Farm the best mid-game weapons and armor in SAO: Hollow Realization. Best dungeons to run, boss drops worth farming, upgrade material locations, and when to invest in upgrades.
When to Start Farming Gear
You should NOT start serious equipment farming the moment you hit mid-game. Early mid-game gear gets replaced quickly. The optimal time to start farming for gear you will keep for a while is after you have access to the mid-game dungeons (garden ruins, canyon mine, desert ruins) and have started encountering volcanic region enemies. Before that point, just use whatever drops naturally as you progress.
A good rule of thumb: if a dungeon or boss gives you trouble, and you are already appropriately leveled, THAT is when you should invest in better gear. If you are clearing content comfortably, your current gear is fine.
Best Farming Locations
Mid-Game Dungeon Runs
Each mid-game dungeon is an excellent source of gear appropriate to its level:
• Garden Ruins -- Good mid-game weapons and armor with a nature/grace theme. The boss has a chance to drop good daggers and rapiers. Also yields plant-based crafting materials.
• Canyon Mine -- Best source of ore for upgrading. Golems drop mineral materials and have a chance to drop heavy armor pieces and good maces/spears. The Ancient Golem boss drops strong heavy weapons.
• Desert Ruins -- Good lightweight armor and agility-focused weapons. Scorpion enemies drop materials for status-resistant gear. The Scorpion King drops weapons with paralysis application.
• Volcanic Cave -- Best mid-game gear source. Fire-themed weapons, fire-resistant armor, and high-grade ore. The volcanic boss drops some of the strongest pre-late-game weapons.
Boss Farming Strategy
Bosses can be refought after you defeat them once (leave the area and return, or use teleport stones to reset). Boss drops are usually better than regular enemy or chest drops. When farming bosses:
• Activate the teleport stone immediately before the boss room. You will be reloading this point frequently.
• Fight the boss, defeat it, collect drops. If you do not get what you want, teleport to town and back to reset the boss.
• Run past regular enemies on subsequent runs to save time -- you do not need to clear the whole dungeon every time.
• Bring a full party even for repeat farms -- speed matters more than challenge at this point.
Player Tip: If a boss has a rare drop you really want, equip any item drop rate passives you have unlocked from skill trees. Every little bit of extra drop chance adds up over multiple runs.
Upgrade Priority
When you get a good piece of gear, upgrade it at Lisbeth's shop. Follow this priority to avoid wasting materials:
• Upgrade your weapon FIRST. Weapon damage affects everything -- how fast you kill enemies, how quickly you stagger bosses, how fast you build SP. A +5 weapon is a bigger power spike than any armor upgrade.
• Upgrade chest armor second. Chest gives the most defense per upgrade slot.
• Then upgrade other armor pieces (head, arms, legs) as you have spare materials.
• Accessories last. Accessories often have special effects that matter more than raw stats, so upgrade them only if you have excess materials.
Do NOT waste high-grade materials upgrading early-mid gear you will replace in a few hours. Save the good stuff for weapons and armor that are 10+ levels higher than your current stuff, or gear with special effects you really want to keep.
Material Farming Locations
• Common ore -- Canyon walls and golem enemies in canyon regions.
• Rare/high-grade ore -- Deeper in canyon mine dungeon, volcanic regions.
• Plant/herb materials -- Flower fields region, garden ruins dungeon.
• Venom/poison sacs -- Scorpion enemies in desert, insect enemies in flower fields.
• Scales/fire materials -- Volcanic region salamanders and fire enemies.
• Monster hides/leather -- Wolf-type and beast-type enemies across all regions.