Monster Hunter: World is finally on store shelves and it’s indisputably the most accessible game in franchise history. But it’s still incredibly dense, and can demand hours of extra grinding if you don’t invest your time and resources wisely. Luckily, we’ve already dumped a few dozen hours into MHW and have some tips for any newcomers in the Fifth Fleet.
We’ve tried to stick to things that aren’t covered by the game’s tutorials, but if there’s a little overlap it’s only because that subject is really important. Monster Hunter isn’t necessarily an ultra-difficult game, it’s just very detail oriented. Having an idea of what you want to accomplish and a pack full of medicine is half the battle. Anyone with a rudimentary plan and a few allies will probably find success in the New World. But we’d like to help you excel.
Experiment With Weapons Until You Find The Right Fit
There are 14 weapon classes in Monster Hunter: World, each with dozens of potential upgrades to assemble. So there’s a good chance you won’t immediately identify the weapon that best fits your playstyle, unless you’re a Monster Hunter veteran. Even experienced players might find something new to master. Experiment with a few different weapons -- the sword and shield are great for beginners -- and figure out what you’re most comfortable with. It’s also good to have a functional alternative, in case your first choice is too slow or weak for a specific target.
Preparation Is Key
Preparation is so important in Monster Hunter, it’s probably the name of the series in an alternate universe. Here’s a quick checklist of things you should do before every trip out into the field:
Turn in completed deliveries and bounties at the Resource Center
Claim new Bounties (as needed)
Check on your plant/honey/bug harvest
Check-in with the Chief Ecologist to update your Monster Guide
Restock key supplies (potions, ammo, etc)
We rarely left HQ without full stocks of Potions, Mega Potions, Antidotes, Herbal Medicine and Rations
Consult your Monster Guide to see if your current equipment fits the next target
Change/Upgrade equipment as needed
Collect cooked food, eat a meal and start a new roast at the Canteen
Never roast crafting materials (Tails, Skins, etc)
Don’t fret if you can’t complete one or more of these steps. Just complete what you can, skip what you can't and keep working your way through the campaign until you’ve unlocked the rest.
Get Comfortable Hitting Monsters Before Targeting Limbs
Positioning and timing are the two most important concepts in Monster Hunter. Enemies are rarely stationary targets and even the largest monsters move much faster than expected. Players who prefer heavy weapons, like the greatsword or hammer, will need practice to learn the timing of their weapons. It’s less of an issue for fast weapons, like dual daggers or the sword and shield, because you’ll have to take the length of your combat animations into account before attacking. But we still recommend getting comfortable with striking monsters, particularly those with quick movements and/or short windows of opportunity, before trying to target specific body parts.
Give Your Allies Space To Work
Depending on your weapon of choice (and aim) you may have noticed your Palico getting knocked out of attack animations when your offense maneuvers went wide. Your human allies have the same problem. Swinging your weapon(s) around in close proximity to your team is going to make it harder for everyone to do their job. Take note of where your allies have positioned themselves, in relation to your current target, and make sure you have plenty of room to attack (and miss) without causing major problems for the rest of the team.
Let Other Hunters Cover You While Healing (And Return The Favor)
Learning how to hit a monster is only half the battle. You also need to know when and how to retreat when you’re getting hit too hard/frequently. If you’re in a multiplayer session, stop attacking and let some of the other players build aggro. Retreat to a safe distance from the monster, heal up and sharpen your weapon (if needed) then return to the fray. Make sure you’re intervening by dealing as much damage as possible when other players need a moment. If you’re playing alone, let your Palico take aggro when you need to heal. It won’t be able to hold it for long, but it’s should be enough to down a Mega Potion or some Herbal Medicine.
Use Bushes (And Your Mantle) To Lose Aggro
Sometimes you're going to take a lot of punishment in a very short window of time. It's not a big deal if your teammates are around to distract your target or your Palico is ready to jump in and tank for a few seconds. But what happens if those backups aren't available?
In the event that you need to break aggro, locate a bush and crouch inside while your target isn't looking. It doesn't matter how you break line of sight. Just make sure the creature doesn't see you walk into your new hiding spot. As long as a purple circle appears around your mini-map, you should be in the clear long enough to drink a potion, use a whetstone, etc. The Ghillie Mantle is also an excellent tool for emergency healing.
Breaking Monster Parts Will Improve Your Life (And Gear)
It shouldn’t be a priority until you feel comfortable in combat but breaking limbs can make some fights much easier by reducing the effectiveness of certain attacks. Tail whips, for example, are much less effective when the creature’s tail is half its normal length. Breaking a monster’s limbs also guarantees additional rewards for completed hunts and some semblance of a consolation prize after failed ones. Hitting certain body parts can require a bit of finesse and breaking them is much easier with a hammer or greatsword. But those who prefer lighter weaponry still have the means of breaking limbs, thanks to environmental obstacles like the hanging boulders in the Ancient Forest.
Mounting Monsters Is Highly Effective
Mounting monsters is an incredibly effective way of dealing some quick burst damage, avoiding incoming attacks for a short spell AND breaking hard-to-reach parts of certain large creatures. It’s also a bit tricky to master. Essentially, you’re trying to maintain your stamina longer than the creature you’re riding. Prioritize bracing over attacks because tired monsters will still collapse to the ground, even if you don’t get a free charged attack to drag them down. You might not do as much damage on the takedown, but your party can put a real hurting on the target while it’s getting back to its feet.
For more on World’s rodeo mechanic, check out our monster mounting guide.
You Can Never Have Enough Crafting Material
Pick up herbs and other medicine-making resources any time you spot them in the field. Players on a time crunch might not want to stop for every mining outcrop or carveable carcass. But it doesn’t take much time or effort to harvest plants while tracking your next target or chasing a monster. And there’s no such thing as “too much” herbs or honey. You’ll use an absurd number of Potions and Mega Potions during the hunt for Zorah Magdaros.
Enable Auto-Crafting For Frequently Needed Items
Auto-crafting is one of the best quality of life features in Monster Hunter: World. You will use a lot of potions and other healing items, many of which can only be replenished via the game’s crafting system. But thanks to the auto-crafting mechanic, the process of replenishing your stores is much simpler than it used to be. Simply open the Crafting List, find the items you know you can always use more of -- we recommend the Potion, Mega Potion, Herbal Medicine and Antidotes for starters -- and press the Y or Triangle button to put a checkmark next to each. Moving forward, your hunter will create more anytime you’re holding the necessary ingredients.
All Research Is Good Research
As you play through MHW , you’ll frequently spot evidence of a creature you aren’t currently hunting. You should always take a few seconds to inspect nearby footprints, claw marks, mucus and/or any other signs that a large monster recently roamed the area. You don’t have to be hunting a specific monster to improve the corresponding research level and that data makes choosing the proper gear for future hunts more straightforward. Increased research makes it easier to track creatures during a hunt. Once you complete a monster’s research, you don’t need to stop for every sign of life. But we recommend it if you’re sticking around for the endgame.
Restock Key Health Items While Monsters Reposition
You can’t keep pace with large creatures in Monster Hunter: World while they’re retreating. If a creature makes a hasty exit, take a moment to evaluate your item pouch and see if anything is in dire need of replenishment before giving chase. It’ll only take you a few seconds to restock potions or cook a steak to remove your hunger penalty. It usually takes much longer to start a hunt from scratch because you fainted too many times.
Get Comfortable Scrolling While You Run
Aim to minimize downtime as much as possible in Monster Hunter: World. FWe recommend getting very comfortable with browsing the crafting list and/or scrolling through the shortcut menus (on L1 or LB) while moving. Crafting on the run obviously isn’t ideal, and should be avoided at all costs, but sometimes you just really have a rough go of it in battle. Scrolling through the shortcut menu is much more common because you’ll use an assortment of items, like potions, whetstones and hunter tools, and flipping through the shortcut reel is much faster than stopping to open your item pouch.
Only Forge Equipment When Needed
Unless you’re a completionist, you probably won’t forge every weapon and armor set in Monster Hunter: World. Instead, focus on things that will help during your next hunt or one you plan to undertake in the near future. We’ve played more than 40 hours of MHW and haven’t completed a single armor set since Bone (which stayed viable for a long time btw).
Other Tips
Don’t waste your Armor Spheres on upgrades for your starter gear. Every other set in the game has a higher defense ceiling. The Bone Set is much better to focus on if you want to avoid grinding during the early hours of MHW.
Take full advantage of your environment. Use climbable surfaces to mount monsters, lure them into traps for free burst damage or trick them into tredding into a natural enemy's territory. Few things provide better cover for quick healing, or a weapon sharpening, like wyverns duking it out for the right to (unsuccesfully) eat you.
The Ghillie Mantle is basically Easy Mode for egg deliveries. Just make sure you put the cloak on before picking up the egg to avoid stirring up any nearby fauna. You’ll probably have to kill a bit of time between eggs while you wait for the mantle’s cooldown timer, so take a few moments to collect ore, herbs or something else you need from your current locale before heading back for the next egg.
Use the wishlist. It might seem silly, since fellow hunters can’t use Prime Now to send you a Dragonbone Cleaver, but the list makes it much easier to keep track of items to watch for on your next outing. The game even notifies you once enough materials have been collected to forge something on the list.
Icon Filters enabled on the map screen remain active on the mini-map. They make it much easier to gather resources, hunt small monsters and find traps during combat.
We recommend keeping up with your botanical research even if you don’t need the extra herbs, mushrooms, etc. Just research a bug and make sure you add fertilizer between quests. You’ll occasionally receive a Golden Hornfly, a material for the King Beetle armor set, and can sell everything else for extra cash.
An easy shortcut for opening the text chat on consoles is pressing the Options/Menu button on your gamepad, then the Touchpad or View button.
Quests and Investigations are the only way to guarantee a specific monster’s presence in their natural habitat. You can always head to the Ancient Forest and hope you run into an Anjanath or Rathalos. But you’ll have a much easier time accepting a quest to hunt your desired prey. And if you need to kill multiple, just activate multiple investigations with the same target. After each kill, return to camp instead of HQ and you’ll be able to accept another investigation from your handler. It’s not a huge shortcut, but it will save you a few loading screens during long farming sessions.
Monster Hunter: World is available on PS4 and Xbox One. The game hits PC this fall.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Monster Hunter: World news in 2018 and however long Capcom supports MHW in the months ahead.
