Valkyrie Mail

The Valkyrie Mail is a Armor-class piece of armor that appears in Golden Sun: The Lost Age and Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. In the European version of Dark Dawn the Valkyrie Mail is called Berserker Mail.

Basic Description by Game
The Valkyrie Mail features a Defense rating of 53, and it increases the wearer's Critical Hit and Unleash Rates by 20%, a very powerful effect. The Valkyrie Mail is bought for 25500 coins while its resale value is 19125 coins.

In both games, the Valkyrie Mail is found the respective game's final Dungeon. In The Lost Age, it is acquired from a treasure chest early on in Mars Lighthouse, and can be equipped by Isaac, Garet, Felix, and Piers. In Dark Dawn, it is found in a treasure chest at Apollo Ascent and can be equipped by Matthew, Tyrell, and Eoleo.

In The Lost Age
Many players would instinctively identify this as the best piece of body armor in the Golden Sun series. Its 53 Defense is the highest Defense rating afforded by any piece of equipment in the game, and it provides 20% boost to the Adept's Critical Hit and Unleash rates, a powerful effect that can be immensely useful depending on an Adept's equipment setup. The Valkyrie Mail outperforms the Mythril Clothes, which has 49 defense and a 15% boost to Unleash rate (but it is wearable by any Adept), and the Xylion Armor, which has 50 defense and increases attack by 12. The Valkyrie Mail's only drawback is that only one can be found, but it is an easy to reach treasure chest, so all players will make it to the end of The Lost Age with this armor in their possessions.

Combined with other specific equipment, an Adept can become a complete powerhouse warrior. Most weapons have an Unleash rate of 35%, including the obscenely powerful Sol Blade. In The Lost Age a Venus Adept using the Sol Blade wearing the Valkyrie Mail increases the Unleash rate by 20%. Adding the Riot Gloves to add 20% more, then a Mythril Helm to add 12% more, and then a pair of Hyper Boots to add 12% more, will allow that warrior to have a 99% chance to unleash the Sol Blade's Megiddo effect whenever he attacks physically. This is strong enough to One-Hit KO most normal enemies, and is excellent against the Doom Dragon final boss.

In Dark Dawn
As in The Lost Age, the Valkyrie Mail is one of the best body armors in the game. It remains the strongest Armor according to Defensive statistics. Its 20% Boost to the Unleash rate is the highest boost available in Dark Dawn. As before, only one Valkyrie Mail can be found, but it is easily available, so all players can get it.

The Valkyrie Mail can be combined with other specific equipment to provide an Adept with a nearly 100% Unleash Rate. In the case of Dark Dawn, the other pieces of equipment include the Aegis Shield, Ninja Sandals, Warrior's Helm, and Lord Sun's Ring. In most cases, this setup is given to Matthew, the only Adept capable of wielding the Sol Blade. However, due to changes to the Unleash system, the player is not guaranteed to Unleash Megiddo every turn. In Dark Dawn, when an Unleash is triggered, the weapon automatically chooses one of several Unleashes. In the case of the Sol Blade, one of 4 unleashes can be chosen. However, increasing the overall Unleash rate increases the chances that Megiddo can be Unleashed.

Trivia

 * The Valkyrie Mail's name has caused some confusion among Golden Sun fans because, despite the valkyries being female warriors, it can only be equipped by males. This is probably what prompted the European localisation team to change its name in Dark Dawn.