Monster Hunter World: Iceborne introduces some new features regarding equipment enhancement and augmentation. We show you how this works in the expansion.
What is new in Iceborne? With Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, not only a set of new monsters has come into play. There are also a few new features related to your equipment.
Some details about enhancing armor have changed. But especially the augmentation of weapons no longer works like in the base game. However, it’s not rocket science, and we explain how it all works. Additionally, you will learn in this guide what exactly enhancement and augmentation mean.
Where do I get the materials for this? To enhance or augment your equipment, you need various materials. What they are and where to find them is listed in the following lists:
- These materials are needed for augmenting your weapon
- In this list, you will find all monster materials from the base game
- Here you will find all loot from the Iceborne monsters
- These are all bones and ores from the Guiding Lands
The Armors of Iceborne
Monster Hunter World is full of various armors. You need to acquire some sets to be prepared for every monster. To enhance the armor pieces, you initially need two things:
- Zenny (currency in Monster Hunter World)
- Armor spheres
This is how it works with armor spheres: Now go to the blacksmith and select your desired piece under “Enhance Equipment”. The number of armor spheres you need for the maximum enhancement depends on the armor’s level and the spheres. Higher level armors need more spheres. And the rarer your armor sphere is, the fewer you need.
This is how the level cap for armors works: You can continually enhance your equipment throughout the story. The process in Iceborne is somewhat different than in the base game. The armor is linked to your story progress. You can thus increase your armor in stages until it reaches maximum.
What is a level cap? This is comparable to the level limit of Monster Hunter World. Here, you can only reach a certain hunter rank. After that, you must complete a quest to lift your level restriction (level cap). Any experience you gained up until the completion of the quest will then be credited to you.
Beyond the Maximum: Augmentation
Once your armor is maximally enhanced, there are additional possibilities in the endgame of Iceborne. You can later augment your equipment. This raises the enhancement limit and allows you to further increase your defense.
What do I need to augment my armor? Just like in the base game, special materials are required for augmentation, which you can obtain from tempered monsters:
- Great Spiritvein Gem (Level 12)
- Spiritvein Gem (Level 10 and 11)
- Spiritvein Gem Shard (Level 9)
Different materials are required for the individual levels of armor. The higher the equipment, the stronger monsters you must defeat for augmentation. For this, you need to go to the blacksmith again. This time, select the “Augment Equipment” tab.
From Hammer to Bow – The Weapons
This is how you enhance your weapons: You can also upgrade your weapons with materials. It doesn’t matter which of the 14 weapon classes from Monster Hunter World you play. The type of materials is the same.
In the base game, the tree in which the weapon is located was crucial. If it is in the Kadachi branch, it primarily requires Kadachi materials. In Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, you can now upgrade your weapons up to level 12.
There are differences between the individual weapons. Some have higher raw attack values, while others offer advantages through elemental damage.
Even More Skills: Augmentation
Which weapons can I augment? Through the so-called augmentation, you can equip your weapons with additional skills. This is possible if they are level 10 or higher and have been maximally enhanced. Most of the materials for this are found in the endgame area “Guiding Lands”.
How does augmentation work? In Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, weapons have so-called slots to pack skills. The number depends on the rarity of the weapon:
- Rarity 10 – 5 slots
- Rarity 11 – 4 slots
- Rarity 12 – 3 slots
In fact, higher rarity weapons have less space for augmentations. You will need to think strategically about which equipment is suitable for you.
Can I increase the number of slots? It is possible to increase the number of your available augmentations. For this, there are “additional slots” that provide one or two extra places depending on the weapon.
What skills are available to me? In addition to the additional slots, there are other augmentations that you can apply to your weapon:
| Attack Boost I | 3 slots |
| Affinity Boost I | 2 slots |
| Defense Boost I | 1 slot |
| Bonus Slot I (this is for decorations) | 3 slots |
| Health Regeneration I | 3 slots |
| Element/Status Effect Boost I | 1 slot |
| Own Enhancements | 0 slots |
Can I further develop enhancements? As you can see, the skills have specific levels. You can improve these levels by applying augmentation. You can apply the second level after “Element/Status Effect Boost I”. However, this also requires more slots.
Enhancements with a Personal Touch
What are personal enhancements? In Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, there are so-called personal enhancements. With these, you can, among other things, improve affinity or attack power.
The personal enhancements are referred to as remodels since you swap out individual parts. Additionally, they are dependent on specific monsters. Various monster remodels exist for the individual weapons.
You can freely combine personal enhancements with other augmentations. However, the personal enhancement will affect the appearance of your weapon. It will change according to the chosen monster.
Are there any restrictions? You cannot apply personal enhancements to every weapon. If you no longer wish to have the monster enhancement, you will receive back all materials. So you can experiment a bit. This also applies to the regular augmentations. The only exception is the two slot options.
Many of the materials are obtained from these new monsters:
