ARES: THE IRON VANGUARD Red vs Purple Suit Early Guide

When starting out in ARES: THE IRON VANGUARD, invest your early upgrade materials into purple-tier combat suits rather than red-tier suits. While red suits feature higher base rarity, purple suits are significantly easier to enhance early because duplicate drops and upgrade components are far more accessible. Upgrading a core purple suit provides faster Combat Power (CP) gains, allowing you to push through story content without hitting early resource bottlenecks.

Why Purple Suits Are Superior Early On

In the initial stages of progression, a high-level purple suit offers more practical stats than a low-level red suit. Upgrades and enhancements drive your immediate CP progression, and purple gear lets you reach higher enhancement levels with fewer resources.

• Higher Enhancement Efficiency: Acquiring duplicate purple suits allows you to enhance them quickly, outperforming unenhanced red alternatives.
• Lower Bottleneck Risk: Red suits require rare materials and duplicates that are difficult to farm early, which can stall your progress if you split resources too thin.
• Consistent Story Clearing: Prioritizing accessible gear ensures your loadout keeps pace with escalating mission requirements and boss fights.

How to Manage Red-Tier Suits

Red suits serve as your long-term goal rather than an immediate primary suit. Spreading limited materials across multiple red suits early leaves your character underpowered for mid-game thresholds.

1. Keep Red Suits in Inventory: Do not dismantle or rush to upgrade red suits immediately; save them until your account accumulates excess high-tier materials.
2. Cap Your Purple Loadout: Continue upgrading your primary purple suits until their enhancement ceiling no longer meets content difficulty.
3. Transition at High CP: Shift your upgrade focus to red suits only after you have established a solid material reserve and duplicates to support their growth.

Early Upgrade Steps

To maximize your investment efficiency from day one, follow this action sequence:

• Select One Core Set: Choose one or two purple suits that fit your primary combat style and concentrate your materials there.
• Monitor CP Milestones: Check if your purple gear is fully enhanced before considering upgrades for higher-rarity items.
• Stockpile Material Surplus: Save specialized upgrade components earned from daily content specifically for your eventual red suit transition.