Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information, you confirm you are aged 16 or over, have read our Privacy Policy and agree to the Terms & Conditions. Geographical rules apply.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
  • Home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
Trending
  • GTA 6 cover art revealed
  • Summer Preview
  • Prime Day deals
  • Best gaming tech
  • New Games 2026
  • Submit your clips. Win prizes
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
  1. Games
  2. Action Rpg
  3. Monster Hunter
  4. Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter World starter guide: everything you need to know to get hunting

Guides
By Zoe Delahunty-Light published 21 January 2020

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Subscribe to our newsletter

Join a squad to adventure with friends

Working out exactly how to play online with friends in Monster Hunter World isn’t exactly straight forward. We do this for a living and it took three of us around half an hour to work out how to do it - seriously. But there’s a way to make the whole thing a much easier process and that’s through starting a Squad for you and your pals. You can set one up by going to the Squad Manager in the Gathering Hub and then just invite your friends to join. You can then jump straight into a Squad Session Search from the title menu, meaning you’re guaranteed to only play with members of your squad, making it easy to see who needs an extra hunter or two from the Quest Board itself, without having to faff around in menus. You can be a member of up to eight squads, which can hold up to 50 members, meaning you can swap between different player groups easily as well.

Accept as many bounties as possible

When you're running around on missions you'll be picking up everything in sight (which just so happens to be one of our tips, as you'll find out if you just keep on reading). Why not get rewarded for it at the same time? Go to the hub in Astera and head towards the Resource Center, where you can gather up a ton of bounties that just require you to collect a set amount of items, kill some beasts, or investigate a specific monster. Ticking these off comes naturally when you're wandering around in the wild, so just remember to turn them in after every quest and stock up on new ones. 

Expect to get Tutorial fatigue

Monster Hunter World has a severe problem with the amount of text it shoves onto you in your first couple of hours. It generally feels like you’re having an encyclopedia being shoved down your throat, so I’m just going to tell you right now that you don’t have to worry about reading every single one. You can access the tutorial messages from the main menu if you need a refresher by going to Info, then Play Guide, and then View Tutorial. Mind you, the best teacher is experience when it comes to hunting monsters, so you’re better off skimming the tutorial messages and clicking ‘yes’ on that scary ‘Exit the Tutorial?’ screen and just throwing yourself at the next Jagras you see. 

Latest Videos From
Watch full video here:

Save, save, save

Monster Hunter World doesn’t have the autosave feature us gamers are typically used to. If you don’t manually save before exiting an online multiplayer session or entering a different one, you’ll lose all the gear and weapons you crafted, which can be somewhat annoying (an understatement). However, you won’t lose the materials you gathered on your multiplayer shenanigans, so you can just return to the Workshop and build everything all over again. That’s not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, though, so just remember to save. To do so, press Options to go to your menu, scroll to System, and then select the Save option. 

Expeditions have no time limit, so are perfect for gathering resources

Missions usually have a time limit. Which are super fun when you've almost killed your quarry but can literally see the seconds ticking away before your very eyes. However, expeditions let you roam free without any restriction on how long you spend out in the open. That makes them perfect for fighting monsters at your own leisure, gathering resources, or simply exploring the maps at your own pace. 

You may like
  • Grounded 10 Grounded tips and tricks
  • Pragmata Diana hacking in the Shelter with her arm outstretched 12 Pragmata tips and tricks for new players
  • Monster Hunter World has sold over 30 million copies, strengthening its lead as Capcom's best seller

Eat before you go out to hunt

Typically beginners might be used to carrying around a whole host of potions that’ll buff your stats when you’re in an especially difficult fight, but Monster Hunter World does things differently. Make sure to visit the Chef at the canteen before you go out on a hunt, (or head to the one at each base) and choose the foodstuff you’re going to be shoving in your mouth carefully. Each meal will give you a special set of status effects, an HP boost, or even give you temporary skills. Generally speaking you shouldn’t have to worry about eating near the beginning of your playthrough, but if you’re having repeated trouble fighting an Anjanath then it’s time to get some food in your belly.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

Current page: Preparing for the hunt

Prev Page Monster Hunter World starter weapons and armor Next Page Out on the hunt
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming Xbox One PS4 Platforms Xbox PlayStation
Zoe Delahunty-Light
Zoe Delahunty-Light
Social Links Navigation
Former GamesRadar+ Staff

While here at GamesRadar, Zoe was a features writer and video presenter for us. She's since flown the coop and gone on to work at Eurogamer where she's a video producer, and also runs her own Twitch and YouTube channels. She specialises in huge open-world games, true crime, and lore deep-dives.

Read more
Grounded
Survival Games 10 Grounded tips and tricks
 
 
Pragmata Diana hacking in the Shelter with her arm outstretched
Action Games 12 Pragmata tips and tricks for new players
 
 
Monster Hunter Monster Hunter World has sold over 30 million copies, strengthening its lead as Capcom's best seller
 
 
Games 15 essential Metro Exodus tips to know before you play
 
 
A close up on Valentina, one of the characters in Heroes of Might and Magic Olden Era
Strategy Games 11 things I wish I knew before playing Heroes Olden Era
 
 
Marathon player facing three UESC robots in corridor on Outpost map
FPS Games Here are 15 Marathon tips and tricks for new players
 
 
Latest in Monster Hunter
Monster Hunter Wilds
PC Gaming Capcom made twice as much money on Steam compared to PlayStation in the last year as PC gaming continues to grow
 
 
Kushala Doara in Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Monster Hunter Wilds Ascendance expansion brings back hated elder dragon Kushala Daora, to fans' dismay
 
 
Monster Hunter Monster Hunter World has sold over 30 million copies, strengthening its lead as Capcom's best seller
 
 
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Monster Hunter Wilds is coming to Nintendo Switch 2, and we hope this goes better than the PC port
 
 
Monster Hunter Wilds Ascendance captain with short hair
Monster Hunter Capcom reveals Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, the "massive expansion" fans have been waiting for
 
 
Monster Hunter World
The Legend of Zelda Monster Hunter and Pragmata creators praise The Legend of Zelda as "A source of inspiration in countless ways"
 
 
Latest in Guides
Wide angle view of the Kortz Center, which will be the setting for the GTA Online Kortz Center Heist
Grand Theft Auto When does the GTA Online Kortz Center Heist launch?
 
 
Rize, one of the DBD killers, puts her hands to her face and smiles with glee after killing a survivor with a mori.
Horror Games The best DBD killers to unlock next
 
 
How to get Beexwax in Witchspire
Survival Games Beeswax location in Witchspire
 
 
Arc Raiders raider in skull cap
Third Person Shooters How to complete the Arc Raiders Forgotten Relics event
 
 
Path of Exile 2 character classes lined up to be hanged at gallows
Action RPGs When is the full release date for Path of Exile 2?
 
 
Three masked attendees of the Black Banquet in DBD
Horror Games DBD The Black Banquet release date and details
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. PS5 Pro
    1
    Sony is considering pushing the PS6 to 2028 or 2029, "some analysts believe," according to Embracer Group
  2. 2
    My favorite Steam Next Fest demo is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater but make it a tanuki courier sim
  3. 3
    What it's like beating Elden Ring twice a week for 4 years: "I think it's the greatest game that's ever been made"
  4. 4
    PlayStation CEO responds to reports Sony is abandoning PC, seemingly confirms big single-player games will be PS5 exclusives forever
  5. 5
    Persona 6 appears on Steam, Atlus and Sega accidentally say something interesting for once in wishlist announcement

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...