10 Essential Tips for Monster Hunter Wilds We Wish We Knew

Our essential tips and tricks for Monster Hunter Wilds will help you have a successful hunting experience while avoiding potential dangers. After spending extensive time playing the game, we’ve compiled this advice to share what we wish we’d known from the start. This guide includes tips on various aspects such as combat, inventory management, exploration, and more, ensuring both newcomers and seasoned players could refine their skills and strategies in the game.

1. Choose Two Weapons and Master Them

With the option to carry a second weapon on your mount, it’s a good idea for newbies to select one weapon from Monster Hunter Wilds to specialize in while keeping a second for backup. Ideally, these weapons should offer contrasting playstyles (such as long-range vs. melee), but that’s not a strict requirement.

If you’re new and want to try something challenging like the Insect Glaive or the Hunting Horn, take the time to master that first weapon before working on a second one. Alternatively, you might want to start with a simpler weapon and reserve the complex one for later.

2. Create an Effective Default Loadout in Your Camp Tent

You can access various standard loadouts in your camp tent’s inventory, but we recommend creating your own. Everyone has unique strategies, so choosing the right items is essential. Generally, you should include Potions, Mega Potions, Nulberries, both types of traps, and Tranq Bombs to effectively capture monsters. You can always add more personal preferences to your basic loadout.

3. Seek Out White Patches on Monsters’ Skin

While you’ll learn to strike open wounds for heavy damage early on, there’s more to it. If you notice a creature’s skin has white areas, it indicates a spot that’s close to developing into an open wound. Continuously attacking that section can convert it into a wound you can exploit. Certain weapons, like the Long Sword, even enhance your Focus Strikes when you hit these areas!

4. Keep an Eye on the Left-Side List for Environmental Objects

On the left side of your screen, you’ll see a list of interactive objects in your view. It’s wise to monitor this list, as it often highlights useful items that might be overlooked. This includes everything from herbs to natural traps and monster remnants you can collect. Some formidable foes drop materials that can aid in crafting armor and weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds!

5. When Not Attacking, Mount the Seikret

Your mount, the Seikret, significantly improves mobility. While it’s best to use it for certain attacks, you should jump on its back for anything else. Engaging in tasks like potion drinking or sharpening weapons leaves you exposed when on foot, but from the Seikret, you become a harder target. Get into the habit of quickly mounting and dismounting as required.

6. Your Seikret Carries Hidden Treasures in Its Saddlebags!

Many players miss out on this feature, but your Seikret has a hidden supply pouch you can access by pressing Left on the D-Pad. This pouch fills up whenever you embark on a quest and typically contains a mix of healing items and rations. Depending on the mission, it may also offer specialized supplies such as traps or hot drinks for certain environments. This can be incredibly helpful in acute situations, especially when you need to exploit monster weaknesses during specific quests.

7. Use Charged Abilities on Smaller Creatures Too

Certain abilities, such as the Dual Blades’ Archdemon Mode or the Long Sword’s Gauge, charge by landing hits on monsters. Fortunately, you don’t have to target just the larger foes. Smaller creatures can be defeated to fill your meter. This way, when you engage with the main target, you’ll already be at full power.

8. Prepare Custom Meals at Your BBQ Based on Your Needs

At the start, you’ll receive a portable BBQ that enables you to whip up meals. Basic rations just restore health and stamina, but hearty meals provide significant buffs lasting up to 50 minutes, enhancing your gameplay. As you progress, you’ll collect ingredients that can allow you to customize the effects of your meals.

Before embarking on challenging hunts, always cook a meal suited to the quest. These meals can provide bonuses for better survivability, enhanced combat capabilities, or advantageous environmental effects. In between hunts, talk to NPCs and gather resources to keep your stock of supplies replenished!

9. You Can Focus Strike More Than Just Wounds

The Focus Strike ability, while primarily viewed as a way to create wounds on enemies for heavy damage, also has another aspect. Specific hits on certain monster parts during particular animations can lead to high damage. For instance, if a monster prepares a powerful attack, it might expose itself briefly, allowing you to hit it for a Focus Strike that interrupts its move and deals significant damage.

Players who can recognize these moments can exploit them effectively, using weapons like the Bow to maximize their advantage.

10. Use White “Wylk” Crystals Strategically

During mid-game, you’ll encounter monsters that summon white crystals known as Wylk. These crystals can erupt with elemental power, which can become a significant threat if not managed. You can use your elemental attacks to trigger these crystals at your convenience. If used strategically, you can deal substantial damage to monsters while removing a potential disadvantage from your battlefield.

For example, with the Light Bowgun, you can easily detonate these crystals and unleash their powerful effects against foes.

Check out our review of Monster Hunter Wilds to find out why we consider it a standout entry in the series and a possible game of the year contender.