Unleash a fearsome new look with the Death Stench armor in Monster Hunter Wilds-a bone-chilling set that combines deadly aesthetics with powerful high-rank stats. But crafting this rare armor is no easy feat: you’ll need to hunt down the elusive Sinister Cloth and gather a host of rare materials, including Ancient Wyvern Coins and Wingdrake Hide+. Ready to stand out on the battlefield? Here’s your ultimate guide to tracking down every piece of the Death Stench armor and mastering its grim power.
In this Monster Hunter Wilds guide, we’ll walk you through what you’ll need to craft Death Stench armor and what perks and stats it’ll offer you (and your Palico).
How to get the Death Stench armor in Monster Hunter Wilds
To get the Death Stench armor in Monster Hunter Wilds, you first need to reach High Rank by completing Chapter 3-5 of the main story. The key material required is Sinister Cloth, which is rare and can only be obtained in two ways: by sending the NPC Murach on item retrieval missions from Kunafa Windsong Village, where he may randomly bring back Sinister Cloth, or by trading with the NPC Gawdygog at Wudwud Hideout using Ancient Wyvern Coins. You will need a total of five Sinister Cloths, along with other materials like Herbivore Carapace, Colossal Bone, Wingdrake Hide+, and Quality Bone to craft the full Death Stench Alpha armor set. Resting in-game to pass days helps refresh NPC inventories and item retrieval chances, making it easier to gather these rare materials.
Once you progress through the story enough to reach High Rank, you’ll be able to craft Death Stench armor. (Based on our testing, it’s unclear if the set is automatically available in High Rank or if there’s a specific story quest that unlocks it, so just keep progressing through the main story if you can’t find it in the Smithy menu.) The set is made of bones and makes you look like the Grim Reaper.
Each piece has different resource requirements, and you’ll need these resources to craft the entire Death Stench set:
- Sinister Cloth (1 for each armor piece, 5 total)
- Wingdrake Hides (1 each for the helmet, chest, and arms, 3 total)
- Quality Bones (1 each for the helmet, chest, and arms, 3 total)
- Herbivore Carapaces (1 each for the waist and legs, 2 total)
- Colossal Bones (1 each for the waist and legs, 2 total)
Sinister Cloth is going to be your biggest hang-up here, and as an Item Trade resource, is a major pain to get, so we recommend grabbing it first before you start on the rest of the set. The other pieces all come from small monsters or gathering nodes in the world – meaning you can craft it without needing to farm a Rathalos or some other High Rank monster if the game is giving you trouble.
Wingdrake Hides come from High Rank flying creatures like the Baunos in the Windward Plains. Herbivore Carapaces come from High Rank herbivores like the Ceratonoth in the Windward Plains. Colossal Bones come from High Rank companion beasts like the Blango in the Iceshard Cliffs. And Quality Bones come from digging through High Rank bone piles in various maps.
You’ll need similar resources – including Sinister Cloth – to make the Palico’s Felyne Death Stench set and weapon.
Death Stench armor stats and skills in Monster Hunter Wilds
The Death Stench Alpha armor set in Monster Hunter Wilds is a High Rank set known for its strong elemental resistances, particularly against Dragon, Fire, Water, and Ice, with Thunder being its only notable weakness. It offers a total defense of 220 and features skills such as Resentment, Ambush, Intimidator, and Stun Resistance distributed across its five pieces. Equipping three or more pieces grants the group skill “Forager’s Luck,” which increases the chance of finding rare gathering points. The armor also provides multiple decoration slots (five Level 2 and two Level 1) for customization. Crafting the full set requires materials like Sinister Cloth, Herbivore Carapace, Colossal Bone, Wingdrake Hide+, and Quality Bone, with Sinister Cloth being the most grind-intensive to obtain.
The quality and value of an armor set can vary wildly in Monster Hunter Wilds depending on the type of weapon you use, what monster you’re hunting, and even your playstyle. But, generally speaking, the Death Stench has very desirable stats and perks for progressing through High Rank – even if you’ll eventually outpace its stats and only use it as layered armor.
It’s Rarity 6 armor, which is worse than the armor you’ll craft from the apex monster in each area and, of course, flagships like Arkveld and Gore Magala. However, it’s on-par or better than sets that come from early High Rank monsters, so it’s great for helping you get through the end of the story missions.
Each piece starts with 44 defense baseline, and has strong resistances to every element except Thunder, making it extremely versatile.
In terms of skills, the full set will net you:
- Resentment (level 5 for the full set, one from each armor piece)
- Ambush (level 3 for the full set, one from the helmet, chest, and arms)
- Intimidator (level 2, with both levels coming from the waist)
- Stun Resistance (level 2, with both levels coming from the legs)
- Imparted Wisdom (Forager’s Luck) is the set’s group skill
What’s the secret to efficiently gathering Sinister Cloth in Monster Hunter Wilds
The secret to efficiently gathering Sinister Cloth in Monster Hunter Wilds lies in trading with specific NPC vendors, primarily Gawdygog in the Scarlet Forest’s Wudwud Hideout and Kirama in Kunafa Village, where Sinister Cloth appears randomly in their trade inventories. To increase your chances, you should frequently rest at your tent to refresh the vendors’ stock, which costs 300 Guild Points each time but allows you to cycle through inventory until Sinister Cloth appears. The Sinister Cloth tends to appear more often during the Fallow environmental condition, so resting to change the weather to Fallow can improve your odds when trading with Kirama.
You will need to collect rare currencies to trade for Sinister Cloth: 10 Ancient Wyvern Coins for Gawdygog and Great Windward Aloe for Kirama, both of which require farming in specific areas like the Scarlet Forest and Windward Plains. Additionally, using the Material Retrieval system and selecting high-rate materials can passively yield Sinister Cloth as a bonus, though this method is based on chance and slower. Fast travel and resting to reset spawn points for Ancient Wyvern Coins also help speed up the process.
In summary, the most efficient method combines farming the required currencies, frequent resting to refresh vendor inventories, targeting the Fallow weather condition, and trading repeatedly with the right NPCs until Sinister Cloth appears.
What’s the fastest way to reset vendor inventories for Sinister Cloth
The fastest way to reset vendor inventories for Sinister Cloth in Monster Hunter Wilds is by resting at your tent. This action refreshes the Item Trade vendors’ stock, allowing you to check repeatedly for Sinister Cloth availability. To do this, access the BBQ Menu at your tent, select the rest option, choose the desired time and weather (many players prefer inclement weather in the evening), and spend 300 Guild Points to rest. After resting, return to Nata or the vendor to see the updated inventory. Repeat this process as often as needed until Sinister Cloth appears for trade.
