Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate Skill Details & Evaluations

---

Gen Skill Guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHunter/wiki/mhgen_skill_evaluation

My custom-made MHGU Damage Calculator: http://www.mediafire.com/file/k97cl9i6d176mk2/YADC_For_MHGU_%2528Vers._1.0%2529.zip/file

My GU Skill Details guide without the ratings: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W0FDr-Ynzj9qFcEwXhbPNdGrN-1Pj20MAYKUuofEUiE/edit?usp=sharing

Explaining the thought process behind ratings

A '0' means that you will likely get kicked from an online hall for using the skill in its most optimal way. This includes skills that need you to get carted for using the effect or a skill whose effect is particularly useless, because it can be solved through experience.

A '1' means that this skill will rarely be worth the investment, even if you get it as a bonus skill.

A '2' means that this skill can have uses, but is otherwise useless in general circumstances, even if you get it as a bonus skill.

A '3' means that this skill is a great utility skill, and can be looked for if you can get it fairly easily.

A '4' means that this skill doesn't have what it takes to become a core skill, but should still be highly considered. You can call these your situational skills.

A '5' means that this skill is core, and that sets should be built around it.

---

Skills

A

Ammo Saver	Ammo Saver +10	Gunner	4 (Internal Ammo LBG), 3

20% chance to return shot fired to inventory. This shot will not be loaded automatically, for Bowguns.

A good utility skill for prolonging high damage output hampered by the fact that people use Mass Combiner in the longer hunts. For more casual hunts, this is nice, though it doesn't directly influence your damage. Do note that Internal Shot-focused Bowgun users can use this to extend their usefulness in conjunction with True Shot Up. Good users of this include the elemental LBGs (-Silver Astrurias-, -Plesioth Drencher-, -Tabula Blizzara-, -Princess Parasol-), any Bowgun that uses Slicing S (-Oppressor's Rift-), or -Arm Cannon X-'s Dazzling S.

Elementality	Amplify +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Element Attack Up' and 'Item Use Up':

• +10% Element (Fire, Water, Thunder, Ice, Dragon) damage, if your weapon had any of those.
• +50% duration to items which have a duration. Extends sharpness effect of "Heavy Grinder" when using a whetstone.

Ah G-Rank combination skills, how I missed you in G-Rank. Unfortunately the first combination skill we encounter is pretty mediocre. Usually you want multiple high-value skills wrapped into a single skill in order to justify the rarity of the combination skill in the first place, and Item Use Up is not a high value skill. The armor sets that carry this skill in G-Rank are the Yaksha/Carnage sets, based on Yama Tsukami's gear, and Astral X, from Nakarkos, neither of which are particularly good in the 'high impact skillset' department. This makes it just a more flashy Element Attack Up in the end, and the rarity of the skill points simply makes this not worth it. If you really want Element Attack Up or Item Use Up, there are several cheaper ways in order to get the skills.

Pyroscale Talisman	Anti-Chameleos +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Negate Poison', 'Anti-Theft', and 'Autotracker':

• Weakens Deadly Poison to regular Poison.
• Nullifies all lower grades of Poison.
• Prevents any items from being stolen from your Item Pouch.
• Can always see the location of the monster, as if they were marked, and applies the effects of Detect.

So all the way back in FU, the trio of Chameleos, Kushala Daora, and Teostra had a trangle-advantage thing going on: Teostra beats Chameleos, Chameleos beats Kushala, and Kushala beats Teostra. This was reflected in their armor sets, and GU is the first game to introduce the rock-paper-scissors of Elder Dragon-proportions into unique skills, Anti-Haze belonging to the Teostra armor set, Kaiser X.

While I do give props to Capcom for the flavor of this skill, ultimately these are three skills that don't really do much, except against Chameleos. Negate Poison is probably the best thing about this combination skill but there are easier ways to get Anti-Poison in G-Rank, and ultimately, I just can't recommend building specifically Kaiser X just for this skill.

Hazefur Talisman	Anti-Daora +10	Combat	3 (Blademasters)

Combines the effects of 'Polar Hunter', 'Windproof (Hi)', and 'Negate Bind':

• Provides natural cold resistance (you don't have to use Hot Drinks in cold areas).
• +15 Attack and +20 Defense while in a cold area.
• +5 Attack while a Cool Drink is in effect.
• Negates all wind pressure exerted from monsters, except for Dragonwind, which is reduced.
• Negates any effect that would cause bind, such as Snowman, Ossified, or Bubble.

This unique skill is exclusive to Chameleos's armor set, Grand Mizuha/Grand Cham. This is actually quite useful for Blademasters, packing Windproof (Hi) for the GS and Hammer users, and Polar Hunter to negate the pesky cold areas of the frickin' Arctic Ridge map. Overall full Grand Mizuha does well as an anti-bullshit set, providing Earplugs and Status Atk +1 in addition to this skill, though the fact that G-Chameleos doesn't exist until HR Break makes this set have less usefulness. Still if you want to run full sets even in HR Break, Grand Mizuha's pretty decent.

Steelshell Talisman	Anti-Teostra +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Tropic Hunter', 'Fire Res +20', and 'Bio Researcher':

• Provides natural heat resistance.
• Prevents lava and heat aura damage.
• +15 Attack and +20 Defense in hot areas.
• +10 Defense while a Hot Drink is in effect.
• +20 Fire Res.
• Guarantees that the monster will flee immediately once a Dung Bomb is applied, if the monster can be affected by Dung Bombs, and if it can flee.
• Grants 100% chance to combine Dung Bombs.
• Prevents Stench and Blastblight.

This unique skill is exclusive to Kushala Daora's armor set, Kushala X. Tropic Hunter, like Polar Hunter in Frosty Protection is potentially the most useful skill in this combination skill, though the existence of Fire Res +20 makes me question if Capcom really didn't have any better ideas to put into this skill. Bio Researcher is nice though. The other skills of Kushala X (Sharpness +2 + Challenger's Sheath for Blademasters, or Bonus Shot + Ammo Saver for Gunners) are also somewhat nice, making this set sorta worth it?

Anti-Theft	Anti-Theft +10	Combat	1

Prevents any items from being stolen from your Item Pouch.

I'm gonna go ahead right here and say what is basically the same thing I said in my Gen Skill Eval page: Anti-Theft is pretty worthless. Items are easily replaceable in this game, and you should be carrying plenty of backup healing stuff even if you're not fighting Chameleos. Don't get this unless you're really paranoid.

Artillery Novice	Artillery +10	Combat	5 (Explosive Shots, Impact CB)

• +10% damage to Cannon and Ballista shots.
• +15% raw to Crag S, Triburst S, Wyvern S, and Cannon S.
• +30% damage to Impact Phial bursts from CB.
• +10% Fire/Fixed to GL shots.
• -33% heat generation from GL shots and Wyvern's Fire.

The main draws of this skills are the boosts to the Impact Phial bursts, the increase in raw to the explosive shots, and the GL effects, the heat generation part moreso than the Fire damage part. The increase in damage to the fixed weapons is marginal for the most part, and you won't see many Ballista or Cannons in the game, unless you're fighting Elder Dragons or a mech. This skill being one of two ways you can increase your fixed-type damage (the other being Felyne Bombardier), this skill is pretty much core on Explosive shots and CB. The GL effects can't really make use of this either, because building Heat fast is required for good GL play, and this slows you down. That, and more shelling means more sharpness loss.

Artillery Expert	Artillery +15	Combat	3 (Explosive Shots, Impact CB)

• +20% damage to Cannon and Ballista shots.
• +30% raw to Crag S, Triburst S, Wyvern S, and Cannon S.
• +35% damage to Impact Phial bursts from CB.
• +20% Fire/Fixed to GL shots
• -50% heat generation from GL shots and Wyvern's Fire.
• -25% cooldown on Wyvern's Fire.

Because Felyne Bombardier exists and can stack with Artillery Novice, Expert is generally seen as a more expensive version of Novice with less payoff than Novice. However, due to the existence of the Kokoto Hat, Expert can be gotten fairly easily. On GL, the reduction of the Wyvern's Fire cooldown actually works against you in some cases due to the nature of how the heat gauge works, so avoid this skill.

Attack Up (S), Attack Up (M), Attack Up (L)	Attack +10, Attack +15, Attack +20	Combat	3

• +10 Raw from Attack Up (S).
• +15 Raw from Attack Up (M).
• +20 Raw from Attack Up (L).

Well, more Attack is more Attack, so it's always good. The meta of GU is still crit-stacking, though sometimes to fully load out a set of skills, you could try to fit Attack in, just because it's more attack. You can't really argue against more attack.

Bounty Hunter	Avarice +10	Farming	3

Combines the effects of 'Great Luck' and 'Capture Expert':

• +6/32 chance for rolling for an additional reward (28/32 from 22/32).
• Guarantees 3 Capture Rewards when you capture a monster (100% from 67% of getting a 3rd).

This skill only comes from a full Bartender's set for the men, and a full Barmaid's set for the women. While the set itself looks friggin' great for fashion, the skillset doesn't really impress me otherwise. The Great Luck effect can be gotten from a special Arena-only headpiece and a triple slot decoration, and the Capture Expert effect only kicks in when you capture monsters. This is probably the best(?) way to get both skills economically though so I can't be too hard on it.

B

---

Soul of Bherna	Bherna +10	Combat	1

Combines the effects of 'Fire Res +15' and 'Halve Hunger':

• +15 Fire Res.
• +100% time it takes to reduce maximum Stamina by 25 (12 minutes, from 6).

These 'village skills' as I like to call them are fairly easy to get as long as you have 5 free slots, but they have underwhelming effects. They also all boost your resistance to a specific element in addition to giving a fairly flavorful skill in addition. Halve Hunger however is made useless by all the MDJs you people consume. How about you guys get off the drugs and use Energy Drinks instead?

Negate Bind	Bind Res +10	Combat	3 (Snowbaron, Elderfrost)

Negates any effect that would leave you bound, like Snowman or Ossified, and negate 2nd stage of Bubble. Does not prevent Mucus status.

This skill's existence is made useless by Cleansers. I can see use for it in like Snowbaron or Elderfrost fights though.

Bio Researcher	Biology +10	Combat	2

• Guarantees that the monster will attempt to flee immediately once a Dung Bomb is applied, if the monster can be affected by Dung Bombs, and if it can flee.
• Grants 100% chance to combine Dung Bombs.
• Prevents Stench and Blastblight.

Half of this skill can be found in Felyne Dungmaster, and the other half's usefulness can be negated by Deodorants. It is useful for monsters that attempt to combo you with Blastblight however, like Teostra.

Bio Expert	Biology +15	Combat	1

• Guarantees that the monster will attempt to flee immediately once a Dung Bomb is applied, if the monster can be affected by Dung Bombs, and if it can flee.
• Grants 100% chance to combine Dung Bombs.
• Prevents Stench and Blastblight.
• Delays the onset of the Frenzy Virus.

5 more points of investment into Biology for the simple effect of delaying the Frenzy Virus. No thanks.

Bladescale Hone	Bladescale +10	Combat	4 (GS maybe?)

• For Blademaster weapons, after you perform evasive actions (5 rolls, 9 hops/dashes), restores 5 units of Sharpness.
• For Bowguns (Light/Heavy), per evasive action, you have a 33% chance to load the currently selected shot type. These effects stack with the similar ones provided by the Seregios weapons.
• For Bows, applies a +50% damage increase when you use C.Range Coatings. This effect stacks with the similar effect provided by the Seregios Bows, granting a total +65% damage increase.

It's the skill that's present on all Seregios weapons in skill form! It's neato for the slower weapons as that means they can upkeep their sharpness more easily, so stuff like GS. The Bowgun effect isn't as good because reloading is pretty fast anyway, and the Bow effect, while good, isn't worth gemming in because it's hard to get.

Use Blast Coat	Blast C+ +10	Gunner	1

Allows your Bow to use Blast Coatings, if it did not already have them enabled.

Eeeeeeh Blast Coatings are pretty mediocre, even if you can combine a bunch more of them up. If you really need the Blast, use something like, I dunno, Brachydios's Bow instead. At least it has 'infinite' Blast Coatings.

Negate Bleeding	Bleeding +10	Combat	1

Prevents Bleeding entirely.

The rarity of Bleeding's existence in the game combined with how easy you can dismiss it via items makes this skill's usefulness marginal at best. If you're getting Bleed'd enough for you to consider getting this skill, you're getting hit too much anyway.

Blightproof	Blight Res +10	Combat	1

Prevents all matter of elemental blights, including Fireblight, Waterblight, Thunderblight, Iceblight, and Dragonblight, both Severe and normal, from being inflicted on you. Does not prevent Blastblight.

Aside from Fireblight's nature of burning your health away or Thunderblight's nature of letting you get stunned more easily, the effects of this skill are pretty 'meh' otherwise. Eating Nullberries also makes this skill useless. Overall the points needed to get this skill are few and far between to get as a bonus, and even ignoring that, the effect is simply too marginal.

Bloodbath Soul	Bloodbath +10	Combat	4

Combines the effects of 'Attack Up (L)' and 'Evasion +2':

• +20 Attack (flat). This is applied to your raw before multiplicative boosts.
• +100% invincibility period when dodging. (0.4 seconds, from 0.2 seconds normal)

The Deviant Soul skills are unique skills which can only be gotten from leveling up Deviant armors to a certain level. For the new Deviants (Nightcloak Malfestio, Rustrazor Ceanataur, Soulseer Mizutsune, Boltreaver Astalos, Elderfrost Gammoth, Bloodbath Diablos), these soul skills are unlocked at level 1, while the old Deviants have their skills unlocked at level 6. Since these skills are unseparable from their armor set (unless you have a good talisman), I'll mainly be evaluating the full set as well.

Full Bloodbath has this skill in addition to Bitter Crit and Resentment. This set overall screams 'raw stacking', and it genuinely seems kinda fun and useful for being a full Deviant set in a G-Rank game. The utility of Evasion +2 also makes it useful for certain monsters and situations too. By itself, Bloodbath Soul is a good skill, combining two useful skill into one, which is what you want when you're looking at combo skills like this.

Bloodbath Soul X	Bloodbath X +10	Combat	4

Combines the effects of 'Attack Up (L)', 'Evasion +2', and 'Composed':

• +20 Attack (flat). This is applied to your raw before multiplicative boosts.
• +100% invincibility period when dodging. (0.4 seconds, from 0.2 seconds normal)
• +15% charge rate for HA, Valor, and Alchemy Gauges.

As an addendum to the previous entry, Soul X skills are only received in G-Rank, but unfortunately, only add a usually minor skill to the Soul. For the new Deviants, this Soul X skill is unlocked at level 4, whereas the old Deviant sets need to be level 14. In short, you need to use at least G4 tickets in order to unlock the Soul X skill, regardless of the status of the Deviant.

The addition of Composed to the set doesn't really make a difference on the individual skill ratings. Aside from the relative mediocrity of the additional skill, the base skills of Attack Up (L) and Evasion +2 aren't really affected. In any case, Composed is basically a direct upgrade. Use it with Striker for maximum effects.

Boltreaver Soul	Boltreaver +10	Combat	3 (Aerial)

Combines the effects of 'Critical Boost', 'Bonus Shot', and 'Sharpness +1':

• +15% damage on critical hits (140% from 125% normal).
• All Rapid Fire volleys fire one more shot.
• +25 Sharpness, if it can be increased.

Full Boltreaver additionally has Repeat Offender and Airborne. This set appears to focus on Affinity and Aerial Style, two things which really don't go together because hitting shitzones and critting just isn't as powerful as hitting good hitzones by itself. With the buffs to some Aerial style combinations in GU though I guess I can see it? Use it with Aerial Style for maximum effect. Also, Crit Boost wrapped in this skill does not make it good. You'd need more easily-usable Crit-boosting skills, like WE, for Crit Boost to be most effective.

Boltreaver Soul X	Boltreaver X +10	Combat	3 (Aerial)

Combines the effects of 'Critical Boost', 'Bonus Shot', 'Sharpness +1', and 'Chance Seizer':

• +15% damage on critical hits (140% from 125% normal).
• All Rapid Fire volleys get one more shot.
• +25 Sharpness units, if your weapon’s Sharpness can be increased.
• When you take damage, Hunter Art, Valor, and Alchemy gauges all fill slightly.

'Getting hit' usually should not be in your resume of hunting prowess, and Chance Seizer is pretty bad. Still, it doesn't affect the overall average-ness of Boltreaver Soul so I'll give it a pass. Of course, use it with Aerial for best results.

Bludgeoner	Blunt +10	Blademaster	3 (Certain weapons only)

• +10% raw to weapon if in Green Sharpness.
• +15% raw to weapon if in Yellow Sharpness.
• +20% raw to weapon if in Orange/Red Sharpness.

Oh hey this skill got buffed from Gen! And it's still pretty crap. Not even Elderfrost weapons use this. Sharpness modifiers just kill this skill, so it's not even worth using natural Green weapons if they can get Blue or White with Sharpness +2. And if you try to go for the higher modifiers the Low Sharpness Modifier kicks in, reducing your damage by up to 40% depending on when you hit the monster. You just can't win, can you Bludgeoner? However, damage is still damage, and it actually scales with weapon raw in this game, so it's okay when paired with the right weapons.

Bombardier	Bomb Boost +10	Combat	2 (Blast weapons)

• +20% Blast application.
• +30% Bomb Damage (applies to all items with ‘bomb’ in their name).
• 100% chance to combine all ‘bomb’ items.

A food skill version of this armor skill exists, Felyne Pyro, which makes this skill hard to recommend. Pyro also upgrades your Barrel Bomb Ls to Barrel Bomb L+s, which more than doubles their damage.

Herbology	Botany +10	Misc	1

Makes herbs heal as much as standard Potions.

If you're using Herbs to heal, you're either taking way too many hits or you're memeing. One of the two.

Pro Herbology	Botany +15	Misc	1

Makes herbs heal as much as Mega Potions.

Why? Why would you invest 5 more points into this skill? I mean, sure it's a good meme, but you're never gonna resort to Herbs. Are you?

Heavy Hitter	Brawn +10	Combat	1

Combines the effects of 'Knockout King' and 'Stamina Thief':

• +10% KO damage.
• +20% Exhaust damage.

Oh boy, another disappointing combination skill. Yeah these two skills don't even make an impact. Like they might get you one more exhaust or KO through the hunt, but that's not really worth the investment into this combo skill.

Ruthlessness	Brutality +10	Combat	3

Combines the effects of 'Weakness Exploit' and 'Critical Eye +2':

• +50% Affinity on hitzones of 45+ for your respective damage type.
• +20% Affinity.

I remember when Gunners could get this skill real easily in 4U. Not the case in this game. It's limited to only a few sets, and the chest pieces of those sets only give +1. I just can't recommend this skill over its components separately because you can those more easily in GU. It's just too hard to get, but if you can get it, go for it.

Bubbly Dance	Bubble +10	Combat	3

Prevents Bubble’s 2nd stage from being inflicted on you. 3 rolls or 6 dashes/hops lets you be surrounded in bubbles, which, while they persist:

• +65% invincibility duration. (Does not stack with Evasion +1)
• -25% Stamina usage when used in chunks. (Does stack with Constitution)

Anything that affects your hunter, such as roars, damage, tremors, or other people, will pop the bubbles, resetting the amount of evades required to reestablish the bubbles.

It's important to note that this skill synergizes with Crisis, which is probably the best use for this skill. I do like these types of skills which reward good play, but it's just not important enough to be rated higher.

C

---

Use C.Range Coat	C.Range C+ +10	Gunner	1

Allows your Bow to use C.Range Coatings, if it did not already have them enabled.

There's really no point to enable C.Range Coatings in this game, especially with Heavy being used more often than it was in Gen. Furthermore, you only get what like 30 C.Range Coatings, including combines? It's just not a good damage increase.

Capture Expert	Capturer +10	Farming	2 (Capturing)

Guarantees 3 Capture Rewards when you capture a monster (100% from 66% of getting a 3rd).

I can't really recommend this skill for farming because it just raises the chance of getting the 3rd item so that you always get it. Compared to its bigger brother, this just pales in comparison.

Capture Master	Capturer +15	Farming	4 (Capturing)

Guarantees 3 Capture Rewards and a 66% chance at a 4th Reward.

Getting a chance at a 4th reward is really good because it's basically two more rolls, and more rolls tends to be better; the first roll is for the chance of getting the 4th item and the second roll is for the item itself. It might cut down a bit on farming for like Rathalos Mantles or something. But remember this only works when you actually capture a monster, it won't work otherwise. Make sure that you check the capture rewards of the monster so that you get what you want.

Meat Lover	Carnivore +10	Misc	2

• Allows you to eat Raw Meat to recover 25 Max Stamina.
• Rare/Well-Done Steaks temporarily grant infinite Stamina.

Why not bring just regular MDJs or Dash Juices instead? I mean sure I guess it's nice if you use Steaks to recover Stamina, but even then there's better skills out there, and this skill is just marginal.

Carving Pro	Carving +10	Farming	2 (Carving)

Prevents knockback from attacks while carving.

This is nice, but there's a food skill that can do exactly what this armor skill does, called Felyne Supercarver.

Carving Celebrity	Carving +15	Farming	5 (Carving)

• Prevents knockback from attacks while carving.
• Grants one additional carve on all carve-able parts.

Now this is good stuff. That one additional carve also stacks with Felyne Carver, so you can stack all the carve powers and carve like 2 more things than you would have. I especially recommend this for tails and small monsters because you can triple your potential yield. As always, this only works when you're actually carving, so slay the monster.

Repeat Offender	Chain Crit +10	Combat	4 (No WE-able zones)

• +25% Affinity after 1 hit.
• +5% more Affinity after 5 hits (stacks with previous effect, total 30%).
• Resets to 0 if you do not hit anything in 5 seconds.

If you've got a fast-hitting weapon or a weapon that deals multiple hits with one attack, then this is pretty good, like a constant 30% Affinity boost. However this is harder to get than Weakness Exploit, so I would really only recommend this when the monster doesn't have WE-able zones, like Gunner vs Boltreaver Astalos.

Trump Card	Chance +10	Combat	3 (Striker/Alchemy)

When a monster is downed or otherwise immobilized, you get a yellow aura around your hand for 60 seconds. While this aura persists:

• +20% damage to HAs which have motion values and which are not listed below.
• +20% duration to all HAs which have durations.
• Absolute Evasion/Absolute Readiness: Two evades, rather than one.
• Frenzy Fever: Immediate activation of Affinity-Boosting Effect.
• Lion’s Maw: +15% damage on next attack.
• Euphony: 2nd Level Song Effects.
• Wyvern’s Breath: +20% Fire and Fixed damage on shots.
• Demon Riot: +15% to effects.
• Full House: Faster Animation.
• Gunpowder Infusion: +5 shots loaded.
• Arisen Phoenix: Heals more health.
• Devouring Demon: +10% damage, +20% duration.
• Charged Shot: +5 shots loaded.

This is a kinda cool and technical skill in that people use HAs while the monster's downed anyway, so Trump Card just takes more advantage of that situation. This gets better the more HAs you pack in, so stuff like Striker or Alchemy in an HA-centered build can really make use of this. However, this just kinda pales in comparison to less restrictive damage-boosting skills, so use it only if you wanna make a fun build around HAs.

Charm Collector	Charmer +10	Farming	5 (Charm Farming, not Brachy Method)

20% chance to mine an extra charm when you mine one.

More charms is just better, but most people in GU should farm talismans via either Super Super Red Crab or the as-of-yet unreleased Brachy Charm farm, and neither of those use mining to get an obscene amount of charms. This is still good for the ghetto charm farming method of doing Volcanic Hollow runs though.

Charm Chaser	Charmer +15	Farming	5 (Charm Farming, not Brachy Method)

30% chance to mine an extra charm when you mine one.

Same story as the last one, but an extra 10% chance always helps out. Get this for sure if you wanna do Volcanic Hollow runs.

Use Lv1 Clust S, Use All Clust S	Clust S+ +10, Clust S+ +15	Combat	1

• Allows your Bowgun to use Clust S Lv1, if it did not already have them enabled. Load depends on Bowgun. (Use Lv1 Clust S)
• Allows your Bowgun to use all levels of Clust S, if it did not already have one or all of them enabled. Load depends on Bowgun. (Use All Clust S)

I don't think this skill is used much mostly because G-Rank monsters just scale out of the reach of any Explosive Bowgun build. And if you are using an Explosive Bowgun build, then it's probably best if you choose a gun which has natural access to Clust S.

Polar Hunter	ColdBlooded +10	Combat	3 (Cold Areas)

• Provides natural cold resistance (you don't have to use Hot Drinks in cold areas).
• +15 Attack and +20 Defense while in a cold area.
• +5 Attack while a Cool Drink is in effect.

It's better Cold Res! Stat boosts are always nice, and in areas like the Frozen Seaway or Polar Field where they're just all cold areas, this is basically a flat boost. Outside of those areas though, the +5 Attack on Cool Drinks is marginal at best. Only really use if you're fighting like Kushala or Elderfrost.

Cold Cancel	Cold Res +10	Misc	2 (Cold Areas)

Provides natural cold resistance (you don't have to use Hot Drinks in cold areas).

Speaking about Cold Res, here it is! As with pretty much every resistance skill, this skill's usefulness is offset by the fact Hot Drinks exist, and even then cold areas' effect to drain maximum Stamina more quickly is more an annoyance than an actual threat. You could use it in like... Arctic Ridge or something because that area in particular saps Hot Drinks' effect away faster than other cold areas for some reason.

Combination Pro	Combo Plus +10	Misc	1

Guarantees maximum output of combinations that can produce a range of results.

Really, only Bowgunners should even think about using this skill, and even then, some people just use their one HA slot to run Mass Combiner instead.

Combination +20%, Combination +45%	Combo Rate +10, Combo Rate +15	Misc	1

Does what it says on the tin.

Just bring Combo Books instead. Or eat for Felyne Combiner. Or use Mass Combiner.

Constitution +1, Constitution +2	Constitution +10, Constitution +15	Combat	2

• -25% Stamina usage when using Stamina in chunks, such as evading or blocking. (Constitution +1)
• -50% Stamina usage when using Stamina in chunks, such as evading or blocking. (Constitution +2)

Stamina savings on evasion or blocking are nice, but there's a food skill for this called Felyne Black Belt. Eat for that instead.

Clandestine	Covert +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Load Up', 'Combination +20%', and 'Sneak':

• +1 shot capacity for Bowguns and GL.
• +2 charged phials for Yellow Charge on CB, and +5 charge phials for Red Charge.
• Lets you use the next level of charge on your Bow, if it doesn’t have 4 levels of charge already.
• +20% Combination rate.
• Reduces chance the monster will randomly target you.

I think there was an arena headpiece that gave you this skill in 4U, but I never got it because it was annoying to get. This combination skill is... meh. The most valuable part of this skill is Load Up, and Barrage Earring exists, so you can get it by itself easily. This being a combination skill, you'd have to wear a full armor set, or mix the three sets that carry this skill together. Little to no point getting Clandestine, though. Just get Load Up instead.

Use Lv1 Crag S, Use All Crag S	Crag S+ +10, Crag S+ +15	Gunner	1

• Allows your Bowgun to use Crag S Lv1, if it did not already have it enabled. Load depends on Bowgun. (Use Lv 1 Crag S)
• Allows your Bowgun to use all levels of Crag S, if it did not already have one or all of them enabled. Load depends on Bowgun. (Use All Crag S)

Just echoing the Clust S+ entry here... Use a Bowgun which already has Crag S instead if you're really inclined to use Crag S.

Resuscitate	Crisis +10	Combat	3 (with Bubble) or 2

+20 Attack (flat) while you have any negative status effect, including Poison (all levels), Sleep, Paralysis, Defense Down, Bubble, Stench, Leech, Blastblight, Bleeding, Confusion, Mucus, and the elemental Blights.

AuL while you have a status ailment is nice, but outside of monsters that don't put on non-debilitating statuses on you, it's not that useful. Do note that this does synergize with Bubble, and if you bring Toadstools you can inflict Poison on yourself, making it somewhat useful outside of status-inflicting monsters.

Critical Draw	Crit Draw +10	Blademaster	5 (Hit 'n Run GS)

+100% Affinity on all draw attacks. Does not include HAs.

Crit Draw on GS is immensely useful, no matter which style you're in. Excepting combo GS, maybe, but then you stack typical Blademaster skills instead.

Elemental Crit	Crit Element +10	Combat	5 (Elemental DBs)

Increases elemental damage (Fire, Water, Thunder, Ice, Dragon) when you critically hit, depending on weapon type:

• SnS/DB/Bow: +35%
• LBG/HBG: +30%
• Other weapon types: +25%
• GS: +20%

Got a weapon with lots of element? Got lots of Affinity? Does the weapon hit a lot? Then this skill is for you! ...Unfortunately the answers of the 3 questions are usually limited to elemental DBs for maximum effectiveness.

Status Crit	Crit Status +10	Combat	2

+20% Status damage (Poison, Para, Sleep) when you critically hit.

Because of how weapons with innate status work in this game, you have to crit and also proc the status application to get use out of this skill. Sure you could probably use something like Status Shots or Status Coatings in order to guarantee the status application, but at that point, why are you doing that just to get use out of this skill? It's simply too restrictive.

Critical Boost	Critical Up +10	Combat	5 (Scales with Affinity)

+15% raw when you critically hit (140% on crit from 125%).

The higher your Affinity is, the better this skill gets. Even if you just have Weakness Exploit, then this skill is effectively a 7.5% increase in average damage. I wouldn't recommend it if you have less than... 30% Affinity? But otherwise, if you have WE, then get this skill, absolutely.

Crystalbeard Soul	C.beard +10	Farming	3 (Charm Farms, not Brachy)

Combines the effects of 'Charm Chaser' and 'Negate Hunger':

• 30% chance to mine an extra charm when you mine one.
• Nullifies gradual reduction of Stamina over time.

Full Crystalbeard additionally grants Trump Card and Great Luck. Yeah I dunno about full Crystalbeard, now that Charm God Brachy is a thing. You don't even need to do ghetto charm runs if you don't want to. Full Crystalbeard just isn't great. Get the constituent parts of the skill instead. And besides all you really need is probably Charm Chaser if you want to do those ghetto charm runs.

Crystalbeard Soul X	C.beard X +10	Farming	3 (Charm Farms, not Brachy)

Combines the effects of 'Charm Chaser', 'Negate Hunger', and 'Hero's Talisman':

• 30% chance to mine an extra charm when you mine one.
• Nullifies gradual reduction of Stamina over time.
• Completely nullifies status and damage of any attack if the attack would deal less than 5 damage.

Hero's Talisman is nicer for those charm runs, I guess, but again, Charm God Brachy is a thing. However if you really just want to do some casual charm farm runs of Volcanic Hollow, the addition of Hero's Talisman makes this set better.

D

---

Pro Dirty Fencer	D.Fencing +10	Combat	1

Combines the effects of 'Fortify', 'Marathon Runner', and 'Stamina Thief':

• +10% Attack and +15% Defense when you cart, stacks up to two times. You must be the one to cart, not your teammates, to activate this effect.
• -50% Stamina usage when dashing or otherwise draining Stamina over time.
• +20% Exhaust damage.

Three less-than-desirable skills, one combination skill, one armor set, GX Kita Star/GX Umi Ocean. Not even close to worth it.

Shot Booster	Dead Eye +10	Gunner	4 (Pierce Bowguns)

+50% extension to Critical Distance.

Having 50% more Critical Distance means that you can stand in one space more and just fire off bullets, usually Pierce S. This skill is really nice for maintaining damage for more of the Pierce S hits, but it's also not necessary if you've got really good positioning and don't mind moving sometimes. Solo players, for example, might think about discarding this skill, especially if they play Pierce LBG.

Deadeye Soul	Deadeye +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Negate Stun' and 'Challenger +2':

• Completely negates the infliction of stun.
• +20 Attack and +15% Affinity while a monster in the same area is enraged.

Before you say it, yes "Dead Eye" and "Deadeye" are stupidly named. We've all heard it before. It's old. Full Deadeye additionally grants Guts and Repeat Offender. So this set is kinda crit-stacky, and with how G-Rank monsters are really angery most of the time, Challenger +2 actually gets use in this game. However there's easier ways to get Challenger +2, especially with stuff like Gore XR being a thing. Negate Stun is also kinda crap because if you're getting hit that much in G-Rank, you're probably already dead.

Deadeye Soul X	Deadeye X +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Negate Stun', 'Challenger +2', and 'Fortify':

• Completely negates the infliction of stun.
• +20 Attack and +15% Affinity while a monster in the same area is enraged.
• +10% Attack and +15% Defense when you cart, stacks up to two times. You must be the one to cart, not your teammates, to activate this effect.

Oh boy Fortify. That's definitely gonna change my opinion of full Deadeye. Yup. Nope.

Defense Up (S), Defense Up (M), Defense Up (L)	Defense +10, Defense +15, Defense +20	Combat	1

• +15 Defense (flat) for Defense Up (S).
• +3% Defense, then +20 Defense (flat) for Defense Up (M).
• +5% Defense, then +25 Defense (flat) for Defense Up (L).

Investing skill points into Defense when Armor Spheres are a thing just isn't good. Avoid this.

Iron Skin	Def Lock +10	Combat	1

Completely prevents both levels of Defense Down.

Defense Down isn't really an important enough status to warrant worrying about, but Double Defense Down cuts your Defense in half. So if you're fighting Akantor, bring Adamant Seeds instead. That Double Defense Down status is a death sentence.

Partbreaker	Destroyer +10	Combat	3

+30% Stagger Damage to body parts which can be and have not been broken.

Some people make the misconception that Stagger Damage is actual damage, when it's not. Stagger Damage is similar enough, but it doesn't affect your damage dealt, it's the other way around. Your damage dealt determines how much stagger damage you deal. This merely amplifies Stagger damage, so generally not worth it, unless you can get it easily. You can break important monster parts more easily if you do have this skill, like Nightcloak's head, Teostra's head, or Kushala's head. Also consider getting this if you need to get break rewards.

Endurance Runner	Distance Runner +10	Misc	2

Provides infinite Stamina while running and your Stamina is 25 or less.

Note that it only says 'while running'. This skill doesn't affect stuff like Hammer Charging or DB Demon Mode or Bow Charging. Which is disappointing because it only lets you run away from monsters better. Insert Jojo reference here.

Dragon Atk +1, Dragon Atk +2	Dragon Atk +10, Dragon Atk +15	Combat	5 (Fast-hitting Dragon weapons)

• +5%, then +4 Dragon damage, if your weapon has Dragon-element damage for Dragon Atk +1.
• +10%, then +6 Dragon damage, if your weapon has Dragon-element damage for Dragon Atk +2.

Obviously take this if you're using something like Dragon DBs, Dragon SnS, Dragon Bow, stuff like that. Of course, this also depends on how elementally-sensitive the monster is; I'd take this skill for Lao-Shan Lung, for example, due to his relatively high Dragon zones. Also, make sure you're actually dealing more damage when you're using +2 vs +1, because those 5 skill points could be used for something more valuable. This is the part where I redirect you to my damage calculator, lol.

Dragon Res +15, Dragon Atk +20	Dragon Res +10, Dragon Res +15	Combat	1

Does what it says on the tin.

I'm pretty sure I can count the amount of monsters that can inflict Dragonblight in this game on my hands. There's not many. If you're bothered by Dragonblight, use Nullberries. If you're bothered by the amount of damage Dragon-type attacks can inflict, then build an armor set with more Dragon Res instead of using skill points on this.~~~~

Dragonheart	Dragon Spirit +10	Combat	4 (For daring hunters)

When at or below 66% maximum health, you gain several effects:

• +10% raw.
• +10% defense.
• All Elemental Resistances are set to 50, regardless of original amount.
• Special Dragonblight that negates all other elements on your weapon aside from Dragon.

It's Adrenaline-lite! For people who don't want to take as many risks. This skill is basically more raw, so it's good, but I don't like it because Gunners kinda get one-shot by things. But the existence of Adept and Valor means you can take a lot more risks, so this is definitely a strong skill if you like to play fast and loose. Oh and this also stacks with Adrenaline +2, so have fun.

Dreadking Soul	Dreadking +10	Combat	4 (Blademasters)

Combines the effects of 'Attack Up (L)' and 'Windproof (Hi)':

• +20 Attack (flat).
• Negates all wind pressure exerted from monsters, except for Dragonwind, which is reduced.

Full Dreadking additionally adds Weakness Exploit and HG Earplugs. Full Dreadking was a great set back in Gen, but with the G-Rank armor sets, you can probably make a similar anti-bullshit set. But nothing really wraps up offense and defense quite like Dreadking, so it's decent as a full set.

Dreadking Soul X	Dreadking X +10	Combat	4 (Blademasters)

Combines the effects of 'Attack Up (L)', 'Windproof (Hi)', and 'Adrenaline +1':

• +20 Attack (flat).
• Negates all wind pressure exerted from monsters, except for Dragonwind, which is reduced.
• +15 Defense if at or below 40% Health.

"Oh gee, I can't wait to see what kind of skills G-Rank Deviant armor skills get!" ~ Me before I found out how shitty Soul X skills are.

Like really, Adrenaline +1? Not even +2? Okay game, you do what you want I guess.

Dreadqueen Soul	Dreadqueen +10	Combat	2 (Status Weapons)

Combines the effects of 'Status Atk +2' and 'Wide-Range +2':

• +25%, then +1 Status damage (Poison, Para, Sleep).
• Spreads the effects of some items to everyone in the same area. Includes Mushrooms if you have Mushromancer, Potions, Herbs, Antidotes, Adamant and Might Seeds, and Nulberries.

Full Dreadqueen additionally adds Critical Eye +2 and Status Crit. The only important parts of this set are the Critical Eye +2 and Status Atk +2, and you can mix those easily in GU. Like sure this is an okay status set if you like fullsets, but I just can't recommend this in good conscious, because other status full sets exist.

Dreadqueen Soul X	Dreadqueen X +10	Combat	2 (Status Weapons)

Combines the effects of 'Status Atk +2', 'Wide-Range +2', and 'Herbalist':

• +25%, then +1 Status damage (Poison, Para, Sleep).
• Spreads the effects of some items to everyone in the same area. Includes Mushrooms if you have Mushromancer, Potions, Herbs, Antidotes, Adamant and Might Seeds, and Nulberries.
• Makes Herbs heal as much as a Mega Potion.

Oh-oh geez, I think this set just got more mediocre. Send help. Not even worth the 14 levels of grinding you need to get full Dreadqueen up to level 14. Nope.

Drilltusk Soul	Drilltusk +10	Combat	4 (Adrenaline +2 junkies)

Combines the effects of 'Adrenaline +2' and 'Scavenger':

• +30% Attack, +45 Defense while you have 40% or less Health.
• 33% chance to recover 25 max Stamina when you consume a recovery item.

Full Drilltusk additionally grants Weakness Exploit and Guard +2. Can anyone else say "Adrenaline shenanigans"? You really only get the full use out of this set when you're using something like Lance, GL, or CB and when you're using Adrenaline +2 well. Though the Weakness Exploit on the set is good, there are several other ways to get it in GU. Still, if you're more inclined towards Adrenaline shenanigans, this is a good introductory set for it.

Drilltusk Soul X	Drilltusk X +10	Combat	4 (Adrenaline +2 junkies, GL, CB)

Combines the effects of 'Adrenaline +2', 'Scavenger', and 'Artillery Expert':

• +30% Attack, +45 Defense while you have 40% or less Health.
• 33% chance to recover 25 max Stamina when you consume a recovery item.
• +20% damage to Cannon and Ballista shots.
• +30% raw to Crag S, Triburst S, Wyvern S, and Cannon S.
• +35% damage to Impact Phial bursts from CB.
• +20% Fire/Fixed to GL shots
• -50% heat generation from GL shots and Wyvern's Fire.
• -25% cooldown on Wyvern's Fire.

Woah did they just add a good skill on this set? Holy crap. Anyway Artillery Expert is most easily used by GL and CB, so this set definitely indulges those who play real fast and loose with CB, or more tanky with GL. Issa good set.

E

---

Speed Eating +1, Speed Eating +2	Eating +10, Eating +15	Misc	1

• Increases meat-eating speed. Affects all consumable meats. (Speed Eating +1)
• Increases meat-eating speed and item-consumption speed. Affects all consumable items.

Not really worth it. If you're chowing down and the monster is looking at you, well...

Steady Hand	Edge Lore +10	Blademaster	1

Combines the effects of 'Mind's Eye' and 'Razor Sharp':

• Prevents Blademaster weapons from bouncing.
• Halves Sharpness decrement rate.

Just get Razor Sharp by itself. Edge Lore isn't that common, and building a full set just for is overkill.

Honed Blade	Edgemaster +10	Blademaster	3

Combines the effects of 'Sharpness +1' and 'Attack Up (L)':

• +25 Sharpness units, if your weapon’s Sharpness can be increased.
• +20 Attack.

I remember when this skill was all the rage in 4U. Like you could have made some godlike sets with this skill. And now it's only on White Fatalis gear. sigh

Jho Cena exists, and it's just better than full White Fatalis.

Elderfrost Soul	Elderfrost +10	Combat	4

Combines the effects of 'Marathon Runner', 'Bludgeoner', and 'Normal/Rapid Up':

• -50% Stamina usage when dashing or otherwise draining Stamina over time.
• +10% raw to weapon if in Green Sharpness
• +15% raw to weapon if in Yellow Sharpness
• +20% raw to weapon if in Orange/Red Sharpness.
• +10% Attack on Normal S from Bowguns, or Rapid-type Arrows from Bows.

The Elderfrost set also grants Focus and Stam Recov Up. Now, you'd think that the set is meant for stuff like... Hammer, DBs, or, well, Bow for Gunners. But the Elderfrost Bow is Pierce, which is disappointing. It doesn't have synergy with the Elderfrost Bow, like really? Oh well. You can still use this set on other Normal/Rapid Up Bows, and these combination of skills are pretty decent, gotta say. I mean, I myself am using Guild No Arts for a challenge run, so this set looks pretty good for a fullset. Even if you're not running a challenge run like me, this skillset is pretty good with Elderfrost weapons, and even on Valor Bow, Focus is pretty good stuff. A decent set, congrats Capcom.

Elderfrost Soul X	Elderfrost X +10	Combat	4

Combines the effects of 'Marathon Runner', 'Bludgeoner', 'Normal/Rapid Up', and 'Attack Up (M)':

• -50% Stamina usage when dashing or otherwise draining Stamina over time.
• +10% raw to weapon if in Green Sharpness
• +15% raw to weapon if in Yellow Sharpness
• +20% raw to weapon if in Orange/Red Sharpness.
• +10% Attack on Normal S from Bowguns, or Rapid-type Arrows from Bows.
• +15 Attack (flat). This is applied to your raw before multiplicative boosts.

Oh wow, Attack Up (M) is just gravy on the chicken that is the full Elderfrost set. Like this is a legitimately good set to have if you like fullsets. Nice work Capcom.

Element Phial (Lv 1), Element Phial (All)	Elem C+ +10, Elem C+ +15	Gunner	1

• Allows your Bow to use Elem C. Lv1, if it did not already have it enabled. (Element Phial (Lv 1))
• Allows your Bow to use both levels of Elem C., if it did not already have one or both levels enabled. (Element Phial (All))

It goes without saying that Elemental Coatings are kinda useless if you don't have element on your bow. And even then, you can only carry like... 30 more of each level of the Elemental Coatings. Definitely not as great as like Power Phial (Lv 1) or something.

Elemental Atk Up	Elemental +10	Combat	3

+10% Element (Fire, Water, Thunder, Ice, Dragon) damage, if your weapon had any of those.

Definitely get this if you don't want to specialize a set towards a particular element aka the lazy choice. Prefer going for the specific element attack up skills first because you have the elemental earrings in GU, and they're a pretty easy [Element] Atk +1/2.

Chance Seizer	Endurance +10	Combat	2

When you take damage, Hunter Art, Valor, and Alchemy gauges all fill slightly.

This is basically the Striker passive of getting HA charge when you get hit, but... you should try avoiding hits in the first place. Sure this skill makes it hurt a little less, but tanking stuff in this game isn't gonna get you anywhere.

Evade Extender	Evade Dist +10	Combat	5 (non-Valor/Adept SA, HBG), 3 (Not Adept or Valor, certain matchups)

+50% distance covered whenever you take an evasive action that isn’t a HA.

Actually useful in certain circumstances when a monster immediately repositions itself onto you and you need to get out of there fast. Like Goldian. Fuck Goldian. Take this if you don't have Adept or Valor against certain monsters. SA and HBG, whenever they don't run Valor or Adept, can make good use of this skill to reposition themselves without sheathing.

Evasion +1	Evasion +10	Combat	4 (Not Adept or Valor, no Absolute HAs)

+65% invincibility period when dodging. (0.33 seconds, from 0.2 seconds normal)

Very useful against certain monsters when you're not using Adept or Valor, or running the Absolute HAs. If you're not one of those people and something like, oh I dunno, Grimclaw's super reach-around attack tries to hit you, then you can roll through it and be relatively okay. Basically, if you can iframe something but not consistently, taking Evasion +1 will make the difference. Do note that this skill can become a crutch, so use it responsibly, hunters.

Evasion +2	Evasion +15	Combat	3

+100% invincibility period when dodging. (0.4 seconds, from 0.2 seconds normal)

In my opinion this skill is kinda overkill if you need to dodge something because the investment returns less. Plus, if you do invest into this skill, the armor pieces will usually sacrifice defense in order to get you Evasion +2. This is, in theory, okay if you can dodge everything, but we all know that we can't dodge everything. Generally not worth it unless it's the only thing you can get on a set. Oh and the crutch thing still applies, but even more so on Evasion +2.

Use Exhaust Coat	Exhaust C+ +10	Gunner	1

Allows your Bow to use Exhaust C.s, if it did not already have it enabled.

Ewwww Exhaust Coatings. Repeat after me class, 'Status Bow is a not a thing.' What? Oh yeah there is that one Seregios Arena in GU where you use Adept Status Bow, but we don't talk about that one. Regardless, if you do want to watch the monster get KO'd from arrows, just use a Bow that already has Exhaust Coatings enabled. Or play Valor Bow. Either or.

Critical Eye +1, Critical Eye +2, Critical Eye +3	Expert +10, Expert +15, Expert +20	Combat	5 (certain weapons)

• +10% Affinity. This is added to the positive portion of Chaotic weapons. (Critical Eye +1)
• +20% Affinity. This is added to the positive portion of Chaotic weapons. (Critical Eye +2)
• +30% Affinity. This is added to the positive portion of Chaotic weapons. (Critical Eye +3)

Welcome to Gen and GU meta kids, enjoy your stay. Yeah crit stacking is still great in GU, what are you gonna do about it? Complain on the internet? Haha. Anyway generally the lower your Affinity is, the better Critical Eye gets. The more natural Affinity your weapon has, the worse Critical Eye gets. Especially if you can reach 100% Affinity with WE and some other things. Heck, even 90% is good enough for most purposes. Learn when and where to put Critical Eye on your weapons and you'll be flying through monsters with the greatest of ease.

F

---

Focus	FastCharge +10	Combat	5 (GS, non-Adept, non-Valor Bow), 4 (Adept/Valor Bow)

-20% time it takes to charge for GS, Hammer, Bow charge attacks, +25% charge rate for DB’s Demon Gauge, LS Spirit Gauge, SA Phial Gauge, and CB Phials.

Nigh essential for Bow users, unless you're Adept, and even then you can use it well enough for when you can't cheat out shots fast. Valor Bow, in theory, should also be able to use this, but if you're using the right Bow (i.e. one with the same type of shot on the 2nd and 3rd charges) then you can just charge to 2, fire, Power Shot, Power Shot. GS users also take Focus because it lets you exploit more monster openings and gets you in and out more quickly, which is always nice. Valor GS charges up the draw attacks super quickly if you have Focus too, so you can slam and jam all over the monster.

Good Luck, Great Luck, Miraculous Luck	Fate +10, Fate +15, Fate +20	Farming	5

• +3/32 chance to roll for an additional reward in the Reward Box. (25/32 from 22/32) (Good Luck)
• +6/32 chance to roll for an additional reward in the Reward Box. (28/32 from 22/32) (Great Luck)
• +9/32 chance to roll for an additional reward in the Reward Box. (31/32 from 22/32) (Miraculous Luck)

So the way rewards work in this game is that you have standard quest rewards, and then capture/break rewards. If you've completed the subquest, then you'll also have a subquest reward screen, and if you hunted invading monsters, their break/capture rewards will also show up on that screen. If the monster you hunted was also the bi-daily bounty, then the rewards from the bounty will also show up. The various Luck skills affect just the first category, the standard rewards. You're guaranteed at least 4 rewards minimum, with the first reward on the first row usually being guaranteed. After these first 4 rewards, the game will roll for a chance to get an additional reward, which are the chances described above. This reward rating defaults at 22/32. If the game rolls badly, then the game will then move on to the next row, but if not, the game will then roll for a reward that can be given out in the first row. This process continues either until you lose the roll, or until the end of the row is reached. This process is the same for the second row. Finally, the third row is limited to only about 4 or 5 slots, but it also obeys the Fate skill.

So getting past all the probability rules, higher tiers of the Fate skill usually means more rewards! But at the same time, you'll also be using valuable skill points on farming power, which your teammates might not appreciate. Still, there is an arena-specific headgear, the Desire Earring, which is given to those who have cleared all the G-Rank Arena quests with a rank of at least 'A'. This Earring grants Fate +11, good enough to get at least Good Luck. If you're willing, and your teammates okay with it, you can totally mix up a decent farming set with it.

Mind's Eye	Fencing +10	Blademaster	3 (Incredibly Niche Circumstances)

Prevents Blademaster weapons from bouncing.

There's a very simple rule to follow if you're a Blademaster: If you bounce, sharpen up or avoid that spot. If you're bouncing, it means that you're hitting a bad hitzone, and you should probably avoiding hitting that zone. Yes, this is useful for very, very niche circumstances, like avoiding getting combo'd by Silver Rathalos or Gold Rathian, but if you're using it outside of those niche circumstances, you're saying to the world that you don't give a shit about contributing damage. This skill can also become a really hard crutch, and it also extends your hunting times because you might not realize that you're hitting a bad zone. Please just use better positioning instead.

Fire Atk +1, Fire Atk +2	Fire Atk +10, Fire Atk +15	Combat	5 (Fast-hitting Fire weapons)

• +5%, then +4 Fire damage, if your weapon has Fire-element damage. (Fire Atk +1)
• +10%, then +6 Fire damage, if your weapon has Fire-element damage. (Fire Atk +2)

If you're hitting the monster a lot, and if the monster is sensitive to Fire damage, such as Chameleos, this skill is pretty much necessary to boost your damage. Now, when I say 'a lot,' I mean stuff like DBs, SnS, Bow. The real fast stuff. Don't be using this skill on GS or HH or something.

Fire Res +15, Fire Res +20	Fire Res +10, Fire Res +15	Combat	1

Does what it says on the tin.

Nah, just don't get this skill. Like get an armor set with better fire res or something if you're fighting Dreadking, Dreadqueen, or any of the firey guys.

Flying Pub Soul	Flying Pub +10	Misc	1

Combines the effects of 'Knockout King' and 'Horn Maestro':

• +10% KO Damage.
• Increases Melody Effect Duration, or lowers the chance of a Healing Melody being downgraded.
• Horns never break on use.
• Decrease chance that healing melody is downgraded one stage.

Not worth. KO King sucks, Maestro is marginal.

Antivirus	Frenzy Res +10	Combat	3 (Chaotic weapons, using Frenzy Fever)

Delays the onset of the Frenzy Virus. +15% Affinity gained when you overcome the Frenzy. Stacks with the similar effect of overcoming the Frenzy normally, for 30% total.

I dunno how much it 'delays the Frenzy,' but one thing's for sure: You'll get 30% more Affinity when you overcome the Frenzy instead of the normal 15%. This is especially nice if you're running Chaotic weapons as it just means that much more Affinity when you're using those weapons. Of course, outside of fighting Gore and Shagaru and Chaotic Gore, this skill won't get much use, unless you're using an HA slot to run Frenzy Fever. Which is okay if you were still playing something like... Striker CB in Gen? But now you've got Ripper Shield, so. If you're really willing to give up the HA slot to run Frenzy Fever, then this skill's a decent choice.

Resentment	Furor +10	Combat	3 (Synergy with certain builds)

+20 Attack while you’re recovering from an attack (while there is red health in your Health Gauge).

Aside from my usual 'don't get hit lol' speech that I would give here, this skill is pretty much a free +20 Attack as long as you're taking hits well. Or if you've got, say, a Resuscitate Toadstool setup. Fairly gimmicky, but it works well enough, as long as you build around it. Valor dodging also works as the chip damage dealt is left over as chip damage, so if you're Valor Dodging stuff you... might want to consider this?

Wrath Awoken	Fury +10	Combat	5 (The ultimate Adrenaline junkie)

Combines the effects of 'Guts' and 'Adrenaline +2':

• Prevents you from carting once if your health is above 65 and you take a hit that would normally cart you.
• +35% Attack and +45 Defense when you have 40% or less Health.

I hope you realize the synergy in this combined skill: Take a hit really fucking hard, and Guts will activate, preventing you from carting and leaving you at 1 health. Then, Adrenaline +2 will activate. This means that Adrenaline is much easier to activate. Unfortunately, this only comes on one set: Crimson Fatalis. Full Crimson Fatalis also grants Sharpness +2 (Normal/Rapid Up for Gunners) and Marathon Runner, as well as Defense Down (M). You'd look at Defense Down and say "Well this sucks, I'm gonna gem it out," but no friend, you keep it in to make activating Adrenaline that much easier. If you can play really well and avoid the chip damage, then full Crimson Fatalis can destroy opposing monsters with ease. Just tell your teammates that you're running Adrenaline +2 thanks.

G

---

Gathering +1, Gathering +2	Gathering +10, Gathering +15	Farming	5

• +2/32 chance to receive maximum items from any gathering node. (27/32 from 25/32) (Gathering +1)
• +4/32 chance to receive maximum items from any gathering node. (29/32 from 25/32) (Gathering +2)

More yields per node is always better if you're mining for charms, or if you're just gathering from certain nodes, like the Misty Peaks' trees.

Latent Power +1, Latent Power +2	Gloves Off +10, Gloves Off +15	Combat	2

• +30% Affinity, -50% Stamina consumption for 90 seconds after either you take 180 damage from any large monster or have fought it for 5 minutes. (Latent Power +1)
• +50% Affinity, -75% Stamina consumption for 90 seconds after either you take 180 damage from any large monster or have fought it for 5 minutes. (Latent Power +2)

A clarification if you ever use this skill: basically what happens is that behind the scenes, you can imagine a counter that goes up with time and damage taken, and when that counter reaches a certain point, Latent Power activates. so, if you take 90 damage from a monster and 2.5 minutes have passed, then Latent Power will activate because you've accumulated 180 'units' of the Latent Power counter. This still doesn't make it worth it because either you're taking a bunch hits just to activate super mode for 90 seconds, or the monster is already dying by 5 minutes if you're in a full team. Ultimately, the conditions to activate the skill just are not worth it for the power boost.

Gourmand, Scavenger	Gluttony +10, Gluttony +15	Misc	2

• 25% chance to increase the amount of Stamina restored by eating meat by 25. (Gourmand)
• 33% chance to increase the amount of Stamina restored by foods or drinks by 25, even if the amount of Stamina restored would be 0 otherwise. (Scavenger)

This skill is 'nice' at best, and 'unnecessary' at worst. Sure, it might save you time when you're healing up between zones, but otherwise, it's just okay.

Grimclaw Soul	Grimclaw +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Speed Eating +2' and 'HG Earplugs':

• Increases meat-eating speed and item-consumption speed. Affects all consumable items.
• Prevents the animation performed when your hunter is affected by a monster roar, but not any associated damage or statuses.

Full Grimclaw additionally provides Partbreaker and either Critical Draw for Blademasters, or Normal/Rapid Up for Gunners. Overall this set is pretty reminiscent of the full Molten Tigrex set from 4U, the Excello Z set. This set is kinda mediocre though because of the two less-than-helpful skills on the set. Really, there are easier ways to get HG Earplugs and Normal/Rapid Up or Critical Draw. Full Dreadking anyone?

Grimclaw Soul X	Grimclaw X +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Speed Eating +2', 'HG Earplugs', and 'Longer SP':

• Increases meat-eating speed and item-consumption speed. Affects all consumable items.
• Prevents the animation performed when your hunter is affected by a monster roar, but not any associated damage or statuses.
• Extends SP Mode duration by 25%.

I-I don't even know why they stuck Longer SP on this set. I mean sure, you can get the most use out of this if you use... Striker or Alchemy? I guess that's the point? Speedy Alchemy shenanigans? Ehhhh...

Heavy Polish	Grinder +10	Combat	3 (DBs, SnS?)

When you use a Whetstone, for 60 seconds:

• Blademaster weapons don’t lose Sharpness.
• +25% damage in Critical Distance for Gunners.

Okay maybe this is a good alternative to Razor Sharp if you can't fit it or Speed Sharpening in? The effect duration is just kinda... short for what you have to do to get the effects in the first place. You'll probably get use out of this if the monster transitions or is inactive for a long time, like Nakarkos. But otherwise, why?

Guard +1, Guard +2	Guard +10, Guard +15	Combat	5 (Guard Non-Adept/Valor Lance, Guard Non-Adept/Valor Gunlance)

• +10 guard rating. This decreases knockback, stamina loss on block, and chip damage. (Guard +1)
• +20 guard rating. This greatly decreases knockback, stamina loss on block, and chip damage. (Guard +2)

So the way guard works in this game is that all monsters have an additional value attached to their attacks that determines how strong it is, probably based on how much it damage it does. The higher this 'guard rating' the higher guard rating you'll need in order to guard it successfully. More guard rating means you'll use less stamina, take less chip damage, and take less knockback when intercepting an attack. Worth noting that Adept Lance is like an auto-Guard +2, as long as you successfully Adept Guard the attack in the first place.

Guard Up	Guard Up +10	Combat	3 (Guard Non-Adept/Valor Lance, Guard Non-Adept/Valor Gunlance)

Allows you to block lasers and certain other projectiles that were previously unblockable.

If the monster is about to shoot a giant-ass laser, it's in your best interest to get the heck out of there. Don't tank these attacks, they usually have a high guard rating, which means you'll take hella knockback and lose a lot of Stamina.

Guts	Guts +10	Combat	2

Prevents you from carting once if your health is above 65 and you take a hit that would normally cart you. (Refreshes on cart)

Felyne Moxie is a thing. Use it.

H

---

Sharpness +1, Sharpness +2	Handicraft +10, Handicraft +15	Blademasters	5 (Certain weapons only)

• +25 Sharpness, if it can be increased. (Sharpness +1)
• +50 Sharpness, if it can be increased. (Sharpness +2)

In Gen this skill was nerfed and also really hard to get; Hellblade armor was pretty much the only way to get Sharpness +2 economically. But now that Esurient XR exists in GU, oh boy, you can really get Sharpness +2 easily, which means you can put it on certain weapons that get higher sharpness grades, or just more sharpness of the same grade. Ahtal-Ka weapons spring to mind, as well as Elderfrost weapons because they get White. If you've got a weapon with a lot of White Sharpness, like the Lagi DBs, you can totally drop Sharpness +2 for like RS or something because you'll be using more of that long white instead of like the sliver of purple it gets. But the Jho Cena mix that is used in this game is pretty universally solid.

TrueShot Up	Haphazard +10	Gunner	5 (Bow, Elemental Bowguns, Slicing S Bowguns)

• +20% raw/element on all Internal Shots for Bowgun.
• +20% raw on Arc/Power shots for Bow.

This is a free +20% raw if you can use Power Shots most of the time (which is what Valor Bow would be doing) or if you use a lot of internals, as in the case of Elemental Bowguns or Slicing S-focused Bowguns. This skill is basically a +20% damage increase to those weapons, so get it pretty much as the 3rd thing, next to WE and CB.

Health +20, Health +50	Health +10, Health +15	Combat	1

Does what it says on the tin.

The canteen should usually max out your health, and Max and Ancient Potions exist, so use those instead of this skill.

Earplugs, HG Earplugs	Hearing +10, Hearing +15	Combat	4 (Non-Adept/Valor GS, Hammer, HH)

• Prevents the animation performed when your hunter is affected by some monster roars, but not any associated damage or statuses. (Earplugs)
• Prevents the animation performed when your hunter is affected by a monster roar, but not any associated damage or statuses. (HG Earplugs)

You'll have to look up the details about which monster does which roar, but generally the louder the roar, the more likely you'll need HGE in order to nullify the roar. Furthermore, if a roar can damage you, you'll need HGE in order to avoid the animation (but doesn't prevent the damage). Good for ignoring monster roars, which are pretty good openings for certain weapons to do their thing. Oh, but remember that Adept and Valor exist, so don't use this skill with those styles.

Heat Cancel	Heat Res +10	Combat	1

Provides natural heat resistance (you don't have to use Cold Drinks in hot areas), and prevents lava damage.

Pretty much useless while its bigger brother, Tropic Hunter, exists. Oh, and Cool Drinks too.

Heavy/Heavy Up	Heavy Up +10	Gunner	5 (Heavy Bow)

+10% damage to Heavy-type Arrows and Heavy S.

Yes, yes, yes, Heavy Bow is no longer a meme in GU thanks to the damage bug on Rapid-type shots and due to the power of the Heavy Bow known as Harbinger's Battlebow. 100% get this if you ever decide to run Heavy Bow.

Hellblade Soul	Hellblade +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Sharpness +2', 'Shot Booster', and 'Speed Sharpening':

• +50 Sharpness, if it can be increased.
• +50% extension to Critical Distance.
• -75% time it takes to sharpen. (Takes one cycle, rather than 4)

Full Hellblade additionally provides Heavy Polish and Divine Protection. Back in Gen, this was the easiest way to get Sharpness +2, but Jho Cena exists now, so...

Hellblade Soul X	Hellblade X +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Sharpness +2', 'Shot Booster', 'Speed Sharpening', and 'Bombardier':

• +50 Sharpness, if it can be increased.
• +50% extension to Critical Distance.
• -75% time it takes to sharpen. (Takes one cycle, rather than 4)
• +20% Blast application
• +30% Bomb Damage (applies to all items with ‘bomb’ in their name)
• 100% chance to combine all ‘bomb’ items.

Snore

Hero's Talisman	Hero Shield +10	Combat	3 (Blademasters)

Completely nullifies status and damage of any attack if the attack would deal less than 5 damage.

I was tempted to rate this skill a 2, but it can be useful for the Blademasters in avoiding the chip damage coming from large monsters too, not just the small monsters. It's nice utility, but it's also kinda hard to get, so...

Pack Rat	Hoarding +10	Farming	2

Combines the effects of 'Gathering +2' and 'Charm Chaser.' * +4/32 chance to receive maximum items from any gathering node. (29/32 from 25/32) * 30% chance to mine an extra charm when you mine one.

Only available on two sets: GX Gold and GX Silver. Just get the skills separately, it's more flexible that way.

Honey Hunter	Honey +10	Farming	2

Collect two Honeys or Royal Honeys at once when you would have got one normally.

Meh, trading carts exist, though if you really want to farm honeys via Harvest Tour you could get this? I dunno. This is also packed with Water Res +15 if you can get Soul of Yukumo, so if you have 5 slots on your gathering set, go for it?

Tropic Hunter	HotBlooded +10	Combat	3

• Provides natural heat resistance (you don't have to use Cold Drinks in hot areas).
• Prevents lava damage.
• +15 Attack and +20 Defense in hot areas.
• +10 Defense when you consume a Hot Drink.

Some TAs use this skill if they're fighting in Ingle Isle, which is a good idea as it saves them time to buff up and whatnot before the hunt. You too, if you can easily get this skill. Most of the time you'll probably be stacking the damage though, so little to no room for this skill.

Halve Hunger, Negate Hunger	Hunger +10, Hunger +15	Misc	1

• -100% natural Stamina reduction rate (12 minutes/25 Stamina, from 6 minutes/25 Stamina normal). (Halve Hunger)
• Negates natural Stamina reduction. (Negate Hunger)

Energy Drinks... Well-Done Steaks... Ancient Potions.... hmmm.

I

---

Ice Atk +1, Ice Atk +2	Ice Atk +10, Ice Atk +15	Combat	5 (Fast-hitting Ice weapons)

• +5%, then +4 Ice damage, if your weapon has Ice-element damage. (Ice Atk +1)
• +10%, then +6 Ice damage, if your weapon has Ice-element damage. (Ice Atk +2)

Not very monsters in this game are weak to Ice, actually. But the few that are, such as Nibelsnarf or Najarala, are particularly susceptible to Ice LBG.

Ice Res +15, Ice Res +20	Ice Res +10, Ice Res +15	Combat	1

Does what it says on the tin.

Nah.

Composed	Insight +10	Combat	2

+15% charge rate for HA, Valor, and Alchemy Gauges.

Probably best(?) used on Alchemy to compensate for SP Mode slowing down HA charge.

K

---

KO King	KO +10	Combat	1

+10% KO damage.

Might get you like one more KO at best, might do nothing at worst.

Soul of Kokoto	Kokoto +10	Farming	1

Combines the effects of 'Thunder Res +15' and 'Spirit’s Whim':

• +15 Thunder Res.
• -33% break chance for tools.

Divine Whim's a thing, and Whim itself is pretty easy to get. I don't really see the point of getting Thunder Res when the other skill is for farming anyway, so.

L

---

Item Use Up	Lasting Pwr +10	Combat	2

+50% duration to items which have a duration. Impacts sharpness effect of “Heavy Grinder” when using a whetstone.

Prolongs duration of Might Seeds and MDJs, I guess. Like I dunno where you would use this skill. It's just... there.

Rationer	Light Eater +10	Combat	2

25% chance to not consume items when you use them.

11 Ancient Pots, 2 Max Pots, and 10 Mega Pots is already a lot of Pottage. Other items will usually last you all of the hunt as well.

Load Up	Loading +10	Combat	5 (Certain Bows)

• +1 shot capacity for Bowguns and GL.
• +2 charged phials for Yellow Charge on CB.
• +5 charged phials for Red Charge on CB.
• Lets you use the next level of charge on your Bow, if it doesn’t have 4 levels of charge already.

Necessary for the Ahtal Bow and the Hero's Bow in order to enable their powerful Rapid 5 charges on Charge 4. In the other use cases, eh. Load Up boost on CB is nice, but it doesn't really speed it up a lot. On Bowguns, you have either Valor Reload for a fixed-length reload, or you've got Full House for LBG.

M

---

Horn Maestro	Maestro +10	Misc	3 (HH)

• Increases Melody Effect Duration, and reduces the chance that Healing Melodies get downgraded.
• Horns never break on use.
• Decrease chance that healing melody is downgraded one stage.

HH has the double note system now, so if you land your hits you shouldn't have to worry about melody upkeep as much. It's a decent skill if you're looking to get into HH for the first time though.

Explosive Trapper	Mechanic +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Bombardier' and 'Trap Master':

• +20% Blast application.
• +30% Bomb Damage (applies to all items with ‘bomb’ in their name).
• 100% chance to combine all ‘bomb’ items.
• Speeds up placement of traps and bombs, and guarantees combinations of traps.

Half of this skill is already in Felyne Pyro. The other half is just Trap Master.

Mounting Master	Mounting +10	Combat	2

+25% Mounting and Topple damage.

"Mounting" refers to actually downing the monster so you can mount it in the first place. "Topple" refers to the minigame that happens once you're on the monster. That said, this could be useful on Aerial Style I guess, but it's kind of a waste on the other styles. Maybe IG could use this too, but why not just get more damage?

Mushromancer	Mycology +10	Misc	2

Lets you eat mushrooms to get certain effects:

• Blue Mushroom: Potion
• Dragon Toadstool: Max Potion
• Parashroom: Armorskin
• Bindshroom: Armorskin
• Nitroshroom: Demondrug
• Greatshroom: Demondrug
• Mopeshroom: Dash Juice
• Choice Mushroom: Mega Dash Juice
• Abyssal Mushroom: Nullberry
• Reststool: Antidote
• Chaos Mushroom: Psychoserum
• Unique Mushroom: Ration
• Ripened Mushroom: Ancient Potion

Just use... regular stuff instead?

N

---

Bitter Affinity	Negative Crit +10	Combat	4 (Negative Affinity weapons only)

If you would deal a feeble hit to a monster, have a 25% chance to convert it into a critical hit that does double damage (does not activate skills such as but not limited to Elemental Crit or Status Crit).

I can see use for this in gimmicky builds or just to add onto weapons that have negative crit, like the Diablos weapons. But otherwise, I don't think Bitter Affinity does enough.

Nightcloak Soul	Nightcloak +10	Combat	3 (Blademasters)

Combines the effects of 'HG Earplugs', 'Reload Speed +3', and 'Steady Hand', which itself combines the effects of 'Mind's Eye' and 'Razor Sharp':

• Nullifies the animation performed when your hunter is affected by a monster roar, but not any associated damage or statuses.
• Increases the reload speed rating of your Bowgun by 3 stages, reducing the time it takes to load shots.
• Instantly loads Bow Coatings.
• Prevents Blademaster weapons from bouncing.
• -50% Sharpness decrement rate.

Full Nightcloak additionally provides Sneak and Composed. Can anyone else say 'overloaded skill'? I'm pretty sure Capcom was compensating for something when they made the G-Rank Deviant sets, because they're generally more decent than the older Deviants' sets. I'm fairly sure that this set is meant to be... more for support-type hunters? To be honest, this skill is getting the rating it gets not because of the quality of the skills, but the sheer amount of them. Like geez, Steady Hand for Blademasters? And just Reload Speed +3 for Gunners? Capcom might be a bit biased I think.

Nightcloak Soul X	Nightcloak X +10	Combat	3 (Blademasters)

Combines the effects of 'HG Earplugs', 'Reload Speed +3', 'Trap Master', and 'Steady Hand', which itself combines the effects of 'Mind's Eye' and 'Razor Sharp':

• Nullifies the animation performed when your hunter is affected by a monster roar, but not any associated damage or statuses.
• Increases the reload speed rating of your Bowgun by 3 stages, reducing the time it takes to load shots.
• Instantly loads Bow Coatings.
• Speeds up placement of traps and bombs, and guarantees combinations of traps.
• Prevents Blademaster weapons from bouncing.
• -50% Sharpness decrement rate.

My point from the last entry still stands, this is a pretty overloaded skill, and it does grant a lot of the more support-y skills. I probably would use this for a God's Archipelago set, but only if I really like the fullset. Oh and full Nightcloak is pretty fashionable.

Acrobat	Nimbleness +10	Combat	3

Combines the effects of 'Evasion +1' and 'Constitution +1':

• +65% invincibility period when dodging. (0.33 seconds, from 0.2 seconds normal)
• -25% Stamina usage when using Stamina in chunks, such as evading or blocking.

It's Bubble, but in 'always on' mode. Meh. It's okay but again, you'd have to have the specific armor sets in order to get points for this skill.

Use Any Normal S	Normal S+ +10	Gunner	5 (Normal Ahtal Bowguns)

Allows your Bowgun to use all levels of Normal S, if it did not already have one or all of them enabled. Load depends on Bowgun.

If you don't already have Normal S Lv 2s enabled then you're either running the Ahtal Guns, or you shouldn't even be running this skill.

Normal/Rapid Up	Normal Up +10	Gunner	5 (Normal LBG/HBG, Rapid Bow)

+10% Attack on Normal S from Bowguns or Rapid-type Arrows from Bows.

It's a straight-up damage increase. Pretty much core if you plan to use Normal S or Rapid-type Arrows.

P

---

Use Para Coat	Para C+ +10	Gunner	1

Allows your Bow to use Para C.s, if it did not already have it enabled.

Just use a bow with Para Coatings already enabled.

Negate Paralysis	Paralysis +10	Combat	1

Prevents Paralysis.

Okay I will admit that Paralysis is one of the more annoying effects in the game given that it's applied instantly and it takes you time to recover from it, more than Stun. But that's not worth using skill points to negate, really.

Use Lv1 Pellet S, Use All Pellet S	Pellet S+ +10	Gunner	1

• Allows your Bowgun to use Pellet S Lv1, if it did not already have it enabled. Load depends on Bowgun. (Use Lv1 Pellet S)
• Allows your Bowgun to use all levels of Pellet S, if it did not already have one or all of them enabled. Load depends on Bowgun. (Use All Pellet S)

Even if you're running Pellet Bowguns, if you need to invest in this skill, don't. Pellet S Lv 1 is mainly for clearing out smaller monsters, and if you plan to down larger monsters with Pellet S, you'd better be off using Pellet S Lv 2 or Lv 3. Which you should have already enabled. Unless you're running the Ahtal guns.

Pellet/Spread Up	Pellet Up +10	Gunner	5 (Pellet Bowguns, Spread Bow)

• +20% Attack on Pellet S from Bowguns.
• +30% Attack on Spread-type Arrows from Bows.

Essential if you plan to Pellet HBG/LBG or Spread Bow. These are fairly large damage increases compared to their siblings.

Capture Guru	Perception +10	Combat	5 (Deviant Capture quests, Capture Farming)

When a monster has successfully recovered from being debilitated and if the monster is within capture range and if you have it paintballed, the pink dot representing the monster will flash white.

You need this skill when you're whaling on a Deviant with a full party, otherwise you'll be killing it before you can say 'oh shit I don't have Capture Guru'. Otherwise, it's also really needed for when you plan on capturing the monster for capture rewards. Better to know than to guess.

Use Lv1 Pierce S	Pierce S+ +10	Gunner	1

Allows your Bowgun to use Pierce S Lv 1, if it did not already have it enabled. Load depends on Bowgun.

The LBGs that RF Pierce S Lv1s should already have it enabled. Just don't use this skill.

Use All Pierce S	Pierce S+ +15	Gunner	5 (Pierce Ahtal Bowguns)

Allows your Bowgun to use all levels of Pierce S, if it did not already have one or all of them enabled. Load depends on Bowgun.

Required for the RF Pierce S Lv 2 on the Ahtal LBG, or for the Seige Pierce S Lv 3 on the Ahtal HBG. I mean, if you wanna meme, you'd need this skill.

Pierce/Pierce Up	Pierce Up +10	Gunner	5 (Pierce Bowgun, Pierce Bow)

+10% Attack on Pierce S from Bowguns and on Pierce-type Arrows from Bows.

Required if you want to do any form of Pierce Bowgunning in GU. The proportional attack boost is substantial to damage contributions. On Pierce arrows, they're good as well, but can be dropped if you plan on doing something like... Lao in favor of getting Dragon Atk +2.

Negate Poison	Poison +10	Combat	4 (Dreadqueen, Deadeye combat)

• Weakens Deadly Poison to regular Poison.
• Nullifies all lower grades of Poison.

Very helpful in basically ignoring the central gimmick of Dreadqueen Rathian if you don't have an HH user with the Ahtal Horn supporting you.

Use Poison Coat	Poison C+ +10	Gunner	1

Allows your Bow to use Poison C.s, if it did not already have it enabled.

Why though?

Soul of Pokke	Pokke +10	Gunner	1

Combines the effects of 'Ice Res +15' and 'Gourmand':

• +15 Ice Res.
• 25% chance to increase the amount of Stamina restored by eating meat by 25.

Two minor effects for the cost of 5 slots. No thanks.

Adrenaline +1	Potential +10	Combat	1

+15 Defense if at or below 40% Health.

This effect is just so... minor. Not worth the 10 point investment.

Adrenaline +2	Potential +15	Combat	5 (Adrenaline builds)

+15 Defense and +30% Attack if at or below 40% Health.

+30% Attack means that this even beats Hayasol (approx. 20% for reference) when you're at low health. If you know the monster well and can avoid taking the chip damage, then you can safely use this skill.

Power Phial (Lv 1)	Power C+ +10	Gunner	4 (certain bows)

Allows your Bow to use Power C.s Lv1, if it did not already have it enabled.

If the Bow you have doesn't support Power Phial (Lv 1)s, then this skill effectively adds 70 more Power Phials for you to play with, extending your damage upkeep. Very good for the longer hunts.

Power Phial (All)	Power C+ +15	Gunner	4 (certain bows)

Allows your Bow to use both levels of Power C., if it did not already have either or both levels enabled.

Certain Bows have high raw, but no access to Power Coatings at all in order to compensate. If you want to add a lot of punch and you have a Power C+ talisman, then this skill is pretty good on them.

Alloy Stomach	PowerEater +10	Misc	1

Combines the effects of 'Speed Eating +2', 'Meat Lover', and 'Mushromancer':

• Increases meat-eating speed and item-consumption speed. Affects all consumable items.
• Allows you to eat Raw Meat to recover 25 Max Stamina, and Rare/Well-Done Steaks temporarily grant infinite Stamina.
• Lets you eat mushrooms to get certain effects:
• Blue Mushroom: Potion
• Dragon Toadstool: Max Potion
• Parashroom: Armorskin
• Bindshroom: Armorskin
• Nitroshroom: Demondrug
• Greatshroom: Demondrug
• Mopeshroom: Dash Juice
• Choice Mushroom: Mega Dash Juice
• Abyssal Mushroom: Nullberry
• Reststool: Antidote
• Chaos Mushroom: Psychoserum
• Unique Mushroom: Ration
• Ripened Mushroom: Ancient Potion

Nope. This combined skill just doesn't do enough to justify the one set requirement. Though if you really wanna cosplay as the Gourmew or use full Deviljho, be my guest.

Benediction	Prayer +10	Combat	1

Combines the effects of 'Recovery Up' and 'Divine Blessing':

• +25% Health recovery.
• 25% chance to take 30% less damage.

Only present on GX Lune. Both parts of this skill can be found as Food skills. Not worth it.

Steadiness +1, Steadiness +2	Precision +10, Precision +15	Gunner	1

• Decreases the amount of Deviation your Bowgun has by one stage. (Steadiness +1)
• Decreases the amount of Deviation your Bowgun has by two stages. (Steadiness +2)

If you didn't know, Deviation is a stat present on Bowguns that affects how the bullet travels as it moves away from the bowgun. Bowgun Deviation can either be L(eft)/R(ight) or just one of the two, and it can either be Mild or Severe. Deviation can be accounted for by standing closer to the monster, and if you have a monodirectional Deviation, just aim in the opposite direction of the Deviation and you'll be okay. Since Steadiness can be made useless by player skill, it's never worth it.

Longer SP	Prolong SP +10	Combat	3 (Alchemy)

+25% SP Duration.

Okay, so the way SP Mode works is that you have 4 levels, and Alchemy can raise the SP level that its SP HAs trigger by shaking the barrel. I'll run down the details quickly:

SP I:

• Guild: Faster Trap placement, faster consumption of items (Flex takes less time).
• Striker: HAs charges over time.
• Aerial: Stamina start to recover sooner after jumping.
• Adept: Longer time to activate Adept dodges/blocks.
• Valor: Valor Gauge charge rate increased.
• Alchemy: Alchemy Gauge charge rate increased.

SP II: Halves rate at which maximum Stamina is reduced over time. (12 minutes from 6 minutes, provides SP I effects)

SP III: Health regenerates over time. (approx. 5 health/5 seconds? Includes non-red health, provides SP II effects)

SP IV: +5% Stagger damage, provides SP III effects.

I suggest you check out an Alchemy post on Reddit in order for more details on how Alchemy raises its SP level, but Longer SP itself just isn't worth it for the relatively minor effects. Really, it's just Alchemy and SP Mode itself that has this issue, not the skill.

Divine Protection	Protection +10	Combat	1

25% chance to take 30% less damage.

Eat for Felyne Defender instead.

Fleet Feet	Prudence +10	Combat	3 (Gunners)

Combines the effects of 'Evade Extender' and 'Peak Performance':

• +50% distance covered whenever you take an evasive action that isn’t a HA.
• +20 Attack when your Health is at 100%.

Peak Performance basically means that this set is pretty great for Gunners, and for anyone else, they should just take EE by itself instead. However, like all combined skills, this is only present on a full set, and the skills don't justify building a set for them.

Detect, Autotracker	Psychic +10, Psychic +15	Combat	1

• Reveals the status of the monster (Red - actively fighting, Yellow - Seen a Hunter, Blue - Has not seen a Hunter), the general species of the monster, and where they’re facing while the monster is revealed, such as via a Paintball. (Detect)
• Can always see the location of the monster, as if they were marked, and applies the effects of Detect. (Autotracker)

No. If you've fought the monster it's easy enough to know where they spawn. And if you don't, it's a matter of wandering around until you do find them or just chow down on a Psychoserum. Gimmicky at best. Oh, and Prowlers basically always have this skill.

Punishing Draw	Punish Draw +10	Blademaster	4 (Hit & Run GS), 3 (Meme DBs)

• +5 Attack for all weapons.
• For Cut-type weapons, each draw attack hit deals KO and Exhaust damage, scaling with MV.

Pretty great when you sheath often and almost purely use Draw Attacks, like on GS. Use with Quick Sheath for maximum effect, or just go for Sheathe Control. I've uh also seem this be used on certain gimmick DB sets because of the Punish Draw activating on the spinny move you do.

R

---

Outdoorsman	Ranger +10	Misc	0

Always shows the Map, even if you don’t have one. Extends reaction time for cooking meat and catching fish by 50%.

I'm not gonna explain this one, it's obvious.

Sheath Control	Readiness +10	Blademaster	5 (Hit & Run GS)

Combines the effects of 'Punishing Draw' and 'Quick Sheath':

• +5 Attack for all weapons.
• For Cut-type weapons, each draw attack deals additional Stun and Exhaust damage.
• ~+100% sheathe speed for all weapons.

Incredible on GS, and the set it comes on, Black X, is already great for GS. Good stuff if you need it.

Recovery Up	Rec Level +10	Misc	1

+25% Health recovery on yourself. (Doesn't apply to allies with Wide-Range +2, unless they have this skill.)

Felyne Medic is a thing.

Rec Speed +1, Rec Speed +2	Rec Speed +10	Misc	1

• +100% natural Health recovery rate. (Rec Speed +1)
• +300% natural Health recovery rate. (Rec Speed +2)

Drink a potion instead, really.

Recoil Down +1, Recoil Down +2, Recoil Down +3	Recoil +10, Recoil +15, Recoil +20	Gunner	5 (Certain Bowguns)

• -1 Bowgun Recoil Rating, which decreases recovery time after you fire a shot. (Recoil Down +1)
• -2 Bowgun Recoil Rating, which decreases recovery time after you fire a shot. (Recoil Down +2)
• -3 Bowgun Recoil Rating, which decreases recovery time after you fire a shot. (Recoil Down +3)

How Recoil works in this game is that every shot has a recoil value, and your bowgun's recoil rating takes away from this value. Depending on the resulting value, you can either take no time to recover from firing, some time, or a long time. A good rule of thumb to follow is that 'Some' recoil is required for firing Pierce S Lv 2, Pierce S Lv 3, and Pellet S Lv 3 without Recoil, while 'Avg' is needed to fire Pierce S Lv 1s recoilless. Status shots require 'Min.' Recoil to fire recoillessly. Finally, Normal S generate little to no recoil, so you don't have to care about the Recoil Rating when using those types of Bowguns. Furthermore, LBG's Rapid Firing ignores recoil, and instead has its own recoil, called "Wait Time", which cannot be affected by any skills. Firing recoillessly is essential to playing Valor HBG, so prioritize this skill if you don't already have 'Some' Recoil. Also prioritize this if you're playing Lost Musket or God's Isle in this game, as you need Min. Recoil to fire status and explosive shots without recoil. Remember that Silencers give a free Recoil Down +1.

Bonus Shot	Rapid Fire +10	Gunner	5 (Elemental LBGs, Slicing LBGs)

All Rapid Fire volleys fire one more shot.

You might think that this skill is basically free damage, but LBG does have to stay in place to fire that one extra shot, so that means less opportunities to get out of the way if you need to. Elemental LBG and Slicing LBG use this because they need to get as much from their Internals as possible in order to extend their usefulness, so they ignore mobility for the sake of longetivity. Normal and Pierce LBGs do not use this because they're pretty much guaranteed to have enough shots for the entire hunt, unless they aim really poorly.

Redhelm Soul	Redhelm +10	Combat	1

Combines the effects of 'Focus' and 'Resentment':

• -20% charge time for GS, Hammer, Bow charge attacks, +20% charge rate for DB’s Demon Gauge, LS Spirit Gauge, SA Phial Gauge, and CB Phials.
• +20 Attack while you’re recovering from an attack (while there is red health in your Health Gauge).

Full Redhelm additionally grants Defense Up (S) and Constitution +2. For every good Deviant set, there's a shitty one, and this one is definitely it. Defense Up (S) literally does nothing here. The best skills here, Focus and Resentment, are easier to get by themselves rather than putting all of your eggs into one Redhelm-shaped basket of sadness.

Redhelm Soul X	Redhelm X +10	Combat	1

Combines the effects of 'Focus', 'Resentment', and 'Marathon Runner':

• -20% charge time for GS, Hammer, Bow charge attacks, +20% charge rate for DB’s Demon Gauge, LS Spirit Gauge, SA Phial Gauge, and CB Phials.
• +20 Attack while you’re recovering from an attack (while there is red health in your Health Gauge).
• -50% Stamina usage when dashing or otherwise draining Stamina over time.

Thundahloooooord

armor is better than this.

Reload Speed +1, Reload Speed +2, Reload Speed +3	Reload Spd +10, Reload Spd +15, Reload Spd +20	Combat	1

• Increases the reload speed rating of your Bowgun by 1 stage, decreasing the time it takes to load shots. Decreases time taken to load Bow Coatings. (Reload Speed +1)
• Increases the reload speed rating of your Bowgun by 2 stages, reducing the time it takes to load shots. Instantly loads Bow Coatings. (Reload Speed +2)
• Increases the reload speed rating of your Bowgun by 3 stages, reducing the time it takes to load shots. Instantly loads Bow Coatings. (Reload Speed +3)

Reload Speed works just like Recoil -- bullets have reload ratings, and your Bowgun's reload speed takes away from this rating. Resulting rating falls into a range of 'fast reload', 'average reload' and 'slow reload'.

But that's all moot because Full House is a thing. Seriously, the Black Fatalis LBG's V. Slow Reload Speed rating is just negated by Full House.

Iron Wall	Resilience +10	Combat	1

Combines the effects of 'Defense Up (L)' and 'Iron Skin': * +5%, then +25 Defense (flat). * Prevents Defense Down and Defense Double Down.

Only available on parts of Artian X. No.

Rustrazor Soul	Rustrazor +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Guard +2' and 'Quick Sheath':

• Increases guard rating by 20.
• Speeds up sheathing for all weapons.

Yes, I know having Guard +2 on the Rustrazor set is weird. Yes, I know it should have gone onto the Stonefist set. Yes, I know that Rustrazor Soul should have been what Stonefist has now. We've all heard it before.

Full Rustrazor also grants Guard Up and either Razor Sharp for Blademasters or Pierce/Pierce Up for Gunners. Meh? Meh. This set really doesn't offer much that mixed sets can get, because mixed sets can drop Guard Up for something that has more impact.

Rustrazor Soul X	Rustrazor X +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Guard +2', 'Quick Sheath', and 'Shining Blade':

• Increases guard rating by 20.
• Speeds up sheathing for all weapons.
• For Blademaster weapons, after you perform evasive actions (5 rolls, 9 hops/dashes), restores 5 units of Sharpness.
• For Bowguns (Light/Heavy), per evasive action, you have a 33% chance to load the currently selected shot type. These effects stack with the similar ones provided by the Seregios weapons.
• For Bows, applies a +50% damage increase when you use C.Range Coatings. This effect stacks with the similar effect provided by the Seregios Bows, granting a total +65% damage increase.

The bonus is... okay but there are easier ways to get Shining Blade. Only get this set if you really want to experience the power of tanks.

S

---

Skill +2	Secret Art +10	Misc	5 (certain builds)

Adds 2 skill points to all other skills with points invested.

The other exclusive skill to the Neset set is this one! So basically, if you have a triple slot talisman, and you gem in, say, FastCharge Jwl 3 into it, then the talisman will be doubled (4 x 2 = 8), then two points added on to the result (8 + 2 = 10)! Instant Focus! This is pretty good, suffice to say, on sets with great talismans, just like the other exclusive skill.

Taunt	Sense -10	Combat	3 ("Tank" Lance, multiplayer)

Increases chance the monster will randomly target you.

We don't know how monster aggro works, really, so these skills that affect aggro are unpredictable in terms of effectiveness. If you're one of those people that think that classes should be in MH, then okay, get Taunt.

Sneak	Sense +10	Combat	2

Decreases chance the monster will randomly target you.

This doesn't work in solo play (and no, using palicos while playing by yourself isn't 'solo'), and the monster's gonna aggro you eventually, so the best this skill is gonna do is delay an unfortunate death.

Speed Sharpener	Sharpener +10	Blademaster	3

-75% time it takes to sharpen your weapon. (1 cycle to sharpen, rather than 4)

Convenient, but Felyne Polisher exists, as does Absolute Readiness. This is a 5 slot skill though, and can be a decent alternative to Razor Sharp if you can't fit it in a Blademaster set for some reason.

Razor Sharp	Sharpness +10	Blademaster	5 (Not GS)

-50% Sharpness usage.

50% Sharpness usage effectively means double Sharpness, so you can extend that thin strip of Purple Sharpness to get to a usable state. It also means less sharpening mid-fight. Essential for GL and other weapons that can guard because RS also halves sharpness loss on guard.

Quick Sheathe	Sheathing +10	Combat	5 (Hit & Run GS)

~+100% weapon sheathing speed.

Required for weapons that abuse Draw Attacks and related skills, such as Critical Draw or Punishing Draw. Sheathe Control is used as just a straight upgrade to this skill, though.

Challenge Sheath	Sheath Sharpen +10	Combat	3 (Hit & Run GS)

35% chance to restore 5 Sharpness everytime you sheath while a monster in the same area is enraged.

Theoretically good with Hit & Run GS, and it's also a 5 slot skill, but you've likely got Razor Sharp or Absolute Readiness and stuff, so maintaining sharpness with this effect is... okay.

Silverwind Soul	Silverwind +10	Combat	3 (SA)

Combines the effects of 'Evasion +2' and 'Critical Eye +3':

• +100% invincibility period when dodging. (0.4 seconds, from 0.2 seconds normal)
• +30% Affinity.

Full Silverwind additionally grants Evade Extender and Critical Boost. Back in Gen this was actually a decent full set for SA if you really wanted those Evasion Skills. The additional Affinity as well as Critical Boost also made it potent, and some sets mixed Silverwind with other parts to get Weakness Exploit as well. Nowadays, it's okay, especially with the crappy True Silverwind Soul...

Silverwind Soul X	Silverwind X +10	Combat	3 (SA)

Combines the effects of 'Evasion +2', 'Critical Eye +3', and 'Sneak':

• +100% invincibility period when dodging. (0.4 seconds, from 0.2 seconds normal)
• +30% Affinity.
• Decreases chance the monster will randomly target you.

Yeah.... Sneak on this set is pretty bad, compared to the potential of, say, the Elderfrost set or the Bloodbath set. If you're a Gunner and actually want Sneak to avoid taking aggro, you're just better off using Adept or Valor to avoid taking the hits.

Use Sleep Coat	Sleep C+ +10	Combat	3 (SA)

Allows your Bow to use Sleep C.s, if it did not already have it enabled.

Meh, you'd maybe get one or two sleeps if you used Sleep Coatings I guess? Not worth investing in this skill just for two extra sleeps, and if you really want those sleeps, use... the Congalala Bow or something. Wait, Nerscylla Bow carries Sleep Coatings naturally. Use that.

Snowbaron Soul	Snowbaron +10	Combat	4 (Aerial)

Combines the effects of 'Evade Extender' and 'Stam Recov Up':

• +50% distance covered whenever you take an evasive action that isn’t a HA.
• +100% Stamina recovery rate.

Full Snowbaron additionally provides Airborne and Recovery Spd +2. I guess I can get the point of Aerial spamming all over your enemies, and that's really fun, don't get me wrong. Use this with weapons that use Stamina a lot and can jump on the monster a lot, like DBs or IG or something.

Snowbaron Soul X	Snowbaron X +10	Combat	4 (Aerial)

Combines the effects of 'Evade Extender', 'Stam Recov Up', and 'Mounting Master':

• +50% distance covered whenever you take an evasive action that isn’t a HA.
• +100% Stamina recovery rate.
• +25% Mounting and Topple damage.

Ayyyy Mounting Master actually is pretty good on this set to aerially meme all over your enemies. Take this if you like Aerial Style and if you like dunking the shit out of monsters.

Soaratorium Soul	Soaratorium +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Dragon Res +15' and 'Bio Researcher':

• +15 Dragon Res.
• Guarantees that the monster will flee immediately once a Dung Bomb is applied, if the monster can be affected by Dung Bombs, and if it can flee.
• Grants 100% chance to combine Dung Bombs.
• Prevents Stench and Blastblight.

Like all village skills, this is just underwhelming for the five-slot cost.

Soulseer Soul	Soulseer +10	Combat	4 (Non Adept/Valor Blademasters)

Combines the effects of 'Critical Eye +3' and 'Challenger +1':

• +30% Affinity.
• +10 Attack and +10% Affinity while a monster in the area is enraged.

Full Soulseer additionally provides Bubbly Dance and Acrobat. And yes, we get that 'Soulseer Soul' is a bad name. You might also wonder how the Evasion +1 skills stack on Bubbly Dance and Acrobat. Well, the short answer is 'no they don't'. In theory this set lets you dance around the monster with the Evasion and Constitution effects while provides a small amount of punch in Soulseer Soul, and I sorta like that. It's more for Blademasters though, not for Gunners because we have Adept or Valor.

Soulseer Soul X	Soulseer X +10	Combat	4 (Non Adept/Valor Blademasters)

Combines the effects of 'Critical Eye +3' and 'Challenger +2':

• +30% Affinity.
• +20 Attack and +15% Affinity while a monster in the same area is enraged.

It's... actually a straight upgrade from normal Soulseer Soul. Not much to say here really.

Trap Master	Speed Setup +10	Misc	5 (HAME Runs)

• +100% Trap combination rate.
• +100% Bomb/Trap placement rate.

Useful for trap and status combos, such as on Charm God Brachy runs. Otherwise, not that useful.

Challenger +1, Challenger +2	Spirit +10, Spirit +15	Combat	4

• +10 Attack, +10% Affinity while a monster in the same area is enraged. (Challenger +1)
• +20 Attack, +15% Affinity while a monster in the same area is enraged. (Challenger +2)

Unfortunately nerfed from 4U, but this is still G-Rank baby, and monsters enrage a lot. You'll get a lot of mileage from Challenger, as long as you can attack while the monster's enraged and not, you know, run around like a chicken without its head.

Shield Bearer	Stalwart +10	Combat	1

Combines the effects of 'Guard Boost' and 'Stam Recov Up':

• Allows you to block lasers and certain other projectiles that were previously unblockable.
• +100% Stamina recovery rate.

Nah. Guard Up is a fairly minor effect, and Stam Recov Up just isn't worth it later game when MDJs are a thing. Not worth using the one of two sets for this.

Stamina Thief	Stam Drain +10	Combat	1

+20% Exhaust damage.

Not worth it. You might get like... one or two more exhausts thanks to this skill, but in G-Rank monsters don't really care about being exhausted.

Stam Recov Up	Stam Recov +10	Combat	2

+100% Stamina Recovery Rate.

MDJs exist, and if you're using a lot of Stamina, then you should down some MDJs or something.

Marathon Runner	Stamina +10	Combat	2

-50% Stamina usage when dashing or otherwise draining Stamina over time.

Much like the previous skill, MDJs exist.

Status Atk +1, Status Atk +2	Status +10, Status +15	Combat	5 (God's Isle/Catspaw, certain monsters)

• +10%, then +1 Status damage, if your weapon has status damage. (Status Atk +1)
• +20%, then +1 Status damage, if your weapon has status damage. (Status Atk +2)

This skill might make the difference between applying one more status and not on certain monsters. It depends on a lot of math, though. Generally take this if you're a God's Isle user or a Catspaw user.

Wellness	Status Res +10	Combat	2

Combines the effects of 'Negate Poison', 'Negate Paralysis', 'Negate Sleep', and 'Negate Stun':

• Weakens Deadly Poison to regular Poison, and prevents all lower grades of Poison.
• Prevents Paralysis.
• Prevents Sleep.
• Prevents Stun.

This only comes on one set, full Dragon. Sure that set has Razor Sharp and Handicraft, but those are gotten easily from mixing. Not worth it.

Silver Bullet	SteadyHand +10	Gunner	2

Combines the effects of 'Normal/Rapid Up', 'Pellet/Spread Up', and 'Pierce/Pierce Up':

• +10% Attack on Normal S from Bowguns, or Rapid-type Arrows from Bows.
• +20% Attack on Pellet S from Bowguns
• +30% Attack on Spread-type Arrows from Bows.
• +10% Attack on Pierce S from Bowguns, or Pierce-type Arrows from Bows.

Only comes on GX Crimson or full White Fatalis, Gunners only of course. Just make a mix set with just one of these skills because it's way cheaper and more flexible, especially with the existence of Esurient XR.

Stonefist Soul	Stonefist +10	Combat	3 (Non Adept/Valor Blademasters)

Combines the effects of 'Razor Sharp', 'Recoil Down +2', and 'Divine Blessing':

• -50% Sharpness decrement.
• -2 Bowgun Recoil Rating, which decreases recovery time after you fire a shot.
• 25% chance to take 30% less damage.

Full Stonefist additionally provides Bubbly Dance and Resuscitate. And yes we get it, this should have been Rustrazor's skill because it makes sense. What do you want me to do about it? This set is actually quite nice for Blademasters early game because it provides the Bubbly Dance/Resuscitate synergy effect, which is +20 Attack and Evasion +1 and Constitution +1. Stonefist Soul just makes it easier on Blademasters. On Gunners however, we don't really need Evasion as much, so you can drop this in favor of mixed sets.

Stonefist Soul X	Stonefist X +10	Combat	3 (Non Adept/Valor Blademasters)

Combines the effects of 'Razor Sharp', 'Recoil Down +2', 'Divine Blessing', and 'Constitution +1':

• -50% Sharpness decrement.
• -2 Bowgun Recoil Rating, which decreases recovery time after you fire a shot.
• 25% chance to take 30% less damage.
• -25% Stamina usage when using Stamina in chunks, such as evading or blocking.

Stacking Constitution with the similar effect from the bubbles just makes it that much easier to dodge stuff more often, and is an okay skill on this set.

Halve Stun, Negate Stun	Stun +10, Stun +15	Combat	3 (Thunderlord, Nightcloak)

• +100% damage needed to be Stunned. (Halve Stun)
• Prevents Stun. (Negate Stun)

Useful on the monsters who can instantly stun you, like Dunderlord or Nightcloak. Otherwise, you might be taking a bit too much damage.

Fortify	Survivor +10	Combat	0

+10% Attack and +15% Defense when you cart, stacks up to two times. You must cart, not your teammates, to activate this effect.

If carting's part of your weird-ass plan to victory, then I, and many others, don't want a part of that.

T

---

Double Talisman	Talisman Boost +10	Misc	5 (You have God Charms)

Doubles the amount of skill points on your talisman. (This takes place before the effects of Skill Point+)

This skill is exclusive to the Ahtal-Ka set, the Neset Set (that sounded weird right). Because this skill doubles the points on your talisman, it gets better the better quality your charm is, and if you have a God charm, well. It's pretty good. As always, use Athena's to make sets and to make sure that you actually need this skill. I have shitty charms and I don't use this like ever lolol.

Palico Cheer	TeamLeader +10	Combat	1

Summons fainted/recovering Palicos by using “Fist Pump” gesture. 10 minute cooldown.

Yes, resummon those palicos who will probably die within the next 10 seconds. This is definitely a good option. /s

Palico Rally	TeamPlayer +10	Combat	1

• +10% Attack, +10% Defense to all Palicos currently with you.
• Increases recovery speed by ~100%.

They just do so little damage and do so little anyway that this is never worth getting.

Weakness Exploit	Tenderizer +10	Combat	5 (WE-able monsters, consistent at hitting weakspots)

+50% Affinity on hitzones of 45+ for your respective damage type.

This is a 12.5% DPS increase on basically any monster who has a weakspot. Combine with Critical Boost for an extra 7.5% damage. This is really good in this game, so long as you can hit good places. Just don't max out Affinity while using this okay? Because then you're sorta wasting those other crit-increasing skills. Oh and if the monster doesn't have a weakspot, use Repeat Offender instead.

Thunder Atk +1, Thunder Atk +2	Thunder Atk +10, Thunder Atk +15	Combat	5 (Thunder-weak monsters, fast-hitting weapons)

• +5%, then +4 Thunder damage, if your weapon has Thunder-element damage. (Thunder Atk +1)
• +10%, then +6 Thunder damage, if your weapon has Thunder-element damage. (Thunder Atk +2)

A lot of monsters are weak to Thunder in this game for some reason, and because Lagi DBs are the new hotness, you pretty much always take this skill to boost that damage. As always, make sure you get a noticeable increase in damage when you're using this skill, otherwise drop it to 1 if you can get another skill.

Thunderlord Soul	Thunderlord +10	Combat	2 (DBs, Bow)

Combines the effects of 'Latent Power +2' and 'Constitution +2':

• +50% Affinity, -75% Stamina consumption for 90 seconds after either you take 180 damage from any large monster or have fought it for 5 minutes.
• -50% Stamina usage when using Stamina in chunks, such as evading or blocking.

Full Thunderlord additionally provides Marathon Runner and Antivirus. Yeah I dunno what they were thinking when they made this set. It seems to have a focus on affinity increasing and reduction of Stamina usage, so in theory this is good on say DBs or Bow. But MDJs exist, and Antivirus requires you to use an HA slot which sometimes you don't have. This is a fun as hell full set though.

Thunderlord Soul X	Thunderlord X +10	Combat	3 (Bow)

Combines the effects of 'Latent Power +2', 'Constitution +2', and 'Focus':

• +50% Affinity, -75% Stamina consumption for 90 seconds after either you take 180 damage from any large monster or have fought it for 5 minutes.
• -50% Stamina usage when using Stamina in chunks, such as evading or blocking.
• +25% charge rate for GS, Hammer, Bow charge attacks
• +25% charge rate for DB’s Demon Gauge, LS Spirit Gauge, SA Phial Gauge, and CB Phials.

This is an actually decent full set for Bow, but I wouldn't use this if I had MDJs (which I don't use). And even then, I like full Elderfrost more anyway.

Thunder Res +15, Thunder Res +20	Thunder Res +10, Thunder Res +15	Combat	1

Does what it says on the tin.

Might help you avoid Thunderblight more and prevent you from getting stunned, but player skill can account for this skill.

Pro Transporter	Transporter +10	Farming	5 (Eggstractions)

Increases speed while transporting items and grants you some immunity against knockback.

This is just a really nice skill if you need to do Eggstractions quests, like in Village. Also eat for Felyne Lander so you can take shortcuts too.

Tremor Res	Tremor Res +10	Combat	4 (Tremor-ful monsters)

Prevents tremors from affecting you.

Really useful for dodging those pesky Rajang slams, or for hitting Lao's footsies while he's moving about.

U

---

Peak Performance	Unscathed +10	Combat	3 (Gunners)

+20 Attack when your Health is at 100%.

It's a nice free AuL while your Health is maxed out, but chip damage is a thing. This is also flat attack as well and not Affinity so it's not gonna be as effective. Of course Evasion skills or Adept will also help you upkeep this for longer times.

V

---

Airborne	Vault +10	Combat	4 (Aerial)

+10% Attack on all aerial-based attacks.

If all you plan to do is jump on the monster, then this is a straight up damage increase that scales. It's good stuff, so long as you jump on the monster.

W

---

Water Atk +1, Water Atk +2	Water Atk +10, Water Atk +15	Combat	5 (Water-weak Monster, Fast-Hitting weapons)

• +5%, then +4 Water damage, if your weapon has Water-element damage. (Water Atk +1)
• +10%, then +6 Water damage, if your weapon has Water-element damage. (Water Atk +2)

Yadda yadda yadda, use this against water-weak monsters like Teostra or something, blah blah blah, only on Elemental DBs or SnS or something.

Water Res +15, Water Res +20	Water Res +10, Water Res +15	Combat	1

Does what it says on the tin.

You should know what I think about the resistance skills by now.

Spirit's Whim, Divine Whim	Whim +10, Whim +15	Farming	5

• -33% chance to break tools upon use. (Spirit's Whim)
• -50% chance to break tools upon use. (Divine Whim)

Take this and watch as tools almost never break ever while harvesting.

Wide-Range +1, Wide-Range +2	Wide-Range +10, Wide-Range +15	Combat	2

• Spreads 50% effects of some items to everyone in the same area. Includes Mushrooms if you have Mushromancer, Potions, Herbs, Antidotes, Adamant and Might Seeds, and Nulberries. (Wide-Range +1)
• Spreads the effects of some items to everyone in the same area. Includes Mushrooms if you have Mushromancer, Potions, Herbs, Antidotes, Adamant and Might Seeds, and Nulberries. (Wide-Range +2)

Eh.... just Lifepowder. It's nice of you to spread buffs, but honestly, investing points into such a minor effect just isn't worth it.

Windproof (Lo), Windproof (Hi)	Windproof +10, Windproof +15	Combat	3 (Certain monsters)

• Prevents effects of some monsters’ wind pressure. (Windproof (Lo))
• Negates all wind pressure exerted from monsters, except for Dragonwind, which is reduced. (Windproof (Hi))

I'm not going to list the specific monsters you need Windproof on, but this is nice for Blademasters when fighting, say, Kushala and you don't have a Poison weapon or an Aerial user. Mostly it prevents the more bs combos that monsters use while you're being stunned from Wind Pressure.

Y

---

Soul of Yukumo	Yukumo +10	Combat	1

Combines the effects of 'Water Res +15' and 'Honey Hunter':

• +15 Water Res.
• Collect two Honeys or Royal Honeys at once.

Flavorful, but mediocre. Not worth using 5 slots.