‘Beware the Gypceros’ walkthrough in Monster Hunter Wilds

“Beware the Gypceros” is one of the first High Rank side quests you’ll encounter once you’ve rolled credits in Monster Hunter Wilds. Not only does it task you with fighting a new monster that wasn’t present in the lower ranks, but it asks you to interact with the game’s weather system.

In this Monster Hunter Wilds guide, we’ll walk you through how to start the “Beware the Gypceros” quest and how to find the Gypceros during Fallow.

How to start ‘Beware the Gypceros’ in Monster Hunter Wilds

Once you’ve finished the main quest and entered High Rank, complete the first main story mission, “New Ecosystems.” This quest will set you on the path of High Rank, and also give Zatoh a quest for you. Travel to the Kunafa Windsong Village in the Windward Plains, where Zatoh resides, and talk to him (he’ll be marked on your map).

Zatoh will tell you that there’s an “unfamiliar” monster wandering around the Windward Plains that blinded some of the village workers with a bright flash. The villagers aren’t sure what kind of monster this could be, but the veteran Hunters out there know exactly what Zatoh is describing: Gypceros.

The problem is that Gypceros only seems to come out during Fallow, which is the weather condition that causes resources to be more scarce. To hunt this Gypceros and save the village, you’ll need to wait until Fallow season in the Windward Plains…

How to find Gypceros in the Windward Plains

You have a few options when it comes to finding Gypceros during Fallow season.

First, you can check the Windward Plains map between hunts. Eventually, you’ll check at the perfect time and find a Gypceros walking around. All you need to do then is hunt it to finish the quest. This adds in an element of luck, but removes any need to care about the game’s weather system, so it’s a bit more straightforward — especially when there are so many other High Rank side quests to do while you wait.

Second, you can just change the weather — more on that below — in Windward Plains to be Fallow, which should spawn a Gypceros for you to hunt.

How to change the weather to Fallow

To change the weather to Fallow, head to one of your pop-up tents in the Windward Plains and open the menu that allows you to grill and eat a meal inside your tent. Instead of eating, scroll down the menu to rest. Select the rest option to pull up a menu that will let you change the environment condition and give you a time of day. Select whatever time of day you prefer, but make sure your selected environment says Fallow. You’ll then need to pay 300 Guild Points to rest, but you should have plenty at this point — plus you’ll earn 100 back when you complete this quest.

When you wake up, it should be Fallow out, and you’ll be able to find and hunt your Gypceros. Once you reach the Gypceros in Windward Plain, just start attacking it in the wild and you’ll automatically begin a hunt for it.

The Gypceros is a High Rank monster, so you should show it some respect. However, it’s less lethal and aggressive than many of the other monsters you’ve fought up to this point. If you’d like to go in with counters, try using fire and slicing weapons. Make sure you have antidotes or other items that can heal poison as well.

Zatoh location in Monster Hunter Wilds

When you finish hunting Gypceros in the Windward Plains — if you kill one on another map it doesn’t count for this quest — return to Zatoh in Kunafa Windsong Village.

Some players have complained that Zatoh isn’t in Kunafa Windsong Village when they attempt to turn the quest in. The villagers seem to occasionally disappear from the village. (It’s unclear exactly what’s happening here, but it could be related to weather or the time of day.) If there are no villagers when you arrive, go rest again and set another time, or restart your game entirely. This should cause all the villagers to return.

If you can see that Zatoh is in the village but you can’t reach him because he’s in a building, just stand nearby and wait for a few minutes. He will (very slowly) make his way out of the building eventually.

When you complete “Beware the Gypceros,” you’ll earn 100 Guild Points, hunter rank and Palico experience, some Sharp Kunafa Cheese, three Carbalite Ore, and the ability to request material collections from Murtabak.

Need help navigating the Forbidden Lands? Our Monster Hunter Wilds guides can outline your progress with our main story walkthrough and monster list ahead of reaching High Rank, help you settle on an armament with our weapons list and best weapons explainers, and teach you how to uncover ores, bones, and get monster tails.