Assault Vest in Pokemon Survivor
Held Item · last checked 2026-10-14
Assault Vest in Pokemon Survivor is a held item that cuts the damage you take by another 20 percentage points. It adds to your Armor upgrade and Armor cards, and no combination goes above 80%.
Assault Vest at a glance
| Effect | +20% damage reduction. |
| Downside | None; no offense |
| Group | Defense |
| Slot | One held item at a time |
| Found in | Bosses, rift legendaries, chests |
| Chance per drop | 1 in 11 (9.1%) |
How Assault Vest works
It adds 20 points of damage reduction on top of the Armor upgrade and Armor cards, and it softens contact damage and shots alike.
Armor cards stop adding at 70%, and the vest counts toward that line. Defense buff moves can add on top, and nothing takes you above 80% in total.
Reduction is subtracted from the damage you take, so the same 20 points are worth more when you already have a lot of armor. The table assumes you pick the vest up after your cards and upgrade.
| Reduction without the vest | Reduction with the vest | Damage you take | Damage taken cut by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 20% | 80% instead of 100% | 20% |
| 16% | 36% | 64% instead of 84% | 24% |
| 30% | 50% | 50% instead of 70% | 29% |
| 50% | 70% | 30% instead of 50% | 40% |
| 60% | 80% | 20% instead of 40% | 50% |
| 70% | 80% (cap) | 20% instead of 30% | 33% |
Assault Vest compared with cards and upgrades
Twenty points equal 3.3 Armor cards, and the vest uses no card pick.
Cards come from level-ups during a run and upgrades are bought with coins between runs, while a held item takes the single item slot. The table puts them side by side. The upgrades guide covers the whole shop.
| Source | Bonus | Cost or limit |
|---|---|---|
| Assault Vest | +20% damage reduction | Free; uses the item slot |
| Armor card | +6% damage reduction each (total capped at 70%) | A level-up card; up to 12 |
| Armor upgrade | +2% damage reduction per level (up to 16%) | 2,750 coins in total |
Trade-off and when to take Assault Vest
It adds no offense, and with the vest equipped the Armor cards run out of room sooner.
The vest is for builds that expect to stay in the fray. It softens contact hits and shots equally, so it helps all run long instead of against one threat. Choose it when many small hits are what take your HP, and Focus Sash when a single huge hit is the danger.
Mind the order. An Armor card sets your total to at most 70%, and the vest counts in that total. If the vest has already pushed you past 70%, one more Armor card pulls you back down to 70%, so once you carry the vest and sit near that line, skip Armor cards. The hazards of the Judgment of Arceus are pure damage, so neither armor nor the vest reduces them.
How to find Assault Vest
Held items come from three places. Every boss drops one, and a full run has five bosses, at minutes 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15. A locked chest holds one half the time, and an ordinary chest 8% of the time. Rift legendaries drop one as well. The bosses guide lists every boss and the rifts guide covers the legendaries.
Each drop picks one of the 11 items at random with no memory of what you carry, so a given drop is Assault Vest one time in 11 (9.1%). Over the 5 boss drops of a full run that is a 38% chance of meeting Assault Vest at least once, before counting chests.
You carry one item at a time. If you find a second, the game pauses and asks which to keep, and in a group it pauses for everyone. Finding the item you already carry changes nothing: you are told you already carry it and play on. The full list is on the held items page.
Assault Vest in Pokemon Survivor FAQ
What does Assault Vest do in Pokemon Survivor?
Assault Vest in Pokemon Survivor is a held item that cuts the damage you take by another 20 percentage points. It adds no offense, and with the vest equipped the Armor cards run out of room sooner.
How do I get Assault Vest in Pokemon Survivor?
It drops from bosses, rift legendaries, locked chests and ordinary chests, and each drop is one of 11 items at random. A single drop is Assault Vest one time in 11 (9.1%).
Is there a cap on damage reduction in Pokemon Survivor?
Yes. Armor cards stop at 70%. The vest and Defense buff moves can push the total higher, but the game never reduces damage by more than 80% in total.
Browse all 11 held items in the Pokemon Survivor held items list, or read the Pokemon Survivor guides.