User blog comment:Plexioth- xD/Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate/@comment-91.231.90.90-20130326163934/@comment-49.144.36.168-20130327024233

Barroth armor (4 slots) worked for me until I got to high rank. It's got Atk+, Def+, and Guard+1.

And personally, I do the village and port quests simultaneously. I don't want what's left of the challenge to disappear completely because I got High Rank armor in Low Rank quests. I think it's wasted content if I "power through" any of the low rank quests. But that's just me.