In Hell is Us, Defensive Gear serves as one of the most important stat-boosting items for protagonist Remi, since outfits in the game are merely cosmetics. Instead, all vital character stats, like damage absorption and endurance bonus, are granted by Defensive Gear. There are a total of 20 various items to choose from, with players able to equip only two pieces at once. Additionally, there are four types of Defensive Gear based on emotions: Grief, Rage, Terror, and Ecstasy, each corresponding to specific upgrade materials needed to enhance them, and determining how their primary effects are triggered.
Players can level up each piece of their Defensive Gear to up to Grade 4, resulting in every piece granting mostly identical passive stat bonuses (generally 20% Damage Absorption and 2,000 Endurance). However, each Defensive Gear also comes with a primary perk that can either stay active the entire time or more often requires specific conditions to be triggered. These perks determine the preferred playstyle, as once players find items that suit them most, there’s little incentive to switch them. Below are some of the best Defensive Gear in Hell is Us, alongside brief guidelines on how to get each one.
All Defensive Gear below is upgraded to Grade 3 or 4, meaning its stats may vary at lower or higher Grades than listed.
Easily one of the most useful Defensive Gear in all of the game that players are recommended to get as soon as possible in Hell is Us, Bracelet of Grief – Depression essentially grants a second life to Remi. Needless to say, this item can be quite a lifesaver in any combat encounter, allowing some room for mistakes and fully replenishing the character’s Health once in a while.
Of course, players still need to be careful when relying on Bracelet of Grief – Depression, as its perk cooldown is quite substantial, rivaling many powerful active relics (9 minutes). Nevertheless, unless players are exceptionally skilled in Hell is Us to control everything the game might throw at them, this item is a must-have.
Another potent Grief Defensive Gear for Health restoration in Hell is Us, Collar of Grief – Bargaining works differently but can be used quite effectively to sustain Remi during intense combat scenarios. Every time a player uses their weapon’s glyph abilities or charged heavy attacks that consume Lymbic Energy, they will receive additional healing based on their energy spent.
This perfectly caters to players who prefer to stay aggressive in Hell is Us, constantly pushing and attacking their enemies, relying on Healing Pulse and Collar of Grief – Bargaining to maintain high HP at all times without the need to use restorative consumables.
Idol of Grief – Anger is one of the rare Defensive Gear items to directly boost the player’s melee damage output and one of the best, granting up to +100% damage for 10 seconds at Grade 4. To trigger its strong combat effect, all players must do is get hit, which isn’t too hard in a game like Hell is Us.
With such an easy trigger and very strong result, Idol of Grief – Anger ranks among the best Defensive Gear that some players may never want to switch to anything else. Naturally, it works best with slow weapons with high damage output, such as Greatswords, bringing raw damage values to great heights.
All Ecstasy Defensive Gear effects trigger only when players are grievously wounded, which somewhat limits their usage (similarly to Terror Gear, which requires players to remain undamaged), as it can be too risky to lose much HP to gain benefits. Among these, Signet Ring of Ecstasy – Stimulation probably makes the most sense to use.
This Gear’s effect doubles all sources of healing at Grade 4 — be it the Healing Pulse ability or other healing effects, like direct life steal from enemies with items like Bracers of Rage – Bloodlust. As a result, this item can be used almost similarly to Bracelet of Grief – Depression, allowing more room for mistakes in combat with its effective recovery potency if things go sideways.
Quite fittingly, many Rage Defensive Gear items cater to direct damage boosting or grant special perks triggered through offensive play. Among these, Idol of Rage – Contempt is a unique item that allows for dealing damage over time with every subsequent attack after the first. Each time players strike a Hollow Walker enemy, they also inflict 20 damage per second for 5 seconds, totaling 100 extra damage.
While this extra damage isn’t groundbreaking, essentially equaling a single weapon strike with lower-upgraded weapons, it’s still nice to have, as it can stack. In situations when surrounded by weaker enemies, they continue to sustain damage, allowing players to briefly step out of the fight to catch their breath and replenish Stamina for another stream of attacks with extra damage.
A decent Defensive Gear to keep things going, Brooch of Rage – Bathe in Blood grants substantial recovery for each defeated foe, which can be beneficial in numerous encounters where players are surrounded by many weaker enemies. Its effect works quite similarly to The Bloodseeker passive relic, with the only difference being that Brooch of Rage – Bathe in Blood replenishes Stamina rather than Lymbic Energy.
Of course, nothing prevents players from combining their effects to gain a constant stream of refilling for every vital resource — Health, Stamina, and Lymbic Energy — with each defeated Hollow Walker, which can make the combat almost trivial. However, players will need to come up with another potent gear combination for single elite and boss enemies.
For some Hell is Us players, if the Healing Pulse ability isn’t enough, the game offers plenty of options for alternative or enhanced healing to make dying almost impossible. In addition to the extremely strong The Heart of Aria and Heart of the Griffin relics, Bracers of Rage – Bloodlust is a piece of Defensive Gear that boosts survivability in combat to a new level.
Bracers of Rage – Bloodlust grants substantial (up to 25%) melee life steal to Remi, allowing him to replenish health with each successful attack, so as long as there are enemies to damage, players can heal effectively. Best of all, unlike many similar relics or Defensive Gear with effects that trigger only upon vanquishing an enemy, this one is usable at all times, including in combat scenarios against single elite enemies or bosses, so players don’t need to worry about specific conditions to sustain its effect.
7/10
September 4, 2025
Mature 17+ // Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
Rogue Factor
Unreal Engine 5
