Read this Monster Hunter World: Iceborne guide to learn how to augment Master Rank weapons. Including changes, new features and augment skills, and more.

Monster Hunter: World. It varies, some earlier HR gear can have more slots, as well as higher level than later game gear #1. Jan 6 @ 12:05am.

1. The next guiding lands area will bring an extra slot upgrade level. This means a health augment 1 and affinity can fit on a rarity 12 hopefully. Rarity 10 will get a bit insane, but augments are only augments. If the weapon is pretty average, it can really only boost raw by a bit. Each augment level diminishes in quality.
2. Augmentation is Monster Hunter: World's true endgame, and the grind for it will carry you through to the DLC releases in the coming months. Stack with other upgrades to increase slots level.

Table of Contents

Check Out What To Do After Beating Iceborne!

How To Augment Master Rank Weapons

Fill Up Master Rank Weapon Augment Slots

The way you can augment weapons & armor has been changed in Iceborne. It will now cost a number of slot & will fill these up when you augment your weapon.

Augmentation Slots Per Weapon Rarity

Rarity	No. Of Slots
Rarity 10	5 Slots
Rarity 11	4 Slots
Rarity 12	3 Slots

Only Fully Upgraded Weapons Can Be Augmented

The same way it works in MHW, augmentation on weapons can only be done when they are fully upgraded. This means having the weapon at the end of its weapon tree.

Augmentations Now Have Augment Slot Cost

In Iceborne, all available augmentations will now have slot costs. The more augment slots your weapons have, the more augmentations you can put into it.

Master Rank Weapon Augment Slot Costs

Augment	Effects	Cost
Extra Slots	Adds more augment slots on weapon	-
Attack Increase	Slightly increases attack power of weapon	3
Health Regen	Slightly recovers health when damaging monsters	3
Slot Upgrade	Adds a Level 1 slot into weapon	3
Affinity Increase	Slightly increases affinity rate of weapon	2
Defense Increase	Defense is slightly increased with chance of reducing damage	1
Element/Status Effect Up	Slightly increases power of elements & status effects	1

Extra Slots Adds 2 More Augment Slots

When you augment your weapon with Extra Slots, you'll get 2 additional augment slots. This doesn't fill up any augment slot but costs rare materials & some Research Points.

Strengthen Master Rank Weapons With Custom Upgrades

Another new feature of Iceborne, weapons now have custom upgrades. Using specific mods, you can slightly increase specific stats of your weapon & also change their appearance. More mods are unlocked when you keep upgrading a weapon.

Custom Upgrades List

Mod	Effect
Kulu-Ya-Ku Mod	Slightly increases affinity
Pukei-Pukei Mod	Slightly increases elemental or status effect damage
Barroth Mod	Slightly increase attack
Hornetaur Mod	Slightly increases defense

Recommended Master Rank Weapon Augments

Monster Hunter World Increase Slot Leveling

Best Master Rank Weapon Augment Chart

Elements	Description
Health Regen	★★★- Recovers health when damaging monsters - Reduces need to use recovery items, therefore increasing time to attack monsters
Affinity Increase	★★・- Increases affinity by 10% - 2nd augment increases by 5% - Best for weapons with low affinity
Attack Increase	★★・- Increases weapon attack power - Increase depends on weapon type - Recommended for weapons with high affinity
Slot Upgrade	★・・- Adds 1 decoration slot - Best for weapons lacking slots
Defense Increase	★・・- Increases defense and has chance to reduce damage - Low priority augment as defense should be armor-focused

Focus On Health & Affinity Augments

It's best to augment weapons with Health Regen & Affinity Increase as these work make hunting more efficient. If your chosen weapon already has a high affinity rate, it's best to use Attack Increase instead.

Choosing Between Attack Or Affinity Increase

Prioritize Weapons With Low Affinity

Having a weapon with high affinity will increase your chance of dealing critical hits & doing heavy damage so it's best to raise the affinity rate of your weapons. However, note that Affinity Increase augments have diminishing returns.

Use Attack Increase With High Affinity Weapons

If your weapon of choice already has a high affinity or cannot be augmented with Health Regen, you can opt to augment it with Attack Increase. This will strengthen your raw attack stat, making each hit more powerful!

Check Out Best Endgame Loadouts Here!

About Iceborne Master Rank Weapon Augmentation

Monster Hunter World Increase Slot Levels

Unlocks After Main Story Of Iceborne

Augmenting Master Rank weapons will be unlocked when you complete Iceborne's main story quests. You'll gain access to the Guiding Lands after, the area where you can find most of the materials for Master Rank weapon upgrading.

Check Out Master Rank Quest Guide Here!

WARNING! High Rank Augments Will Disappear

If you've already augmented your weapon in Monster Hunter World and decide to upgrade and augment in Master Rank, your augments will disappear. You'll get your materials back, however, augments from High Rank may be crucial in early game Master Rank.

Augments Use Monster Materials From Guiding Lands

Master Rank weapon augments don't use Streamstones anymore, however, they do cost valuable Research Points and need rare materials from the Guiding Lands - the end-game endless hunting area in Iceborne.

Check Out Guiding Lands Features Here!