Knowing how to hunt and defeat monsters in Monster Hunter: World is obviously important, but a big part of that process comes well before you come into contact with any of them. In this instance, what I’m referring to are the many, MANY items that you’ll come across during your adventure. All serve a purpose, but some are more important than others and having them in your possession can be the difference between life and death.
Here are some items that you would be a fool to leave your camp without and how to make them:
All-Purpose
These items you’ll want on you at all times, regardless of which weapon you’re using or which type of mission you’re on.
Mega Potion
If you run out of health, you’ll lose a life and/or some time. In either case, you don’t want that. Therefore, making sure that the hunter is healthy at all times is essential to your success in this game. Technically speaking, you are provided a few First-aid Meds at the start of most missions, but those are limited in supply and don’t heal much anyway. If you really want to ensure that your potions do the work they’re supposed to, then Mega Potions are the way to go. Not only do they heal a decent amount of health, but you the base materials plentiful (and cheap) so you can easily stock up on them to make them whenever you please without breaking the bank.
Recipe:
— Herb —> Potion
— Potion + Honey
Well-Done Steak
Though generally not as important as health, stamina is still an important resource to manage. Not only do your regular actions use up stamina, but certain techniques and maneuvers use up even more of it. What’s more, it naturally dwindles over time and the max amount will reduce after a certain period of time has elapsed. The last thing you want is to find yourself facing down an Elder Dragon only to find that you don’t even have enough stamina to defend yourself properly. This is where Well-Done Steaks come in, as eating them restores the hunter’s stamina. As an added bonus,
Recipe:
— Raw Meat + BBQ Spit
Fighting Monsters
There are many types of monsters in Monster Hunter: World, each requiring a unique strategy with various items serving as the lynchpin to its success. Some items, however, will see more use than than others.
Antidote
Some enemies will burn you, others will electrocute you, but most will try to poison you. However, just because its a common doesn’t mean it’s not a threat. To the contrary, it’s one of the most dangerous status ailments in the game. Poison will steadily drain the hunters health until there is nothing left, making you easy pickings for monsters who catch you at low health. What’s more, unlike a few other status effects where you can do specific actions to shorten its effect period (such as rolling or touching water when afflicted with fireblight), poison lasts until it has run its course. To combat this, use an antidote to recover from poison immediately (or even use Herbal Medicine to recover a bit of health as well)
Recipes:
— Antidote Herb —> Antidote
— Herbal Medicine: Antidote + Blue Mushroom
Mega Nutrients
Ideally you would increase your maximum health by eating at the canteen prior to heading out on a mission, but if you forgot to do so or chose to get different bonuses there, then Mega Nutrients (or the ordinary, Nutrients), will give you the boost you’re looking for.
Recipes:
— Nutrients: Bitterbug + Blue Mushroom
— Mega Nutrients: Nutrients + Honey
Energy Drink
Energy Drinks fulfill the same general purpose as Well-Done Steak — restoring Stamina. However, what separates the two is that Energy Drinks are faster to consume (which is huge in the midst of battle) and they can ward off sleep, so enemies can’t get any cheap shots off on you. These used to be overlooked due to the difficulty in farming the materials required to make them, but since Capcom has made them easier to farm since 3U. In all fairness, you can actually just use these to replace Well-Done Steaks altogether once you’re far enough in the game.
Recipe:
— Nitroshroom + Honey
Dung Pod
Sometimes you want to escape from a monster, but it has other plans. This is where Dung Pods come in: simply throw one from your Slinger and monsters will flee the area, leaving you to your own devices. This is especially useful on missions where there are two large monsters present, but they aren’t fighting each other.
Recipe:
— Dung —> Dung Pod
— Rolled-up Dung —> Dung Pod
Nullberry
Just like with poison, some monsters will try to set you on fire or electrocute you. When they’re successful, you’ll be afflicted with a status ailment known as a blight, whose effects range from periodic damage to reduced stamina regeneration. Obviously, none of these are desirable and they can make even a simple fight far more difficult. Therefore, you’ll want to have some Nullberries on hand to deal with them. Fortunately, Nullberries are common (especially once you reach Wildspire Waste), so you’re not likely to be in a situation when you don’t have any.
Traps and Tranquilizers
Sometimes a mission will require you to capture a monster rather than kill it. Accomplishing this requires a trap to restrain the enemy and tranquilizers to put it to sleep; and while this may seem like a laborious process at first, you’ll soon find yourself opting to do this method every time (regardless of whether the mission actually requires to) since it yields better rewards. To pull this off, wait until an enemy is weakened (easiest way to tell is if it starts limping) and place a trap, using whatever means necessary to lure it inside. Once there, simply thrown enough tranquilizers at them until it falls asleep. Do note, however, that while the process is almost always the same, certain enemies are resistant to certain traps and some can’t be captured at all.
Recipes:
— Pitfall Trap: Trap Tool + Net
— Shock Trap: Trap Tool + Thunderbug
— Tranq Bomb: Sleep Herb + Parashroom
— Tranq Knife: Tranq Bomb + Throwing Knife
Conditional
These items have a special place in Monster Hunter: World, because while they’re indispensable for certain set-ups, they’re straight up useless for others.
Whetstone
All melee weapons have an attribute called sharpness which is depicted as a glowing sword directly beneath the health and stamina bars on the HUD. A weapon’s sharpness is one of its most important stats, as not only does it dictate the amount of damage it can do per hit, but it will need to be above a certain value or else the weapon will be deflected by a monster’s hide, doing very little damage as a result. Unfortunately, sharpness will go down as you hit an enemy, decreasing its effectiveness as the battle continues. There is little you can do to prevent this from happening, so make sure to have your Whetstone on you at all times to ensure that your weapon always performs at peak efficiency. It has unlimited uses too, so feel free to sharpen your weapon whenever you have the chance.
Ammo
Just like how melee weapons need sharpness, ranged weapons need ammo. You can carry a reasonable amount of ammo with you at all times, but you should assume that you’ll run out in the middle of a mission. You’ll have a hard time defeating even the simplest of enemies by just smacking them with your weapon, so you should endeavor to have the materials required to make more on you at all times. Honestly, there’s a lot of ammo types, but there are three that you can always assume will be useful.
Recipes:
— Power Coating: Empty Phial + Nitroshroom
— Normal Ammo 2: Normal Ammo 1 + Gunpowder Level 2
— Normal Ammo 3: Normal Ammo 1 + Gunpowder Level 3
Dash Juice
Though having a maxed out Stamina gauge is enough to get you through any encounter, there are times when it feels like that it just isn’t quite enough to accomplish the task at hand. Those are the moments when you’ll want to have Dash Juice, as it reduces stamina depletion for a brief period of time. This is an appealing boon for anyone, but Dual Blade and Lance users, in particular, love this items since it allows them to use their respective techniques with little to no impunity.
Recipes:
— Catalyst + Dash Extract
That’s it for the essential items. So long as you carry the appropriate ones, then you’ll never be caught off-guard — no matter who stands in your way. Happy Hunting!
Need help with something else? Head to the Hunter’s Index to find more guides.
