Monster Hunter Wilds players are tricking the action RPG into thinking they completed hunt quests in mere seconds using the power of poison ammo

Monster Hunter Wilds players have discovered a devious new exploit that's allowing them to complete hunt quests in a matter of seconds – or at least, that's what the action RPG thinks.

Before Monster Hunter Wilds' launch, some hardened action RPG veterans were left concerned that the latest installment in the series might be a bit too easy. While Capcom was quick to reveal that "a new level of challenge" is coming in the game's first title update in April, seeing certain screenshots of hunt times on social media claiming that players have smashed through quests in mere seconds, you'd think that turning up that difficulty ought to be a major priority. However, not all is as it seems, as some have been taking advantage of a handy little trick involving poison damage to get a head start on their hunts.

As reported by VG247, it turns out that hitting monsters with poison ammo doesn't actually start hunt quests, despite them taking damage from the ailment. This is probably because, in general, monsters can be injured by their environment even without you having a hand in it, but this doesn't force quests to start because, let's face it, that'd suck. Anyway, it's probably because of this that you can freely poison your foes without triggering a quest, so long as you don't hit them with actual attacks beyond that.

This is where the magic happens, and an incredibly drawn out process gets translated into what appears to be (to the game itself and your social media followers) a near instant win. By waiting for the poison damage to build up as the monster's health depletes, and then jumping in right at the end to either finish it off for good or swoop in to capture it, you can make it look like you're some kind of Monster Hunter god. Or at least, you will until everyone finds out this is what you've been doing – the magic sort of vanishes from this 1.53-second Tempered Chatacabra capture once you realize it actually takes around nine minutes to do it, for example.

Is it cheesy? Yes. Is it satisfying to see the game proclaim your victory in under two seconds? Also yes. Beyond this and simply showing off, there's not really any reason to do this, but hey, it's good fun.

Be sure to check out our Monster Hunter Wilds review and read our guide to the best Monster Hunter Wilds weapons if you want a hand in hunting monsters the proper way.