How is the New World treating you, Hunter? A few hunts into your first expedition you will have gathered, blasted, sliced, slammed, and possibly even mounted a few of the wild beasts. However, if you lean in close I can give you some tips I have heard amongst the oldest hunters since the days of the first fleet. This guide is meant to be simple and it is assumed you are able to understand and read simple resources located in the game. Once the basics of this guide are understood it will clarify what you have already seen in the game.

Consider this before the hunt~

When you prepare for a hunt there are a few things to consider. For example, loadout for the monster you are fighting will always vary a tiny bit. Use the item box at the start of your quest (at camp) to get an idea of any other items to bring for this type of fight in the future. I personally have my own loadout of items I ALWAYS make sure to keep in my pouch at least for general missions/expeditions.

Mega-Potion

Potion

Rations / Well done Steak / Energy Drink

Attack Charm & Talon (Unlock in High Rank)

Power Charm & Talon (Unlock in High Rank)

Traps

Tranq Bombs

Nulberry (Most of the time)

Herbal Medicine (for poisonous situations)

Ancient/Max Potions

Lifepowder

Just about every hunt can work out if you use the above set. I usually recommend to also pack in items to assist with the specific monsters you are trying to hunt and their status effects. For example, some Jerky will stop bleeding caused by Odogaron’s knife claws. Again, go along with your item boxes starter items but don’t rely on them as those alone will not be enough for you during high rank.

Slinger Ammo to the rescue~

Flash Pods – Flash bugs “Flashbang grenades”

Crafted from flash bugs, consider this a flash-bang grenade for Monsters. It will temporarily blind them so their attacks will be much more random and unfocused. This is always helpful but the best use for them is on a flying wyvern. Regardless of who the hell is Astera is flying up there, they will come crashing down if you sling a flash pod at them. Observe this in action by Hunter Dylan Montz:

Dung – Poop – Dinosaur Turds

There is monster poop in this game. You will find it randomly through your trekking and frankly, it is one of the most useful items when out hunting. One thing we can all agree on is that Dung is very off-putting. Well, if you do decide to gather poop, your hunter will pick it up, FORM IT INTO A BALL, and then load into their slinger. No fancy pants hunters allowed! Anyway-

Once you have the poop sling in your inventory, it should become a dung pod, much like when you pick up a flash bug and it becomes a flash pod. When you are out on the hunt you may find your clash interrupted by another, more annoying, usually explosive monster. Shooting a wad of poop at the monster that is ruining everything will have them running for the hills.

Screamer Pods!

Maybe you have seen these in your inventory, maybe not. These are a little difficult to come by only because the materials are less easier to randomly run into. Screamer pods are used to interrupt burrowing monsters like our piscine wyverns and the diablos pair. If you want to farm the main material, screamer sacs, in the wild then the best way is head out to the open areas of the Wildspire Wastes. In the air, you will see some wing drakes screaming. Obviously, we know where to get them now. Shoot them down with a bow or place a raw meat on the ground and lie in wait to pounce on them. As the video below shows, the best timing to use the pod is when the beast is completely underground.

~and don’t forget to eat.

There are several places for you to eat either at headquarters or out in the wilderness. This is something that should become second-hand so learn to eat EVERY time you are about to set off. There are a few different effects you gain from eating. Some dishes will net you extra top health and top stamina. Another thing to look at in this dynamic is the boost you are getting from your meal. Is it giving you a large (L) attack boost? Perhaps it is increasing you Elemental resistance and defense. Either way, this could be what saves you a cart from one of those annoying wombo combos. Lastly, there are the Felyne skills, which gives you special little techniques or boosts for the duration of the meal’s effects. Always take some chances and experiment with making your own meals and see what effects you can come up with. POst your favorites with us. A few examples of what skills you can obtain are:

Felyne Moxie – Prevents fainting one time.

– Prevents fainting one time. Felyne Specialist – Increases the potency of abnormal status attacks.

– Increases the potency of abnormal status attacks. Felyne Carver (Hi) – Often increases the number of times you can carve.

– Often increases the number of times you can carve. Felyne Harvester – Reduces the time between gathering point respawns.

– Reduces the time between gathering point respawns. Felyne Lucky Cat – Sometimes increases the items received at the end of a quest.

The Status of the World

What game would ever be complete without some hindering elemental force? In Monster Hunter we have the usual status effects seen in many JRPG and a few other unwelcome friends. Hint, most of them can be cured by this little Nulberry to the right.

Poison – Health decreases over time. Indicated by a purple health bar.

Cure: Antidote or wait it out and pray

Stun – Makes you woozy/immobile. Look for two little stars by your name icon. THIS IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE.

Cure: Attack from a friend or felyne / Flail L Stick

Paralysis – Immobile on the floor. Your Hunter will be covered with static and bolt icons

will be displayed by the name.

Cure: Being Booped into the air by a monster/ Flail L Stick / Wait for it to pass

Sleep – You become drowsy and sluggish and then right to sleep a few moments later. Look for yawning and “ZzZ” icon by your character name.

Cure: While drowsy take an energy to prevent sleep. An attack from anything will also wake you.

Bleeding – Lose health when you move. Indicated by pink health bar.

Cure: Eat any meat related item or jerky. Crouch in place for a while and you’ll heal.

*Once healed from the bleeding your recovery speed increases*

Blastblight – Causes an explosion from within the hunter after a certain amount of time or when slammed by a monster’s heavy attack. Not sure why the game classifies this as a status effect

Cure: Repeatedly dodging puts out the fuse.

Effluvial Buildup – Lowers your maximum health.

Cure: Use a nulberry, torch pods, or just avoid if possible. Max or Ancient potions can get your health back up once out of the rot clouds of effluvium.

Blights!

You can be affected by something much like status affects called blight. Your best way to cure any of these will be with a Nulberry which can be found pretty easily. (Blastblight is not curable by Nulberries) The status effect will be obvious because you should see the related elemental icon on the affected bar or by the Hunter name.

Waterblight – Stamina recovers much slower

– Stamina recovers much slower Fireblight – Health depletes (Roll around three times or on a wet surface to cure this also)

Health depletes (Roll around three times or on a wet surface to cure this also) Thunderblight – Easier to stun (Total pain in the ass)

Easier to stun (Total pain in the ass) Iceblight – Increase the amount stamina your moves consume.

Increase the amount stamina your moves consume. Dragonblight – Removes any status or elemental effects.

For a condensed review of the status effects and blights check out Bludshedd’s lesson and Nulberry appreciation video.

Weapon of Choice

There are several gamers that are under the impressions that in every game with a multitude of choices, one should have a “main”, and focus on that to be better. For Monster Hunter that is not the case. A jack of all trades is very appreciated and can get much more efficient hunting done in a group with something as simple as a weapon choice. Just understand that each weapon has its own type of damaged that correlates to an enemies body part/weakness. So a blunt weapon may be better against a Barroth’s claws, while a sword would do the least amount of damage to a Barroth’s head. Check your hunter’s manual for the special details. Regardless of your weapons, always keeps it sharpened. Even the hammer and hunter horn.

If you are new to the game, there will be some weapons that will be easier to transition in to. The Sword and Shield would have to be the best melee weapon to start with. It also introduces the idea of charging and guarding in one weapon. If you need to use an item you can do it with the weapon unsheathed on the fly. There are several advantages to this weapon. It is well rounded and a great choice to begin with. If you want to get an in-depth of view of the S-N-S we have this elaborate introduction to the versatile weapon: the guide is by BouseFeenux.

…and then?

From this main weapon, I personally branch it out based on what you enjoyed while slaying the Sword and Shield weapon. If you like the flurry of the blades, and jumping like a Jaggi, I would branch out into the Dual Blade, Long Sword, and the Insect glaive. If guarding is the keystone to your hunting strategy, then I would venture into either of the lances, the great sword, and the charge ax. If you prefer to keep your distance after all of this, go into the ranged area of bows/guns. There are a few weapons I feel need a slight bit of extra in-depth teaching. Once you have main weapons just learn the combos and you will be fine. See below a little guide-ception if you will, of the game’s more complicated weapons.

Insect Glaive guide by BouseFeenux

The insect glaive is a quick weapon with a dung load of combos both on the ground and aerial. This is probably the easiest weapon to mount Monsters with.

The Charge Blade guide by BouseFeenux

Acting as a giant sword and shield in its original form, you swing your blade in order to build up a charge of energy in your weapon. The type of energy depends on the weapon you have equipped so make sure you double check that at the Smithy. Once you see your vials charged, juice up your weapons and when you’re ready…transform your weapon into an explosively charged axe!

Little help from my Hunting Horn friend guide by gaijin hunter

There are also various players who prefer to play the support role in games. I myself usually fall to being the healer or support type character in any game. Well, in Monster Hunter we have a rad weapon called the Hunting Horn which acts kind of like a bard will. Each horn has access to a variety of stat-boosting/healing songs that will greatly benefit your party. It also does KO damage on a monster so you can smash while you thrash. It is pretty simple but takes a quick view of this guide to see if it is something that you can play. Remember, other hunters, are usually relying on you once they see your little Hunting Horn icon so be prepared!

Solo Hunting

Aside from having the best gear and skills in your pouch, you will also need your felyne’s help throughout your solo exploring. They pick up items for you and have access to several life-saving gadgets. They have a Vigorwasp heal device when you start. Each land is home to its own species of Felyne too! Once you help each group they will reward you with their home’s device. You can level these up too just like the Vigorwasp! Other devices include a flash bug cage (Free Thundertrap eventually), and a Coral Horn. Now the Coral Horn is personally my favorite item. When you max it you can summon a boost song and health extender song from your felyne. It also has the potential to increase affinity and resistance to stun. I am a little biased but be sure to mix and match your strategy and gear to compliment your felyne. If you have NO clue what I mean by other devices, this video will show you how to unlock them for each map.

Weapon Chemistry

There are a few things to know about weapons besides just elements and swinging/shooting them. Some have attacks that INTERRUPT other hunters. This is bad and while you shouldn’t avoid these particular weapons, you should consider other hunters during combo smashing. If you find that you keep getting staggered by some mysterious force, look out for the following culprits.

Longsword Spirit Attacks

Explosive and slicing ammo types with the bow-guns

Lance’s Charge attack and it’s wide sweep

Charge Blade’s superior attacks

Insect glaive Red buff/likely full buff mode attacks

Duel Blades Demon mode attacks

Wyvernheart and wyvern snipe (HBG special attacks)

Dragon Piercer bow

The weapons don’t only interrupt other hunters. With impeccable aim and a steel will, Great Sword and Hammer users can launch others up into the air with a well-timed up-swipe or uppercut type move.

*Quick References*

Monster Weakness Chart

*The counterparts like Black Diablos and Azure Rathian have such minimal changes it really isn’t worth listing. If having any special trouble with them double check your hunter notes.

Community Submitted tips~

You tell me! Is there anything else a person would put into a beginner’s hunter’s manual?