Whether it’s your first foray into Monster Hunter Wilds or you’ve already spent plenty of time slaying monsters in the beta tests for the game, there’s a lot to learn and keep a track of during your adventure. Fortunately, supply drops, an automatically moving Seikret, and Support Hunters make light work of the game’s story, but there are still a few tips and tricks that all players ought to keep in mind.
As you hunt monsters for their materials, cook up tasty meals, and craft some impressive armor, Monster Hunter Wilds can quickly ramp up in difficulty as you access High Rank quests and beyond. To help you out throughout your adventure, here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind when playing Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds tips and tricks
Don’t skimp out on a good meal
Before embarking on a quest in Monster Hunter Wilds, it’s highly recommended that you take the time to prepare accordingly. Preparing doesn’t just mean making sure you have all the items you may need in your pouch, or ensuring you have appropriate armor equipped though. It also means making sure your Hunter isn’t going hungry.
Hungry Hunters will have their Stamina and HP bars reduced, and they’ll also miss out on the buffs that a good meal can provide! Before going out and exploring, make sure to cook a meal in your Tent at Base Camp or via a Pop-Up Camp.
You can also use your Ghillie Mantle alongside your Portable BBQ to quickly cook meals while on the go — and while remaining temporarily hidden from monsters — if need be, and make sure to always have some Steak or Rations in your pouch for a quick snack. You never know when you may need it!
Use SOS Flares
Taking down a monster on your own is good fun and all in Monster Hunter Wilds, but ultimately, you’re going to want to complete quests as quickly and efficiently as possible while grinding for armor and a higher Hunter Rank. This is where SOS Flares come in handy (if you don’t already have a squad to play co-op with).
You can use SOS Flares whenever you start a quest or commence a hunt, and fellow Hunters will come help complete the quest objective alongside you. If there are no other players available, you’ll instead have Support Hunters (AI) come to your aid, and AI might not sound great, but Alessa and the rest of the team are pretty good help.
You can also turn on Automatic SOS Flares so that you need not send out an SOS Flare during every quest. By doing this, a flare is automatically sent upon starting any quest and you will instantly receive help. To turn this feature on, speak to Alma and select ‘Post/Join Quest’ and then select ‘Settings’. The third option down allows you to toggle Automatic SOS Flare’s on and off.
Create a Favourites tab in the menu
There’s no denying that opening up Monster Hunter Wilds’ main menu and navigating through every option available to you can be a little bit of a nightmare at times. There’s a lot going on! That said, you can create a Favorites tab in the menu and slot all of your most-used features in there so you no longer need to scour through the menus for them.
To do this, open up your menu and press ‘Y’ to open the sub-menu, then ‘Edit Tabs’. Check the box beneath the star icon to make the Favorites tab visible when opening the menu in future.
To then add to your Favorites tab, open your menu and press ‘Y’ again. This time, select ‘Edit Favorites’ and choose what systems you wish to be added to the tab. I recommend putting Mission Info and your World Map on there from the get-go!
Don’t ignore Endemic and Aquatic Life
The automatically-moving Seikret in Monster Hunter Wilds means it’s very easy to get comfortable letting your companion transport you from A to B while you chow down on snacks or take a toilet break. This is fine and all, but do make sure to take some time getting familiar with the Endemic and Aquatic Life of each biome while you’re travelling to and from an objective.
Your Capture Net can be used to capture Endemic Life, while your Fishing Rod (and technically also your Capture Net) can be used to catch Aquatic Life. These small, easily missed creatures are very important for completing post-game side missions — and for materials — so be sure to keep your eyes peeled and capture them whenever you encounter them. This will make finding them again later down the line much easier as your Field Guide will contain all the information necessary to remind you where to find them.
That said, while your Capture Net can be used to quickly catch fish and add them to your Field Guide, if you get a Side Mission that tasks you with catching a fish, you must catch it using your Fishing Rod. Using the Capture Net to catch it will not count towards completing the mission. Bear that in mind!
Don’t forget to check your Seikret’s pouch
If you hop on your Seikret during a quest in Monster Hunter Wilds and press left on the D-Pad, you’ll find that you can access your Seikret’s Pouch and all of its items.
During quests, you’ll receive supply drops; these supplies are automatically popped into your Seikret’s Pouch, so don’t forget to check them out and make use of them!
Don’t neglect wounds during hunts
When you begin fighting a monster in Monster Hunter Wilds, you’ll eventually notice glowing red wounds appear around its body as its health is depleted. Attacking these wounds directly will provide you with more monster materials, so don’t neglect them! They can quickly disappear if the monster decides to move to a new area, or if you end the fight prematurely, so be sure to focus on attacking as many wounds as you can when you see them.
Now that Monster Hunter Wilds allows Hunters to equip a second weapon via their Seikret, my favourite way of managing wounds was by using the Bow’s Focus Mode. By pressing RT to aim, and LB to focus, my Bow would select multiple wounds on the monster — provided I was within close range — and fire a flurry of arrows at them before unleashing the powerful Dragon Piercer attack. After the attack, the bows that have landed in the wounds will explode, and more monster materials are immediately yours!
You can then switch back to your primary weapon or continue the fight at a distance using the Bow. I’m sure there are other weapons that are great for wound management, but the Bow was certainly my favourite.
You can filter map icons
When opening the map, you can actually use the D-Pad to filter map icons in Monster Hunter Wilds. This removes a lot of visual clutter from the map, allowing you to focus on finding exactly what you’re after. Whether that’s a camp to fast travel to, a monster to slay, or some much-needed materials for your items or armor-crafting endeavours.
Make the most of items
There are a lot of items, namely craftables, to use in Monster Hunter Wilds. For example, health potions, poison antidotes, monster traps, and more. Don’t neglect these as they can make all the difference during a quest.
For example, hot and cold drinks can keep you safe from hot/cold temperatures across the desert or cliffs, and dung can be used to disperse monsters you don’t want to fight. For example, if two monsters are having a turf war and you wish to hunt one, throw Dung at the one you would like to go away.
Be sure to look through all available craftable items via your crafting menu in your Tent, and make use of them where possible!
Capturing monsters is quicker than hunting them
Believe it or not, capturing monsters is technically quicker than hunting them, so if you’re grinding for materials or Hunter Rank experience — and the objective isn’t ‘hunt X’ — consider capturing the monster instead.
A successful capture requires a suitable trap for the monster you’re looking to capture — such as a Shock Trap or Pitfall Trap — and a couple of Tranquiliser Bombs to put them to sleep after being trapped. That’s it, and they don’t cost too much to craft at all.
Once the monster is successfully trapped and subdued, the capture is complete. You won’t be able to carve materials from the monster, but you will still get materials and rewards from it regardless before you can quickly commence the next quest.
Take care when cooking
When cooking using your Portable BBQ, you might find that you’re often overcooking your meat and ending up with charred, chewy steak that isn’t all that useful during a quest. If you listen to the music that plays while cooking however, and press ‘X’ as the jingle concludes, you will wrap up cooking and will have successfully not burnt your meat.
For more on Monster Hunter Wilds, take a look at our list of all bosses, all armor, and all Palico gear.