Good early HR armor for Out of the Fry Pan?

I finally cleared Village LR with most of the quests done at around 100 hours and wanted the feather because it sounded fun, but the quest to get it is doing me in pretty bad. What's a good early HR armor upgrade that'll work for this? Recommendations for both blademaster and gunner are appreciated (Guild Hammer, Guild LS, Aerial CB, Valor Bow)