Monster Hunter Wilds Tips - 15 Things To Know Before You Play

There's plenty of stuff to do in Monster Hunter Wilds. From chasing down beastly targets and gathering materials for upgrades, to seeing how the world changes around you, you're bound to feel an unrivaled sense of wonder as you adventure all across the Forbidden Lands. Whether you're completely new to this particular series or you're a long-time fan of the franchise, our Monster Hunter Wilds beginner's guide should help you start your journey on the right foot.

Monster Hunter Wilds beginner's guide - Tips to know before you play

Our beginner's guide tackles numerous facets of the game. We start out by discussing the basics, such as your weapons and armor. We then move on to exploration-related concepts, including fast travel methods and preparations before each quest. And, of course, we talk about the massive monsters that you encounter during your playthrough.

The Monster Hunter series is known for having a tried-and-tested core gameplay loop: Defeat creatures -> pick up materials -> use materials to upgrade and craft gear -> defeat tougher creatures -> lather, rinse, and repeat.

This concept still rings true in Monster Hunter Wilds, making it approachable to newcomers and familiar to long-time fans. This time, though, crafting and upgrades are done by talking to Gemma, the Smithy NPC at your base.

Weapons: There are 14 weapon types in the game, each with its own unique moveset that complements certain playstyles. These include the Greatsword, Long Sword, Sword & Shield, Dual Blades, Hammer, Hunting Horn, Lance, Gunlance, Switch Axe, Charge Blade, Insect Glaive, Light Bowgun, Heavy Bowgun, and Bow.

When forging/crafting a type of weapon, you'll see that there are "trees/paths" that lead to their upgraded variants, as well as elemental status effects. Later, you'll battle tougher variants of creatures, which also net you high-tier materials denoted by a "+" icon.

Armors: Armor sets in the game consist of five pieces: Helmet, chestpiece, gauntlets, waist/pants, and boots. Armor sets of a particular creature type tend to require materials from the same type of beasts. For instance, the Rathalos set requires Rathalos shells, scales, webbing, and other resources.

Related guide: Best weapons

One important Monster Hunter Wilds tip to remember is that you can equip a secondary weapon. You can do this by forging another weapon, and then going to your camp/tent menu -> Equipment -> Change Equipment -> Secondary.

Then, when you're exploring on the world map, you can swap to your weapons by pressing right on the D-pad or "X" on your keyboard. Your character will then briefly ride their Seikret mount and switch to your secondary weapon, and vice versa.

Having a secondary weapon that you can switch to when necessary is quite handy, especially if you need a different armament when fighting a boss. It's also possible to equip weapons of the same type in case you need armaments with two different elemental properties--i.e. one fire and one lightning.

Before heading out on a quest, be sure that you have everything you need. In your tent/camp's Item Menu, you can look at the Transfer Items tab. This allows you to move materials from your Item Box to your Item Pouch. Potions and Mega Potions are absolutely necessary if you wish to survive.

Another tidbit to remember is that the meals you eat grant powerful, albeit temporary, buffs. By default, you can use Rations regularly provided by the Ingredient Center NPC at your base. These Ration-only meals provide basic boosts that last for 30 minutes. However, you may also include additional ingredients and finishing touches to have a multitude of bonuses.

Related guide: Cooking and recipes

You get to explore several biomes in the Forbidden Lands. While you can opt to walk around on foot, it's better to traverse these areas while on your trusty Seikret mount. Here are some additional facets to consider:

• If you mark a monster, resource node, or point of interest on the map, you can press up on the D-pad. This causes the Seikret to automatically move to that location.
• Additional options can be seen in the lower-left corner of the screen. These include fast travel locations, such as your main base in a region and various Pop-up Camps that you discover.

The aforementioned Pop-up Camps act as handy fast travel points as they're located in all sorts of places in each biome. Whenever you stumble upon one of these, simply chat with a Support Center or Pop-up Camp Palico NPC at your base. You may then spend Guild Points (GP) to construct a Pop-up Camp in that location.

Do take note that Pop-up Camps can be destroyed by monsters that are nearby. The good news is that they'll get repaired over time. Likewise, you can spend additional GP to repair them instantly. Perhaps you need to make use of that fast travel point ASAP, and you don't want to wait too long.

The Slinger is an integral tool that you can use for both exploration and combat. You can aim it while on foot or while mounted to see certain actions:

• Fire Slinger - Lets you shoot Slinger-type ammo with various effects, such as lures, repellents, and nets for smaller endemic life.
• Fire Hook Slinger - Lets you shoot a grapple that pulls resources toward you, such as plants and insects.

Moreover, the Slinger presents you with more opportunities to beat down your foes in battle:

• You can pull/interact with insects or pods that trigger an environmental hazard or status effect. For instance, some bugs have a flashbang-like effect that dazes creatures and pods that restore health.
• You can pull fixtures on the environment, including boulders, pillars, icicles, and even giant forges. If you time it right, these objects can hit monsters and deal tremendous damage.

Another key Monster Hunter Wilds tip to remember is that biomes not only have a dynamic day and night cycle, but also dynamic weather patterns specific to each location. Here's a quick summary:

• Plenty - A lot of herbivorous animals are roaming around, and there's more flora that you can gather.
• Fallow - The landscape looks muted and dusky. Resources are scarce, and many monsters tend to fight each other in search of food.
• Inclemency - The Inclemency period occurs between each Plenty and Fallow transition, and vice versa. While brief, this phase is also extremely dangerous due to hazards that are present and unique to each region. Examples include sandstorms, floods, and scorching flames.

Related guide: World map and biomes

You don't need to adventure all by your lonesome in Monster Hunter Wilds. It's perfectly fine to ask other players to help you, since the game also offers cross-play support for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

When you start a session, you'll be sent to a lobby with up to 100 players. You can invite players or join existing quests. You may also look for a friend's Hunter ID so you can add them quickly, as opposed to scrolling down a list of all players in a lobby.

Then again, perhaps you prefer to play solo but you still need assistance. You can obtain the aid of Support Hunters, AI-controlled companions that join your quest. These companions can heal, attack, and even lay down traps while in combat.

Related guides:

• Multiplayer, cross-play, and cross-saves
• SOS Flare and AI companions

There are instances when you might encounter several creatures milling around a larger beast, known as an alpha. While you could try to take out this target while it's surrounded by its brethren, it's definitely not recommended. Just imagine having half a dozen Doshaguma stomping on your head at the same time.

Instead, we recommend looking for poop--this is not a joke. The poop you find while exploring can be crafted into Dung Pods or Large Dung Pods. You can then set these as ammo for your Slinger. When fired, the stink causes other animals in the herd to run away, allowing you to attack only your main target.

Monster Hunter Wilds uses the wounds system, where attacking the same body part over and over creates a gaping wound. You can see these exact spots, denoted by bright red glows, by pressing the focus/aim button.

Once a wound is visible, you should try to land a Focus Strike. This is done by holding the focus/aim button and pressing the dash button--i.e. R1/RB on a gamepad or Left Shift on a keyboard). A Focus Strike causes higher damage to that body part and, once the wound is destroyed, you should receive materials.

You may also ride monsters by hopping on their backs. One of the most reliable methods involves mounting your Seikret, and then jumping to land on the creature's back.

Once you're astride the beast, be ready to brace in case it tries to buck you off and deplete your stamina. You can also attack its weak spot until you open up a wound. You may then follow up with a devastating blow that temporarily drops your foe.

Note that you have limited controls when riding a monster, but you can cause them to ram into obstacles or walls to deal damage and briefly stun them, too.

An alternative if you don't want to slay creatures is to capture them instead. This requires trap items and tranquilizer items. Once you have both in your inventory, fight your target normally until it's severely injured--i.e. you see that it's limping and a notification appears telling you that you're able to capture it.

From there, follow it to its next location, where it's likely resting or lounging around. Place down your trap, then attack the beast to lure it. Then, once the trap has been activated, use your tranquilizer items to put it to sleep.

Related guide: How to use traps and capture monsters

Each monster that you target is part of its own quest. Once slain or captured, a timer will count down. You don't want to end the quest immediately since you can do other stuff in the meantime:

• If you killed a monster, carve up its carcass so you can gather additional materials.
• Explore the immediate vicinity and look for resource nodes, such as ore deposits, plants, and bone piles.

Perhaps the most important Monster Hunter Wilds tip to consider is that this is a very "grindy" game, much like its predecessors. The campaign itself might only take you over a dozen hours to beat, but the endgame arc is where you'll really spend more time and effort.

Endgame activities include fighting tougher variants of the same creatures to obtain high-tier materials, engaging in battles in the Wounded Hollow arena, completing multiple side quests/hunts to increase your Hunter Rank, and, finally, being able to face Tempered Monsters, the deadliest and rarest of the bunch.

Related guides:

• How long to beat: Campaign length and mission list
• All monster locations

That does it for our Monster Hunter Wilds beginner's guide. We hope these tips help you as you're making your way through the inhospitable landscapes of the Forbidden Lands.