior to the equipment Felix's party will surely have amassed by that point.

In Dark Dawn, Silver Vests would generally only be bought for any mage-style Adepts that do not already have the Kimono found in Barai Temple or the Muni Robe found in Belinsk. The warrior-style Adepts, Matthew and Tyrell, to the Planet Armor in Port Rago's docks, and the Spiked Armor available in Craggy Peak Ruins. As for the mage-style Adepts, Silver Vests will generally be a momentary placeholder until the player can get the Faery Vest and the Ninja Garb. By the time the player reaches Belinsk Ruins, they should be able to replace any Silver Vests bought.

Upon joining the party, both Sveta and Himi will have Silver Vests as their beginning bodywear. In Sveta's case, the player may be able to give her stronger Clothing, such as the Faery Vest, right away, depending on how equipment has been distributed. Otherwise, the Silver Vest will suffice until gaining the ship. In Himi's case, the player will already have access to much stronger bodywear, and thus the Silver Vest should be replaced as soon as possible.