How to upgrade armor in Monster Hunter Wilds
Here's how to use Armor Spheres to upgrade your armor in MH Wilds
How do you upgrade armor in Monster Hunter Wilds? As you might expect, Monster Hunter Wilds gives you access to a wide variety of armor sets, created from the various materials (and monster parts) you gather during your hunts. But while one path to advancement is to keep crafting better and better armor, another system exists to stick with your current armor, and upgrade it to better withstand the ever-increasing damage output of the monsters you face.
Upgrading armor is actually very simple, and involves just a few precise steps - but you need to reach a certain point in the main story before you're able to do it. In this guide, we'll show you how to upgrade your armor and greatly increase your survivability, so you can better enjoy the world of Monster Hunter Wilds.
How to upgrade armor in Monster Hunter Wilds
The ability to upgrade armor in Monster Hunter Wilds is unlocked after you complete the Chapter 2-1 main quest, "Toward Fervent Fields". After you defeat the monster of this quest (the Rompopolo), return to Base Camp and speak with Gemma the Blacksmith. At this point, Gemma will introduce you to a new item - the Armor Sphere - and explain how to use it to upgrade your Armor.
After this point in the story, you can speak to Gemma at any point and upgrade your armor using the "Forge/Upgrade Armor" option in the Smithy Menu. In this screen you can see all the armor types known to you so far. Armor you're wearing is denoted by a yellow check mark, while any stored armor will show a red chest icon instead. Select any armor you own, and then select "Upgrade".
Upgrading armor is done by expending Armor Spheres of various qualities to generate enough "points" to reach the next upgrade level. When you select "Upgrade" on a piece of owned armor, you'll see on the left-hand side how many Armor Spheres of different varieties you have, and how many points each type is worth. In the centre of the screen you'll also see a progress bar which tells you how many points you need to upgrade your armor to the next level.
Select the Armor Spheres you wish to expend using the left-hand menu, and once you're happy, select the "Upgrade" button. Each upgrade improves the overall defense stat of the armor, allowing you to withstand more damage from monsters. You can upgrade a piece of armor multiple times at once by expending more Armor Spheres in one go, but bear in mind that every armor piece has a maximum upgrade level.
Armor Sphere types
There are four types of Armor Sphere, each one made available in turn as you progress through the game. Each Armor Sphere is converted into a different number of points:
- Armor Sphere: 10 Points
- Armor Sphere+: 50 Points
- Advanced Armor Sphere: 200 Points
- Hard Armor Sphere: 1000 Points
- Heavy Armor Sphere: 5000 Points
As you progress to the higher-rarity endgame armor sets, you'll find that the cost in points to upgrade the armor is far higher. That's why finding the higher rarity types of Armor Sphere is so useful, because without them, you'll need to expend hundreds of ordinary Armor Spheres to get even a single upgrade level on your armor.
Many players tend to forget they can upgrade their armor until they're prompted by a particularly challenging Monster that makes them faint left and right. It's even hinted by Gemma at your first meeting that if you're meeting difficulty with a monster, it is likely the armor quality that is failing you. So if you're feeling weak during hunts or up against a monster that can kill you in just a couple of hits, it's probably time to look at upgrading your armor to increase your survivability.
How to get Armor Spheres
The best way to get more Armor Spheres is to visit the Smelting Foundry in Azuz in the Oilwell Basin. Once you reach the main quest Chapter 3-1: "Born From The Flame", you'll unlock the Smelting Foundry, and can interact with Roqul, the man standing by it, to open the Smelting Foundry Menu.
Inside the Smelting Foundry you can then select the "Smelt Armor Spheres" option. Pick the type of Armor Sphere you wish to smelt, and then you can spend various monster parts and other materials to earn enough "points" to smelt the Sphere. Different items give different amounts of points, and the number of points required differs depending on the type of Armor Sphere you're making.
If you haven't yet unlocked the Smelting Foundry, then you can also obtain Armor Spheres by completing specific story or side quests, or by trading with Gawdygog in the Scarlet Forest's Wudwud Hideout. Gawdygog will trade 3x Armor Sphere+ in exchange for 3x Small Wyvern Coins from you.
In addition, you can occasionally get Armor Spheres for free as daily login rewards, though they are generally the lower-rarity types of Armor Sphere. For the very best kinds, you'll need to craft them yourself at the Oilwell Basin's Smelting Foundry.
That's everything you need to know about upgrading your armor in Monster Hunter Wilds. To make sure the other side of your gear setup doesn't lag behind, check out our guide on how to upgrade weapons. And while you're here, you can consult our best weapons tier list, or our primers on how to capture monsters, how to get Monster Fluid, and how to get Layered Armor.