Monster Hunter Wilds Endgame Guide

Welcome to the Monster Hunter Wilds Endgame Guide, your ultimate companion to everything that awaits after the main story. Beating the final boss is just the beginning—High Rank unlocks an entirely new world filled with tougher monsters, stronger gear, and fresh challenges that will test your skills like never before.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything that becomes available as soon as you step into High Rank, from powerful new weapons and armor to hidden mechanics that can take your hunts to the next level. Whether you're eager to take on Tempered and Frenzied Monsters, upgrade your Palico’s gear, or dive into special high-rank investigations, this guide will ensure you're fully prepared for the true Monster Hunter experience.

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Read our other articles:

• Artian Weapons Guide
• Multiplayer Guide
• Gearing Guide
• Best Builds for Each Weapon
• Most Useful Tips & Tricks
• Zenny Farming Guide
• Best Settings Guide
• Beginner's Guide

 

 

How to Unlock the Endgame

The Monster Hunter Wilds endgame officially begins after completing Chapter 3: Monster Hunter, where you take on the formidable Zoh Shia in a climactic battle. Defeating this powerful creature triggers the credits, signaling the conclusion of the main story, but this victory also marks the start of a much greater challenge. For players looking into Monster Hunter Wilds how to unlock High Rank, this is the key moment where it becomes available, unlocking a new ecosystem, stronger monster variants, and advanced gear upgrades that push hunters beyond their previous limits.

While the campaign may be complete, the hunt continues with three additional High Rank chapters, setting the stage for even tougher encounters. Monsters behave more unpredictably, and hunts demand better preparation, strategy, and skill. This is where players gain full control over their progression, choosing which challenges to take on and how to optimize their builds for the battles ahead.

What Becomes Available After Unlocking High Rank?

Monster Hunter Wilds High Rank isn’t just about tougher monsters—it’s a complete evolution of the hunting experience. This phase unlocks exclusive new mechanics, upgraded facilities, and expanded resource management options, all designed to help hunters take on the game’s most difficult encounters. From layered armor and High-Rank investigations to Palico gadget upgrades and new crafting opportunities, there’s an entirely new progression system to explore. BLOG20

This is also when hunters gain access to more specialized quests and features, such as Field Surveys, advanced smelting for Armor Spheres, and the arrival of the Argosy trading ship.

Now, let’s break down everything that unlocks as soon as you enter High Rank.

High-Rank Environments Unlock

Once you enter High Rank, the world of Monster Hunter Wilds undergoes a noticeable transformation. The most immediate change is the evolution of the environment, affecting both monster behavior and resource availability. In High Rank, ecosystems become more dynamic, leading to seasonal shifts that alter everything from weather conditions to endemic life activity.

You also gain the ability to skip time to change the time of day and even season when being inside your camp or pop-up camp. Some quests take place only during specific seasons, so it’s a very useful feature to have around.

The environmental changes also impact monster habitats and aggression levels. High-Rank variants of monsters hit harder, move faster, and feature new attack patterns, making battles more intense than ever. Some creatures will migrate to different areas, while others may only appear under specific seasonal conditions, encouraging hunters to stay adaptable.

Additionally, resource gathering in High Rank introduces rare materials not found in Low Rank. These materials are essential for crafting superior weapons, armor, and Palico gear. Gathering routes and spawn rates may also shift, making knowledge of the changing environment crucial for long-term success.

Hunter Rank (HR) Progression Begins

With the unlocking of High Rank, players now gain Hunter Rank Points (HRP) from every completed quest, allowing them to increase their HR over time. Unlike Low Rank, where HR was capped, players in High Rank will see their Hunter Rank gradually increase until they reach a specific cap, which must be broken through special quests or milestones.

Raising your Hunter Rank unlocks:

• Access to stronger monsters
• Advanced investigations and event quests
• Exclusive armor sets and weapon upgrades
• Tempered Monster encounters later in endgame

Certain High-Rank investigations, Field Surveys, and optional quests are locked behind HR thresholds, requiring players to level up before they can access these higher-difficulty hunts. Completing guild requests, capturing rare monsters, and participating in High-Rank hunts all contribute to Monster Hunter Wilds HR progression, which also typically involves build-making, materials farming, achievement unlocking, and collecting endemic life.

High-Rank Equipment & Upgrades Unlock

Reaching High Rank in Monster Hunter Wilds unlocks a new tier of weapons and armor, offering stronger stats, better customization, and more powerful abilities. This is where hunters gain access to Rarity 5+ weapons, stronger defensive gear, and the option to choose between two armor variants: Alpha (α) and Beta (β).

Weapons in High Rank

High Rank introduces weapons of Rarity 5 and above, with the progression continuing up to Rarity 8, also known as Artian Weapons in the Monster Hunter Wilds endgame content. These weapons feature:

• Increased base attack power and higher sharpness levels for longer durability.
• Stronger elemental and status effects, allowing for more specialized builds.
• Affinity bonuses, improving critical hit potential.

Custom modifications, such as affinity tuning, defensive augments, and raw damage boosts.
Hunters must farm High-Rank monsters to acquire rare materials needed to craft and upgrade these weapons.

Alpha (α) vs. Beta (β) Armor Variants

In High Rank, every armor set comes in two different versions: Alpha (α) and Beta (β).

For example, the Talioth Vambraces offers different benefits depending on the variant:

Choosing between α and β armor depends on whether you prefer pre-set powerful abilities or flexibility to fine-tune your build.

Armor Upgrades & Armor Spheres

High Rank also introduces:

1. Advanced Armor Spheres, which provide greater defense boosts.
2. The ability to smelt monster parts into Armor Spheres, making upgrades more accessible.

With stronger Monster Hunter Wilds endgame monsters and tougher battles ahead, choosing the right armor variant, crafting powerful Rarity 5+ weapons, and upgrading gear regularly are essential to mastering High Rank and preparing for the ultimate endgame challenges.

Field Surveys & Bonus Rewards Unlock

Field Surveys are optional monster tracking missions that reward rare materials and bonus loot. These surveys encourage hunters to study monster behaviors, collect tracks, and hunt specific targets.

How Field Surveys Work:

• Surveys are assigned randomly and can be selected from the Quest Board.
• They typically focus on specific High-Rank monsters or require capturing instead of slaying.
• Completing surveys grants additional materials and higher drop rates for rare monster parts. BLOG20

In High Rank, these surveys play a major role in unlocking specialized hunts and increasing the efficiency of farming rare materials.

How to Unlock Layered Armor in Monster Hunter Wilds

One of the key features unlocked in High Rank is the Layered Armor System, which allows hunters to change their character’s appearance while keeping the stats of their equipped armor. Unlike regular armor, Layered Armor is purely cosmetic, meaning it does not affect defense or skills but lets you customize your look freely.

Instead of being tied to event quests or special investigations, Layered Armor is unlocked by crafting High-Rank armor sets. Once you fully craft a complete High-Rank armor set, the corresponding Layered Armor version of that set becomes available.

This system encourages hunters to forge more armor sets, even if they don’t plan on using them for stats, as crafting different sets also expands their cosmetic options.

 

The Support Ship (Argosy) Unlocks

The Argosy, a returning feature from previous Monster Hunter games, arrives in High Rank as a supply ship that periodically docks at your base. This merchant offers rare crafting materials, trade goods, and consumables that cannot always be found in the wild.

How the Argosy Works:

1. The ship arrives at set intervals with a selection of limited-time items.
2. You can request specific items in advance, ensuring they appear in future shipments.
3. Purchases require Guild Points, which are earned through quests and monster tracking.

The Argosy’s rotating stock makes it an important resource for hunters looking to stockpile rare materials without having to farm them manually.

The Village Intermediary (Nata) Unlocks

Throughout the game, each settlement features one or two NPC traders who offer rare materials unique to their respective locations. These materials can be exchanged for valuable items, such as special crafting components, rare monster parts, and unique cooking ingredients.

In High Rank, after completing Chapter 3: Monster Hunter, speaking with Nata unlocks the Village Intermediary system, allowing players to access all settlement trade windows from a single location. This means hunters no longer need to travel to individual camps to interact with different NPC traders—everything can now be managed directly through Nata.

This system significantly streamlines resource gathering and trading, making it much easier to collect rare materials, stockpile useful ingredients, and prepare for tougher High Rank hunts without excessive backtracking.

Material Retrieval Becomes Available

Once High Rank is unlocked, villagers of Suja, Peaks of Accord can be sent out to gather materials for you.

How Material Retrieval Works:

• Select specific items from a retrieval list.
• After one in-game day, return to the village to collect the gathered materials.
• This method is ideal for farming rare resources without having to repeat hunts.

Material retrieval adds a passive farming system that allows players to focus on high-rank hunts while still collecting valuable items.

Smelting Armor Spheres Unlocks

In High Rank, hunters gain access to the Smelting Armor Spheres system, which allows them to convert monster parts into Armor Spheres used for upgrading armor. Unlike Low Rank, where Armor Spheres are primarily earned from quests and rewards, this system provides a more reliable and flexible way to obtain them.

How Smelting Armor Spheres Works

1. Monster parts can be smelted into Armor Spheres at the smelting facility.
2. The quality and quantity of Armor Spheres produced depend on the materials used—rarer monster parts yield more powerful spheres.
3. This system ensures that excess or unwanted materials don’t go to waste, allowing hunters to turn surplus monster parts into valuable upgrade resources.

Since armor upgrades are crucial in High Rank, this smelting system becomes an essential part of a hunter’s progression, making it easier to keep armor at peak performance without relying solely on quest rewards.

Meal Invitations Unlock

Villagers may now invite hunters for meals, offering unique food buffs that last longer and provide stronger bonuses.

Benefits of Meal Invitations:

• Exclusive meal buffs that outperform standard canteen meals.
• Longer-lasting effects, ideal for extended High-Rank hunts.
• Some meals offer rare stat bonuses that can significantly impact combat performance.

Accepting meal invitations improves relationships with NPCs and enhances hunting effectiveness.

Palico Equipment Upgrades Unlock

Your Palico companion gains access to stronger gadgets and enhanced abilities in High Rank, making them even more useful in combat.

Palico Upgrade System:

• New optional quests unlock, where Palicos test out upgraded gear and gadgets.
• Completing these quests grants stronger versions of existing tools, such as:
  
  • Improved Flash Bug Cage for better stunning abilities.
  • Enhanced Vitality Wasp that provides greater healing.
  • Additional new Palico gadgets that offer unique battle support.

These upgrades ensure that Palicos remain valuable allies in tougher High-Rank hunts.

What Unlocks Later in the Endgame?

Hitting High Rank is just the beginning—the real grind starts as you push deeper into the endgame. As your Hunter Rank (HR) increases, new challenges, tougher monsters, and better gear start rolling in, giving you plenty to chase after. BLOG20

At this stage, you’ll be facing Tempered Monsters, dealing with the Frenzy Virus, crafting Artian Weapons, and tackling some of the hardest hunts in the game. If you thought regular High Rank was tough, the endgame takes everything up a notch with higher-risk, higher-reward encounters that test your skills and patience.

So, what exactly unlocks in the endgame? Let’s break it down.

Tempered Monsters Become Available

Monster Hunter Wilds Tempered Monsters are stronger High-Rank versions of existing monsters, featuring higher HP, increased aggression, and stronger attacks. Almost all monsters have a Tempered variant, marked by scarred bodies due to their violent nature. These scars can be damaged with Focus Strikes, opening Tempered Scars for massive damage.

How to Unlock Tempered Monsters

1. First appear in the High Rank mission "Wyvern Sparks and Rose Thorns", leading to a fight with Tempered Lala Barina and Guardian Fulgur Anjanath.
2. Tracked using purple Scoutflies, which highlight their unique monster tracks.
3. Once tracked, they show up on the map with a purple icon, making them easier to locate.

Tempered Monster Rewards

• Weapon Shards – Used to craft Artian Weapons, the most customizable and powerful modular weapons.
• Hunter Symbols – Exclusive crafting materials needed for high-tier armor and weapons.
• Wyverian Bloodstones – Special rewards obtained from breaking a Tempered Monster’s blue wound; higher-tier
• Tempered Monsters drop rarer Bloodstones.

Tempered Monsters are a core part of the endgame, offering some of the best rewards for weapon crafting and armor upgrades.

Artian Weapon Crafting Unlocks

Artian Weapons are endgame-tier weapons in Monster Hunter Wilds, offering unparalleled customization, powerful reinforcement bonuses, and a unique crafting system. Unlike standard weapons, these can be modified and rerolled, allowing hunters to fine-tune them for their preferred playstyle.

How to Unlock Artian Weapons

1. First unlocks after completing Chapter 4: "Wyvern Sparks and Rose Thorns", where players face their first Tempered Monster.
2. Requires special materials like Damaged Weapon Shards, obtained from hunting Tempered Monsters.
3. Higher-tier versions (Artian II and III) unlock as Hunter Rank increases.

What makes Artian weapons different

• Customizable stats – Players can adjust Attack, Affinity, Elemental power, and Sharpness.
• Reinforcement System – Uses special reinforcement materials to upgrade power and add new bonuses.
• Rerolling System – Allows hunters to reset weapon stats to optimize their build.

To fully understand the crafting, upgrading, and rerolling process, check out our Monster Hunter Wilds Artian Weapons Guide, where we break down everything you need to know to get the best Artian weapons in the game.

Wounded Hollow Arena Challenges

The Wounded Hollow is a special arena in Monster Hunter Wilds, designed for high-stakes battles in an enclosed space. Similar to previous Monster Hunter arenas, this location offers unique challenges and mechanics for hunters looking to test their skills.

Key Features of Wounded Hollow

1. Divided Battlefield – A giant gate in the center can split the arena in half using levers on both sides.
2. High-Rank Quests – Features tough hunts, including encounters with Frenzied Nerscylla and multiple Hirabami.
3. Special Arena Mechanics – Includes siege weapons and environmental hazards to turn the tide of battle.

This area provides some of the most intense hunts in the game, making it an ideal place for skill-based challenges and valuable endgame rewards.

Frenzied Monsters

Monster Hunter Wilds Frenzied Monsters are High Rank creatures infected by the Frenzy Virus, a powerful affliction spread through Gore Magala’s scales and breath. These monsters gain increased speed, aggression, and damage output, making them far more dangerous than their normal counterparts.

How the Frenzy Virus Affects Hunters

• Increases damage taken from Frenzied Monster attacks.
• Prevents natural healing, forcing reliance on healing items.

How to Unlock Frenzied Monsters

1. First encountered in the High Rank quest "Investigating the Frenzied Shadow", featuring Frenzied Nerscylla.
2. Appears in Investigations and special hunts as tougher variants of standard monsters.

Frenzied Monster Rewards

• Frenzy Shards – Used to craft Frenzy-infused weapons and armor.
• Frenzy Crystals – Exclusive drops from Gore Magala, required for Gore Magala gear upgrades.

Facing Frenzied Monsters is a true test of endurance and skill, as their relentless attacks and hunter-debilitating virus make them some of the most formidable foes in Monster Hunter Wilds.

Conclusion

The Monster Hunter Wilds endgame is where the real challenge begins, pushing hunters to master new mechanics, take on tougher monsters, and craft the most powerful gear. From High Rank hunts and Field Surveys to Tempered Monsters and Artian Weapons, the post-story content offers endless opportunities for progression.

Whether you're hunting Frenzied Monsters, tackling Wounded Hollow Arena challenges, or experimenting with Artian Weapon customizations, every hunt in High Rank serves a purpose. The deeper you go into the endgame, the more strategies and optimizations you'll uncover. Keep sharpening your skills, upgrading your gear, and facing the toughest challenges Monster Hunter Wilds has to offer!

F.A.Q.