Monster Hunter World PC Guide: 16 Tips To Know Before Starting

TL;DR

  • Master weapon mechanics like the insect glaive through practice rather than tutorials
  • Utilize your capture net for both research points and room customization
  • Expand your Palico’s capabilities through Grimilkynes quests and equipment upgrades
  • Take advantage of PC version enhancements for improved visual experience
  • Focus on understanding core systems rather than rushing through content

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Monster Hunter World represents the most approachable entry in the franchise to date, yet it still presents a substantial learning curve for series newcomers. The transition from previous handheld and console versions to the PC platform has introduced the game to an entirely new audience who may find the depth of systems initially overwhelming. Many essential mechanics remain poorly explained, creating confusion during early gameplay sessions that can frustrate inexperienced hunters.

Numerous combat techniques and progression systems lack clear documentation, particularly specialized weapons like the insect glaive that require precise timing and positioning. The skill tree system and investigation missions similarly operate with minimal guidance, leaving players to discover optimal strategies through trial and error. Fortunately, the game provides multiple pathways to gradually acclimate to its complex ecosystem of mechanics and interactions.

The recent PC release has generated renewed interest in these essential tips. Historically, Monster Hunter titles were primarily available on 3DS and traditional consoles. The enhanced hardware capabilities enable significantly larger, more visually stunning environments to explore. PC players benefit from superior resolution options and graphical enhancements that elevate the hunting experience beyond previous iterations.

For hunters deeply engaged with Monster Hunter World and curious about end-game content, explore our comprehensive galleries featuring high-rank armor sets for male characters, female characters, and Palico companions. Dive deeper into our detailed Monster Hunter World assessment. For additional perspectives, examine our feature outlining 11 potential enhancements Capcom could implement to improve an already exceptional game.

What essential knowledge do you wish you possessed before embarking on your Monster Hunter World journey? Share your insights in the comments section below.

You’ve likely observed the capture net in your inventory that proves ineffective against larger monsters. However, this versatile tool serves perfectly for collecting small insects, avian creatures, and various lizards. Each successful capture rewards you with research points while simultaneously adding these creatures to your personal quarters as living decorative elements. Even following room upgrades, the display capacity for pets remains limited, though you can freely rotate your collection at any time.

This functionality extends to aquatic life as well: While traditional fishing with a rod captures individual fish, employing your net enables bulk collection of multiple fish simultaneously. Important caution: net usage frightens away all nearby fish in the immediate vicinity, requiring strategic timing.

While most players recognize they can modify their Palico’s weaponry and protective gear at the Smithy, many overlook the availability of additional specialized gadgets for their feline companions. The initial Vigorwasp equipment proves exceptionally valuable—particularly during early gameplay phases, since it provides instant healing without consuming items. However, numerous alternative gear pieces exist that grant your Palico diverse tactical advantages.

To locate these equipment upgrades, venture into regions during expeditions and search for Grimilkynes tribes; the field researcher in each locale will guide your search efforts. Every area contains a specific Grimilkyne offering unique quests, with new Palico gear serving as completion rewards.

Cooperative play represents one of Monster Hunter World’s most compelling features, though establishing connections with fellow hunters often presents initial challenges. The foundational principle involves operating within identical game sessions to enable quest participation together. Upon launching the game, you can either join randomized sessions through matchmaking or establish your personal session; both approaches permit subsequent friend invitations. Alternatively, creating a permanent squad (functioning similarly to guilds in other games) allows automatic entry into your group’s dedicated session during each login. Members sharing your session can participate in quests after you officially post them via quest boards or through your handler. Implementing password protection restricts access exclusively to approved companions when desired.

Specific restrictions apply during assigned narrative missions that initially prevent cooperative engagement. Participants must individually experience all introductory cinematics and reach the active monster confrontation phase before multiplayer becomes available. Once these conditions are satisfied, activating SOS flares attracts random assistance, while session companions can join through conventional quest board interfaces. Should connectivity issues persist, verify session synchronization by inspecting the player roster in the options menu, while confirming all members meet the necessary hunter rank prerequisites for your targeted quest.

Critical awareness: Monster difficulty escalates substantially during cooperative engagements, with health pools automatically adjusting for a full four-player squad. Interestingly, two-player configurations may prove more challenging than solo hunting due to this scaling mechanism, making strategic SOS flare deployment from the in-game menu once missions commence advisable for recruiting additional participants.

Monster Hunter World automatically records progress following significant accomplishments like quest completions. However, proactive manual saving proves wise when transitioning between online sessions or concluding gaming sessions for extended periods.

Consider this scenario: You finish a quest successfully, then dedicate considerable time within Astera managing equipment upgrades, establishing bounties, and organizing inventory. Subsequently, a friend extends an invitation to their active session. You accept enthusiastically, disregarding warnings about unsaved progression. Congratulations! Without manual saving intervention, you’ve just sacrificed approximately fifteen minutes of gameplay, necessitating repetition of all previously completed management tasks.

Many novice hunters gravitate toward the Insect Glaive as their primary weapon selection, captivated by its visually impressive maneuvers. However, numerous players fail to unlock its complete combat potential until after defeating several initial monsters.

The Insect Glaive incorporates a Kinsect companion—a substantial beetle designed for targeted deployment against monsters to harvest one of three distinct buff categories. After securing desired extracts, recalling your Kinsect grants temporary statistical enhancements.

Through meticulous management, maintaining simultaneous triple buff activation significantly enhances combat effectiveness against formidable adversaries. Direct your Kinsect toward monster lower extremities for white mobility acceleration. Striking central body regions yields orange defensive fortification. Finally, impacting cranial areas provides red offensive amplification—crucially expanding your attack sequences and combination possibilities with additional slashing techniques!

Avoid engaging opponents entirely until securing red buff activation as an absolute minimum prerequisite. Genuinely—many veterans express astonishment that they persevered through numerous monster encounters without this fundamental knowledge.

Another essential Insect Glaive consideration involves frequent utilization of the vault-jump maneuver (R2 + X on PlayStation, Right Trigger + A on Xbox platforms). This grants access to dual aerial assault options (exceptionally effective with active red buffs), plus midair evasion capabilities for positional adjustment or combo continuation. Under ideal circumstances, sustained aerial presence becomes achievable. Predictably, this capability also facilitates simplified monster mounting for knockdown opportunities.

Establishing regular contact with intelligence personnel stationed at your base operations center provides substantial tactical advantages. The Chief Intelligence Officer, positioned within the Strategic Analysis wing near your deployment point, offers critical data interpretation services. Engaging with this specialist allows you to convert battlefield evidence and environmental markers collected during missions into actionable intelligence. While gathering field data proves invaluable for long-term strategic planning, consulting with intelligence analysts represents the crucial final step in this process. These interactions systematically elevate your Intelligence Level for specific enemy units, which subsequently unlocks comprehensive tactical profiles accessible through your Battlefield Command interface. These detailed dossiers deliver essential information about enemy vulnerabilities, defensive capabilities, and equipment acquisition probabilities. Enhanced Intelligence Levels additionally provide targeting system enhancements, enabling swifter acquisition and tracking of hostile forces during engagements.

Acquiring all desired equipment and upgrades demands substantial material resources—and attempting to mentally track required components becomes increasingly challenging. Instead of inefficiently checking crafting interfaces after every engagement to verify component acquisition, configuring an equipment priority list guarantees you receive automated alerts indicating both when you’ve obtained materials for listed items and when you possess all necessary components for fabrication. This systematic approach eliminates guesswork and ensures optimal resource allocation throughout your campaign. For comprehensive equipment strategies, consult our BF6 Weapons Unlock Guide to maximize your arsenal development efficiency.

Neutralizing hostile combatants through capture protocols might appear daunting initially, especially for inexperienced operatives; employing direct engagement tactics often feels safer than risking exposure during apprehension procedures. However, the capture process demonstrates remarkable simplicity when properly executed, and more significantly, typically generates superior resource yields compared to elimination. Capture operations serve as fundamental components of specific Assignments, but even when termination represents a viable alternative, you achieve better outcomes by incorporating restraint devices and incapacitation agents (or tranquilizer rounds) and securing targets whenever operationally feasible. Advanced operators should note that capture rewards typically exceed elimination yields by 15-25%, making this approach strategically superior for resource acquisition.

Aerial combat units present significant challenges, particularly for close-quarters specialists. These units maintain elevated positions, frequently beyond practical engagement range of even extended-reach weaponry, while executing precision strikes from advantageous altitudes. Deploying standard projectile countermeasures yields limited effectiveness, but your tactical systems can be configured with specialized equipment: Disorientation Charges. These devices occasionally get automatically issued at mission commencement, or you can fabricate them independently for consistent availability. Proper class selection dramatically impacts aerial engagement effectiveness—explore our BF6 Class Selection Guide to optimize your loadout for specific combat scenarios.

Regardless of acquisition method, simply navigate your equipment interface and activate Disorientation Charges, instantly providing powerful countermeasures against airborne threats. Your system accommodates three deployments per resupply, but discharging one within the sensor range of an enemy unit’s primary optics using your tactical system (accomplished by engaging targeting assistance and initiating discharge sequence) will disorient the target and force rapid descent, thereby protecting you from impending attacks (while creating tactical openings for offensive maneuvers). Mastering these techniques proves essential for dominating Conquest mode engagements where air superiority often determines match outcomes.

Action Checklist

  • Practice with 2-3 weapon types in the training area before committing to main weapon
  • Use capture net on small creatures during expeditions for research points and room decorations
  • Complete Grimilkynes quests in each region to unlock additional Palico gadgets
  • Experiment with skill combinations to understand armor set bonuses and passive abilities
  • Utilize investigation missions for targeted material farming and bonus rewards
  • Establish squad sessions for automatic cooperative access
  • Verify hunter rank compatibility before quest attempts
  • Manually save before session transitions or game closure
  • Always extract red buff before Insect Glaive engagements
  • Utilize aerial attacks for mounting opportunities against large monsters
  • Deploy SOS flares strategically for optimized team scaling
  • Consult intelligence officer after each mission to boost research levels
  • Configure equipment wishlist for 3 priority items
  • Always carry restraint devices and incapacitation agents for capture opportunities
  • Practice Disorientation Charge deployment in training mode
  • Review enemy tactical profiles before each engagement

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