Upgrading Chitin Armor and Juggernaut Plating in Arphex

guide

Chitin armor plating provides comprehensive physical and biological protection against toxic insect attacks in Arphex. Advancing from basic carapace salvage to impenetrable juggernaut battle gear requires a multi-tiered smithing progression that infuses raw insect scales with netherite reinforcement and heavy plates.

Crafting Base Tier 1 Chitin Armor

The initial defensive tier relies on harvesting necrotic fangs from spider enemies:

Crafting raw Chitin: Combining four Necrotic Fang items in any crafting grid yields one piece of Chitin. Four pieces of chitin can also be compacted into a decorative Chitin Block.
Chitin Helmet (Tier 1): Combine one piece of Chitin with a Turtle Shell in any crafting grid.
Chitin Chestplate (Tier 1): Arrange three Chitin plates across the top sides and center, two String on the middle sides, and three Burning Glands across the bottom row.
Chitin Leggings (Tier 1): Fill the top row with three String, place two Chitin plates on the middle sides, and finish with two String on the bottom sides.
Chitin Boots (Tier 1): Place two String across the top corners and two Chitin pieces in the middle corners of a crafting table.

Smithing Table Upgrades

Upgrading Tier 1 armor into advanced protective suits uses the vanilla smithing table:

Tier 2 Carapace Reinforcement: Place any Tier 1 armor piece (such as Chitin Helmet (Tier 1) or Chitin Chestplate (Tier 1)) into the smithing table alongside one additional piece of Chitin. This process upgrades the gear into its Tier 2 variant, boosting base armor points and durability.
Tier 3 Netherite Hardening: Place a Tier 2 armor piece into the smithing table combined with a Netherite Ingot. This reinforces the chitinous matrix into Tier 3 armor, providing substantial knockback resistance and heavy damage reduction.

Forging Juggernaut Armor

The final evolutionary stage of chitinous defense is juggernaut armor. Crafting this colossal plating requires harvesting Heavy Chitin plates, which drop upon defeating the colossal Arthropleura Abomination:

In a smithing table, combine Chitin Helmet (Tier 3) with one Heavy Chitin plate to forge the Juggernaut Helmet.
Combine Chitin Chestplate (Tier 3) with one Heavy Chitin plate to forge the Juggernaut Chestplate.
Combine Chitin Leggings (Tier 3) with one Heavy Chitin plate to forge the Juggernaut Leggings.
Combine Chitin Boots (Tier 3) with one Heavy Chitin plate to forge the Juggernaut Boots.

Equipping the full juggernaut suit offers immense defensive density, shielding the wearer against lethal venom, acid secretions, and high-impact crushing damage throughout late-game dungeon raids.

Alternative Elemental Armor Sets

Players utilizing elemental blast metallurgy can also transform netherite armor directly:

Netherite armor combined with an Infernal Ingot in a smithing table crafts the Infernal Chestplate and matching infernal gear.
Netherite armor combined with a Spectral Ingot crafts the Spectral Chestplate and matching spectral pieces.
Netherite armor combined with an Umbral Ingot crafts the Umbral Chestplate and matching umbral pieces.
Golden armor upgraded with a Mantle Of Vitality crafts the Vitality Chestplate, which further upgrades with a Spacetime Ingot into the Spacetime Chestplate.