How to Equip Layered Armor in Monster Hunter Rise

The annoying thing about armor systems in certain games is that you have to frequently switch up your various armor pieces in order to get the most balanced stats and resistances. If all the armor’s from the same set, great, but more often than not, you end up looking like a patchwork fashion reject. Wouldn’t it be nice to get all the stat bonuses of different armor pieces while still keeping your fashion sense consistent? Well, that my friend, is the benefit of layered armor. Here’s how to equip layered armor in Monster Hunter Rise.

If you pre-ordered Monster Hunter Rise, you may have noticed a few bonus dealies included with the game. From pre-ordering the standard edition, you receive the Palamute Retriever Costume and the Palico Forest Cat Costume. If you pre-ordered the deluxe edition, you get the Kamurai Hunter set, Palamute Shuriken Collar, and Palico Fish Collar. All of these sets, pieces, and costumes are collectively known as layered armor. They don’t provide any actual stat bonuses like regular armor; rather, they’re a way to make your character and their companions look cooler without having to mess up your armor stats.

How to Equip Layered Armor in Monster Hunter Rise

To actually obtain and equip layered armor, you’ll need to progress far enough into the game that you can speak with the Quest Maiden, Hinoa. At this point, you’ll receive a message informing you that the courier Palico is now available, and your special add-ons along with him.

Go find the courier in the center of town and talk to him to open his menu. In his menu, you’ll find a button marked “Add-On Content,” which is where you can download all the special pre-order stuff you’re entitled to. 

When you’ve downloaded all of the armor, simply visit the Item Box (or the Buddy Plaza in the case of your Palamute and Palico), switch to the “Layered Armor Sets” section, and select the swag you want to don.

Currently, the only layered armor sets available are the ones that came from pre-ordering, as well as the Sinister Seal sets obtained from scanning the Magnamalo, Palico, and Palamute Amiibos, though if you bought the collector’s edition, it should’ve come with the Magnamalo Amiibo.