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Crafting and Upgrading: Basics 2
Monster Hunter Generations

Crafting and Upgrading: Basics 2

Learn how to upgrade armor and weapons in Monster Hunter Generations. Discover the mechanics of gear levels, upgrade branches, and the materials needed for enhancement.

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Learn how to upgrade armor and weapons in Monster Hunter Generations. Discover the mechanics of gear levels, upgrade branches, and the materials needed for enhancement.

Walkthrough
  1. 1
    Understand that upgrading armor increases its Defense, while upgrading weapons increases Attack Power, Sharpness, Elemental Power, and Affinity (or potentially decreases Affinity).
  2. 2
    Note that Deviant equipment has a special upgrade system detailed in its own section.
  3. 3
    Recognize that upgrading in Monster Hunter Generations has two parts: the gear's Level and its upgrade branch. Armor only has levels, not upgrade trees.
  4. 4
    To upgrade armor, you need Zenny, Material Points, and Armor Spheres.
  5. 5
    Material Points are gained from monster parts, with common materials worth 1 point and rarer materials worth 3 points.
  6. 6
    Armor requires contributing materials until a cap is reached, followed by paying Zenny and using an Armor Sphere.
  7. 7
    Armor Spheres are special items used to fortify gear. They can be mined, and lower grades can be purchased from Neko (meaning "Cat").
  8. 8
    Armor Sphere grades are indicated by their names (e.g., Advanced Armor Spheres > Armor Spheres+ > Armor Spheres), with higher grades needed for higher upgrade levels.
  9. 9
    Weapons also level up, requiring Zenny, monster parts, and miscellaneous ores or bugs.
  10. 10
    Different weapons have different level caps. Leveling up a weapon significantly increases its power and sharpness.
  11. 11
    As a weapon levels up, different upgrade branch possibilities are unlocked.
  12. 12
    You can choose to move onto an upgrade branch or continue leveling the current weapon.
  13. 13
    When you move onto an upgrade branch, the weapon's level resets to 1, and the materials required for upgrading will change.
  14. 14
    Upgrading a weapon changes its appearance and the monster or theme it is based on.
  15. 15
    For example, max-leveling Petrified Daggers can unlock options like Insecticutters, Type 51 Macerators, Twin Chainsaws, Gelid Mind, and Obsidian Daggers.
  16. 16
    A max-level weapon is usable without further upgrades, but choosing an upgrade path can lead to visually cooler weapons.
  17. 17
    Changing an upgrade path resets the weapon's level to 1 and may cause a slight initial downgrade in power, which is compensated for as the weapon is leveled up again.
  18. 18
    Some weapons are not locked within upgrade trees and can be forged directly with more Zenny and monster parts, saving resources.
  19. 19
    Other weapons are gated within the upgrade tree and cannot be obtained otherwise.
Tips
  • Armor upgrades are crucial for reaching the highest possible Defense, especially in High Rank.
  • Leveling up weapons provides a more visibly immediate power increase compared to armor upgrades.
  • The leveling system ensures almost every weapon is viable in the endgame due to individual level caps.
  • Always check the Smithy for available weapons before committing to upgrading multiple starter weapons differently.

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