Monster Hunter Wilds’ first patch fixes that story progression bug, and introduces performance updates that should hopefully address some of your worries about how it runs on PC

Capcom has released a fresh new patch for Monster Hunter Wilds across all platforms. This is a smaller hotfix, but it nonetheless comes with a couple of welcome fixes. The biggest one, of course, is a fix for the Chapter 5-2 bug that sometimes prevented an NPC from spawning, making it impossible for players to make progress.

This hotfix also brings various other smaller tweaks, though we do hope a bigger patch is on the way to address the larger issues players have been having with the game.

Patch 1.000.04.00 is now available to download. Apart fro the Chapter 5-2 progression bug that’s been fixed, the patch also fixes a different bug that prevented players from being able to access the Grill a Meal, and Ingredient Center features, despite meeting the story progress requirements.

A different bug would sometimes cause the ever-important Monster Field Guide to be inaccessible, and that has now been fixed, too. Speaking of access, the patch corrects the issue that would sometimes send players falling through the map on their way to Azuz in the Chapter 2-1 mission Toward Fervent Fields.

If you’ve been crafting a lot of weapons at the Smithy, you may have noticed that the game sometimes insists on showing you all the crafting tutorials you’ve previously seen. That has now been fixed.

In terms of gameplay fixes, the hotfix corrects an issue with the lance’s Power Guard that, in some cases, made the weapon flash red despite the effect not having been activated. Shifting to the Insect Glaive, when successfully performing an Offset Attack with Descending Slash, a nasty bug would sometimes cause your character to freeze and be unable to move – that has now also been fixed.

Capcom also fixed an issue that caused certain weapon skills to be activated when using a mantle, which didn’t make sense (though I am sure some of us liked the bonus). Finally, the patch addressed an issue that made it so certain weapon effects were always on when using certain skills, such as Peak Performance, and Self-Improvement.

Outside of these specific fixes, the update brings some stability and performance enhancements, as well as some crash fixes. Monster Hunter Wilds does suffer from major performance issues on PC, which has caused it to take a hit in user sentiment on Steam, despite being one of the most popular games right now. We’re expecting a long tail of patches for the game, however, especially now that it’s officially Capcom’s fastest-selling game ever, with over 8 million copies sold in just three days.

Be sure to catch up on our extensive Monster Hunter Wilds guides, which will teach you so much the game keeps from you. They will also help you find those pesky Endemic Life creatures, learn how to spot the crafting materials you want in the world, and much more.