Monster Hunter Wilds walkthrough and all main quest steps

Monster Hunter Wilds’ main quest is all about introducing you to new locations and new monsters, all of which will form the ecosystem that you’ll eventually be able to spend dozens and dozens of hours in. Wilds is broken up into different chapters, each with several quests, assignments, and hunts inside.

In this Monster Hunter Wilds guide, we’ll give you a general breakdown of each of the game’s main quests and chapters, including their associated hunts and assignment names.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for Monster Hunter Wilds.]

Chapter 1 quest steps

Each main chapter quest in Chapter 1 and beyond is broken up into one or more hunts, tutorials, or side quest-like activities (like taking out non-monster creatures). Below, we’ve listed out every major quest in Chapter 1, and listed its corresponding quest assignment in brackets:

• 1-1: Desert Trotters
  • Basic tutorial and mount explainer
  • Chatacabra hunt [Slimy Situation]
  • Unlocks: Windward Plains area, Basic game systems like the smithy, multiplayer, training area, and more
• 1-2: Village of Whispering Winds
  • Kill 7 Bulaqchi
  • Quematrice hunt [Hot on Their Tails]
  • Unlocks: Cooking
• 1-3: Forest Findings
  • Lala Barina hunt [A Stage of Rose and Thorn]
  • Congalala hunt [Drive Off the Congalala!]
  • Unlocks: Scarlet Forest area, pop-up camps, side quests
• 1-4: A Hunter’s Pride:
  • Balahara hunt [Balahara of the Sandsea]
  • Alpha Doshaguma hunt [Pinnacle of the Pack]
  • Unlocks: Hunter Rank 3
• 1-5: Beyond the Deluge:
  • Uth Duna hunt [A Feast in the Deep]
  • Unlocks: Pop-up camp limit increase for Scarlet Forest

Chapter 2 quest steps

There are various story quests in Chapter 2, which we’ve detailed alongside their associated assignments below:

• 2-1: Toward Fervent Fields
  • Rompopolo hunt [A Fuse Ignited]
  • Unlocks: Oilwell Basin area, Azuz city
• 2-2: The Eye of the Storm
  • Rey Dau hunt [A Merciless Glare]
  • Unlocks: Hunter Rank 4, pop-up camp limit increase for Windward Plains
• 2-3: Hopes of Home
  • Nerscylla hunt [The Quiet, Cunning Assassin]
  • Hirabami hunt [Fight or Flight]
  • Unlocks: Iceshard Cliffs area
• 2-4: Long-forgotten Flame
  • Ajarakan hunt [Ajarakan Ablaze]
  • Nu Udra hunt [The Black Flame Quietly Manifests]
  • Unlocks: Hunter Rank 5, pop-up camp limit increase for Oilwell Basin

Chapter 3 quest steps

Chapter 3 gives you the climax of the game’s Low Rank story, and teases the start of where High Rank will eventually take you. We’ve broken down all of the Chapter 3 story quests and their associated assignments below:

• 3-1: The Faithful Keepers
  • Guardian Doshaguma hunt [An Ominous Encounter]
  • Guardian Rathalos hunt [The Ashen King]
  • Guardian Arkveld fight and repel [Repel the Guardian Arkveld]
  • Unlocks: Ruins of Wyveria area, pop-up camps in Iceshard Cliffs
• 3-2: Nothing Frozen, Nothing Gained/Through the Dusk/A Path Forward
  • Jin Dahaad repel [The Rimechain Trial]
  • Unlocks: Pop-up camp limit increase for Iceshard Cliffs, Hunter Rank 6, melding pot, Suja city
• 3-3: Full Circle
  • Guardian Ebony Odogaron hunt [Watcher of the Ancient Capital]
  • Xu Wu hunt [A Hunter in the Void]
  • Unlocks: Pop-up camp limit increase for Wyveria
• 3-4: Broken Chains
  • Guardian Arkveld hunt [The Pale Dream of a Lone Shadow]
  • Unlocks: Hunter Rank 7
• 3-5: Monster Hunter
  • Zoh Shia hunt [Guardian Zoh Shia]
  • Unlocks: Hunter Rank 8, high-rank post-game content

Chapter 4 quest steps

Chapter 4 will introduce you to High Rank monsters. The hunts here consist of harder versions of monsters you’ve already faced, as well as entirely new monsters that are exclusive to the higher ranks. Your hunter rank will also become uncapped here (meaning you’ll increase it via experience gained when killing monsters, rather than passively through the story), and each new quest is locked behind a higher hunter rank threshold.

We’ve broken down all of the Chapter 4 story quests, their initial associated assignments, and their hunter rank requirements below:

• 4-1: New Ecosystems (Hunter Rank 8)
  • Yian Kut-Ku capture [Lured by Abundance]
  • Unlocks: Hunter Rank 10 and uncapped hunter rank, high-rank environments, Field Survey bonus rewards, pop-up camp limit increase for Windward Plains, Scarlet Forest, Oilwell Basin, and Iceshard Cliffs
• 4-2: Lurking Shadows (Hunter Rank 15)
  • Frenzied Nerscylla hunt [Investigating the Frenzied Shadow]
  • Unlocks: Hunter Rank 17, Wounded Hollow arena, Apar Material Retrieval system
• 4-3: Wyvern Sparks and Rose Thorns (Hunter Rank 20)
  • Guardian Fulgur Anjanath hunt [Thundering Flowers]
  • Tempered Lala Barina hunt [Thundering Flowers]
  • Unlocks: Hunter Rank 22, Ruins of Wyveria high-rank environment, tempered monsters, Artian weapons

Chapter 5 quest steps

Chapter 5 takes you from the more straightforward High Rank monsters and into the six-star and above difficulty creatures. Here you’ll fight Jin Dahaad — the massive ice dragon with a one-shot attack — again and will need to learn more tactics to keep you safe during your hunts.

We’ve broken down the Chapter 5 story quests, their initial associated assignments, and their hunter rank requirements below:

• 5-1: Storm-cold Vortex (Hunter Rank 32)
  • Jin Dahaad hunt [Frozen Lord on the Precipice]
  • Unlocks: Hunter Rank 33
• 5-2: A World Turned Upside Down (Hunter Rank 34)
  • Uth Duna hunt [Tide Overtaking Timber]
  • Rey Dau hunt [Roaring Rey Dau]
  • Nu Udra hunt [Scorching the Earth Once More]
  • Gore Magala and Frenzied Blangonga hunt [Shrouded in Black]
  • Unlocks: Hunter Rank 37, endgame side quests

Chapter 6 quest steps

Chapter 6 is all about setting you up for the story-less endgame and reintroducing you to the game’s flagship monster, Arkveld — now out of its Guardian form and much more difficult.

We’ve broken down the single Chapter 6 story quest, its initial associated assignment, and its hunter rank requirement below:

• 6-1: What Lies Ahead (Hunter Rank 40)
  • Arkveld hunt [Awaking From a Dream]
  • Unlocks: Palico level cap increase to level 30, pop-up camp limit increase for all areas, hunter rank 42 and cap increase, additional endgame side quests

Our Monster Hunter Wilds guides can outline your progress with our 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 monster tails.