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Your ability to predict monster attack patterns, cooperate with your Monstie, and use items wisely are only a few parts of battling monsters inMonster Hunter Stories, but you’ll need more than just the will to fight if you hope to survive - you’ll need to buy new weapons and armor periodically to stay as powerful as possible!
Whether you choose to buy new pieces of gear, upgrade existing weapons and armor to make them even stronger, or pursue the slaying quests that reward you with some incredibly unique and powerful items, head over to the Blacksmith to get started.
Our Monster Hunter Stories guide to gear and upgrades is a work in progress! Check back as we push further into the game and become even stronger with the help of the weapon and armor upgrades in MHS.
Buy And Upgrade Gear From Blacksmiths
There arethree ways to change your power outputin Monster Hunter Stories:
You’ll findbase model armor and weaponsby visiting theBlacksmith shopyou’ll find in the majority of major settlements in Monster Hunter Stories, labeled asArmory & Smithyon the in-game menu. Things you buy here can beequipped from the Equipment screenin the Camp menu.
The shopkeepers look similar, buteach one has a different set of items available, so it’s always a good idea to stop by the Blacksmith when you first arrive in a new settlement.
Where To Find The Blacksmiths
The first Blacksmith you’ll meet is inHakum Village, just next to the shop in the center of town. Second, you’ll come across the Blacksmith inGildegaran, who serves as your introduction to quests centered around gathering monster parts and resources in exchange for some of the most intriguing armor and weaponry in the game.
If you need some extra Zenny, Blacksmiths are alsowilling to buy all your resources, no matter the type, so feel free to earn the Zenny you need for an armor or weapon upgrade in Monster Hunter Stories right from the man you’ll give it back to immediately.
Upgrade Gear You’ve Already Gotten
Not only can youbuy new gearoutright for Zenny, but after you’ve purchased it, you’re able to also then choose toupgrade your geara few levels by way ofbringing the Blacksmith a set of specific resources(most often metals or monster parts, or some combination of the two).
Upgraded gear always earnsstat boostswhen you purchase said upgrade, and if you upgrade the same piece of gear enough times, it may evenevolve into another, stronger piece of gearafter enough upgrades, gear that youwon’t be able to purchase outrightin the game and must obtain in this way.
When looking at the upgrade screen,blue statsmean you’ll begaining pointsfor this stat or element with this upgrade and improving on a stat you’ve already got, whilered statswill instead belower than the current stat, so measure upgrades according to your play style.
Though you’re able to find new ones, we haven’t been able to upgrade Talismans, only armor and weapons.
Forge Quests Require Monster Parts, But Offer Elemental Attack/Defense
When you reachGildegaran, the Hunter city you’re initially barred from heading toward in the earliest hours of the game, you’ll find that the Blacksmith here is capable of offeringForge Quests,which are Subquestshe’ll track for use that offermonster-based weapons and armor, which you’ll earn the right to make bybringing parts from that monsterin question, as well as the Zenny to pay the Blacksmith for his work.
Forge Quest gear is the best way to gain elemental resistances and stat bonuses, but you’ll notice that most of them arespecialized gear. While the normal weaponry and armor you can buy outright typically offers blanket protection in some way, most specialized Forge Quest gear is focused onattacking with or defending from the element of the monster whose parts you used to make the gear.
For example, if you’re using a weapon made from parts of monsters that have fire attacking capabilities, you’ll likely notice that you’ll have a fire elemental attack when you have that particular weapon equipped. The armor, meanwhile, would offer excellent fire resistance, but little if any resistance against the other four elements.
Therefore, you’ll need tochoose the right time to use this gear- even if it’ssome of the most powerful gear, the specialized stats may be tough to use for beginner players, and limited-scope bonuses are easier to use when you’ve begun memorizing how monsters attack during battle.
