Monster Hunter Rise – Ultimate Beginners Guide For New And Returning Hunters
Monster Hunter Rise is here, and this is a guide for how to get up and running quickly giving you an overview of all the key info you need to know to get started. This is a beginner’s guide so you’ll be able to start hunting Monsters with ease as well as the different types of hunts as well as some useful tips and tricks.
The Monster Hunter Gameplay Loop
If you are new to the franchise then you may not be familiar with the gameplay loop in Monster Hunter. It’s been a consistent thing over the years and Monster Hunter Rise does provide some nice quality of life improvements, making this one of the most fun and fluid Monster Hunter games out there.
It goes a little something like this:
- Select a hunt from a quest giver in Kamura Village
- Head out to the Hunt location
- Prep for battle
- Find your Monster
- Battle the monster solo or with friends
- Craft new gear from the parts you’ve collected
- Repeat the process
In the first few hours of the game, you will be introduced to many NPCs and tutorials, and you’ll head out on your first hunt. Once you come back there are tutorials for handing in your gear for crafting new weapons, eating, and finding your way around Kamura Village. At first, there’s a lot of info to take in and it can all feel a little bit overwhelming, but push through this as there’s plenty of rewards on the other side and it won’t be long until you are taking down monsters with confidence and skill.
You will repeat this process of hunting, gathering parts, and crafting, and as you progress through the game it’s going to ramp up in difficulty as the monsters get larger. Over time you’ll optimize your weapons and armor to face off against larger and more difficult monsters.
Do The Training Missions
Before you jump headfirst into the hunts I would take on the training missions, these will give you a grounding in the Monster Hunter basics that will be valuable later on. Much of the information you need in the game will be provided by the pop-up tutorials, however, it’s best to get stuck in there and understand the mechanics of a hunt.
Once you have met Master Utsushi in the Gathering Hub, he’ll add a few training missions to Hinoa the Quest Maiden’s list in the Village. These cover some useful topics:
Back to Basics – This teaches you through the basic gameplay mechanics of the game
Learning to Ride – This teaches you how to Wyvern Ride. This is a good one and helps you with the knowledge of how to mount monsters and use them in battle.
The Basics of Capturing Monsters – This teaches you how to end hunts by capturing monsters rather than killing them. Capturing monsters can help to end hunts much quicker and will also give you access to unique monster parts for your collection. If you want the best armor and weapons, then learning how to capture monsters is going to be key.
The Rampage Approaches – This teaches you about the new Rampage mode in Monster Hunter Rise, where you have to fight off hordes of monsters attacking the village.
The tutorial missions are very useful and it’s worth doing them all.
Eat Before Hunts
Before heading out on a hunt it’s always worth stocking up on some food and eating a Dango. You’ll get useful buffs for the battle, so it’s always useful to have a bite to eat. Once you have chosen your target check out some of the weaknesses of the monster and then try to buff yourself in that area with the Dangos.
As you progress through the game you’ll unlock new Dango recipes and also the cost will go down over time. Try to get into the habit of eating before every hunt as it could be that little bit extra you need to succeed in the hunt.
Stock Up Before You Go Hunting
Once you land in your hunting locale head into the tent and make sure you have enough potions and rations to replenish your stamina and health throughout the battle. There’s a tent where you first land and you can head in there and craft if you need items and also transfer items from your storage into your pockets.
It’s essential in the early game to make sure you have enough items to help you through a battle, especially when you first start with the standard gear and weapons. As you progress through the game and get better, then battles will become easier and you may not need as many potions and items.
Collect Everything
When you are out on a Hunt try and pick up everything you see. There’s an array of bugs, creatures, and herbs that will help you out in battle. A combination of these items will give you stat boosts and buffs which will all add up and help you in battle. There are bugs that replenish health, flash bugs that blind monsters, and wirebugs too.
While you are running around, or on the back of your Palamute, try and pick up as many herbs and flowers as possible. These items will flash on the screen and will go into your stocks, which you can then turn into health potions and other items. Autocrafting items really help as then these herbs and plants will instantly turn into useful items for you.
Pretty much every creature and plant is of some use in Monster Hunter Rise. These items tend to be in the same place on the map each time, so learn where things are, and before you run into battle head first, take a little detour and pick up some crafting materials.
How To Pick A Weapon
There are 14 weapons in Monster Hunter Rise and each one is different and gives a different feel to the game. One of the first jobs you have is to pick the weapon that works for you, and this can be tricky as there’s no clear answer other than trying them out one by one and seeing what works for you. Even then, there’s nuance and hidden mechanics with most weapons, and you’ll slowly unlock these skills and features as time goes by.
The training area is useful in Monster Hunter Rise as this gives you a place to practice. My best advice would be to pick a weapon, try it out, and see what you like. There’s no right or wrong answer, and it’s all about what you enjoy playing with.
If you want to change a weapon you can do by opening up your item box (this can be found in your home and the hub too) and then selecting Manage Equipment > Change Equipment. Each weapon has various attacks, combos, wirebug attacks and you can see these in Options > Info > Hunter’s Notes > Weapon Controls.
When you first start out the choice for the weapon can be a little overwhelming, but the best thing to do is try them out and see which ones you like. The best weapons at the very start are the weapons that allow you to focus on the Monster you’re trying to Hunt, rather than worrying about flashy features of your weapon – that can come later.
Understanding the attack patterns and behavior of the monsters should be your priority, and when you’re feeling more confident then feel free to try out more complex weapons. There isn’t a ‘right way to play Monster Hunter, just jump in and practice and things will start to click.
Weapon Training
Before diving in with real monsters out there in the field, you can always use the training area to practice with a dummy. The training area can be found in the Buddy Plaza. Once you are in the Buddy Plaza head down to the dock and find the little boat, enter this area and you’ll be taken to the training area. The training area is great as it’ll give you hints and tips on combos and how to use weapons. Before heading out onto a hunt you can test out weapons in the training area, or feel free to test them out on a live monster in hunts. What I tend to do with new weapons is test out new ones on lower star hunting missions, that way when you are learning or make a mistake, then you’re not going to be punished too much.
The weapons can be grouped into categories – Beginner, Advanced and Expert.
Beginner Weapons
Here’s a few suggestions for starter weapons:
The Hammer is a powerful weapon that allows you to deal devastating blows to monsters, although it has more weight to it, so you’re going to be slower when approaching and moving around monsters. With the Hammer, you can charge up attacks and release dealing more damage, and once again it’s easy to focus on what the monster is doing while moving around the monster looking for that opportunity to strike.
Dual Blades are fairly simple as you retain a lot of mobility and you can quickly slash and hack away at a monster with both hands. It’s fairly easy to skip around a monster and press the attack buttons and pull off simple combos while retaining the ability to focus on the monster you are trying to hunt. As well as the regular slashes with the Dual Blades, you can also fire off an additional attack that deals more damage, but it will reduce your stamina meter more… so that’s worth bearing in mind.
The Lance is another straightforward weapon that allows you to poke and prod at monsters to wear them down over time. It’s another weapon that impacts mobility, but given the speed of movement is reduced, that means the Lance can inflict big damage. It’s all about well-timed attacks, counterattacks and methodically taking down your monster. Becoming a master of the Lance is all about patience, so if this sounds like your cup of tea then give it a try.
The Long Sword is another good beginner weapon that helps to teach you about the ability to charge up meters and unleash more complex attacks on monsters. There are other weapons with blades and charge meters in the more complex bucket of weapons, but the Long Sword is good for practicing these more advanced techniques. The Long Sword is more than a great beginner weapon though, it’s very strong in its own right.
The Light Bowgun is the first ranged weapon I’m going to look at, plus it’s probably the easiest one to use. The advantage of weapons with range is that you can stand off monsters and attack at a safe distance. This is a great intro to other ranged weapons and allows you to use different ammo styles, while still keeping the target in your sights.
The Sword and Shield is another good set of weapons to use. You can strike and slash with the sword as well as use the shield for defense. You retain good mobility with the Sword and Shield, meaning you can pretty much dance around a monster when you are hunting them. Good mobility often means you’re giving something else up and in this instance, it’s damage, as it’s not the most powerful weapon in the game. However, deadly once mastered the Sword and Shield is a great place to start.
Advanced Weapons
Once you feel comfortable in the world with monsters and you understand the attack patterns and gain some confidence then I’d recommend moving up the tiers into the advanced weapon category.
The Gunlance combines the benefits of a ranged weapon and the poking capabilities of the lance in one. This also comes with a handy shield, which is great for the defensive side of things when it comes to using this weapon. With the gunlance you can poke and prod the monster as well as fire off ranged ammo. There’s an ammo meter with this weapon too which allows you to take explosive shots at monsters to deliver even more damage. If you like the lance but want something a little more potent, then give this one a try.
The Heavy Bowgun is another range weapon but this requires a little more patience and timing. Attacks must be charged up before letting them go, which does slow down the whole attack process. There are different ammo types to craft which can increase damage over time, and different bowguns have different special ammo depending on which monster you crafted them from.
The Hunting Horn is similar to the Hammer, allowing you to deliver crushing blows to monsters out there in the hunts. The key difference with the Hunting Horn is you play notes as you attack, which can offer up buffs to fellow hunters. The Hunting Horn helps play into the role of the support class, but it shouldn’t be underestimated or dismissed, it’s very powerful in its own right and is one of the most fun weapons out there in the game. I’d recommend giving this one a go once you feel confident hunting monsters.
The Switch Axe is both a Sword and an Axe and offers up the ability to players to switch between the two modes during the fight. This is my personal favourite weapon at the time of creating this guide. This offers great combos and the ability to move in and out of each attack mode really feels fluid, plus you can deliver knockout blows to monsters with relative ease. It’s not the simplest weapon to use by any means, but for me, this is where Monster Hunter really started to click and got me hooked. I’d recommend giving this one a try for sure.
Expert Weapons
These final sets of weapons are the most complex in the game, and once you get comfortable with monsters and different weapon types then I’d recommend giving them a go.
The Bow is a ranged weapon that sounds simple enough at the start, but it requires you to carefully manage stamina at the same time as keeping an eye on the monster. This can often mean restricting your movement if you need to do something quickly, like rolling out of the way for example. Once you work your way through the gears of Monster Hunter and into the latter parts of the game you’ll get abilities, gear, and other items that will help you become an expert with the bow.
The Charge Blade is one of the most complex weapons in the game. First of all, there’s a Sword and Shield component to the attack patterns, but with a nifty combination of buttons, you can merge the two to create an Axe type weapon that can deal massive damage. This one is going to take plenty of practice, so I’d recommend heading to the training area with this one, but once mastered it’s a very satisfying weapon to use, one that allows you the mobility but also the versatility of attacks.
The Great Sword is a signature weapon of expert Hunters. It’s relatively slow compared to other Swords, but it can deal a significant amount of damage. Given the benefits of damage, the trade-off is timing and positioning with this one, and you’re going to need all the skills you learned with the other weapons to perfect the ways of the Great Sword. It’s another one worth putting in some practice with before heading out on Hunts, but once you master this device then Hunting becomes a very satisfying experience.
The Insect Glaive is another advanced weapon, once where you can show off plenty of mobility and skill, as well as dish out plenty of focused damage to monsters. This offers up the unique ability to jump up and spin round monsters with ease, and your little bug companion will offer up buffs depending on where the insect attacks the monster. This is a complex one as you’re going to have to manage how and where you jump with precision, plus understanding the bug and its buffs to effectively take down monsters.
How to forge new armor and weapons
One of the best things about Monster Hunter games, and perhaps the main motivating factor to keep going out there on hunts is the ability to craft weapons and gear from the monsters themselves. We essentially wear our trophies and create higher-level weapons out of the monster remains.
You’ll notice during hunts that shiny things will drop off monsters and you’ll want to pick these up as they’ll go into your storage as monster resources. Sometimes during hunts pieces will be knocked off monsters, and you can carve these too for extra monster parts. At the end of hunts, it’s important to carve up the monster as you’ll get valuable resources which you’ll use to craft better armor and weapons, to allow you to rank up and be able to take on tougher monsters.
As you progress up through the ranks of monster hunts (for example, 1 star, 2 stars, etc ) you’ll want to craft better gear to enable you to take on higher-level monsters. Crafting gear can be done at the Steelworks in Kamura Village, and you’ll want to have a chat with the blacksmith and get familiar with the menu and methods of forging and upgrading.
Early in the game it doesn’t really matter too much related to choices for crafting armor and weapons. In the endgame and High Rank hunts choices matter a little more, but until you get to that point it’s a good idea to craft your way to get to the next level of hunts and be able to effectively battle monsters and survive.
As you progress through the game you’ll end up hunting the same monster over and over and this is useful because you can craft whole armour sets related to specific monsters. When you navigate the forging menu you’ll notice the ingredients you need to craft the items, and you can always check out the options menu to find out where specifically to get some crafting material. Press +, and then Info – Hunter’s Notes – Monsters. From here you can navigate to the materials tab and understand how and where to get them.
Quest Types
There are a couple of different categories of quests in Monster Hunter Rise and you’ll get these from the twins, Hinoa and Minoto. There are Village quests and Hub quests.
Hinoa is in the center of town near the shop and the Steelworks, she sits on a bench. She’ll hand out the single-player story hunts called Village quests. You’ll start out with 1 star then graduate up to 2 stars, 3 stars, and 4 stars as you do more hunts. As you do more Hunts Rampage quests will open up and eventually the credits will roll, but this is only just the start of your Monster Hunter journey. All quests here are low-rank hunts.
Hinoa does offer the ability to move up the ranks quickly through special license test quests, so you don’t have to repeat many low-rank hunts from Minoto. This is useful because you can keep working through the story mode with Hinoa, and then quickly rank up with Minoto.
Minoto is in the Gathering Hub and she’ll hand out multiplayer quests, which you can do in local co-op or online. These quests get progressively harder and you eventually move into high-rank hunts. Much like her sister you’ll start out with low-rank hunts and as you progress you’ll get harder quests, eventually you’ll get access to High-Rank Hunts which do get quite tricky, but you’ll have a bunch of friends there either from online randoms or you can team up with buddies.
Minoto also offers Rampage quests too, which are similar to a Tower Defense style of game where you’ll have waves of monsters attacking and you have to fend them off from breaking into the village.
Both Hinoa and Minoto offer up optional quests too, and there’s a bunch of side quests around the village, which are essentially fetch quests for various items while you are out on hunts.
Hunter Progression and High Rank
The story mode and low-rank hunts are all preparation for High Rank, which opens up once you have finished up the story and completed the various levels of missions from Hinoa and Minoto. Rolling credits in Monster Hunter Rise is really only the beginning of your adventure, then it’s on hunting higher rank, more difficult monsters, and crafting better, more elaborate armor and weapons.
On your way to high rank, it’s not hugely important which armor and weapons you have as long as you can get the job done. It’s worth getting used to the process of creating new gear and working with the Blacksmith at the Steelworks while you are working your way up through the lower ranks. Once you get to High-Rank Hunts then choices are going to matter a little more than before, but until that point, there’s no need to worry.
The best thing to do early on is trying out weapons, gear and find out what you like. It’ll most likely take a few hours of playing Monster Hunter to get into the groove, but once you do it’s a very rewarding experience.
Let me know down in the comments what you think of Monster Hunter, and if you have any beginner tips, share them below.
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