Monster Hunter World doesn't explain how to increase Hunter Rank in the game, but there are some important things to know in order to unlock higher level hunts. By Anthony Taormina Feb 18, 2018. Tallis Vale 6 months ago Decorations have more than just decorative use in Monster Hunter World. This is because said items can be placed in slots on on the player’s weapon as well as the player’s pieces of armor for the purpose of providing them with new skills as well as boosting their existing skills. Investigations are a type of free-roam Quest in Monster Hunter World (MHW). Players will take on these activities to advance their characters and gather useful materials. Killing, capturing, breaking monster parts and investigating monster traces have a random chance to grant an also random investigation.
Read this Monster Hunter World: Iceborne guide on Equipment Augmentation, how to unlock it, how to augment weapons and armor, requirements, & more!
Table of Contents
Currently Updating ICEBORNE Info!
| MHW: ICEBORNE Feature Articles | |
|---|---|
| Staring MR - Tips | MR Break Guide |
| All Monster List | Recommended MR Build |
What Is Augmenting Equipment?
Upgrading Weapons & Armor to Full Potential
Augmenting is a form of upgrade that allows you to further upgrade weapons & armor past their limits, further improving their stats.
Weapon Augments Adds Stat Boosts & Other Bonuses
For Weapon Augments, you can choose to boost stats such as Attack, Affinity & Defense or add an extra slot to the weapon. You can also add a Health Regen stat to your weapon.
Augmenting Armor Allows You To Upgrade More
Augmenting Armor removes the upgrade level cap, increasing the number of times you can upgrade the armor. This allows you to raise the defense stat past its default cap.
How To Unlock Equipment Augmentation
How To Unlock Augmentation Procedure
| No. | Procedure |
|---|---|
| 1 | Reach Hunter Rank (HR) 30 to unlock encounters with Tempered Monsters. |
| 2 | Collect Tempered Monster traces, defeat Tempered Monsters and obtain a 'Streamstone' |
| 3 | Talk to the Smithy which will trigger a dialogue to unlock 'Augment Equipment' |
Raise Your HR to At Least Level 30
Raising your HR to level 30 will unlock encounters with Tempered Monsters. The required item 'Streamstones' can only be found from Tempered Monsters.
How To Raise Hunter Rank After StoryHunt & Defeat a Threat Level 2-3 Tempered Monster
After raising your HR, launch a Tempered Investigation quest to hunt a monster with at least Threat Level 2. Streamstones will only drop from these types of monsters, & will be appraised to a 'Warrior Streamstone' or 'Hero Streamstone' after completing the quest.
What Is An Investigation Quest - Tips, Guide & RewardsWhy You Should Augment Equipment
Make Your Weapons Much More Powerful
At the end-game, you will fight far stronger monsters than before, and you'll need higher damaging weapons to quickly take them down. Augmentation greatly improves end-game viability of high rarity weapons!
Relevant Guides On Stats
| What Is Attack Power | What Is Affinity |
Strengthen Armor To Take On Challenging Hunts
At the end-game, monsters, especially Tempered & Arch Tempered forms, will hit harder, and are vastly more challenging than normal hunts. You'll need the best equipment as possible to take on these hunts.
How To Augment Weapons
Only Rarity Level 6 to 8 Can Be Augmented
Only Level 6 and above weapons can be augmented. As the weapon rarity increases, the less augmentation slots you get.
| Rarity | Augmentation Slots |
|---|---|
| Rarity 6 | 3 Slots |
| Rarity 7 | 2 Slots |
| Rarity 8 | 1 Slot |
Available Weapon Augment Options
| Augmentation | Description |
|---|---|
| Attack Increase | Increases attack power. Stacks with other upgrades. Increase in value depends on the weapon |
| Affinity Increase | Increases affinity by 10%. 2nd upgrade is 5% |
| Defense Increase | Increases defense by 10% and reduces the damage taken each time you receive damage |
| Slot Upgrade | Adds an extra Jewel Slot. Stack with another Slot Upgrade to increase the slot's level |
| Health Regen | Regain health as you land attacks |
Materials Needed For Weapon Augments
Augmentation requires rare materials & a lot of zenny to equip. Although Augmentations are not permanent and can be changed, the materials are rare and costly.
Streamstones Required
| Rarity | Materials Required |
|---|---|
| Rarity 6 | Warrior's Streamstone x 1 Streamstone Shard x 3 |
| Rarity 7 | Warrior's Streamstone x 2 Streamstone x 3 |
| Rarity 8 | Hero's Streamstone x 1 Gleaming Streamstone x 3 |
Monster Material Required
| Augment | Rarity 6 | Rarity 7 | Rarity 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attack Increase | Rathalos Plate x2 | Rathalos Ruby x1 | Teostra Gem x1 |
| Affinity Increase | Odogaron Plate x2 | Odogaron Gem x1 | Daora Gem x1 |
| Defense Increase | Bird Wyvern Gem x2 | Wyvern Gem x1 | Elder Dragon Blood x2 |
| Slot Upgrade | Legiana Gem x2 | Legiana Gem x1 | Vaal Hazak Gem x1 |
| Health Regen | Anjanath Plate x2 | Anjanath Gem x1 | Nergigante Gem x1 |
How To Augment Armor
Augment Armor To Raise Upgrade Limit
Armor Augmentation allows you to raise the upgrade limit of your armor, further boosting its defense stat. At the Smithy, select an armor to Augment, and select 'Upgrade Limit Removal'.
Effect of Augmenting Armor
Removing the upgrade limit allows you to raise the armor level further. Unlike weapons, even low rarity armor can be augmented.
Materials Needed For Armor Augmentation
| Rarity | Materials Needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | Streamstone Shard x1 Fucium Ore x3 | 3000 z |
| 5 | Streamstone Shard x1 Dragonbone Relic x1 | 5000 z |
| 6 | Streamstone Shard x1 Bird Wyvern Gem x1 | 10000 z |
| 7 | Streamstone x1 Wyvern Gem x1 | 20000 z |
| 8 | Gleaming Streamstone x1 Elder Dragon Bone x1 | 30000 z |
Read this Monster Hunter World: Iceborne guide to learn how to augment Master Rank weapons. Including changes, new features and augment skills, and more.
Table of Contents
Check Out What To Do After Beating Iceborne!How To Augment Master Rank Weapons
Fill Up Master Rank Weapon Augment Slots
The way you can augment weapons & armor has been changed in Iceborne. It will now cost a number of slot & will fill these up when you augment your weapon.
Augmentation Slots Per Weapon Rarity
| Rarity | No. Of Slots |
|---|---|
| Rarity 10 | 5 Slots |
| Rarity 11 | 4 Slots |
| Rarity 12 | 3 Slots |
Only Fully Upgraded Weapons Can Be Augmented
The same way it works in MHW, augmentation on weapons can only be done when they are fully upgraded. This means having the weapon at the end of its weapon tree.
Augmentations Now Have Augment Slot Cost
In Iceborne, all available augmentations will now have slot costs. The more augment slots your weapons have, the more augmentations you can put into it.
Master Rank Weapon Augment Slot Costs
| Augment | Effects | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Extra Slots | Adds more augment slots on weapon | - |
| Attack Increase | Slightly increases attack power of weapon | 3 |
| Health Regen | Slightly recovers health when damaging monsters | 3 |
| Slot Upgrade | Adds a Level 1 slot into weapon | 3 |
| Affinity Increase | Slightly increases affinity rate of weapon | 2 |
| Defense Increase | Defense is slightly increased with chance of reducing damage | 1 |
| Element/Status Effect Up | Slightly increases power of elements & status effects | 1 |
Extra Slots Adds 2 More Augment Slots
When you augment your weapon with Extra Slots, you'll get 2 additional augment slots. This doesn't fill up any augment slot but costs rare materials & some Research Points.
Strengthen Master Rank Weapons With Custom Upgrades
Another new feature of Iceborne, weapons now have custom upgrades. Using specific mods, you can slightly increase specific stats of your weapon & also change their appearance. More mods are unlocked when you keep upgrading a weapon.
Custom Upgrades List
| Mod | Effect |
|---|---|
| Kulu-Ya-Ku Mod | Slightly increases affinity |
| Pukei-Pukei Mod | Slightly increases elemental or status effect damage |
| Barroth Mod | Slightly increase attack |
| Hornetaur Mod | Slightly increases defense |
Recommended Master Rank Weapon Augments
Best Master Rank Weapon Augment Chart
| Elements | Description |
|---|---|
| Health Regen | - Reduces need to use recovery items, therefore increasing time to attack monsters |
| Affinity Increase | - 2nd augment increases by 5% - Best for weapons with low affinity |
| Attack Increase | - Increase depends on weapon type - Recommended for weapons with high affinity |
| Slot Upgrade | - Best for weapons lacking slots |
| Defense Increase | - Low priority augment as defense should be armor-focused |
Focus On Health & Affinity Augments
It's best to augment weapons with Health Regen & Affinity Increase as these work make hunting more efficient. If your chosen weapon already has a high affinity rate, it's best to use Attack Increase instead.
Choosing Between Attack Or Affinity Increase
Prioritize Weapons With Low Affinity
Having a weapon with high affinity will increase your chance of dealing critical hits & doing heavy damage so it's best to raise the affinity rate of your weapons. However, note that Affinity Increase augments have diminishing returns.
Use Attack Increase With High Affinity Weapons
If your weapon of choice already has a high affinity or cannot be augmented with Health Regen, you can opt to augment it with Attack Increase. This will strengthen your raw attack stat, making each hit more powerful!
Check Out Best Endgame Loadouts Here!About Iceborne Master Rank Weapon Augmentation
Unlocks After Main Story Of Iceborne
Monster Hunter World Increase Slot Levels
Augmenting Master Rank weapons will be unlocked when you complete Iceborne's main story quests. You'll gain access to the Guiding Lands after, the area where you can find most of the materials for Master Rank weapon upgrading.
Check Out Master Rank Quest Guide Here!WARNING! High Rank Augments Will Disappear
If you've already augmented your weapon in Monster Hunter World and decide to upgrade and augment in Master Rank, your augments will disappear. You'll get your materials back, however, augments from High Rank may be crucial in early game Master Rank.
Augments Use Monster Materials From Guiding Lands
Monster Hunter World Increase Slot Leveling
Master Rank weapon augments don't use Streamstones anymore, however, they do cost valuable Research Points and need rare materials from the Guiding Lands - the end-game endless hunting area in Iceborne.
Check Out Guiding Lands Features Here!