Monster Hunter Wilds promises to be the biggest and most variedMonster Huntertitle yet. There is a slew of post-game content, bigger arenas, and event quests to participate in. But to get all of that and reach thezen-like grindportion that makes the series so compelling, you need to finish the main story first.
Crafting isn’t as essential in the main story of Monster Hunter Wilds as it is after the credits roll. However, some later bosses do provide a substantial challenge and crafting the right items means the difference between a quick, satisfying hunt and being unceremoniously dumped back at camp by your Palico Support Unit. Here are the items you should craft first.
8Potion And Mega Potion
Ingredients: Herb, Honey (Mega Potion Only)
It’s a fixture of any RPG: Potions restore your health and keep you in the fight. Monster Hunter Wilds is no different, and your standard loadout should always include ten of both variants. We suggest prioritizing Mega Potions, as they’re more effective. The Potions serve as a last resort in case your Mega Potions run out.
Both items can beset to auto-craftand are not too demanding in terms of ingredients: effectively, you’ll always be able to craft these. The real trouble is remembering to restock them in your loadout before setting off.
Create space between the monsters and yourself before chugging down a potion. Your hunter drinks from the item steadily up to a certain limit, and getting hit will stop the healing process.
7Antidote
Ingredient: Antidote Herb
A standard item in any loadout, the antidote counteracts Poison and prevents you from losing further HP. As Poison is one of the earlieststatus effectsyou’ll come across, it’s good to have antidotes on hand.
Using an antidote is faster and easier than constantly chugging down potions as your health keeps draining while waiting for the status effect to wear off. You’ll need to visit area 10 and 12 to collect the Antidote Herb: until then, just buy them from the merchant to craft this item.
6Deodorant
Ingredients: Smokenut, Bitterbug Broth
Without delving into the details, your Hunter will need a shower before you’re very far into the story. There isn’t any warning about this beforehand, so you should have deodorant on hand before visiting the Wudwuds.
The Deodorant item counteracts the Stench status effect, which prevents you from using healing items or recovering stamina. You don’t want to be facing down a giant monster while unable to use your potions: just craft the deodorant.
5Cool Drink
Ingredients: Chillshroom
TheOilwell Basinis where you’ll encounter some of your toughest challenges in Monster Hunter Wilds' Low Rank: two great apes and a tentacled monstrosity that would make Cthulhu squirm. These battles take place in extremely hot locales, so much so that you will constantly lose HP unless you have a Cool Drink handy.
The Cool Drink temporarily relieves the effects of extreme heat, stopping you from losing HP constantly during the Oilwell Basin fights. It’s best to drink one on the way to each battle, as drinking mid-fight poses the problem of getting hit and not receiving its buffs.
4Barrel Bomb
Ingredients: Fire Herb, Small Barrel
It may take some practice before you can get enemies with large barrel bombs, but nothing is stopping you from using a small one in the main story. These explosive items can be rolled in water and set down as traps. They can also ignite tar pits - something worth remembering in the Oilwell Basin.
Of course, since barrels don’t occur naturally in the wild, you’ll need to buy them from the merchant to keep a good stock. That’s just as well, though: you’ll accrue a lot of zenny in the campaign, and weapon upgrades alone won’t let you spend it all.
3Hot Drink
Ingredients: Hot Pepper
The story campaign of Monster Hunter Wilds is rather easy; tit is he moststreamlined and accessiblein the series yet. The only part where it gets somewhat difficult is in the final battles, especially due to the cold locales in which they take place. These areas rob you of your stamina and cap it off until even one jump is difficult to manage.
To keep one jump ahead of the monsters, craft as many Hot Drinks as you’re able to in the final chapter of the game. Drink them at camp before battles, and attack the monster you’re after once you’re sure your stamina’s maximum limit isn’t going down.
2Farcaster
Ingredients: Smokenut, Exciteshroom
Against any boss, Monster Hunter Wilds gives you three attempts before you fail the quest. Unless you’re a Monster Hunter veteran, you’ll run into your first failure around the end of the story campaign. To prevent the lost progress that comes with failure, use a Farcaster instead.
This item transports you back to camp without it counting as you getting knocked out. Your Seikret tends to be a lot more temperamental about letting you go back; using a fast-travel item is easier.
1Lifepowder
Ingredients: Goldbug Essence, Blue Mushroom
You won’t always have the opportunity to create space between monsters and yourself, and some monsters in Chapter 3 have AOE attacks that can affect you from far away. If they knock a potion out of your hand, your healing stops, wasting an item.
If you use SOS flares, your allies would appreciate it if you healed them, too. The Lifepowder lets you heal in a much more efficient manner. It creates a cloud that heals you when you pass through. It requires more ingredients than the potions, but the payoff is worth it. It’ll also make you yourmultiplayer allies’new favourite person.
