Monster Hunter Rise was recently ported to the PC after being a Nintendo Switch exclusive since March 2021. Since then, many players have started, or re-started, fighting large monsters and crafting Armor from the material they gain. However, wise players will pay close attention to the benefits they get from each specific Armor set.
In the Monster Hunter franchise, Armor sets comes with a unique selection of Skills that alter combat. From guarding to elemental damage, these Skills are vital to each player's own fighting style. For hunters who prefer Blademaster weapons over the long-range Gunner weapons, these Skills are ones you should keep your eye out for.
10 Affinity Sliding
Sliding is a technique in Monster Hunter Rise that triggers automatically, sending hunters skidding down slopes. It's an efficient way to move through the game's open-world areas, but there are even more benefits. With the Skill "Affinity Sliding," players will see their weapon's affinity increased for a brief period of time after sliding.
Luckily, this Skill is a fairly easy one to obtain in Monster Hunter Rise. Since it only needs one level to activate, hunters can easily craft a Decoration out of High Rank Ludroth and Lagombi parts. Otherwise, it can be found as a set Armor Skill with the Jaggi, Lagombi, or Barroth Armor sets.
9 Critical Element
For certain Blademasters, elemental damage is an important factor when picking your weapon of choice. Depending on the elemental damage tied to your weapon, players can inflict more damage on certain vulnerable monsters. With the Critical Element Skill, players will see an increase to their elemental damage upon landing critical hits.
For weapons like Long Sword that rely heavily on critical hits as well as elemental damage, this is an ability that can greatly increase a hunter's damage output. It's easily obtained in the Rhopessa and Remobra Armor sets, while its Decoration will unfortunately require that players obtain some Elder Dragon Blood.
8 Bludgeoner
Not every Blademaster weapon relies on Sharpness. This is the case with certain weapons in the Bone weapon tree, or with weapon classes like Hammer or Hunting Horn. With "Bludgeoner," attack power is increased when the Sharpness gauge is yellow or lower. In higher levels, it activates when the gauge is green or lower.
Hunters who are interested in the Bludgeoner Skill should look to crafting Tigrex or Volvidon Armor. It's also obtainable via the Bullfango Mask — for Hunters who prefer their Armor sets to look a bit goofy. The High Rank versions of these sets also contain enough slots to add on additional levels of Bludgeoner, or other skills.
7 Speed Sharpening
Sometimes during combat, it can be stressful finding time to sharpen as a large monster destroys you and your team. With Speed Sharpening, that's not an issue, as it shortens the sharpening animations by up to three cycles. This skill can also be obtained via the Canteen under the name "Felyne Polisher".
If your Bunny Dango preferences lie elsewhere, Speed Sharpening remains a great Skill. It's obtainable with pieces of Basarios and Alloy Armor sets. However, its Decoration is also fairly easy to craft, only needing Rathian (or Rathalos) and Great Izuchi materials.
6 Master's Touch
Many Skills in Monster Hunter Rise rely on probability. This means that hunters count on percentages for the chance to activate this Skill. That may sound unappealing, but the benefits these Skills reap are great. That's the case with "Master's Touch," which, when activated, prevents sharpness loss during critical hits.
Like with Critical Element, Master's Touch is a very useful Skill for weapons like Long Sword that rely on critical hits. However, it won't be the easiest to obtain from this list. The Skill can only be found on pieces of the Elder Dragon Teostra's Armor sets. Even its Decoration requires Teostra materials to craft.
5 Protective Polish
If Master's Touch seems like too much of a challenge, then "Protective Polish" will certainly be an easier Skill to obtain. Similarly, this Skill prevents Sharpness from decreasing, though the conditions are different from Master's Touch. Here, Sharpness will hold for a set amount of time (between 30 and 90 seconds) after sharpening.
Of course, 90 seconds may not seem like a long time, especially when you factor in the amount of time it takes to safely sharpen your weapon. However, if paired with Speed Sharpening, this Skill could come in handy during longer hunts. Its Decorations, unfortunately, require Magnamalo parts, so hopefully hunters have saved up materials from previous fights.
4 Mind's Eye
The Mind's Eye Skill has been a staple of the Monster Hunter franchise for a long time. With this Skill, hunters' attacks will be deflected less, and will have increased power on monsters with tough skin. This is helpful for weapons like Sword & Shield, which rely on quick combos that can be annoyingly interrupted by bouncing off monsters.
Of course, a Skill this valuable doesn't come without its price. Mind's Eye can be found on pieces of many difficult monsters' Armor sets, like Tobi-Kadachi, Chameleos, and Tigrex. To reach all three levels, however, they'll need a Decoration, which will require materials from Mizutsune, Goss Harag, and the formidable Rajang.
3 Razor Sharp
This is another Skill that involves the luck of probability. Hunters with Razor Sharp have up to a 50% chance of not losing Sharpness whenever they attack. While those odds seem very good, they're only activated at the third and final Skill level. This means that players will have to turn to Decorations to maximize its potential.
For players who are tied to their current Armor sets, Decorations with this Skill will cost Magnamalo, Rajang, and Rathalos materials. Suffice it to say, that's not ideal for hunters looking to get this Skill quickly and easily. Otherwise, the best places to find the Skill are on Almudron and Channeler Armor sets.
2 Critical Eye
As mentioned previously, Skills that rely on critical hits to activate are perfect for users with Long Sword. However, "Critical Eye" is a pretty great Skill for just about any Blademaster, since it increases weapon affinity, leading to a greater chance of critical hits. It also has a total of seven levels, promising up to 40% affinity increase.
Of course, having this Skill paired with a weapon with already-high affinity means you could potentially be attacking with a 90-100% critical hit ratio. This Skill is also one of the most widely available Skills in the whole game. You can find it Armor sets for Izuchi, Tobi-Kadachi, Zinogre, Teostra, Nargacuga, Barioth, Lagombi, and Kulu-Ya-Ku.
1 Handicraft
As it was in previous Monster Hunter titles, Handicraft is one of the most difficult to obtain yet highly sought after Skills in the game. This Skill's effects are invaluable, as it extends a weapon's Sharpness gauge. If a player is able to get all five levels of this Skill, then they will see a Sharpness increase of 50.
Naturally, a Skill this useful is no easy feat to obtain. It can be found on High Rank Damascus, Kushala Daora, and Magnamalo Armor sets. Its Decoration also required Kushala Daora materials, meaning hunters probably won't be able to obtain this Skill until very late in the game. Still, it might be worth the wait.
Monster Hunter Rise is currently available on PC and Nintendo Switch. Its first DLC expansion, Sunbreak, is slated to release Summer 2022.