Guide: Monster Hunter: World Beginners Tips and Tricks - Everything You Need to Know

Monster Hunter: World revolves around a fleet of expert hunters as they journey to the new world, seeking the truth about an event known as the Elder Crossing. This is where dragons periodically travel to this new land for an unknown purpose.

In many ways, this echoes what's happening to the franchise itself. Since the PlayStation 2, it's exclusively launched on Nintendo systems, but this year that's all changing. Monster Hunter is making the journey across to the 4K encrusted lands of the PlayStation 4.

Chances are, this might just be your first Monster Hunter – or, at the very least, your first in a while. So we've compiled a list of tips and tricks to help ease you into this complex experience. There's even a few here for hardened hunters who are braving the transition.

Your Opening Decisions Don't Matter

Before you even get a breath of the fresh air in Monster Hunter: World, you have to create a character. You can choose from a wealth of different options to completely customise your appearance, from your hairstyle all the way down to your underwear. You can even do the same for your Palico.

Spend as much time as you want tweaking this stuff, but don't fret. You can change all of it later on from the safety of your room. This isn't Skyrim, where your decisions right at the start affect the face you'll stare at for the remainder of the experience. You can correct mistakes later.

Head to the Training Area

Once you've completed the tutorial, head straight to the training area in your room and get a feel for each weapon. Each one has its own strengths, weaknesses, and quirks that you can learn but, most importantly, you'll almost certainly favour using one over the others.

What you really need to understand is that every single weapon in Monster Hunter: World feels completely different, and changes the experience considerably from another. Pick the one that you have the most fun with, as that's what ultimately matters.

Materials permitting, you can always change your weapon later – and you might need to if you want to beat a certain monster. But in the beginning, just focus on having fun while you learn about the many systems.

Pick Up Everything

As you explore the world, your map will automatically keep track of the variety of different items you pass. There are herbs, mushrooms, insects, bonepiles, ore, and more, and you need all of it. Don't obsess over it, but make a habit of trying to pick up the majority of stuff you pass, as chances are you'll need it later in the game.

To a lesser extent, the same goes for the small monsters you run past – particularly those that drop raw meat. You should try and pick up a few pieces of this on each of your adventures, as it's pretty essential, and a bit of a pain when you run out.

Dump It All In Your Item Box

After every single adventure, you want to head on over to your item box and dump all but the most essential of your items. Press R1 to move them over all at once to save you time.

This is important, believe us. The last thing you want is to have to drop stuff to make room for something new.

Get Crafty

Once your item collection starts padding out, you'll want to take a look at the crafting menu. Here you can make a variety of handy items that make your adventure an awful lot easier. Some of them are even essential.

You can either craft items from the items in your inventory (best done when you're out in the field) or from your item box, while at home.

Take a good look through the options on offer here, and try and memorise what everything does. There are plenty of items that are completely unnecessary at the beginning, but will make a huge difference later.

Craft Your Most Used Items Automatically

This tip could easily have placed alongside our previous one, but we think it's so important it deserves to have a space of its own. 

While in the crafting menu, you can press triangle over any craftable item to craft it automatically as soon as you have the necessary items in your inventory. We strongly recommend that you do so for all of the items you use regularly, including potions and ammo. 

Not only will this will save you a ton of time, it will also keep your stocks replenished while out in the field.

Remember that your personal crafting list is separate from your item box crafting list, so make sure to set the items to craft automatically in both places.

In fact, you might want to set different items to craft automatically in your item box.

Cultivate Items You Use a Lot

Use a lot of a particular item? Cultivate it at the Botanical Research Centre then. Here you can grow items you find your stocks regularly running low on for free, and even boost your chances of getting more of them.

It's really easy to do, and you can complete quests to increase the number of items you can grow at once. We'd definitely recommend you get in the habit of doing this often.

Need Items Urgently? Meld Them!

If you don't have the required materials and you really need an item urgently, you can meld them. This doesn't unlock until much later in the game, but it can be a godsend in a bind.

Simply head over to the Elder Melder and swap items you don't need for those that you do. We'd recommend that you only use this when you really need to, as you ideally don't want to waste any items.

Preparation Is Key

You can't just run out into the world and expect everything to work out in Monster Hunter. You're going to have to develop some new habits before you set off on each adventure.

First of all, head on over to your item box and restock all of your staple items (there's a handy restock button you can use to make this faster). What is a staple item? This is something you'll bring with you on every adventure. We'd recommend 10 potions, 10 mega potions, 10 antidote, and 10 well-done steak at the very least.

You also want to restock your ammo and coatings if you use either of the bowguns or the bow. Only bring those that are compatible with your particular weapon though, to save space.

We also recommend that you eat a meal before every adventure. This is where our previous tip – pick up everything – comes in handy, as you'll regularly have the ingredients you need to prepare the best meals. These will boost your health, stamina, and provide handy effects like upping your elemental resistance, attack, or defence.

For more Monster Hunter: World beginners tips and tricks, click through to the next page where we detail how to manage your stats and much more.