Looking to survive the toughest monsters in Monster Hunter Wilds? Upgrading your armor with Armor Spheres is key to boosting your defense and staying in the fight longer. But how do you get these elusive spheres? From quest rewards to smelting monster parts at the forge, this guide reveals the best ways to farm and use Armor Spheres on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, so you can gear up and take on the wild with confidence.
When do you start getting armor spheres in Monster Hunter Wilds?
You start getting Armor Spheres in Monster Hunter Wilds during Chapter 2-1, “Toward Fervent Fields,” when you first go looking for Maki. After completing this quest, Gemma at the smithy will introduce you to upgrading armor using Armor Spheres. From this point onward, you will receive Armor Spheres as rewards for completing main story missions and optional quests, starting from two-star quests and increasing in quantity and quality as you progress. Additionally, you can obtain Armor Spheres by smelting monster materials at the Smelting Foundry unlocked in Chapter 2, or by trading with certain NPCs like Gawdygog in the Wudwud Hideout.
You’ll get your first armor spheres when you go looking for Maki during Chapter 2-1 “Toward Fervent Fields.” That’s the main story mission where you hunt down your first Rompopolo shortly after arriving in Azuz.
When you return from the hunt, Gemma will call you over to the smithy and start to tell you about upgrading your armor using armor spheres.
How to get armor spheres in Monster Hunter Wilds
In Monster Hunter Wilds, Armor Spheres are essential for upgrading your armor to increase its defense and survivability against tougher monsters. You start obtaining Armor Spheres early in the game, around Chapter 2-1 “Toward Fervent Fields,” and can earn them by completing main story quests and optional hunts. Another reliable method to get Armor Spheres is by smelting monster materials at the Smelting Foundry located in the Oilwell Basin Base Camp. Here, you can trade in monster parts collected from hunts to craft different tiers of Armor Spheres, making it an efficient way to farm them, especially for endgame upgrades. Upgrading armor with these spheres is done at the smithy by selecting the upgrade option on your crafted armor pieces and using the spheres to boost their stats.
You’ll often get armor spheres as rewards for completing Monster Hunter Wilds’main story missions. Beyond that, you’ll get them as rewards for optional quests – the one-off monster hunts you pick up from Alma. You’ll start getting them with the two star quest, “March of the Kranodath,” and will get them as a reward with every optional quest after. Each hunt will only reward you with one or two, though.
You can also get them through trading – specifically with Gawdygog in the Wudwud Hideout of the Scarlet Forest.
Late in the game, you’ll also unlock the smelting foundry in Azuz. There, you can convert monster parts into armor spheres.
Should you spend or save your armor spheres?
When deciding whether to spend or save your Armor Spheres in Monster Hunter Wilds, consider your current progression and difficulty in hunts. Armor Spheres are essential for upgrading your armor, significantly boosting your defense and survivability. It’s wise to invest them in upgrading your gear when you start facing tougher monsters or struggling in hunts, as enhanced armor can make a noticeable difference. However, since Armor Spheres can be somewhat scarce and are required for multiple armor sets, it’s also practical to save some for later when you unlock higher-rank armor that demands more spheres for upgrades. Balancing immediate upgrades with saving for future, more powerful armor sets is key to maintaining an edge throughout the game.
The short answer is: Armor spheres don’t do you any good if you don’t spend them and upgrading your armor will only help you.
That said, you’ll constantly unlock new sets of armor with every hunt you go on. If you’re really struggling with a hunt, go ahead and drop a few armor spheres into upgrades to get your defense up. But maybe hold off on maxing out an entire set until you’re most of the way through the game.
What’s the fastest way to farm armor spheres in Monster Hunter Wilds
The fastest way to farm Armor Spheres in Monster Hunter Wilds is by recycling monster materials at the Smelting Foundry in Azuz, located at the Oilwell Basin. As you progress through High Rank and gather monster parts, you can convert these excess materials into Armor Sphere points, which you then use to smelt Armor Spheres. The most valuable parts for smelting come from high-level monsters like Arkveld, whose gems and other materials yield the highest points, making them ideal targets for farming. Tempered Investigations, especially those with multiple targets including at least one Tempered monster, also provide a high chance of rewarding Hard and Advanced Armor Spheres, as well as monster parts for smelting. Additionally, event quests like the Tongue-Tied quest offer substantial Armor Sphere rewards but are time-limited. For efficient farming, joining SOS flare quests to hunt monsters like Arkveld is recommended, as these tend to be shorter and yield valuable parts for smelting.
What monster materials are best for recycling into armor spheres in Azuz
The best monster materials for recycling into Armor Spheres at the Smelting Foundry in Azuz are primarily from the Arkveld monster. High-value Arkveld materials such as Arkveld Certificate S, Arkveld Scale+, Arkveld Armorplate, White Arkveld Pelt, and Arkveld Calloushell each grant 90 smelting points. Even more valuable are Arkveld Horn+ and Arkveld Tail, which provide 100 points each, while the rare Arkveld Gem yields a massive 1000 points per item. These high-point materials make Arkveld parts the most efficient for smelting Armor Spheres, especially when farming Tempered Arkveld in High Rank quests.
