All Monster Hunter Wilds secret armor sets and how to get them

Searching for secret armor sets in Monster Hunter Wilds will be nothing new for longtime fans of the series. In Rise and Sunbreak we had the Palico submarine and the Argosy trade ship, which could randomly bring back unique materials from different areas to unlock special armor. These sets usually feature a pretty strong array of skills including some that are often hard to access.

There's a whole new mechanic in Wilds that centres around trading with the settlements of the Forbidden Lands in order to acquire these special materials, as well as asking them to gather materials for you. It's worth noting that although the Item Trade mechanic appears in Low Rank, none of the items you need here do, so secret armor sets aren't available until you reach High Rank.

If you're in Low Rank, I suggest you come back later after you've defeated the Yian Kut-Ku and are ready to start wheeling and dealing. For those already there, or who want to read regardless, here's how to get each item you need to unlock all of Wilds' 11 secret armor sets.

Village armor sets

Most of the secret armor sets in Wilds unlock via materials you can randomly acquire through the new Item Trade mechanic that lets you exchange items with the various villages in the forbidden lands. As mentioned, these items are unavailable until you arrive in High Rank—there are no Low Rank versions of these sets.

In High Rank, Nata will act as a trade hub for all the different villages, so it'll be a lot easier than running around visiting everyone individually to see what they have on offer. While you'll generally trade for these village items with their specific trader, you might find them being traded by other villages as well—make sure to check with each trader periodically as their material selection changes.

Also note: all of these armor sets share the Imparted Wisdom (3) Forager's Luck group skill that increases your chance of finding rare gathering points and requires three pieces equipped to activate.

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Kunafa

• Requires: Dalthydon Wool
• Skills: 4x Wide Range, 4x Palico Rally, 2x Free Meal, 2x Speed Eating

This special material is tradable with Kilama in Kunafa, though weirdly you can also sometimes get it via the Azuz traders like Aida, Dogard, and Yabran. It'll also show up with Gawdygog sometimes in exchange for Ancient Wyvern Coins. This is the most comprehensive of the village sets with everything except bracers, and has the Palico Rally skill that buffs Palico attack and defense.

Azuz

• Requires: Azuz Tanned Leather
• Skills: 3x Heroics, 3x Geologist, 2x Maximum Might

You can trade for this item with the Azuz traders such as Aida, Dogard, and Yabran, and also get it via Gawdygog. This set is just a helmet, chest, and legs.

Suja

• Requires: Suja Textiles
• Skills: 3x Divine Blessing

This villager set is acquired through the Suja Textiles item you can get by trading with Sekka in Suja, though presumably Rove can also get this item since he covers the same region. I haven't seen this item available with Gawdygog, but I assume it probably does like the other items. This set consists of just a coil.

Sild

• Requires: Sild Cotton
• Skills: 4x Wide Range, 3x Botanist

This item is sometimes available for trade from Ren in Sild. As above, I haven't seen it come up with Gawdygog, but it likely does. This set consists of a helmet and chest piece.

Other secret armor sets

Besides the village sets, there are more you can acquire through Item Trade and other mechanics. The items required for some of these sets can also be gathered at random via Material Retrieval, where villagers farm items for you.

You can unlock this mechanic in High Rank by completing quests for each village. Since a lot of these are quite random, I'd suggest periodically checking in with Nata and just taking a look at who's trading what.

Death Stench

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• Requires: Sinister Cloth
• Skills: 5x Resentment, 3x Ambush, 2x Intimidator, 2x Stun Resistance

This item is sometimes tradable with Kilama in Kunafa, but it can also be gathered by Murtabak as a random Material Retrieval item, or occasionally traded for with Gawdygog for Ancient Wyvern Coins.

Melahoa

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• Requires: Great Hibiscus
• Skills: 3x Survival Expert, 3x Tool Specialist, 3x Recovery Speed, 3x Recovery Up, 3x Mushroomancer, 2x Paralysis Resistance, 2x Bleed Resistance, 2x Poison Resistance

I've traded for the Great Hibiscus with Ren in Sild and it mentions the material is from the Ruins of Wyveria, so it's potentially gatherable by Rysher in that location, too. As with other materials, you can also sometimes trade for this with Gawdygog.

Butterfly

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• Requires: Great Hornfly
• Skills: 5x Constitution, 5x Evade Window, 3x Evade Extender, 2x Recovery Up, 2x Recovery Speed

The Great Hornfly, as stated in its description, is native to the Scarlet Forest, so you can get it from the Wudwud Hideout traders, namely Gawdygog and Musharpeye. If you're lucky, Plumpeach can also get this for you via gathering.

King Beetle

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• Requires: Great Hornfly
• Skills: 5x Heroics, 3x Foray, 2x Flayer, 2x Paralysis Resistance, 2x Poison Resistance, 1x Sleep Resistance

This is the second set unlocked by the Great Hornfly, accessible the same way as the entry above through the Scarlet Forest traders and Material Gathering with Plumpeach.

High Metal

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• Requires: Drearisite Scraps
• Skills: 3x Partbreaker, 3x Bombardier, 3x Iron Skin, 3x Flinch Free, 3x Blast Resistance, 3x Stun Resistance, 2x Aquatic/Oilslit Mobility

Drearisite Scraps are sometimes tradable with the Azuz villagers like Dogard, Aida, or Yabran. Unless I've been very unlucky, it doesn't seem to be gatherable since Sabar in Everforge has never found any for me.

Battle

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• Requires: Scarred Scale
• Skills: 3x Marathon Runner, 3x Item Prolonger, 3x Free Meal, 3x Hunger Resistance, 2x Stamina Surge, 2x Constitution, 2x Sleep Resistance, 2x Bind Resistance

You can trade with Sekka in Suja for the Scarred Scale or with Rove, though, like a lot of other materials, I've seen it appear from Gawdygog at the Wudwud Hideout in exchange for Ancient Wyvern Coins too. Chances are it's also a random material grab from Apar, since he gathers materials in the Suja area.

Commission

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• Requires: Commission Ticket
• Skills: 5x Agitator, 2x Divine Blessing, 2x Quick Sheathe, 1x Tool Specialist, 1x Maximum Might, 1x Earplugs

This set comes from a slightly different place to the others: The Supply Ship. This vendor appears when you arrive in High Rank and sells items in exchange for Guild Points. The specific item you're looking for is the Commission Ticket. This seems pretty rare to me considering I've only ever seen one, but they started appearing after I changed the Supply Ship's requested item selection to "Any". Theoretically it should also appear if you request Equipment Materials since that's what it is. This set has no group skill.

Artian

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• Requires: Completion of "What we Protect" quest
• Skills: 5x Flayer, 2x Blight Resistance, 2x Tremor Resistance, 2x Windproof, 1x Adaptability, 1x Earplugs
• Group Skill: Guardian's Protection (3) Reduces elemental and unique damage in the Ruins of Wyveria.

This set doesn't require a material via trading, but as far as I remember, this is the only armor that unlocks via a specific sidequest so I've included it among these other secret sets. You'll get access to this quest at around HR 20, after you complete the previous priority quest. Speak to the handler by your tent and then undertake the optional mission "What we Protect" to slay a Blangonga. Once done, you unlock the Artian set.