Monster Hunter Stories 3 Armor Guide: The Best Early Sets and Complete Unlock List
Fashion is entirely irrelevant when a stray fireball from an oversized, angry chicken instantly melts your entire health bar.
I see players constantly hitting a brick wall in the opening regions of Azuria because they refuse to take off their starting gear. You can farm experience until your eyes bleed with my EXP grinding methods, but raw levels will not save you from a massive elemental weakness. Armor in this game is not just a passive defense stat. It dictates your elemental resistances and provides incredibly potent passive skills that define your entire combat strategy.
If you want to look cool, go figure out the layered armor system and slap a cosmetic skin over your gear. But when it comes to actual survival, you need to wear the right tool for the job. I am going to walk you through the exact sets you need to craft to survive the early game, followed by a complete, exhaustive directory of every single armor set available.
The Best Early Game Armor to Keep You Alive
The early game is flooded with fire elemental threats. If you walk into Sunpetal Plains wearing gear that makes you weak to burning, you are asking for a fast trip back to the camp screen. These four sets are the only ones you should realistically be aiming for during the first act.
Rath Heart Armor
This is the undisputed king of the early game. Because the opening regions are absolutely crawling with fire breathing menaces, the innate high fire resistance on the Rath Heart set is mandatory. But the real reason I never take this off is the passive healing. The skills attached to this armor heal you at the end of your turn and whenever you land a critical hit. It drastically reduces the amount of potions you need to chug. You forge this by taking down a Pink Rathian in the Sunpetal Plains. She hits hard, so make sure you check her monster weaknesses before engaging.
Nerscylla Armor
If you are running a build focused on poisoning or paralyzing your targets, the Nerscylla set is your best option. It actively increases the accuracy of your status ailments. More importantly, it comes with a skill that gives you a chance to survive a fatal hit with one health point remaining. The early game loves to throw surprise boss encounters at you that can wipe your party in a single swing, making this safety net incredibly valuable. Hunt down a Nerscylla in Sunpetal Plains or Blightstone Woods to get the materials.
Ranger Armor
Your default armor is actually not terrible if you bother to upgrade it. While it has lower fire resistance than the Rath Heart set, it has absolutely no elemental weaknesses. It is a fantastic neutral option when you are exploring a new area and do not know what kind of damage is coming your way. It also features a skill that increases the chance of a monster retreating, which is essential if you are currently farming eggs. You can upgrade this to level two very early by farming Ludroth materials near the shallow waters of Azuria.
Lumu Armor
I only recommend the Lumu set if you are aggressively spamming skills and constantly running out of stamina. The armor increases your stamina recovery every single turn, allowing you to use low cost skills repeatedly without having to pause and use an item. It also has a chance to cut incoming damage in half. The massive catch here is a severe weakness to fire. Wear this carefully. You get it by hunting Paolumu in the Blightstone Woods.
The Complete Armor Directory
Eventually, you will outgrow the early game sets and need specialized gear for late game Elder Dragons and Deviants. To unlock a new armor set, you generally just need to defeat the corresponding monster out in the world. Once you secure the kill, the recipe will appear at the blacksmith. A few select pieces are found in treasure chests scattered across the map.
I have categorized every piece of armor in the game by its primary element. Stop guessing what stats you are going to get and use this data to plan your builds.
Armor is your frontline defense against the cheapest, most punishing attacks in the game. You cannot rely strictly on your monstie to pull you through every encounter. If you keep hitting a wall on a specific boss hunt, pull open this list, find the element that counters them, and go farm the materials. An extra hundred points of defense and the right passive skill will do more for your survival than an hour of mindless grinding.
