The ultimate Monster Hunter Wilds beginner's guide

Our Monster Hunter Wilds beginner's guide is here to help all newcomers to the series learn the basics and find out what they should be doing first. MH Wilds is the latest in a great series, but its capacity for tutorialization doesn't necessarily make it easy to get on board for new players. With that in mind, we've put together this guide on how to get started in MH Wilds properly, with advice for new players and a basic outline of what you should do and what you need to learn, step-by-step. Nobody said killing elemental behemoths as a day job would be easy, after all.

What to do first in Monster Hunter Wilds if you're a beginner

New players in MH Wilds should keep the following beginner's advice in mind when they start playing.

1. Pick an easy weapon, and train with it first.
   All the weapons work very differently in MH Wilds, and some are a lot more complicated than others. If you're new to the game and want a simpler one, I recommend the Dual Blades, Long Sword, Hammer or Great Sword, and not something more complicated like the Monster Hunter Wilds Insect Glaive. Once you've picked one, make sure you read about it in the pause menu tutorial, then take it to the training area in the base camp and get a full understanding of its basic abilities and combos.
2. Learn the UI and item menu as a point of urgency.
   Using items quickly - especially healing potions - is how you stay alive in MH Wilds, and the game's interface has never been massively intuitive to newcomers. Don't force yourself to learn it on the fly - make sure you study it between quests and understand how to quickly pick whatever you need.
3. Use the SOS Flare!
   There's no penalty in the game for calling for help, so firing this off in every mission is a great way to lower the difficulty by bringing in either NPC or online allies via the Monster Hunter Wilds multiplayer system. Fire it off the moment the quest starts from the communications menu, and remember that there is MH Wilds crossplay, so you can play with friends across platforms!
4. Make sure you're eating often and well.
   Players' max health and stamina diminishes over time, and eating restores them both to full. Depending on the meal you eat, it may only be a minor restoration, or it might bring back both to full AND grant a lot of buffs in the process. You can eat Rations and Steak from your item bar mid-combat, or you can cook full meals on the BBQ or at your tent for greater effects.
5. Check that you're equipped before doing a mission.
   Your supply of potions and other items isn't automatically restocked - you need to find the Herbs and resources needed to craft them yourself in the environment. Alternatively, you can always buy certain items at the base camp, resupply from the item box in your tent, or access a small free supply of items donated to you by the guild at the start of every quest by pressing left on the D-Pad.
6. Fight monsters more than once, and look up their details afterwards!
   Killing monsters and carving their parts grants you materials you can use to start building better armor and weapons, but what materials and drops you get vary from hunt to hunt, and you probably won't get enough after one kill to forge an armor set or weapon themed around that monster. Fortunately, after killing it once, you'll get a full entry in the Large Monster Guide for that beast, one that outlines all its weaknesses, both elemental and where on its body is most vulnerable to attack! Check that essential data to make future hunts all easier. You can check out our full monster roster list for Monster Hunter Wilds to see what's waiting for you, or if you're more technically minded, our weaknesses table for Monster Hunter Wilds has all the elements, items and strategies you need!
7. Remember that slaying takes time!
   Nothing in Monster Hunter Wilds is quick, and that's the point. Killing a single monster may take anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes, depending on your skill level and the monster's power, and that's normal. With no visible health bar, you might get discouraged, but there are other ways to tell you're making progress - the monster moving to a new area, wounds appearing on its body, sections being broken, and more besides. A hunt is a commitment, no doubt about that, but one that you'll feel very satisfied with once you win!

To expand on that final idea, the important thing to keep in mind is that none of this is easy or immediate. Monster Hunter is a series with some serious teeth (pun intended), so you'll need to practice all these elements, accept that you won't master anything soon, and may need to return to basics. I love the series, but I once described it as a really fun job - and frankly, that still applies. Take your time, accept a long learning curve, and enjoy the process!

Want to know how long it'll take to clear the campaign? Find out the time to beat MH Wilds here! Alternatively, check out how to mount monsters in MH Wilds and hunt from on their back!

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