The best armor sphere farm in Monster Hunter Wilds is the permanent event quest Endless Sky, Endless Sea, which opens at Hunter Rank 41 and pays both Hard and Heavy Armor Spheres for a Lagiacrus and Rathalos hunt. Below that rank, Tongue-Tied at HR 21 is the easy repeat, and at any rank you can turn surplus monster parts into spheres at the Smelting Foundry, so the fastest routine combines one quest with a smelting trip afterward.
We checked quest names, rank requirements and sphere values against games.gg's armor sphere guide (updated October 31, 2026), Prima Games' armor upgrade guide and the Monster Hunter Wiki, and confirmed everything still applied in November 2026.
What Armor Spheres Do and the Five Tiers
Armor spheres are the currency for armor upgrades, which raise a piece's defense. Prima Games explains that the upgrade option unlocks with Gemma at the Smithy once you finish Chapter 2-2, The Eye of the Storm, and reach the Oilwell Basin. Low Rank pieces have eight upgrade levels, the first six costing 30 points each and the last two 200 points each, while High Rank pieces have four levels of 200 points each.
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Each sphere tier is worth a fixed number of upgrade points, so a single high-tier sphere replaces a whole stack of low ones. That is why the farms below focus on Hard and Heavy spheres: at 200 points per High Rank level, one Heavy sphere pays for 25 upgrade levels, which is six High Rank pieces upgraded all the way with points to spare.
| Sphere | Upgrade points | Typical source |
|---|---|---|
| Armor Sphere | 10 | Early quests, Careening Out of Control |
| Armor Sphere+ | 50 | Early quests, Careening Out of Control |
| Advanced Armor Sphere | 200 | Tongue-Tied, 4 to 5 star investigations |
| Hard Armor Sphere | 1,000 | Tongue-Tied, Wreaking Havoc in Wyveria, 6 to 9 star investigations |
| Heavy Armor Sphere | 5,000 | Endless Sky, Endless Sea, 7 to 9 star investigations, Limited Bounties |
In Low Rank you rarely need to farm at all. Story missions, side missions and early quests hand out basic spheres in steady amounts, and the cheap 30-point levels mean a Low Rank set fills up almost by itself. The pressure starts in High Rank, where every level costs 200 points and the sets you want to keep are the ones worth upgrading, so that is when a dedicated sphere route starts paying for itself.
The Event Quest Farms by Hunter Rank
Four armor sphere event quests are permanently available, according to games.gg, so you do not have to wait for a rotation. Pick the highest one your rank allows:
- Careening Out of Control (HR 2+): basic Armor Spheres and Armor Spheres+, useful for Low Rank sets.
- Tongue-Tied (HR 21+): Advanced and Hard Armor Spheres from a Chatacabra hunt, the easiest repeat target on the list.
- Wreaking Havoc in Wyveria (HR 31+): Hard Armor Spheres.
- Endless Sky, Endless Sea (HR 41+): Hard and Heavy Armor Spheres, the strongest dedicated sphere quest.
Tongue-Tied deserves a special mention because games.gg calls Chatacabra a straightforward target, so even a mid-game set can repeat it comfortably. The math works in its favor too: a full High Rank set of five pieces needs 4,000 points to max out at four levels of 200 each, which is just four Hard spheres. Once you pass HR 41, switch to Endless Sky, Endless Sea and keep Tongue-Tied for nights when you just want a relaxed loop.
How to Run Endless Sky, Endless Sea
This quest pits you against Lagiacrus and Rathalos, but only Lagiacrus is present at the start. games.gg recommends focusing on that opening fight and using the arena gate if Rathalos arrives before you finish: pulling the lever raises the barrier and separates the two monsters, and a vine-covered section on the raised gate lets you climb across afterward.
Bring a fire weapon for Lagiacrus and a dragon weapon for Rathalos if you can swap, or a paralysis weapon as a status alternative that opens both monsters up. Shock Traps and Pitfall Traps help pin either monster for big damage or a capture, and Flash Pods bring Rathalos down when it takes to the air. If you have never fought Lagiacrus before, run the quest once just to learn its attack patterns before you start optimizing clear times.
Because both monsters are large, this quest also feeds the smelting step below. Keep any Lagiacrus or Rathalos parts you still need for gear, then send the surplus to the Foundry so a single clear produces spheres twice. If you hunt with friends, the same runs count toward the multiplayer quest trophy in our Monster Hunter Wilds trophy guide.
Smelting Surplus Parts at the Foundry
The Smelting Foundry unlocks after your first Nu Udra defeat in Chapter 2-4. Visit Roqul in Azuz near the Oilwell Basin base camp, select the materials you want to give up, and they convert into armor spheres. games.gg's measured values per common part put Gogmazios highest at roughly 140 to 150 points, Omega Planetes at about 130, Zoh Shia, Arkveld and Jin Dahaad at about 120, and Lagiacrus and Seregios at about 110. Those rates have changed with patches, so always check the preview before confirming.
For a repeatable smelting route, games.gg suggests hunting Arkveld in The Chains of Life, since its fight is shorter than Gogmazios or Omega Planetes while its common parts still give about 120 points each. If you are farming Gogmazios anyway for its weapons, our Gogmazios unlock and fight guide covers that hunt, and its common parts are the best smelting fuel in the game.
Never smelt rare drops. Gems, plates and other rare parts are needed for crafting, Artian upgrades and Armor Transcendence, and losing one to the furnace can cost you far more hunts than the spheres it produced. Our Artian weapons explainer shows how quickly rare parts disappear into weapon upgrades.
Investigations, Limited Bounties and Trades
Investigations pay spheres alongside their main rewards, and games.gg lists the ranges: Advanced spheres from 4 to 5 star investigations, Hard spheres from 6 to 9 star ones, and Heavy spheres from 7 to 9 star ones. At HR 100 and above, 9-star monsters can appear in every locale; introduced in Ver. 1.021, they are always Tempered, hit harder, and reward Glowing Stones with Hard and Heavy spheres on top. Save any high-star investigation that pays spheres so you can repeat it while you farm decorations.
Limited Bounties are the best bonus source of Heavy spheres. Open View/Complete Limited Bounties at the Support Desk in a base camp or the Grand Hub, prioritize the objectives that reward Heavy spheres, and pick hunts that clear more than one bounty at once. They do not appear in offline mode, and the schedule changes during festivals, so check the refresh timer.
Trades are a small extra. Gawdygog swaps 5 Ancient Wyvern Coins for 2 Advanced spheres with a trade limit of 2, and Sekka trades 1 Nightflower Pollen for 3 Hard spheres with a limit of 1. Once you reach High Rank, Nata can also handle item trades at your tent, though his offers change at random. Login bonuses and regular missions add a few more along the way.
Spending Spheres Without Wasting Them
Treat spheres as a budget. Put basic and Plus spheres into Low Rank gear, save Advanced and Hard spheres for the High Rank set you actually wear, and hold Heavy spheres for endgame pieces you plan to keep. Upgrading a set you will replace in a week is the most common way players run short later.
A simple session plan keeps the farm efficient:
- Check Limited Bounties at the Support Desk and note any that reward Heavy spheres.
- Run the best event quest your rank allows two or three times, choosing a weapon that also suits any active bounty.
- Do one saved high-star investigation for its sphere and decoration rewards.
- Visit Roqul, smelt only the common parts you have no use for, and spend the spheres on the set you wear.
Repeating that loop a few times usually maxes a full High Rank set faster than grinding any single source, because every step feeds the next one.
Upgrade defensively important pieces first if you are struggling to survive. Every level adds defense, and defense combined with the right skills is what keeps you standing; our guide on how to increase health and survive in Monster Hunter Wilds explains how upgrades, resistances and skills stack. Finally, keep a reserve. The 2027 expansion adds Master Rank gear, described in our Monster Hunter Wilds Ascendance overview, and a stockpile of spheres and spare common parts will make the first upgrades there much easier. A good meal before long farming runs helps too; see our best meals guide.
If You Would Rather Skip the Sphere Grind
Armor upgrades exist to raise defense, and on PS5 there is a shortcut to that goal. The store's Monster Hunter Wilds God Mode heavy modded save lists 99 million Defense with immunity to enemy damage (you can still die to specific mechanics and damage over time effects such as lava or fire), so sphere farming for defense stops mattering. The page also lists 9999 of each material in the game, lots of armor and weapons, doubled damage on every weapon, a level 999 character and max Zenny and Guild Points. It does not itemize armor spheres individually, so ask before ordering if spheres are the main reason you are interested.
The save is for PlayStation 5 only and does not include the game. Other Monster Hunter saves, including a Wilds package that supports PC as well, are on the Monster Hunter hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best armor sphere farm in Monster Hunter Wilds?
Endless Sky, Endless Sea at HR 41 and above, because it pays Hard and Heavy spheres. Before that, Tongue-Tied at HR 21 is the quickest repeat.
How do you get Heavy Armor Spheres?
From Endless Sky, Endless Sea, 7 to 9 star investigations, Limited Bounties and 9-star hunts at HR 100 and above.
Where is the Smelting Foundry?
Roqul runs it in Azuz near the Oilwell Basin base camp. It unlocks after you first defeat Nu Udra in Chapter 2-4.
How many points is a Heavy Armor Sphere worth?
5,000 upgrade points, compared with 1,000 for a Hard sphere and 200 for an Advanced sphere.
When can you upgrade armor in Monster Hunter Wilds?
After Chapter 2-2, The Eye of the Storm, when you reach the Oilwell Basin and talk to Gemma at the Smithy.
Do Limited Bounties work offline?
No. Limited Bounties do not appear in offline mode, so connect before checking them at the Support Desk.