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How to upgrade your armor in Monster Hunter Rise

Tyler Lacoma
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Whether you’re an experienced hunter jumping in from other Monster Hunter games or Monster Hunter Rise is your first experience, upgrading your armor is important! One of the first things players should learn on the Switch game (also arriving on PC sometime next year) is how they can upgrade armor and reach new levels of defense to handle the most terrifying monsters. The process is very intuitive once you get the hang of it. Here’s what to do!

Step 1: Gather Materials

The first step for crafting armor in Rise (or crafting anything, for that matter) is to gather Materials, the broad category for all crafting items you can pick up in the game. Materials can be divided into three important types gathered from different sources:

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Ore and Bone: You can find ore by exploring and mining. But be careful — don’t let a shiny deposit distract you from any nearby monsters! Your first ores will be basic Iron Ore and simple Bone, which you need for the first armors you will be making.

Small monsters: You can chase and kill a variety of small monsters throughout the game. These will yield Materials like stringers, pelts, hides, tails, igniters, and other items that can be useful in creating armor, especially lighter armors with specific types of defenses. Always check to see if you can harvest from small monsters!

Large monsters: Large monsters are the object of a hunt, and after you defeat them, you will be able to harvest specific Materials from them, like scales, horns, and other items that can be used for important armor upgrades.

Materials will reside in your Item Pouch until used or moved. You can also receive Materials from completing quests or shopping in the market. Basically, the first step is to just play the game, explore as much as you can, and always pick up items to increase your materials so that you’ll be ready.

Step 2: Forge new armors and equip

With the right Materials in stock, it’s time to forge your armor. In the Kamura Village hub, find The Smithy, a series of workshops where you can forge and upgrade armor. Look for Hamon the Blacksmith, who is in charge of crafting your personal armor. Speak with him and choose the option to Forge/Upgrade Armor.

You will be shown a list of the available armor types you can craft, what Forging Materials they require, and what stats they give you. Don’t forget to Compare Equipment to see if an armor is better than what you are wearing. A few important points to keep in mind:

  • There are five different armor types that you can equip: Helm, Chest, Arms, Waist, and Legs. Make sure you forge armor for all slots!
  • If you don’t have enough materials for an armor item, you can always go out and harvest more before crafting.
  • Armor generally has the appearance of the monster the Materials were taken from.
  • You can mix and match armor pieces as much as you want to get different benefits.
  • Also remember to upgrade your Buddies armor along with your own so that they can survive right alongside you! Buddy Smith Kisaki handles these armors and can be found in a workshop next to Hamon.

Note: Don’t get this process confused with “Layered Armor,” which refers to specific cosmetics that can change the appearance of armor but don’t provide any stat changes.

Step 3: Start hunting more dangerous enemies

With your first armor pieces crafted, you will have a good idea of how the process works. However, beginning armors will only take you so far. A key goal in Rise is to hunt more difficult, dangerous monsters to harvest rarer materials and create better weapons and armor. Keep in mind that you can run many quests multiple times to harvest more Materials and get them from quest rewards. If you find a Large Monster that can create particularly potent armor for your character, it’s probably worth farming them for a little while.

Never hesitate to replace your previous armor with new versions if they provide new stat upgrades or other benefits. It doesn’t pay to get attached to a particular set of armor, especially in the early stages of the game.

How to upgrade Armor Skills

In Monster Hunter Rise, certain pieces of armor come with Armor Skills, or special boosts and abilities that only come from wearing that armor. You can equip multiple pieces of the same armor type to increase the effectiveness of Skills (as well as boosting overall resistances). We haven’t discovered all Armor Skills yet, but a few important ones include:

  • Wirebug Whisperer: This allows you to keep a wild Wirebug charge for longer periods of time and regenerate charges more quickly.
  • Critical Eye: This improves your affinity bonus so you do extra critical hit damage.
  • Divine Blessing: This provides a random chance of reducing damage taken.
  • Heroics: This provides both attack and defense boosts when you are at low health.
  • Wall Runner: This allows you to run on walls longer without running out of stamina.

Finally, note that armor can also have slots that allow you to equip jewels, charms, or other items for specific boosts. Slots will become an increasingly important way of customizing your character, so don’t ignore them!

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Tyler Lacoma
Tyler Lacoma
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If it can be streamed, voice-activated, made better with an app, or beaten by mashing buttons, Tyler's into it. When he's not…
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