Low Rank
Low Rank
Journey through ancient Wyveria with optimized builds for discovering the Dragontorch mysteries!
Wilds takes a notably different approach to low rank compared to previous games. The experience is more guided and cinematic, pushing you from one encounter to the next with less of that classic Monster Hunter exploration feel. This also means you'll gather fewer materials and might need to do some extra grinding for gear.
Low rank armor doesn't offer many exciting skills either, most pieces are just stat sticks with higher defense values. For the most part, you'll want to craft whatever materials allow, upgrading primarily for the defense boost rather than skill synergies.
This guide offers some solid recommendations for what to prioritize, but don't feel pressured to grind out these exact sets if you're getting by with what you have.
Rescue In The Sandstorm - 1⭐
Your starting Hope Lance and armor will carry you through the opening quests just fine. Keep an eye out for mining nodes—once you snag your first iron ore, you can upgrade the Hope Lance to Hope Lance II for a nice early damage boost.
desert survivor
Your starting gear with the Hope Lance upgraded to tier II. Simple but effective.
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The first chapter takes you through the forbidden lands, introducing you to seikret mechanics and the local ecosystem while you tackle new monsters across the plains and forest locales.
Progression Weapons
Two weapon trees stand out as solid choices for low rank progression, each offering different strengths.
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Balahara Lance I
Comes with Offensive Guard, boosting your damage when you nail those perfectly-timed blocks. Slightly higher damage potential if you can master the timing.
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Lala Barina Lanza I
Brings solid paralysis buildup with built-in Critical Status, plus an impressively long sharpness bar. Great comfort pick that trades a bit of raw damage for comfort.
Both weapons are excellent choices with different upgrade points throughout the story, so you'll likely find yourself switching between them as materials become available.
Optional Starter Set
Since offensive skills are basically non-existent this early, armor upgrades mainly provide defense or quality-of-life improvements. Feel free to skip this if your current gear is working fine.
optional enhanced starter
A slight upgrade over your starting gear with better stats across the board.
For the weapon, we made the balahara lance I, giving us the first level of offensive guard.
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Ecosystem In Collapse - 2⭐
Chapter two opens up the Oilwell Basin, where you'll uncover more about the mysterious Everforge. As sandstorms ravage the desert, you'll dive deeper into the complex ecosystem of these forbidden lands.
This chapter offers some modest upgrades, nothing game-changing but worth considering.
You'll face a quest with three Hirabami simultaneously—basically a free materials jackpot for crafting their armor pieces. The Kranodath Chest pairs well here to maintain some Flinch Free, using materials from those small monsters roaming the Oilwell Basin.
Your encounter with Nerscylla provides the materials to upgrade the Lala Barina Lance to Barina Sarissa II, gaining more raw damage and an even more generous green sharpness bar.
hirabami packslayer
Takes advantage of the abundant Hirabami materials from the group quest for a solid defense boost.
The Lala Barina Lance upgrade is nice but not essential if materials are tight.
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Guardians Of Ancient Wyveria - 3⭐
Chapter three brings you to the ancient ruins of Wyveria, where you'll encounter the Guardians, which are artificially created monsters that once protected these ruins. Something has stirred them from their slumber, and they're acting out of control.
The first one you encounter, Guardian Doshaguma drops the materials needed to upgrade your Balahara Lance to tier two, unlocking another level of Offensive Guard. This is a substantial damage boost and absolutely worth prioritizing.
Finally, some proper damage skills become available! The standout set here is a 4-piece Guardian Ebony Odogaron build, granting Burst level 3 and Burst Boost 2. These skills provide significant raw and elemental damage bonuses as long as you maintain consistent hits, which is very easy to maintain for lance. This actually outperforms a weakness exploit set using Rathalos gear, as currently there's just not enough skills to make a crit build worth it.
relentless striker
This is the best set available in low rank, it gives us a lot of flat extra raw and element, if we manage to continuously hit the monster.
We use 4 pieces of Guardian Ebony Odogaron armor, the chest piece is just a placeholder, Rey Dau piece just looks really cool!
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The end of Low Rank
After defeating Guardian Arkveld and preventing the Incubation at the Dragontorch, low rank's story concludes. But your journey is just beginning—high rank awaits with even more formidable monsters and powerful equipment to discover.
⛓️ Next: High Rank