Hey hunters,
The Monster Hunter Wilds Open Beta Test is live now on Steam and runs until Sunday, November 3, 6.59pm PST / Monday, November 4, 2.59am GMT!
Until the beta ends, you can head to the Forbidden Lands for an early taste of exploring and hunting your way through the game’s first locale, the Windward Plains.
As we’re expecting hunters both experienced and new alike, we thought we’d put together a quick intro guide of the Open Beta Test to briefly cover some areas that may help you settle in a little bit quicker, but don’t worry, there’ll be plenty for you to discover in-game too!
What’s in the Open Beta Test?
The Open Beta Test consists of three main parts for you to play:
- Character Creation
- Story Trial
- Doshaguma Hunt
Let’s take a look in what the three segments above means for you!
Character Creation
Character creator enjoyers rejoice, in the beta you’ve got access to the full Monster Hunter Wilds Character Creation feature, letting you create and customise both your hunter and Palico!
The best bit about having access to Character Creation during this period? You’ll be able to import your hunter and Palico’s Character Creation data into the full game when it launches!
Story Trial
The Story Trial gives you the opportunity to experience an early story quest from Monster Hunter Wilds, introducing you to the game’s rich and mysterious story, as well as important characters and more!
Plus, it also serves up as a great way to introduce new players to both Monster Hunter Wilds, and the series as a whole, so if you’re brand new and this is your first Monster Hunter outing, welcome!
You’ll be guided through the basics in an action packed introduction, getting you hunt ready, including meeting your Seikret mount companion, and helping you choose your first weapon with the guidance of Alma, your Handler! With 14 weapon types to choose from, feel free to take your time and find the one that really clicks with you! (Of course, this is in no way a permanent decision, you can change up what weapons you use whenever you like!)
For more experienced hunters, there’s plenty for you here too. On top of what we’ve already shared about the story, it’s a great opportunity to regain the intuition you had during World / Rise, as well as getting to grips with Focus Mode!
Doshaguma Hunt
The Doshaguma Hunt gives you the opportunity to explore the Windward Plains and immerse yourself in the seamless hunting experience.
You’ll be tasked with hunting an Alpha Doshaguma. This can be taken on solo, with the help of NPC Support Hunters, other players / friends, or a mix of players and NPC Support Hunters up to a party of 4.
Hint: Doshaguma regularly form herds, meaning you’ll initially come up against a group of them! There are multiple ways to split an Alpha Doshaguma from the herd, meaning you won’t have to fight them all at once. One such way is to make use of the Large Dung Pods you’ll have access to, so don’t forget to use them!
Of course, Doshaguma aren’t the only monsters roaming the plains. Balahara, Chatacabra and under certain conditions, the Apex of the Windward Plains, Rey Dau, will cross paths with you! You can also draw these monsters over to Doshaguma to invoke a Turf War and dish out extra damage. There’s also the option for you to go on and hunt these other monsters after taking down Doshaguma!
On top of that, there’s an array of small monsters and endemic life existing in the locale, creating a living, breathing world that not only interacts with you, but also the environment and other creatures around it.
By the way, when you successfully hunt Doshaguma, you can keep going! The seamless gameplay experience in Wilds allows you to continue hunting and exploring after a hunt, or you can choose to head back to base camp, or one of your nearby camps! Whichever you fancy at the time!
Solo / Multiplayer in the Beta
Monster Hunter Wilds is a game that can be fully enjoyed solo, multiplayer or a mix of both and that’s reflected in the Open Beta Test!
Both the Story Trial and Doshaguma Hunt offer both a solo and multiplayer experience, with multiplayer opening up at a certain point in the Story Trial and being available immediately in the Doshaguma Hunt.
The game scales to the amount of players / NPC hunters in your party too, so you’ll always get a satisfying and rewarding experience, no matter your party size!
There’s also crossplay in the Open Beta Test (and full game), so if you want to team-up with friends or family on other platforms, you can!
Hunting With Friends
If you are looking to party up with friends in the Open Beta Test, this is how you can do it by starting a Link Party!
Same platform: Communications > Invite a Friend -> select friend.
Cross-platform: Link Party > Invite to Link Party > Hunter ID Search and enter their Hunter ID.
You can then register each other as Hunter Friends for easy future invites! However, please note that friend registrations will not carry over into the full game.
Hunting online in a Link Party: Post a quest by finding a target monster on the map, or by talking to Alma at Base Camp. Members can join your quest and depart, and you can communicate using party-only voice and text chat.
The Windward Plains
The Windward Plains is the first locale in Monster Hunter Wilds and the region that’s available to play in the Open Beta Test!
You’ll find yourself in a diverse region made up of sandy deserts, swaying grasslands, twisting rock formations and other natural features to explore.
However, you’re not alone in the Windward Plains! On top of the monsters and endemic life, you can also come across Kunafa Village and the people that call it home!
You’ll also experience dynamically changing weather and seasons as you play, which not only alters the environment, but alters the living, breathing world too. Monsters, endemic life and the overall ecology of the area will change along with the environment.
Here’s a summary of three environmental changes in the Windward Plains:
Fallow
This is a period of scarcity, with hungry predators roaming the land for food. Certain resources will be less common, and you should be wary of the aggression shown by monsters.
Inclemency
An ecology-altering event that sweeps in a raging storm to the locale. Lighting crashes down as the sky swells with power, bringing forth the apex predator of the Windward Plains, Rey Dau.
Fun fact: The lightening strikes can be dangerous to hunter and monster alike, however there are ways to remain safe whilst out in the field!
Plenty
As the name suggests, this is a time of plenty! The environment is lush and life abundant. Endemic life and natural resources are commonplace as nature thrives.
Hunt Ready!
Before you head out into the hunt, we’ll quickly cover a few topics, both familiar and new, to give you the edge out in the wilds.
Choosing / Swapping Your Weapon
Finding and picking the weapons that best suit you is a fun and important choice!
If you play through the Story Trial, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss weapons with Alma, your Handler, and she’ll ask you a few questions to help narrow down what might best suit you out of the 14 weapon types! You’ll then be able to try out some moves and combos on a barrel training dummy!
If you head straight for the Doshaguma Hunt, you’ll find that you can equip two different weapons at once, a versatile new feature for Monster Hunter!
Pop into your tent at the base camp and you’ll be able to select which two weapons you want to use. In the Open Beta Test, you can choose two weapons from the 14 available, so you can select two totally different weapon types, but in the full release retail version, you’ll also be able to choose two of the same weapon type.
You can also change what weapons you’re using by returning to the base camp, or heading to any camps you’ve set-up out in the Windward Plains.
If you’re new to Monster Hunter, don’t be afraid to experiment and try out any weapons that appeal to you, you never know which ones will end up being your favourite! From slower, heavy hitters, to faster more agile weapons, weapons with shields, transforming weapons, ranged weapons, weapons with counters, team buffs and even explosive shells!
Naturally, for our returning, more experienced hunters, you likely know exactly what you want to try as you see how your favourite weapons feel and play with their new additions in Monster Hunter Wilds!
When out in the field, you can swap weapons at any time by mounting your Seikret and pressing the appropriate button, nearly instantly swapping your equipped weapon!
Eating a Meal
Before you dive into a hunt, it’s well worth cooking a meal to give you some useful, temporary buffs! From increased Health and Stamina, to higher attack / defence and more, taking a moment to chow down on a warn dish will go a long way!
You can cook meals almost anywhere too, including in your base camp, your camps out in the field or simply pop down your BBQ Grill when exploring the Windward Plains!
You’ll then get the option to select rations, or specific ingredients, to put your meal together. What you choose has an impact too, from the type and strength of the buff you get, to how long it lasts.
In Monster Hunter Wilds, food buffs last for as long as their timer dictates. Carting (your health being reduced to zero), even multiple times, won’t remove the food buff benefits!
Focus Mode & Wounds
Focus Mode is a new mechanic coming to Monster Hunter Wilds, giving you the ability to wield your weapons with increased precision, as well as allowing you the unleash powerful Focus Strike attacks!
If you’re using a controller, holding Left Trigger will allow you to instantly shift into Focus Mode, giving you increased control over where you aim your strikes, even allowing adjustments to be made during some attacks!
Whilst you’re in Focus Mode, you may notice the monster you’re hunting has some red areas with a light glow, these are wounds! Wounds occur when you deal enough damage to certain areas of a monster, making them even more vulnerable to attacks until they’re broken with enough damage.
But you can also unleash a strong Focus Strike attack by pressing Right Bumper whilst you’re in Focus Mode, dealing high damage and instantly breaking the wound.
We hope this feature not only allows newer players to settle into their weapon(s) of choice quicker, but also give more experienced players a way to elevate their playstyle to the next level!
Seikret
Your faithful mount, Seikret! A great way to navigate the Windward Plains, chase down fleeing monsters or swiftly get you out of a sticky situation! As mentioned earlier, you can also change between your two selected weapons whilst mounted!
Seikret will always try and stay close, even during the heat of a ferocious hunt, so don’t be afraid to call on them!
Whilst riding Seikret you can also attack, do a leaping dismount attack and also sharpen your weapon, use consumables and even your Hook Slinger to interact with your surroundings.
But, there’s far more to Seikret than their application in combat, as mentioned they’re ideal for navigation and traversing the land, and at times, air! Seikret also has an inventory pouch, keeping hold of your Supply Items, delivered by Alma and more!
When riding Seikret, you’ll have manual control of where you go, but by placing markers on your map, whether that’s a monster, physical location, or just anywhere you’d like to go, Seikret will automatically begin taking you there. You can quickly and easily switch between manual control and automatic whilst riding too, the choice is yours!
And yes, in the full game you’ll be able to customise the appearance of your Seikret! How that works? Time will tell!
Camps
Discovered a particular area that you want to spend a lot of time in? Found yourself regularly returning to a certain location? Good news!
Throughout the Windward Plains and other locales of Monster Hunter Wilds, you’ll find locations that’ll allow you to put down a tent, creating a camp in that location!
A fixed number of these camps can be set-up at a given time, providing you a place to change weapons and armour, cook meals in relative safety, restock, play with your Palico or just chill out!
Be warned though, these camps are vulnerable to monster attack and can be destroyed if a monster comes to close. Yes, that includes when you’re in it too. Talk about a rude awakening!
A Beginner’s Guide to Monster Hunter Wilds
We’ve covered a few useful areas on this post, but there’s still lots for you to discover for yourself in the Open Beta Test!
If you’d like to learn a little more before you dive in, you can check out our Beginner’s Guide to Monster Hunter Wilds, where your Handler, Alma, will help set the scene and give you a few pointers of her own!
Open Beta Test Period & Reward
As we highlighted at the start of this post, you’ve got from now until November 3, 6.59pm PST / Monday, November 4, 2.59am GMT to play the Open Beta Test!
Everyone that plays during this time will also unlock a cute pendant that you can download in the full game!
You’ll be able to decorate your weapon, or even pop it on Seikret!
If you enjoy your time in the Open Beta Test, pre-orders are also available, getting you some fetching pre-order bonuses:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2246340/Monster_Hunter_Wilds/
- Hunter Layered Armor: Guild Knight Set
- Talisman: Hope Charm
Plus, if you played and have save data from Monster Hunter World and Iceborne save, you’ll get some extra gear for your Palico in the full game!
That’s two sets of in-game Palico equipment and two Nameplates to use in your Hunter Profile.
If you have just Monster Hunter World save data, you’ll get the equipment on the left, but having Iceborne save data as well will give you both!
Full info on how this works can be found on our official website HERE.
Quest Complete – We’ll see you next time!
That wraps up today’s post, thank you for checking it out!
We hope you all have a ton of fun in the Open Beta Test. As always, we greatly appreciate your feedback, especially so as this is a Beta Test period ahead of launch on February 28th, 2025.
We’ll be going through Steam, our social media accounts other community spaces to gather your experiences and feedback, so please do let us know your thoughts, thank you!
If you’d like to keep up with Monster Hunter news and chatter day to day and / or have another location to share your Open Beta Test related comments with us, feel free to follow us on our official social accounts:
Monster Hunter X / Twitter
Monster Hunter Instagram
Monster Hunter Facebook
Thanks everyone!
See you in the Open Beta Test!
- The Monster Hunter Community Team