Should you choose alpha or beta High Rank armor in Monster Hunter Wilds
If you want a better chance of reaching the endgame of Monster Hunter Wilds, you'll need a healthy collection of High Rank armor. The question is, should you choose the alpha or beta version? Both have their advantages and which you choose will depend on the needs of your building. The difference between alpha and beta armor in Monster Hunter Wilds Screenshot by Destructoid There are a few main differences between the alpha and beta armor types in Monster Hunter Wilds. They are very slightly different aesthetically. For instance, an alpha helmet might have a brighter shade of color on its accent pieces than a beta helmet. Alpha armor trades decorations slots for armor Skills. Alpha armor will almost always sacrifice its quality of decoration slots for a higher number and value of that set of armor skills. Beta armor sacrifices armor Skills for decoration slots. Rather than having multiple types and higher values of armor Skills, beta armor has more, higher quality decoration slots. Screenshot by Destructoid In previous Monster Hunter titles, beta armor was almost always the go-to, as access to the largest amount of decorations was key to buildcrafting. Wilds change that by tying specific decoration types to your weapons and armor. Armor decos now tend to modify your hunter's survivability and physical attributes, with damage decos relegated almost exclusively to your weapon slots. As such, you won't put a Critical Eye or Weakness Exploit three-slot decoration on your chest piece. That makes alpha armor with damage perks more appetizing than they once were. So which should you choose? Is alpha or beta armor better in Monster Hunter Wilds? Screenshot by Destructoid If you'd asked me to choose between alpha and beta armor in previous games, my answer would almost always be to use a full five-piece beta set. Now, the answer is a bit more nuanced. The short version is: it depends. There are still Skills you'll want to have on almost every build, but others are designed for specific weapons and playstyles. Think Critical Draw for Greatswords or Wide-Range and Free Meal for healing builds. The hard and fast rules for choosing between alpha and beta armors, then, are: Use alpha armor if it's the only way to max out a must-have Skill on your build. If you want five levels of Weakness Exploit and the only way to get it is to give up an armor decoration slot, alpha armor is the way to go. Use beta armor if you want more customization for your build. Once you max out the damage-focused perks on your build, the remaining armor pieces should be the beta version. That way, you get some of the armor's Skill benefits and access to supplementary decoration bonuses. There aren't too many ways outside of armor and decorations to add Skills to your build, especially if you don't want to endlessly gamble for the perfect Artian weapon. You do have Talismans and your weapon's intrinsic Skills, of course. However, when you choose your weapon based on the elemental weakness of the monster, sometimes those weapon Skills don't mesh as well, forcing you to switch up your armor and decoration choices. The endgame of Monster Hunter Wilds is a game of build optimization for specific monsters and more general hunting. Knowing when to choose between alpha and beta armor for a particular build can vastly alter how effective it is in combat and how efficient you can make its decoration setup. If all you care about is fashion, the choice is a different matter entirely. The post Should you choose alpha or beta High Rank armor in Monster Hunter Wilds appeared first on Destructoid.
If you want a better chance of reaching the endgame of Monster Hunter Wilds, you'll need a healthy collection of High Rank armor. The question is, should you choose the alpha or beta version? Both have their advantages and which you choose will depend on the needs of your building.
The difference between alpha and beta armor in Monster Hunter Wilds
There are a few main differences between the alpha and beta armor types in Monster Hunter Wilds.
- They are very slightly different aesthetically. For instance, an alpha helmet might have a brighter shade of color on its accent pieces than a beta helmet.
- Alpha armor trades decorations slots for armor Skills. Alpha armor will almost always sacrifice its quality of decoration slots for a higher number and value of that set of armor skills.
- Beta armor sacrifices armor Skills for decoration slots. Rather than having multiple types and higher values of armor Skills, beta armor has more, higher quality decoration slots.
In previous Monster Hunter titles, beta armor was almost always the go-to, as access to the largest amount of decorations was key to buildcrafting. Wilds change that by tying specific decoration types to your weapons and armor. Armor decos now tend to modify your hunter's survivability and physical attributes, with damage decos relegated almost exclusively to your weapon slots.
As such, you won't put a Critical Eye or Weakness Exploit three-slot decoration on your chest piece. That makes alpha armor with damage perks more appetizing than they once were. So which should you choose?
Is alpha or beta armor better in Monster Hunter Wilds?
If you'd asked me to choose between alpha and beta armor in previous games, my answer would almost always be to use a full five-piece beta set. Now, the answer is a bit more nuanced. The short version is: it depends. There are still Skills you'll want to have on almost every build, but others are designed for specific weapons and playstyles. Think Critical Draw for Greatswords or Wide-Range and Free Meal for healing builds.
The hard and fast rules for choosing between alpha and beta armors, then, are:
- Use alpha armor if it's the only way to max out a must-have Skill on your build. If you want five levels of Weakness Exploit and the only way to get it is to give up an armor decoration slot, alpha armor is the way to go.
- Use beta armor if you want more customization for your build. Once you max out the damage-focused perks on your build, the remaining armor pieces should be the beta version. That way, you get some of the armor's Skill benefits and access to supplementary decoration bonuses.
There aren't too many ways outside of armor and decorations to add Skills to your build, especially if you don't want to endlessly gamble for the perfect Artian weapon. You do have Talismans and your weapon's intrinsic Skills, of course. However, when you choose your weapon based on the elemental weakness of the monster, sometimes those weapon Skills don't mesh as well, forcing you to switch up your armor and decoration choices.
The endgame of Monster Hunter Wilds is a game of build optimization for specific monsters and more general hunting. Knowing when to choose between alpha and beta armor for a particular build can vastly alter how effective it is in combat and how efficient you can make its decoration setup. If all you care about is fashion, the choice is a different matter entirely.
The post Should you choose alpha or beta High Rank armor in Monster Hunter Wilds appeared first on Destructoid.
