Monster Hunter World: Getting the Earplugs skill and upgrading its effectiveness
As you work your way into the late game of Monster Hunter World, you'll find yourself craving new and different skills and abilities to protect and assist you in the more difficult late-game hunts. One such useful skillis Earplugs, a skill that'll provide vital protection against some attacks late-game, high rank monsters really like to spam.
Essentially, Earplugs does what you'd imagine based on its title - it plugs up your hunter's ears, and in turn reduces the negative impact of the roars and other sonic-based attacks from large, deadly monsters. This is particularly useful since many of these attacks can stun or leave you vulnerable in a big way. Here's how they work:
Before we get into the Earplugs, remember we've got plenty more Monster Hunter World guides to assist. Here's a few examples:
- Monster Hunter World Guide Hub: assistance for beginners and pros alike
- Weapons Guide: which of the 14 weapon classes is best for you?
- Armor Guide: skills, strengths, weaknesses, forging and upgrading
- Multiplayer Guide: how to play with friends, set up parties and send invites
- Mantles: every mantle, what each does & how to get them
- What is Affinity? How the Affinity Stat works
How to get the Earplugs Skill in Monster Hunter World
The Earplugs buff is what's known as an armor skill, as detailed on our armor list and guide. That means the skill is obtained by wearing a piece fo armor that has the skill. By wearing that armor, you'll inherently gain acess to the earplugs armor skill and the associated buffs.
The following armor will give you the earplugs skill. Some armor pieces can have the skill twice - and that's something we'll explain in just a moment...
- Bazel Helm Alpha (skill x2)
- Bazel Helm Beta (skill x2)
- Bazel Vambraces Alpha
- Bazel Coil Alpha (skill x2)
- Bazel Coil Beta (skill x2)
- High Metal Mail
- High Metal Mail Alpha (skill x2)
- High Metal Mail Beta
- Zorah Spurs Alpha
- Earplugs Charm I
Monster Hunter World Earplugs Skill Levels
So, as we mentioned earlier some armor pieces have the earplugs skill more than once - and of course you have all the different parts of your hunter's body you can equip armor to, each with a different skill. If you equip multiple pieces of gear with the same skill, the skill level will go up - and in the case of Earplugs, it increases its effectiveness.
Here's how the earplugs skill grows and improves depending on its level:
- Earplugs Level 1 - Slightly reduces the effect of weak monster roars
- Earplugs Level 2 - Reduces the effect of weak monster roars
- Earplugs Level 3 - Nullifies weak monster roars completely
- Earplugs Level 4 - Nullifies weak monster roars completely & reduces the effect of strong monster roars
- Earplugs Level 5 - Nullifies both weak and strong monster roars
To fully protect yourself, plan ahead and choose your armor skills carefully, balancing earplugs with other skills, a good choice of weapon, a strong affinity stat and a powerful mantle like the rocksteady mantle - that sort of character build can take you far.