Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Update Brings Layered Armor Improvements

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne’s next updates expands the layered armor system, letting you craft your own cosmetic sets.

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is getting its first big update tomorrow, and it’s bringing some exciting new features to the game. The biggest is, of course, the addition of Rajang and a new section of the Guiding Lands, but the developers shared some smaller changes coming in a new video released today. In just a few seconds of the 15-minute long video, the developers touched on what may be the best part of the update for fashion-obsessed hunters: an expanded layered armor system.

In Monster Hunter World, layered armor is special cosmetic gear that you can equip over your normal armor set, letting you keep the benefits from that set while changing your appearance. Most layered armor came from completing certain quests, and it comprised a mix of some genuinely cool-looking armor and some goofier styles, like ones that let you wear a Palico head mask. Layered armor also frequently came from special event quests like crossovers with other games, which let you transform into other characters, like Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy, The Witcher 3’s Geralt and Ciri, or Devil May Cry’s Dante.

The same principles will apply to layered armor going forward, but the system is being expanded. Instead of focusing on event-based sets, layered armor will now feature a selection of armors based on various monsters. So if you like the look of the Jagras armor but don’t want to lose the stats of your high-level gear, you can craft a layered armor set with the look you like and not have to choose between looking good and staying alive. These new layered armors can be crafted right at the Smithy like other armor and will require materials found throughout the Guiding Lands.

Only certain armor sets will be added to layered armor to begin. The developers haven’t announced precisely which yet, but there seems to be a pretty extensive lineup so far. It’s a good bet that they’ll be adding more styles to the list in future updates.