Armor is a vital part of any ARPG. It not only increases your defensive capabilities but also enables you to go in and fight head-on with monsters. These defensive capabilities directly translate to your survivability in boss fights.
Monster Hunter World Features Items that enable you to increase the capabilities of your armor by enhancing it. These items are called Armor Spheres and are relatively tough to find if you don’t know the path.
Armor Spheres can be gained from multiple quests. However, its drop rate is extremely low. Therefore, it is recommended to proceed with Bounties instead. Alternatively, you can also grind Guiding Lands for late-game Armor Spheres.
Needless to say, the bounty quests contain lots of objectives to clear and personnel to kill. Therefore, it will take a while before you run out of Armor Spheres to grind.
The Bounty System in Monster Hunter World
Bounties are optional tasks that hunters can take on anytime. These tasks have different difficulty levels. The player needs to go to the resource center in Astera to register for them. Furthermore, these bounties are divided into “Critical” and “Limited” options and grant rewards accordingly.
With that said, not every bounty quest grants Armor Spheres as their rewards. Therefore we’ve filtered them out for you below:
| Bounty Name | Tasks | Rewards | Reqs |
| Field Research: Flora | Gather plants 4 times | 30 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Field Research: Honey | Gather Honey 4 times | 50 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Field Research: Mining Outcrops | Mine 12 times at mining outcrops | 100 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Ecology Survey: Small Monster Culling | Slay 8 Small Monsters | 40 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Ecology Survey: Small Monster Culling | Slay 16 Small Monsters | 100 Research Points, Armor Sphere x2 | Normal |
| Field Research: Entomology | Gather insects 3 times | 30 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Ecology Survey: Large Monster Hunt | Hunt 1 Large Monster | 40 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Field Research: Mushrooms | Gather Mushrooms 4 times | 30 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Field Research: Mushrooms | Gather Mushrooms 7 times | 60 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Field Research: Entomology | Gather insects 5 times | 50 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Research Progress: Ancient Forest | Complete 2 quests in the Ancient Forest | 60 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Research Progress: Ancient Forest | Complete 3 quests in the Ancient Forest | 100 Research Points, Armor Sphere x2 | Normal |
| Field Research: Bonepiles | Gather 12 times at bonepiles | 100 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Ecology Survey: Large Monster Capture | Capture 1 Large Monster | 60 Research Points, Armor Sphere x1 | Normal |
| Ecology Survey: Hunt Great Jagras | Hunt 3 Great Jagras | 300 Research Points, Armor Sphere x3 | Limited |
| Ecology Survey: Hunt Anjanath | Hunt 4 Anjanath | 400 Research Points, Armor Sphere x3 | Limited |
| Ecology Survey: Hunt Flying Wyvern | Hunt 5 Specified Monsters | 500 Research Points, Armor Sphere x3, Silver Wyverian Print | Limited |
| Ecology Survey: Hunt Great Girros | Hunt 3 Great Girros | 350 Research Points, Armor Sphere+ x2, First Wyverian Print | Limited |
| Ecology Survey: Hunt Rathalos | Hunt 4 Rathalos | 450 Research Points, Armor Sphere+ x4, Steel Wyverian Print | Limited |
| Ecology Survey: Slay Elder Dragon | Slay 5 specified high rank monsters | 600 Research Points, Hard Armor Sphere x4, Silver Wyverian Print | Limited |
| Ecology Survey: Hunt Kulu-Ya-Ku | Hunt 3 Kulu-Ya-Ku | 300 Research Points, Armor Sphere x3 | Limited |
| Ecology Survey: Hunt Diablos | Hunt 4 Diablos | 450 Research Points, Armor Sphere+ x4, Steel Wyverian Print | Limited |
| Ecology Survey: Tempered Monster Hunt | Slay 5 tempered monsters | 700 Research Points, Hard Armor Sphere x5, Silver Wyverian Print | Limited |
Most of the mentioned bounties can be considered as meager tasks that will grant you Armor Spheres upon completion. These bounties are the primary way to farm Armor Spheres and can be repeated a number of times.
However, the limited ones will be time-specific. Therefore, you won’t be able to play them again once the timer runs out.
Quests With Armor Spheres as a Drop
Similar to the bounties, the quests require you do a certain task. However, they are usually harder, lengthy, and grand variable rewards each time. Therefore, it is recommended to farm through the bounty quests instead.
Related: How to Unlock Layered Weapons in Monster Hunter: World
Regardless, it is still a way of obtaining the Armor Spheres through the game’s storyline. There is a meager 1% chance of obtaining Armor Spheres with them. With that said, here is the complete quest list:
| Name | Quantity (Per Quest) |
| Camp Crasher | 1 |
| Special Arena: Tobi-Kadachi | 1 |
| Special Arena: Barroth | 1 |
| Special Arena: Pukei-Pukei | 1 |
| Landing the Landslide Wyvern | 1 |
| Prickly Predicament | 1 |
| The Piscine Problem | 1 |
| Mired in the Spire | 1 |
| The Current Situation | 1 |
| Scatternut Shortage | 1 |
| Exterminator of the Waster | 1 |
| The Pain from Gains | 1 |
| Snatch the Snatcher | 1 |
| Jagras of the Ancient Forest | 1 |
| The Great Glutton | 1 |
| A Thicker of Thugs | 1 |
| Fungal Flexin’ in the Ancient Forest | 1 |
| Butting Heads with Nature | 1 |
| Flying Sparks: Tobi-Kadachi | 1 |
| Sinister Shadows in the Swamp | 1 |
| The Best Kind of Quest | 1 |
| Urgent: Pukei-Pukei Hunt | 1 |
| Bird-Brained Bandit | 1 |
| The Great Jagras Hunt | 1 |
| A Kestodon Kerfuffle | 1 |
When is the Best Time To Use Armor Spheres?
These armor Spheres are best used early on in the game. The Armor Values rise exponentially in the late game. Therefore, getting two or three upgrades out of your entire early game stock is not a worthwhile investment in the late game.
The early game armors require 1 or two of these Armor Spheres while the cost can rise up to 20, 40, or even 80 depending on your Armor tier. It will be easier to find them later by grinding the guiding Lands, so make the most out of them early on to gain a considerable headstart.
All in all, there are many quests that grant Armor Spheres. However, the drop rate is low, therefore, go for bounty quests instead. The mentioned ones are guaranteed to drop some. Hoarding Armor Spheres since the early game is unneeded since you will be able to gain them more easily in late game.