There are a ton of Elden Ring armor with capes, and the good news is most of them can be altered to remove that cape if you want a leaner look instead. This list covers the cape and cloak armor across the base game, Shadow of the Erdtree, and the new Tarnished Pack. Keep reading this Elden Ring guide to learn every cape worth knowing about.
What You’ll Read:
How Capes Work in Elden Ring (Alter Garments)
Most cape and cloak armor in Elden Ring can be changed through Alter Garments. Once you have the Tailoring Tools, altering a piece at a Site of Grace costs 500 runes and strips off an outer layer, usually the cape. Boc will do it for free once his quest gets him the Sewing Needle. Demigod armor bought from Enia needs the Golden Tailoring Tools instead, found at the Church of Vows with the Golden Sewing Needle.
The altered look isn’t just cosmetic. Removing a cape usually drops the piece’s weight and knocks down its poise and resistances a bit. Black Knife Armor (more on that below) even loses a stealth effect when altered. Don’t assume altered just means a haircut for your armor. Check what you’re giving up first.
Shadow of the Erdtree Armor With Capes
Let’s start off with the Armors you will find specifically in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
Silver Grooved Armor
Silver Grooved Armor is the Idus Knight’s starting gear, one of four new sets added in the Tarnished Pack. If you already have a character, buy it from the Nomadic Merchant north of Bellum Church in Liurnia.
The altered version strips off the small green cape draped over the upper back. It’s more of a drape than a full cape. Most players alter it just to stop the cloth from clipping with longer hairstyles.
Freyja’s Armor
Freyja’s Armor comes from Shadow of the Erdtree, tied to Redmane Freyja’s questline and death outcome. The in-game description calls it a golden armor affixed with a black woolen mantle, about as explicit as Elden Ring gets about calling something a cape!
The normal chest weighs 9.7 and carries 19 poise. Alter it, and the mantle comes off entirely, dropping weight to 9.3 and poise to 17. It’s one of the cleanest before-and-after cape comparisons in the game.
Armor of Solitude
Armor of Solitude drops from the Blackgaol Knight at the Western Nameless Mausoleum on Gravesite Plain, alongside the Greatsword of Solitude. It’s an early Shadow of the Erdtree pickup if you know where to look, and one of the more dramatic full-back capes in the DLC. Altering the chest removes that cape entirely, trading the look for lower weight.
Young Lion’s Armor
Young Lion’s Armor becomes available from Enia after you beat Promised Consort Radahn and Miquella in Enir-Ilim. The full set runs 56,000 runes, so it’s a late-game purchase rather than a drop. Like most demigod attire, altering the chest removes its cape, and you’ll need the Golden Tailoring Tools to do it.
Dryleaf Dane’s Attire
Dryleaf Dane’s chest piece comes from his questline gear, separate from the hat and fighting arts you pick up during his early duel. The outer cloak is removable through alteration, same as most of the Shadow of the Erdtree cast on this list, if you’d rather see his stance unobstructed by fabric.
Ansbach’s Armor
Ansbach’s chest armor comes with an outer pinned cloak, tied to his quest and the death that follows. Altering the piece removes the cloak, same trade-off as the rest of the DLC’s cast: lighter, but you lose a bit of protection along with the look.
Fire Knight Armor
Fire Knight Armor drops from Fire Knights around the Specimen Storehouse and Shadow Keep. Altering it removes the cloak, but there’s a catch: the helmet doesn’t adjust to the missing collar fabric, so you can end up with an odd gap around the neck. Worth trying on before committing to the altered look.
Messmer Soldier Armor
Messmer Soldier Armor drops from Messmer Soldiers, and the war camp right in front of Shadow Keep is the most practical farming spot. The cloak comes off through alteration like the rest of the DLC’s cape-wearing sets; no unusual side effects to worry about here.
Base Game Armor With Capes
Below are the armors with capes that you will find in the original Elden Ring game:
Tree Sentinel Armor
Tree Sentinel Armor comes from the chariot puzzle in Auriza Hero’s Grave. The item lore actually names the cape, describing it as bearing the mark of the sacred tree, making this one of the more explicit cape references in the base game. Altering the chest removes it.
Night’s Cavalry Armor
Night’s Cavalry Armor has a flowing black cape, and you’ll need to beat the Night’s Cavalry escorts guarding a caravan in the Consecrated Snowfield, only at night, to get it. Altering the chest strips the cape off, which is a shame since it’s one of the better-looking ones in the base game.
Blaidd’s Armor
Blaidd’s Armor comes from the end of his questline. The altered version explicitly removes the cape, dropping weight at the cost of some protection, a standard trade-off for this kind of alteration. It’s a fan-favorite look either way, cape on or off.
Bloodhound Knight Armor
Bloodhound Knight Armor drops from the Bloodhound Knight guarding the Gelmir Knight corpse in Gelmir Hero’s Grave. The altered version removes the original cape entirely, leaving a plainer knight silhouette if that’s more your style.
Briar Armor
Briar Armor is part of Elemer’s set progression. Altering it removes the cape and reduces both weight and protection, so it’s a straightforward trade of defense for a cleaner look, nothing unusual compared to the rest of the base game’s caped sets.
Elden Lord Armor
Elden Lord Armor becomes purchasable from Enia once you’ve dealt with Godfrey or Hoarah Loux, depending on your route. It’s Godfrey’s chest piece with the cape still attached, and altering it strips that cape off for a lighter, more understated version.
Nox Swordstress Armor
Nox Swordstress Armor comes from farming Nox Swordstresses in Nokron and Nokstella. The item lore specifically describes these nightmaiden guards as wearing silk capes, and the altered chest is described as without one, so this is one of the clearer cape confirmations in the game’s own text.
Raging Wolf Armor
Raging Wolf Armor is tied to the Volcano Manor invasion assignment against Vargram and Wilhelm in Leyndell, part of Bernahl’s questline. The altered version drops the cape, same weight-for-looks trade you’ll see across most of this list.
Maliketh’s Armor
Maliketh’s Armor is purchasable from Enia once you’ve beaten Maliketh. The altered version comes without the cape, giving you a slightly cleaner take on the Beast Clergyman’s look if the full silhouette feels like too much.
Scaled Armor
Scaled Armor is a bit different from the rest of this list. Its shoulder covering is called out in the item lore as a cape made from treated rock lizard skin, tied directly to fire resistance. It’s a solid cape reference, but not a typical alteration example like the others here.
Gravekeeper Cloak
Gravekeeper Cloak drops from Duelists. It’s a lighter, more minimal cape than the knightly options elsewhere on this list, and the altered version is literally described as the same chest without the cloak.
Black Knife Armor
Black Knife Armor comes from a corpse behind Ordina in the Consecrated Snowfield. It’s more of a transparent concealing veil than a solid cape, and the unaltered version silences your footsteps, including rolling and backstepping. Here’s the catch: altering it removes that stealth effect along with the veil. One database entry claims the effect survives alteration, but the stronger, more consistently maintained sources say it doesn’t. If stealth matters to your build, keep this one unaltered.
Banished Knight Armor
Banished Knight Armor is the big exception on this list. The caped version and the capeless “Altered” version aren’t a toggle you unlock with Tailoring Tools; they’re two separate enemy drops. To get the caped chest, you need to farm the specific Banished Knight variant wearing it, notably at Castle Sol. Don’t waste Tailoring Tools trying to switch between them; it won’t work.
