You hunt monsters to get materials, to create better gear that allows you to hunt stronger monsters. Rinse, wash, repeat - that’s the gameplay loop in Monster Hunter. Sometimes, however, old armor can remain appealing for long stretches of time, either due to the skills attached or their resistances… or perhaps you just fancy how it looks? Whatever the case, there are instances where you may favor older armor even as its defensive stat becomes increasingly obsolete, and fortunately there’s a way to upgrade armor and keep it relevant - at least temporarily. This page will cover upgrading armor and Armor Spheres in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Page Breakdown¶

Unlocking Armor Spheres¶

Defeat [Uth Duna] and complete Chapter 1, after which you’ll travel to the Oilwell Basin. After all the scenes and chatter are done upon your arrival at Azuz, talk to Gemma and she’ll introduce you to two new mechanics: Upgrading Armor via Armor Spheres and [Talismans].

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(1 of 2) Talk to Gemma when you reach Azuz to unlock Armor Spheres,

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Talk to Gemma when you reach Azuz to unlock Armor Spheres, (left), which can be used to upgrade armor. (right)

Upgrading Armor¶

From this point forward, talk to Gemma and you’ll be able craft and upgrade armor via the same menu selection. Just select the armor you want to craft/upgrade and if you’ve already crafted it you’ll get the option to upgrade the existing piece, instead. The maximum level you upgrade armor to varies depending on your Hunter Rank, with lower-tier armor generally having higher upgrade potential than higher-tier armor, giving a rough semblance of parity between armor sets… if you ignore skills, resistances, and decoration slots, anyways. The main benefit of upgrading armor is to improve its Defense value - each level will give a piece of armor +2 Defense. Higher-quality armor is generally more expensive to upgrade.

Finding Armor Spheres¶

Once unlocked, Armor Spheres will start to drop from every large monster you kill - effectively any 2-star monster or higher will drop them, with higher-tier monsters perhaps dropping more potent Armor Spheres (Armor Sphere+, Advanced Armor Sphere, etc.). Higher quality Armor Spheres bestow more upgrades points to the armor, leveling them up more efficiently, and these higher-tier Armor Spheres go hand-in-hand with the higher-tier armor and their higher upgrade costs. You can also gain Armor Spheres as quest rewards, but hunting monsters is going to be your best bet.

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(1 of 2) Defeat monsters and they’ll regularly drop Armor Spheres - the stronger the monster, the higher quality Armor Spheres they can drop.

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Defeat monsters and they’ll regularly drop Armor Spheres - the stronger the monster, the higher quality Armor Spheres they can drop. (left), At the end of Chapter 2 you’ll also unlock the ability to use monster material to create Armor Spheres at the Smelting Foundry. (right)

Creating Armor Spheres at the Smelting Foundry¶

Hunt the The Black Flame (aka the [Nu Udra]) and complete Chapter 2, after which you’ll return to Azuz. Talk to Roqul near a now-operational foundry and he’ll offer a new service: smelting Armor Spheres! We mentioned earlier that the best way to get new Armor Spheres was via hunting monsters, and that holds true even after you unlock the Smelting Foundry, as you can convert excess monster materials into Armor Spheres here. Crafting an Armor Sphere requires a set amount of Smelting Points - the more potent the Armor Sphere, the more Smelting Points it costs to make, and naturally different monster materials grant varying amounts of Smelting Points when recycled. The rarer and higher-tier the material, the more Smelting Points you’ll get by sacrificing it.

Hunting monsters and getting Armor Sphere directly as rewards for game well hunted is still your best bet, but if you’re repeating hunts against the same monster you’ll certainly end up accumulating more materials than you need… to say nothing of the grind for rare components for high-tier weapons and armor. Simply put, if you’ve serious endgame aspirations you’ll probably end up with way more common drops than you need, and this is one way to get rid of them, assuming you’ve got armor in need of upgrading.