Hunters, welcome back in a guide to the all-new Monster Hunter chapter that has just come to us for Nintendo Switch.
If you are hunters approaching the series from MH: World you will surely have noticed that the system of skills, armor and weapons is definitely richer.
In this skill guide I will show you in detail how armor skills work to introduce you to the best of this chapter.
Skill Guide
The abilities work exactly like the previous chapters (it's the World that the system was changed): each piece of armor provides a fixed total of points, which when added together give the value of the same ability.
Once you reach the required level of points (usually 10, 15, 20 and so on) that skill will be activated and you can use it.
I'll take as an example the Velociprey armor, one of the first monsters you'll encounter at low levels.
-The helmet gives Stun:+3 Paralysis:-3
-The bust confers Stun:+4 Paralysis:-4
-The arms give water attack:+4
-The belt gives water attachment:+4
-The legs give Stun:+3 Paralysis:-3
-Total: Stun:+10 Paralysis:-10 Water attack:+8
This means that by wearing full armor you'll have activated the level 1 stun ability, which slightly reduces stun effects, but you'll also have activated the level -1 paralysis ability, which doubles the duration of paralyzing effects.
The water attack ability, however, will not be activated because it hasn't reached the points required for activation.
Armor
Now that you've figured out how the skills work, you're certainly wondering how to choose the right one for you.
Hunters are used to use the Kiranico site, which works as a database for the whole world of Monster Hunter.
By clicking here you can find all the armor in the game with respective skills and jewelry slots available, divided by rarity.
It should also be remembered that in this chapter armor is divided between swordsman (for the use of all close-range weapons) and shooter (for the use of all ranged weapons).
Even the pendants work differently than Monster Hunter: World.
In this chapter, as in the previous ones, the pendants are random drops, whose farming is a good part of the endgame.
They provide a total of random points in one to two abilities.
It is also good to specify that pendants can also have jewelry slots, where you can insert them to get more points in the respective skill.
More difficult and specialized missions will provide better and rarer pendants.
You'll need to have the patience and luck to find the perfect pendants for your sets with the skills that might suit you best.
Don't despair, however, many trinkets will be provided to you by carrying out primary and secondary missions.
Besides, in endgame, you won't have any trouble finding partners to make them.
All the skills
As you may have guessed, the system is slightly more complicated than Monster Hunter:World, but certainly more varied.
The division is points-based, and the variety of armor is so vast that the possibilities of mixed sets are almost infinite. Unleash your instincts by creating the strongest armor for your fighting style!
You will need to learn about skills and their effects, to understand what you might need and against what prey.
At this link you can find ALL the skills in the game, with their points and activation levels.
Deviant Skills
Deviant abilities are extremely powerful abilities present in the armor of the monsters themselves.
As you have understood the skills are activated reaching a total of 10 points in the armor.
Deviant sets will provide you with the monster's special deviant ability, which contains two, three, or even four additional abilities Beyond those already in the normal monster's armor.
But in this case you'll need to take your armor to higher levels to activate these special abilities.
In our Guide to the Deviants, I'll explain how it's done.
Ready to hunt
Now that you understand how skills work in this game, you're ready to make the most of your armor sets.
If you're having trouble with certain monsters, you can think of creating an armor that is extremely resistant to those same monsters.
The possibilities are many and the fun is sure to collect a lot of them, both for strength and aesthetics.