Monster Hunter Rise is good, and a great entry
point for new Hunters. If you want to hang out with your buds and
build huge weapons to fight cool lizards, this is the series for you. But it takes some effort to get into, and
the game’s tutorials don’t cover everything. We put together this Absolute beginners guide,
so you can go from zero to huntin’ in about 15 minutes or so. In this guide we’ll take you through the
basic game play loop, weapons, movement, monsters, crafting system and more. The game is divided into two distinct phases
that we’ll call The Village, and The Hunt. In the village, you’ll develop infrastructure,
gear, and weapons that will let you hunt tougher monsters. In the Hunt, you and your teammates will track
and fight a powerful monster, and you’ll earn the resources to spend back in the village. We’ll get into the individual steps of that
gameplay loop in a bit, but first, let’s cover one of the very first things you’ll
do in MH: Rise: Picking a weapon Picking a weapon in Monster Hunter is a bit
like picking a character in a fighting game. Each of the 14 weapon types has its own set
of combos, meters, mechanics, and metagames to learn and master. The moment you pick up a weapon, you’ll
have access to its full moveset. This isn’t a Devil May Cry kinda thing where
you level up to earn more combos. You will build better versions of the base
weapons, but if you decide to try something new, crafting a new weapon type is no big
deal. Let’s go over the basic types of weapons. The Sword and Shield, Dual Blades, and Long
Sword have straightforward combos, quick attacks, and good mobility. This is why they make good beginner weapons. Their fundamentals are easy to grasp, but
their skill ceiling is still very, very high. Etiquette Tip: You can’t hurt your teammates,
but certain attacks can bump and stun them. The Longsword is especially problematic, so
make sure to be considerate. The vertical swipes and stabs are safe, but
the spirit slash attacks (the ones you mash R to do) have a huuuuuge hitbox and can repeatedly
bonk your buddies. Only use it when you have an opening. Lance and Gunlance are good picks if you think
dodge rolling is for cowards. These weapons let you stay up in the monster’s
face and deal consistent (or explosive) damage without having to retreat. They trade traditional evades for a heavy
shield, so they can feel sluggish at first, but you’ll learn techniques to get around
quickly. Although Bow, Light Bowgun, and Heavy Bowgun
are ranged, you can’t get too far away. They all have a “critical range” where
shots are effective before damage dramatically falls off. If you’re playing with some more experienced
friends, these weapons are a great way to hang back and observe the monster’s patterns. Switch Axe, Charge Blade, and Insect Glaive
are weirdo weapons with transforming modes and multiple meters and resources to manage. Playing with those systems is fun, but it
might be a bit much when you’re still working on not getting killed Greatsword and Hammer are singularly focused
on doing lots of damage, but I don’t recommend them for beginners. While they have simple combos, their attacks
are very, very slow— so if you don’t have a good sense of a monster’s movement patterns,
there’s a good chance you’ll whiff most of your shots. Which is bad. The Hunting Horn is a bit like the Hammer,
but each attack generates a musical note. Different combinations of notes give your
entire team useful buffs. It might be a bit weird for a newbie to grasp,
but nobody will ever be mad at you for bringing the Hunting Horn. If you want to take any of these weapons for
a spin, just head over to the training area. You can swap weapons with the item chest in
the entryway. Pick one out. Hit buttons and pay attention. What’s the range feel like? How fast do you move with it drawn? How much time passes between hitting a button
and the attack landing. Find something that feels right to you. To see a sample list of a weapon’s combos,
check out “weapon controls” in your hunters notes. While some weapons are “beginner friendly”,
you should really pick something that you’re excited about. Your interest in a weapon will motivate you
to actually learn its ins and outs. If you’re looking for a video guide, Arekkz’
weapon workshop series is a great place to start. So! You’re in the village. First thing to do is pick a quest, so it’s
time to meet some new friends: Hinoa, Senri, Minoto, and Mr. Quest Board. Hinoa, who sits on the red bench in front
of the ironworks, is your access point for the single player story content. Her quests are balanced for one player, and
can’t be joined by other hunters. If you are looking to play with others, first
talk to Senri the Mailman, who is actually a cat. He hangs out just to the left of the ironworks
stairs. Select “play online” and then either create
or join a lobby. Minoto is in charge of online quests. She’s in the gathering hub, which is down
this path. You can also get there by holding minus, and
selecting “gathering hub” from the list of locations. Minoto’s quests are meant to be tackled
by teams, and are quite a bit tougher. Once you’ve selected a quest, you’ll see
it listed in the upper left corner of the screen. If anyone in your online lobby posts a multiplayer
quest from Minoto, it will also appear on the The quest board. Here, you can join up someone else’s hunt,
or they can join yours. Once your target is locked in, it’s time
to prepare. First, make sure you’ve got the essentials. There are red chests near the quest givers. Use these item boxes to gear up. Choose “manage items,” and make sure you’ve
got the essentials for your quest. At the bare minimum, make sure you have potions
and rations, and some antidotes. Next, we’re gonna get dressed. Choose “manage equipment,” and pick your
weapon and armor. The best move is to bring a weapon with elemental
damage that your target monster is weak to. Once you’ve fought a monster, you can see
it’s elemental weaknesses by checking your hunter’s notes. You can make it through most of the early
game using the Kamura Armor, which you already have. As monsters get harder, you’ll need to craft
armor that resists their elemental abilities. You’ll do all your crafting in the Village,
but you need resources first, so we’ll talk about that after the Hunt. Once you’re all geared up, it’s snack
time. Head to the canteen, or sit down at the table
in the gathering hub. Eating will give you a flat buff to your health
and stamina, and offer other bonuses based on which flavors you select. Always, always, always eat before you go hunting. When you’re ready to go, just hit ZR. If you’ve joined up on someone else’s
quest, this will set you to “ready.” Etiquette tip: If you’re playing online,
it’s polite to handle your prep quickly, and make sure that everyone is ready before
departing on the quest. Now it’s time to hunt. At the start of the hunt, you’ll get dropped
off at the main camp. The blue item box contains guild items which
are special items that can only be used on this quest. The first-aid meds act exactly like a potion,
and the ration is a ration. Pick these up, and use them before you use
your own stuff! Etiquette tip: In multiplayer hunts, the items
in this box are shared, so leave some for the rest of us. The tent allows you to access your stockpile
of items, and all your equipment. If you forget to re-up before the quest started,
you can fix that here Right from the start, you’ll see the monsters’
locations on your minimap. If you click the right stick, you’ll cycle
through highlighting the monsters currently in the area. The icons are pretty tiny, so this is nice! You can also see their location on the not-mini
map by holding minus. Go get em. Okay, now it’s time to start runnin around
to find that monster. R will make you sprint, which will slowly
drain your stamina bar. Make sure to slow down to catch your breath. If you bottom out, you’ll start jogging
slowly, and you’ll have to chill for a minute when you stop. You probably won’t have to worry much about
that, since you’ve got a PALAMUTE. To mount your Palamute, just hold A. If it’s
nearby, it’ll come scoop you up. This even works when you’re moving! While you’re on your Palamute, you move
a lot faster and you don’t lose stamina. R will make you sprint, and ZL will initiate
DOG DRIFT for more speed. Palamutes can climb vine walls, and jump with
ZR. You can even use items while riding. Nice. Once you get where you’re going, press B
to hop off. Wirebugs are a huge new addition to Monster
Hunter’s movement. You’ve got a stock of 2 of them, and they
refill over time. Wirebug inputs vary depending on context,
but ZL will almost always be the first button you press to use a wirebug technique. Let’s start on the ground with our weapons
sheathed. ZL + X will rocket you into the air. ZL + A will zoom you along the ground. You can also manually aim while holding ZL,
and zoom in that direction with ZR. When you’re in the air, you’ve got a few
options too. You can press B and the analog stick to do
a midair evade in any direction. If you’ve got another wirebug, you can fire
one off in midair. The airborne controls are a little different,
but you’ll get used to it. In midair, ZL + X will pull you forward, and
ZL + A pulls you back down towards the ground. If you want to get further into the air, you’ll
need to hold ZL, and manually aim upwards. If you wirebug yourself into a wall, you can
hold R to keep running up that wall as long as you have stamina. Oh yeah, one last thing. Immediately after any wirebug move that leaves
you in the air, you can hit A to just dangle there. Your wirebugs won't refill while you're hanging,
but you can chill for a few seconds and scout your next jump. Wirebugs are also super helpful in combat,
and work differently when your weapon is drawn, but we’ll talk about that once we find the
monster. Keep an eye out for gathering points and endemic
life. Gathering points provide things like herbs,
berries, and minerals. Some of these will be useful back in the village,
and some will be useful on your hunt. Herbs, for example, will automatically be
turned into potions when you pick them up. As you work your way towards the monster,
don’t be afraid to make little detours. Endemic Life are friendly creatures that are
also worth scooping up. Spiribirds will give you buffs to your life,
stamina, attack, and defense. These will last for the duration of your hunt. Other endemic life like puppet spiders or
paratoads act as single-use weapons with unique properties. You can’t take any of these critters back
to the village, so you’ll need to restock on each hunt. Also, keep an eye out for extra wirebugs. They’ll increase your total stock of wirebugs
for a few minutes, which can be a lifesaver. You did it. It’s finally time to hit the lizard. Fighting monsters is all about learning their
patterns, getting in damage when you can, and getting back out. Pay close attention to the way the monster
moves. Even quick attacks are telegraphed in a monster’s
movement. When a Tetronadaon cocks back its paw like
this, a thrust attack is coming. Don’t be there when it lands. When you see an opportunity to attack, jump
in and throw some combos! But don’t overcommit. Some attack animations are long, and you might
get punished for getting greedy. If you do enough damage to a monster’s legs,
you might trip them! If this happens, it will fall over and flail
for a few seconds. This is a great chance to use your slower,
more damaging attacks, or to target parts of the monster that are normally hard to reach. Last, but not least, remember to sheathe your
weapon for more mobility. If you’re new to Monster Hunter, this takes
a while to get used to. Moving around with your weapon drawn can be
really slow, so if you’re not actively attacking, it’s usually a good idea to put your weapon
and reposition. You can do that by pressing Y or R while moving. If you’re hunting with a team, your positioning
around the monster is one of the most important things to consider. Because your attacks can interfere with each
other, bad positioning will lead to you and your team tripping each other up and having
a bad time. The best formation will vary depending on
which weapons your team is rolling with. The only absolutes are that a hammer should
always have priority on the monster’s head, and a longsword should always be on tail chopping
duty. Fast weapons like the sword and shield or
dual blades should usually stick to the body and legs, trying to trip the monster up. Whenever you can, try to ensure that you’re
not putting your sick combos over the team’s ability to do work. The B button is your best friend. Only a few weapons come with shields, so you
want to get used to rolling out of the way of attacks. The dodge roll has a few frames of invulnerability
that could allow you to boldly leap through a monster’s attacks, but the limited iframes
and big monster limbs make this hard. Until you’re feeling confident, it’s a
good idea to give incoming attacks a wide berth and roll away, rather than through. You can even roll out of certain weapon wind-down
animations. If you just finished a big combo and you’re
feeling exposed, try dodge rolling out of it. Most attacks don’t cost stamina, but evading
does. Keep an eye on your stamina bar! Wirebugs work differently when your weapon
is drawn. In this state, ZL + X and ZL + A are assigned
to weapon-specific wirebug moves. For example, the Greatsword has this big jumping
attack, or this quick dash that automatically sheaths your weapon. Some moves take more than one wirebug to execute! If a monster sends you flying, you can wirefall
to cancel out of the knockdown animation. When your hunter hits the ground, hold in
a direction and press ZL + B. If you’re hurt, use this to move away from
danger. If you’re raring to go, use it to launch
yourself right back at the monster. Keep in mind that both offensive and defensive
wirebug moves pull from the same recharging stock! If you see damage numbers flying off the monster
that look like this, that means you’re doing mounting damage. If you do enough, the monster will enter a
stunned state. Attacking them again, or hitting A with your
weapon sheathed will let you hop on and drive them for a while. You can use the monster to attack other monsters,
but if there aren’t any other big boys around, the best move is to use Y to ram into a wall,
stabilize with B, and repeat until the monster falls over. You’re going to get hit! That’s fine! Some monsters can take you out in 2-3 hits,
so if you’re missing a chunk of your life bar, it’s time to sneak away and drink a
potion. You’ll need to sheath your weapon before
you can use any items, so try to get something between you and the monster before you sip
that ecto cooler. You can still move while drinking your healing
potion. I usually try to move laterally to the monster
to avoid any incoming attacks as my health bar fills up. If you really need to, you can evade out of
the healing animation. You won’t get the full benefit of the potion,
but you might avoid taking even more damage If you get hit with a status effect, you’ll
want to sheath your weapon and take care of that. Poison (which turns your health bar purple)
will drain your health over time, so take an antidote! Antidotes can be purchased in The Village
or crafted on the fly from mushrooms. If you catch on fire, a few dodge rolls will
fix you up. There are other, stranger status affects,
but most of them can be fixed by eating a nulberry. You can find nulberries around the environment. If your health bar hits zero, you’ll be
carted back to the nearest camp. In most missions, your team has a shared stock
of 3 carts before it’s game over. And here’s another meter to pay attention
to. This is your weapon sharpness. As you swing away, the sharpness will degrade. When its sharpness drops, it will do less
damage, and might start bouncing off the monster. You can sharpen with your whetstone. It is selected like any other item, and can
be used infinitely. In Rise, all this Hunter Self Care can be
done while riding your Palamute! Even if you’re still in combat, hopping
on your doggy to sharpen and have a snack is never a bad idea. After taking a bunch of damage, the monster
will usually run off to another section of the map. Hop on your palamute and give chase. Sharpen your blades, heal up, and eat some
rations if your maximum stamina has dropped. Eventually, the monster will retreat to its
nest. When it gets there, it might fall asleep and
start healing. Here, you have a choice! Capture or kill. A sleeping or fully weakened monster can be
capped with a shock trap and a few tranq bombs to the face. Capturing a monster can give more, or different
rewards. If you’re going for the kill, plant some
barrel bombs if you’ve got them. The first attack that hits a sleeping monster
will do double damage, so reserve that honor for whoever has the beefiest weapon. After one last stand, the monster is hunted! Now you’ve got 60 seconds to carve that
turkey. You’ll get 2-3 carves from most monsters,
plus a helping of monster parts from the quest rewards. You’ll be rewarded certain parts by breaking
specific parts of the monster during the hunt. If you chopped off the monster’s tail, you
can also carve that! Finally, don’t forget to gather up any shiny
monster bits that break off and fall to the ground during the fight. Back in the village, bring that big wet bag
of monster parts to the Smithy to craft new weapons and armor. He hangs out to the right of the Ironworks
steps. Armor is forged by providing the smithy with
the right combination of monster parts and a sum of money. You can see armor’s skills by highlighting
it, tabbing over with ZR, and clicking the right stick. You’ll notice that each skill has several
levels. You can increase the effectiveness of each
skill, but you won’t get the tools to do that until later, so don’t worry about it
for now. Weapons are also made at the smithy, and can
be forged from scratch, or upgraded along specific paths. Upgrading usually needs fewer raw materials. Congrats! You are a little bit stronger, and maybe a
bit better at fighting monsters. Now it’s time to do it again. And again. And again. There are plenty of intermediate and advanced
features we didn’t cover here, but hopefully this guide will give you what you need to
get started in the ol Monster Hunter Hobby. Happy Hunting!
