The Ebony armor set – and derivatives like the Ebony Mail – are some of the most epic apparel options for the wandering Dragonborn.
Anywhere you go, people will start whispering about the new “Dark Knight” in town, giving you some notoriety – but it also works the other way, as the full-coverage helmet will keep your true identity hidden.
It’s also great for sneaking around in the shadows. And believe me, no bandit is expecting someone in a suit of heavy armor to pop out from behind a rock and cut them down.
That said, no Skyrim armor set is perfect.
Sometimes you want to use it with characters that it just wasn’t made for, and no matter how cool the armor looks, anyone is bound to get bored of it after a decade of playing the same game.
But modders are always there to lend a hand. So we’ve curated some of the best mods that the community has come up with to expand our Ebony horizons.
8. Ebony Mage Armor
The Ebony armor was always one of my favorites, but I could only use it with some specific builds due to its nature as heavy armor.
Natterforme’s Ebony Mage Armor extends its coverage well past heavy knights.
It’s a remodel of the original set to make it appropriate for mages and rogues. It also allows you to craft the full armor as heavy armor, light armor, and non-armor.
The final look of the set is also customizable, as the mod includes two different versions of the gauntlets and the hood.
7. Ebony Archmage Armor
Lagrie’s Ebony Archmage set is the latest trend among wandering archmages who can’t keep themselves out of trouble.
Whereas regular mage armor is cloth-based and provides little shelter – assuming the mage will protect themselves with magic – this Ebony armor offers serious protection against damage from all sources.
This is one of those old-school sets made by mixing and matching vanilla assets, but the result is out of this world.
I especially like the horn on the helmet.
It just seems like something an archmage would like.
6. Dark Nemesis & Elven Eternal Shine Sets
I hope you’re ready for a 2-for-1 combo, even if one of the two isn’t really Ebony armor.
What makes this armor pack by L3st4t relevant to this ranking is the Dark Nemesis set.
It’s a retexture of the original Ebony armor featuring a lot of intricate ornamentation that completely changes the set’s personality.
On the other hand, we have the Elven Eternal Shine set – a steel-colored retexture of the Elven armor with glowing blue accents that remind me of the Sheikah tech in TLOZ: Breath of the Wild.
5. Ebony Valkyrie Armor
For this mod we’re looking at a female exclusive Ebony Valkyrie armor – a nice and compact set perfect for lady warriors who need ease of movement but value the protection of solid plates.
This armor is a little bit sexy for sure, but nowhere near some of the things you can find out there (you know what I mean).
But it won’t break your immersion, and your female character will look like a true fantasy warrior.
Creator Raging29 included both heavy and light armor versions to suit your needs, with the visual difference being whether the set has pauldrons or not.
I personally prefer the light version, but it’ll depend on what kind of character you’re playing as.
4. Simply Excellent Ebony Armor
Fans of realistic-looking medieval armor will love the Simply Excellent Ebony Armor set by QuestionableKhajit.
Lovers of The Witcher III might recognize some of these armor pieces, as the set is made chiefly from assets found in CDPR’s fantasy epic.
This gives them a style that stands out in Skyrim but still looks relatively lore-friendly.
This mod also includes two distinct versions of the armor, one lighter than the other, making it pretty versatile.
3. Ebony Reforged
Usually, armor retextures don’t make it to the top spots.
After all, brand-new models are way more exciting and require more effort to make… most of the time.
Ebony Reforged by AlanovichRomanov is a notorious exception to the rule, as the new color schemes and intricately detailed ornamentation profoundly changes the original Ebony armor into something entirely new.
The mod includes four different color palettes – Phoenix, Royal Guard, Onyx, and Third Era – made available for all Ebony armor parts and weapons, including the Ebony Mail.
2. Glowing Ebony Armor
I know a lot of you Skyrim enthusiasts can’t get enough RGB lights in your gaming rigs.
So wouldn’t you like some lighting on your Ebony armor as well?
Mari’s Glowing Ebony Armor does what you’d expect – it adds beautiful glowing highlights to all Ebony armor pieces.
It looks epic, and it should add more exciting visuals whenever you’re exploring dark places like dungeons and caves.
There are many ways to enjoy these assets, too.
You could color-code your character, giving them a red glow if they favor Destruction and a gold one if they’re Restoration experts, or you could mix and match the individual armor pieces for unique looks.
1. Dark Knight Armor
For once it was easy to choose the top spot for a ranking.
I mean, just look at Xtudo’s custom Dark Knight set!
Each armor piece here comes in three versions – Crimson, Metallic, and Ebony.
But the difference is mainly in the sheen and opacity of the armor, as they’re all dark enough to fit a “Dark Knight”.
Overall, it’s the only alternative Ebony armor model I find worthy of being a true replacement. If this had been the Ebony armor the game shipped with, I’d have been more than satisfied.
It’s also available for both male and female characters, and the female version of the armor comes with three different legwear options: a skirt, tight leather trousers, and a reinforced version with faulds.
