Armor skills make up a large chunk of character buildcrafting in Monster Hunter Wilds for a reason. The effect they have on a hunter’s performance is undeniable, and some skills have already cemented themselves as must-haves for many builds.

The following is a list of the best armor skills in Monster Hunter Wilds based on sheer value. If you find yourself wondering which ones to use, consider giving the skills listed here a go.

Weakness Exploit

Free Affinity for Accurate Hunters

Gain up to 30% additional Affinity when hitting weakpoints, with an extra 20% bonus for hitting wounds.

Weakness Exploit is one of the go-to armor skills for almost every build in the game. Getting five points for this skill is very easy in the endgame, and it works well with almost every weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Another good thing about Weakness Exploit is how it helps players build good hunting habits. It only works against wounds and weakpoints, so if you’re using this skill, you’ll want to go for those spots as much as possible.

Open the Large Monster Field Guide and look for your target’s hit zones there. Anything with a 3-4-star rating is considered a weakpoint.

Agitator

When the Monster’s Angry, Everyone’s Angry

Gain up to +20 Attack and +15% Affinity when a monster is enraged.

Much like Weakness Exploit, Agitator is an incredibly valuable offensive skill to have. Not only are its stat boosts substantial, but the skill’s uptime is also fairly high considering how often monsters get mad in High Rank.

Getting an armor set with Agitator 5 is also fairly easy, but players who want to get Agitator and Weakness Exploit maxed out on the same set will need to get and use decorations.

Agitator is best for weapons with attacks that can’t critically hit, like Hunting Horn shockwaves, Gunlance explosions, and Charge Blade SAED explosions.

Black Eclipse/Antivirus

Match Made in Hunter Heaven

Black Eclipse: Infects you with the Frenzy virus when fighting large monsters.
Antivirus: Makes Frenzy easier to cleanse. Gain bonus Affinity when Frenzy is cleansed.

Black Eclipse is the set bonus provided by Gore Magala armor pieces, and its job is to inflict players with the Frenzy debuff. This may sound like a bad idea, but don’t forget that cleansing Frenzy grants a nifty boost to your Affinity. You can get even more Affinity by using the Antivirus skill, which you can easily fit into most armor pieces via the Sane Jewel.

This armor skill combo also fits with sets that have both Weakness Exploit 5 and Agitator 5, and it’s one of the mainstays for builds that can reach the 100% Affinity mark.

Maximum Might

More Crits for Crucial Moments

Increases your Affinity by up to 30% when your stamina is full.

Much like Black Eclipse and Antivirus, Maximum Might is one of the go-to choices for players who want to passively increase their Affinity for little effort. With this skill, all players need to do to get the extra crit chance is keep their stamina bar full, and that becomes much easier when you put the Guardian Fulgur Anjanath set bonus into consideration.

Second Wind, the Fulgur Anjanath armor’s set bonus, gives players an extra stamina bar, and for some reason, this does not count toward Maximum Might’s activation criteria. You can sprint and dodge without losing the skill’s effect as long as Second Wind’s stamina bars still have some juice left in them. This greatly increases Maximum Might’s uptime, making it incredibly valuable for many weapons, especially those that don’t use much stamina like the Greatsword.

Counterstrike

When Life Gives You Lemons

Gain bonus Attack when you’re knocked back by an attack.

Counterstrike gives players more Attack whenever they’re hit by something that would knock them back. Weirdly enough, this also activates when players manage to super-armor their way through an attack, whether it be through Greatsword’s Tackle, Long Sword’s Foresight Slash, or Switch Axe’s counter stance.

Perhaps the best thing about Counterstrike is how easy it is to get. Players can get all three levels of this skill just by equipping the fully-upgraded version of its Talisman, freeing up a ton of space for armor decorations.

Speed Eating

Heal Back to Full Instantly

Increases your consumable use speed.

If you’re using Counterstrike, then Speed Eating should be something to consider using as well. It greatly increases the usage speed of healing items like Mega Potions, and it makes Max Potion consumption near instant, especially when using the Sword and Shield.

What makes Speed Eating good is that its tied to the level 1 Gobbler Jewel, making it very easy to fit into many endgame armor builds, especially ones that use G Arkveld Vambraces Beta .

Divine Blessing

Every Hunter Needs a Safety Net

Grants a chance for you to take less damage from attacks.

Another wonderful three-pointer skill is Divine Blessing, which more or less acts as a safety net against attacks that would otherwise one-shot players. It has a 15% chance of activating when hit, and it will reduce damage by up to 45% when the skill is maxed out.

Like Speed Eating, Divine Blessing is a general quality of life skill that players can’t really go wrong with. However, much like many other level 1 armor skills, whether you use Divine Blessing is completely up to personal preference.

Self-Improvement

When the Going Gets Tough

Gain attack and defense bonuses every five minutes (caps at 30 minutes)

This level 1 skill is one that all players should consider using when they have absolutely nothing else to put in their last decoration slot. Self-Improvement is a one-point wonder, offering better offensive and defensive stats that get stronger the longer a hunt goes on. It won’t help you speedrun a fight, but it will undoubtedly prove useful in any hunt that goes beyond the five-minute mark, especially against something like a Tempered Gore Magala.