Weapon Augmentations & Custom Upgrades — Monster Hunter: World Guide

Weapon Augmentations & Custom Upgrades

As you progress through the challenging world of Monster Hunter: World, you'll eventually reach a point where your weapons, no matter how powerful, can be pushed even further. This is where Weapon Augmentations and Custom Upgrades come into play – an essential endgame system designed to fine-tune your arsenal, enhance your stats, and truly personalize your hunting experience. This guide will walk you through both the base game's augmentation system and the expanded Iceborne mechanics, ensuring your weapons are always at their peak performance.

I. Weapon Augmentations: The Foundation

Weapon Augmentations are a core endgame feature that allows you to enhance High Rank (HR) and Master Rank (MR) weapons beyond their initial stats. The materials required and the specific augmentations available differ significantly between the base game (High Rank) and the Iceborne expansion (Master Rank).

A. Base Game Augmentations (High Rank - HR)

In the base game, after completing the main story and reaching Hunter Rank (HR) 50, you'll unlock the ability to augment your High Rank weapons. This system primarily utilizes rare materials called Streamstones, which are obtained from hunting Tempered Elder Dragons.

Unlocking Base Game Augmentations:

1. Complete the Main Story: Finish the quest "A Crystalline Threat" (Xeno'jiiva).
2. Reach HR 50: This unlocks Tempered Elder Dragon investigations.
3. Hunt Tempered Elder Dragons: Focus on investigations for monsters like Tempered Nergigante, Tempered Teostra, Tempered Kushala Daora, Tempered Vaal Hazak, and Tempered Kirin. These investigations are your primary source of Streamstones.
4. Collect Streamstones: Different weapon types require specific Streamstones:
   • Warrior's Streamstone: Used for Rarity 6-7 weapons.
     • Blade: Great Sword, Long Sword, Sword & Shield, Dual Blades
     • Lance: Lance, Gunlance
     • Hammer: Hammer, Hunting Horn
     • Axe: Switch Axe, Charge Blade
     • Shaft: Insect Glaive
     • Ranged: Light Bowgun, Heavy Bowgun, Bow
   • Hero's Streamstone: Used for Rarity 8 weapons. These are much rarer and are also categorized by weapon type (Blade, Lance, Hammer, Axe, Shaft, Ranged).
5. Visit the Smithy: Once you have the necessary Streamstones and monster parts, head to the Smithy and select "Augment Equipment."

Base Game Augmentation Types (HR):

High Rank weapons typically have 1-3 augmentation slots, depending on their rarity. Rarity 8 weapons often have fewer slots but offer stronger base stats.

• Attack Increase: Directly boosts your weapon's raw attack power.
  • Materials: Warrior's/Hero's Streamstone (matching weapon type), Elder Dragon Blood, and other monster parts.
  • Strategy: A straightforward damage boost, always a solid choice.
• Affinity Increase: Increases your weapon's critical hit chance.
  • Materials: Warrior's/Hero's Streamstone (matching weapon type), Elder Dragon Bone, and other monster parts.
  • Strategy: Excellent for builds focused on critical damage, especially when paired with skills like Weakness Exploit or Critical Boost.
• Defense Increase: Boosts your defense stat and can grant a small bonus to all elemental resistances.
  • Materials: Warrior's/Hero's Streamstone (matching weapon type), Elder Dragon Scale, and other monster parts.
  • Strategy: A good defensive option for survivability, particularly if your weapon doesn't benefit as much from other augments.
• Slot Upgrade: Adds an additional decoration slot to your weapon, or upgrades an existing one to a higher level.
  • Materials: Warrior's/Hero's Streamstone (matching weapon type), Elder Dragon Gem, and other monster parts.
  • Strategy: Invaluable for fine-tuning your build and fitting in those crucial decorations. Often prioritized for weapons with limited decoration slots.
• Health Regen Augment: Grants a portion of your damage dealt as health recovery. This is often considered the most powerful augmentation in the base game.
  • Materials: Warrior's/Hero's Streamstone (matching weapon type), specific Elder Dragon Gems (e.g., Vaal Hazak Gem, Nergigante Gem), and other rare monster parts.
  • Strategy: Significantly improves survivability and reduces reliance on potions, allowing for more aggressive play. Prioritize this for weapons that deal consistent damage.

B. Iceborne Augmentations (Master Rank - MR)

With the Iceborne expansion, the augmentation system is expanded and primarily relies on materials gathered from the Guiding Lands. These augmentations apply to Master Rank weapons (Rarity 9-12).

Unlocking Iceborne Augmentations:

1. Complete the Iceborne Story: Finish the main narrative quests of the Iceborne expansion, culminating in the defeat of Shara Ishvalda.
2. Access the Guiding Lands: Speak to the Commander in Seliana to gain entry to this unique endgame region.
3. Level Up Guiding Lands Regions: Hunt monsters within the Guiding Lands to increase the levels of its various regions (Forest, Wildspire, Coral, Volcanic, Tundra, Elder's Recess). Higher region levels spawn more powerful Tempered monsters.
4. Hunt Tempered Monsters: Focus on hunting Tempered and Arch-Tempered monsters within the Guiding Lands. These monsters drop unique materials like Spiritvein Gems, Great Spiritvein Gems, and various monster-specific Tempered materials (e.g., Tempered Scalp from a Tempered Kirin).
5. Gather Monster Parts: Each augmentation requires specific monster parts, often from Elder Dragons or high-tier monsters. For example, a Health Regen Augment might require a Vaal Hazak Gem and Great Spiritvein Gem.
6. Visit the Smithy: Once you have the necessary materials, head to the Smithy in Astera or Seliana and select the "Augment Equipment" option.

Iceborne Augmentation Types (MR):

Master Rank weapons (Rarity 9-12) have a varying number of augmentation slots. Rarer weapons (Rarity 10-12) typically have fewer slots, making your choices more impactful. Some augmentations have multiple tiers (e.g., Attack Increase I, II, III).

• Health Regen Augment: Grants a portion of your damage dealt as health recovery. Still one of the most popular and impactful augmentations.
  • Materials: Typically requires Spiritvein Gems, Great Spiritvein Gems, and specific Elder Dragon materials (e.g., Vaal Hazak Gem, Nergigante Gem).
  • Strategy: Prioritize this for weapons where you deal consistent damage, as it significantly improves survivability and reduces reliance on potions.
• Affinity Augment: Increases your weapon's critical hit chance.
  • Materials: Often requires Spiritvein Solidbones, Spiritvein Slabs, and various monster parts from Tempered monsters.
  • Strategy: Excellent for builds focused on critical damage, such as those utilizing Weakness Exploit or Critical Boost.
• Attack Augment: Directly boosts your weapon's raw attack power.
  • Materials: Requires materials like Spiritvein Solidbones, Spiritvein Slabs, and high-tier monster parts from Tempered monsters.
  • Strategy: A straightforward damage increase, beneficial for any weapon type.
• Defense Augment: Increases your defense stat and can grant a small boost to all elemental resistances.
  • Materials: Typically uses Spiritvein Solidbones and various monster hides/shells from Tempered monsters.
  • Strategy: A good defensive option, especially for weapons that don't rely heavily on critical hits or for players seeking more survivability.
• Slot Upgrade: Adds an additional decoration slot to your weapon, or upgrades an existing one to a higher level.
  • Materials: Requires Spiritvein Solidbones, Spiritvein Slabs, and specific monster parts from Tempered monsters.
  • Strategy: Invaluable for fine-tuning your build and fitting in those crucial decorations.
• Element/Status Augment: Increases your weapon's elemental damage or status effect buildup.
  • Materials: Uses Spiritvein Solidbones and specific monster parts related to the element/status from Tempered monsters.
  • Strategy: Best for weapons that naturally have high elemental or status values, or for targeting monsters with specific weaknesses.

C. Material Farming Tips for Augmentations:

Efficiently farming augmentation materials is key to fully upgrading your arsenal. This applies to both Streamstones and Guiding Lands materials.

• Tempered Investigations (HR): For base game augmentations, prioritize Tempered Elder Dragon investigations. Look for investigations with higher reward boxes (purple boxes) as they have a better chance of dropping rare Streamstones. Use your Elder Melder to exchange unwanted Streamstones for others if needed.
• Guiding Lands Leveling (MR): Focus on leveling specific regions in the Guiding Lands to gain access to higher-tier Tempered monsters. For example, a Level 7 Volcanic Region will spawn Tempered Teostra, providing valuable materials like Tempered Blastmane and Spiritvein Slabs.
• Lure Management (MR): Use monster lures strategically to call forth specific Tempered monsters you need materials from. Lures are obtained by breaking monster parts and carving monsters in the Guiding Lands.
• Part Breaking: Always prioritize breaking monster parts, especially heads, wings, and tails, as these often yield unique augmentation materials.
• Geology Skill: Equip the Geology skill (Level 1) when gathering bone piles and mining outcrops in the Guiding Lands to get extra materials. These extra materials can be traded at the Elder Melder for Spiritvein Gems, Spiritvein Solidbones, and other Guiding Lands items.
• Elder Melder: The Elder Melder is your best friend for converting excess materials or obtaining specific rare items. You can often trade unwanted Streamstones for others, or exchange Guiding Lands materials for those you desperately need.

II. Custom Upgrades: Specialized Weapon Systems

Beyond standard augmentations, certain special weapons, notably those obtained from the Safi'jiiva Siege and Kulve Taroth Siege, feature unique "Custom Upgrade" systems. These weapons cannot be augmented in the traditional sense but instead gain abilities through a different, often more intricate, process.

A. Safi'jiiva Awakened Weapons

Safi'jiiva Awakened Weapons are obtained from the Safi'jiiva Siege (Master Rank). These weapons start with no innate skills but can be customized with a wide array of "Awakened Abilities" using Dracolite. This system allows for unparalleled customization, letting you tailor the weapon precisely to your build.

Acquiring and Customizing Safi'jiiva Weapons:

1. Complete the Safi'jiiva Siege: This Master Rank siege event is available periodically. Successfully completing it rewards you with Safi'jiiva Awakened Weapons and Dracolite. The higher your siege completion reward level, the more weapons and Dracolite you receive.
2. Visit the Smithy: Select the "Awaken Safi'jiiva Weapon" option.
3. Spend Dracolite: Each time you spend Dracolite, you "awaken" the weapon, revealing a new Awakened Ability. You can choose to accept this ability or continue rolling for better ones.
   • Accumulation: If you repeatedly roll for the same type of ability (e.g., Attack V), it will eventually upgrade to a higher tier (e.g., Attack VI).
   • Locking Abilities: You can "lock" up to five abilities you wish to keep. Locking an ability costs more Dracolite for subsequent rolls but prevents that ability from being replaced.
   • Set Bonus Abilities: Some Awakened Abilities grant set bonuses from armor, such as Teostra Technique (Master's Touch), Brachydios Ambition (Agitator Secret), or Velkhana Divinity (Frostcraft). These are highly sought after as they allow for more flexible armor builds.
4. Max Abilities: A Safi'jiiva weapon can hold up to five Awakened Abilities.

Key Awakened Abilities and Strategy:

• Attack V/VI: Direct raw damage increase. Always a strong choice.
• Affinity V/VI: Critical hit chance increase. Essential for crit-focused builds.
• Sharpness V/VI: Extends your weapon's sharpness gauge, often allowing for purple sharpness or significantly longer white sharpness.
• Element/Status Up V/VI: Boosts elemental or status damage. Crucial for elemental builds.
• Slot Upgrade III/IV: Adds a Level 3 or Level 4 decoration slot. Invaluable for fitting in powerful decorations.
• Teostra Technique (Master's Touch): Allows you to achieve Master's Touch with fewer Teostra armor pieces, freeing up armor slots for other skills.
• Brachydios Ambition (Agitator Secret): Grants Agitator Secret, increasing the level cap for Agitator.
• Velkhana Divinity (Frostcraft): Grants Frostcraft, a powerful skill for Great Sword and other burst damage weapons.

Strategy: The goal is to accumulate the best combination of abilities for your specific weapon and playstyle. For example, a melee weapon might aim for Sharpness V, Attack V, Affinity V, and Teostra Technique. A bow might prioritize Element Up V and Slot Upgrades.

B. Kulve Taroth Kjárr Weapons

Kjárr weapons, obtained from the Master Rank Kulve Taroth Siege, are unique because they come with innate Critical Element or Critical Status. This makes them exceptionally powerful for elemental or status-focused builds, as these skills are normally only available through armor set bonuses.

Acquiring and Customizing Kjárr Weapons:

1. Complete the Master Rank Kulve Taroth Siege: This siege event (available periodically) rewards you with Kjárr weapons. Unlike the High Rank version, the Master Rank siege focuses on breaking Kulve Taroth's parts and slaying her.
2. Rarity 12 Kjárr Weapons: Only the Rarity 12 Kjárr weapons can be further customized.
3. Guiding Lands Custom Upgrades: While they don't use the traditional augmentation slots, Rarity 12 Kjárr weapons can benefit from a single "Custom Upgrade" at the Smithy. This system uses Guiding Lands materials, similar to standard Iceborne augmentations.
   • Process:
     1. Obtain a Rarity 12 Kjárr weapon from the Master Rank Kulve Taroth Siege.
     2. Gather materials from the Guiding Lands, specifically Great Spiritvein Gems and monster-specific parts (e.g., Tempered Dragonhold from Ruiner Nergigante).
     3. At the Smithy, select "Custom Upgrade" for these weapons. This allows you to add a single layer of augmentation, often for Attack, Affinity, or Defense.

Strategy for Kjárr Weapons:

Given their innate Critical Element/Status, Kjárr weapons are already top-tier for elemental builds. The single custom upgrade should be used to further enhance their strengths:

• Attack Augment: A straightforward damage boost that benefits all attacks, including elemental.
• Affinity Augment: Increases critical hit chance, which directly synergizes with Critical Element/Status, boosting both raw and elemental/status damage when you crit.
• Health Regen Augment: Provides survivability, allowing you to maintain aggressive elemental pressure.

The choice often comes down to whether you need more raw damage, more consistent critical hits, or more survivability. For most elemental builds, Affinity or Attack are the preferred choices to maximize damage output.

Mastering weapon augmentations and custom upgrades is the final frontier for maximizing your hunter's potential in Monster Hunter: World. Experiment with different augmentations and custom abilities to find what best suits your playstyle and weapon choice. Happy hunting, and may your weapons always be perfectly honed!