Best Early Game Armor In Mario & Luigi: Brothership

In Mario’s first RPG adventure, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mario, and his party members are given typical pieces of armor like cloaks and hats. In the Mario & Luigi series, the two plumbers have always received various overalls to equip. For the Mario franchise as a whole, this makes a lot of sense.

It’s the only thing that they wear in these games for the most part and players will find a ton of overalls in Mario & Luigi: Brothership. The best ones early on have varying degrees of stats but that’s not as important as the bonuses. So, let’s go through some early “armor” with the best bonuses.

7 Sturdy Wear

Defense 25

• Location: Lottacoins Island

The Sturdy Wear has no attached bonuses to it but it is one of the stronger overalls players can get in the early hours. It can be purchased from a vendor who resides on Lottacoins Island. This location is home to a giant hotel resort, with many of the missions residing inside. There actually aren’t a lot of enemies in this “dungeon” as it is more puzzle-based which negates the need for a boost in defense at this point. However, there is a boss battle on the roof wherein players will have to pull out all the stops to take it down and to stay alive in the process, so getting the Sturdy Wear isn’t a bad idea.

6 Cozy Wear

Defense 18

• Location: Florall Island
• Bonus Effect: Increase Defense When You Take Damage By 20%

The Cozy Wear can be acquired on Florall Island which quite literally is bursting with flowers. These overalls do have a bonus as do the rest of the examples to help keep Mario and Luigi powered up. It will boost Defense by 20% when that character takes a hit.

The whole point of these Mario RPGs is to actively dodge away from attacks and to also counter. Sometimes enemies are tougher to counter though, which is why getting a bonus from being hit is so great as it doesn’t feel as punishing to fail.

5 Bros. Wear

Defense 26

• Location: Desolatt Island
• Bonus Effect: Recover 1 BP When You Take Damage

The Bros. Wear is a great outfit to put on for players who like to use Bros. Attacks. These are combo skills that team up Mario and Luigi for various devastating attacks. For example, there’s an early one involving the two plumbers pumping up a device that creates lightning. Bros. Attacks are essentially the magic system of this RPG and all of these moves require BP. The Bros. Wear will recover some BP whenever the character in question gets hit. It’s not much, only 1 BP per hit, but something is better than nothing.

4 Dodgy Jump Wear

Defense 36

• Location: Allsand Island
• Bonus Effect: Missing A Counter Boosts Defense By 20%

As established, countering is an important part of this game. Sometimes players aren’t going to be able to dodge and counter though so this pair of overalls can boost Defense like the Cozy Wear. The Dodgy Jump Wear will boost Defense by 20% when players miss their chance to counter instead of getting hit. This may make players want to miss a dodge at least once for strategic purposes which isn’t the worst idea in the world. It’s as simple as that and it can be found on Allsand Island.

3 Blocky Hammer Wear

Defense 36/Speed 2

• Location: Allsand Island
• Bonus Effect: Increase Defense If Counter Is Missed

The Blocky Hammer Wear can also be found on Allsand Island but the way to get it is a bit more complex. One of the new enemies players can encounter here is called a Shower Fish. This monster will shed its skin to create a more aggressive version of itself. There is a chance this enemy will drop the Blocky Hammer Wear and there are accessories in Mario & Luigi: Brothership that can increase the drop rate factor. These overalls are great because they will boost Speed when equipped, besides Defense, and they have the same bonus effect as the Dodgy Jump Wear for the defensive counter.

2 Whittledown Wear

Defense 47

• Location: Bulbfish Island
• Bonus Effect: Less Enemies, Less Damage

The Whittledown Wear is best saved for boss battles regarding its bonus effect. Defense will increase when there are fewer enemies around. When there are larger hordes, Defense will actually shrink when more enemies appear.

Since players can’t control how the random encounter will play out, it’s hard to know if more than one enemy will appear. Again, that’s why this is a better set of overalls to equip during a boss battle when it is almost guaranteed that there will only be one enemy.

1 Repel Wear

Defense 61

• Location: Heatfreeze Island
• Bonus Effect: More Enemies, Less Damage

The Repel Wear is the opposite of the Whittledown Wear. The defensive bonus for these overalls will be boosted for larger crowds and Defense will lower when there aren’t many enemies around. Wearing these during a boss battle, for example, may take the small party out in a matter of seconds. Each pair of overalls has their place in Mario & Luigi: Brothership and it’s all about strategy to figure out when and where to use them. It’s a risk no matter how confident players are, but RPG players should be used to taking big chances every once in a while.