Skills refer to special effects granted to certain weapons and armor.
Skills have a variety of effects such as increasing attack and defense power and evasion distance.
The skills embedded in weapons or armor are unlocked through forging, upgrading, and overgrading, and their effects activate once you equip the equipment and meet the required conditions.
Skills have levels, and the higher the level, the greater the effect they will have.
Choosing the right combination of equipment with appropriate skills for each monster can greatly improve hunting efficiency.
Obtaining Skills
Special Skills
SP Skills are unique to each weapon type and are unlocked by upgrading your weapon to Grade 2 or higher. These skills can be activated by filling up the SP Gauge. For more details on Special Skills, please refer to the FAQ "Special Skill."
Equipment Skills
Weapons and armor come with equipment skills, which are unlocked by overgrading to certain grades. Some equipment grants skill effects right after forging, while others increase skill levels as they are overgraded. Certain gear can also unlock multiple skills. For more information on crafting and upgrading equipment, please refer to the FAQ "Forge and Upgrade Equipment."
Driftsmelting and Skills
Driftsmelting is a feature that allows you to add skills to your equipment using a special item called Driftstone, which can be obtained by slaying monsters. Some equipment comes with Driftsmelt Slots in addition to regular equipment skills. Once overgraded to a certain grade, skills can be added to these Driftsmelt Slots through driftsmelting.
The grade at which Driftsmelt Slots are unlocked varies by equipment. Some pieces of equipment have a Driftsmelt Slot that unlocks at Grade 5, while others may even have multiple Driftsmelt Slots. For more information, please refer to the FAQ "Driftsmelting."
Checking Equipment Skill Names, Unlock Grades, and Effects
You can view the names of the skills, their unlock grades, and the effects at each skill level from the equipment details screen in the app.
Tap [Equipment] from the main screen.
Select the equipment you wish to check to view the equipment details screen.
Tap the skill icon
next to the skill name displayed under "Equipment Skills" to view detailed information about the skill, including the effects at different levels.
Example of Skill Level Increase through Equipment Overgrades
Kadachi Coil (Waist), which is forged and upgraded using materials from Tobi-Kadachi, unlocks the following:
Grade 2:
Thunder Attack
skill level1 unlocked
Grade 6:
This demonstrates how the skill level of the same equipment skill can increase through overgrades. The orange bar beneath the skill name and the "Lv" display to the right of the skill name represent the current skill level applied based on the equipment’s grade. The gray bar indicates the skill's maximum potential level.
Example of Unlocking Multiple Equipment Skills through Overgrades
Kadachi Mail (Chest), which is forged and upgraded using materials from Tobi-Kadachi, unlocks the following:
Grade 2: Evade Extender
skill unlocked
Grade 4:
Thunder Attack
skill unlocked
This demonstrates how multiple equipment skills can be unlocked through overgrades.
Additionally, overgrading to Grade 5 unlocks a Driftsmelt Slot, allowing you to add another skill through Driftsmelting.
*For more details, please refer to FAQ: Driftsmelting.
By selecting Kadachi Mail in the Driftsmelting menu, choosing the Amber Driftstone obtained from monsters associated with either the thunder or paralysis element, and walking 5 kilometers, a skill including Thunder Attack
*Please note that Driftstones and available skills may change and additional Driftstones may be added during events.
*You can also check the details of the skills that can be added by tapping on the Driftstone in the driftsmelting screen.
Checking Skills of Equipped Weapon and Armor
You can view the skills and total skill levels of your currently equipped loadout from the status screen. By scrolling down on the status screen, you can also check the individual skills of your equipped weapon and each piece of armor.
Tap [Equipment] from the main screen.
Tap "View All >" located to the left of your hunter's avatar to display the status screen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I combine multiple pieces of equipment with the same skill?
A: Yes, you can combine several pieces of equipment that share the same skill to increase the skill level. However, as of October 2024, skill levels are capped at Lv1, Lv3, or Lv5, depending on the specific skill. Effects will not exceed the maximum level set for each skill.
Example: "Lock On" has a maximum level of 1. Even if you equip multiple pieces of armor with "Lock On," the effect will not exceed Lv1.
Example: "Firm Foothold" has a maximum level of 3. Even if your total skill level exceeds 3, it will only reduce damage reactions without fully eliminating them.
Q: When and how should I use the "Lock On" skill?
A: The "Lock On" skill allows you to lock onto specific parts of a monster when using melee weapons, making it easier to target those areas. The Lock On button appears during hunts, but only for melee weapons. The function is disabled for ranged weapons and when the gyro is enabled.
How to use the Lock On Button:
Tap the Lock On button in the lower right of the hunting screen.
Targets that can be locked onto are displayed on monster parts.
When you tap the part you want to lock on, that part will be locked on and the target will turn red.
To release the Lock on, tap the Lock on button again.
Q: I can’t slay the monster within the time limit. What skills do you recommend to increase my attack?
A: To boost attack, here are some useful skills:
"Attack Boost” increases raw attack and is effective regardless of your weapon’s element, making it a versatile choice.
"Elemental Attack" skills (for Fire, Water, Thunder, Ice, Dragon) add elemental value to the corresponding elemental weapons. When using a weapon with a matching element, it can significantly increase damage against monsters weak to that element. At max Lv5, the added elemental value is 500, providing a major damage boost. However, it’s ineffective if the weapon’s element doesn’t match the monster’s weakness.
"Rising Tide" increases both attack and defense over time during hunts.
"Special Boost" enhances the damage dealt by Special Skills.
Q: My health drops to zero too quickly after being attacked by monsters. What skills do you recommend to increase defense?
A: For improving defense, these skills can help:
"Defense Boost" increases your defense value.
"Divine Blessing" gives a chance to reduce incoming damage when hit.
"Guts" prevents you from fainting once when your health is above a certain threshold, allowing you to survive lethal damage.
Q: I don’t fully understand how skills that affect affinity work.
A: Critical hits occur when attacks deal more damage than usual. Affinity refers to the probability of landing a critical hit, and it can have either positive (+) or negative (-) values.
Positive Affinity (e.g., +10%): This indicates the percentage chance for an attack to deal increased damage. A weapon with +10% affinity will deal higher damage 10% of the time.
Negative Affinity (e.g., -20%): This indicates the chance of an attack dealing reduced damage. A weapon with -20% affinity will deal lower damage 20% of the time.
Affinity is a stat unique to weapons, but it can also be increased with the following skills:
"Critical Eye" increases the affinity.
"Weakness Exploit" increases affinity when attacking a monster’s weak points.
"Critical Boost" enhances the damage multiplier of critical hits.
Q: Are there any skills that only work with specific weapons?
A: Yes, certain skills are more effective with specific weapon types.
"Reload Speed" and "Recoil Down" are highly beneficial for Light Bowguns and Heavy Bowguns, increasing the frequency of attacks, but they don’t affect other weapon types.
"Skyward Striker" boosts damage from aerial attacks, making it useful for weapons like Sword & Shield or Dual Blades that perform aerial maneuvers.
Weapons with charged attacks (Great Sword, Hammer, Gunlance, Charge Blade, Bow) benefit from "Focus," which shortens charge times. This skill also increases gauge accumulation for weapons like the Long Sword and Charge Blade.
"Offensive Guard" increases attack after successfully timing a guard, effective for weapons that can guard such as Lance, Sword & Shield, Charge Blade, Gunlance, and Heavy Bowgun.
"Artillery" boosts the damage of Gunlance’s Shelling/Wyvern’s Fire, Charge Blade’s phial attacks, Bowguns’ sticky ammo and wyvern ammo. At Lv3, it also increases the number of Gunlance shells and Charge Blade phials.
Note: Power Element Phial attacks of Charge Blade are not affected by this skill.
Q: How can I find equipment that has the skills I want?
A: Currently, there is no feature to search equipment by skills, but we are considering adding this feature in the future.