How to Unlock Monster Hunter Rise Layered Equipment

When it comes to playing Monster Hunter, the clothes make the Hunter. Rather than gaining levels or experience points, a Monster Hunter player may measure their progression both by their mastery of the different weapon styles, as well as the creation of new equipment. The stats on those equipment sets matter, but sometimes a Hunter will just want to look as good as they can. Herein comes Monster Hunter Rise layered equipment sets consisting of weapons and armor.

Introduced in Monster Hunter World, Monster Hunter Rise layered equipment is a form of “cosmetic-only” armor that allows you to change the appearance of your worn items and weapons without affecting the stats and attributes. That can be useful if you’re going for a certain look, but don’t want to sacrifice your optimized gear sets on the altar of fashion. Luckily, it’s a fairly simple matter. The system itself is unlocked before you even go on your first hunt.

How Do I Unlock Monster Hunter Rise Layered Armor and Weapons Equipment Sets?

Following the initial tutorial, you’ll be able to talk to Senri, the Palico Mailman in Kamura Village. Speaking to him will teach you about add-on content and unlock a special “Layered Equipment Chest.” That is accessible through your item box and the “Manage Equipment” submenu. From there, you can access all the layered armor sets you’ve unlocked so far.

If you’re playing on the newly-released PlayStation or Xbox editions of the game, or have an updated version of the base game on PC and Switch, you should even have a single layered armor set already unlocked in the chest. It’s a layered version of the “Guild Cross” armor set, allowing you to make any armor you wear look like a piece of Guild Cross armor.

You can unlock further layered equipment sets in Monster Hunter Rise by progressing through the game and getting to Hunter Rank 8. From HR 8, you’ll be able to get the Smithy to forge you sets of layered armor based on the regular monster and material-derived sets in-game. Just access the “Forge/Upgrade Armor” menu and find the “Forge Layered Armor” option. Layered armor pieces can be forged by handing the Smithy some Zenny and Outfit Vouchers, items earned from High-Rank quests. Some sets will require additional materials, but those are listed in the recipe so you can get them.

You can also forge layered equipment for your Monster Hunter Rise buddies, the Palico and the Palamute, changing their armor and weapons. Just talk to the Buddy Smithy to forge new sets, and equip them to your Buddies through the Buddy Board, instead of using your Item Box.

Note that some layered armor sets need specific requirements before even appearing the forging list. add-on content. For example, the layered equipment sets from the Sonic the Hedgehog collaboration event can’t be crafted unless you complete the “Super Shady Look-alike” event quest. Other sets, like the Samurai-like “Kamurai” set, are entirely exclusive to certain DLC packs, like the Deluxe version of the game.

How Do I Unlock Layered Weapons in Monster Hunter Rise?

Layered equipment in Monster Hunter Rise can take the form of weapons or armor, but layered weapons are actually exclusive to Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak. You’ll have to buy Sunbreak (or wait for it to come out, in the case of the PlayStation and Xbox editions of the game) before you can unlock them. From there, you’ll achieve High Rank, then craft and upgrade Rampage Weapons up to their seventh rarity tier. Once fully upgraded, a layered version of the Rampage weapon can be forged at the Smithy. At the moment, only Rampage Weapons can be Layered purely in-game.

Other layered weapons are available through DLC packs, such as the Stuffed Monster series.

Here is a full list of all the layered weapon DLC you can unlock by buying it in Monster Hunter Rise and Sunbreak. Note that each item will cost you $2.49.

• Lost Code Alos Hunting Horn Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Asca Great Sword Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Camhan Sword & Shield Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Iru Bow Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Jura Heavy Blowgun Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Kera Light Blowgun Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Kiri Long Sword Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Labr Switch Axe Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Mia Lance Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Mjo Hammer Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Nir Gunlance Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Rah Dual Blades Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Sara Charge Blade Layered Weapon
• Lost Code Telth Insect Glaive Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Diablos Hammer Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Garangolm Charge Blade Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Goss Harag Dual Blades Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Khezu Light Blowgun Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Lunagaron Switch Axe Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Magnamalo Gunlance Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Malzeno Lance Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Mizutsune Heavy Blowgun Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Nargacuga Long Sword Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Rajang Bow Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Rakna-Kadaki Insect Glaive Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Rathalos Great Sword Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Tigrex Hunting Horn Layered Weapon
• Stuffed Zinogre Sword & Shield Layered Weapon

Which Layered Armor Ended Up Delisted?

As a reminder, not all items in Monster Hunter Rise and Sunbreak are constantly available. Licensing agreements mean they can end up removed from the game unless you cleared the quests first. This applies to some of the most desirable layered armor you can unlock in Monster Hunter Rise. All of the Sonic the Hedgehog pieces had a January 21, 2024 expiration date. 

These are all the items that were in the game, but ended up removed as a result of agreements likely expiring.

• Event Quest: Gotta Hoard Fast – Unlocks Palico Sonic Layered Armor, Canyne Tails Layered Armor, Sonic Figurine, Tails Figurine, Knuckles Figurine
• Event Quest: Super Shady Look-alike – Sonic Wear Hunter Layered Armor

Monster Hunter Rise is available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, as is its Sunbreak expansion.

Related: Monster Hunter Rise Weapons Tier List on Dot Esports