After having completed plenty of fetch quests for Dareel and Samin in Monster Hunter Wilds, Samin’s Special Research Report will become available to you. What’s so special about it, you ask? Well, it tasks you with catching a rare critter — a Sandstar — that only appears at night, and nets you an achievement if you do so successfully.
To help you out with this particularly special side mission, here’s where to find a Sandstar in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Where to find a Sandstar in Monster Hunter Wilds
A Sandstar is a rare catch in Monster Hunter Wilds. This small, blue, mouse-like creature – who looks similar to Pokemon’s Azurill – only comes out at night and will flee much faster than you can run if you try to approach it. So, how do you catch one then?
First things first, the Sandstar appears at night only in Windward Plains, near the Oasis Pop-Up Camp in Area 13. I was able to find it quite consistently by resting at my Pop-Up Camp until nighttime, ensuring the conditions are set to ‘Plenty’, and then wandering over towards Area 16.
As I approached Area 16, the Sandstar would often be bouncing around near the Flashflies here. If it doesn’t appear for you, run around the area in case it’s spawned elsewhere. Failing that, rest again until nighttime and try again.
In one instance, where I accidentally killed the Sandstar, it did not spawn for multiple nights after that. It only spawned again once I’d spent some time in a different biome, returned, and rested until night again. So, if you’re having poor luck, it might be worth trying something different for a while and coming back later.
If you’re lucky and find a Sandstar, there’s no use approaching it as it’ll run off, and they’re much quicker than you are. Instead, throw a Screamer Pod at it to stun it, then use your Capture Net to catch it before the stun wears off.
With the Sandstar captured, you’ll receive the ‘I caught a Shooting Star!’ achievement, and can now report back to Samin at Windward Plains Base Camp.
For more on Monster Hunter Wilds, here’s where to catch a Whopper, where to find Fucium Ore, and where to find Monster Fluid.