Hints & Tips

Choosing Weapons

From swords and bows to musical bagpipes there are a total of 14 weapons to choose from in the game. Between the rounds of the early hunts you may want to consider swapping them round so you get to feel how each one handles and maybe find one that suits your playing style.

Sharpen Weapons

It is important during a hunt that you keep an eye on the weapon meter in the top left corner of your screen as your weapon will blunt over the course of a hunt and do less damage. If you see that your weapon has become blunt you can sharpen it by going through your inventory, selecting Whetstone and pressing Square to sharpen it. The Whetstone will always be in your inventory regardless what you pack before a hunt. Remember though that when you sharpen your weapon you leave yourself open for attack so make sure before you perform this action your quarry is either distracted or fleeing to another area.

Monster Rank

Whenever you find tracks and complete hunts you will earn Ecological Research points that will increase your Monster Rank which will allow you to attempt harder missions. Your Palico and Tailraiders will both level up during gameplay.

Upgrading Characters

Unlike traditional role playing games your character doesn't have a level, your armour and weapons dictate your offense and defense and these are upgraded by inreasing your Monster Rank by completing hunts.

Prepare Meal

Before you leave camp to go on a hunt remember to prepare yourself a meal as doing so will give you stat bonuses which may be enough to give you an edge in battle. Although you can create your own recipes it is easier to just select a meal with stat bonuses you would like.

Supplies

As well as preparing a meal for your hunt you should ensure you have a decent supply of Mega Potions, Antidotes, Tranq Bombs, and a Shock Trap so you have essentials to capture a monster at any time.

Collect Items

As you explore an area looking for a beast to hunt you will encounter lots of things you can either investigate or collect. This includes footprints, feathers, plants, mosses and insects. Some of these items can be sold or crafted into more useful things.

Monster Combat

Each monster has their own traits and tendencies and in your first encounter with a beast you should observe these behaviours so you can formulate a plan on how to best engage it. Remember though that regardless of the beast you should always keep moving and avoid tackling it from the front.

Farming Materials

There is no need to spend hours farming for materials if you upgrade whenever possible as you progress in the main story. The only time you should consider farming for materials or visiting a smithy is when it becomes too difficult to beat an Assigned monster.

New Armour

When you can farm materials from a single creature to get a complete armour set from that beast you should delay story progression as new armour will give you better defense stats. Each piece of armour adopts the appearance of the creature you have taken it from.

Small Creatures

During combat keep an eye out for small creatures you can interact with such as the Vigorwasp. These small creatures can give you health ot trigger status effects if you activate them.

Return to Town

After each mission you should return to town and visit the Resource Center so you can register any new Bounties, Investigations, and Deliveries. It also gives you the opportunity to visit the smithy to see if any new materials you collected have opened up any new upgrade branches as well as clear out your inventory so you don't run out of room during your next mission.