Armor in Monster Hunter Rise provides defense and, more importantly, skill points. Collecting full armor sets can provide powerful bonuses, but mixing and matching pieces is often necessary for optimal builds.
Armor Sets:
- Low Rank vs. High Rank: High Rank armor offers significantly higher defense and more skill points/decoration slots. Prioritize upgrading to HR armor as soon as possible.
- Set Bonuses: While not as prevalent as in some previous titles, some armor sets offer unique set bonuses when multiple pieces are equipped.
- Defense: Upgrade your armor's defense using Armor Spheres at the Smithy. Higher rarity spheres provide more defense.
Decorations:
Decorations are jewels that can be slotted into armor pieces (and some weapons) to gain skill points. Each decoration has a 'slot level' (Lv.1, Lv.2, Lv.3, Lv.4) and can only be placed in a slot of equal or higher level. Crafting decorations requires specific monster parts and often rare materials.
Example: An Attack Jewel 2 (Lv.2 slot) gives +1 Attack Boost. If an armor piece has a Lv.2 slot, you can put it in. If it only has a Lv.1 slot, you cannot.
Strategically slotting decorations is crucial for reaching desired skill levels in your builds.