Summary
- Monster Hunter Wilds uses Hunter Rank which determines monsters and missions you can access without directly improving your character’s stats.
- Divided the ranks into two: Low Rank (story-focused with automatic HR increases) and High Rank (experience-based progression with stronger monsters and better equipment).
- Completing main story missions helps to speed up your way to raise your rank.
Sometimes, progression in Monster Hunter Wilds ranks can be confusing, especially for beginners. Unlike traditional RPGs, the game uses Hunter Rank (HR) which determines the monsters you can hunt and the level of your access. Here’s a guide to help you understand how Monster Hunter Wilds ranks work.
What Is Hunter Rank?
Monster Hunter Wilds utilized the Hunter Rank or HR to see the hunters’ experience level. It is quite similar to military ranks where the higher your rank means the tougher your job. So as you get higher ranks, the tasks progressively become more difficult to complete.
There is a minimum HR requirement in every mission in the game. In turn, it’ll prevent you from joining any hunts that go beyond your current level. On a side note, your high HR won’t directly improve your combat abilities or stats. Rather, it’ll come from crafting better armor and weapons with your obtained materials from hunts. It simply acts as a gate to your progression and expands access to challenging content throughout.
Low Rank vs. High Rank: The Game’s Two Phases
Mainly, players are categorized into two distinct Monster Hunter Wilds ranks which are Low Rank and High Rank. With Low Ranks, the focus is on the main story and the HR only increases after completing assigned missions. In this phase, only Low-Rank weapons and armor are available to equip during encounters with standard monsters.
After completing the Low-Rank campaign and roll credits, you’ll proceed to the High Rank. Here, you’ll encounter familiar monsters but stronger variants. Besides, it introduces entirely new creatures alongside high-rarity weapons and diverse armor sets. These will help enhance your capabilities and fight fairly. After transitioning to High Rank, a notification appears on the screen to mark this progression milestone.
Beyond these, High Rank will also change how HR advancement works. From automatic increases in story missions, players will now need to earn Hunter Rank Points (HRP). They can earn these points by hunting down monsters and completing the quests. After reaching the minimum HR requirements, new story missions unfold to encourage the exploration of other activities.
The Fastest Ways to Increase Your Hunter Rank
In Low Rank, the quickest way to level up is by grinding on main story missions. Aside from raising the HR level cap, it also helps to provide more HR points than regular hunts. It’ll be better than prioritizing the optional quests since they only reward materials for crafting equipment.
Once you’ve started the High Rank, there are multiple ways how you can speed up the progression:
- Target powerful monsters: Hunting Apex monsters like Rey Dau and Uth Duna rewards more HR points than regular creatures.
- Participate in co-op hunts: Multiplayer sessions allow you to tackle stronger monsters and farm HR points more efficiently than solo play.
- Capture instead of killing: Capturing monsters ends hunts faster than slaying them, letting you complete more hunts in less time.
- Complete bounties and event hunts: These limited-time activities typically offer bonus HR points, making them especially valuable.
- Take on side quests: Optional missions from NPCs award experience both for hunting the monster. Plus, completing the quest itself effectively doubles your HR gains.
Benefits of Increasing Your Hunter Rank
Apart from access to new story content, a high Hunter Rank helps unlock significant game advantages. For example, High Rank introduces the Tempered monsters which drop rare materials for advanced armor and weapons. It helps you to fight back during the most extreme challenges in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Also, higher-ranked side quests also grant special cooking ingredients that provide you temporary boosts in meals. In some quests, you also get to unlock Hunting Assistants or NPC characters that aid in combat. They help attack monsters or set up traps through their special gadgets.
So far, the maximum Hunter Rank Cap is in 999, consistent with their previous title releases from the series. It’ll take quite a long and tough road before you can achieve this level and point.
Conclusion
Monster Hunter Wilds ranks system can appear intimidating at first. It only has two divisions which are the Low Ranks and High Ranks, making the progression even more difficult. However, it continuously rewards players with achievements from expanding content access, upgrades and more. Just keep in mind to focus on main story missions along with side quests once in High Rank.
