Guide: Tips and tricks for new players in Monster Hunter Wilds

Monster Hunter Wilds is a smash hit, having sold over 8 million copies and counting since its debut in late February, and with positive word of mouth across the board, there’s likely to be millions of new players hitting the world of Monster Hunter for the first time. Wilds isn’t just a challenge for new players, though, as the game offers a host of changes that are likely to puzzle series veterans, too.

That’s why we’ve put together this guide filled with the top tips and tricks for new players in Monster Hunter Wilds. All of these tips are pretty basic, but if you’re stepping into the Forbidden Lands for the first time, all of them will come in handy, so be sure to keep them in mind.

Aim for the Wounds

Wounds are a brand-new mechanic in Monster Hunter Wilds, and they offer a way to deal much more damage when hunting. A wound can open up on a monster if you’ve hit a particular part of the monster multiple times, and hitting the wound once it opens deals extra damage on every hit. You can even aim for the wounds with Focus Mode, and any combos that you get off will deal damage to the wound you were aiming at when you started. You can “consume” these wounds for a big burst of damage and a stun on the monster, but we’d recommend holding off until you’ve gotten a fair few hits in first to make sure you’re making the most of the situation. A well-timed “consume” can interrupt a monster’s big attack, too, so save it for when it matters.

Don’t Stress Too Much About Equipment

Armor and weapon choice in Monster Hunter Wilds is important, but it’s not quite as important as you’d think. More important are how you use your weapons, and how you react to a monster’s movement. You’ll get far more out of good positioning, dodging, and weapon usage than you ever will from specific armor, weapons, or passive skills, so focus on learning to use your weapons and the flow of the hunt before stressing about what armor you need. You especially don’t need to grind out any armor sets or weapons in the main story of the game, because you’ll unlock new sets rapidly as you progress. Instead, save your efforts for High Rank, where every extra defense point really matters.

Gather Everything

Monster Hunter Wilds, for better or for worse, has a lot of slow story moments, often accompanied by a walk-and-talk on your seikret. Thankfully, this is a great opportunity to use your hook slinger to gather ingredients, and you’ll want as many ingredients as you can muster. Having a wide range of ingredients to craft items with is invaluable, because even in the post-game, you can’t buy every item you might need. Some items, like Flash Pods, Traps, and Tranq Bombs, can’t be bought, and they’re almost necessary for some hunts, so you’ll need to craft for them. You should be spending as much time as possible gathering ingredients, and learning which ingredients are used in specific recipes so you can focus your gathering time on those items.

Stock Up on Grilled Steak

A long-standing tradition of the Monster Hunter series is the ability to grill a huge chunk of meat, and Wilds is no different. There’s a little minigame that requires observation and timing to cook steak, and performing better in this minigame gives you higher quality steaks, and more of them. You’ll want to spend a bit of time grilling up as much well-done steak as you can — it comes in very handy in hunts, essentially offering an instant meal that boosts your health and stamina to their maximum values, just without any extra attack or defense boosts. Being able to pop a well-done steak in the middle of a hunt is a huge help for survival, and you can carry enough to get you through a few hunts without having to go back to camp.

Make the Most of Special Meals

Speaking of food, at certain times throughout the story – and regularly throughout the post-game – you’ll be offered special meals by villagers of certain regions. These meals will increase your stamina and health to max, like any other meal, but they’ll also give you more passive skill boosts than anything you can make yourself. Our advice is twofold: firstly, when you get a special meal in the main story of the game, try to power through the main quests rather than wandering off the beaten path and knocking out side quests. Secondly, once you get to the post-game, you’ll occasionally get offers for special meals from villagers, and you should use this opportunity to grind out more difficult hunts for armor and weapons. The meal counter won’t tick down unless you’re in a hunt, thankfully, so it’s easy to make the most of the special meals on offer — you just need to put your resources in the right place.

Switch Up Your Weapons

Monster Hunter Wilds offers a series-first feature of being able to take two weapons with you on a hunt, with players able to swap between the two while riding on their seikret. This opens up a world of possibilities for hunters, and they should consider all their options when setting up for a hunt. On the one hand, you could have a melee weapon as your main and a ranged weapon as your secondary, allowing you to fight at different distances as the situation required. Or, instead, you could carry two different elemental types of weapons — one that the monster is weak to, and another that can inflict a status condition like poison or paralysis. None of these options are wrong, and it’ll largely depend on how each player approaches a hunt, but ignoring it is leaving a lot of options on the table, so make sure your secondary weapon is primed and ready.