Steel Armor

A Steel Armor is an Armor-class bodywear available throughout the Golden Sun series. It is the strongest common body armor available to the player.

Basic Description by Game
Steel Armor increases the wearer's base Defense by 36 points. As a common item, it can be bought repeatedly from vendors for 4900 coins each and sold for 3675 coins each.

In Golden Sun, Steel Armor is sold in Lalivero, and can be equipped by Isaac and Garet. In Golden Sun: The Lost Age, it is sold in Contigo, and can be equipped by Felix and Piers. In Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Steel Armor is sold in Harun Village, Yamata, and Tonfon, and can be equipped by Matthew, Tyrell, and Eoleo.

Analysis
In Golden Sun when Steel Armors can first be bought in Lalivero, players who have freely won Spirit Armors at Tolbi with their Lucky Medals would find Steel Armors to be hardly worth buying because while they have somewhat more defense ratings, Spirit Armors have reliable resistance boosts, so the armors are about equal in damage-lowering quality. Since this is close to the game's final stages, some of the game's strongest bodywear can be found later on, including the Asura's Armor in Tunnel Ruins and the Dragon Scales in Venus Lighthouse. Also, the Storm Gear is found in the optional dungeon Crossbone Isle. All of these options outperform Steel and Spirit Armor alike.

In Golden Sun: The Lost Age, the Steel Armor's usefulness is practically nullified because it is sold so late in the game in Contigo, long after Felix's party has amassed much stronger equipment such as Erebus Armor and Wild Coats from the Lucky Medal minigame in Lemuria. However, 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 Isaac and Garet will both be equipped with Steel Armor, which are of course far inferior to the equipment Felix's party will surely have amassed by that point, so their Steel Armor should be replaced as soon as possible.

In Dark Dawn, Steel Armor is not found until after the player has gotten the ship. By this point, Steel Armor is outclassed by the numerous Artifacts and forgeable armor available throughout the Great Eastern Sea. If the Steel Armor is used at all, it will be as a temporary placeholder for Eoleo, who joins the party shortly before with only a Cotton Shirt as his default bodywear.